Meet Code Pink's new allies

Tweet

Recently, the Ukrainian armed forces have been liberating Ukrainian cities and towns at a rapid rate as a result of their very successful counter-offensive against the Russian invaders. Their soldiers have been cheered as liberators.and the war crimes evidence left behind by the fleeing Russians tells us why. 

First visit to the liberated territories east of Kharkiv. Hrakove, 70 km from Izyum, was deoccupied two days ago. Today Kharkiv police is documenting Russian war crimes there. Territory still heavily mined. Hope to see other strategic cities in Kharkiv region liberated soon. pic.twitter.com/6TE03Lr4km

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) September 9, 2022

While Ukraine, with the help of western arms, has been making great progress in turning the tide of the Russian invasion, Code Pink and others in the misnamed "Peace in Ukraine Coalition" hope to put a stop to that. They just wrapped up a week of actions around these demands:

CEASEFIRE Now.
DIPLOMACY to End the War in Ukraine
$$$ for Climate, Jobs, Healthcare, & Housing
NOT Weapons for Endless War
DO NOT RISK NUCLEAR WAR! 

They are demanding a ceasefire in place so that the current Ukrainian counter-offensive has to stop and no more Ukrainian lands will be liberated, except through negotiations. Elsewhere they make clear that by DIPLOMACY, they mean Biden should overrule Zelenskyy and make a deal directly with Putin. They also oppose any weapons or military support for Ukraine, and they amplify Putin's nuclear saber-rattling at every opportunity. Others in this white Left coalition include Veterans for Peace, Democratic Socialists of America IC, and United National Antiwar Coalition. They should more aptly be called the "Piece of Ukraine Coalition" because not one member envisions a peace agreement that doesn't involve Ukraine making some territorial concessions to Russian, and not necessarily limited to Crimea and the Donbas.

Well, they should be embarrassed to know they have many notable allies on the extreme right. Most prominent among them is probably Fox New's Tucker Carlson. The Friday before Ukraine kicked off the current counter-offensive, Carlson had on his show military "expert" Doug MacGregor who said the Russians were clearly winning, and predicted that by the end of September, 

"this entire war may be over. Right now things are going very, very badly, which is why Ukrainians are so desperate...But this desperation is very dangerous right now because they're losing once again just south of Kharkiv, and people in Washington are talking about "What else can we do?"

He sure got that wrong! But Carlson used that false picture to argue against the Biden administration funding the Ukrainian liberation effort, asking:

"Where's all this money going? Where are the weapons going? Why are we doing this?"

Before introducing MacGregor to explain how it was all so futile.  Tucker Carlson, like Code Pink, opposes any weapons shipments to Ukraine, and wants Biden to step in and enforce a DIPLOMATIC solution. He says, 

"Why not settle this war, return energy prices to normal, and stop the economic catastrophe we're facing?"

The Heritage Foundation also opposes weapons for Ukraine and echos these coalition demands: "money for climate, jobs, healthcare, & housing not weapons for endless war" Executive director Jessica Anderson put it this way:

“America is struggling with record-setting inflation, debt, a porous border, crime and energy depletion, yet progressives in Washington are prioritizing a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine.”

Even among Republican Senators, only eleven took the Code Pink position on the Ukrainian aid package, but they are among the most Trumpyist and include Josh Hawley "What America needs is not nation-building, but nationalism." (Mo.), Rand Paul (Ky), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Mike Lee (Utah), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.), and Mike Braun (Ind). All of them Putin supporters and white supremacists to the core. Is it any surprise that they support great Russian chauvinism in Ukraine?

The same can be said of the 69 Republic Congressional representatives that, like Code Pink et al. oppose US military aid to Ukraine. Is it any wonder that they include the most extreme election deniers and Trump supporters, and include Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Ken Buck (R-CO), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Lee Zeldin (R-NY)?

The Proud Boys also support the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with many member pretending they were going there to fight along side Russian troops. Oathkeepers also parrot Putin's line on Ukraine by republishing ZeroHedge, a known Putin mouthpiece. 

Code Pink—It's said that you are known by the company you keep. These are your new allies.

Clay Claiborne

20 September 2022