Ineffective Diplomacy

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Clarissa

February 23, 2025

Because Israel knows how to do diplomacy and manages not to take sides in US internal conflicts.

I say this with the greatest sadness and the most fervent wish that things were different but I believe in agency and accountability. Ukraine fucked up massively where Israel didn’t. This doesn’t cancel the fact that Trump is shaming the US by being weaselly and subservient to the Russians who laugh at him. I hope we are evolved enough around here to be able to hold both thoughts in our minds at the same time.

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8 responses to “Ineffective Diplomacy”

Benzion Chinn

February 23, 2025

It is important to recognize that Trump likes Netanyahu at a deep personal level. In essence, Netanyahu is the Israeli branch of the Republican Party. (Keep in mind that Netanyahu grew up in the United States.) On the flip side, Netanyahu never got along with Obama and things were clearly strained with Biden. Trump giving Netanyahu loads of weapons and a green light to use them offers a clear win scenario for Trump. Israel destroys Iran’s proxies and then makes peace with the Arab states aligned with Saudi Arabia. If this happens, Trump can take the credit. By contrast, Zelensky, in Trump’s mind, is a creature of the Democratic Party. If Ukraine wins, Trump will not get credit. As such, Trump’s win scenario becomes getting Ukraine to sign a lousy peace deal that guarantees a new round of fighting in a few years with the European Union having to shoulder the burden.

To be clear, none of this is fair. It is simply a matter of the stories in Trump’s head that may have little to do with reality.

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1. Clarissa
  
  February 23, 2025
  
  Well, yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Netanyahu endeared himself to Trump while Zelensky worked like a rickshaw to antagonize him. I’ve been tearing hair out of my head over the sheer idiocy of this for years.
  
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Anonymous

February 23, 2025

“Ukraine fucked up massively where Israel didn’t.”

How so? What could Ukraine have done or said different?

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1. Clarissa
  
  February 23, 2025
  
  What I’ve been saying like a crazed parrot in every Ukrainian interview: not play aggressively and openly on the Dem side, rubbishing Republicans at every turn. The golden rule of diplomacy: don’t take sides in the internal conflicts of countries you depend on.
  
  So bloody frustrating.
  
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  1. ed
    
    February 23, 2025
    
    I thought Ukraine threw Biden and the Democrats under the bus the moment it became clear was going to win.
    
    Trump has great respect and administration for Putin, and respects Ukraine being within Russia’s sphere of influence. I think he would have taken Russia’s side regardless. What is shocking to me is how blatant he is being about it to the point where he has even borrowed Russian talking points. That I definitely did not expect.
    
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    1. Clarissa
      
      February 23, 2025
      
      Unfortunately, this didn’t happen.
      
      Trump is who he is. He didn’t become what we are seeing now overnight. Smart people know it and work with what there is. Instead, they kept prodding him. And this is not a dude who can rise above personal grievances. Very few people are, so it’s not surprising.
      
      And I kept warning, I kept warning.
      
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Stringer Bell

February 23, 2025

Ukraine fucked up massively where Israel didn’t.

To be fair, Israel has had a 70 year head start on influencing american foreign policy, so it’s not an apples to apples comparison.

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1. Clarissa
  
  February 24, 2025
  
  True but we are supposed to be smarter. Our enemy isn’t a bunch of grimy savages but a nuclear country with the population of 140 million. The stakes are much higher.
  
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