The Financial Times’ Chief Foreign Affairs columnist Gideon Rachman wrote an FT article on Aug. 26 which points to the possibility of nuclear escalation in the Ukraine war, but insists there are still more Putin red lines that can be crossed before we reach that point. Rachman also goes out of his way to promote the British dog-and-pony-show “narrative” that it is Kiev that wants to escalate against Russia, but Washington and London are hesitant. The headline summarizes his message: “Ukraine Has Crossed Moscow’s and Washington’s Red Lines. Zelenskyy is prepared to ignore Russia’s nuclear threats. But the Biden administration is still wary of escalating the war.”
Rachman is not a newbie, junior player in the Empire’s geopolitical games. He has been the FT’s Chief Foreign Affairs Columnist since July 2006, and before that he was at The Economist for 15 years—so he has been at the heart of British Establishment journalism for over three decades.
Rachman begins by asserting: “With its Kursk offensive, Ukraine has not only crossed Russia’s borders. It has also crossed red lines set in Washington.” He elaborates that, “according to a recent book by David Sanger, Biden even suggested to his aides that Zelenskyy might be deliberately trying to draw America into a third world war.” Rachman then argues that there is a parallel between what Zelenskyy and Netanyahu are doing:
“With the Kursk offensive, the Ukrainians have taken a leaf out of Israel’s book—by taking military action that has not been approved in Washington. The assumption by both Ukraine and Israel is that, if the action is successful, it will receive retrospective approval by America. If it fails, the U.S. will ultimately help them deal with the consequences.”