Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), a prominent American environmental activist and attorney running for president in 2024, shared his views on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict in a tweet posted on Wednesday.
The Democrat presidential hopeful claimed that the conflict could have been avoided if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom Kennedy pointed out was an “actor and comedian,” had chosen not to pursue NATO membership.
NATO is a political and military alliance of 30 North American and European member countries that was established in 1949 ostensibly for collective defense and promoting stability and cooperation in the Euro-Atlantic area.
In his tweet, RFK Jr. stated, “Zelensky almost certainly could have avoided the 2022 war with Russia simply by uttering five words — ‘I will not join NATO.’”
The lawyer went on to suggest that pressure from “NeoCons in the Biden White House” and “violent fascist elements within the Ukrainian government” led Zelensky to make controversial decisions.
The term ‘neocon’ is a person with neoconservative views that prioritize aggressive military intervention and the promotion of the interests of corporate America in foreign policy.
For example, Senator Lindsey Graham (SC), a Republican, has suggested that Russians should assassinate Putin, saying that the goal in the ongoing Ukraine war should be to “take out” the Russian leader and that there is “no off-ramp” with Russia’s president remaining in power.
Sen. Mitt Romney (UT) and Representative Dan Crenshaw (TX) are also outspoken Republican supporters of sending weapons to Ukraine (here; here). Many GOP politicians who support the U.S. sending armaments to Ukraine, including the three mentioned above, are financed by weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon.
RFK Jr. also emphasized that “Zelensky integrated his army with NATO’s and allowed the U.S. to place nuclear-capable Aegis missile launchers along Ukraine’s 1,200-mile border with Russia.”
According to him, these actions crossed “red lines” for Russian leadership, as warned by senior U.S. diplomats like post-WWII foreign policy architect George Kennan, former U.S. Defense Secretary Bill Perry, and former U.S. ambassador to Moscow Jack Matlock.
He further claimed that “the Neocons wanted this war with Russia, just as they wanted war with Iraq.”
As evidence, RFK Jr. pointed to a statement made by NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark, in which he described how White House Neocons justified the Iraq invasion.
In the video statement, General Clark revealed that shortly after 9/11, a decision was made to go to war with Iraq despite no new information connecting Saddam to al-Qaeda.
Clark also shared that he was shown a memo describing plans to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq and ending with Iran.
In his Wednesday tweet, RFK Jr. quoted Clark, saying, “Listen here to NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark describe how White House Neocons justified the Iraq invasion.”
Watch Clark’s statement below: