During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Secretary of State Dean Rusk briefed Charles de Gaulle on the evidence that the Soviet Union had placed missiles in Cuba. Acheson offered to show him the reconnaissance photographs. De Gaulle replied: “That’s not necessary, the word of the President of the United States is good enough for me.”
There was a time when the word of the POTUS meant something. No more. With the Iranian War, President Trump gives daily status reports on how totally the US has destroyed Iran’s military and how close we are to opening The Straits. We have learned to ignore whatever Trump says and wait to get a response from the Islamic Republic to better understand the truth. Donald Trump has undone the gravitas of a US President’s word and turned it into meaningless gibberish.
Back to Ukraine.
Donald Trump repeatedly said that if reelected in 2024, he would immediately end the War in Ukraine. How? He wouldn’t say.
There were basically three options available to him: (1) offer a “permanent” guarantee by the US that we would ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty against a future Russian attack (2) heavily pressure Russia to agree to terms acceptable to Ukraine or (3) heavily pressure Ukraine to accept terms acceptable to Russia.
Note: In a war of independence, as with our own, the nation fighting for its freedom does not need to defeat the aggressor; it simply must convince the aggressor that it can survive over the long term.
That first option, to be effective and binding, would require ratification by the US Senate. President Trump could have gotten the US Senate to ratify a treaty protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty. With this guarantee, Zelensky would have been able to cede some territory to Russia and end the war. So, for a time, Trump could have negotiated the treaty between Ukraine and Russia, and legitimately ended a major war.
President Trump did opt for Option 1.
Option 2 is the one that every other US President since WWII would have taken as the Leader of the Free World and with the understanding that a world order where “might makes right” in the nuclear age greatly increases the likelihood of an existential World War III. Trump could have made clear to Putin that the US would steadfastly support Ukraine with military and financial assistance while maximizing sanctions on Russia. If Trump had taken this approach. Putin would know that Ukraine could survive over the long term and he would have had to agree to terms favorable to Ukraine. Trump could have then negotiated a treaty where the good little guy prevailed and been in serious contention for the Nobel Peace Prize.
But as we know, Trump did not choose option 2.
Instead, Trump opted to forfeit the Nobel Peace Prize and come down squarely on the side of the aggressor, Vladimir Putin. He applied maximum pressure on Ukraine to concede to Putin’s demands. Trump ended nearly all military and financial support for Ukraine. He lifted the sanctions against Russia. He invited Zelensky to the Whitehouse where he publicly humiliated him telling Z he did not have the cards to survive against Russia. To convince Zelensky of his commitment to Russia, Trump invited Putin to the US where he literally laid out the red carpet for him. President Trump obviously believed that if the USA put maximum pressure on Ukraine, it would have to settle on Russia’s terms.
Well, Trump was wrong.
Despite all his efforts to help Putin defeat Ukraine, Ukraine is still standing. More than that, Ukraine is gaining the upper hand. It has been re-taking territory from Russia. Most impressively, the Ukrainians have developed the most advanced and effective drone technology and production in the world. Ukraine is now producing nearly 600,000 drones per month and these drones are now delivering extensive damage to Russian infrastructure thousands of kilometers into the Russian heartland. The Europeans have increased their support for Ukraine. No doubt, Ukraine can now survive over the long term without any help from the US.
President Trump has undone what all other post WWII presidents have worked so hard to achieve: make the power and prestige of the US Presidency great. Instead, Donald Trump has made it irrelevant and impotent.
A question remains: what does Putin have to offer or perhaps to threaten Donald Trump with that has convinced Trump to forego the Nobel Peace Prize and instead, be Putin’s loyal lackey. Time will tell.
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