Riddle me this, Batman; what do Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Anthony Weiner, and Nancy Pelosi share?

Well, in addition to being self-righteous, limousine liberal, “champions of the little guy” hypocrites, they all apparently share the uncanny sociopathic ability to stare directly into a TV camera and lie unencumbered to the American people.

A recent Washington Post Editorial reports an explosive revelation that former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, may very well have lied about what she knew and when she knew it regarding the utilization, frequency, results, and parameters of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs).

            What makes this disclosure so explosive and unbelievably hypocritical on the part of the former Speaker is her longstanding, fervent, politically judgmental, and unequivocal claim that she did not know that EITs were being used, or specifically, that “water-boarding” had been implemented on the part of CIA interrogators against senior Al-Qaida Operative, Abu Zubaida. Additionally, after the steady, drip-drip-drip from Pelosi, Senator Carl Levin, and all their many media enablers crafting the narrative that “Republicans like to torture and kill people” leading up to the 2008 election, and the full echoing of then Senator Obama, we now discover she was, according to detailed information, fully aware of the details and results. Former CIA Counterterrorism Chief, Jose Rodriguez, in his new book, Hard Measures, alleges Pelosi, then ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, along with Porter Goss, then Chairman of the Committee, had fully been given a “description of the particular [enhanced interrogation techniques] that had been employed.” Her claim, he asserts, that she was not made aware of the techniques is patently “untrue.”

            This issue has surfaced again after Mr. Rodriguez was featured last night on 60 Minutes. He, along with former CIA Director Michael Hayden, assert fairly compellingly that these EITs were part of extracting details for a greater informational mosaic that contributed to the ultimate strike that killed UBL. Rodriguez' own editorial in today's Washington Post also reiterates how this vital intelligence and the use of EITs were clearly part of the intelligence and long-term operational planning efforts leading to that remarkable day one year ago. Rodriguez very powerfully presents the facts that present a whole new set of “truth and perception-management” issues for both the former Speaker, and the President and his campaign team. Two that strike at the core of the Obama-Osama conundrum is; one, the very clear and salient fact that the kernel of intelligence that started the ball rolling regarding the ultimate whereabouts started with EITs utilized on terrorists; and two, they were in a “black site.” Both of these issues were roundly demonized, ridiculed, and eventually shut down by both candidate and President Obama.

            So as the President continues to do his Deon Sanders impersonation over the killing of Bin Laden one year later and as we draw closer to the election, he was the first one to chastise the very playbook, offense, coaches, and players that got him there.

            The audacity, indeed!

            The Liberal-Progressive wing of the Democratic Party, with which President Obama and Representative Pelosi are intrinsically linked, cannot continue to use the strategy of “If we tell the lie loud enough and long enough, enough people will believe it”, while enough good people with long and detail memories will come forward to call out their continuous and repeated falsehoods, obfuscation, and subtle alterations of what actually happened and why. We see the Democrats on the ropes on so many issues as their propaganda and perception pillars begin to crumble;

Democrat Propaganda: Transparency

Reality: GSA, Fast & Furious

Democrat Propaganda: Anti-Bush/Anti-War

Reality: More Drone Strikes and underreporting of causalities from the strikes.

Democrat Propaganda: Bin Laden Strike Decision.

Reality: SEAL Operators push-back and CIA disclosures of the true unfolding of events.

Additionally, we have seen the Secret Service prostitution scandal metastasize now into other countries and previous trips, revealing a more systemic problem and organizational atmosphere under the Executive Branch than the “one-shot, boys-will-be-boys,” episode, and the recent revelation of a top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official in charge of Intelligence Operations for the agency being convicted of embezzlement of more than $500,000. None of this bodes well for the administration. What adds fuel to the fire is the continued haze of mis-and half-truths, stonewalling, false humility, uncomfortable bouts of hubris, and unearned celebration in combination with an anemic economy, remaining high gas prices and unemployment, and perceived waffling on a cogent strategy vis-à-vis Iran, North Korea, Cartel activities, and Islamist Terror.

