The Trump-Putin Summit, as it is being framed, a peace deal “land-swap” between Russia and Ukraine, is very troubling and should sound alarm bells at home and abroad.
This looks like carving up of spheres of influence reminiscent of great powers in bygone eras. But in this case with the worst mistakes of the past repeated and amplified.
Practically speaking, it shows a troubling lack judgement and understanding of the world and the kind of hubris that has, historically, spelled disaster.
Russia is granted an entirely unwarranted exceptionalism unsubstantiated by its economy, military, influence, standing, or irresponsible behavior. Why would the world’s singular power elevate and legitimate Russia and Putin?
This approach also fails to understand the limits of U.S. power. As singular as we are, there are limits to U.S. power We could not decisively determine outcomes in the Middle East despite some twenty years of war, trillions of dollars, and thousands of lives. But we’re going to attempt to dictate terms to Europe and Ukraine, will little leverage and limited influence?
In the case of Ukraine, we have a regional heavyweight, floating much of its war effort and supported by Europe, unwilling to compromise its sovereignty. Maybe if there was something resembling a security guarantee they might Zelensky might be enticed to negotiate. The U.S. may very well walk away from its limited support, but that won’t accelerate peace, it will delay it. Maybe the purpose of the Summit is to created the pretext to break with Ukraine. It’s looking that way.
Regardless, this is just another gift to Putin. The tally thus far: a fractured alliance, fragmenting security environment, pressure on friends, embrace of Russia, no ceasefire, and Russia elevated.
All in all, this Summit is shaping up to be a disaster.
Trump is the biggest mistake that has ever happened to the United States. He has no knowledge whatsoever on how to run a country. He has put loyalists, instead of qualified people, into his cabinet. The man is a joke, a patsy!! How do we deal with our corrupt Supreme Court? After all, they gave Trump the green light to run for office. Colorado requested he be removed from their ballot. How ironic and hypocritical!!! The president says the states should take control when disasters affect their areas. Well, the insurrection was a disaster!!! Colorado had it right!!!!! Trump should never have been allowed to run for office. Has the Supreme Court EVER taken responsibility for the mess they made? Absolutely not!!! You know why?? Because they too, as well as Trump, caters to the Oligarchs and don’t care about laws or the people in our country!!!! When are they going to be held responsible for their disastrous decision??!! I really would like to know this? And how will they be punished?? They need to be!!!! NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!!!!!!
Colonel Vindman, have you seen or listened to the most recent Shield of The Republic? If not, please do so because I would love to hear your opinion. Eric Edelman and Eliot Cohen had as their guest Fred Starr, a long time Russia/Soviet Union expert and the current Chairman of the Central Asia and Caucasus Institute (CACI). He seems to be of the opinion that the Russian war effort in Ukraine is about to collapse, their war chest is bankrupt, the soldiers are shooting their commanding officers, and the Z guys who live on Telegram are openly saying Russia has failed, the war needs to end, and it was all a colossal mistake. He even made it sound like Putin’s days are numbered, Russia will break up soon, and the Central Asian countries, the Stans, are about to burst out of Russia and become independent countries free of Moscow.
Starr made it sound like this is absolutely NOT the time to make any territorial concessions to Putin on Ukraine at all, nor any security concessions like no NATO membership. He did however say that with Putin on the brink of disaster, he might do something crazy like drop a nuke or invade the Baltics as a last ditch effort for relevance. What say you? This total collapse of Putin and Russia is exactly what Jake Sullivan wanted to avoid from what I’ve read. Do you agree? Frankly, it sounds great to me. Starr thinks it would issue in a period of reform in Russia that would be for the good. I would love to hear your opinion.
Trump has no capabilities to broker the end of a cat fight. He has no taxt, no diplomatic skills, no soft people skills. He's more abrasive than salt on a wound. Give me a break, to actually earn a Nobel Peace Prize, one must be actively engaged in the outside world, not the facade in the mirror.
The usual State Department way is to find two opposing warlords who are greedy for millions of dollars. Pay them to come to the White House for a shave, haircut and presser in exchange for beaucoup cash.
a really great issue. covers the true nature of trump peace maker initiative or better yet lack of a peace maker. illusions of peace or pr wins are just that public relations spin. good job,
Truly an interesting mind game (or mindfark?) to consider.
