ince Russia invaded Ukraine, the two sides have been locked in
a death struggle. Neither side wants to give in. The news media
are full of stories about how President Trump is ‘betraying’
Ukraine and causing chaos. They're doing their usual tactic of calling
him nasty names and inventing stories to question his sanity.
The American media, perhaps realizing they lost any credibility on Trump a long time ago, have been fairly quiet, but the British media are fantasizing about World War III and how Trump and Putin have “crumbled the world order.” Keir Starmer seems to be joining in on the Trump bashing, though it's hard to get accurate information these days because the media on all sides now see the world through ideological filters.
It's hard for Europeans to understand the concept of a Western world leader acting so aggressively. But the world has been sleepwalking toward catastrophe for decades. Big changes are needed. The one thing everyone agrees is that Trump and his team are not afraid of making changes.
On the surface, Trump's strategy seems incomprehensible. But there's a consistent pattern in his actions, as revealed in his dealings with Colombia, Panama, and Greenland.
Trump is a master at getting people to negotiate. The art of negotiating is for each side to be willing to compromise. If one side is unwilling to do that, as Zelensky is, Trump's strategy is to break down his resistance by proposing the worst possible outcome. The idea is that only when Zelensky becomes flexible enough to negotiate, the theory is, can the two sides talk and reveal the truth about their goals.
If Zelensky doesn't give in, Trump will threaten to cut military aid. Zelensky knows this would make his political and military situation untenable. Before negotiations can begin, Trump probably thinks, both sides have to be willing to talk. Perhaps Russia could be appeased with something less than a big chunk of their neighbor. Or maybe Ukraine would have to accept an outcome they don't want. Only if both sides are forced to talk will we discover the truth.
It's a high-risk strategy. If it works, it's a new form of hardball realpolitik and that terrible war is ended. If not, it could make the situation worse.
During Trump's first term, there was some annoying guy claiming to be Q who kept saying “Trust the Plan.” Now that Trump actually has a plan (we hope), that guy is nowhere to be seen.
feb 20 2025, 7:37 am
