Yesterday’s negotiations between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump arrive at a moment of deep fatigue: military, political, and psychological. After years of war, there’s a natural hunger for an off-ramp, a framework that promises stability and relief from endless escalation. The talks are presented as pragmatic, results-oriented, and refreshingly unconcerned with ideological grandstanding. That tone…
A Review of Trump’s 20-Point Gaza Plan
The Middle East is a mess. I know, that’s not exactly a news flash. For decades, Israel and Hamas have been caught in the same exhausting cycle: rockets fly, bombs drop, the world yells “ceasefire,” and then—surprise—it all starts over again. It’s like watching the world’s worst rerun, except every season ends with more destruction,…
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…
Ukraine, Sovereignty, and America’s Role
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the Munich Security Conference revealed several key points about the ongoing war in Ukraine, America’s role, and the deepening divide between European and American approaches to the conflict. The demand for security guarantees before any negotiations with Vladimir Putin underscores both Ukraine’s vulnerability and…