Who are we?

I find President Trump's recent hostility toward Ukraine's fight to survive Russia's brutal war of aggression an intolerable betrayal of the values our nation has long represented and fought to preserve. If Mr. Trump is successful in his efforts it should cement in history the separation of the USA from our allies and our historical quest for principles of world order and free democracy.

Declaring Vladimir Putin a friend while sending businessmen to Russia to declare him a "humanitarian" and lay groundwork for Russian commerce in return for essentially forcing Ukraine to surrender is beyond belief.

Mr. Putin may be friends with Mr. Trump (and nations like North Korea and Iran), but he is no friend of the USA.

The timing of Mr. Trump’s recent push to hobble Ukraine (e.g. pause our, and our allies, arm shipments to Ukraine, cripple Ukraine access to satellite communications, and withhold intelligence on incoming Russian missile attacks) could not make Mr. Trump’s motivation clearer: to somehow support the ridiculous notion of himself as a peacemaker and bolster his MAGA election support. 

In my world, a real leader refers to an authoritarian monster like Vladimir Putin by their true nature, supports, as possible, NATO's (and other nations') efforts to defend the sovereign democratic state of Ukraine's survival and the notion that democracies that find themselves in similar peril are worth persevering.

Or maybe, as recently reported, resuming the U.S. war against Iran after the midterm elections will not seem so horrific if POTUS can claim a single-handed victory over Ukraine before the coming Nov. 3 referendum.

Robert Marshall

Juneau