Just when I think the Free Press in the United States is dead, we see the above articles squeak out. Even for the reported 90% of journalists that self-proclaim as Democrats, some stories and some realities are just too good to pass up. Perhaps this time, they might actually do their jobs and not be swept up in the hype and novelty that has signified this presidency.  

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/27/15-injured-in-blasts-in-east-ukraine-city/?test=latestnews

The Associated Press is reporting as many as 27 people have been injured last week in a string of up to four separate bombings in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, which is located approximately 250 miles southeast of the capital city of Kiev.

         Other than the obligatory “Well, that’s not very nice…” what does that really mean and more importantly why should we care?

       Ukraine has been throughout history a militarily and politically pivotal and geo-strategically significant region for hundreds of years (some can argue back to antiquity). From the early times of Ottoman Imperial expansion and the Cossack rebellions of the 17^th and 18^th centuries, through the many kingdoms and national powers quibbling, and fiercely warring (Crimea, Ukraine is where the famous Charge of the Light Brigade took place), over the borders of its rich and vast agricultural lands and deep and abundant mineral deposits, its place as a natural bridge between Europe proper and the Eurasian hinterlands, and its premier naval real estate on the Crimean Peninsula and access to the Black Sea and Bosporus Straits, Ukraine is preeminent in its potential regional, diplomatic and political influence on several fronts. Even the name, Ukraine, means “on the edge,” where it is on the edge of a number of internationally important equities and potentially volatile scenarios.  From being one of the first former Soviet Republics (actually the first of the “internal” republics; meaning not one of the Baltic States, but an actual historically and culturally Kievan Rus-based Slavic-nation-state)  to call for independence and looking to the west for political and governing examples, to recently spawning the Orange Revolution in 2004 and attempting to strip the lingering shackles of Russian economic, political, and cultural pressures, Ukraine is on any European nations’ and International Organizations’ short list for possible great aspirations and true national viability as a valuable international partner. Sadly, on its present trajectory, Ukraine will wallow further in anemic economic, political, and developmental stagnation, and judicial, journalistic, and human rights despair. Ukraine has been at the forefront of some of the most recent and shameful judicial and press related scandals and crimes.

         This brings us to why these bombings could mean something significant to the rest of the world. As the above article link attests, the bombings are most likely politically motivated; however by whom and for what specific purpose is part of the national “politeescheskie entrigee” (Russian for “political intrigues”); Political intrigue is as much a staple in Ukraine as pepper vodka, salted bread, and borsch. Yet, the outcome and possible ramifications to these bombings and the events alleged to them could send ripples, if not waves, across the surface of the “international pond.” The escalating intrigue stems from a bitter feud between the current President, Viktor Yanukovych, and former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. 

     Yanukovych comes from the Donetsk region, and has been a staunch political mainstay of the predominantly Russian-demographic and heavily Russia-supported populace in that eastern region of Ukraine. Yanukovych himself is not ethnically Ukrainian, but rather Russian and Belorussian, and doesn’t even speak Ukrainian fluently. Tymoshenko was the former Prime Minister under the former pro-western President, Viktor Yuschenko.  Though she and Yuschenko had significant political differences and nasty open political battles, they had a common political foe in Yanukovych. They were both instrumental in bringing about the Orange Revolution in 2004, which manifested when the current president, Yanukovych, was found conducting massive election fraud. Several international monitoring agencies and prominent international figures, including former UN high officials, and former US President Jimmy Carter, headed oversight efforts. The Orange Revolution lasted throughout the winter of 2004 and forced the Ukrainian authorities to conduct a recount, which found pro-western Viktor Yuschenko the legitimate winner. His victory was assured by the support of Tymoshenko, and he made her his Prime Minister. This alliance was not forgotten by Yanukovych, especially when his emerging nemesis, Yulia Tymeshenko, ran against him in 2010.  In short, Yanukovych defeated her, and then began widespread political and legal indictments against Tymeshenko, leading to a criminal trial. She was found guilty of various election and financial fraud charges and has been sent to prison for seven years. Presently, she is on a hunger strike, claiming the prison guards have beaten her and caused her excessive harm and mental anguish. Her daughter has called for international monitoring of her condition. Ukrainian medical officals confirm she has received numerous bruises and signs of abuse, and her health is deteriorating. Her situation has reached the attention of many international observers, including the European Union, and several separate nations.

