Are Biden Administration “Military Advisors” In Ukraine Reminiscent Of Truman Administration “Military Advisors” In Vietnam? Where 35 Became 16,000. For Biden- The “Dignified Transfer” Political Peril
Is The Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ) Treading Along Same “Military Advisors” Pathway As Truman-Barkley Administration (1945-1953), Eisenhower-Nixon Administration (1953-1961), Kennedy-Johnson Administration (1961-1963), Johnson-Humphrey Administration (1963-1969), Nixon-Agnew Administration (1969-1974), and Ford-Rockefeller Administration (1974-1977)?
If Thirty-Five Became Sixteen Thousand, What Could Sixty Become?
It is What Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky Wants And Could Lead Him To Authorize Military Decisions Designed To Obtain.
And, For Which President Zelensky Will Not Escape Blame By United States Voters And Members Of The United States Congress Should A Member Of The United States Armed Forces Die In Ukraine.
Two Critically Important Words For United States President Joseph Biden To Remember: “Dignified Transfer”
Mistakes. Errors In Judgement. Disagreements. A Death Is Not That Farfetched.
The United States Department of Defense (DOD) is planning to send to Ukraine what could be up to sixty (60) military advisors from the United States Armed Forces.
They officially would be assigned in non-combat roles to the United States Embassy in the capital of Kyiv, but could expectedly travel within Ukraine- particularly to those areas where military equipment provided by the DOD is staged for delivery, in repair, preparing for use, or in use. Meaning on or near the front lines.
On 24 February 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation invaded and further invaded the territory of Ukraine in what Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation (2000-2008 and 2012- ), defined as a Special Military Operation [SMO] then on 22 December 2022 he redefined as a war. The initial invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation was in part from the territory of Belarus.
The war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine did not commence on 24 February 2022. The roots began their trajectories on 20 February 2014 when the armed forces of the Russian Federation invaded the Crimean Peninsula and the area known as the Donbas Region (Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast).
Whether the military advisors, in uniform or in civilian clothing, travel within Ukraine officially, and in public, or officially or unofficially in secret, they will from the perspective of the government of the Russian Federation be legitimate targets of opportunity for the armed forces of the Russian Federation.
There have been throughout Ukraine since prior to 24 February 2022 both direct reporting and contract personnel from many countries whose portfolios are military-related and intelligence-related.
The presence in a specific location in Ukraine of personnel from the United States Armed Forces (or other country military personnel) will not deter the armed forces of the Russian Federation from targeting a specific location.
The government of the Russian Federation believes a combat-related death of a member of the United States Armed Forces will not, despite the subsequent pleadings from the government of Ukraine, result in the government of the United States issuing a declaration of war against the government the Russian Federation.
With a death, members of the United States Congress and advocates at non-governmental organizations (NGOs) would rally for the Biden-Harris Administration to declare the nation is at war against the nation of the Russian Federation and, either prior to or in conjunction with a declaration, immediately respond using air, land, and sea military assets. The refrain from Capitol Hill directed toward 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC will be “Let’s Finish This.”
With an increase in Ukraine for the number of personnel from the United States Armed Forces, statistically the odds increase for an injury or death.
And human nature- which is to be curious, may cause a member of the United States Armed Forces to uniquely depart from established protocol and be within an active battlefield.
If the armed forces of Ukraine are progressing on the battlefield, likely personnel of the United States Armed Forces will want to shift nearer to the front lines to assist with enhancing further those military successes.
If the armed forces of Ukraine are faring poorly on the battlefield, likely personnel of the United States Armed Forces will want to shift nearer to the front lines to assist with reversing those military defeats.
Personnel of the United States Armed Forces may have a policy disagreement with the DOD and embark on a journey in spite of directives to the contrary- including in a role as a “Whistle-Blower”.
If a member of the United States Armed Forces dies in Ukraine as a direct or indirect result of decisions by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, while the initial and widespread blame will be towards President Putin, that initial and widespread blame will migrate quickly towards Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (2019- ).
Since 22 February 2022, President Zelensky has sought within the internationally-recognized territory of Ukraine the direct engagement of the United States Armed Forces both separately from and in conjunction with United States government membership in the Brussels, Belgium-based North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
NATO: United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Albania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Turkiye, Latvia, and North Macedonia.
President Zelensky believes Ukraine should have approved membership in NATO prior to 2008 and in 2008, prior to 2014 and in 2014, and in prior to 24 February 2022.
The death in Ukraine of a member of the United States Armed Forces results in one emotionally raw and politically toxic visual moment for President Biden in his role as Commander in Chief- presiding at a Dignified Transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware.
“The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States” - United States Constitution, Article II, Section 2
Should President Biden be summoned to Dover Air Force Base prior to Election Day on Tuesday, 5 November 2024, his re-election prospects would be substantially diminished.
If the deceased member of the United States Armed Forces is from one of the “swing states” of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin, then re-election prospects for President Biden diminish further.
Members of the United States Congress opposing funding for Ukraine, approaching US$200 billion since 24 February 2022, will use any death in Ukraine of a member of the United States Farmed Forces as a political cudgel to lambast the Biden-Harris Administration. As will the presidential nominee and vice presidential nominee of the Republican Party.
United States taxpayers borrowed more than US$113.1 billion in 2022 for Ukraine.
