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Bill Clinton claims he knew Russia would invade Ukraine more than a decade ago after chilling confrontation with Putin – Fortune

The scale of destruction in Ukraine is a scene millions of people across the world never saw comingbut a former President of the United States said he feared a Russian invasion would one day come.

Bill Clinton, the U.S.s 42nd president, recalled at a New York conference this week the moment he realized Russian president Vladimir Putin had designs to take over its neighbor.

Appearing alongside his wife Hillary at an event in New York, Clinton said Putin confronted him over a deal made with former Russian president Boris Yeltsin.

The U.S.-brokered deal saw Russia pledge to respect Ukrainian territory in exchange for Kyiv relinquishing its nuclear power.

Clinton said Putin told him in 2011 he didnt agree with the deal: He saidI dont agree with it. And I do not support it. And I am not bound by it. And I knew from that day forward it was just a matter of time.

It is not the first time Clinton has reflected on the deal made in 1994. In April he revealed he has a personal stake in the Ukraine war, as he felt terrible for his part in persuading the country to give up its nuclear weapons.

The agreement also set the stage for Ukraines later inclusion in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear-weapon state.

Clinton told Irish broadcaster RTE: None of them [Ukrainians] believed that Russia would have pulled this stunt if Ukraine still had their weapons.

Clintons mistrust of Putin was echoed by his wife Hillary, the presidential hopeful of 2016 who was defeated by Donald Trump.

[Putin] is in what he views as a righteous struggle to undermine Western democracy and reinstitute, as much as he can, the Russian empire, she said. So hes not going to stop.

During their appearance, the Financial Times reported, the pair urged Western forces to continue to support Ukraine.

Its an argument Hillary Clinton has made in the past, telling nonprofit Vital Voices: I think we need to be very clear in sending a message to Putin that were going to do everything we can to make sure he does not succeed in Ukraine.

And, at some point, given the losses in his military, given the losses of his military leadership, given the turmoil within his intelligence and security forces, because they told him what he wanted to hear, and it didnt work out, I think that theres more to be seen about what happens inside the Kremlin as this unfolds.

Hillary argued that to bring the issue to a close, Ukraine must either defeat its invaders or at least regain the eastern territories it lost last year.

They need leverage. I wouldnt trust him [Putin] at a negotiating table under any circumstances, unless Ukrainiansbacked by ushave enough leverage, she said.

Hillary also believes the Wests support of Ukraine has deterred a similar move by Chinese President Xi Jinping: invading Taiwan.

If Putin had invaded Ukraine without consequence, it would have emboldened Ji, she said. Instead, he witnessed sanctions on Russia: I think before the Russian invasion, there was a good chance he would have moved on Taiwan within two to three years. I think that timetable has been pushed back.

It was a sentiment echoed this week by Robert OBrien, a former national security adviserto the Trump administration.

He told Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun he believes China intends to invade Taiwan within a year or two, and that the U.S. and Japan need to be proactive in offering support.

If the U.S. and its allies do not provide Taiwan with the weapons it needs to defend itself, and give it the diplomatic muscle that Taiwan needs to prevent the Chinese from believing that they can invade Taiwan without consequence, we could be in a very dangerous situation in Taiwan, he warned.

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Bill Clinton claims he knew Russia would invade Ukraine more than a decade ago after chilling confrontation with Putin - Fortune

Hillary Clinton makes a thin Ukraine-Taiwan connection – Washington Examiner

Increasingly in Washington, the question is not whether Chinas Peoples Liberation Army will invade Taiwan its when.

Ask three different people about when it will happen, and you will get three different answers. Earlier this year, retired Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. Philip Davidson reiterated his earlier assessment that China could launch military action in 2027. Gen. Mike Minihan, the commander of U.S. Air Mobility Command, made a splash in January when he sent a memo to his officers that the U.S. could be at war with the PLA within two years. Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, was even starker in his own projection last fall: The Chinese could give the go order in 2022 or potentially 2023.

Now, Hillary Clinton is getting into the game.