      This leads us to today. Ukraine is scheduled to host the World Cup soccer preliminary rounds throughout the country this summer. This has both political, and more importantly, economic advantages for Ukraine. Yanukovych is roundly considered having stolen the last election, and has taken major political, economic, and diplomatic steps to cozy up even closer to his Russian allies to the Northeast. Any perceived international boom by his regime would only soften and lessen his otherwise poor reputation and questionable legitimacy, and Ukraine’s developmental stagnation across the international stage. However, this is Ukriane. Nothing is as it appears on the surface.

        The Yanukovych clan and supporters claim last week’s bombings are the work of “terrorists” bent on destabilizing Ukraine. The Tymeshenko supporters claim it is Yanukovych’s security forces wanting to defer attention from Tymeshenko’s plight, and allow Yanukovych’s forces to “deal” with the criminals, and thus demonstrate its ability to maintain security for the upcoming festivities. Neither of these explanations make any real sense…but, that is part of the political circus that is the deteriorating atmosphere of the Ukrainian body-politk. The crux of the issue here is not weather Yanukovych’s or Tymeshenko’s supporters instigated these bombings, but how the Russians could, and very will might, lever this instability on their most prized former Soviet Republic and most significant strategic neighbor.  We only need to look back to 2006 as to what lengths Russia is willing and able to go to provide “corrective action” to its former Soviet neighbors; The invasion of Georgia.

        Ukraine and Russia share a great deal of history, culture, language, tradition, religion, and outlook. However, Ukraine, more than any other former republic, has a very strong and deep national, cultural, and ethnic pride and identity that often transcends the similarities between the two.  During Soviet times, it was widely thought that if there was going to be a “counter-revolution” within the Soviet republics, it would emanate from Ukraine. Even after the Second World War, Soviet forces fought a prolonged and sustained insurgency in western Ukraine against the anti-Soviet Ukrainian partisan remnants that had originally fought alongside the Germans during the initial invasion back in 1942. Of course, that alliance didn’t last long, once the German forces began wholesale deportation, imprisonment, and extermination of hundreds of thousands of “non’compliant” Ukrainians and political undesirables.  In an effort to placate the Ukrainians after Stalin’s initial starvation policies of the Thirties, leading to the deaths of millions of Ukrainians, deportation of huge swathes of Ukrainians from their ancestral lands, and “russification” of much of eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, Nikita Kruschev “returned” Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954. An ethnic Ukrainian, Kruschev, in an effort to pacify Ukrainians, alienated millions of ethnic Russians in Crimea and throughout eastern Ukraine. Even today, the vast majority of Russians and Ukrainians can be split right through the center of the country with the overwhelming majority of ethnic Russians residing on the eastern half of the Dniper River and the Crimean Peninsula, and the vast majority of ethnic Ukrainians existing on the western half of the river all the way toward the Polish, Hungarian, and Romainian borders.

        With Vladimir Putin reclaiming the reigns of the Russian nation starting next year, and his clear and unequivocal aspirations for historic Russian hegemony, Ukraine lies directly in those sights of future greater Russian strategic goals. One of the levers Russia has pulled in the past, and often touts within its security apparatus is the need for Russia to ensure ethnic Russians are secure and protected in the outlying former republics. Though Ukraine possess a much more formidible military than does Georgia, or let’s say, Tajikistan, Russia has completely infiltrated Ukrainian federal security and intelligence services. Additionally, Russia has active military units on sovereign Ukrainian territory, namely in Crimea.

