Enough of Trump’s Ukraine insanity. Donald Trump’s recently-announced 28-point plan (the Plan) for Ukraine’s capitulation to Russia would result in a cessation of hostilities until such time as Vladimir Putin took it in his head to swallow the whole country. That would be a catastrophe for Ukraine and a mortal blow to America’s security, just as Senator Jim Risch has repeatedly argued in recent years. Although there are indications that Trump has begun having second thoughts about the Plan, just putting it out there in the first place was a major blunder.
Risch correctly stated the remarkably high stakes for the US in 2022: “This war is not just about Ukraine. The fight in Ukraine is a strategic challenge with long-term implications for the free world. Ukraine is the opening move in a game to tip the balance of power toward Russia and China to dominate the world for the next century or more. For the sake of our country and the sake of the free world, the Administration needs to get serious about supporting Ukraine with war-fighting materials so we can prevent a more sweeping conflict from coming to our shores.” That was a knowledgeable Senator, speaking truth to President Biden. Risch’s concerns were well-founded at that time and remain so today.
The Plan is essentially a Russian wish list dictated to a clueless New York real estate developer, Steve Witcoff, without input from Ukraine or our NATO allies. The Europeans were blind-sided and gobsmacked that the Plan would force Ukraine to give up strategic ground, reduce its army by more than half and give amnesty to Russia for its genocidal conduct. Many other provisions of the Plan would reward Putin for his aggression and leave the door open for further aggression against Ukraine, as well as our NATO allies.
Several GOP lawmakers dared to slam the Plan. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said: “Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin.” Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said: “Rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America’s interests.”
The Plan claims that Ukraine would receive “reliable security guarantees” but those appear to be Putin’s word that he would behave himself. Could we trust Putin to keep his word? Last December, Risch emphatically stated that the Russians “are cheaters, they're liars, they’re murderers. They’re the worst people on the planet, after what they did to Ukraine.” He was absolutely correct. Putin simply cannot be trusted.
The last time Trump made a complete settlement of a major conflict was the Doha Accord between the US and Taliban in February 2020 to end the war in Afghanistan. Our Afghan partners were excluded from the Doha negotiations, just like the Ukrainians were excluded from developing the Plan. Like the Plan, the Doha Accord contained no reliable security guarantees for the Afghan government. In fact, the Taliban began violating that deal before the ink had dried. Trump made no credible effort to call the Taliban to account for those violations. The ill-advised Doha Accord laid the groundwork for the collapse of Afghanistan’s military and the Taliban take-over in April 2021. The moral of the story is that excluding one of the main combatants from settlement negotiations is a high-handed invitation to failure.
Another indication of Putin’s ill intentions is the series of provocative actions taken by the Russians against our NATO allies. Incursions by Russian aircraft, drones and agents into NATO territory signals that Putin has his eyes on other satellites of the defunct Soviet Union. Ukraine will just be the first domino to fall, if he has his way.
What, then, should the US do to protect our national security interests with respect to the war between Russia and Ukraine? Senator Risch put it this way: “The way we protect U.S. interests and stay out of this fight is by giving Ukrainians the tools to defend their sovereignty. Give Ukraine missiles. Give them airplanes. Give them humanitarian assistance.” Amen!!
The question now is whether the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will use his considerable influence to stand up for the national security interests of Ukraine, NATO and the United States, as he has so clearly stated them over the years? Will he put on his big boy pants and loudly speak out for Ukraine? Or will he give in to personal political considerations and sell them out, merely to win another term in office? Is Trump's re-election endorsement more valuable to Risch than his long-held convictions? We will soon see the true measure of this man.