AS CHINA'S AGGRESSION GROWS, US ALLIES REASSESS SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION

During a discussion in New York City, the former secretary of state claimed that Chinas Xi Jinping could have ordered a strike on Taiwan in two to three years. But, she said, "I think that time table has been pushed back." She cited the Russian military's poor performance in Ukraine as a reason why Xi may be having second thoughts about starting his own war.

Is Clinton right?

Anything is possible. Xi can read the room at least as well as any other foreign leader, and its within the realm of possibility that Vladimir Putins disaster of an invasion scared him away from a Taiwan invasion or pushed him to slow down his original plans. Still, objectively speaking, a Taiwan contingency wouldnt look very similar to how Russia is prosecuting its war in Ukraine anyway. The most basic reason is geography. Ukraine is a large landmass in the middle of Europe, sharing a land border with a belligerent in Russia. Taiwan is an island roughly 100 miles east of China's coast, with rocky beaches that would make an already complicated, large-scale amphibious operation even more difficult.

The Russian army didnt have to worry about rolling over the Ukrainian border with their tanks and armored personnel carriers; in fact, Russian troops made rapid gains across Ukrainian territory during the first few days of the invasion (until they were bogged down in the suburbs outside Kyiv). The PLA wouldnt have the luxury of simply stepping over a border and making a beeline toward the capital. Instead, Beijing would be forced to mount an extraordinarily complex naval operation across a wide Taiwan Strait and hope its troops and sailors could establish a beachhead on the Taiwanese coast, assuming, of course, they can cut through the sea mines and coastal defenses the Taiwanese would no doubt set up in advance.

There's more.

Even if the Chinese were able to establish a beachhead stronghold, the work would be far from over. The PLA would need continuously to protect and sustain a lengthy (and exposed) supply-line network that would be exposed to strikes from the air, all while PLA troops would be fighting Taiwanese resistance on land. All of this would be a tough feat to pull off for an experienced military, let alone one such as Chinas that hasnt fought a conflict in more than four decades.

None of this even begins to account for the nonmilitary responses, such as financial sanctions and comprehensive export controls, the U.S., Europe, Japan, South Korea, and possibly Southeast Asia would enact in retaliation for an invasion. Xi could kiss his "rejuvenation" campaign goodbye (although it should be noted that these measures would also have terrible repercussions on the U.S. and world economies, so none of this should be taken lightly).

Did Russias headaches in Ukraine serve as a come-to-Jesus moment for Xi? Maybe. But one suspects that a war occurring thousands of miles away is far less significant to Xis calculus than the PLAs ability actually to carry out a Taiwan invasion in the first place. In fact, Ukraine may not even be on the list.

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Daniel DePetris (@DanDePetris) is a contributor to theWashington Examiner'sBeltway Confidential blog. His opinions are his own.

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Hillary Clinton makes a thin Ukraine-Taiwan connection - Washington Examiner

Hillary Clinton urges Canada to keep up support for Ukraine, applauds child care plan – National Post

OTTAWA Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Liberals to keep supporting Ukraine, arguing the battle against Russia is a battle that the whole world cant afford to lose.

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Clinton was a keynote speaker at the partys biennial convention in Ottawa Friday night and said western government should continue supporting Ukraine in anyway possible.

Ukraines fight for freedom and against Russian aggression is our fight. It is not just their fight, she said. The best way to end Putins aggression is for Ukraine to win.

Clinton said she worked with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev during her time as secretary of state and said Medvedev was open to economic innovation. But she said Putin, who was pulling the strings at the time, didnt want that kind of openness.

If youre going to encourage people to be free thinking in business. Whoa, thats a threat to the state, eventually.

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She said a win against Putin in Ukraine will also cool Chinas ambitions to potentially invade Taiwan.

She said Ukrainians should be the only ones who decide when the war ends and they should have the wests support until then.

I want you to understand youre dealing with someone who is not only narcissistic and megalomaniacal, but totally untrustworthy, she said. We have to continue to provide as much military support to Ukraine.

Clinton also turned to Canadas domestic politics and applauded the Liberal governments child care plan.

