Crumbling alliance - in the US unity against Putin is cracking - News - SRF

2022-06-10 23:31:27 By : Ms. Ira Wu

All of a sudden, things aren't going so badly for Vladimir Putin: He's advancing militarily, albeit slowly.And politically cracks are showing in the alliance against him.Not a day goes by that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken does not speak to his counterparts around the world.Knowing full well that standing up to Russia as one is absolutely crucial.But in the meantime, more and more countries are shooting across.Turkey in NATO, for example, or Hungary in the EU.Others, like Italy, are pushing for speedy negotiations with Moscow.And Germany continues to slow down arms deliveries.The European back and forth is, of course, noted in the US and fuels those on the far left and far right who, for pacifist, populist, isolationist or economic reasons, want to end Washington's massive engagement in Ukraine.With a good sense of which way the wind is blowing, ex-President Donald Trump jumps on this bandwagon.He railed against the extensive Ukraine aid package that has just been approved by parliament in Washington: "$40 billion for Ukraine – we would be better off investing that in security measures for schools to prevent massacres there."Those circles behind Ukraine are amazed and outraged that even the doyen of American foreign policy, Henry Kissinger, who has just turned 99, is now promoting negotiations with Putin.Even at the price that Ukraine is permanently giving up territories to Russia and is committed to neutrality, i.e. not striving for either NATO or EU membership.Kissinger explained that last week via video link at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.Lindsey Graham, one of the leading Republican foreign policy experts in the Senate, firmly rejects this.But dissatisfaction is growing among the Republicans, especially since Ukraine will probably need support for a very long time and this is enormously expensive.Senator Josh Hawley, an ardent Trump supporter, therefore rejected the 40 billion aid package."Far too expensive," he said.Ten other Republican senators did the same, as did 57 members of the House of Representatives.The influential think tank Heritage Foundation played a key role in this, as its new, populist boss Kevin Roberts immodestly reveals.The Heritage Foundation used to be classic conservative.She advocated the US war in Iraq, engagement in Afghanistan and was consistently opposed to Russia.She criticized President Barack Obama for holding back in the Syrian civil war.Their traditional credo was that of former President Ronald Reagan: "Peace through strength."But the think tank is now steering a populist Trump course."America First" is decisive, that is, the sole question of what is most useful to the USA itself.Apparently, supporting Ukraine is not one of them.Numerous right-wing organizations are joining the Heritage Foundation and setting sail accordingly - which is why Joe Biden's government is suddenly facing strong headwinds.The President brought his billion-dollar aid package through.And this week the decision is likely to follow, among other things, to deliver powerful long-range missiles to Ukraine.But the consensus is crumbling.This should be followed with satisfaction in the Kremlin.These areas are the scene of the Ukraine warJoe Biden on the killing spree: "I'm so fed up"Kissinger didn't care about the victimsReceive all news highlights directly via browser push and always stay up to date.MorePush notifications are brief notifications on your screen with the most important news - regardless of whether srf.ch is currently open or not.Click on one of the links to go to the corresponding article.You can opt out of these communications at any time.FewerYou have already hidden this notice about the activation of browser push notifications several times.Do you want to permanently hide this notice or be reminded of it again in a few weeks?SRF Swiss Radio and Television, branch of the Swiss Radio and Television Company