United States taxpayers are borrowing more than US$60 billion in 2024 for Ukraine.
The question political opponents will direct to President Biden: “How has the death of someone’s father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, cousin, nephew, or friend moved the Russian Federation-Ukraine war nearer to an end? Aren’t you repeated mistakes from United States Armed Forces involvement in Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan?
President Biden would be unable to use the death in Ukraine of a member of the United State Armed Forces as a rallying moment for the nation- to declare war upon the government of the Russian Federation. Members of the United States Congress would compel him to withdraw all personnel from Ukraine. If heads of state and heads of government in other countries, including members of NATO, also have members of their respective armed forces die in Ukraine, those government would also withdraw their personnel.
There already has become a foundation, framework, for the “mission-creep” that began as an effort in 1950 by the Truman-Barkley Administration (1945-1953) to assist the government of the French Republic by providing thirty-five military advisors into the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). By the conclusion of the Eisenhower-Nixon Administration (1953-1961) and Kennedy-Johnson Administration (1961-1963), there were approximately 16,000 military advisors in South Vietnam. By the conclusion of the Johnson-Humphrey Administration (1963-1969), 58,220 members of the armed forces of the United States had died from their service in South Vietnam (and Cambodia and Laos).
“I am convinced that no military victory is possible in that kind of theater,” President Dwight Eisenhower, 1953
“I am frankly of the belief that no amount of American military assistance … can conquer an enemy which is everywhere and at the same time nowhere.” United States Senator John Kennedy, 1954
In 2023, a re-unified Vietnam exported $118.92 billion in products to the United States and the United States exported US$9.79 billion in products to Vietnam.
These are events scheduled in 2024 which may provide distinct offensive opportunities for the armed forces of the Russian Federation to demonstrate and reinforce focus upon and endurance in Ukraine:
Victory Day (Russia, May 2024)
European Union (EU) Parliament Elections (June 2024)
Ukraine Peace Summit (Lucerne, Switzerland- June 2024)
G7 Heads Of State And Government Summit (Borgo Egnazia, Italy- June 2024)
NATO Summit (Washington DC- July 2024)
Republican Party National Convention (Milwaukee, Wisconsin- July 2024)
Democratic Party National Convention (Chicago, Illinois- August 2024)
United Nations General Assembly (New York, New York- September 2024)
United States Presidential Election (November 2024)
G20 Leaders’s Summit (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- November 2024)
United States Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations
Dover Air Force Base
Dover, Delaware
“A dignified transfer is the process by which, upon the return from the theater of operations to the United States, the remains of fallen military members are transferred from the aircraft to an awaiting vehicle. The remains will then be transferred to the mortuary facility located at Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations, Dover AFB, Del. The dignified transfer is not a ceremony; rather, it is a solemn movement of the transfer case by a carry team composed of military personnel from the fallen member's respective service. A dignified transfer is conducted for every U.S. military member who dies in the theater of operation while in the service of their country. A senior ranking officer of the fallen member's service presides over each dignified transfer. The sequence of the dignified transfer starts with the fallen being returned to Dover AFB by the most expedient means possible, which typically includes a stop at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is the Department of Defense's policy, and AFMAO's mission, to return America's fallen to their loved ones as quickly as possible. Once the aircraft lands at Dover AFB, service-specific carry teams remove the transfer cases individually from the aircraft and move them to an awaiting transfer vehicle. The vehicle(s) then transport the fallen to the mortuary facility for positive identification by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and preparation for their final resting place. In April 2009, the Secretary of Defense announced a change in policy that, upon consent of the family of the deceased, allowed media access to cover dignified transfers. The only dignified transfers that will be open to media coverage, with family approval, are those personnel who die in the line of duty supporting current operations. The privacy and desires of the immediate family receive the highest consideration at all times.”
Politico
Arlington, Virginia
20 April 2024
“The U.S. is considering sending additional military advisers to the embassy in Kyiv, the latest show of American commitment to Ukraine as Russia appears to be gaining momentum in the two-year conflict. The advisers would not be in a combat role, but rather would advise and support the Ukrainian government and military, according to Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. “Throughout this conflict, the DOD has reviewed and adjusted our presence in-country, as security conditions have evolved. Currently, we are considering sending several additional advisers to augment the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) at the Embassy,” Ryder said in a statement to POLITICO, noting that “personnel are subject to the same travel restrictions as all embassy employees. The ODC “performs a variety of advisory and support missions (non-combat), and while it is staffed exclusively by DOD personnel, it is embedded within the U.S. Embassy, under Chief of Mission authority like the rest of the Embassy,” Ryder added. Ryder declined to discuss specific numbers of personnel “for operational security and force protection reasons.” The additional troops will support logistics and oversight efforts for the weapons the U.S. is sending Ukraine, according to four U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plans, who were granted anonymity to speak about a sensitive topic. The new contingent will also help the Ukrainian military with weapons maintenance, according to one of the U.S. officials and the person familiar. A handful of U.S. troops have already deployed for short rotations attached to the embassy in Kyiv, two of the U.S. officials said, with the second official describing the numbers as “onesies and twosies.” Those personnel are helping with oversight and embassy security. It was not clear how many additional U.S. troops would ultimately be sent to Ukraine, but two of the U.S. officials said the number would be up to 60.”
