A real secretary
11.06.2021 12:33
A real secretary
Almost presidents
Few paid attention to who publicly announced the actual surrender of the United States in the battle for Nord Stream 2. Not old Joe Biden, and certainly not Kamala Harris, whom almost no one will immediately remember by her last name.
It was Anthony Blinken, the secretary of state, which is actually even cooler than the foreign minister in some other country. As it was said in the textbook "Formula of Love" - by Mark Zakharov, but exactly according to Pushkin: "A good man, he did not disdain anything."
With the Secretary of State, the Democratic President seems to be really lucky. Anthony Blinken is a real pro, he does not allow any blunders, and in terms of temperament, just right. An obvious sanguine person, at times ready to play a melancholic, which, however, you just can't budge.
Such secretaries of state in the American stories there were many, since too violent presidents for the United States are almost the norm. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt are the exceptions rather than the rule. Even Ronald Reagan, who has now been listed as one of the "greatest" in the list of American presidents, was sometimes great.
Diplomats at the head of the US Department of State have regularly had to channel the presidents' overwhelming energy in the right direction. Although it happened exactly the opposite, when already the owners of the White House took the rap for the ladies' whims of Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice or Hillary Clinton.
Very few of the secretaries of state subsequently sat down in the presidential chair. This happened only in the century before last - the country was managed by former secretaries of state Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Adams and James Buchanan.
And then it stuck for more than a hundred years. Neither Roosevelt's longtime ally Cordell Hull, nor Lend-Lease creator Edward Stettinius, nor George Marshall, nor the all-powerful John Foster Dulles, nor the respected and now living Henry Kissinger, entered the White House.
New favorite
It didn't work out for Madame Clinton either, although she was considered the clear favorite in the fight with Don Trump. But Anthony Blinken for such a role, by all indications, is the best fit. Judge for yourself - he is a career diplomat, doctor of law since the age of 26, and a Democrat who campaigned for Michael Dukakis in 1988.
Anthony Blinken is a descendant of Hungarian Jews who lived in Paris for many years, a Harvard and Columbia University graduate. He was in the Bill Clinton administration almost immediately after being elected in 1994 - as a speechwriter on foreign policy.
Then there were the posts of Deputy and National Security Adviser, Under Secretary of State John Kerry. And when Republican Don Trump was in the White House, Anthony Blinken seemed to be quietly engaged in political consulting.
Meanwhile, today few people need to be convinced that Blinken was among those who prepared the "overthrow of Trump." He practically did not touch domestic policy, although in his current post he now cannot do without it, but in foreign policy it was from Blinken that Trump received such a blow that there was simply nothing to oppose.
And it happened shortly before the pandemic, which only finished off Trump and his team. In 2019, Anthony Blinken directly accused the Republican president of not putting the lives of American soldiers at all. And this is not accepted in the States. However, is it only in the States?
This is not forgiven in America
Recall that less than two years ago, the future secretary of state did not just support the accusations against the Russian authorities of bribing Taliban militants for the murder of American soldiers. There is nothing unexpected here.
The retired politician, albeit not the most senior, but far from the last, directly accused the current president of “swallowing” such a thing. And now this is really dashing.
Anthony Blinken was categorically not satisfied with exactly the restrained reaction of President Trump, which he made public through the Washington Post:
"When we have a president who is being told that Russia may have appointed bounties for the heads of our soldiers in Afghanistan, and he does nothing - in fact, worse than nothing."
And the fact that Blinken's "possibly" turned out to be impossible, and that bribery from the Russians was not confirmed later, and the situation had to be released on the brakes, was no longer important. Anthony Blinken scored points for himself and, most importantly, for Joseph Biden.
But then he still had to go through the crucible of pre-election selection in his democratic get-together. And Anthony Blinken was already in the first roles in Biden's team. In the fall of 2020, he played the role of a “talking head” in this team when covering foreign policy issues.
And no one is embarrassed by the fact that Joseph Biden did not choose him right away - he had to make a six-day pause while the Senate asked the price of Blinken. Interestingly, at this time, Dan Smith served as US Secretary of State. Someone had to clear the "Augean stables" of the State Department - and a seasoned scout ruled there for a week.
For a time, Smith was even ambassador to Greece, but only to reconcile it with Turkey, avoiding a split in NATO. However, it turns out that it is Anthony Blinken who has to play almost a revolutionary today. But only so that no one would suspect him personally, and after him, all the great and mighty United States, of surrender.
Not so much Biden as Anthony Blinken is building those bridges that Trump burned - the nuclear deal, the trade war with China, the recognition of the inevitability of the end of Nord Stream 2. It must be admitted that the Democrats are raking up the legacy inherited from the Republicans carefully, but quickly.
Donald Trump - he was definitely a counter-revolutionary. In spirit, of course, a sort of Kornilov from world politics. And he also did not get out to Bonaparte, although it seemed to someone that he was just about. Maybe the pandemic let down, but rather, it just bothered a lot of people.
Ukraine is "independent", but secondary
And finally - the cherry on the cake, or, if you like, the very speck in someone else's eye. Something amazing happened - the Ukrainian president in Washington was put in line after the Russian one.
The showman at the head of the state, and at the same time with him and the entire Kiev Politbomond from the American State Department, through the mouth of Anthony Blinken, made it clear that the interests of Ukraine "we are able to defend without you." Such a specific kick, as they say, you do not wish the enemy.
But Ukraine is not an enemy to us, and the Ukrainian people are fraternal, although it is very difficult to repeat the same thing about the current government in the “square”. Zelensky's team, who came to Kiev in peace, now continues to trade in war, and the topic of gas transit comes up only in the context of anti-Russian rhetoric.
So you have to endure, half a million compatriots is by no means ballast. But also not the "fifth column", unless, of course, provoke it. But this is exactly what Kiev has problems with. Although they are about to stop urging from behind, already because there is no benefit.
The stream will be completed, but Ukraine will also be left with a bit of transit. So after all, it will be much easier to communicate with especially stubborn "non-landowners". And it is necessary to communicate - not strangers after all, and five million strong and intelligent working hands cannot be discounted.
Ukrainian politicians, pro-Russian or anti-Russian, which, as it turns out, is not very important, have bargained for three decades over who to sell to. In the end, both have to be sold.
And yet Russia and Ukraine have both Crimea and Transnistria, which are tied to the "square" more tightly than by the umbilical cord. As if someone did not want something else. To live with this: it does not matter for us and for Ukrainians - according to a passport, or to our liking, and our children and grandchildren, as you can see ...