by Brett Manero
Mark Twain is credited with saying: “History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” The master of wit was absolutely correct: history does not literally repeat itself, as events and people are unique in their own times, but there is often a similar rhythm and pattern of events and movements throughout history.
American President Donald Trump recently met with Russian President (really, dictator) Vladimir Putin Alaska about making peace in the ongoing and horrific Ukraine-Russia war, a war with Russia, and only Russia, started. Russia absurdly invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, an invasion that was completely unprovoked and which has no moral or military justification. One can only theorize why Putin began this war, but many analysts would agree that the Russian dictator’s desire for a rebirth of the Soviet Union – or something akin to it – and the re-expansion of Russia’s borders has something to do with it. Ukraine was once a part of the Soviet Union, and its movement towards the West in recent decades has exasperated Russia’s antagonism towards the West during the Putin era.
Ukraine has fought bravely and admirably, sacrificing untold numbers of soldiers in its fight for independence and freedom. Russia has lost an unimaginable number of soldiers – with some estimates bringing the figure to about a million – and yet the Russians still fight on in a bizarre attempt to control at least eastern Ukraine.
Enter Donald Trump, the deal-maker who promised to end this war on “day one” of his second term. The pursuit of peace is admirable for sure, and Trump’s attempts to make peace with Russia is to be commended. He has enjoyed tremendous success with deals such as the Abraham Accords, which has brought peace between Israel and several Arab nations. If he can do the same with Russia, great. One ought to support and pray for these attempts.
But when it comes to negotiating with a bully like Putin, one ought to take a cynical approach. Putin is not an idealist, nor is he a friend of ally to the West. He is a brutal dictator, a gangster, a murderer. He only understands strength, and he has zero care for human life, including the lives of his own soldiers – untold numbers of whom have died for his vain dream of controlling Ukraine. He can never be trusted, and if a deal is made with Putin, one must taking the Reagan-era approach of “trust, but verify.”
Whatever peace deal that may come must honor the integrity and dignity of Ukraine. Russia must accept responsibility for solely starting the war. In 1919, during the Paris peace negotiations following the First World War, Germany was forced to accept the infamous “guilt clause” of the Versailles Treaty, where Germany accepted sole responsibility for starting the Great War. Germany had invaded neutral Belgium and France, committing atrocities especially in Belgium. But the First World War was much more complicated than the current war in Eastern Europe. This current one was started by one country and one country alone, and that is Russia. Russia ought to accept sole responsibility for starting the war, and perhaps should pay reparations to Ukraine, as Germany was forced to do to the Allies.
President Trump ought to remember some other lessons of history, especially in the mistakes of his predecessor, President Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt is rightly honored as one of the greatest American Presidents – one of the top three, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln – but one of Roosevelt’s mistakes (as even great leaders make mistakes) was in his dealings with another Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin. Whereas British Prime Minister Winston Churchill distrusted the intentions of Stalin, Roosevelt believed he could wheel and deal with Stalin. Stalin, of course, has zero good intentions for Eastern Europe, as he established brutal Soviet-style communist regimes in Eastern Europe after the Red Army conquered it in the Second World War. These regimes ruled the Iron Curtain until the demise of communism in Eastern Europe in 1991. Roosevelt’s successor, Harry Truman, was less trusting of Stalin than his predecessor, understanding fully well that the Soviet dictator could never be trusted.
Perhaps Trump should be more like Truman than Roosevelt.
Whatever happens, every Catholic and every Christian has the power of prayer at his or her disposal. Let’s pray for peace, and a lasting and just peace, in Ukraine.