Trump Was Better after All

Air raid sirens fill the air and people scramble to shelters and subway stations.

The nightmare that should have ended 77 years ago with Japan and Europe has been reawakened.

We can do nothing but feel compassion for those affected by the tragedy unfolding in distant Ukraine. While the unprecedented economic sanctions enacted by Europe and the United States will undoubtedly have an enormous effect, they will not immediately solve the current crisis.

America’s complete withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer was a total disaster. It signaled to the world that the administration would not support military intervention anywhere, even in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin looked on as U.S. troops withdrew last August and, realizing that America had relinquished its role as “the world’s police,” saw his opportunity and made preparations to fulfill his long-cherished ambition of invading Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden made full use of intelligence capabilities and actively disclosed classified information, claiming “Russian troops will invade within 48 hours” in a bid to restrain Putin, while attempting every possible countermeasure, such as persuading hesitant European leaders to impose severe economic sanctions.

Unfortunately, this is Putin, an autocrat who has ruled over Russia for 22 years. Liberal countries approach the situation with common sense, but that way of thinking is ineffective.

Biden, the man of “common sense,” was unable to put an end to Putin’s ambitions.

Former President Donald Trump praised Putin for being a genius while criticizing Biden, saying, “The problem is not that Putin is smart […] the real problem is that our leaders are so dumb.” He also boasted that, had he remained in power, he would easily have stopped “this farce.”

Maybe so. Trump defies common sense and leaves others with no idea what he will do next. China seriously feared that he would launch a nuclear attack (as described in the book “Peril”).

Even Putin was dissuaded from invading Ukraine when Trump was in office. I was criticized for my acceptance of Trump when he was elected president, but a man of common sense cannot confront the imperialistic ideology to which both China and Russia are committed.

Ukraine today is Japan tomorrow. This is not the time to be arguing semantics about what constitutes an enemy attack.