That’s us — the United States of America — under the administration of Donald J. Trump.

Why are people surprised that we haven’t been able to negotiate an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine? Or frighten the leadership of Iran into capitulation? Or convince Kim Jong Un to stop making threats against South Korea?

A better question is: Why would any of those countries take us seriously when, every time Trump threatens retaliation or sanctions, he lets someone sweet-talk him into giving them more time and ends up doing nothing?

TACO. Trump Always Chickens Out.

Case in point:

Last week CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a hasty trip to Moscow, where he met with his intelligence counterpart. Although we don’t have details, the best information to date is that he (1) warned the Russian government against making any aggressive moves against NATO countries, and (2) discussed the status of that little ongoing fracas in Ukraine — not necessarily in that order. Then he came home.

What happened next? Well, the attacks on Ukraine intensified, with dozens of civilians being killed in just the last three days of unending, day- and nighttime barrages.

And early Tuesday morning, September 1st, NATO was forced to scramble fighter jets when drones entered both Estonian and Latvian airspace. No damage was done, and there is no word yet as to the origin of the drones. But the numerous threats emanating from the Kremlin, together with other identifiable incidents of Moscow’s ongoing hybrid war in Europe, have placed the entire European continent on edge — which is exactly what Putin is trying to do.

To add fuel to the fire, another top Russian official — First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Parliament’s Defense Committee Aleksey Zhuravlyov — dropped the “N” word this week when he said that any discussion over using nuclear weapons “should not even exist” because Moscow is now “obliged” to do so.

Demanding that Russia launch tactical nuclear missiles against Ukraine in order to force them into submission, he dismissed any question of the legality or morality of such an action, saying:

“The Americans dropped a couple of nuclear bombs on Japan, and what do we see? They practically started kissing American ***** . . . If we have to strike [with nukes], we’ll strike.” [Daily Express, August 30, 2026.]

And he is not the first Russian official to suggest the use of nuclear weapons. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, has done so more than once.

So how much good did Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow do?

Well, considering that on Monday, August 31st, Russia Finance Minister Anton Siluanov — at the express invitation of the U.S. administration — inserted himself into the G20 meeting in North Carolina. And while many of the other members made it quite clear that his presence was less than welcome, it was obvious that Donald Trump had once again played into Putin’s hands.

So I ask again: How many times can we cry wolf, and still expect to be taken seriously? It’s well past time to develop a real foreign policy, rejoin the brotherhood of democratic nations, and put a stop to Putin’s crusade for world domination once and for all.

But who is going to have the cojones to march into the Oval Office with that message?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/2/26