Just a Quick Note

What we saw when Zelenskyy opened his mouth and inserted his foot was brought to us by media who had no interest in the truth, instead looking to get viewers or clicks. It looked like Zelenskyy interrupted President Trump and attacked VP Vance, whereupon he was summarily put in his place by Vance with a massive assist from DJT.

What was the meeting supposed to be for? A bit of history will help. What we were told was that there was a deal for the rare earth minerals in Ukraine to be partially controlled by the US with the proceeds of the whole project split between paying down the $350,000,000 the US advanced to Ukraine to prosecute the war and the rest to rebuild and repair the war damage to Ukraine. This deal was negotiated by Secretary of State Rubio and Security Advisor Walz. The Ukrainian parliament approved the deal, so for all intents and purposes Zelenskyy was here to formalize a deal that was already set.

Prior to the meeting, Zelenskyy had a meeting with Democrat leaders, and it seems certain the Democrats professed their support for Zelenskyy and Ukraine and gave him, Zelenskyy, the idea he could get more than the deal was written for.

Well, we all saw what that resulted in. Trump was as forceful as we’ve ever seen him, too forceful according to some media and Europe, with JD Vance chewing Zelenskyy a new butt. Zelenskyy left, went to interviews where he was not in the least apologetic, then off to Europe for an emergency summit with the EU.

The European leaders stood behind Zelenskyy, telling him (in public) that they’d back his play. I’d bet in private they were telling him to be darned sure he got back in Trump’s good graces. They all know which side of the bread is buttered, and aside from PR statements, they know who protects them and the rest of the free world.

It was after this European summit that Zelenskyy expressed his desire to return to the White House to mend relations and continue discussions on critical issues, a request that was denied by President Trump. The last thing Trump said to Zelenskyy was that he should not come back until he was ready to talk peace. Zelenskyy, it seems, wanted to continue the conversation that got him sent away.

The prevalent viewpoint in the left wing media is that Trump is wrong, that he over reacted, and that he and Vance “ganged up” on Zelenskyy. I, of course, don’t agree. To me it’s simple. The deal was done, there was a private meeting before the presser, and any issues or conflicts should have been discussed there. Instead Zelenskyy chose to try to negotiate issues outside the deal that was to be signed, and which was the purpose of being there.

The most important reason to end the Russia/Ukraine war is to stop the killing. Both sides have been bled white, with Ukraine losing a whole generation of men who would father the next generation. No dads, no kids, and Ukraine, like the rest of Europe, has a birth rate that’s less than replacement rate, and Russia is in the same boat.

The US is interested in stopping the war in order to stop the killing, however there are other reasons for pursuing peace. Ukraine has massive deposits of rare earth minerals. Today China pretty much has a monopoly on rare earths. As these minerals are needed for almost every electronic device we depend on today, whoever controls rare earths has a lot of leverage in any negotiation. If the US can access Ukraine’s rate earths it will decrease China’s monopoly.

Lessening China’s perceived power moves Russia a little towards the US, possibly neutralizing the Russia/China alliance, which is an existential threat to the US. So another result of peace between Russia and Ukraine is to assist in defusing the tension between the US and China and Russia.

So there were a lot more issues in play than simply ending the war. It’s certainly important to save lives, however the other issues involved made this a very important meeting and Zelenskyy’s not playing by the rules didn’t help.

The intensity that Trump and Vance went after Zelenskyy with was criticized. It may be that we’re Trump boosters, however we don’t see their handling of the insult as being anything more than responding to a boor who insults you in your own house. Zelenskyy’s inability to recognize the position his country is in and what will happen without the foreign support he’s received is incredible. His parliament knew the deal was good for Ukraine, and his jinxing of the deal will cause additional deaths on both sides.

I find it incredible that European leaders would be so two-faced as to publicly encourage Zelenskyy when they know that they are as dependent on US largess as is Ukraine. It seems evident that their private council to Zelenskyy was “make up with Trump no matter the cost.” The Europeans might not like Trump, but they’re in no position to go against him.

As Zelenskyy was so eloquently reminded “You don’t have the cards.”

They can all take that to the bank

Jack Sotallaro

Continuity planning, civilian and military