Biden’s Proxy War That Wasn’t – OpEd

By

Under the title “The Partnership: The Secret History of the War in Ukraine,” The New York Times has published an extended expose that has made a splash – at least inside the “Beltway” – but then, that’s not difficult to do. The article is advertised as the “untold story of America’s hidden role in Ukrainian military operations against Russia’s invading armies.”

The work clearly aspires to be a sensational piece of journalistic fare – an endeavor which clearly misses the mark. The author’s intent was to achieve something of the order of magnitude as that of the famous “Pentagon Papers.” The latter was truly journalism at its best – leaked to that same New York Times and the Washington Post in 1971. That work actually revealed something of consequence: what a mass-casualty fiasco the US’s intervention in Vietnam really was.

The recent New York Times investigation into America’s “hidden role in the Ukraine conflict offers much less than its blockbuster revelation 54 years earlier. “The Partnership” merely confirms what many have previously suggested: that Biden’s Pentagon played a much larger role in most of Kiev’s significant military operations than Washington was willing to admit.

The US paper claimed that the administration of former US President Joe Biden provided Ukraine with support that went far beyond arms shipments and financial aid to keep the country solvent. The cooperation involved intelligence sharing, strategic planning and daily coordination at a US military facility in Wiesbaden, Germany. American and Ukrainian officers collaborated to set targeting priorities, which they euphemistically called “points of interest” so as to avoid sounding overly provocative.

It has been no secret that the eyes, ears and “cerebral functions” behind any serious Ukrainian military activity were provided by the Pentagon. The New York Times has merely confirmed this not so hidden secret.

The Ukraine conflict has been conducted as a classic proxy war, reminiscent of those during the Cold War era. In that respect, it’s interesting that the article described the conflict as “a rematch” for US-Russia proxy wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Syria.

The article provided intriguing details of US intervention in Ukraine. They include, for instance, a European intelligence chief openly acknowledging – as early as spring 2022 – that NATO officers had become “part of the kill chain,” that is, of killing Russians who they were (supposedly) not officially at war with.

The New York Times’s “untold story” is also extremely predictable. Despite all the detail, nothing in “The Partnership” is surprising, at least nothing important. What this remarkably unremarkable investigation really does is confirm what everyone not fully sedated by Western information warfare already knew: In the Ukraine War, Russia has not merely been fighting Ukraine supported by the West but in conflict with the West via Ukraine.

“The Partnership” shows in detail that the West did not merely support Ukraine, indirectly. Instead, again and again, it helped not only with sophisticated intelligence (Ukraine has not the capability to achieve this on its own) but with direct involvement. It not only supplied arms but planned campaigns and fired weapons that produced massive Russian casualties. Moscow has maintained this was the case for a long time.

This is why the British Telegraph erred significantly in its coverage of “The Partnership”: The details of American involvement now revealed are not, contrary to the paper, “likely to anger the Kremlin.” At least, they are not going to make Moscow angrier than before. Based on Russia’s comments during the war, Moscow has likely known for some time how much the US and others – especially Britain, France, Poland, and the Baltics – were contributing, directly and hands-on, to killing Russians.

What is also less than stunning but perhaps more interesting is that the term “proxy war” (in spite of its continuous use by the media) is still deceptively benign. The key criterion for a war being “by proxy” – and not its opposite, which is “direct” – is that major powers employing proxies limit themselves to indirect support.

Yet, in the case of the ongoing “proxy” Ukraine War, the US and other Western nations in reality have been waging war on Russia for years. And let us not overlook the fact that “The Partnership” barely addresses the “black ops” missions also conducted by the West and their mercenaries – “boots on the ground.” The latter alone is testament to the premise: the conduct of the war by the West was blatantly beyond any notion of a proxy war.

This means that two things are true: The West pushed the envelope closer and closer to a third world war. And the reason it has not yet occurred seems to be that Moscow has shown remarkable restraint in its lack of response.

So, here’s a thought experiment for you: Imagine the US is in a war with Canada and Mexico. In the midst of the conflict it learns that Russian intelligence is being shared with America’s adversaries, Russian personnel are planning offensive campaigns and Russian officers are crucial in firing devastating mass-casualty strikes at US troops.

What do you think would happen? Exactly, how long do you think this would continue before the US vigorously responded? The interval could be clocked with an “egg timer.”

F. Andrew Wolf, Jr.

F. Andrew Wolf, Jr. is a retired USAF Lt. Col. and retired university professor of the Humanities, Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy. His education includes a PhD in philosophy from Univ. of Wales, two masters degrees (MTh-Texas Christian Univ.), (MA-Univ. South Africa) and an abiding passion for what is in America's best interest.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *