Why did Biden 'out' Zelensky??

[mayfly13]

President Joe Biden said Zelenskyy “didn’t want to hear it” when U.S. intelligence gathered information that Russia was preparing to invade.

“Nothing like this has happened since World War II. I know a lot of people thought I was maybe exaggerating. But I knew we had data to sustain he” — meaning Russian President Vladimir Putin — “was going to go in, off the border.”
“There was no doubt,” Biden said. “And Zelenskyy didn’t want to hear it.”
https://apnews.com/article/russia-u...ion-business-85a2489b4fe1042cd03b0ae6f4421a04


Weird statement, eh?

And this comes after Liudmila Denisova, recently demoted Human Rights Ombudsman for Ukraine, claimed that Zelensky also knew that Russians were moving Ukrainians out of Donețk și Lugansk at least a week before February 24.
https://lb.ua/news/2022/06/03/518875_lyudmila_denisova_azovtsi_z.html

 

[ll74]

I don't take that as Zelensky refusing to accept the intelligence, but rather disbelief that something so heinous was inevitable.

 

[mayfly13]

I read a couple of interpretations so far:
1. He was covering his back by disclosing the reality, given Liudmila Denisova's accusations of Zelensky which might have implicitly accused America as well.
2. Americans are realizing they are losing the war, so they are preparing a withdrawal, firstly by revoking Zelensky's hero or saint status.



What do you guys think?
Especially the non-partisan people.
Canadians?

 

[mayfly13]

I don't take that as Zelensky refusing to accept the intelligence, but rather disbelief that something so heinous was inevitable.

yes, you're right, and I don't fault him for that either.
I recall that many other countries doubted a Russian attack.
In hindsight, everybody thinks they would have done better.


But why do you think Biden made those comments?
It's beyond weird that he made them now.

 

[ll74]

yes, you're right, and I don't fault him for that either.
I recall that many other countries doubted a Russian attack.
In hindsight, everybody thinks they would have done better.


But why do you think Biden made those comments?
It's beyond weird that he made them now.

Again, expressing everyone's disbelief that Putin is such an asshole doesn't seem to be abnormal, no matter the timing. I don't see it as anything more than this.

 

[LupusDei]

I don't know why Biden made such remarks or in what context. Honestly, I haven't paid much attention to that, as there's no surprise and, yes, no scandal if you're implying such.

Ukrainian own intelligence, -- with, I believe, people embedded in or close to Russian army command -- insisted there will be no attack, because there was no military readiness to it. Command structure for it didn't exist, the regiments wasn't in the right stance, maintenance wasn't done, supply wasn't there, the weather forecast was awful, the list goes on. Everything indicated the troops on the border wasn't anything more than a posturing, boogeyman, at least short term. There were persistent assessments at least a month is still needed for Russian readiness.

And that's on top of how insane the whole idea was, still is. It makes roundly no sense, at all, and as more one knows as less its believable anyone could make such a grave mistake.

Yet, at the end, the people in Russian military were the most surprised by it all. Many learned they're in a war by being shoot at. Literally. Those Russian soldiers that wasn't shoot or shouted at learned the war had started from social media.

It's now believed China was taken by surprise and insulted by the war, and how it turned out.

As someone (an American economist, I think) commented it was the most telegraphed war still taking everyone by surprise.

Ukraine expected the war, and prepared to in on low key for years. It was seen as inevitable. The key point that could be hard to believe was.

There's rumors Putin had bragged to select few, possibly including Orban besides some of his closest oligarchs, and the decision itself was made as early as January 18, possibly postponed several times, including, by Olympics.

That Biden had, apparently, access to the original decision in a presentable form is... huge of course. Because of what it implies, as it's very unlikely SIGINT, it's agency. And shouting from rooftops they had it spells grave danger to the same. That they flaunt and remind the fact -- and this very well may be part of that strategy (just as well as random gaffe in a conversation) -- is not only an unseen departure from security services norms, but also powerful statement of invulnerability that must be driving Putin insane.

 

[Chobham]

Is this preparing the ground work for "it's all Zelensky's fault?" That would be consistent for this administration.

 

[rockcasbah]

Hunter Biden, Paul Manafort… Ukraine’s such a slut.

 

[JohnEngelman]

I was surprised by the invasion because I overestimated Putin and thought that Russia had joined the community of responsible countries.

 

[Chobham]

I was surprised by the invasion because I overestimated Putin and thought that Russia had joined the community of responsible countries.

Putin is Russian, therefore he's paranoid with manifestations of manic-depressive behavior. Even worse he's KGB trained and that means he's never had a close friend that he wasn't planning on assassinating at the drop of a hat.