Ukraine again. Trump brought it up in his address to the Israeli parliament with his usual BS

 Once again, Trump discussed Ukraine in a very public forum, prefacing his remarks with the usual attempt to excuse his not being able to end the conflict on day one. It is always: he is always claiming that if he, Trump, were president at the time, there would never have been a war. The rest of that sentence should be: it was because Ukraine was absorbed into Russia with his blessing.. The message to Putin would have been from Trump: it is ok, Vladimir, to keep on going to reassemble the boundaries of the old USSR influence, Putin's publicly stated goal, and we would not help stop you.

Update 10/30/2025: Watch what Trump does, not what he says. On Ukraine, Trump tries to show he is not Putin's patsy by sanctioning two oil companies...He seems to acknowledge that Putin only understands power, of the military kind. So what does Trump do: pulls out the aircraft carrier backing up \NATO in the Mediterranean and sends it to Venezuela, and then his fool of a Secretary of the Department of "war" announces he is reducing US troop forces in Eastern Europe, where there is a real raging war going on and Putin is the aggressor threat, lobbng drones into NATO members. Some messaging to Putin, eh, Trump?

Update 11/2/2025: Neither Putin nor Trump calculated this happening. From Putin's standpoint, the miscalculation is epic. Germany is arming itself to the teeth to transform Europe again

Continuing with original post:

We would now have been in a hot war within countries, Poland and the Baltics, which Russia wanted to grab..but who were NATO members...and the fighting would now be in Poland and the Baltics instead, destabilizing all of Europe. and the US would be directly involved. So when you hear Trump say there never would have been a war if he had been president, one reason the war has dragged on is his failure to come to the full aid of Ukraine sooner. Let us hope that Trump has learned a lesson: The only response to Putin's flattery and manipulation is the language of military force.

Update: 10/21/25 TACO again. Trump and Zelensky met/ Trump demanded that Ukraine give up territory in a land swap that did not recognize the current battle lines.. Now, Trump is claiming Ukraine will lose...and the way Trump is acting (doing nothing, just words), he is once again siding with Putin. In the meantime, Turkey, a NATO member, stepped up to the plate to ward off Russian probes into the Baltics. Russia Tests NATO Nerves — Turkey Responds     Update 10/22/25  TACO again: Update on the Budapest meeting. Called off. It appears that TACO got pressure from Europe to deep-six Putin's plan, which would have given him land he had not won in battle in the sneaky swap. Ukraine is willing to agree to a cease-fire along the battle lines IF there are guarantees of their future security. No one knows better than Ukraine that giving Putin a bone, he will still go after the whole carcass one way or the other. BBC Russia Expert Delivers Reality Check To Trump After Putin Talks Scrapped

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/cancelling-the-putin-trump-budapest-summit-ends-the-fantasy-the-us-president-can-deli

The fallout of Trump's waffling and playing footsy with Putin was very succinctly summed up by my Facebook friend, Andy Gold. No truer words were ever put in a comment:

Per Gold: "Trump is incapable of learning lessons, and even if he could his greed and ego would prevail. With that, Putin's war has yielded 3 outcomes. Europe has strengthened, the United States has lost relevance, and the economic basis of Russia is near collapse; none of these things being reversible."

The miscalculations of both Trump and Putin were that Europe would fail to increase its military strength and would not  understand that Putin's takeover of Ukraine would endanger NATO members' own national interests, nuclear blackmail with Putin threatening use of nukes and  WWIII would keep Europe out of the fray,  and that Europe would not find a way to live without importing Russian gas and oil. Both Trump and Putin were wrong on all counts. None of that has happened, and in fact, it is backfiring particularly on Putin. However, Trump's ability to influence what Europe does is much diminished. 

Europe and even Germany are rearming with an average commitment of over 5% of their GDP (from once under 2%), pledging EU funds for the purchase of US armaments and committing billions in aid to Ukraine. They have found and are finding more replacement of natural gas from other sources and are in the process of finding more. In the meantime, even Germany has 46% of its electricity coming from green and alternative sources. I predict that nuclear energy will have a revival. Russia has lost its most important market: Europe. Russia's economy relies on petro dollars, and that loss hurts.. The US had lost much of its influence with Europe as Trump played word games with Russia. However, that may improve with the US direct aid of technology and missile defenses, and intelligence assistance that  Europe cannot produce itself, and which will be requested, accepted, and appreciated. Finally, Trump has realized that Putin had been taking him for a ride.

