Ukraine v. Russia – dissension in Republican ranks

As Russia continues its “special military action” in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin is not winning friends. True, he might be less interested in making friends than in building a “civilizational state” and protecting it from invasion. Heretofore, Republican Members of Congress have condemned him and extolled Ukraine. But now, dissension is growing in the ranks.

A U.S. Representative condemns Ukraine

Representative Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) doesn’t care what anyone thinks, but he cares about what’s best for America. The generally neutral site On the Issues tells an interesting tale. At time of posting, it records stands from him against any boycott of the State of Israel and for a strong military. But a strong military does not automatically equate to “let’s go whap on someone.” After today, On the Issues might want to add a slightly anti-war bent.

Donald J. Trump is the first Republican President to make anti-war sentiment respectable in the Republican ranks. Mr. Cawthorn might be taking a cue from him.

Yesterday, a local television station obtained video of Cawthorn holding forth on Ukraine. He began by calling Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug.” Furthermore:

Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies.

Cawthorn didn’t limit his condemnation to Ukraine, however. He declared a pox on both houses:

Honestly, both governments in both Russia and Ukraine are incredibly corrupt and very vile.

Does Rep. Cawthorn have a point? Some context might be in order – context that has been missing from the discussion.

War has raged in Ukraine since 2014.

Steven Turley, Ph.D., is the best source yet for news of actual events – and recent history – of Ukraine. In the past 1-2 days he has shared three posts from different sources, reporting what is going on in Ukraine and what officials are saying.

Most recently he forwarded a four-minute video from ASB Military, showing action in the Donbass region. Clearly, ever since the Maidan Revolution, Ukraine has been shelling targets in the Donbass, including the two breakaway republics of Donyetsk and Lugansk.

And what does the Ukraine Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (actual name) have to say about this post? It shows Zelinskyy visiting a hospital where wounded Ukrainian soldiers are recovering. But why, in a video dated 13 March, does a member of the medical staff appear, sixteen days after she died? Not only do her relatives confirm the death, but Zelenskyy gave her a posthumous award of Hero of Ukraine.

Here we see an apartment building in Mariupol – where soldiers of the Azov Battalion were in position. That would make it a military target, would it not?

If Rep. Cawthorn had access to this information, no wonder he said what he said about Ukraine and Zelinskyy. These three posts do show thuggish behavior – not to mention outright lies.

A former Representative and Iraq War veteran speaks

The world has also heard from former Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), about those biological weapons development laboratories in Ukraine. These are the facilities having American funding, American direction, and American staffs. Gabbard says the situation is more dire than earlier reported:

The replies to this tweet are worth mentioning only to condemn them. Rachel Vindman – wife of the infamous Colonel Vindman of Trump impeachment fame – weighed in.

Remember something else: this same Colonel Vindman was born in Ukraine, back when it had the name “Ukrainian S.S.R.” Scarcely a disinterested source, from where CNAV sits! That applies equally to the colonel and his wife.

The rest of the tweets are not worth enumerating. They accuse her of being a Russian asset, and suggest the U.S. Army Reserve should “separate” her from their ranks. Well, last time CNAV checked, the Army was saying nothing about former Rep. Gabbard or her reservist status. Let’s see what happens when, as, and if they do. The trouble with complaining about someone officially is having to give evidence that the other person is lying. CNAV would like to see someone slap the commandant of Fort Detrick with a subpoena duces tecum asking what about those biological weapons development laboratories. (And while we’re on the subject: where is Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.? He seems to have disappeared – again.)

Conclusion

CNAV returns to the position it has always held: this is not our fight. But the Ukraine affair illustrates much more. Not only can we not trust the Biden administration, but neither can we trust most media organs. Contributor Bradlee Dean was right: “fake news,” he said. Which is why those interested in the truth must look elsewhere.