The Trump-Putin Pact: Part 2

The Trump-Putin Pact: Part 2

I have come to the conclusion that I am an obvious thinker. Much of what I write appears a bit later in the media and I know that they are not likely reading my blog or Knoxville Focus articles. The latest case was when I mused that Trump’s meeting with Putin could be about China not Ukraine. The Europeans and the Ukrainians were not invited to Alaska. I had wondered why Trump was going so easy on Russia with the tariffs. He has not conjured up his imaginary reciprocal tariffs on Russia, yet he put a 10% tariff on Ukraine. Didn’t he say that if Russia didn’t accept a cease fire that he would put REALLY REALLY BIG TARIFFS on Russia? Well where are they? He’s got 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, 50% tariff on Brazil (what’s that going to do to coffee prices?) and a 39% tariff on Switzerland yet nothing on Russia. Hum. I am surprised that those Russia hoax multitudes haven’t hoped on that one yet.

I actually think that the reason that Trump has gone soft on Russia with the tariffs is the same reason why it was Putin only at the summit in Alaska. He wants an alliance with Russia to counter China. Russia is not our main adversary in the world. China is. Russia is essentially a backward third world country with mineral and oil wealth. It is only a power because of oil, natural gas and nuclear weapons. But it scares the Europeans. Trump can eliminate that threat by aligning with Russia. Trump and Rubio have talked about opening up Russia for business once the war in Ukraine is over. Now wouldn’t that be interesting to have a free trade deal with Russia while imposing tariffs on the rest of the world?

Then there is the counter to China militarily. An alliance would affect Chinese lusting after Upper Manchuria and Siberia. An alliance would free Russia from the grip of the Chinese economically. Russia has been forced to literally beg the Chinese to buy their oil, support them militarily and prop up their economy. The Chinese are not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. They are doing this to make Russia their vassal. The Russians know this but in today’s world, what can they do about it? They can form an alliance with Donald Trump.

It never made much sense to me that immediately after World War II our allies became our enemies and our enemies became our friends. The German and Japanese armies were among the most barbaric, brutal and sadistic forces in world history. What the Germans inflicted on the Jews and the ethnic peoples of Europe and what the Japanese did to the Chinese were beyond barbaric and cruel. Yet when the fighting ended we embraced those peoples and almost instantly converted the Russians and the Chinese to our enemies. Yes I know that Stalin and Mao were also mass murderers so we likely had little choice if indeed we wanted to forge alliances in Europe and the Far East. But the times they are a’changing. Europe is in serious decline and puts up with the US only because they refuse to adequately defend themselves against the Russians. Why spend their money when they have us with our hundreds of bases and thousands of troops? Actually, they should welcome a US-Russia alliance because it would remove the threat of Russian military action against NATO.

It is obvious that Trump (and Vance) have no respect for the Europeans. When I wrote the piece “Bye Bye Europe” in the Knoxville Focus on May 17^th, some readers accused me of being a racist. Yet those critics never addressed what I wrote in the article – that Europe was in a state of decline and was being supplanted by countries outside that continent. I stated that the EU when first formed had GDP equal to the US. Now it is 60% of ours. The Europeans have decided to become poorer by embracing green energy. The have opened their countries to a massive influx of immigrants who refuse to be assimilated into the various European cultures. They are weighted down by social spending that stifles incentives. Europeans want to work less, produce less and complain more. Again, the future belongs elsewhere. But where?

Personally I would look to have alliances with those countries with the strongest economic freedom because economic freedom is the backbone of capitalism. Yet those countries are few and far between. In the interim there is Russia with its energy stores and rare earth mineral riches. A pact with Russia will get them free of the yoke of China, would actually lessen their threat to Europe and would contain China globally. What is there not to like?

Again this is obvious to me and like clockwork an article surfaced in Fox Business that makes the same points. It is “Trump’s Russia play isn’t about Ukraine, it’s about China” by Tanvi Ratna, August 17^th https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-opinion/trumps-russia-play-isnt-about-ukraine-its-about-china

Ratna, who is an expert in these matters in contrast to me, concludes “Trump has already recast U.S. foreign policy around the China challenge. His Russia play is part of that same framework. The Alaska meeting is best understood not as a betrayal of Ukraine or a gift to Putin, but as a strategic bid to reshape the board so the U.S. can fight — and win — the contest that truly matters.” Of course, that is the contest with China.

Importantly, a US-Russia partnership would break up the axis of evil: the alliance of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

Lastly, Zelenskyy would be a fool if he believes that Trump will provide security guarantees for surrendering the Donbas to Putin. Ukraine would lose its line of defense against the Russians in the east and would lose a vast amount of its mineral wealth. Putin might agree to the guarantee but he will violate it at his earliest convenience. Didn’t we give Ukraine a “guarantee” if they gave up their nukes? Some guarantee that was. Do you think Russia would have invaded if Ukraine still had nuclear weapons? Here is an idea for you: we will give Ukraine tactical nukes if they cede the Donbas. Then they can provide their own “guarantee.” I would also insist that Ukraine join NATO. But one thing is for sure: I would not trust the United States and I sure as hell would not trust Donald Trump.