The post war international political and military record of the United States is appalling – a succession of failures from Korea to Ukraine with very few successes to shout about. The young JFK triumphed over Cuba but mostly ageing Presidents, from Truman/Eisenhower to Trump, have involved the US in bloody disaster. Sir Max Hastings has brilliantly chronicled many of these as he reminds us in The Times today. We should listen to him.
Pete Seeger asked “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” And then followed it with “When will they ever learn?”. The answer to that second question is. Of course. “Never”.
Overwhelming military superiority failed the US in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Soft power did help bring down the Soviet Union and boots on the ground in Europe via NATO worked ending the Cold War. Or so we thought for a time. But the Russians, from the Tsars to today like their Dictators. When will they ever learn?
“Jaw Jaw” is in theory better than “War War”. But the passing of Tom Lehrer reminds us that he said “…satire died when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize”. Kissinger’s “Jaw Jaw” over Vietnam led to humiliating failure when the North reunited and it needed helicopters to lift Americans and others out of Saigon. We need to remember this when Putin abrogates everything Trump thinks he’s negotiated over Ukraine and Putin completes his unification ambition. When will they ever learn?
Paddy’s Blogs in a crazy world 
The answer Paddy is they never will. Americans simply are so insulated from the rest of the world they make no effort to try and understand other nations problems.
With a venal compromised President its unlikely anything will come of meetings after meeings either when Trump continually tells Zelensky to capitulate to Putin.
It’s up to Europeans now to support Ukraine and not just with verbal support. Money, weapons and defensive boots on the ground.
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