Diplomacy isn’t always pretty. Now that the dust has settled somewhat from the recent tag-team dressing down of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by President Trump and Vice President Vance, it might be time for Americans to take a step back, take a deep breath, and take a good look at the facts.
First of all, is the Ukrainian government corrupt? The short answer is, most certainly. But let’s take that a step further. Is their government more corrupt than our own? When you take a close look at the facts the argument can be made that our government is if not equal to, then perhaps even more corrupt than the Ukrainian. While the Ukrainian form of corruption basically revolves around some Ukrainians acquiring personal enrichment, the U.S. government corruption revolves around not only greed and personal enrichment, but also acquiring and maintain unfettered, raw political power.
For instance, Democrats supported two impeachments and more phony investigations into the first Trump administration, and did everything they could do to undermine his presidency, instead of working with him for the betterment of the American people. Democrats also did everything they could to corrupt the 2020 election by covering up information that likely would have impacted the voting results. That’s a level of corruption that far exceeds what any Ukrainians may have done.
There’s a continuing belief among many that the Democrats knowingly supported the election to the presidency twice of an individual whose radical background and history was carefully concealed from the American people. Information about the true nature of the “fundamental transformation” that he intended. Information that Americans were entitled to, and which possibly could have prevented him from winning election had the public been given a fair reading of it.
Before questioning Ukraine about where all the money has gone, we need to question our own government where all the money has gone. My guess is much of the funds sent to Ukraine can be tracked right back to the U.S. companies and politicians own pockets who supported it. It’s also curious how members of our own Congress and the Senate can amass vast fortunes from a career in politics. I think the answer is obvious.
It would also seem to me to be a reasonable assumption that prior to his Oval Office meeting with President Trump and the vice president, that the Ukrainian leader very likely received some back channel strategy from the Democrats in Washington. Who else could have offered any more stupid advice than to suggest that Zelensky take the stance that he did? My suspicion is that President Trump had been briefed ahead of time about this and what might happen, and he and Vice President Vance were prepared to change the warm and fuzzy meeting into a dressing down if Zelensky went off the rails.
As I mentioned, diplomacy isn’t always pretty. Unfortunately in this case the ugly part might well have been better to have been conducted in private, outside of the public eye. There are some who will argue that it was just another example of the transparency being practiced by the Trump Administration. Others who hate and despise Volodymyr Zelensky loved the public dressing down he received. It would appear that most of our European and NATO allies did not.
So what is the end game here? Since World War II the United States has found itself thrust into the role of world leader, whether we wanted it or not. Most reasonable students of international relations will make the argument that it is indeed in America’s interests to maintain our position of dominance on the world stage, for better or for worse. I happen to agree.
Most who are knowledgeable about Russia will tell you that the former Soviet, and Vladimir Putin’s own goal has long been to undermine and disrupt, even dissolve the NATO Alliance. NATO has served European and the United States’ interests well for many decades. It is still valid, and our membership is still important. Regardless of how much money member nations may or may not contribute.
President Trump is right to argue for the other NATO members to increase their defense spending levels since Russia is still a real threat. Regardless of whether or not NATO member nations all meet their defense spending goals, we need to recognize the Russian threat not only to Europe, but to the economic stability that the United States also depends upon through our European trade.
The United States is not the only country in the world that sells corn. European trade deficit aside, we also are not the only country that produces many of the commodities and products that we sell to Europe. And when it comes to enforcing sanctions against countries like Iran, we depend on the participation of our European allies. Diplomacy and mutual respect achieves that, not bully tactics.
Hopefully the dust will settle completely from what happened last Friday. The Ukrainian people have suffered greatly, and have fought bravely. Zelensky could recover somewhat from this diplomatic disaster by eating a little crow, putting on a suit when he visits our Oval Office, and showing genuine, sincere appreciation to the people of the United States who have kept his country from being completely overrun by the sheer numbers advantage the Russians possess.
It is not only in Ukraine’s best interest, but also in our interest.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member