Interview with Rear Admiral Mike Hewitt. Former Deputy Director of Global Operations, Joint Staff, The Pentagon.
He said he was going to broker peace, and Donald Trump means business.
But does peace mean appeasement? Is Putin unpunished a bigger threat than ever before?
Europe, for decades now, has been divided, defiant, deluded and distracted, and as a result, have enabled a war of attrition to be conducted on its doorstep.
For too long, Ukraine has become a political football. Selfies with Zelensky the new PR badge of honour. But when it came to the tough questions of sanctions, weapons and aid, the continent showed a feeble reluctance to do anything that really moved the needle. Intertwined economies dependent on Russian gas after a generation of naive Net Zero policies. Raging domestic issues with economic and open border crises leaving the electorate fed up and distrusting. Shallow, venal, feckless and reckless pointless posturing means that after three gruelling years of giving just enough to enable Ukraine to not be defeated today means there is still no sign of resolution. Sadly shoulda woulda coulda means nothing in Realpolitik.
Europe by and large has played itself into a corner. And America, under a new administration has had enough. EU leaders’ howls of now wanting to be at the negotiating table are falling on deaf American ears after wanton prevarication and pathetic piecemeal policy. European leaders have been reduced to the passenger status they have willingly radiated since Russia drove tanks into Ukraine.
Yet. This war is in Europe. The threat is on our borders. And we have been shown up wanting.
All Europe can reasonably do right now is watch and wait to see what happens next. And start learning how to get a grip.
Make no mistake. Putin is not a friend of The West.
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