To the editor:
President Trump says he will meet with Russian President Putin and end the war in Ukraine. But earlier this month, even before negotiations started, the secretary of Defense gave away two strong negotiating positions at a NATO conference in Europe: one, Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO, and two, Ukraine cannot gain back any of its territory seized by Russia.
Is this Trump’s art of the deal? It reminds me more of the Munich agreement in 1938, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain traveled to Germany and tried to appease Hitler. Appeasement failed, and it led to World War II.
Before and during World War II, America provided over $31 billion in lend-lease aid to Great Britain. This $31 billion is equivalent to about $700 billion in today’s dollars. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Congress has authorized about $175 billion in aid to Ukraine, just a fraction of the lend-lease aid provided to Great Britain.
So, what is going to be the response of Senator Collins and the other weak-kneed Republicans in Congress, the so-called freedom party? Silence, and just concede Ukraine to Russia?
Any peace must provide an ironclad security guarantee for an independent Ukraine. Which is the commonsense choice, selling out Ukraine and isolating America as an untrustworthy partner, or Ukraine joining NATO and making America safer?
Stephen Freeman
Presque Isle
