My prediction was wrong. A year ago, I imagined aloud that Trump could bring the ship into port by July 4, 2025. I had no special reason for that date, other than a good target for ending a devastating European war, one that has claimed an estimated one million lives. The President is trying.
No president since Theodore Roosevelt, without resorting to arms or the U.S. military, has ended a major war solely through moral suasion and the bold exercise of economic power. Trump may well achieve this.
The August Trump-Putin summit, which DC’s diplomatically uneducated and pathologically arrogant Democrats now deride, including Maine’s Chellie Pingree, may be a meaningful start.
Three historic facts explain why. They suggest that Trump is working as hard as any past president to conclude a deal that will bring peace to the tormented nations, the principal two nations, and others.
First, an enforceable, lasting peace in this region is worth diplomacy. It would have “first-order” effects on Ukrainians, able to rebuild, and Russians, able to mourn almost 400,000 dead soldiers.
The “second order” effects include ending sizable military spending by the U.S., Europe, but on the other side by China and North Korea, if not also Iran, preoccupied with…digging right now.
A looming historical precedent, worth close study, is how – over eight years, Ronald Reagan met and gradually changed the mind of Soviet President and Communist leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Those two men were different from Trump and Putin, but you can bet both teams reviewed the sequence, expectations for early summits, and chess moves that ended the Cold War.
Point? Good things take time, and both Trump and Putin know it. This diplomatic kabuki dance – the one Trump started when Putin decided to ask, after Trump pressured India to stop buying oil from Russia – is just beginning. It could move swiftly, move slowly, or come to a screeching halt.
That said, President Trump’s leadership in 230 days blows out of the water anything Biden – or Obama – did in a similar period of time, or in all the time they had in office. Trump’s word is understood to mean something, which creates movement. Reagan’s was too, which did the same.
Third and finally, a historical precedent worth review is how Theodore Roosevelt – who served as Commander in Chief from September 1901 through early 1908 – deftly negotiated an end to the devastating Russo-Japanese War.
Theodore Roosevelt (TR), like Reagan and Trump, had a keen sense of human nature, America’s uniquely powerful position in the world, and how to leverage those understandings to end a major war.
TR negotiated the end of that war, which had led to the sinking of the Russian Fleet and high costs to Japan, by bringing the two nations’ leadership to Maine, where they negotiated the final treaty in the shadow of the Maine’s Bath Iron Works, shipbuilders founded 20 years earlier.
TR did not have a B-2 or F-35 stealth fighters to fly over the Russians and Japanese, but he did have a grand shipyard, and he used moral suasion and America’s emerging power to get to peace. The model is a good one, and one might imagine Trump is aware of the history he is making, as TR was.
Maine would also be a great place for a third and final peace summit with Putin. I am sure warships could be arranged nearby. One way or the other, even the dates line up.
I was wrong about July 4, but historic figures are drawn to historic dates. That treaty – ending a war by forcing Russia to give land to satisfy Japan – was signed on September 5, 1905. You just never know…Maybe history will be made again by an intrepid American. President Trump is trying.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
He is right President Trump deserves A for effort.
This is an insightful look at the Russia – Ukraine War. It should be appreciated by anyone who is interested in the diplomatic skills required to negotiate a peace treaty by an American President. Under the topic of “What it took then and what it still takes” — as you wrote RBC – ” Theodore Roosevelt ,like Reagan and Trump , had a keen sense of human nature,America’s uniquely powerful position in the world ,and how to leverage those understandings to end a major war .” What Theodore Roosevelt did negotiating the peace between Russia and Japan in 1905 surely was a Big Time achievement and a part of history that should be clear in the minds of right thinking people who understand the value of having a keen sense of human nature in bringing about solutions to difficult situations.
As always, RBC, interesting article. It will be a matter of time before anything will become formal. Russia will do its best to be on top of any negotiation to get what they want, settle back, and wait for the next best opportunity to create more chaos as the Russians regain former Soviet territory for their empire. Remember, Putin’s goal is to put the old Soviet Union back together.
I hope that Trump ends up being as successful in dealing with Russia s POTUS Ronald Reagan was . First thing, Trump has to quit blaming Biden for this war and accept the fact that he is now POTUS and is in charge.
Previous American leaders have avoided Trump’s approach, instead choosing to start wars and deploy troops and equipment overseas, resulting in casualties and a need for long-term care for wounded personnel. The left and globalists are always ready for an excuse to “bring democracy to a troubled land.” Over the last 80 years it has been at the cost of American and indigenous blood with attendant destruction.
President Trump has been extraordinarily successful in stopping six wars and creating peace treaties. Here is a list of the conflicts he settled in his first term and the first six months back in office. I’m sure the threat of heavy tariffs on the warring factions caught their attention.
There are always possibilities of flair-ups due to factions within the countries, some of whom have been warring for over 30 years. The wars and rumors of wars Jesus warned about until he comes again is found in Matthew 24:6. He speaks to a time of unrest and turbulence. The phrase “wars and rumors of wars” suggests that throughout human history, there will always be conflict and chaos. These happenings can create fear and anxiety in people’s hearts, but Jesus reassures us not to be troubled. “We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” [1]
[1] Romans 3:23
Your embarrassing yourself, TROLL!
He’s trying, but it ain’t going go! Putin wants WW3, plain and simple. He wouldn’t be bombing Ukraine more than ever if he wanted peace. Patton and MacArthur were right.
Everyone seems to forget that this war was started by Biden with an OK to a “small incursion,” and financed by Biden when he destroyed the U.S. oil industry doubling the price of oil. Russia’s economy is based on oil. President Trump had driven the price of oil down to the $40bbl level. Russia couldn’t produce enough to go to war until sleepy Joe forced the cost up. Biden also financed the Ukrainian side of the war with continuous gifts of billions of U.S. dollars.
The problem is both sides have gotten used to the flow of money and they don’t care how many lives they have to end to keep it coming. This is Joe Biden’s legacy.
Does Putin really want peace?
can’t picture any dem capable. of course anarchists are rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power. so they’d just be in their cardboard sidewalk box in a 16 hour coma.