From Munich to Mar-a-Lago: Is Trump Appeasing Putin in Ukraine?
Lots of headlines today about "peace" negotiations in Ukraine. But does Putin really want to end the war — and is Trump able and willing to broker a real peace? According to the longtime Russia watcher Jim Goldgeier, Putin isn't interested in ending the war on anything other than complete Russian control over Ukraine. Putin, Goldgeier bleakly concludes, "just doesn't believe Ukraine should be an independent country." So if this is true, what should Trump do? Is sitting down with Putin a classic case study in appeasing tyranny? Is the real "civilizational erasure" happening in Washington rather than Brussels? And will historians one day memorialize this shabby chapter in American foreign policy as "From Munich to Mar-a-Lago"?
Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
The Ghost at the Feast: Robert Kagan on America and the Collapse of the World Order 1900-1941
Hijad Butch Blues: Lamya H on how to unf**k the world
Revolutionary Roads: Bob Thompson gets into his gas guzzling VW in search of the American war of independence
Maybe Tech Isn't So Evil: Darlene Damm on the exponential technologies that could radically improve the lives of billions of 21st century people
A Hacker's Mind: Bruce Schneier on how the powerful bend society's rules and how to bend them back
We Don't Know Ourselves: Fintan O'Toole on contemporary Ireland as a model for an open 21st century society
How to Fix a Broken Planet: Julian Cribb's advice for surviving the 21st century
An Assassin in Utopia: Susan Wels on the true story of a nineteenth-century sex cult and a President's murder
Rising Up Against Bullshit Healthcare: Sonali Kolhatkar on Why Americans Want a Government Run Health System
On the Ocean's Awesomeness: Farah Obaidullah explains why our lives depend on healthy oceans
Banking With Your Eyes Open: Robert Pickering on the rights and wrongs of contemporary banks and bankers
How to Fix Capitalism and Democracy? Raymond W. Baker on the "Invisible Trillions" that are Breaking American Society
From Doom to Bloom in 7 Days: Why Spring Has Arrived Unnaturally Early this Year in Silicon Valley