I have long said that Trump is running a transnational extortion gang from the Oval Office. There is no better example of it than the insulting 28-point ‘peace capitulation plan’ he’s attempting to impose on Ukraine on behalf of the Kremlin and a now-indicted war criminal. These are not the actions of a Commander in Chief; they are the actions of a spineless appeaser who has driven America’s reputation in the world deeper into the sewer. It would be disgusting enough if this were about isolationism, but it’s much more than that, and can only be about capitulation to blackmail and or self-enrichment.
On December 18, 2008, Viktor Nedopas, Charge d’Affairs of the Ukrainian Embassy in Iraq, said to the remaining contingent of Ukrainian military personnel at Camp Echo in Iraq:
“Enduring peace, stability and prosperity are common values to fight for in the modern world. Your mission in Iraq has been successfully completed.”
We can argue all day long about the success or failure of the Iraq war. However, what we can say with certainty is that for Republican political leadership in times of conflict, truth and honour seem to leave the building. We all remember the words of Donald Rumsfeld when asked about the lack of evidence linking Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq to the supply of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to terrorist groups:
“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”
These words could have been written by Stephen Miller or JD Vance yesterday, because they seem to follow the same ‘Alternative Facts Handbook’. When it comes to known knowns, it’s known that despite Ukraine not being a member of NATO, over the duration of the Iraq war, Ukraine contributed 6000 troops to Operation Iraqi Freedom, 18 of whom died supporting a mission that politicians likely knew to be based on a lie. As noted by Dr David Kilcullen, who was senior adviser to General (Ret.) David Petraeus stated:
The Ukrainians were the third largest contingent in Iraq from 2003-2008, by the time they withdrew
Ukraine has long been a strategic football, dating back to 1994 when they were deceived into handing over their nuclear arsenal to the US in return for ‘security assurances’ from the US and the UK. Never has a word meant so much when it comes to a signed agreement. Turns out, an assurance is not a guarantee, Ukraine was told in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea and allies sat on their hands. Those who have followed my work will know I have written several pieces on the Ukraine conflict, so to help with context, I have linked three relevant pieces below so as to save me from embarking on a history lesson for those who might choose to jump in and blame Ukraine for the place they find themselves in.
It is difficult for me to begin to articulate the deep anger I feel about the betrayal of Ukraine by the US, but this goes much deeper than that; it's also about the failure of Europe and the UK to do what needs to be done to bring an end to this brutal, unprovoked invasion of a sovereign nation.
Let’s be clear, Trump has NEVER wanted to support Ukraine; he was instrumental in blocking military aid appropriated by the Biden Administration for six months when the Senate blocked aid in December 2023. This deliberate act of spite led to thousands more innocent civilians being murdered by Putin’s war machine. Since coming into office, he has done everything in his power to aid and abet Putin in his prosecution of an illegal invasion. He has blamed Zelensky, called him a dictator, and sent US envoys to speak to opposition leaders in Ukraine to try to unseat him. He’s withheld critical intelligence and vital munitions while attempting to extort rights to energy and rare-earth minerals. He’s now turned weapons supplies into a profit centre, making billions from the suffering of an allied nation. He’s now just a corrupt arms dealer using a chokehold strategy to assist an indicted war criminal friend of his.
The only thing he hasn’t done is totally withdraw US support, and that’s now the threat he’s laid on the table if Ukraine is not prepared to capitulate to Russia before Thanksgiving. NEVER has an act of betrayal been so shamelessly delivered to a country on its knees. From a US foreign policy perspective, it’s madness. Trump is attempting to hand Putin the gift of a lifetime for nothing in return, and that’s what doesn’t add up. There are only two possible conclusions: Putin has kompromat on Trump dating back to his many Trips to Russia in his Epstein days, and/or Russia is one of the reasons Trump’s crypto wealth is skyrocketing. There can be no other explanation for Trump to take the position he has.
The Russian economy is a basket case, despite claims to the contrary. The US could force him to withdraw with a few simple actions: impose further crippling sanctions that prevent him from exporting energy, supply Tomahawk cruise missiles to allow Ukraine to destroy Russian oil installations and seize the Russian shadow fleet. None of this will happen, of course, because Putin is clearly blackmailing Trump. If each of these measures were put to a vote on the House floor and the Senate, there is little doubt they would pass with a comfortable majority. I’m also pretty sure that Europe would make significant contributions to the cost of any new military package.
