Kustra’s misunderstanding of Trump’s Afghan pullout colors his misunderstanding of Ukraine war.

 

Kustra’s misunderstanding of Trump’s Afghan pullout colors his misunderstanding of Ukraine war.

Bob Kustra’s Chicago Tribune op-ed “Donald Trump caved to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Will he repeat in the Russia-Ukraine talks?” deserves comment.

Kustra claims Trump’s 2020 Doha Agreement with the Afghan Taliban that ended the US war there under Biden in 2021 “guaranteed US failure in Afghanistan, paving the way for the ignominious Afghanistan pullout and the harsh and absolute rule of the Taliban to follow.”

To the contrary, Trump’s Doha Agreement paved the way to end America’s senseless, 20 year lost war in Afghanistan in which 2,382 US soldiers were killed and tens of thousands injured. Kustra calls the war “unsuccessful” when he should have deemed it illegal, immoral and criminal.

Kustra laments Trump excluded the Afghan government from the peace talks when that move was crucial to ending the war. The Afghan government was a US puppet regime that had near zero credibility and support among Afghanistan’s 44 million citizens. Trump negotiated the scheduled May, 2021 withdrawal with the Taliban who never ceased being the de facto Afghan government.

Kustra further agonizes that Doha “paved the way for the ignominious Afghanistan pullout and the harsh and absolute rule of the Taliban to follow.”

Kustra implies that the war could have been won on American’s terms and maybe even worth another 20 years and another 2 trillion dollars.

Kustra’s compliant that the Afghan pullout was chaotic ignores the reality that no withdrawal from a lost war zone goes swimmingly. Kustra missed the irony his piece was published a day after the 50th anniversary of America’s calamitous withdrawal from Saigon ending the similarly lost 16 yearlong Vietnam War.

Kustra’s revisionism of Trump’s single foreign policy peace accomplishment furthers his claim a similar catastrophe is occurring with his Ukraine peace initiative. Again, what is Kustra seeking to accomplish? Another 100,000 dead and wounded Ukrainian soldiers? Another 45,000 square miles lost to Russia? Another $175 billion in US treasure squandered furthering Ukraine’s destruction? Another 3 years of failure?

Trump’s erratic, intemperate nature may yet derail his stated goal of ending America’s senseless proxy war against Russia killing only Ukraine proxies. But instead of brickbats, Trump deserves our support and encouragement, including that of Bob Kustra and the Chicago Tribune.

Trump’s orange legacy may be worse that his fake orange hair

 

Trump’s orange legacy may be worse that his fake orange hair

 

Ask someone to comment on Trump and orange and you’ll likely get a snarky reference to his hilarious orange hair

 

But Trump may go out with an infinitely more dubious connection to orange: the president who dumped US efforts to eradicate Agent Orange in Vietnam, still disabling over 3 million there 50 years after the war ended.

 

The half century acknowledgement of America’ skedaddling from Saigon, April 30, 1975, has brought renewed interest in the Agent Orange nightmare US imposed on the hapless Vietnamese in that senseless war.

 

To remove cover from advancing Viet Cong and North Vietnam troops, the US poured down nearly 20 million gallons of defoliants to lay barren the Vietnam landscape. Over 10 million gallons were Agent Orange, a benign moniker that contained cancer causing dioxin. Agent Orange leached into food and water supplies in 58 of Vietnam’s 63 provinces. Nearly 3% of its population suffers serious health issues associated with its use.

 

America was slow to recognize the human and environmental catastrophe they unleashed upon Vietnam. It wasn’t till 1991 when US Viet Nam vets were provided benefits related to Agent Orange disabilities. It took another 16 years to acknowledge and begin funding cleanup in Vietnam.

 

But Trump’s cuts to US AID and other foreign aid have put US assistance to Vietnam, impossible without aid, in doubt. Most US AID staffers in Vietnam are scheduled to be out this year. That would leave nobody to administer the cleanup even if that project remains funded which is doubtful. An estimated 70% of the 650,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil remain untouched.

 

 

Trump trumpets his America First mantra which implies the other 194 countries are a distant second. But if he does cut off the Agent Orange cleanup in Vietnam, it will mean America First, Vietnam Last…dead last.

For second time in 3 years Zelensky sabotages Ukraine war peace deal

 

For second time in 3 years Zelensky sabotages Ukraine war peace deal

 

Does Ukraine President Zelensky enjoy watching his citizens die needlessly in a US provoked war he could have ended twice?