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Germany's rearmament is spurred on; a fallout from the Oval Office ambush of Zelensky update 6/5/2025

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Trump drags his feet on Ukraine again and deceptively invents an excuse  This post includes evidence of how Europe is weaning itself off of Russian oil and gas.

How Germany Rebuilt Its Military for the 21st Century | Watch

Trump's epic miscalculation on Ukraine: European resolve updated through May/27/2025

Update: 5/27/2025 The significance of Germany allowing Ukraine to use German missiles to strike deep into Russia is to send the only kind of message Putin understands...So far Ukraine has been constrained to shorter-range missile use, so Russia just moved its military bases and infrastructure used to attack Ukraine out of the West's self-imposed limits. Putin's attack using missiles on civilians in Ukraine may have backfired and caused the war to expand. https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/05/time-for-trump-to-put-money-where-his.html

Both Putin and Trump miscalculated on Ukraine. Putin did not count on Germany's rearmament as a result of his Ukraine invasion.. This is a nightmare for Russian plans to reassemble the old sphere of Russian influence of the old USSR. Trump thought he could force Ukraine to take the Russian surrender deal, but he, too, did not count on Zelensky having a third party like Germany to provide a counter force to Russian aggression of any heft. The reality is that Trump's influence over western European interests has taken a blow, making America weaker again and causing him to waffle again towards supporting Ukraine...at least for the moment.

Update 5/25/25: Germany steps up to the plate in a big way, with 3billion euros for Ukrainse defense, and an energy policy toward natural gas, making it cheaper and more affordable Germany Recalibrates Climate Policy, Backs Gas Power Shift

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/europe-vows-billions-in-military-support-for-ukraine-as-u-s-meets-putin

Germany Deploys Troops on Russia's Doorstep for First Time Since World War II   Update 4/1/2025

Europe's Double Blow to Putin

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: How energy independence is key to Europe's surviving Russian land grabs

Update: 5/14/2025 Germany: Merz vows to build Europe's strongest army

Update 3/12/25 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ukraine-russia-us-ceasefire-war-invasion-rcna195978   The ball is now in Putin's court.  The short-term nature and acknowledgment by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Ukraine's security from a Russian takeover of the country were factors that helped get the US and Ukraine on the same page.  That's the US official position today. Tomorrow, who knows if Trump's bromance with Putin raises its head again.

 Ukraine also had an American gun pointed at them. It was extortion at the highest level: US withdrawal of military aid and intelligence gave Russia an unstoppable advantage in the last three days. Ukraine also needed a pause to give its troops a breather. Their lack of manpower is their greatest weakness, and Russia's endless store of human cannon fodder is their greatest asset. Ukraine's equalizer has been America's intelligence services, technology, and advanced weaponry. In the short term, Ukraine desperately needed that restored, and they had no choice but to accept the US deal that was to be presented to Russia.

 A wild card was played in this high-stakes game that had longer-term implications.  Europe would not stand for any peace deal that did not include Ukraine's security and independence from Russia. They presented a plan to put their money and policies where their mouths were. It was more than a threat; it was a policy shift that has already begun to be activated.. Trump did not count on European plans to guarantee Ukraine's independence by military force if needed...nor did Putin. While Russia may be reeling from the economic impact of the war effort, knowing that Europe would not stand for the Russian takeover of Ukraine by whatever means, subversion or hot war, must also be playing on Putin's mind. 

 The US has virtually ended the Atlantic alliance so long as Trump is president. The bond of trust has been so damaged by the Oval Office treatment of Zelensky, a last straw in Trump's constantly dissing NATO and Europe, that it may never recover. The European Union plus the UK, with France's leadership, stepped up to the plate and owned it, too, no longer dancing to the Trump tune.  Germany has now cast aside their aversion to becoming a military force separate from the US and has begun resurrecting their own military. 

The sad part about all of this is that the world's trust in the US acting rationally is gone, and the break with Europe by Trump's policy whiplashes and fawning over Russia is a permanent hangover.  Russia has a history of not respecting cease-fires. The fear is Russia will use the pause to consolidate power, rest troops, and resupply to continue the battle.. Putin's word is no better than Trump's; neither can be trusted.

