(Sherman Frederick) – The meltdown last week in the Oval Office between the United States and Ukraine may have been “good television,” as President Donald Trump said as the two sides exited to their corners. But does it represent the beginning of the end of post-World War II agreements, such as NATO?
That’s the big question that comes to mind.
During the heated exchange, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky suggested President Trump was naive in taking sides with Russia and against Ukraine.
President Trump snapped back saying he wasn’t on Ukraine’s side or Russia’s side. He was on the world’s side.
Is that the moment the world changed?
I thought we were on the side of Ukraine.
Our former President Joe Biden said so and he worked to gather NATO nations to help defend Ukraine from Russian aggression. Ukraine is not a NATO nation, but using the old “domino” theory, Mr. Biden persuaded NATO to spring into action and act as though Ukraine was a hill to die for.
European allies still believe that as they lined up in support of Ukraine following the White House blowup. While not criticizing the U.S., NATO nations expressed support for President Zelensky.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it best: “There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a people who are under attack: Ukraine. Respect to those who, since the beginning, have been fighting. Because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, for their children, and for the security of Europe.”
Here’s the idea of NATO from it’s website:
“NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict. NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defense clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.”
So, when President Macron says, “For the security of Europe,” he’s right in the short term. But when President Trump works to bring a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine because the cost in human lives is too dear to carry on and it “should never have started,” he is also right.
Perhaps more right.
Either way, when this killing war in Ukraine ends, President Trump should initiate the conversation he started.
Is NATO relevant for the United States anymore?
NEVADA IMMIGRATION
This is what happens when Nevada’s Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, and the state’s flaming liberal attorney general, Aaron Ford, disagree on policy: A slap-down press release from the governor’s office:
“The Model Immigration Policies released by the Office of the Attorney General are currently under review by the Executive Branch. All affected state agencies will continue to comply with – and enforce – all applicable law.
“As the Attorney General has conceded, and as the governing statutes make clear, the Model Immigration Policies are non-binding and non-mandatory guidelines.
“Let me be clear: The Attorney General does not have the authority to make Nevada a sanctuary state or jurisdiction. As long as I am Governor, Nevada will continue to follow federal law.”
WHOSE SIDE?
Nevada’s senior Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto sent a letter to Brooke Rollins, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “demanding critical answers on recent terminations and the Department’s response to bird flu outbreaks.”
Nothing wrong with that. But, I wonder why she didn’t send a letter to USAID demanding why they were spending millions to provide sex changes for Guatemalans?
Last week I wrote that both Nevada’s senators owe voters an apology for not minding the store when it comes to spending. Now, a letter complaining about trimming the government workforce?
Whose side is our senior senator on — the federal government’s or Nevadans?
Mr. Frederick is a Hall of Fame journalist in Nevada and founder of Battle Born Media.
