... senior editor needs to take a few serious courses in actual history, policy and strategy--I omit here courses on operational art and operations, he will not get it--and try to write with at least a pretense of objectivity, when trying to portray Trump's sheer failure as some kind of "strategy" instead of kindergarten level hustling around SMO, trying to gain whatever could be portrayed as America's "victory" and DJT's "diplomatic triumph". I, of course, do not expect the author of this drivel to grasp the critical issue of COFM.
Andrew Day posits:
Simply put, Washington doesn’t have big enough sticks to force Russia to stop the war—the “unipolar moment” truly is over. Fortunately, Trump has managed to engineer a large carrot that could help entice Moscow to make peace. In the opening weeks of the administration, the White House not only reestablished diplomatic contacts with the Kremlin but put on the table a grand U.S.-Russia rapprochement, which Putin seems to desire. In last week’s track II talks, the Russians conveyed a strong interest in better bilateral relations. Trump should continue to promote closer ties between Washington and Moscow but signal that failure to resolve the war in Ukraine would jeopardize this broader diplomatic project. He should also make clear—not only to Putin but to Russia hawks in Washington—that Moscow would get sanctions relief if it ended the war. If Trump, through wise deployment of carrots and sticks, manages to coax Putin to the negotiating table, he should use the peace talks not only to try resolving the current conflict but to probe Moscow’s intentions. This would require differentiating between Russian demands that arise from legitimate security concerns and those that bespeak nefarious designs.
LOL. I like Andrew Day's insouciance and conviction that Moscow seeks:
1. Sanctions relief. No, make no mistake--this item is in the list of demands but Andrew Day should refer himself to this (barely a month ago):
Пресс-секретарь российского лидера Дмитрий Песков призвал внимательно слушать президента России Владимира Путина в вопросе снятия антироссийских санкций. Об этом представитель Кремля сообщил в интервью журналисту ВГТРК Павлу Зарубину. «Вы знаете, если у вас возникают подобные вопросы, у меня один совет: слушайте внимательно Путина. Что сказал Путин, выступая на съезде РСПП? Никакие санкции не снимут. Санкции - это надолго, это постоянные меры по сдерживанию России», - подчеркнул политик.
Translation: The Russian leader's press secretary Dmitry Peskov called for listening carefully to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue of lifting anti-Russian sanctions. The Kremlin representative said this in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin. "You know, if you have such questions, I have one piece of advice: listen carefully to Putin. What did Putin say when he spoke at the RSPP congress? No sanctions will be lifted. Sanctions are for a long time, they are permanent measures to contain Russia," the politician emphasized.
Russians are not naïve and know about the United States orders of magnitude more than the US knows about Russia. If people at TAC think that Russians expect any lifting of sanctions, especially from Trump, I have a bridge to sell them.
2. Restoration of a diplomatic dialogue between Russia and the US is not some kind of a goodwill gesture or carrot--it has EVERYTHING to do with:
a) Necessity of the two nuclear superpowers to stay away from escalation;
b) Trump's understanding of a pitiful state of the US military and military-industrial base;
c) A dramatic loss of the arms race by the US.
These are the main factors, together with current administration's course on (futile) preserving Ukraine as a future place d'armes against Russia, which drove DJT into his "peace" rhetoric. In some sense, Trump is just the more entertaining and coherent version of Biden and in terms of any kind of rapprochement with Russia is driven by weakness, not sincere desire to stop the bloodshed. Russians are keenly aware of that. And when Day speaks about this:
As for demilitarization, the U.S. should be open to demands that Ukraine relinquish long-range missiles, but it should resist any calls for Kiev to give up air-defense systems, land mines, and other defensive munitions. Washington might also propose to have offensive weaponry positioned in southeastern Poland for release to Ukraine only in the event of future Russian aggression.
He should learn first that all of Ukraine's "long-range missiles" have been supplied by NATO, and he also should recall this:
«Что происходит сегодня в принципе тоже понятно. По всей линии боевого соприкосновения наши войска владеют стратегической инициативой. Есть все основания полагать... Я еще совсем недавно говорил, что мы их дожмем, но есть основания полагать, что мы их добьем», — сообщил российский лидер во время беседы с моряками подводной лодки «Архангельск».
Translation: "What is happening today is also clear in principle. Along the entire line of combat contact, our troops have the strategic initiative. There is every reason to believe... I said quite recently that we will put the squeeze on them, but there is reason to believe that we will finish them off," the Russian leader said during a conversation with the sailors of the Arkhangelsk submarine.
Unlike Trump, Putin doesn't do theatrics, doesn't make grandiose statements and doesn't sell BS packaged as "achievement" and TAC people are advised to learn what "strategic initiative" is and what it all means for the United States and the Trump's Administration. This may get them some dose of much needed reality of the US sustaining a historic humiliating defeat. Defeated do not get to dictate conditions.
