Appeasement merely encourages a bloodthirsty aggressor

Donald Trump has given Vladimir Putin’s war machine a green light to continue its genocidal war against the Ukrainian people. Just days before the Alaska summit with Putin, Trump gave Ukraine and America’s other European allies assurances that he was going to get tough with Putin. He was going to demand an immediate ceasefire to stop Russia’s killing. Instead, Trump wilted and gave Putin everything he wanted. The vicious Russian war machine will continue its merciless killing of Ukrainian men, women and children until Ukraine hands over large chunks of its country to Putin’s cutthroats.

Max Boot, a well-respected, Russian-born military commentator called the meeting a “U.S. defeat.” Even Fox News reported that Trump got “steamrolled” by Putin despite having “home advantage.” All of Trump’s tough talk over the last several weeks, including his promise of ”very, very powerful and very bad” sanctions, disappeared as he slathered praise all over Putin. Trump gave in to Putin, basically adopting the long-standing Kremlin line–no peace until Ukraine capitulates. It was a pitiful performance.

Two factors likely motivated Trump’s about face on Ukraine. The first was readily apparent at the joint appearance of the two leaders as the Alaska meeting ended. Trump dwelt on what he called “the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax” in his brief remarks. He is obviously still steamed that the Ukrainian President refused his demand to announce an investigation into the Bidens during the 2019 presidential campaign. That has been a continuing source of anger against President Zelensky and has heavily influenced Trump’s uncaring attitude toward Ukraine’s fate.

The other factor is Trump’s obsessive quest to get the Nobel Peace Prize. He has repeatedly and publicly groused about failing to get that prestigious award, which he believes he richly deserves. He pathetically debased himself by begging Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg for the Peace Prize. He apparently believes that brokering an end to Putin’s vicious, unprovoked war against Ukraine, no matter how bad for the Ukrainians, would entitle him to the award. I have a high regard for the Norwegians but can’t understand why Trump would want an award from a country that his base claims to be “woke” simply because it has compassion for all of its people.

Appeasement of a ruthless aggressor is a fool’s errand. It merely confirms to the aggressor that he has the upper hand. It is a clear invitation to further aggression. If Trump were to study history, he might discover that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from a 1938 meeting with Adolph Hitler, proclaiming that he had achieved “peace for our time” by appeasing the monster. Just a year later, Hitler launched World War II. Putin will redouble his efforts to subjugate the Ukrainians as he pretends to negotiate a peace settlement.

I was part of another catastrophic debacle where an authoritarian government, North Vietnam, agreed to cease hostilities against a U.S. ally, South Vietnam, and later conquered our ally’s country, killing and imprisoning millions. In 1973, we forced the South Vietnamese to sign the Paris Peace Accords, using President Nixon’s false promise of security guarantees. We simply failed to honor those guarantees when the North launched a massive attack in 1975. It still makes me angry and sick at heart to think of my 58,220 comrades who died in vain in the Vietnam War, as well as my many Vietnamese friends who perished or were imprisoned because of those false guarantees. Trump is now talking of security guarantees for Ukraine as an inducement for that ally to reach a settlement with Putin. Any such guaranties would be equally worthless.

It is high time for Senator Jim Risch and the rest of Idaho’s Congressional delegation to man up, to get the courage needed to strongly support our Ukrainian allies. Risch has told us that the future of NATO, the safety of our European allies and the national security of the United States depends on stopping Putin’s takeover of Ukraine. Risch talks a good game, but he and his colleagues need to use their power of the purse to send massive military aid to Ukraine. Two US Senators recently introduced legislation to send $54.6 billion in aid to Ukraine and 85 Senators are sponsoring a bill to impose “sledgehammer” sanctions against Putin to stop his aggression. Both measures, and much more of the same, are urgently needed to prevent another national security disaster. Congress needs to assert itself and force Trump’s hand.

We used to have a Republican President who was truly tough, who understood what it meant to be an American, who would stand up against the rich and powerful, who knew that peace at any price is sheer folly. That President, Teddy Roosevelt, said: “Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood–the virtues that made America. The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.” Amen!!!

About the Author

Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served 8 years as Idaho Attorney General (1983-1991) and 12 years as a Justice on the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017).