US President Donald Trump has sent Ukraine and the rest of Europe scrambling for an answer as to what to do next after first going straight to President Vladimir Putin for peace talks.
Backing the Russian gangster leader above America’s European allies is a crass gesture of admiration towards despotism and disgusting contempt towards democracy. Never mind that the US now says they have agreed to talks with Russia and that Ukraine will be involved – the damage has already been done. Ukraine has been humiliated and Europe too.
MAGA stalwarts are scratching around like slobbering sycophants for an explanation along the lines of this being part of Trump’s “weave,” his chess board strategical manoeuvring. In the end it will all come good and Putin will be beaten, goes the narrative, whilst peace will break out and he will save more lives this way. In fact, it seems there is no clever plan or subterfuge. The self proclaimed brilliant dealmaker is proving to be a hugely ignorant and naive negotiator
Trump’s selfish greed for an early and uncomplicated solution to the Ukraine crisis may well cause the opposite – and spark a major conflict. He has reversed years of western policy towards Putin’s mafia-run Russia which made it a pariah state and allowed it back into the fold. Sacrificing a large swathe of Ukraine to Putin and bypassing Europe will not end the war there and, it seems, everyone knows it apart from US President Donald Trump.
Either that, or he simply does not care. Or he really is an actual Russian asset. Incredibly senior sources say there are serious intelligence officials on both sides of the Atlantic scratching their heads for what to do next and asking how we got here. Deep suspicions remain about what Putin has on Trump. Or maybe it’s more simple and the truth is that Trump and his MAGA minions simply admire murderous despots.
On a practical level the US schism with NATO has been building up for years with Europe largely ignoring successive presidential demands for a greater contribution. These demands were, in the opinion of many experts, justified as Europe’s contribution to its own defences have been poor. But in behaving in such an aggressive, short-termist, insensitive, thuggish and undiplomatic manner Trump has smashed international convention.
US and UK intelligence agencies and militaries traditionally have worked together and, within the limitations of what’s good for their own countries, have swapped intelligence. That system has been dealt irreparable damage and made the world a more dangerous place for westerners. There were rules and the system kind of worked to hold back the despots and even many terror attacks.
But this buffoon and his far-right minions are taking a sledge hammer to an incredibly complex geopolitical world order whose flashpoints have until now been finely balanced and finessed by diplomacy.
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