Trump Tries to End a War

Is history repeating itself? Or do the same characters have nothing better to do than to read from the old script. 

As you see the news coming from the Russia-Ukraine war you would be forgiven if you thought that someone had decided to replay the same old story.

That is, the Trump-Russia narrative. The narrative wherein Trump is Putin’s stooge and where he is an existential threat to democracy.

You would think that Trump would receive some credit, however begrudgingly,  for trying to end the carnage in Ukraine. You would think that he would receive some credit for having his senior officials sit down to a negotiation with their Russian counterparts.

After all, how can the war end without the participation of the Russian side. 

Of course, part of the problem here is the Ukrainian president Zelensky. At the very least he is in way over his head. He decided to take personal pique at not participating in the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, and refused to sign an agreement with Treasury Secretary Bessent regarding rare earth minerals in Ukraine.

It was a hostile and insulting gesture after Bessent had traveled to Ukraine. Again, Zelensky is in way over his head.

Better yet, yesterday Zelensky offered to resign if Ukraine were allowed to join NATO. This suggests that he has a seriously inflated opinion of his own importance. And also, that he does not recognize that NATO membership is a non-issue.

Of course, the Biden administration had showered Zelensky with money, without seeking any payback. You would think that an American president would care about being recompensed for American largesse. Apparently, the armies of Trump detractors consider it a Mafia-like extortion of funds from Ukraine.

As for the Ukrainian obligation to pay back some of what the United States gave it, Zelensky said:

 "I don't recognize Ukraine's $500 billion debt. It was a grant, not loan, so not owing even 100B."

Normally, you would think that peace is a good thing. You might even think that the destruction visited on Ukraine is something that ought to be stopped.

But, these are not normal times. Since it’s Donald Trump who is trying to negotiate peace, more than a few of his detractors have seized the opportunity to call him a sellout to Russia. It’s Neville Chamberlain at Munich, all over again.

Especially, since Defense Secretary Hegseth declared that Ukraine would not be receiving NATO membership. One suspects that this was a basic precondition for talking with Russia. One understands that when our singularly inept former vice president declared her wish to allow Ukraine to join NATO, this triggered the Russian invasion.

When a serious thinker like Niall Ferguson looks at the situation and declares that Trump is looking to provoke a fight, you have to ask yourself how it has happened that more than a few intelligent people have gotten caught up in anti-Trumpism.

If you ask yourself whether the now discredited Democrat foreign policy establishment wants the Ukraine War to end, you have to note that if Trump can end a multi-year conflict in a couple of months, it will make them look bad. It will make them look inept and incompetent. And, the ultimate goal of the Democrat foreign policy establishment is to maintain the remnants of their reputations, to look as though they had not bungled the situation in Eastern Europe.

The indignity of seeing Donald Trump solve a problem that they helped produce would be too much to bear.