In February 2022, when Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, briefed his people that he would stay in his homeland and resist the Russian war, Ukraine had not yet been destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people had not yet been killed and wounded.
Only a few months before Zelensky’s declaration of resistance against Russia, the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, had fled his homeland against the Taliban, the current ruler of the country that was occupied by US forces for the past 20 years.
In those days, nothing showed the distance between the patriotism and welfare of the two leaders better than Zelensky’s stay in Ukraine and Ashraf Ghani’s escape from Afghanistan. Everyone said, “Look at that zealous stay and this humiliating escape,” referring to Zelensky stay in Ukraine, and Ashraf Ghani’s escape from Afghanistan. But this was not the whole story.
What few people talked about was that Zelensky and Ghani, despite all their differences, had one thing in common – both of them had the “strings of America’s support on their necks”. It was so much that in the case of Ghani, the time had come to cut that string, and in the case of Zelensky, there was still more time left.
America brought Ghani to power in Afghanistan and kept him in power (as long as it was necessary to keep him). He had also made a promise to Ghani’s government, which had the “strategic” adjective.
According to that agreement, the US supported the Afghan government against opposition and subversive forces (such as the Taliban group). But when the time came, the Americans said which agreement? Which commitment? And they turned their backs on the republican government as if they had no familiarity with this system from the first day.
When Zelensky began to resist the Russian attack (with the approval and support of America), the United States rushed to help Ukraine with a large number of weapons, money, communication tools, and intelligence assistance.
Backup in case of Ukraine: US is not loyal
Ukraine was destroyed, but did not fall. Zelensky, who before the war could not come out of the shadow of his “comedian” in the past, became a tough and fearless hero, who has fought with one of the great powers of the world.
But for all the hopeful signs war-torn Ukrainians were getting from their leaders, one tried and tested variable (elsewhere) was still missing: How far America will stand with Ukraine. The Kurds had seen America’s loyalty as well as the Afghans.
These two experiences were not so far apart. But Zelensky should have seen with his own eyes what it is like to go to the well with America’s crude thread. When Donald Trump became the president, America did the same to Ukraine as it did to Afghanistan. Zelensky suddenly found himself in the position of Ashraf Ghani.
Now Trump’s America is going to release the rope that was tied around Zelensky’s neck and leave him alone. Worse, even accuse him of starting the war and ruling with a dictatorship.
Trump reminded Zelensky that he was a comedian again, not a war hero. Some will say that Trump is an exception. This statement is not true. Because the representatives of the US Congress and Senate, the same ones who previously considered Russia to be America’s number one or at least number two enemy, are now lining up behind Trump and clapping for everything he says.
Now, if Zelensky is removed (as Ghani was removed), it is not unlikely that Zelensky will also be forced to throw away the mantle of champion and become Ghani’s teammate. America is not loyal.