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President Donald Trump says he is going to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine. Then, last week, even before negotiations started, our secretary of defense gave away two negotiating positions at a NATO conference in Europe. One, Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO, and two, Ukraine cannot gain back any of its territory taken by Russia.
Is this Trump’s art of the deal? It reminds me more of the Munich agreement in 1938, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain traveled to Germany and appeased Adolf Hitler.
What is going to be the response of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and the weak-kneed Republicans in Congress, the so-called freedom party?
Before and during World War II, America provided more than $31 billion in lend-lease aid to Great Britain. This $31 billion is equivalent to about $700 billion in today’s dollars. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Congress has authorized about $175 billion in aid to Ukraine, a fraction of the lend-lease aid provided to Great Britain.
Any peace must require an iron-clad security guarantee for an independent Ukraine, either NATO membership or having American boots on the ground in Ukraine. Which choice makes common sense and a safer Europe?
Stephen Freeman
Presque Isle
