Victoria Nuland announced her retirement on Tuesday, after a turbulent career that saw her serve six presidents. She was the third person in the State Department hierarchy and the supervillain of both the anti-American right and the pro-Russian left.
Nuland was expecting to be named the successor of Wendy Sherman, the Deputy Secretary for State who retired last July. She had served in that position in an “acting capacity” but Secretary Blinken chose to appoint Kurt Campbell, Biden’s Indo-Pacific National Security Coordinator.
Nuland would not have existed if the supporters of Russia annexing Crimea and their current invasion of Ukraine had been forced to create Nuland.
Nuland was credited by the myth, as she was acting as vice president Dick Cheney’s principal deputy for foreign policy, influencing the Bush administration into invading Iraq. Nuland was Bush’s NATO ambassador and offered Georgia the chance to join NATO to justify Russia’s invasion. She played a prominent role as Obama’s assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs in the popular uprising that led to the ousting by the democratically elected Ukrainian Parliament of pro-Russian puppet Viktor Yanukovych. Nuland’s role in the Maidan Revolution has been attributed by notables like Vladimir Putin to being the brainchild of Nuland, who imposed it on a nation perfectly content with its status as a Russian satellite.
The popular revolt against Russian dominance led Russia to violate at least two agreements where it had pledged to respect Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity and to undertake the illegal annexation and invasion of Donbas.
Nuland’s supervillain image was tarnished inadvertently along the way.
Nuland’s phone conversation with US Ambassador in Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, was intercepted as the Maidan Revolution gained momentum and was made public. The call is about Yanukovych’s offer to include opposition members in his cabinet if that would save him face. Nuland was accused of setting up a puppet regime after this discussion. She also preferred the UN to the EU as a solution partner for the unrest. Her opinion screwed the EU. She also favored the UN over the EU as a partner in resolving unrest, opining “F*** the EU” (Who among us can claim not to have said that?).
If Nuland had the superpowers that are attributed to it, I would be first to demand to keep her in a luxurious apartment in Foggy Bottom, where she could be kept ready to attack our enemies. Unfortunately, this is not true.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has allowed her to shine as a single-person wrecking ball, creating controversy when none was needed. She created a conspiracy out of thin air in her Senate testimony that Ukraine was creating biological weapons for the US.
Her comments on the Nord Stream pipe have been used to suggest that the US is behind the explosions that destroyed Nord Stream 1 & 2.
.@UnderSecStateP Victoria Nuland: “If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” pic.twitter.com/hEGBrx6HJj
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 27, 2022
This uncritical glibness has brought Russia a lot of good luck, as it has spun conspiracy theories to justify its criminality.
Nuland’s resignation is a positive thing. She is a retread of multiple administrations with the bureaucratic skills of a crawling cockroach who epitomizes “f*** up” and “move up.”
Russian media and pro-Russian social media are doing a happy dance about her departure. However, they miss some important points. Nuland, who failed to convince Obama to provide Ukraine with anti-tank weapons, as Trump did, was also intimately involved in a strategy to slowly walk arms that Ukraine needed for its defense. Nuland is also an important player in the failed notion that Putin deserves an “off-ramp”. The appointment of a new leadership team may not go in the direction that Moscow, and its allies, seem certain will happen.
