Here is a message from an American Missionary who disagrees with POTUS Trump's handling of the Ukraine war the US inherited from Putin and Biden. Following his response I respond.
Will, I also share with you message from Stephen Benham, he is one of leader in MIWC. He calls us to stand for Ukraine.
"Who will speak for the victims if we do not?
I am an American without any Ukrainian heritage. So I have no "ethnic" bias at play here. What I write below is based on 28 years of experience working in Ukraine. I have made 60 trips to the region since 1997, including 4 since the war began. I have visited every oblast (region) in the country except Luhansk. My total time in country exceeds 4 years. I speak Ukrainian fluently and Russian adequately. My expertise is on cultural, sociological, educational, and religious issues in Ukraine. I know the Ukrainian people very well. I know that they value freedom, family, faith, democracy, art and music, humor, poetry, and philosophy. They have unbelievable respect for the value of human life and dignity. They are diverse, direct, and hospitable all at once.As is now crystal clear it is Trump's strategy to "end" the war in Ukraine by enabling Russia to wipe entire Ukrainian cities off the map and pound Ukraine into utter humiliation and complete surrender.
What is just, moral, and right does not factor into Trump's equation for so-called peace. He clearly places no value on human life, democracy, self-determination, the rule of law, respect for international treaties or standing for justice. Instead, he is suffocating and strangling the Ukrainian people into submission while cutting off military aid, intelligence sharing, satellite access, defunding reconstruction efforts and humanitarian aid programs for the victims of this war. His approach to ending this war aligns more with Putin than with any Western democratic principles or values. That should say something.
And don't blame this on anyone other than Trump. These are solely his decisions. Yes, Biden should have done more, as should have his predecessors including Trump version I. Trump was behind the multiple-month Republican delay in approving Ukrainian support in 2023–2024. Do not forget that.
This war may temporarily stop, and some people may breathe a sigh of relief thinking that WWIII has been avoided. Unfortunately, Putin doesn't think that way. He simply will wait and rearm, ready to strike again. Look at every conflict that Russia and Putin have started in the last two decades. All you have done is kick the can down the road so that your children and grandchildren will have to fight an even worse war.
In the meantime people are massacred, lives are destroyed, families are torn apart, and entire towns and villages are wiped off the face of the earth each day in Ukraine. Every single day.
I can't live in the delusion that peace will happen without giving Ukraine more support instead of just enough to barely keep them alive.
My conscience won't let me be silent.
"
Pagarbiai,
Here is my response:
I agree with all Pastor Benham says about the Ukrainian people and on a tactical war level what Putin will want to do. He created his own trap where he cannot stop this war or agree to peace.
I want to add that I believe people that think Trump can do all things they want are delusional. Part of that is his own character in representing himself as a Cartoon hero. Those who truly know him believe he is a man of compassion and love for all people, and that he desires to do the best thing for them even if it is something they may not like or something different they want and think he can give.
You see, in the US ever since the 1960s era of The Great Society, many came to believe that compassion and love is equal to giving people everything they want. This is the opposite of the actual events and attitudes which created America in the first place. Remember the Bible teaches God gives us all we need as He sees it. He is not Santa Claus. America early on was populated by Europeans fleeing the tyranny of kings and land owners and business [gentry class] basically enslaving people under the KIng - Serf system. The king and his 'Nobles owned the land and all means of production. Serfs worked for them and only Nobility could set the economic terms. For hundreds of years with the Catholic Church Pope Systems blessing [All kings from the fall of Rome to the 1800s had to be blessed by the Pope. There was nothing the average person could do. Resist and they beat you they could legally beat you, rape your wife and daughters, even legally kill you. Somehow, this system lasted over a thousand years or more. The big change came with the Reformation when Martin Luther openly opposed the RC church of Rome. People learned to read, and once they could buy and share the written word, the all of the lies and deceptions of the RC church crumbled and that effected the Manor and landed Gentry system. People had lived suppressed for years saying that is the way things are. But when they strayed from the RC church, as Luther helped the understand their direct relationship With Jesus, things changed. New Protestant churches formed, and when Kings tried to suppress their new found religious beliefs, they simply left because a new land had been discovered where no king or 'lord' could rule over them other than King Jesus. However, when the monarchy came to America in 1626 the suppression continued until the 18th century [ 1750s] when the now well established churches [ non RC Babtists and Lutherns, etc. ] instilled independence in the people now living in a system of self determination politically, economically and in their faith and worship beliefs. The Revolutionary War created America, a Bible based form of a real Republic unlike anything before or since.
