Some weeks in politics feel like a three-ring circus, and lately the lions, clowns, and tightrope walkers have all shown up at once. On one side of the world, we’ve got a draft peace plan for Ukraine that asks them to hand over territory to Russia like it’s a neighborhood potluck. On the other side…
The Moral Weight of America’s Return to Nuclear Testing
When President Trump tells the Pentagon to dust off the old test tunnels in Nevada, you can almost hear the collective gasp echo from Washington to Geneva. After more than three decades of quiet on the nuclear front, the United States is preparing to “match Russia and China” by restarting nuclear weapons testing. That’s not…
The Risks and Rewards of a Trump–Putin Summit in Budapest
As we all remember, President Trump and Vladimir Putin already met once this year: the much-ballyhooed Alaska Summit in August 2025. It was chilly in more ways than one. The meeting produced no binding agreement, no grand peace plan, and no Nobel-worthy handshake moment. But what it did produce was symbolism, lots of it. It…
Oops, Wrong Border? A Look at Russia’s Violation of Polish Airspace
I’ve been mulling over the latest drama out of Eastern Europe. Between September 9th and 10th, Poland found itself playing host to dozens of uninvited Russian drones. The fallout? Airports went into panic mode, flights grounded, fighter jets scrambled, and Polish air defenses got a live-fire training exercise they didn’t exactly sign up for. NATO…
Wings, Not Boots: My Take on U.S. Air Support in Ukraine
President Trump made it clear this week that American boots won’t be marching into Ukraine, but he didn’t shut the door on helping from above. Instead, he left U.S. air support on the table as part of a possible peace deal with Russia. The idea is to build a framework for ending the war, maybe…
No Crimea, No NATO: What Conservative Realism Should Demand
President Trump is hosting Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House—alongside a scrum of European leaders—just three days after sitting down with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. And he’s framing the deal in blunt-Trump terms: Ukraine won’t be getting back Crimea, and NATO membership is off the table. Zelenskyy, he says, “can end the war almost…
Alaska, Peacemaking, and the Peril of “Quick Fix” Diplomacy
If you’re looking for tidy endings, geopolitics is the wrong genre. President Trump and Vladimir Putin sat down in Anchorage, and—surprise—no white-smoke peace deal drifted over the Chugach. Still, the two leaders talked for hours about Ukraine, pledged to keep talking, and signaled that President Zelenskyy will now be heavily engaged. Reports suggest he’s heading…
An Analysis of Trump’s Decision to Arm Ukraine
Today, President Trump green-lit a NATO-backed arms deal that will send Patriot missile systems and possibly long-range weapons to Ukraine. This new arrangement—quietly hammered out between Washington and NATO—has President Trump giving the go-ahead for European allies to send their own military systems to Ukraine, including air defenses and potentially long-range missiles. The U.S. will…
Tariffs, Tyrants, and Tough Love: Considering the Proposed Sanctions on Russia
The U.S. Senate is rolling out a bold new bill aimed squarely at countries still doing business with Putin’s energy empire. It would slap a whopping 500% tariff on imports from any nation that continues buying Russian oil, gas, or uranium. The goal? Hit Vladimir Putin where it counts: in the pocketbook. And let’s be…
Peace Through Strength or Perpetual War? A Look at President Trump’s Ukraine Pivot
Last week, the Pentagon hit the brakes on some critical arms shipments to Ukraine, citing the need to replenish our own defense systems. That pause didn’t last long. President Trump saw the news, heard the reports of civilian casualties, and said, “Not on my watch.” He ordered those shipments back on track, vowing more defensive…
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