Everyone knows the old adage: “You can’t fix stupid.” But when you put the stupidity on display for the whole world to witness and to make fun of . . . well, you’re just compounding the problem, aren’t you?

I am referring, of course, to the vaudeville team of White House special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who were so recently given the “hook” removing them from the theater of international relations after their humiliating flop as negotiators for a cessation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

On January 28th, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Witkoff-Kushner Show has been cancelled. Unfortunately, there is no way to refund the investors’ money.

What is worse, the perpetrators of this debacle now have to endure the ridicule of their principal antagonist, Vladimir Putin, as he sits back to enjoy the comments revealing the extent of America’s blunder.

For example, one source reports that an unnamed “senior envoy” made several comments during trilateral meetings with Kremlin and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi that “exposed a basic lack of knowledge about the war between Ukraine and Russia,” including incorrect statements as to how long the war had been going on, when it started, and whether Ukraine has a vice-president (it doesn’t). [Maria Butt, The Independent, January 30, 2026.]

Asked whether he hoped to agree on a peace deal before the four-year anniversary of the conflict, the unnamed official reportedly replied:

“I wasn’t aware of what that anniversary date was. I don’t think we feel pressure to because we have a four-year anniversary.” [Id.]

He is also reported to have said:

“I think it’s the longest war now. It was longer than World War II. At this point, it’s been going on.” [Id.]

(Just to be clear, World War II lasted for six years, from 1939 to 1945. The current war in Ukraine, at the four-year mark, is now the longest European war since — not longer than — WWII.)

The head of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, has said that those comments pose a “serious problem,” and that the situation is troubling, adding:

“[The envoy] has already made several big mistakes — both technical and, in essence, serious diplomatic ones. For example, [they] view territorial issues as real estate. That is completely wrong. They do not know the basics of — the fundamentals of politics, history, international law.” [Id.]

Real estate? Well, that figures. It could be either Witkoff or Kushner . . . or both. It really doesn’t matter; the damage has been done. And this guy in Moscow must be reveling in our humiliation, and the knowledge of how he has been parlaying our ignorance to his own advantage for the past year:

It’s beginning to look as though nothing short of a miracle will end this war in the foreseeable future. Considering the state of the world today, I’d say we’re long overdue for one . . . but considering that the mess is of our own doing, I wonder whether we really deserve it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/31/26