Putin was hoping that Trump would pressure Zelensky to negotiate a peace deal with Moscow, but Trump failed, giving Russia no choice but to end the war through decisive military action.
Funny how DJT has embraced what he called a bad hand....not very smart. What a waste and those strategic mineral deals won't be worth the paper that they are printed upon. Is this the art of the deal (which btw is a crappy book)?
That doesn’t make sense…cut off all aid and you’ll have Zelenskyy’s undivided attention. The country would collapse within 30 days without our support (I doubt the EU will step up to fill the gap). Now we’re faced with more wasted resources, death and no negotiation leverage whatsoever. Not to mention a larger war against an adversary with nukes. Not very smart.
If the fourth round of nuclear talks with Iran fall apart tomorrow, how long do you think it will be before Trump bombs Iran? He is visiting the Arab nations next week, so I would imagine it wouldn't be immediate. On the other hand, if he cooperates with Israel (which he has indicated he would do), it won't be too many months. The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu phoned Trump on April 3, but Trump didn't want to discuss plans regarding Iran. Israel was reportedly ready to strike Iran this month.
I don't think he will because he has flown our B-2 bombers back to the US which alone have a limited capability to damage Iran's underground nuclear silos with conventional weapons.
There is a bit of a caveat to that. The six B-2 bombers that were stationed at Diego Garcia were replaced with four B-52s. With that said, some of the B-2 bombers were used against the Houthis, and despite dropping precision-guided munitions, they were quite ineffective in destroying Houthi targets. The B-52 is also more vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire, which was fierce during the fight against the Houthis, and would be more so against Iran.
Gregory Brew had an interesting take from NBC News: "U.S. and foreign officials said privately they didn't think Trump had the long-term commitment required to get the job done." The New York Times also reported we failed to obtain air superiority over the Houthis.
When you put this all together, along with Trump's reported tensions with Netanyahu, and his comments today ("If there is no deal, U.S. will impose maximum pressure, drive oil exports to zero"), there is increasing hope that he will either back off from his maximalist demands with Iran, and make a deal, or he will back off from his military threats. On the Daniel Davis Deep Dive, John Mearsheimer acknowledged that his "no decision yet on enrichment capabilities" comment indicated there's "a good chance that he's going to accept the fact that they keep their enrichment and reprocessing capabilities".
Here are some X posts I have used for reference for this reply:
Yeah unfortunately, after a great first three months, Trump is now marching us in the wrong direction of endless wars instead of peace through strength.
Someone asked in another of your articles if someone was holding a gun to Trump's head. At the time I thought not.
However, I may be having a re-think. After all the "gun" as regards the tariffs is the all powerful bond markets. And a bunch of gigantic US corporations with a great deal of influence.
Maybe this (as stated in your article) is telling as regards Russia/Ukraine: "CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated Trump understands the risk of accepting Russia's “maximalist aims” in a peace agreement".
And I wouldn't have too much difficulty in believing there are a number of "guns" being held to Zelensky's head either.
No I don't think so. I think Rubio, Waltz, Kellogg and Ratcliffe have been giving him terrible advice to keep arming Ukraine and fighting Russia. Yes, the neo-Nazi militia guns are pointed at Zelensky if he accepts Russia's demands.
Funny how DJT has embraced what he called a bad hand....not very smart. What a waste and those strategic mineral deals won't be worth the paper that they are printed upon. Is this the art of the deal (which btw is a crappy book)?
No, he doesn't know how to get Zelensky to offer any concessions at all let alone a deal.
That doesn’t make sense…cut off all aid and you’ll have Zelenskyy’s undivided attention. The country would collapse within 30 days without our support (I doubt the EU will step up to fill the gap). Now we’re faced with more wasted resources, death and no negotiation leverage whatsoever. Not to mention a larger war against an adversary with nukes. Not very smart.
If the fourth round of nuclear talks with Iran fall apart tomorrow, how long do you think it will be before Trump bombs Iran? He is visiting the Arab nations next week, so I would imagine it wouldn't be immediate. On the other hand, if he cooperates with Israel (which he has indicated he would do), it won't be too many months. The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu phoned Trump on April 3, but Trump didn't want to discuss plans regarding Iran. Israel was reportedly ready to strike Iran this month.
Here is a link to the article: https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-blocked-israeli-proposed-attack-on-iran-to-pursue-negotiated-nuclear-deal-report/
I don't think he will because he has flown our B-2 bombers back to the US which alone have a limited capability to damage Iran's underground nuclear silos with conventional weapons.
There is a bit of a caveat to that. The six B-2 bombers that were stationed at Diego Garcia were replaced with four B-52s. With that said, some of the B-2 bombers were used against the Houthis, and despite dropping precision-guided munitions, they were quite ineffective in destroying Houthi targets. The B-52 is also more vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire, which was fierce during the fight against the Houthis, and would be more so against Iran.
Gregory Brew had an interesting take from NBC News: "U.S. and foreign officials said privately they didn't think Trump had the long-term commitment required to get the job done." The New York Times also reported we failed to obtain air superiority over the Houthis.
When you put this all together, along with Trump's reported tensions with Netanyahu, and his comments today ("If there is no deal, U.S. will impose maximum pressure, drive oil exports to zero"), there is increasing hope that he will either back off from his maximalist demands with Iran, and make a deal, or he will back off from his military threats. On the Daniel Davis Deep Dive, John Mearsheimer acknowledged that his "no decision yet on enrichment capabilities" comment indicated there's "a good chance that he's going to accept the fact that they keep their enrichment and reprocessing capabilities".
Here are some X posts I have used for reference for this reply:
https://x.com/CurtMills/status/1922072630900744640
https://x.com/CurtMills/status/1922068498315956237
https://x.com/gbrew24/status/1922326868692279386
https://x.com/gbrew24/status/1922376432367423661
Very interesting article. Thank you very much.
Glad you enjoyed it.
As always, great summation David!
Mistakenly I thought we were finally approaching some common ground and well on our way to a quiet summer.
Me thinks not now.
Yeah unfortunately, after a great first three months, Trump is now marching us in the wrong direction of endless wars instead of peace through strength.
Good summary. Thank you.
Someone asked in another of your articles if someone was holding a gun to Trump's head. At the time I thought not.
However, I may be having a re-think. After all the "gun" as regards the tariffs is the all powerful bond markets. And a bunch of gigantic US corporations with a great deal of influence.
Maybe this (as stated in your article) is telling as regards Russia/Ukraine: "CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated Trump understands the risk of accepting Russia's “maximalist aims” in a peace agreement".
And I wouldn't have too much difficulty in believing there are a number of "guns" being held to Zelensky's head either.
What a world we live in.
No I don't think so. I think Rubio, Waltz, Kellogg and Ratcliffe have been giving him terrible advice to keep arming Ukraine and fighting Russia. Yes, the neo-Nazi militia guns are pointed at Zelensky if he accepts Russia's demands.
Thanks David. I bow to your better knowledge of what's happening on the ground.