 

Zelensky helped ensure Russia would invade February 22, 2022 by pushing NATO membership for Ukraine and massing 60,000 elite troops on the Donbas border to finish off the Russian leaning Donbas Ukrainians seeking independence from Kyiv destroying their culture along with their lives.

 

But Zelensky sensibly negotiated a peace agreement with Russia in the first two months (Istanbul Agreement) that would have ended the war with no loss of Ukraine territory albeit with no Ukraine NATO membership and independence for the beleaguered Donbas Ukrainians. That was statesmanship of the highest order.

 

But the US and UK saw a golden opportunity to weaken Russia if not change out the Vladimir Putin regime. What to do? Got it. Send US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Kyiv to disabuse Zelensky of making peace. Hey, with a couple of hundred billions in US/NATO weapons but no soldiers, you can win Zelensky and go out the George Washington of Ukraine..

 

The result? Three years on Ukraine is largely destroyed with millions fled, over a hundred thousand casualties, 45,000 square miles gone forever and a shattered economy.

But new sheriff in town Trump brokered a new peace deal which would have ended the war with no further casualties or lost territory. Astonishingly, Zelensky rejected it again, this time of his own free will. He cited both his desire to reacquire Crimea, lost 5 years before he became president, and his goal of Ukraine joining NATO.

 

So despite a 3 day Russian truce in in the offing over its May celebration of its WWII victory, the dying soldiers and expanding Russian buffer zone in Ukraine to prevent further long range Ukrainian missile attacks will go on till Ukraine simply collapses.

 

Maybe Zelensky has a nationwide death wish. Maybe he’s delusional or too stupid to realize h’s leading Ukraine to certain destruction. Or maybe it’s simply his way of telling the US and UK that he’s capable of blowing up a sensible peace agreement all by himself.

 

Why is No. 1 US bombing No. 137 Yemen?

 

Why is No. 1 US bombing No. 137 Yemen?

Is there a bigger bully in the world than President Trump?

Trump’s current effort is bullying the hapless innocents in Yemen. Trump will never war against anyone his own size. His No. 1 $30.5 trillion economy singled out for destruction No. 137, the $17.4 billion economy of Yemen.

Trump has launched 750 airstrikes against Yemen since March 15, killing and injuring over thousand innocents. His latest strike on Yemen’s Ras Isa fuel port in Hodeidah Province killed 95 and injured 192. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a nod to America’s all time premier warmonger Teddy Roosevelt, has dubbed the bombing campaign Operation Rough Rider. Ouch.

As with every US bombing campaign against innocents in weak countries, Congress simply rolls over allowing these grisly, unconstitutional wars to proceed without an iota of pushback.

Why is Trump bullying pitifully poor Yemen? Because Yemen is interfering in the ongoing Israeli/US genocide in Gaza. Yemen has largely shut down vital (tho not to US) Red Sea shipping with drone attacks to degrade Israel’s Gaza genocide campaign. Trump’s futile bombing campaign, which will never stop the Yemeni Houthis from opposing genocide, has no connection to US national security interests whatsoever.

That is unless our national security interests include enabling Israel to complete their genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza so Trump can kick off his dream real estate development, creating Trump Gaza Mediterranean to expand Greater Israel.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL

Luckovich Ukraine cartoon fails the history test

 

Mike Luckovich gets a failing grade in history for his cartoon (April 26 Chicago Tribune). It criticizes Trump for telling Ukraine President Zelensky he must gift Russia with his kitchen, guest bedroom and den for breaking into his house and refusing to leave.

The metaphor ignores the decades long history of US/NATO provocations and encroachment against Russia that made the invasion, tho illegal and immoral, inevitable.

This is not just my take. Many wise historians, political scientists and retried diplomats repeatedly warned US presidents that their endless disregard of Russia’s red lines not to add Ukraine to NATO on Russia’s border would inevitably provoke a Russian response.

Besides expansion provocations, both supported Ukraine massing of 60,000 elite Ukrainian troops on the Donbas border to finish off the Russian leaning Ukraine separatists being abused by their Kyiv government. When Russia pleaded with the US in November 2021 to call a halt to Ukraine NATO membership and the Donbas operation, the Biden administration refused to even discuss Russia’s valid and serious security concerns. The US knew Russia would invade but believed foolishly, Ukraine could prevail.

That may eventually be viewed as the costliest military blunder in American history.

To raise his failing history grade to a B or even an A+, Luckovich needs to draft a cartoon using the long, sorrowful history of US, NATO machinations that resulted in the lost war destroying Ukraine.