Lessons from Israel

The WSJ drew strong lessons from President Trump’s key role in ending the fighting in Gaza.

“the President exerted maximum pressure on adversaries—and it worked. The mystery is why he has for so long refused to show the same strength toward Mr. Putin. The President’s strategy of unilateral concessions—listening sympathetically to the Russian dictator’s catalogue of imperialist grievances—hasn’t worked.

The two wars are different, but some central truths apply to both. The U.S. will be weaker and more ensnared in regional problems if its ally loses the fight. The consequences of a U.S. capitulation would spread to other parts of the world, including to the detriment of whatever bargain Mr. Trump is pursuing with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The U.S. will invite more conflict if it hoards its artillery or cruise missiles for another day.”

“Joe Biden never provided Ukraine with the arms it needed when it might have pushed Russia back from its current battle lines. Take the example of providing F-16 fighters. The Biden Administration early in the war appeared panicked about Poland donating even some old MiG jets to Ukraine and then waited more than a year to train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16.”

Yet the bigger risk of war is from inaction. Mr. Putin is testing NATO’s resolve with drones and jet incursions, and he will continue to escalate if he pays no price. Sometimes Tomahawks are a force for peace.

Mr. Trump understands this instinctively, as he showed in the Middle East. He also knows what the next steps should be in Ukraine applying those principles. Help Europe seize Russia’s frozen assets. Impose secondary sanctions on Chinese oil purchases. Give Ukraine weapons, intelligence, and a strategy for recovering more land—every kilometer gained back is leverage at a negotiating table.”

Simple ideas for forging peace in Ukraine.

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