What if Russia rejects the cease-fire now that the US has confirmed its goals were a permanent and lasting peace? (Implying security backup, if not stating it). What Russia did not calculate was the wild card Europe played.  Rubio reveals US response plans if Russia rejects ceasefire

The Impact of Sanctions and Alliances on Russian Military Capabilities | Royal United Services Institute

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-s-new-ukraine-proposal-looks-like-an-offer-it-must-refuse/ar-AA1BSzNM?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=aa5f513abaa84ab38798aa5d036d6144&ei=31

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Update: 3/8/2025:  In response to Europe planning to assist Ukraine if the US does not, Trump issued this threat, Trump considering pulling 35,000 US troops out of Germany as President becoming 'increasingly frustrated' with Europe   It is his usual bully response. What is so ironic is that since the beginning of his first term until now. Trump threatened to sabotage NATO because he complained Europe was not contributing its fair share. Now that they are planning to do it and defy Trump's new alliance with Russia against Ukraine, he is angry and threatening. Poland has now called up every eligible male to take military training. Major NATO nation puts all its men into military training as Europe fears war escalation  The UK beefs up Ukraine's attack drones in the Black Sea. US ally gives Zelensky huge boost to help target Putin's forces in the Black Sea   All are learning from history that if they had stopped Hitler at Munich as he got their OK to march into Sudetenland, there may not have been WWII.  Capitulation and appeasement, Trump's approach, is a history not to be repeated in the face of a stated aggressive Putin who makes it no secret he wants to reassemble the boundaries of control of the old Soviet Union.

The Trump regime has just tried to knee-cap Ukraine's ability to fight off Russia...first, cutting off aid and second, yanking them off the internet, and third, cutting them off from US intelligence support while the rest of the US sleeps at the wheel. It appears that this is more than blackmail to force Ukraine to agree to simply signing over mineral rights to the US. It appears that the Trump regime is actively and materially helping Russia conquer the rest of Ukraine by force.In direct response, the European Union has just committed $800 billion to shore up Europe's military defenses and to give Ukraine whatever it needs to buy weapons and shore up its finances.That is Trump's epic miscalculation. Neither Trump nor Putin expected that. This means the Trump regime is living in a fantasy world, having not counted on Europe not only stepping up to the plate but owning it; it also means that there will not be any peace in our time, as Trump would like to announce, forcing Ukraine to capitulate to agree to stop fighting without any guarantees protecting the security of the 80% of Ukraine left after handing over the 20% Russian now occupies. If Russia attempts to use the new alliance with the US to conquer the rest of Ukraine by force, they will be taking on the rest of Europe.

theguardian.com

EU chief unveils €800bn plan to ‘rearm’ Europe

‘We are ready to step up’ says Ursula von der Leyen after US suspen"A five-part plan to bolster Europe’s defence industry and increase its military capability could raise nearly €800bn (£660bn) and help provide urgent military support for Ukraine after the US suspended aid to Kyiv, the head of the European Commission has said."

All I am hearing from Trump in the Oval Office and until this day: Trump calls Zelensky ungrateful and demands he comes crawling back on his knees to tell him how grateful he is that America wanted him to take the deal they handed to him, take it or die. If Zelensky had taken it, he would have lost some mineral rights, but more than that...he would have been left with no security guarantees his country could survive and a cease-fire that had no consequences for Russia breaking it. .

Trump's personal animosity did not start with the Oval Office blowup. It started in Trump's first term, shortly after Zelensky was sworn into office, when Trump tried to extort Zelensky to find dirt on the Bidens or else Ukraine would not get their anti-tank missiles. This Oval Office ambush was an attempt to put him on the spot in public to sign a bad deal cooked up between Trump and Putin. Zelensky expressed how grateful he was every single time he visited he US during the Biden administration. Perhaps gratitude for being extorted is just not very appropriate.

The extortion attempt in the Oval Office shocked the world and convinced Europe that the alliance between Trump and Putin was not temporary or an empty threat or a one-off vote in the United Nations. It was serious, and Europe and the UK have decided to make the divorce between the Trump US and themselves mutual. Trump has lost control of the situation, threatening tariffs and threatening pulling troops from Germany, crippling Ukraine's ability to stave off Russian advances by stopping weapons supplies, intelligence sharing, and even Ukraine's internet. So far, Europe is rearming itself in a way that neither Putin nor Trump anticipated. In addition to the EU announcing a plan to raise $800 billion for rearming Europe and assisting Ukraine to stay secure, individual countries are also increasing their military and assisting Ukraine. Germany, in particular, was so shocked by Trump's Oval Office antics and an alliance with Russia that it has even shed its country's aversion to becoming a military power again and is now willing to revive, restore, and fund the new Wehrmacht.