There remains strong public support for Ukraine. Polling conducted as recently as October showed there’s nearly 70% support for U.S. military aid and stronger sanctions, with Republicans particularly supportive. In addition, close to 70% of Americans across the political spectrum believe Ukraine should receive security guarantees if it commits to negotiating a resolution. This is NOT about public or political support; that support is clearly there. This is about a president who is prepared to defy the will of the American people once again, for a reason that makes no strategic or geopolitical sense.
It’s time for Europe to wake up to the realisation that the US is no longer an ally to ANYONE. This problem is as much on Europe as it is the US. Time and again, we have heard the statement ‘We stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine for as long as it takes, ’ but the actions never match the rhetoric. I have long said that Trump was absolutely right to insist that NATO allies pay their fair share toward the cost of defending Europe. For far too long, European so-called allies have ducked their responsibility when it comes to funding NATO, and that was WRONG.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, NOBODY gave them a chance. Military experts believed Russia would be in the capital in a matter of weeks, if not days. Their spirit and determination led Western allies to believe that investing in the defence of Ukraine was a sound decision, and, man, have they delivered on that investment. A population of 10 million has reduced Russian military capability by 30%. It is estimated that the war is costing Russia upwards of $500 million per day. Close to a million military personnel have been either killed or wounded. As I write this, Russians are queuing for petrol and suffering significant food shortages.
Putin has been trying to take the Donbas region for 11 years, ever since its initial invasion of Crimea in 2014. The UK defence ministry estimates it would take them a further four and a half years to seize the region, but Trump wants to hand it all to Putin as a Christmas present. In the absence of capitulation and assuming they could achieve the objective by 2030, this would likely lead to 2 million more Russian casualties - both killed and wounded - on top of the 1 million troops Russia has already lost since the war started in 2022. To suggest that Ukraine is losing this war is frankly nonsense, and I’m sure any of Trump’s military advisors doing their job properly will have made that clear.
In truth, nobody is a winner in a war of attrition, but one thing is for sure: when fighting for the survival of your country, you can achieve extraordinary things, as the Viet Cong demonstrated to the US in the Vietnam War. The level of innovation that the Ukrainian military has brought to this fight is nothing short of exceptional. To date, they have absorbed every challenge that their own key ally has thrown at them. They have innovated and, in the midst of war, have stood up their own military-industrial complex to fill the holes deliberately punched in their defence by a US president who has effectively become a puppet of the Kremlin.
They might be suffering every day from Putin’s relentless attacks on civilian targets designed to break the will of the people. However, shaken and often broken-hearted at the devastating loss of civilian life, they crawl from the wreckage, dust themselves down, and are ready to fight and sacrifice for another day, because every day they survive is a victory for the country they love.
As Trump's 28-point plan demonstrates, the US is complicit in the commission of war crimes as it attempts to aid and abet a longtime adversary seize control of a sovereign nation in contravention of international law. Its complicity is even more egregious by the methods the Trump administration has used to negotiate with an indicted war criminal unilaterally. This is a fait accompli with no input from either Ukraine or its European allies, who have provided more funding for the defence of Ukraine than the US. It represents an arrogant, egregious lack of respect for long-time allies who have fought and died alongside Americans in their war on terror.
In my view, the time has finally come for NATO to step up, ask the US to leave, and facilitate the birth of a new alliance from the coalition of the willing. They need to finally wake up to the reality that the US is no longer prepared to meet its Article 5 obligations to the current alliance. It’s time to call Trump’s bluff, because if he thinks he can counter the Chinese threat without NATO, he needs to seek medical help. It’s time to seize the estimated $245 billion of frozen Russian assets in Europe and provide not just the funding for weapons but also military advisors on the ground. In addition, it’s time to close the skies over Ukraine. This stalemate cannot be allowed to continue; it’s time for action without US assistance, because if Putin wins this fight, then Europe faces a perilous imminent threat.
In the NEXT POST, we’ll look in detail at the part European partners have played up until this point, because they have hardly covered themselves in glory. I’ll break down all the contributions and examine what I believe to be the only way forward, in which the US should play no part. The last thing Ukraine needs right now is a fox guarding the hen house.
So pissed off at this bull shit surrender plan!
Russia go home and take taco with you!