The left and even some Republicans are harshly criticizing President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
These attacks are totally hypocritical and dishonest.
Remember, for three years, Trump’s critics completely failed to prevent or stop this war. They essentially accepted it. All the while, hundreds of thousands of people died and much of Ukraine was destroyed.
Consider the first signals the Biden administration sent to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin before the war.
Nineteen days before the Russian invasion, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told members of Congress that Russia would completely defeat Kyiv within 72 hours if Russia decided to invade. He told them in a closed-door session that the war would cost 15,000 Ukrainian lives and 4,000 Russian lives.
As Fox News reported at the time, “Several lawmakers expressed concern that the Biden administration did not respond quickly to provide Ukraine with significant military aid, such as anti-aircraft and rocket launcher systems that would defend against an invasion from Russia.”
If you were Putin and his generals, how would you have interpreted this prediction of Ukrainian collapse?
Two weeks later, President Joe Biden sent a clear signal of personal ambivalence about Russian invasion. According to National Public Radio on Feb. 20, 2022:
“On Wednesday, Biden had predicted Russia would invade Ukraine but suggested there was a split among NATO members about how to respond if Moscow took action that stopped short of sending its troops across the border — something Biden referred to as a ‘minor incursion.’
“He said: ‘I think what you’re going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do.’”
How would you have interpreted this if you were sitting in the Kremlin?
Four days later, on Feb. 24, 2022, Putin launched his army into Ukraine.
Then, Ukrainian courage and ingenuity proved that Milley (and apparently Russia’s generals) were clueless.
Three years later, the Russian army has still not reached Kyiv. The war seems largely to be fought in slow motion. It is almost like World War I trench warfare in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainians have taken terrible losses — and the Russians have suffered even more casualties. However, Ukraine’s suffering has been intensified by a deliberate Russian campaign of bombing civilians, infrastructure and key elements of civilized life.
Before condemning or attacking Trump’s effort to end the violence, remember this: Trump’s critics had three years to win the war with Russia. They were consistently late, slow, timid and cheap. If full military aid had been sent in the first six months, Ukraine might already have won. If Ukraine had been allowed to hit Russian territory with all its capacity, Putin might have been forced to negotiate.
Instead, for three years, Trump’s critics maneuvered in fear of pushing Putin into a nuclear war (a fear he exploited and reinforced brilliantly). For three years, the Europeans and the Biden administration talked tough while Ukrainians died. For three years, there was no sign of a strategy which could end the war on Ukrainian terms.
Now there is no reasonable possibility that Ukraine can drive Russia out of Eastern Ukraine. The Russian army is much bigger with many more troops and a lot more equipment. The Russian arms industry has proven to be faster and more productive than its European and American competitors. The Iranians have sold thousands of drones to Russia. The North Koreans have sent combat troops. The Chinese have helped the Russian economy.
Trump inherited a disaster caused by Biden and his weak-willed European allies. Trump could either massively increase American involvement at the risk of triggering a nuclear war with a country that has 6,000 nuclear weapons — or he could find an alternative path to ending the bloodshed.
The Trump path to ending the killing will probably work. It will leave Putin stronger than we would like. It will leave Ukraine battered but still a nation. It will create an economic relationship between the United States and Ukraine — which will enrich Ukraine and indirectly provide a powerful security against future Russian attacks.
This is the same effect we achieved in West Germany during the Cold War. We had American families living there. I was a child in one of those families. My family and I — and many others — effectively deterred the Soviets. If they had killed us, it would have likely triggered an all-out war.
The next time you hear some supposedly sophisticated expert attack Trump about Ukraine, ask them why they failed for three years. Let them know they should show a little respect for someone who is trying to stop the killing.
Newt Gingrich was a Republican speaker of the House.
