Opinion
Ken Timmerman’s Threat Watch, www.kentimmerman.com, 2-23-24
| For the first time since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the possibility of negotiations has emerged on the horizon. Both Putin and Zelensky have indicated in recent interviews that they are now open to negotiations. In his two-hour history lesson to Tucker Carlson, Putin recalled the Istanbul negotiations in March-April 2022. “We were ready to sign it and the war would have been over long ago,” Putin said, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson swung by and told Zelenskyy to hold off. In his interview with FoxNews host Bret Baier that aired on Thursday night, Zelensky poured cold water on the notion that an agreement had been at hand in Istanbul in 2022, but said he was ready to talk with Putin today. Clearly the near-encirclement of Ukrainian forces at Avdiivka, and the heavy losses they took in their hot withdrawal, helped focus his mind. So has the reticence of Republicans in Congress to write Kyiv another blank check. Exactly how, and under whose auspices those talks take place is another story. Since Zelensky is understandably demanding great power guarantees, that will mean buy-in from the U.S., France, and Germany as well as Russia. Ironically, the party most reticent to come to the table is Joe Biden. Just this week, he doubled-down yet again on his “Putin the murderer” rhetoric (aided, for sure, by the apparent murder of dissident Alexei Navalny in a Siberian jail). But like the Chekist he is, Putin didn’t take offense at Biden’s words, telling a Russian journalist Russia would deal with anyone the American people elected president, but would prefer Biden because he was more “predictable” than Trump and a known quantity. Meanwhile, the rumors of expanded war in Europe intensified this week. Putin’s deputy, former president Dmitry Medvedev played bad cop and said that Russia needed to change the government in Kyiv and probably occupy the Ukrainian capital, to prevent “encroachments” on Russian land. And in Moldova, the Russian breakaway region of Transnistria hinted it would call a referendum to approve Russia’s annexation of the territory, possibly as soon as February 28, with a Putin speech already planned for the next day. As I explain in this week’s Prophecy Today Weekend, Transnistria is a narrow strip of land on Ukraine’s southwest border with Moldova. If it fell under Russia control, this would add yet another front to the war. But as It is completely landlocked, and not contiguous with the Russian front lines, resupply would be a challenge. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sketched out his vision for the future of Gaza this morning, and it fell pretty much in line with what I previously surmised in my white paper, “Israel’s War of Survival and the End of the Two-State Solution,” released by the America First Policy Institute last month. Gaza must be completely demilitarized, with Israel in control of security, and local Palestinians with no prior ties to Hamas or other terror groups in charge of civilian affairs. What Netanyahu did not say, however, was how Israel would find such a rare breed of Palestinian. As I write in And the Rest is History: Tales of Hostages, Arms Dealers, Dirty Tricks, and Spies, Israel has been trying for decades to find such Palestinians, and when they do, the other Palestinians (ie, the PLO or Hamas) murder them. As always, you can listen live at 1 PM on Saturday on 104.9 FM or 550 AM in the Jacksonville, Fl, area, or by using the Jacksonville Way Radio app. And if you miss it, you can listen to the podcast here. Yours in freedom, Ken  |
| Ken Timmerman’s 12th book of non-fiction, AND THE REST IS HISTORY: Tales of Hostages, Arms Dealers, Dirty Tricks, and Spies, can be ordered by clicking here or by viewing my author’s page, here. Raising Olives in Provence, can be ordered by clicking here. – Senior Fellow, America First Policy Institute (current) – Republican nominee for Congress, Maryland District 8 (2012) – President & CEO, Foundation for Democracy in Iran, www.iran.org – Nobel Peace Prize nominee, 2006 Cell: 301-675-7922 Follow me on Twitter @kentimmerman #TheElectionHeist Facebook: ken timmerman Reply to: [email protected] |
