Trump the “Peace President” makes some alterations in US policy

Almut Rochowanski provided the first piece I’ve seen since the infamous Oval Office meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy a couple of weeks ago that takes up the theme: German military buildup – is this an entirely good thing?

A European security strategy that deserves this name would have to include political and diplomatic efforts: war-ending diplomacy in the short term, followed by a crisis consultation mechanism that should be the beginning of a new European security architecture consisting of reciprocal regimes of arms control, confidence-building and eventual disarmament.

A closer look at Europe also shows that a new bellicism has swept up the continent’s elites and gone into cataclysmic overdrive in recent weeks. Nowhere has this new martiality been more pronounced than in Germany, where political leaders and a new crop of “military experts” egg each other on.

The latter have been abysmally wrong in their predictions of Ukraine’s certain victory and Russia’s imminent collapse again and again, but nevertheless dominate the country’s much-watched primetime debate shows. Last week, Germans were told that the coming summer will be the last one we will be at peace, because Russia will, under cover of war games in Belarus, invade NATO territory.

German officials have been bandying about the word “Kriegstüchtigkeit” — a compound noun meaning “being good at war” — which would not sound out of place in a scratchy Wochenschau newsreel from 1940, pronounced in the gravelly, pompous diction of that era. It takes a retired brigadier general to remind Germans that this is an ominous departure from previous nomenclature, “Verteidigungsfähigkeit” – or “capacity for defense. (1) [my emphasis]

Notice the obligatory reference to the Second World War era. Also, even though I watch German news talk shows, I don’t recall any references to “Russia’s imminent collapse,” much less “again and again.” But, yes, there has been the stereotypical optimism about Ukraine being able to hold its own against the Russian army in Ukraine. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone predicting the near-term retaking of Crimea by Ukraine.

At this moment, even a flaming leftie government in Germany – something not on the horizon at the moment! - would be looking to boost European military capabilities to reduce reliance on the US in the defense structure  since Trump has rendered the current arrangement seriously unreliable for the NATO allies, especially in the worst case of an actual pending Russian military threat.

For all the hyper-ventilating over Ukraine in Western politics, there is no comparable threatening behavior from Russia toward the frontline NATO states of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland. Finland did give up its previous formal neutrality to join NATO after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In any case, it was already part of the EU, which also carries a mutual defense obligation.

For all the hyper-ventilating over Ukraine in Western politics, there is no comparable threatening behavior from Russia toward the frontline NATO states of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland. Finland did give up its previous formal neutrality to join NATO after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In any case, it was already part of the EU, which also carries a mutual defense obligation.

Not surprisingly, after Trump’s government pressured Ukraine President Zelenskyy into accepted a ceasefire. And Russia started putting up new demands before they would agree to the ceasefire, as Britain’s Channel 4 News reports: (2)

It's worth noting that Zalenskyy agreed to the concept of an immediate 30-day ceasefire. But he hasn't declared one unilaterally.

Kyle Kulinski has a more passionate and polemical report on the same thing (with some not-entirely-suitable-for-the-office vocabulary): (3)

I like Kyle’s reporting and he is careful about facts. But like in this report, he normally emphasizes a polemical edge rather than the proverbial “just-the-facts-ma’am” reporting. And, yes, “just-the-facts-ma’am” is a retro TV reference. (4)

Notes:

(1) Rochowanski, Almut (2024): European militarism on steroids is not good, either. Responsible Statecraft 03/12/2025. <https://responsiblestatecraft.org/europe-defense-spending/> (Accessed: 2025-13-01).

(2) Putin supports idea of Ukraine ceasefire - but questions peace conditions. Channel 4 News YouTube channel 03/13/2025. <https://youtu.be/L1E1cORQuQY?si=ir5KWGSPHq3WI795> (Accessed: 2025-14-01).

(3) Trump HUMILIATED As Ukraine’s Zelensky IMMEDIATELY Proven Right. Secular Talk YouTube channel 03/13/2025. <https://youtu.be/lPk0qC5rreg?si=Maw5ZmkUfBDN9AHw> (Accessed: 2025-14-01).

(4) “Just the Facts, Ma’am”. Strategic America 10/01/2012. <https://www.strategicamerica.com/blog/2012/10/just-the-facts-maam/> (Accessed: 2025-14-01).