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Give Steven Witkoff some credit. When the man starts negotiating, we end up with not only the worst possible deal in the world, but a self-defeating one that drugs us into the middle of a war, and does everything that we never wanted to do in the first place.
After Witkoff’s triumphs in Gaza, we’re stuck with rebuilding Gaza, meditating between Israel and Hamas, and trying to create a ‘Palestinian’ state.
Little surprise really because Witkoff admitted that he just picked up where the Biden team left off.
Now, Witkoff appears to be trying to pull off an even worse disaster in Ukraine.
The U.S. is offering Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive as part of NATO, American officials said Monday.
The proposal of so-called Article 5-like guarantees comes amid marathon talks among special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and Ukrainian and European officials in Berlin as Washington tries to pressure Kyiv into accepting terms that will end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and many European leaders have been reluctant to reach a deal without an explicit U.S. security guarantee, fearful that Russia, after a period of time, would attack again.
“The basis of that agreement is basically to have really, really strong guarantees, Article 5-like,” a senior U.S. official said. “Those guarantees will not be on the table forever. Those guarantees are on the table right now if there’s a conclusion that’s reached in a good way.”
This is lunacy.
There are some out there who believe that Russia invaded Ukraine because we ‘provoked’ Putin with NATO expansion into Eastern Europe. (That’s putting the chicken before the egg since Eastern European countries wanted into NATO because they feared, understandably after centuries of history, that Russia would invade them.) Now if you believe that, handing Ukraine NATO guarantees is pouring oil on the fire.
But forget that. Given the opportunity, Russia will invade Ukraine again. If you know anything about Putin, Russian history and the region, you know it’s coming. Especially if it gets a favorable territorial settlement this time around.
Handing over NATO-like security guarantees to Ukraine means we’ll be in the middle of it next time around.
And the insane part of this is that, much like Gaza, this is completely unnecessary because we do not need to make peace.
There is zero obligation for us to be involved, let alone to try and push Russia and Ukraine into a settlement that neither side wants and that will just set the stage for the next war.
Understanding that is actual realpolitik. Instead of realpolitik, we get real estate tycoons playing ‘let’s make a deal’ in conflicts and cultures they have no understanding of.
We don’t need to be involved in this war. If we want to support Ukraine, we can dispense weapons. If we don’t, we can let the Euros do it. If we want to get involved though, then we had better have a plan to win.
Witkoff’s latest disaster is the worst of every possible world, handing Russia a victory and then lining us up to be on the front line of the next Russia-Ukraine war.
This makes Witkoff’s Gaza disaster almost look good by comparison.
I know that there are folks in the administration who want some sort of Christmas peace stunt announcement. How about just having a nice Christmas tree out front and not getting the United States into a war with Russia 5 years from now when Trump is out of office and Newsom or someone even worse is at the wheel and half the military has been reassigned to put up solar panels.
The Trump administration handed Article V protection to Qatar, an Islamic terror state that is tied to half the terrorist groups in the world, obligating us to defend them if any of their victims fight back. Now we’ve moved on to Article V like (whatever that means) protection for Ukraine. The plan to end the Ukraine war, which we’re not fighting, is to have us fight the next one.
Lunacy is far too gentle a word. America has no dog in a Central European border dispute.
Ukraine was legally a neutral country when Russia invaded in 2014. We even spent a lot of political goodwill appeasing Russia on the Ukraine situation, so much as to making Ukraine give up their nukes to Russia on the condition that Russia would recognize the borders of the former Ukrainian SSR as part of a newly independent Ukraine. How’d that work out?
America First doesn’t mean Yankee Stay Home. That mentality got us into the horror stories that were both World Wars.
Appeasing Russia like we’ve been doing for the past 30 years hasn’t worked. Time for a better solution.
“To insist on strength is not warmongering.
It is PEACE-mongering.”
– Barry Goldwater
This is Trump’s responsibility and legacy. I don’t know why Trump is allowing Witkoff to represent the USA and himself in these negotiations, but Trump owns the results; he is the ‘big kahunna’. It is hard to believe that Trump would allow Witkoff to put forth a proposal against Trump’s wishes. Giving Ukraine Article V protection is completely contrary to ‘America First’, and what we thought we were voting for. Between this, H1-B visas, advanced chips for China, TikTok, and siding with AI over states rights, I don’t feel like I have an ‘America First’ president.
