If your arch enemy were pummeling a close friend, whose side would you take? Would you embrace your arch enemy, let him continue pummeling your friend, and go on to pummel other friends. Or would you stop him in his tracks? Trump is on the verge of forcing Zelenski to meet Putin’s unconscionable demands for peace and encouraging him to invade European NATO members.
No deal was reached in Alaska. Notably however, Zelensky was not allowed to attend, yet Trump welcomed Putin on a red carpet across the runway as an ally, partner and friend. Moreover, Trump has warned Zelensky that he must take the deal he reaches with Putin, or “the U.S. is out.”
At the post-meeting press conference, Putin warned that the “root causes” of the conflict must be eliminated before peace could be achieved. The phrase “root causes” has become a dog whistle for the obstinate demands that Putin warns stand in the way of peace. They are:
- The demilitarization of Ukraine,
- Russian sovereignty over territories equaling 23% of Ukraine,
- Ukraine’s neutrality,
- Ukraine must be prohibited from joining NATO,
- Ukraine must hold new elections, likely enabling Putin to install a puppet government, and
- That European security be funded and defended only by Europe and not the United States.
Conceding these demands would be a hefty reward for invading and demolishing Ukraine and slaughtering more than a million men, women and children. It would also serve as a strong incentive to invade European NATO members to help fulfill Putin’s dream of a Russian-led Eurasian empire.
Putin would probably start with Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia. They were formerly parts of the Soviet Union and are home to around a million ethnic Russians. Putin used both as justifications to invade Ukraine.
His invasions would subject Europe to bullying, America would have been Russia’s enabler and would find itself on Russia’s side against European countries that have been Americas allies for more than 80 years.
As former US Secretaries of State and Defense, Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates warned, “to avoid confrontation with Russia, the U.S. must help Ukraine push back the invader now…. If this lesson is ignored and Ukraine is defeated, Russia will almost certainly … attack NATO member countries.”
A bitter pill is that Americans’ support for directly confronting Russia varies depending on which member is attacked. Only 35 percent support using military force to defend Latvia and Croatia. Less than half support a direct military confrontation, including troops, in all other NATO members except Germany, France and Great Britain.
And Russians will cheer Putin on for new invasions. His ratings rose to 84 percent during his second war in Chechnya and to 88 percent after he annexed Crimea, which gave birth to the “Crimean consensus” holding that Russians are willing to endure hardship to recreate a Russian-led Eurasian empire.
Unexplainably, voters put America’s fate in the hands of the only elected official that “trusts Putin more than … U.S. intelligence,” idolizes and flatters him as “genius” and “very savvy.,” never criticizes America’s number one enemy, emulates how he runs Russia, envies his wealth and is doing what he can to out-wealth him.
And then there’s China and Taiwan. Both are carefully following what Trump does with Ukraine. Ironically, that perhaps is what Zelenski has going for him most – that Trump doesn’t want to face a China invasion of Taiwan. Although Trump claimed Xi promised him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is President, can we really believe an Olympic liar?
There’s much more to worry about if Trump gives Putin what he wants and China does invade Taiwan. Rember, it took Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, to prevent Trump from misusing the country’s nuclear arsenal during the last month of his last presidency. Milley had to call the head of China’s military to prevent a nuclear crisis. There will be no Milley there to stop Trump next time.
