President-elect Donald Trump's true defining moment is approaching. Future historians will probably not judge him based on his two impeachments or felony convictions or the ever-present hyperbole, but rather on whether he wins. Dew.world war 3.
For now, the tea leaves are troublesome. As the vice president-elect has made clear, many of President Trump's key advisers remain in deep denial. JD VanceandTulsi GabbardPresident Trump's choice for Director of National Intelligence. They believe that his main role on January 20th is to prevent World War III. They don't seem to understand that we are already in the middle of it.
Negotiations with Russia will be fruitless. History teaches us that Russian President Vladimir Putin's words are meaningless. It will be a victory for the Kremlin unless Russian forces are completely withdrawn from Ukraine and the 1991 borders are restored.
Defeat of the Russian army is the best outcome, and precision deep strike weapons are an important part of that outcome. Now is the time to activate General Ulysses S. Grant, close in on your enemy, destroy them, and apply relentless pressure until they surrender.
Speed is key. Russia fatigue is real in the US, too. Still, Russian conspiracies are very real, and they're not going away. Nor is it Putin's war against the West, especially against Washington.
President Putin is fighting to win. And it becomes clearer every day that the Kremlin is betting that Mr. Trump will become his unwitting partner.
Consider President Putin's actions after the election of President Trump. He continues to escalate the war in Ukraine, doubling down on Russian military strikes against civilian targets and infrastructure in the lead-up to the winter.
Russian and North Korean armies are in the early stages of warCounterattack at KurskThe state and President Putin continue to grindWorld War I-like onslaught in DonbassOppose Ukrainian positions swinging along the Kupiansk-Kharkov axis.
Moscow has also indicated the possibility of launching a counterattack in Zaporizhzhya to the south, either as a diversion or as the opening of a third front. One of Putin's early goals was to strip Ukraine of its entire Black Sea coast, including the capture of Odessa, Ukraine's key commercial port.
This would threaten Moldova and help secure Moscow's control over Georgia, where it is building a new military port for its Black Sea Fleet headquarters after the Russian Navy was forced to withdraw from Crimea.
President Trump may be tired of “Russia, Russia, Russia,” but that's the harsh reality he will face once he returns to the White House. Russia is not leaving, rather Russia is coming for his and our way of life.
Not surprisingly, many in the Trump camp see China as a military and economic threat to our country. People like Rep. Mike Walz, Sen. Marco Rubio, and former Rep. John Ratcliffe, who have been nominated by President Trump to be National Security Adviser, Secretary of State, and CIA Director, respectively, have been publicly identified by the Chinese government. It acknowledges that it represents a current danger.
All of them are also on record as saying that the United States cannot afford to give Putin a victory in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. If President Trump does so, it would be tantamount to handing a strategic victory to Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the rapidly merging “axis of evil” partnership between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. It will only encourage and strengthen.
However, some people around Mr. Trump naively believe that he is faced with an either-or situation between China and Russia. Their argument is that to defeat Mr. Xi and his plans in the Indo-Pacific, Mr. Trump needs to make peace with Mr. Putin.
Nothing could be further from reality. Currently, Russia is significantly weakened, which is a major hindrance to China militarily and economically. Both economies are reeling under the weight of collapsing fundamentals and massive military spending.
The Russian ruble is collapsing. it's now Trades for less than 1 USD About international exchange. Inflation in Moscow is spiraling out of control. CNN coverage “Butter, some meats and onions are about 25 per cent more expensive than a year ago,” he said, adding that “some supermarkets are now storing butter in locked cabinets.”
China is unlikely to achieve annual sales figuresGDP growth target is 5%Despite the fact that the annualized GDP in the third quarter was only 4.6%. And now Beijing is being forced to:invest $1.4 trillionDomestically, it's “to stimulate the economy and allow local governments to refinance crippling debt that has left some cities unable to pay their bills.”
Meanwhile, Russia is at a disadvantage in Ukraine. President Putin is increasingly under siege at home, in Eastern Europe and in the Caucasus. There is no reason for President Trump to give Putin a chance to survive and fight in the next round. He would risk losing World War III.
Moldovans recently held a referendum to approve membership in the European Union.Moscow is now facingIt is in response to “a possible coup in Abkhazia, Georgia's breakaway region where the Russian-sanctioned government has been hit by mass protests.” and bigstreet protestsThey are demanding the continuation of new elections in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi.
President Putin has indicated that he is under pressure. his public clothesRussian nuclear theoryI said as much on Tuesday. After President Biden gave the go-ahead for the limited use of US-made ATACMS in Kursk, President Putin declared that a “conventional attack on Russia by a state supported by a nuclear-weapon state” would be a nuclear attack on Kiev and/or a nuclear-weapon state. Signed a decree declaring that it could be connected. Or NATO.
Putin knows he cannot win in a nuclear exchange, and Xi Jinping has no intention of allowing Putin to drag China into a nuclear conflagration. This means Putin is on the losing end, and he knows it. All he can do is try to exploit Washington's fear.Nuclear weapons as a bluffand I hope Trump is as naive as Biden.
But don't get me wrong. Ukraine is also nearing a breaking point. Biden's “just enough” military strategy has left Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his generals in the lurch. Without sufficient weapons, munitions, or combined military capabilities, Ukraine could collapse in Donbas if nothing is done.
President Putin knows this, which explains why he is going “all in”. He has no intention of negotiating with President Trump in January. Rather, he is calling for a de facto surrender by Washington, Brussels and Kiev.
President Trump’s defeat in Ukraine will be far more disastrous than Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2022. It would embolden Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and North Korea and tell them they can win World War III.
This global war will soon be lost by President Trump, or he could decisively win it. Unless Trump wisely folds, he already has victory in his hands.
mark tothHe writes about national security and foreign policy. Colonel (retired)Jonathan SweetHe served as an Army intelligence officer for 30 years.
