Is It Possible for Nations to Be in An Abusive Relationship?
Relationships. They are tricky things. Don’t be fooled by that 80-year-old couple down the street that portrays a sterling example of harmony. A long relationship is filled with crises and challenges, even if the appearance is sure and steady.
Some bonds become toxic. Abusive.
When an out of balance condition persists; when one continues to give and the other continues to take, the expected gratefulness from the receiver is absent.
Indignancy sets in and the abuser demands even more.
One might think this analogy is pointing to the American connection to Ukraine.
After all, $350 billion, weapons, intelligence, communications and support for civil society to assist Ukraine in repulsing the Russian Army was a no strings attached, no audits, blank check. Just get it done.
The money bought things not intended and some of the weapons showed up in interesting places, but we kept giving.
Our Congress celebrated funding bills with Ukrainian flags.
The death toll blossomed exponentially.
Money and weapons with no strategy or diplomacy. Europe’s leaders all demanded Putin on a silver platter . . . whatever it takes.
One million plus dead. One trillion plus in infrastructure gone. One third plus of the population fled. The war drums of a looming World War III beat increasingly louder.
Three years into this morass, Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, almost predictably disrespected American support, and our nation's commander in chief.
He also continues to resist a constructive path to peace.
On mostly our dimes and our force presence, the leaders of Europe are meeting in Brussels to flout the Trump peace plan and conjure up new ways to keep War Inc alive.
From their cushy maisons and crastles, they are boldly ready to fight to the last Ukrainian.
After all, war is very profitable, and business is very good.
Ukraine is a symbol of our irreconcilable differences with Europe.
Our wedlock to Europe spans back to 1565 when the Spanish colonized St. Augustine, Florida. The French, Dutch and Russians would follow with England planting their flag at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.
The bonds to the old continent have endured yet the history has been pocked with piracy, theft, exploitation, manipulation and of course violent wars.
Perhaps the golden days of this bond was the sliver of time between World War II and the onset of the Cold War.
During that time, Europe was grateful not only for its liberation, but that America would restore its prosperity through institutions borne out of Bretton Woods and our tax dollars.
The Washington Treaty of 1949 established NATO, a 12-nation body committed to collective defense. All recognized the new bad guy as the Soviet Union, but the transatlantic marriage was seemingly unbreakable.
In that period, trillions of taxpayer dollars went to reconstruct Europe, blanket her in military bases, sacrifice American companies to curry her favor and so much more.
We lavished her with investments in the new institutions, attended and paid for Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum (WEF) and built her a new $700 million NATO headquarters in Brussels just to express our love.
What we got in return was camel spit and demands for more with no complaining.
President Trump called it out. Now he feels the heat
To be clear, the nuptials that need our examination are with the Euro elites, the heads of state, and their U.S. based enablers lurking in think tanks, the intelligence community and Congress.
The good citizens of Europe have been cashiered by this lot as they are told to worship at the altar of hate-the-Russians, climate change and pay-more-taxes-while-you-shut up.
Vice President JD Vance highlighted their hypocrisy at the recent Munich Security Conference; no return invites for him anytime soon — Happy Valentine’s Day Europe!
Perhaps it’s time to think about divorce or at least a separation if we can find a good marriage counselor, or even psychiatric help.
We're well past the War of 1812, or France and England supporting the South in the American Civil War, to bring us to heel. Now the same two countries demand that we underwrite their dalliance with defeating Russia as EU Foreign Minster Kaja Kallas calls for daily.
If they don’t get their way to deploy military forces to Ukraine with American security guarantees, is it possible a false flag operation could pull us in?
In the Oval Office at the heated dressing down President Zelenskyy rightly received, is it possible Trump's warning that "you’re gambling with WWIII," was also meant for the WEF-anointed war hawks of Europe?
Likely.
Trump is not secretive about pursuing a demilitarized foreign policy.
In that world, perhaps NATO membership and our forces based there no longer make sense. Instead of a marriage, maybe Europe can become a friendly "Ex" where we trade and cooperate but we’re no longer in bed together. Then, they can learn for themselves how foolish it is to poke a nuclear bear incessantly and that their security costs real money.
A small word of dating advice to Europe after the divorce.
Avoid China as a rebound beau or femme fatale . . . There's no dowry to be found.
Brig Gen (ret) Blaine Holt is a former Deputy Representative to NATO, lifetime member on the Council on Foreign Relations, tech entrepreneur and Newsmax Contributor. The views presented are those of the author and do not represent the views of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, or its components. Read Gen. Holt's reports — More Here.
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