Opinion | Victoria Nuland - legacy of a NeoConservative fundamentalist
By Tom Fowdy
US "undersecretary of State for Political Affairs" Victoria Nuland has announced her retirement. Nuland, described as "the third highest ranking diplomat" in Washington D.C, is otherwise known as a notorious NeoConservative fundamentalist who was an architect of the Anti-Russian agenda which ultimately led to the culmination of Putin's invasion of Ukraine, as well as a board member in the interventionist front group the "National Endowment for Democracy". For those critical of her foreign policy, her resignation is an event worthy of celebrations and an utterance of the words "good riddance".
Nuland is part of a Democratic aligned clique of foreign policy elites whose heritage is derived from Eastern Europe, Russia and the former Soviet sphere, similar to Anthony Blinken. Of Russian heritage herself, this appears to have significantly influenced her worldviews and she commenced her diplomatic career under the Clinton Administration whereby she served as a "deputy director for former Soviet Union affairs." Quite clearly, Nuland had built the ideological and motivational focus of her career on the expansion of American influence into the former Eastern Bloc following the Cold War.
Despite a long distinguished career, Nuland gained notoriety in 2013 for her role in the Obama administration when she heavily embedded herself in Ukraine's Euromaidan revolution and was accused of being a key figure in its instigation, having actively participated in the demonstrations and openly professed towards US funding to push their ideology in the country since 1991. A telephone call was also leaked between her and the US ambassador to Ukraine where they appeared to influence political outcomes on the ground. Thus, she became effectively the pinnacle figure in the rise of a pro-western, ethnonationalist government in Ukraine which ultimately led to the outbreak of hostilities with Russia.
While Putin effectively put the Ukraine issue on ice for the years of the Trump administration, the return of the Democrats to office and Nuland under the Biden administration effectively led to a reignition of the struggle for Kiev and the invasion of the country itself. With the US having taken a maximinalist stance over the country's right to join NATO and up their influence operations in the country again, Putin seemingly calculated the war was his best option to force his hand. With the outbreak of the war, Nuland again became an instrumental figure in shaping the policy that the US should push for the absolute defeat of Russia, and pressing the public narrative that went with it. In particular, her ultra NeoConservative husband Robert Kagan is brother to Frederick Kagan, of whom operates the "Institute for the Study of War" (ISW) think tank.
It is little surprise that with Nuland's connections, that the ISW was quickly established as the "go to" source on the Ukraine war and that the NeoConservative aligned think-tank subsequently spun events on the ground to create a favourable depiction for Ukraine at every opportunity, even when it has been obvious things are not the case. This stands as a definitive example of how certain networks of people are able to gain influence over political and media discourse concurrently and shape events. It is little surprise to this note that Nuland is frequently attributed as one of the foremost Anti-Russian figures, not because it is a conspiracy theory of any kind, but because it is actually true.
Nuland's legacy is thus a reminder that US foreign policy is ultimately bipartisan and while it is easy to demonise Putin as a bogeyman, the reality is that American foreign policymakers truly did see Ukraine as an ideological project in the name of liberal expansionism. It is a censored and unacceptable opinion in today's climate, but it is effectively a truth to say that the relentless pursuit of this, interference in Ukraine, in the form of military, political and intelligence operations, were decisive in provoking Putin's invasion not because invading a country is the morally "right" thing to do, don't get pulled into that straw man, but moreover because politics is premised on realism and people will pursue the greater evil to pursue their interests if they have no choice.
For this reason, Nuland is loathed for her role in establishing the conditions of which led to the largest war of the 21stcentury because she is a NeoConservative fundamentalist whom actively interfered in events on the ground, which is demonstratable not by speculation but well established evidence. Her timely resignation, however, will certainly make the peace process a lot easier and will be a monkey off the back of the American state apparatus.
The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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