Intelligence sharing has already begun to degrade as trust between Trump's USA and Europe is already broken. As Trump pivots to Russia, allies weigh sharing less intel with U.S. Trump's bull in the China Shop approach has left many shards of porcelain on the ground. No glue may ever put it together again. Trump owns the pieces.

Those in the US who cheer how Trump showed how powerful he was in that Oval Office fiasco, but the boomerang and backfire it caused is long-term damage to US national security. It is destroying NATO and an 80-year-old alliance that kept peace and provided prosperity for both sides of the Atlantic. With Europe stepping up to the plate and owning it, Ukraine has a chance to survive. If Zelensky had taken the bad deal, Ukraine likely would eventually be taken over by Putin with the help of Putin's new ally, Donald Trump.

I am beginning to see Trump critics calling him a mad king. It is way over the top..but he does seem obsessed with tariffs and Zelensky hatred and getting revenge on any challenger to his power..as he feels he is always being treated unfairly.

This isn't King George the Third or the insane, obsessed king of Neuschwanstein who are the analogies being made of Trump as a mad king, but the characters in the Game of Thrones and Harry Potter books have set the standards of what is good and what is evil. I now see references to them in media posted and spoken by younger generations when discussing Trump. Are these the political science textbooks of the younger generations of our time?

'Discussions are already happening' as U.S. allies ponder intel black-out due to Trump
Germany, Once a Beacon of Frugality, Jolts Europe With Planned Spending Splurge
Trump and Putin have unwittingly given Germany a golden opportunity
This Is How Europe Becomes The Military Power That The World Needs Now
Update 3/20/2025 Putin aggression and WW3 fears sees number of European nations move toward conscription - full list
UK announces new drone deal to help Ukraine tackle Russian threat in Black Sea
 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/donald-trump-set-to-lift-ban-on-sharing-aid-and-intelligence-with-ukraine-after-last-minute-plea-by-keir-starmer/ar-AA1AEqrR
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/macron-warns-of-russian-threat-to-europe-as-nato-nations-mobilize-to-defend-ukraine/ar-AA1AnMWX?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=e8157dd25db4434aa55a62e87c0179df&ei=17
'We are not alone': Zelensky thanks Europe at crisis summit

Is Putin blackmailing the US and west with nuclear threats?

One very dire issue that we will have to deal with if there is such a breakup of NATO  is Russia's constant threat of nuclear blackmail.  An unspoken threat, the elephant in the room, in the Oval Office blowup against Zelensky, was to " sign this (faux) peace plan, and if you did not accept our terms, you would cause WWIII." (Trump;" You are gambling with WWIII"). That seemed an over-the-top comment until I remembered the nuclear blackmail that Russia constantly threatens. Is Russia threatening nuclear blackmail?. Is that what is driving Trump/Vance to attack Zelensky in the Oval Office blowup? Was it not only personal animus, but is Trump being manipulated by Putin using the nuclear blackmail card?  It sounds like Trump is getting played.

Pax America has been based on the concept of mutual self-destruction by keeping nuclear warhead parity with Russia. We have the same number of nuclear warheads Russia has, and if Russia attacks with nuclear weapons to wipe the West out, we will return the fire that will wipe out Russia, mutually assured destruction. NATO provided that umbrella to Western Europe.  If NATO is destroyed by the Trump-Putin lovers, what happens to that nuclear umbrella? Europe may be faced with having to increase their warheads. They have only 10% of Russian warheads and need more to be a credible deterrent without the US . Otherwise, every time there is a disagreement with Russia, Europe without NATO would be vulnerable to nuclear blackmail

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-will-keep-escalating-his-nuclear-blackmail-until-it-stops-working/

Macron to discuss nuclear deterrence with European allies. A look at France's unique strategy | AP News

Germany's Merz wants European nuclear weapons to boost US shield

Nuclear blackmail fear of WWIII is not the only way Trump is getting played by Putin. Per H.R. McMaster on 60 Minutes, Putin caters to Trump's personal weakness, the feeling he is always being treated unfairly. “[Trump] is being played. And he's being played like other presidents have been played, like other leaders have been played, through that same playbook of Putin's,” says H.R. McMaster, the president’s former national security adviser.

https://www.facebook.com/60minutes/videos/mcmaster-trump-is-being-played-by-putin/1033591225254532/

Russia sends alarming six-word WW3 threat to NATO member amid Ukraine peace talks