While Trump could hardly be in genuine contention for ANYTHING positive, it might benefit the world for him to receive this vastly undeserved "prize".
Perhaps the only path to Trump's "heart" for those of us w/o money is to be just as dishonest as he. Odd that he can be so blind to a reality that pretty much every other human on Earth is perfectly aware of.
I still think that if the Nobel committee gave Trump an enforceable guarantee that he would get the Peace Prize on condition that Russia leaves Ukraine, gives back all its territory including Crimea, and Ukraine joins NATO with a full Article 5 mutual defense pact and NATO boots on the ground to keep Russia out of Ukraine forever, that deal would be worth it and Trump would comply with every single condition. That’s how badly he wants that Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee needs to step up and do the necessary. They could even give themselves the damn Peace Prize along with Trump. It’s the ultimate solution and it would work.
Trump has apparently decided that there is something more important than simply "control", and that method will be used for "controlling" Trump, hopefully.
Ann.....A Nobel Peace Prize given to trump would only cheapen the prize just like the Medal Freedom given to Rush Limbaugh by trump. I would love to see Russia lose and Ukraine get all of their territory back and all of the children they stole and make Russia pay to rebuild what they destroyed since they started the war. And an end to Putin!
Welcoming a war criminal onto U.S. soil? A putrid man who has stolen over 20,000 Ukrainian children. The remaining parts of the world that haven’t yet looked away clearly see our decay. Our standing will be lost for generations.
Trying to make claims for peace that he's had no part of instead of working to legitimately heal conflicts where they do exist e.g.Ukraine, Palestine, Cambodia.
Only shows a president desperate for Nobel recognition and a narcissism beyond belief!
“…fragile, driven by optics.” yes, the sum total of Trump/-ism.
Unfortunately, Trump has more in common with the two war criminals, Netanyahoo & Putin, than he does with genuine peace-seekers. If he EVER wins a Nobel Peace Prize it will be the ultimate in hypocrisy & grifting!
The Trump-Putin Summit, as it is being framed, a peace deal “land-swap” between Russia and Ukraine, is very troubling and should sound alarm bells at home and abroad.
This looks like carving up of spheres of influence reminiscent of great powers in bygone eras. But in this case with the worst mistakes of the past repeated and amplified.
Practically speaking, it shows a troubling lack judgement and understanding of the world and the kind of hubris that has, historically, spelled disaster.
Russia is granted an entirely unwarranted exceptionalism unsubstantiated by its economy, military, influence, standing, or irresponsible behavior. Why would the world’s singular power elevate and legitimate Russia and Putin?
This approach also fails to understand the limits of U.S. power. As singular as we are, there are limits to U.S. power We could not decisively determine outcomes in the Middle East despite some twenty years of war, trillions of dollars, and thousands of lives. But we’re going to attempt to dictate terms to Europe and Ukraine, will little leverage and limited influence?
In the case of Ukraine, we have a regional heavyweight, floating much of its war effort and supported by Europe, unwilling to compromise its sovereignty. Maybe if there was something resembling a security guarantee they might Zelensky might be enticed to negotiate. The U.S. may very well walk away from its limited support, but that won’t accelerate peace, it will delay it. Maybe the purpose of the Summit is to created the pretext to break with Ukraine. It’s looking that way.
Regardless, this is just another gift to Putin. The tally thus far: a fractured alliance, fragmenting security environment, pressure on friends, embrace of Russia, no ceasefire, and Russia elevated.
All in all, this Summit is shaping up to be a disaster.
Trump is the biggest mistake that has ever happened to the United States. He has no knowledge whatsoever on how to run a country. He has put loyalists, instead of qualified people, into his cabinet. The man is a joke, a patsy!! How do we deal with our corrupt Supreme Court? After all, they gave Trump the green light to run for office. Colorado requested he be removed from their ballot. How ironic and hypocritical!!! The president says the states should take control when disasters affect their areas. Well, the insurrection was a disaster!!! Colorado had it right!!!!! Trump should never have been allowed to run for office. Has the Supreme Court EVER taken responsibility for the mess they made? Absolutely not!!! You know why?? Because they too, as well as Trump, caters to the Oligarchs and don’t care about laws or the people in our country!!!! When are they going to be held responsible for their disastrous decision??!! I really would like to know this? And how will they be punished?? They need to be!!!! NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!!!!!!
