Advisors to the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council have coordinated influential op-eds in mainstream news outlets calling for more assistance to Ukraine – even slamming the prospect of negotiations as “damaging and counterproductive” – while repeatedly failing to disclose their financial interests to the lobbying group’s members: defense industry giants and the Ukrainian government.
The U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), which describes itself as a “strong international voice for business in Ukraine now promoting U.S.-Ukraine business relations,” represents over 200 companies including leading defense firms such as Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin. Many of these members, therefore, are direct beneficiaries of the multi-billion-dollar aid packages authorized by the White House for Ukraine.
Despite this apparent conflict of interest, several Senior Advisors to the USUBC have written op-eds in mainstream news outlets publicly calling for a continuation of the Russia-Ukraine War, even calling negotiations “damaging and counterproductive.” The authors have repeatedly failed to include their affiliation with the USUBC in the articles or their biographies.
Among the Senior Advisors to the USUBC are Managing Director for Global Policy at the George W. Bush Institute David Kramer, former United States Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, and Atlantic Council Director John Herbst.
Together, the trio authored an op-ed for The Atlantic in March: “The Only Realistic Answer to Putin.”
“In Ukraine, the Ukrainians are the ones doing the fighting, and tragically the dying; the United States has no soldiers on the ground,” they lament.
“But we have every interest in providing the military support Ukraine needs to win this war and drive every Russian occupying and invading force off Ukrainian territory. No one wants the war to end sooner than the Ukrainians, but they also believe, and with good reason, that they can win, if they get the assistance they need soon. Now is not the time to snatch Russian defeat from Ukraine’s jaws of victory.”
Taylor and Kramer also pushed for more aid to Ukraine in The Washington Post in their op-ed, “The West Should do Whatever it Takes to Help Ukrainians Survive the Winter.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, the pair call on the U.S. to provide “Ukraine with missile defense, anti-drone, and antiaircraft systems” and “organize and lead a major public and private, international humanitarian effort to help the Ukrainian people make it through the winter.”
“We should send massive numbers of portable generators, fuel, repair parts for electricity generation and distribution nodes, blankets, winter clothes, camp stoves, plastic sheeting, building repair supplies, internet connection devices, other communication networks, and food. We should send these supplies by rail, road, sea and air.”
Kramer peddled a similar narrative in a November 2022 op-ed “Don’t Go Wobbly on Ukraine,” where he posted that “Ukrainian victory is in America’s national interest. Calls for negotiations now are damaging and counterproductive.”
“The Ukrainians have demonstrated that if the United States and our allies continue to provide the kind of military and economic support Ukraine needs, they will know how to deploy such weapons effectively against the Russians. Yet there is a rising chorus of voices clamoring for a negotiated end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, creating music to ears in the Kremlin while demoralizing the brave Ukrainians doing the fighting,” he writes before calling for continued aid packages and weaponry.
“So a Ukrainian victory is possible if we continue to support Ukraine with the weapons it needs and the financial assistance to cover its hemorrhaging budget. Ukrainian victory is in our national interests, to ensure that Putin and his forces never again invade Ukraine or any other neighbor for that matter. Negotiations may, at some point, be necessary, but calls for them now are incredibly counterproductive and damaging to Ukraine.”
Since the onset of the war, Kramer has also published articles titled “Defeating Putin in Ukraine Is Vital to the Future of Democracy,” emphasizing that “the best hope for democracy in Russia—and all of Eurasia—is for the international community to support Ukraine in its efforts to defeat Vladimir Putin.”
He has also published the op-ed “There Is No Substitute for Ukrainian Victory.”
Natalie G. Winters ALWAYS brings the receipts. This is the nitty-gritty to conversation, WHAT we need to know to speak with an informed argument. AND isn’t that exactly what we need to speak with members of Congress with our objections? !!!
It would appear that the Ukraine War funding is just a way to cheapen down Russian Oil to widen the Profit margin for the Resellers Club !!!!!!!!!!!
https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/eu-will-go-easy-indian-resale-russian-fuel-2023-05-23/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/investigation-ukraine-buys-huge-amounts-of-russian-fuels-from-bulgaria/
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ukraine-president-volodymyr-zelensky-embezzled-400-million-from-fuel-purchase-aid-report-3947123#:~:text=Washington%3A,US%20Journalist%20Seymour%20Hersh's%20website.
Ukraine gets Outed here in this article ,
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-oil-vladimir-putin-ukraine-war-wide-open-back-door-to-europe-critics-say/
After Ukraine is Outed they call for more sanctions as a distraction .
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-russia-fuel-oil-eu-sanction/
SO the Question here is was Blowing up the Nordstream pipelines a way to redirect WHO would buy and resell Russian Oil WITH USA Taxpayer money through WAR FUNDING ????????????? And is this causing the BRICS nations to want to De dollarize USA Dollar Transactions causing massive Volatility in the Oil Markets ?????
Be careful Natalie, the deep state will take out any person who gets in its way. You now exposing what we all know, the Dems and Rep /RINOS are all in the take. That is why no Dems, RINO and DOJ, FBI what Biden exposed. They expose themselves.
the whole narrative is nonsense, notice there are no reasons of any kind why we must do all this. To me this seems like a plan to
All of these are reasons to execute the powers that be for treason
BLOOD BATH = GRAVY TRAIN
Thank you Natalie, it is always, follow the money
Endless flows of unaccountable Cash , govt narratives , absolute corruption…. this is what has blossomed yet again under a D brand govt. Unending spending , high inflation , rickety economy , more war… Joe Biden’s handlers have done this. The king has no clothes…or mind.