       We saw this tension-stretch situation come to a boil when Ukrainian and Russian Naval Border forces clashed in the Sea of Azov in 2004 off the eastern edge of the Crimean Peninsula, over improperly marked borders near a small island called Tusla. This was not widely reported in the Western Press, however it received a great deal of attention in both Russian and Ukrainian Press, taking a meteoric launch in both rhetoric and hyperbole. This particular incident highlighted both the tinder box that exists between these two nations in that region, and the fact that Ukraine is not going to lay down or play the submissive. The other significant issue that emerged during that underreported incident off the Crimean Peninsula was the revelation from the Ukrainian Parliament during the height of the hyperbole between the two that Ukraine could, and would if challenged, reconstitute its nuclear capability within weeks.

       That in and of itself has tremenous and ominous ramifications. Lest we forget, when the former Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine by default became the world’s 4^th largest nuclear power overnight. It would later forgo independent nuclear aspirations in exchange for western aid and investment. However, as stated by the members of Ukraine’s Armed Services Committee within its parliament, “Nuclear weapons are like genies, and the knowledge to build them does not easily go back in the bottle.”

       So as we come full circle with why these bonbings could be significant to the international community, we only need to thread the needle of Ukrainian political instability, aspirations for Russian hegemony, ethnic, demographic, military tensions stretching, and at the center is a great nation with many alluring resources; agricultural, mineral, geo-strategic, educational (literacy is very high in Ukraine), and diplomatic. If Russia, either artificially or in reality, perceives a threat to its ethnic, regional, and defense-related equities within Ukraine, either by Ukrainians themselves, or potentially “terror” assets within Ukraine, they have already demonstrated they will act. (Note: Crimea has had an exponential influx over the last decade of Islamic ethnic Tatars returning to their historically ancestral homeland, and there is a perceived security threat as Tatars may become radicalized through alienation and political marginalization, and potentially conducting instability or terror acts against the predominenntly Russian populace on Ukrainian territory) If the recent bombings are considered to be “terror” related, or if Yanukovych is deemed ineffectual (falsely or otherwise by the Russians), we could see the Russian security services launch destabilization operations to build the case that the Ukrainians can’t handle the spiraling crisis themselves, and some form of “intervention” would be necessary on the part of the “concerned Russians.” It is clear, the domino effect from a de facto Russia-controlled Ukraine would not bode well for all the Eastern and Central European states with fresh memories of what a Russian controlled Ukraine means for their collective safety, economic well being, and security concerns. Also, neither NATO, nor other European, Middle Eastern or Central Asian states would react passively to a sudden shift in the balance of power and perspective should Ukraine either tacitly or directly come under political or social instabilty brought on by continued internal threats and Russia’s potential reactive steps to it.

    As the weeks and months loom ahead of the World Cup soccer matches in Ukraine, and political tension rises between Yanukovych and Tymeshenko supporters as her health could deteriorate further, and has Putin retakes the stand on the Russian political and diplomatic stage, we might now understand a bit better how a few bombs in a remote and unpronouncible city in Eastern Ukraine might spark a much greater political, or possible civil or military crisis with international ramifications.

       Wars have been started by much more subtle and seemingly unimportant events. 

The author is a former Military Attache to Ukraine while assigned in a diplomatic assignement to the US Embassy, Kiev. While on active duty in the US military, the author was a designated Joint Foreign Area Officer specializing in the Former Soviet Union, worked on several high-level staffs concentrating on Theatre Security Cooperation within the Former Soviet Union, dealing specifically with the Partnership for Peace nations of the FSU, Central and Eastern Europe. He speaks both Russian and Ukrainian, and wrote his graduate dissertation on US-FSU Counterterror Cooperations in the Global War on terror.