Colonel Vindman, have you seen or listened to the most recent Shield of The Republic? If not, please do so because I would love to hear your opinion. Eric Edelman and Eliot Cohen had as their guest Fred Starr, a long time Russia/Soviet Union expert and the current Chairman of the Central Asia and Caucasus Institute (CACI). He seems to be of the opinion that the Russian war effort in Ukraine is about to collapse, their war chest is bankrupt, the soldiers are shooting their commanding officers, and the Z guys who live on Telegram are openly saying Russia has failed, the war needs to end, and it was all a colossal mistake. He even made it sound like Putin’s days are numbered, Russia will break up soon, and the Central Asian countries, the Stans, are about to burst out of Russia and become independent countries free of Moscow.
Starr made it sound like this is absolutely NOT the time to make any territorial concessions to Putin on Ukraine at all, nor any security concessions like no NATO membership. He did however say that with Putin on the brink of disaster, he might do something crazy like drop a nuke or invade the Baltics as a last ditch effort for relevance. What say you? This total collapse of Putin and Russia is exactly what Jake Sullivan wanted to avoid from what I’ve read. Do you agree? Frankly, it sounds great to me. Starr thinks it would issue in a period of reform in Russia that would be for the good. I would love to hear your opinion.
Trump has no capabilities to broker the end of a cat fight. He has no taxt, no diplomatic skills, no soft people skills. He's more abrasive than salt on a wound. Give me a break, to actually earn a Nobel Peace Prize, one must be actively engaged in the outside world, not the facade in the mirror.
The usual State Department way is to find two opposing warlords who are greedy for millions of dollars. Pay them to come to the White House for a shave, haircut and presser in exchange for beaucoup cash.
a really great issue. covers the true nature of trump peace maker initiative or better yet lack of a peace maker. illusions of peace or pr wins are just that public relations spin. good job,
Truly an interesting mind game (or mindfark?) to consider.
While Trump could hardly be in genuine contention for ANYTHING positive, it might benefit the world for him to receive this vastly undeserved "prize".
Perhaps the only path to Trump's "heart" for those of us w/o money is to be just as dishonest as he. Odd that he can be so blind to a reality that pretty much every other human on Earth is perfectly aware of.
I still think that if the Nobel committee gave Trump an enforceable guarantee that he would get the Peace Prize on condition that Russia leaves Ukraine, gives back all its territory including Crimea, and Ukraine joins NATO with a full Article 5 mutual defense pact and NATO boots on the ground to keep Russia out of Ukraine forever, that deal would be worth it and Trump would comply with every single condition. That’s how badly he wants that Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee needs to step up and do the necessary. They could even give themselves the damn Peace Prize along with Trump. It’s the ultimate solution and it would work.
There seems little reason that it shouldn't.
Trump has apparently decided that there is something more important than simply "control", and that method will be used for "controlling" Trump, hopefully.
Thank you, Ann!
Ann.....A Nobel Peace Prize given to trump would only cheapen the prize just like the Medal Freedom given to Rush Limbaugh by trump. I would love to see Russia lose and Ukraine get all of their territory back and all of the children they stole and make Russia pay to rebuild what they destroyed since they started the war. And an end to Putin!
Welcoming a war criminal onto U.S. soil? A putrid man who has stolen over 20,000 Ukrainian children. The remaining parts of the world that haven’t yet looked away clearly see our decay. Our standing will be lost for generations.
Trying to make claims for peace that he's had no part of instead of working to legitimately heal conflicts where they do exist e.g.Ukraine, Palestine, Cambodia.
Only shows a president desperate for Nobel recognition and a narcissism beyond belief!
Emily....and another reason he wants one is because Obama received one. trump is soooo jealous of Obama!
“…fragile, driven by optics.” yes, the sum total of Trump/-ism.
Unfortunately, Trump has more in common with the two war criminals, Netanyahoo & Putin, than he does with genuine peace-seekers. If he EVER wins a Nobel Peace Prize it will be the ultimate in hypocrisy & grifting!