Its important in todays political world to get out there and make sure people know what youve done. $10 a day for childcare thats extraordinary, she said. The idea of a feminist set of policies of feminist economic policy is exactly where you need to be if you want to increase economic opportunity and economic output.

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Clinton was on stage alongside Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Clinton warned her that when the election comes the government will face much more online disinformation and they should prepare.

You will be running in 2025 and you will face more online fakes fake videos of you, fake videos of the prime minister, fake videos of other leaders of the Liberal Party, she said. This is coming, so get ready, and try to prevent as much as you can, but also protect against it.

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Hillary Clinton urges Canada to keep up support for Ukraine, applauds child care plan - National Post

Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton in Conversation at 92NY – WV News

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Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton in Conversation at 92NY - WV News

As 2024 elections near, US media grapples with how to cover Trump – The Guardian

Media

CNNs Wednesday town hall with the ex-president could be a warning bell for cable news to not repeat mistakes from 2016

It claims to be the most trusted name in news. But on Wednesday it will devote an hour of prime time to a serial liar who sought to overthrow American democracy.

CNNs live town hall with Donald Trump, the former US president, has been condemned by critics as a marriage of convenience: an ailing network looking to boost ratings and a disgraced 76-year-old candidate seeking rehabilitation.

For millions of voters not yet paying attention to the 2024 election, the show is likely to be a wake-up call: Trump is back and the current favourite for the Republican party nomination, despite two impeachments and one criminal indictment.

And for the US media, it could be a warning from recent history: will Trump exploit cable newss insatiable thirst for spectacle and outrage, dominate political discourse and surf a wave of free publicity all the way to the White House?

Its clear to me that CNN and many other mainstream media outlets have not learned their lessons from covering Trump in 2016, said Tara Setmayer, a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump and pro-democracy group. This, in my opinion, is once again giving him legitimacy at a time when he is more extreme, more out of control and his lies are more dangerous than ever.

She added: It seems as though the political media cannot quit him. Treating Donald Trump as though he is just like any other regular political candidate is a huge strategic mistake. It normalises his crazy and thats partially how we got here in the first place. It is 2016 political Groundhog Day.

Trump has always bragged, with some justification, that he is great for ratings. In 2015 Leslie Moonves, then head of CBS, infamously said the ascent of Trump may not be good for America, but its damn good for CBS.

Confronted with a choice between screening Republican candidates such as Jeb Bush and John Kasich, or Trump rallies with their inherent sense of anything-could-happen danger, TV producers went for thrills and eyeballs. They were criticised for training cameras on an empty podium as they waited for the businessman and reality TV star to speak.

The Hillary Clinton campaign grew frustrated as the candidate was constantly asked to respond to Trumps latest shocking remark. By the end of the election campaign, Trump had been the beneficiary of the equivalent of $5bn in free advertising, according to the media tracking firm mediaQuant.

There was soul searching over whether journalists had been unwitting accomplices in his upset victory. Four years later, even as incumbent president, his campaign speeches received less coverage and more fact checking. Whereas his allegations about Clintons home email server gained traction in 2016, his conspiracy theories about Joe Bidens son Hunters laptop fell flat in 2020.

Now, as America braces for a 2024 election that Trump has branded the final battle, the media faces its ultimate test. How should it cover a man who made more than 30,000 false or misleading claims during his four years in the White House, according to a Washington Post count, and whose big lie spurred a mob of his supporters to assail the US Capitol on 6 January 2021?

Dan Cassino, a government and politics professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, said: I would hope that there are lessons to be learned about not carrying non-news events live, not treating every speech from a candidate as being important. Fact checking is impossible if youre showing fully live; showing it in pieces where theres something newsworthy, and fact checking the spot, is certainly a better idea.

The news doesnt have to always report every allegation that comes out of Donald Trumps mouth. The biggest disservice that the news organisations did to the country in 2016 was to report breathlessly about the investigation of Hillary Clinton that turned out wasnt anything. It takes a little to do proper fact checking or to put things in context.

