24 Hours Have Become 24 Weeks

And there is no end in sight

The man who campaigned on the pledge of stopping the killing has now ensured there will be more of it with a plan to resume sending weapons to Ukraine. As Trump complains about “bullshit thrown at us by Putin,” it’s not hard to wonder if the Kremlin is not equally irritated at the bullshit thrown its way by this mercurial White House.

While everyone knew the talk of ending the war within 24 hours was typical Trump hyperbole, supporters expected a fairly rapid conclusion to the conflict, followed by a normalization of relations with Russia. Instead, it’s the same old song – bluster about sanctions, far too much posturing and far too little genuine diplomacy, and either a refusal or inability to understand what the war is about and what is needed to end it.

The original timeline has grown to 24 weeks with no end in sight. What had once been a punchline increasingly looks like reality – the West is determined to see this conflict through to the last Ukrainian. And then what? That, friends and neighbors, is the question that has gone unaddressed since this episode began more than three years ago. No one in the West has a clear understanding of what ‘victory’ looks like because no one has bothered to define it.

What is it that we expect to accomplish? What will the aftermath be? No one knows and no one seems to care, because that’s too much like work. It’s so much easier to pontificate on television, whether it was Biden doing it then or Trump doing it now. Meanwhile, people keep dying. Every day. And that’s only going to continue.

Think what you will about the conflict and who bears responsibility for it. That’s not the point. The point is, we were told repeatedly by one of the two main presidential candidates that he wanted to “stop the killing.” Millions believed him. I was among them. Perhaps you were, too. But I also thought something more would come of the endless Epstein saga instead of - to paraphrase Trump - having more bullshit thrown at us and getting snippy when someone notices.

It would be bad enough if the war were a random campaign promise that ran aground. Every president has his share of those, and they are usually contained within the domestic sphere. This one is not. Europe seems almost giddy at the prospect of war with Russia despite no discernible reason to believe that, as the head of NATO claims, “Russia may be ready for an attack on Eastern Europe in five years.”

Militarily, that could be accurate. Politically, it makes no sense. Until the fighting in Ukraine began, Putin spent most of his quarter-century in power selling the Euros affordable energy to power their economies. He also spent that time repeatedly saying that NATO membership for Ukraine was a red line. Did no one believe him? Is the old thinking that Russia is “a gas station masquerading as a country” such an article of faith in DC that people want to FAFO?

It is easy for elected and appointed officials who are no danger of being in harm’s way to talk about combat. It is easy to huff and puff and threaten this and that when it’s not you who has to put those words into action. Some in the Capitol have salivated for so long at the prospect of breaking Russia apart and exploiting its wealth of resources that they have never considered that Moscow might not go along with the plan.

Likewise, anyone pining for regime change has failed to consider that were that to happen, the guy after Putin could be much worse. That is exactly what happened in the aftermath of Saddam, Qaddafi, and Assad being ousted, and none of the nations they ruled are nuclear. Russia is not Iran; we’re not going to carry out a missile strike and we’re not going to bully Putin into submission.

The saber-rattling in that part of the world, in the Middle East, and over the possibility of conflict between China and Taiwan raised a curious point that was inadvertently broached last weekend. We spent time with relatives who remembered how my wife’s father lied about his age in order to enlist in the Navy during World War II. How many 17-year-olds do you think would do that today? How many of legal age want that conflict?

The military is still struggling to undo the stain of the Biden years, when the principal demographic in the armed forces was constantly attacked. Enlistment looks better under the new commander in chief, but that’s not because recruits are itching to fight the Russians and Chinese. Besides, Project Ukraine has created issues with weapons stockpiles and overall readiness. The Russians are as aware of this as any American who is paying attention.

Maybe Trump should stop using his daily media briefings as impromptu therapy sessions for discussing his feelings on this issue or that. If he’s upset with Putin, there is a phone line between DC and Moscow; use that instead of venting to a press corps that largely hates you. Russia is pressing its advantage mostly because it can. What’s happening now could have also been done in 2022, 2023, and 2024, but it seemed like Putin was waiting for Trump to be elected so hostilities could be ended. Trump voters expected the same thing. Both are disappointed.