
<p>If you believe the narrative, you might think that President Biden is on the side of Ukraine and President Trump is on the side of Russia. In fact, Biden and Trump are on the side of a very similar negotiated peace. They are both pursuing the failed Neville Chamberlain policy of containment and appeasement.</p>



<p>(The photo atop this commentary is British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain waving the agreement with Adolph Hitler – agreeing to allow the Fuhrer to keep the recently conquered Sudetenland in return for “peace in our time.” ; And how well did that work out?)</p>



<p>Neither Biden nor Trump supports a victory for Ukraine and the defeat of Russia – as meaning Putin withdraws from every inch of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea and the eastern regions. Russia pays reparations and Ukraine joins NATO. That is probably too much to hope for, but that is what justice and victory look like.</p>



<p>Biden has never pursued a policy of victory for Ukraine. ; ; As is his habit, he talks tough but never follows through (think Israel). ; His too little/too late policy has dragged out the Ukraine conflict – while pursuing a Putin face-saving negotiated peace agreement.</p>



<p>Trump has been more direct in his reluctance to continue to fund the Ukrainians, but his fundamental policy is for both sides to reach a mutually acceptable negotiated agreement. ;</p>



<p>The only way for a negotiated agreement to be reached is for Ukraine to cede the lands Russian soldiers currently occupy to Russia. That means Putin wins. It is short of a total victory for Putin but the Madman of Moscow comes out ahead – with plenty of time to ponder and prepare for his next conquest.</p>



<p>Florida Senator Marco Rubio – reporting on his conversations with Trump – says that the former President wants to put Ukraine in the strongest possible negotiating position before proceeding with actual negotiations. ; That suggests that Trump is not the patsy for Putin as claimed by Democrats and the left-leaning news media – but not on the side of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy either.</p>



<p>However, making a negotiated compromise the goal instead of a clear victory for Ukraine is still beneficial to Putin – just as is Biden’s too little/too late policy behind which he pushes z as he seeks a negotiated settlement along the same terms as Trump.</p>



<p>Instead of pressuring Zelenskyy into a compromise settlement – in which the nation loses 20 percent of its most strategic real estate and resources – Biden and Trump should be lock solid in expressing America’s repudiation of Putin’s strategy of rebuilding his old Soviet Union. Just the fact that it is known that America’s policy is compromised encourages Putin to carry on.</p>



<p>Yielding to Putin’s aggression in any way further weakens American influence and power in the world – as did the disastrous surrender to the terrorist Taliban in Afghanistan. ; It will be just another example of the United States not being feared by enemies or trusted by Allies. That means more assaults on the free world in the future – maybe in Taiwan &#8230; or coming after the rest of Ukraine &#8230; against American bases in the Middle East &#8230; Chinese bases in Cuba.</p>



<p>What Trump and Biden appear to be proposing is the old “containment policy” that resulted in the conflicts in Southeast Asia when President Truman imposed it in the 1940s. Accepting each incremental advance by the Communist nations led to their expansion throughout the world.</p>



<p>That ended when President Reagan changed course. Rather than contain the authoritarian nations to whatever land they could seize, he and his advisors developed a policy of aggressively pushing back those who were dreaming of world domination. As a result, enemy interests were driven out of areas – culminating in the collapse of the entire Soviet Union and the liberating of what was then called the “captive nations.”</p>



<p>That is the lesson to be learned. Not the containment and appeasement of Neville Chamberlain. Russia must lose just as Iran must lose – or America and the free world lose.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Biden and Trump agree on Ukraine War … unfortunately
