
<p>We all saw what happened to President Biden after he surrendered Afghanistan and allowed a pro-American government to fall to the Taliban terrorists. The United States and the free world are still paying the price for that monumental foreign policy blunder.</p>



<p>Today, the question is whether President Trump will commit a similar blunder by allowing President Putin to win a victory in Ukraine. ; Perhaps he will not take over the entire nation at this moment, but he will have won critical territory, resources, strategic positioning, an enhanced prestige &#8230; and the ability to regroup for future aggressions.</p>



<p>In failing to totally defeat the madman of Moscow, the United States, NATO and the world democracies will have suffered a setback. ; Trump seems like the last person who would allow all that to happen to his American first agenda.</p>



<p>However, Trump does tend to fake one way and then move in a different or modified direction. He usually stakes out extreme, controversial, or even provocative positions at the onset of negotiations. It is his characteristic art-of-the-deal style. We saw that in the past when pressuring NATO members to meet their funding obligations – and more recently on the issue of tariffs.</p>



<p>Trump has often spoken highly of Putin – too highly, in some cases – but has acted more firmly. ; Over the interests and objections of Putin, Trump was the first President to send military weaponry to Ukraine – a reversal of the Obama policy. ; Trump attacked Russian-controlled facilities in Syria – and even engaged directly with Russian Troops. ; He closed down a Russian spy facility. ; He booted Russian diplomats out of the country. ; He imposed a number of sanctions on Russia. ; He approved the addition of North Macedonia to NATO. ; He pressured to make NATO stronger by getting member countries to increase their defense budgets. ; All these actions were in opposition to Putin’s stated interests.</p>



<p>I hope that this is what we are seeing in terms of the war in Ukraine. ; What he and administration officials are saying publicly does not bode well for the future of Ukraine. ; ; I was especially concerned with the recent statements by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – that we will not put boots on the ground in support of Ukraine and that Ukraine joining NATO is off the table.</p>



<p>In the first place, I do not believe that those should be our policies and in the second place, they should not be bargaining chips removed from the table before negotiations even start. ; As readers may recall from past commentaries, I believe NATO membership for Ukraine is a non-negotiable term in any agreement. ; It should be an accomplished fact before other terms of an agreement – such as a secession of sanctions – are implemented.</p>



<p>Vice President Vance seemed to have rolled back Hegseth’s comments when he stated that nothing is off the table. ; Even if that is now true, Hegseth’s comments have undermined the pro-Ukraine negotiating position.</p>



<p>To be perfectly frank, I do not like what I see. In this conflict, Ukraine is our ally – or supposed to be. Russia is the enemy. In terms of Israel, Trump talks to and strategizes with Israel. He does not meet with the folks in Tehran first &#8230; to talk ABOUT Israel. </p>



<p>Trump has said that Ukraine will be at the table for any ceasefire or peace negotiations. At the same time, he has sent Secretary of State Rubio to Saudi Arabia to meet with the Russian foreign minister and the essentially in-charge Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – without representatives of Ukraine.</p>



<p>Trump himself has intimated that any peace deal will require Ukraine to surrender land to Russia.  ;Whether that means permanent possession or just allowing Russia to occupy the land as future longer-term negotiations continue is unclear. ; Would an agreement officially end the war, or would be like the agreement that ended the Korean fighting, but not the war? ; We are officially still in a state of war with North Korea. ;</p>



<p>Trump has also indicated that Russia should be returned to the G7 – making it the G8 again. ; I would see that as something to discuss AFTER Russian troops are withdrawn from Ukraine and a ceasefire has been in place for at least a year or two.</p>



<p>In several past commentaries, I was critical of President Biden’s pre-invasion declarations that the United States would not put boots on the ground &#8230; ; that America would not send weapons requested by President Zelenskyy &#8230; that we would not enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine. ; Conceding those and other points before the invasion served as a green light for Putin. ; It seems we are doing the same thing again – maybe even worse.</p>



<p>The invasion of Ukraine has been the worst act of messianic aggression in Europe since Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. ; Putin’s attacks on the people of Ukraine – including war crimes – have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and military personnel – including many of his own young men and women. ; He has caused enormous damage to the homes, businesses and infrastructure of Ukraine. In addition, he has kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children for “re-education” in Russia. They are the hostages of this war and must be returned as part of any ceasefire agreement.</p>



<p>Putin is personally responsible for the deaths of every soldier and every man, woman and child killed in his dirty little war. ; The rumored peace plans will not only fail to hold him accountable, but Putin will literally be rewarded.</p>



<p>It is not only a matter of what Putin has done, but what he will do. ; His dream of bring all of Ukraine into his empire will not be diminished by anything less than his utter defeat.</p>



<p>Putin’s crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished –much less rewarded. ; If Trump’s path to peace is to give Putin a victory, I can only hope that there are enough members of the House and Senate to vote to continue military aid to Ukraine – enough to override a veto. ; I am certain that there are enough members who believe in the need to defeat Putin, but not sure if there are enough with sufficient strength in their convictions to overcome a Trump plan – a plan that demonstrably failed miserably when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain imposed succumbed to Hitler.</p>



<p>We do not know which person will emerge in this situation – the America First Trump, the Biden Trump or the Chamberlain Trump. I hope for the best &#8230; but fear the worst.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Will Trump make Ukraine his Afghanistan?
