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The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

To the vast disappointment of the Forever-War^TM supporters, President Trump's efforts to end the pointless border war in Ukraine may be entering a new phase. Both the Z-man and Putin have agreed to end energy infrastructure attacks which, while it might seem incomplete and narrowly focused, is a boon for the people who are suffering. Z-man and Putin certainly aren't!

An incremental ceasefire leading to a total cessation of fighting might not be the quickest way to get to an end to this bloodbath, but President Trump is in his element as a negotiator, so it isn't surprising.

Putin is in a position of strength as he consolidates his military gains in Ukraine. Obviously it has gone very badly for Russia compared to their rosy and optimistic plans for a three day campaign, at which any student of Russian military history will smile and nod and say...Yup! pretty typical!

But Russia is much bigger than Ukraine, has shorter supply lines, and will, in the end, succeed in taking the territory it desires. Perhaps they have already accomplished their goals, and the current fighting is simply to wear down Ukraine to the point at which it must agree to whatever ceasefire is proposed, no matter how much worse than the one it was offered three years ago!

Zelenskyy Also Agrees to Limited Russia-Ukraine Cease-Fire in Call With Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to a moratorium on attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure following a March 19 phone call with President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz issued a statement on the Trump–Zelenskyy call, saying that the two leaders “agreed on a partial ceasefire against energy.”

Zelenskyy confirmed the development in a post on social media platform X, saying, “I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.”

Trump’s and Zelenskyy’s phone conversation lasted about an hour and came a day after Trump proposed the moratorium on energy infrastructure attacks to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

How long will it take to achieve some sort of peace? My guess is that the fighting will gradually wind down without much in the way of formal agreements, in spite of the paper tigers of Europe pledging fealty to a free Ukraine and its pint-sized dictator. The grand alliance of the free nations of the West was never more than a fragile coalition willing to talk a tough stance...right up until it required actual sacrifice.

It is already fracturing!

Italy's Meloni Backs Trump's Peace Efforts in Ukraine, Urges 'Pragmatism' in Europe on Trade Talks

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday called for “pragmatism” to prevent an EU-US dispute over tariffs from escalating into a full-scale trade war, and expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Speaking to the Italian Senate ahead of a meeting of EU leaders this week, Meloni made her first wide-ranging comments touching on Trump policies that have shaken Europe in the two months since he took office.

Meloni struck a diplomatic tone on tariffs and expressed favor for Trump’s moves to establish a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine as a possible pathway to end the war in Ukraine. She also ruled out sending Italian troops to Ukraine, and spoke against the proposal for a security force by Britain and France. And she pledged to forge ahead with a controversial and stalled plan to vet migrants outside of the EU borders in Albania.

Oh no! The head of government of an important European country has come out in support of Literally Hitler's plan for peace! And even worse, she doesn't want to send Italian troops to get chewed up for some nebulous and suspect goal. Does anyone really believe that short of a world war, Russia is going to be pushed out of Ukraine?

No, of course not. But Raytheon and Northrop Grumman and Pratt & Whitney, and Lockheed Martin sure are cheering for that! It is a testament to Donald Trump's independence from the military-industrial complex that he is not willing to commit American treasure and blood to a border dispute 4,000 miles away.

This is a war whose antecedents are not simply that Putin is a bad man. Regardless of how you feel about him and Russia, NATO has been pushing closer and closer to Russia's traditional borders, and only a jingoistic Russia-hating, war-loving retard would fail to understand that it was probably not a good idea.

Well, as NATO crumbles, perhaps it is incumbent upon the UK and France and Germany to step in, send troops and cash, and do what they are clamoring for! Yeah, that's not going to happen for a few reasons, the most important of which is that their militaries are a sadly diminished and ineffectual shell of what they once were. They will bluster and pontificate, but ultimately they will agree to Donald Trump's plan for a ceasefire, because they simply don't have a choice.

I guess I sound like a Putin supporter, but I'm really not. I just don't think that it is worth the blood and treasure of the West to intervene in a border dispute between two countries whose borders have been bouncing around for a very long time.

If both countries could lose, I would be happy!

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X]