ZELENSKY…AN EXPERT ON DIPLOMACY?

In my world, I’ve known nothing but war…40 years of it.

However, after a 23 year military career, the following 17 years opened my eyes.

I worked with the media as an on the ground security adviser for much of that, and although at times I didn’t agree with their stories, it most certainly allowed me to question everything going on around me.

One of the biggest questions was always, when will this war stop and how will it stop?

As the saying goes, “wars begin when diplomacy fails.” But all through the war diplomacy really continues.

Take Afghanistan for example (I love using Afghanistan as an example as there is so much to learn from it). President Hamid Karsai was placed as interim leader after the “fall” of the Taliban back in the early noughties. Eventually he became the elected President, and again and again…eventually falling to Ashraf Ghani.

But during his Presidency, he became the world’s ultimate diplomat in my opinion.

He was heavily leant on by the USA. He and his country was funded by the USA and the Western world including the UK and the EU. He received military hardware from the USA for ground and air, from assault rifles to helicopters and everything in-between.

He was known for years as an American puppet and written about as such in the global press.

While all this was going on, inside of his palace in Kabul and on overseas visits, he would meet with heads of Governments from Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UK, France, Germany, Italy to name but a few.

I can assure you, he was NO American puppet.

He survived for over 20 years of American pressure, but he played them, like all the others like a fiddle…the ultimate diplomat.

Over the 20 years of American domination, he always referred to the Taliban as his brothers. He moves around inside Afghanistan today, under the ruling of the Taliban.

Love him or loath him, he is one amazing individual on the world’s stage today.

This is my view from a 20 odd year period!

Yesterday, a year of war between Russia and Ukraine was “celebrated.” By those thinking that Russia will be the victors and by those thinking that Ukraine will be the victors.

Over the year, Ukraine’s leader Zelensky has hosted and visited several leaders too, at home and away. The latest leader that he wishes to meet with is the leader of China.

For the last year, the USA has spent billions of tax payers $$$$$$$ to back Zelenski over Putin…other Western nations doing as much the same.

Do you see where I’m coming from here?

Is Zelenski up there with Karsai? We’ve only seen a years worth from him and not twenty.

Time will tell. And time will also tell if being in bed with Ukraine to the detriment of our own economies after only just a year is going to be worth it?