While President Trump is trying end the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S. needs to pull out while we are ahead.
Zelensky is a proven crook and most of his bureaucrats are too. Trump is playing a fool’s game with Putin.
The U.S. taxpayer has paid enough for this boondoggle.
What has coruption in Ukraine got to do with anything? So, for example, there is a ton of corruption in Thailand. Is it ok for Russia to invade it and kill civilians there? How about India? Corrupt as hell. You’d be ok with Russia invading it? Jamaica? Corruption. So it’s fair game for an invasion? Oh but, if there is ever the slightest mention about USA invading anywhere…? Venezuela, Greenland? What do the very same people say? Oh hell, noooo. Your Kremlin talking points make no sense. Invasion is only good when Putin does it. Unfortunately most of the useful idiots in comments sections across the internet are too brainwashed by RT to realise the nonsense they spout.
U.S. taxpayer dollars and the possibility of boots on the ground. You must be a Hunter Biden Supporter? Did you buy one of his digital paintings for a cool million?
“To insist on strength is not warmongering.
It is PEACE-mongering.”
– Barry Goldwater
“There is zero obligation for us to be involved” Sorry, but this is wrong. The biggest threat to Western civilization today is Russia. Neo-Bolshevik Russia, that has infiltrated every institution in the US and Europe. Remember, they are putting up statues of Marx and Lenin in territories they occupy in Ukraine. They are putting up statues of Stalin in their cities. It is neo-Bolshevik Russia and their Communist allies that are flooding the West with immigrants – including the radical Islamists you so often write of. Russia needs to be neutralized or the West is screwed – even more than it is already. Ukraine is doing America and Europe’s dirty work. If anything, this pro-Kremlin buffoon, Witkoff, should be negotiating much more than just vague security guarantees. Remember America, you cannot choose your enemies. Neo-Bolshevik Russia hates you and wants you destroyed. The appeasement bs – “oh no, let’s not anger Russia” – is weak and pathetic. Any true Conservative should be backing Ukraine to the fullest extent against this Duginist-regime that has already heavily infiltrated the Right. Perestroika was a deception. Slava Ukraini.
I suggest you look across the Pacific. China is our main peer for a conflict. We cannot fight a two front war. History and Germany have proven this several times over.
Clinton promised Ukraine that we would protect them if they gave up their nukes. What happened to that promise?
Obama and Biden screwed Ukraine many times over.
Zelensky has suspendeed elections in the Ukraine. Why? Maybe he wants to play the piano with his penis in front of Putin.
Go and get your tin foil hat, with Newsom for president 2028.
Ukraine’s constitution does not allow for elections during wartime.
China’s navy is old and runs on diesel. It is nowhere near large enough to move their combat fleet (which would be promptly sunk, even if it was).
Don’t know where you get your information from, but from my many sources, the greatest threats to the USA are; the Democrat Party, China, bankruptcy from reckless spending by Congress, apostasy(forsaking true Christianity), and various enemies within including Islam. In various ways, we are still supporting the rise of our mortal foe, China. In other generations, this would be called ‘treachery’.
All of which are controlled from the Kremlin. A bit like your mind.
My plan to end the war:
1. Cut off aid to Ukraine.
2. Lift sanctions on Russia, trade normally.
3. Tell NATO and the EU to shove it up their ass.
Without Russia as the enemy the globalist schemes are toast-hence their demented and desperate efforts to start a war with Russia.
Spoken like a true Duginist
You are correct, sir. I’ll take Dugin over Harari or any other globohomo philosopher.
Russia isn’t an enemy? Their foreign policy of manifest destiny says otherwise. Their funding and support of BLM and Antifa says otherwise. Their support of Communist front groups in the West says otherwise. Them funneling Muslim migrants into Poland and Hungary says otherwise. Their support for Venezuela, Iran, and China says otherwise, and their continued support for North Korea – a proxy they can use to attack us or Japan, says otherwise.
We get to define who our enemies are, not our enemies.
Putin hating some globalists is not proof of anything. Many dictators hate globalists, as they see them as competition. Nobody hates leftists more than other leftists.
