DDonald Trump is reasonable and he is right. Basking in the glory of the Gaza ceasefire, he flew to Florida on Friday night with his entourage of reporters. The drums of war rumbled across Europe and the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelenskybegged him to provide him with Tomahawk missiles. What was his answer?
Trump is clearly fed up with this. He told Zelensky: go make a deal. He said: “They must stop the war immediately. Go along the front line, wherever it is… and both sides must return home. Go to your families, stop the killing, that's all.” The question is closed. Tomahawks would simply mean escalation and more killings. Make a deal.
Considering that just last month Trump offered Ukraine could take back all of my territory occupied by Russia, one must take into account its capriciousness. Everything may mean nothing. But modern diplomacy is rarely about ideology or consistency. It's about ego and show. It means seizing every moment as it comes and seeing what happens.
Trump clearly seized the opportunity to force Benjamin Netanyahu to stop killing Palestinians. In doing so, he opened a door to the world that had been closed. Even those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome had to approve. The motive doesn't matter as long as the result is correct.
Processing Ukraine The West has gotten lost in the dusty corridors of NATO, the EU and the UN. Their leaders have long stopped wishing Zelensky well. They give him enough help to keep fighting, but not winning. They enjoy telling the world how terrible Vladimir Putin is and telling Zelensky to stand firm.
The “hawks” will now respond that a ceasefire along the existing front line will not “solve” anything. He will simply repeat the 2015 ceasefire and cede more territory to Russia. This would be a reward for violating international law and would let down thousands of Ukrainians who died for his countrynot to mention the millions of Westerners who have paid dearly for their energy bills. A destroyed Ukraine is more honorable than a shameful world. What's wrong with several Tomahawks falling on Moscow?
Both Gaza and Ukraine represented territorial conflicts from which the West could theoretically remain aloof. History will judge whether the nature and level of participation truly contributed to the cause of a settlement or lasting peace. In the case of Ukraine, the US and NATO at least responded realistically and cautiously. Joe Biden established strict restrictions on military aid. to minimize the risk of escalation. Trump wisely stuck to this line.
Now he says he wants to end the conflict. We assume that in a conversation with Putin last week, he agreed not to give Zelensky Tomahawks. We're waiting to see what Putin will agree to in return, presumably so Trump can throw another Gaza-style glory fest. If this is the price of ending this war, it will be cheap. But Putin is not Netanyahu, and Trump has no leverage over him. He takes risks.
The United States' record in solving world problems over the past three decades has been dismal. Trump has long railed against foreign entanglements and protested that they are not America's business. He is unwilling to send troops into a danger zone and never claims a divine mission for the United States to save the world for freedom. But if he wants another global welcome, he will have to hold Putin to the fire. Just because it will be difficult is not an argument against trying.
New realism dictates that in such situations we do not stand on ceremony and do not utter abstract nouns. We deal with the world as it is, not as we want it to be. Trump must now create security guarantees on Ukraine's current front lines with Russia this can satisfy both Putin and Zelensky. He will have to do the same in the Gaza Strip to satisfy Israel and Palestine. Since he refuses to commit American troops to any of these enterprises, his powers of persuasion must be superhuman if his reputation is to be protected.
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Trump has gotten this far without using the diplomatic machinery of his NATO or other allies. He is right that the Allies have so far failed to achieve success. He operated through a decrepit group of courtiers eager to do his bidding and with nothing to lose. Their only merit so far has been making progress.
Trump's clear intention is to end two bitter wars through personal charisma. He relies on his influence over other equally selfish leaders standing in his way. Ukraine is at a dead end. Trump is simply calling for a stop to the fighting, a stop to the killing, and the return of soldiers to their homes and families. We can call it vanity and selfishness, but so what? This is a call for peace from the world's most powerful leader. We should wish Trump well in his efforts and congratulate him if he succeeds.
