Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
‘The problem is that the condemnation overlooks the history.’
There is understandable moral condemnation of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump but that does not solve the practical problem of what needs to be done, as discussed by such people as journalist and military historian Max Hastings and US political academic John Mearsheimer. The problem is that the condemnation overlooks the history.
Mearsheimer says Ukraine was unwise to give up its nuclear weapons, which has proved to be the case.
When it did, Russia, UK and the US guaranteed its independence. The US went on to assert its right to join Nato, doing this against the advice of France and Germany. No country has such a right to join Nato or the EU, it has to be accepted.
Now Trump reverses the US policy of a decade ago and blames the EU!
Meanwhile Russia regarded a move to join Nato as going against the spirit of the agreement, which had implied that Ukraine should be neutral.
We are now told that Putin is another Hitler and bent upon re-establishing the Soviet empire. Why was this not mentioned in the previous 20 years since Putin came to power? What was our Foreign Office doing? This requires a public inquiry.
Meanwhile Brexiteers, who opposed a European army, and headed by Boris Johnson, have denounced Russia and called for a relentless fight for Ukraine’s sovereignty, when our armed forces have been so run down that this can only make the Russians laugh. Their bluff has now been called by Trump and Putin.
The question now is – should the war continue for years with more destruction and loss of life until the two sides have fought to a standstill? Or should there be a truce now? Trump rightly advocates a dose of realism. As Mearsheimer has said, this is not a happy outcome, but who ultimately is to blame for that? Selby Whittingham, London
Starmer’s risky play for global influence
‘What about the cost to this country in money and possibly lives of our forces?’
Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity rating may have increased with his attempts to be a world leader regarding the Ukraine/Russia war, according to a YouGov poll, but he needs to be careful when committing to ‘boots on the ground’ and talking about
‘a coalition of the willing’ to oversee a peacekeeping force. The only other country in Europe willing to join his ‘coalition’ so far is France. Is the PM willing to commit our forces along with France as to be the only peacekeepers?
What about the cost to this country in money and possibly lives of our forces?
Starmer may want to be on the world stage and appear as a world leader.
Perhaps he thinks this war may boost his popularity, as the Falklands did with Margaret Thatcher?
‘It could end up like it did for Tony Blair and Iraq’
That is a dangerous gamble with our country and our Armed Forces. It could end up as it did for Tony Blair and Iraq. Beware the world stage, prime minister!
Ian Bentley, Pudsey
Trump’s chaotic diplomacy – could it be a path to peace?
‘Shaming people usually gets the desired effect’
HG of Maidstone (MetroTalk, Wed) hit the nail on the head in saying that, ‘unedifying’ as it may have been, the Oval Office argument may end up being the ‘catalyst for peace’.
Trump’s approach to politics may be straight out of ‘The Hamas Guide To Tact And Diplomacy’ but you often find that goading or shaming people usually gets the desired effect better than asking or telling then to do it. Alex, Coventry
Zelensky vs Trump: one puts country first, the other himself
‘Volodymyr Zelensky sacrificed his ego for the sake of his country’
When it came to the negotiations around a peace deal between Ukraine and the US following their Oval Office argument, Volodymyr Zelensky sacrificed his ego for the sake of his country, while Trump sacrificed his country for the sake of his ego. Charlotte Ellis, West London
Why is the UK so obsessed with Trump?
‘The point is, please leave Trump alone.’
As Jude (MetroTalk, Thu) points out, what’s the UK people’s (and Metro readers’) obsession with Trump?
Why don’t you people look at cleaning your backyard rather than commenting on your neighbour’s home?When you point one finger at someone, please remember that three fingers are pointing at you.
Don’t you have issues to address here? How about the high taxes? How about the hard-working taxpayers’ valuable contributions going down the drain of supporting the benefit fraud leaches?
How about the crime in the streets (even this week, a boy was gunned down)? How about the industries being shut down?
How about the money wasted in supporting parties who don’t deserve any help from us? How about fixing the totally broken NHS? I can go on and on.
The point is, please leave Trump alone.
He’s a businessman and trying to take care of his country’s business. People here should mind their own business! Inbaraj, Harrow
Trump’s global stunts affect us all
‘The US is still one of the biggest powers in the world’
Jude asks why we are ‘obsessed’ with bashing Trump. If they paid attention, they’d know Trumps antics have an effect on all of us.
The US is still one of the biggest powers in the world and we are watching in real time as the so-called ‘leader of the free world’ sets about trying to bully and belittle America’s allies as he attempts to cozy up to tyrants such as Putin, who he hopes to emulate.
We are watching as Trump and his cronies attempt to rewrite history on Putin’s behalf to make it seem Ukraine were the aggressors after Russia invaded their country.
They are downplaying or dismissing the other countries who have helped prop up the US during its own conflicts.
Maybe we wouldn’t be so ‘obsessed’ with bashing Trump if he and his party didn’t keep making an embarrassment of themselves, acting like petulant children whenever other countries leaders dare to correct them, or when the people who elected them dare to ask questions as they carelessly gut the American system to make lives worse for the average citizen and better for themselves. Matthew, Birmingham
The hidden economic play behind Trump’s Ukraine strategy
‘Trump urgently needs a rare earth deal with Ukraine’
President Trump urgently needs a rare earth deal with Ukraine to support the US defence industries.
For instance, every F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft that Lockheed Martin is selling to Nato countries – including the UK, Italy, Norway and Finland – needs 416kg of rare earth, and more for drones and cruise missiles produced in the US. David Oliver, Herts
World leaders are teaching violence, not peace
‘Children Learn What They Live’
Now we can see why there’s so much violence among our children. It is as Les Crane sang in 1971, ‘Children Learn What They Live’ – and they learn it from the leaders of their countries and even more so from those in the entertainment industry.
Now here is this moron Trump, speaking peace with Russia but spewing venom now at the Palestinian people, whose homes have been demolished and who have been slaughtered in their thousands.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he is prepared to supply that other moron, that barbarian of an Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu, with all the weapons he needs to continue with the slaughter.
These maniacs have found themselves as leaders of such powerful countries and they are dangerous – it’s as if they can’t be satisfied, as if they will live forever.
It’s time they stop this madness and realise they didn’t get this high office to go throwing their weight around and making people’s lives a misery.
It’s time they learnt to live and let live and stop being greedy. Jon, South-West London
A league table of who pays the most tax is what we need
‘I’d like to see a list of those who contributed the greatest amount of tax’
Chris Parrett (MetroTalk, Thu) is quite right – we should be glad to
pay our taxes to fund the services that we need. Indeed, it should be a matter of pride!
Each year, The Sunday Times publishes a Rich List of the wealthiest people in the UK but what I’d like to see is a list of those who contributed the greatest amount of tax to our treasury’s coffers.
Likewise, each year companies submit accounts publishing their profits and losses but I think what would be in the greatest public interest would be to see which companies had paid the highest levels of corporation tax.
That way consumers could choose to support those who put the most back into the country that they live in, rather than spending money with people who employ complex arrangements to minimise the amount of tax that they pay or to funnel profits offshore.
Our public services are on their knees and our Armed Forces are in urgent need of replenishing – the most philanthropic thing that anyone can do in these unsettled times is to make a fair contribution to our nation’s future and security.
