OPINION:
I am stunned. I was so impressed with the changes, both domestic and foreign, being wrought by the new Trump administration. But then our new president had a “lengthy and highly productive chat with the most warmongering dictator in today’s world (“Trump speaks with Putin, Zelenskyy, plans ‘immediate’ talks to end three-year war,” Web, Feb. 12).
Who are we to help Vladimir Putin (“Vlad the Impaler”) get his primary goal of keeping Ukraine out of NATO? The democracy-loving United States should be the primary sponsors of NATO membership for that large, democratic nation. It appears that President Trump’s deal-making will totally justify Putin’s military attack on Ukraine, behavior that mimics the first moves of Hitler’s international rampage, starting
with his invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Only Ukraine — not Putin and not Trump — can decide whether Ukraine wants to join the alliance. I thought President Trump had some smart deal in mind to restore Ukraine to the independent state it had been prior to Russia’s baseless invasion in 2022 — but it appears the vaunted deal-making skills of “The Donald” will be a no-show in this ugly situation. How is denying Ukraine membership in NATO anything other than tantamount to caving to a bullying dictator?
Tragically, if this “deal” goes through, Trump can disembark at a Washington airport, hold the Russian demands in the air and tell the world, “We have achieved peace in our time.” I’m really sorry, Czecho— I mean, Ukraine.
The former KGB man has utterly outmaneuvered the former Big Apple playboy.
GUY GRAYBILL
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania
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