Cassino added: Its not maybe about de-platforming so much as being circumspect and choosing what to cover. We talk about bias oftentimes in terms of how people cover things but the more important bias is in what you cover and I would hope that news organisations have learned something from that.

There was an early glimpse of how approaches may vary after Trump, accused of making a hush money payment to an adult film star, last month became the first former US president in history to face a criminal charge. When he returned from court in New York to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Fox News and CNN aired most of his address live but MSNBC declined to show it. Host Rachel Maddow explained: We dont consider that necessarily newsworthy and there is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things.

Now CNN will come under scrutiny for its ability to challenge Trump with tough questions and fact check him in short order. The event, at St Anselms College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, will be televised at 9pm on Wednesday and moderated by morning show anchor Kaitlan Collins. Trump will take questions from Republicans and undeclared voters who are planning to vote in the 2024 primary.

The town hall comes at a difficult moment for CNN after staff redundancies, the firing of longtime host Don Lemon and record low ratings. Chris Licht, its chairman and chief executive, told the Guardian at last weeks White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington that he had no regrets about taking up the job a year ago.

But Setmayer, a former Republicans communications director on Capitol Hill, said she is not holding her breath for rigorous fact checking during Trumps town hall within the absolute dumpster fire CNN has become in the Chris Licht era. Its clear that the new ownership of CNN has an agenda to appeal to Trump voters at the expense of quality journalism.

CNN declined to comment for this article but its political director, David Chalian, told Vanity Fair magazine: We obviously cant control what Donald Trump says thats up to him. What we can do is prod, ask questions, follow up and try to get as revealing answers as possible.

Collins gained a reputation for sharp questioning of Trump during her time as a White House correspondent. Some media observers are determined to keep an open mind and judge CNNs performance on its merits.

David Brock, president of Facts First USA, a bipartisan watchdog, commented: So long as the the interview process is sufficiently tough and there is a fact check, at least on the back end, the more scrutiny of Trump the better.

The danger is obviously that you have a repeat of 2016 where studies showed after the fact that a lot of the free air time that Trump got where he was not challenged clearly helped the campaign and helped elect him. Provided we dont see a repeat of that kind of treatment, its fine and healthy. The public may see what they see and reach their own conclusions, provided that theres sufficient scrutiny.

Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution thinktank at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, said: He is going to have a platform regardless of who gives it to him and so, in my mind, its probably better if it is a journalist or a media institution that is committed to actually asking tough questions than one thats not.

I dont subscribe to the general point of view that you dont want to platform Donald Trump. Its silly because hes going to have a platform regardless.

Trumps love-hate relationship with CNN is second in its complexity only to his love-hate relationship with the New York Times newspaper. He never gave an interview to a CNN journalist while he was president but tweeted about its output often. He denounced the network as fake news and the enemy of the people and chafed under tough questioning by reporters such as Collins and Jim Acosta. He derided Lichts predecessor, Jeff Zucker, and encouraged his supporters to chant CNN sucks! at rallies.

Although Trump has been interviewed by Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson in recent weeks on Fox News, holding first town hall-style event of the 2024 campaign on CNN could be an attempt to draw a contrast with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, his chief rival for the Republican nomination, who has eschewed the mainstream media in favour of rightwing echo chambers.

Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington, said: Its kind of amazing because one of the things about [Trump] is that he never, ever tried to expand his base. Going to CNN would certainly be expanding his base and the question is, boy, what does he do on that town hall? Does he do his usual crazy stuff or does he try to look more like a serious presidential candidate?

She added: The ratings, I suspect, will be through the roof just because of the curiosity of it. Which Donald Trump shows up? Is it the crazy conspiracy theorist or is it somebody whos trying to actually run for president?

Even if Trump makes an obvious blunder that can be seized on by Biden, DeSantis and other rivals, it might cause panic among his campaign team but is unlikely to elicit any regrets from a man who has been called a world class narcissist.

You know the old saying no publicity is bad publicity: Trump surely believes that, said Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington.

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As 2024 elections near, US media grapples with how to cover Trump - The Guardian