Surprise, surprise.
Everyone with a brain already knows the Ukraine war is about the corrupt elites getting wealthy.
No worries. God will, is and already has judged them.
Excellent piece. Based on the current vision for a “decades long Ukraine support policy” I wonder if this trio thinks they can outmaneuver the Marxists over the next decade, let alone the next two or three. They don’t seem to realize that they have already lost and that the vast majority of the US population hates them, on both sides of the political spectrum.
Dont forget..Is this the Russiahoax Kramer,of the John McCain Institute, of the Sir Andrew Wood fame?? Atlantic Council always around…Ciaramella, Alperovich, ad nauseum…
Any aid should be removed from the Executive Branch funding and the departments budget should reflect 2001 monetary funding with no funding increase until a balanced national budget is passed. Cut operating budgets to the bone, quit fighting other people’s wars, send illegal aliens back to their countries and quit buying friendship with tax payer dollars.
Not one more penny to the failed state of Ukraine.
Natalie is scary intelligent. (Just wish Steve would let her talk more, uninterrupted!) It is always about money. The lives of human beings have ceased to be considered consequential. Seems like anytime the name “Bush” is attached to anything, it equals more body bags. I will never forgive myself for supporting GW early on for the Iraq war. I should have known that when GW ask Gen Swartzkopf, two weeks after the invasion of Afghanistan, to look into the feasibility of attacking Iraq, that this invasion would not be about our national interest but something far more nafarious. Here we go again in Ukraine.
Good work Ms. Winters. I’ll help push it out.
“This requires a multi-decade effort of sustained investment in Ukraine’s defence industrial base, scalable weapons transfers and intelligence support from allies, intensive training missions and joint exercises under the European Union and NATO flags”
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR UKRAINE: RECOMMENDATIONS
Page 3
“Given its unique geopolitical position, the most effective security guarantees lie in Ukraine’s capacity to defend itself. To be sufficiently robust and credible, Ukraine’s selfdefence must be underpinned by binding commitments from a group of international partners to mobilise the necessary military and non-military resources”
Page 4
Geographically speaking control of Ukraine means significant control over resources especially energy to western and north western Europe by controlling the sea and a key gateway landmass. Much of West and North West Europe is lake dependent and/or land lock. Control Ukraine and all roads in the aforementioned areas coming from south up goes through.
In terms of this article it appears that we are dealing with a multi layered web of shell NGOs that gives the appearance of multiple players much the same way the Bidens were running many LLC. It’s beyond money at this point because we know over 100 BILLION has already flowed. The larger picture coming into view, is Ukraine was essentially annexed by the “players” in 2014 and we are essentially subsidizing an entire country as we would a Federal territory. If what is being reported is true coupled with energy wars Ukraine economy has to be grounded to a halt. US dollars is what is keeping it afloat across the board just not military. Those shell NGOs are all smoke and mirrors as it appears those “recommendations” you reported on is being followed as a rule.
The remaining issue is “sustained funding” thus “must be underpinned by binding commitments”. Many often overlook it was when President Trump threatened to withhold a 500 MILIION dollar package that his scenario went next level. That was the precipitating event to impeachment 1. We know also that Biden under Obama did at least 1 BILLION in that quid pro quo deal. The money has been flowing for awhile. It’s seems to be an issue of sustainability. Two ways I am seeing this may be accomplished. First through NATO (which Trump also threatened to leave) which binds the US through treaty. We know from Trump the US bears a very large burden. To label Ukraine as a NATO exercise or Allowing Ukraine into NATO binds the US. The former indirectly which is happening now (the money we are hijacking from the US public is in addition to NATO commitments), the latter directly as a NATO member. The second way would be to enter into a “compact” “partnership” of sorts as an attempt to circumvent the process of establishing a Treaty which in both cases provides for “binding commitments”.
The only antidote would be exactly as Trump alluded to, leave NATO and cut aid. This would effectively bankrupt a lot of money changers and leave Ukraine to fend for themselves thus a bankrupt failed state that it is without taxpayer dollars. With the appropriations process (the preferred as it provides significant leverage to keep Ukraine in line regarding, the bribery market) being scrutinized, the move will probably be to enter into an “agreement” with the force of a treaty that binds funding. And there is where these interlocking shell NGOs comes into play to provide ample bs for the public.
Ukraine is not ready to join EU because it is corrupt – Former President of European Commission…enough of this ‘ukeraine’ (obama) debacle – enough with the corruption, enough with the innocent lives lost for the new world order, and THAT is what this is REALLY about.
War Profiteers Be Warmongering! What They Do.
Wow the Ukraine wants to be the Next Un-United States.
Eisenhower was right…now as ever.
Sound like defense contractors need to diversify. Maybe they could build nuclear power plants across the USA so we can power the electric cars. China is laughing at the USA. Prayers for DJT.
Maybe we should send all the fighting age illegals arriving in the US to fight in Ukraine – sounds like a win-win for the American taxpayer
These people confuse democracy with aristocracy, or rather, their intent is to have everyone else be confused by the two. I’d love to know who owns the wealth that is the natural (mineral/agricultural) resources that make Ukraine desirable. And is their (the oligarchs) true intent to get Putin out of the way in order to have one of those nasty little Slavic oligarchs – one whom they can deal with – in control of Russia? How would that work out for those grubby globalists who would prefer that there be opposition to deal with?