Huh? Seems our democrats in congress supported BLM along with soros. The democrats covered for them, helped finance them with the bail bond and even ‘took a knee for them. The democrat nominee for VP then for president even openly encouraged them and started that financial support for bail bond, for those guilty of the act of insurrection. Mobs chanting they will take down our government that literally took over entire areas of our cities, burned down buildings, attacked civil servants, disrupted the finances of people that couldn’t go to work due to destroyed businesses and blockage. You know, the democrats that also supported defund the police.
You can’t blame russia for the acts of Congressional democrats, if you do then you may as well admit democrats are in league with our enemies.
It is with a little consternation that people don’t understand that Mr. Witkoff, as well as Mr.. Kushner, are simply doing the bidding of the Globalists who desire to renovate Ukraine into a showcase build-back-better “smart country” under their total Fourth Industrial Revolution digital control; but initially it had to be destroyed (kind of like their plan for the USA). In addition, they are both submissive to the factions who insist on a two-state solution, not to mention their own personal financial interests. These two duplicitous non-patriots would be a sad clown show if they weren’t so dangerous. Apparently they have hoodwinked the President.
It is sad to see. This is the continuation of the puritan holier than thou plan to rule the great unwashed. We know better than you! It means continued war as our national policy.
I have had enough. Fire the entire State Dept. and start over with about 10 dips and a couple of secretaries.
I’m all for firing most of Foggy Bottom, but this problem is Witkoff, Kushner and the rest of the ‘President of Peace’ brigade.
The comments here really represent the two sides of the argument well. I don’t claim to have an answer, but surely, if Trump loses enough of his “America first” voters, and we end up with a Gavin Newsom-style administration, this country, as we have known it, will effectively be over.
Somewhere behind all this is the GW Bush and neocon factions within the republican party. Neocons never met a war that they didn’t like and are only interested in the profits to be made from the logistics of war. As long as it’s not their friends and family, how many men and women die in endless wars is of no concern to them.
Trump is allowing[?] himself to be played for a chump and subsumed by neocons. Will the neocons succeed? That’s an open question……..
“Understanding that is actual realpolitik. Instead of realpolitik, we get real estate tycoons playing ‘let’s make a deal’ in conflicts and cultures they have no understanding of.”
Well said.
TRUMP = WITKOFF. QED. And Trump’s horrid pro-war/pro-jihad policies are only inspiring jihadists and other Jew haters to take out Jews here in the USA and the rest of the world just like we are witnessing at Brown and in Sydney. That he warmly received Mamdani to The White House instead of taking a firm policy against him and doing everything possible to kick him out says much. That he is supplying Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and others with weaponry in greater quantity than Israel has is absolutely disgusting. That he is totally screwing up with Syria adds to his garbage policies. Yes, I voted for him, but Trump sucks. What’s the point of closing our borders if we train Qatari pilots to fly F35s? Trump is a disaster. He is out to destroy Israel. And he will destroy America if we follow along. Why is he allowing Qatari money to saturate out universities is another one? Why did he accept that presidential plane from Qatar is yet another? It’s endless. He sucks.
Joel:
Are you implicitly suggesting that you would’ve preferred Kamala Harris or that she would’ve done a better job? Be clear, don’t equivocate. There’s too much of that in this forum as it is.
Excellent descriptions. Ironically enough, even in some Ancient Greek literature one can find rich oligarchs getting their countries in similar messes.
Another point is, why should the American Taxpayer be defending people who hate us?
The war in Ukraine will be over when Putin says it’s over. The Donald doesn’t have the cards here. Biden and his woke clowns destroyed the fighting capability of our military. It will take several years before we can go head to head with Russia because of this. Should the EU pick a fight with Russia, they will be destroyed. They don’t have the weapons or manpower to compete and are led by woke pussies. Don’t believe Russia wants to take any part of Europe but they do want to reclaim Ukraine. We can thank the Obama State Dept and CIA for starting all this shit in 2014 with their color revolution. Right now Putin is calling the shots. .
How reliable are US guarantees? Ask some former American-backed leaders of South Vietnam and Afghanistan for a start…
Let’s not repeat Wilson’s mistake of involving ourselves in europe’s wars. Europeans war on each other. It’s what they do; it’s who they are. All our involvement in WW1 did was to extend it, collapse Russia, enable Weimar, cause WW2 ETO, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, Red China. Europeans can fight all they want over their borders; they always have and always will. They can’t stop themselves, so let them fight.