Not surprisingly, my mind is focused today on the current discussions being held in Europe concerning the Trump administration’s latest proposal for settlement of the war between Russia and Ukraine. And in that context, I have chosen as today’s quote, not the wise utterance of a long-dead Roman or Greek philosopher, or a 20th-century statesman, but the recent words of a living, breathing, knowledgeable American who is well acquainted with the issues and the parties involved in the world’s political arena.

Attorney, former First Lady of the United States, former U.S. Senator, and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not an uncontroversial figure. But she never chose the easy path, and she has devoted her life — through her own career and that of her husband — to serving her country.

And she had this to say about the Trump proposal yesterday:

“With his ultimatum that Ukraine surrender to Russia, Trump finally wins a prize: The Neville Chamberlain award for betraying peace, freedom, and justice.”

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Donald Trump, known for his disdain for the lessons of history, may never have heard of Neville Chamberlain — the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940 who is best known for his appeasement of Adolf Hitler, and his signing of the Munich Agreement of 1938 that gave away a large part of Czechoslovakia — the ethnic-German-majority region of Sudetenland — to Nazi Germany in exchange for a promise of peace.

Hitler famously — or infamously — broke that pact in March of 1939 when he invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, followed later that year by his invasion of Poland . . . the very possibilities that Ukraine and much of Europe now fear from Vladimir Putin.

Chamberlain was finally forced to resign as Prime Minister in May of 1940, making way for Winston Churchill to step in and guide Britain through the remaining five years of World War II.

Clinton, whether or not you like her, does know her history. And — as the saying goes — those who don’t know history, or who choose to ignore it, are doomed to repeat it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/23/25