By Ray McGovern, May 2, 2021
“Ukraine For Dummies” is the title I gave to a piece I published a year and a half ago ( See: https://consortiumnews.com/2019/11/14/ray-mcgovern-ukraine-for-dummies/ ) to provide some background for those wondering why the news was full of Ukraine and the pundits were full of something else.
On Friday, April 30, I was interviewed by an independent Dutch researcher and journalist Elze van Hamelen for what I might describe as a sequel to “Ukraine For Dummies” — a sort of Cliff’s Notes regarding Ukraine as the center of the storm in recent weeks — a summary with some relevant color for the non-expert. It was a happily relaxed conversation, during which I could elaborate freely on recent postings like these three:
https://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2021/04/21/putin-isnt-bluffing-on-ukraine/
https://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2021/04/14/biden-and-blinken-blink-on-ukraine/
https://raymcgovern.com/2021/02/04/most-blatant-coup-in-history/
Reviewing the chronology of events over the past five tense weeks, it became clear that several things came to a head on April 13, culminating in President Biden’s very strange call to President Putin. My guess is that it was Putin who called first and left a “voicemail” saying: “Your Ukrainians and the crazies abetting them are playing with fire; please call me — and quickly.”
Lots more was covered in the interview:
— The key role of China — yes, China — a increasingly important factor in the background
— The meretricious “mainstream media” as the anchor, the linchpin of the MICIMATT
— Who’s in charge in Washington?
— Has Russia matched the U.S. in sophisticated weaponry?
— How a kindergarten teacher showed me more wisdom than George Kennan
— Dan Berrigan, simple but profound: “Do the right thing. Results are not unimportant, but they are secondary,”
I hope listeners enjoy the interview as much as I did.