Ben Harnwell

Certainly in the warm spirit there's a full-on throwdown against inverted commas Pope Leo that I posted today from a few words I gave to the Observer newspaper, Steve, which is effectively the Guardian's sister's paper on Sundays. So if you were thinking I'd be becoming all beta male and all peace and love for this Christmas spirit, absolutely not.

throw down right in the copelio's face because he's pushing the um the invasion point obviously and the warren must step up to resist steve getter at harnwell my surname uh you'll see all my gratuitous provocations there let me take this moment to wish you the warren posse real america's voice a very merry christmas the birth of our lord and savior jesus christ may the spirit of god be with you all

That's right, Steve.

And the war room has been warning on this point for a year and a half.

I remember a year and a half ago, Steve, we were actually saying to everyone who would listen that Ukraine's pitch to be admitted into NATO was just simply a negotiating tool when it came to see its negotiations in order for them to relinquish that, to make it look as if they were giving up something.

in order to get what they really wanted, where the U.S.

provided security guarantees.

And that's exactly how this is mapped out 18 months later, Steve, because you hear the soundings coming out from Ukraine saying, well, perhaps we'll drop the NATO accession request.

But what we actually want is the U.S.

security guarantees.

And the thing, Steve, that I can't fathom and I can't work it out why, is that the U.S.

administration is playing along with this.

The thirst for a peace deal is so great that

Looks like the US is actually going to crumple on this and give Zelensky everything he wants.

And by the way, you said earlier on, Steve, let me push this point as well.

You said earlier on, because this is how the press is pushing this, sort of Article 5 style guarantees.

By the way, as ridiculous and as a hoax as that is, at least on paper, there is the mutual...

consent that if one member state gets attacked, the others will come in to defend it.

That is to say, if Ukraine came into NATO and America were to be attacked, then Ukraine would come in and help America.

That's not what is on the table as far as I can tell in this case.