Retired Gen. Michael Flynn posed yesterday, in an evening posting on X, a critical strategic question, as to the implications of the attack on Russia’s strategic bombers being done without the knowledge or consent of U.S. President Trump. Other voices are also sounding today.
The White House so far is silent. Asked this afternoon what Trump’s reaction was to the attack, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stuck to principle: “The reaction is, this war needs to come to an end, and this war has been brutal from both sides ... and the President wants this war to end at the negotiating table....”
Flynn said, in part, in his X post, at 6 p.m. (EDT) June 1: “So, it appears Zelenskyy gave the go ahead to attack parked Russian nuclear capable bombers without informing Donald J. Trump (if true that our President was not consulted nor informed, this isn’t simply a breach of protocol. It’s a geopolitical insult and a warning sign. If Ukraine is willing to conduct strikes with strategic consequences without notifying the White House, we are no longer allies with coordination issues—we are co-belligerents flying blind).” He singled out the activities of U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Dick Blumenthal in Kiev last week, which could make yesterday’s attack “appear as though it was sanctioned. I pray the Russians have better intelligence than that.... People, and especially world leaders, need to realize the global implications to such an operation as Ukraine just pulled off. Russia will respond. …”
Three others from today are making related points. Rogan O’Handley, of the DC_Draino X account, said: “There are American fighting forces embedded within Ukraine and they’re helping gather intelligence and coordinate attacks. This latest attack just took out 1/3 of Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers that America said we wouldn’t attack in a previously agreed to nuclear treaty. Who do you think Russia is going to point the finger at? Not just Zelensky or NATO—it will be America. This attack was intentionally conducted to drag America into WW3 b/c Zelensky knows once this war ends, he’s getting booted from office (and probably worse).”
Dan Caldwell, a former top Pentagon official who advocates for “America First” foreign policy, warned that the operation “raises risk of direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. U.S. should not only distance itself from this attack but end any support that could directly or indirectly enable attacks against Russian strategic nuclear forces.”
Charlie Kirk, described as a leading MAGA activist listened to by the White House, noted the strategic consequences of strikes deep within Russia: “Seems very much on the interior of Russia. I sure hope America had nothing to do with it.”