I say all this because Trump is the ultimate product of this historical cultural and political evolution. It is why the constitution is biblically based and why the radical left has done much to separate this inherent belief system from foundational beliefs which blur political and original Faith based beliefs.
How that plays out often seems insensitive to people throughout the world who have used America's Christian centered beliefs against the people. Mostly they have divided America. There is a certain innate compassion and Christian belief in helping the less fortunate, and then there is the common sense approach to how that is done in daily practice.
Back to the Great Society. following the assassination's of JFK, and his brother RFK at the height of the near second revolutionary war in the US. Johnson a sly bigoted man from Texas took over the presidency facing a nation of relentless riots and militant demands for "Equal rights". Johnson created a devious plan to make it look like he was helping Blacks while now due to Freedom of Information Acts all of his secret plans have been exposed.
A good objective book by Amity Shalaes, "Great Society" is an excellent book on why America is the way it is today, and why Trump is trying to change that.
I do not believe he will accomplish his goals because they are too radical for the entrenched liberal thinking that has been embedded into every aspect of American life and culture. Schools, political and business, and yes even some of the weaker churches have tainted thinking and direction of societies all over the globe for over 70 years. However, he may divert the river and let nature do the rest.
Tough love and Meritocracy vs a free lunch and entitlement thinking
Ever since the WW 1 and Wilson, people have wrongly adopted the idea that it is the mandate of more productive nations to "Carry the burden" of weaker nations which goes back to 1890 and the Colonization of the Philippines.
All over the globe when disaster strikes, Floods, Volcanos hurricanes, you will note that America is the first on the scene to give aid. That's a good thing until it became institutionalized as with USAID where the abuse of these funds reached new heights and we found that the self proclaimed administrators became entitled to the point where they refused to listen to directions of Congress. As with welfare In the US, ENTITLEMWNT IS DEFINED as help which can be demanded just because "the government OWES it to me". Biden's thinking like most democrats was if I give them 60 billion a month its ok because they are entitled to it, and my son Hunter [ the smartest man in the world ] will find a way to insure a lot[10%] will flow back to me because I am entitled to it.
Trump who has shown much personal generosity and compassion for the underdog all his life bases that on his personal Christian beliefs. He opposes the idea that he must give because the receiver believes for whatever reason that he is "Entitled" to receive help "just because America has always done so without regard to motive, accountability or some thanks or hope of the receiver never moving toward helping himself and regaining self reliance. It's the old adage " Give a man a fish and he will not be hungry that day, but teach him to fish and he will neve be hungry" I always add to this that that person will be forever grateful that you have restored his integrity and sense of self worth.
Justinas, sorry this took so long, but here's the punch line.
Compare and contrast Biden vs. Trump on Ukraine:
> Biden used the Lyndon Johnson [ aka Democrat method]. LBJ gave the blacks all they wanted and the price they paid was to remain loyal to their democrat masters, and remain on the Plantation enslaved as victims who were paid to be enslaved by the money they got from the Democrats] He reversed slavery for Blacks making them pay for being slaves to the master.
Johnson understood power and control in ways that had never been imagined.
Trump is the exact opposite not only in Ukraine, but globally. By slowing down the 60 billion in "welfare" to Z, and URK he actually helped him. When you free a person or nation to act on their own, they generally succeed, but may hate you for making them stand on their own two feet. Here is a short list of the results:
1. Z stopped listening to Trump as to how to run the war, but followed strategic advice of the Trump led Pentagon.
2 Seeing that he was acting differently, Trump did not give a bag of money UKR could not account for. he sent the right type of arms and renewed the vital and strategic target information from Musk's Starlink and Star Shield.
ubiquitous satellite system.
3. He sent them ATACMS missiles [ some were secretly long range.]
4. IN an effort to shorten the war after Putin pissed him off by not honoring their agreement. The US enabled the UKR to modify these ATACMS to very long range missiles. More importantly, under new Trump Pentagon leadership, two major aids to the Ukraine military evolved.
a. fully functional F-16 linked into US most sophisticated target resolution which is also linked to the ATACAMS targeting.
b. Strategic target selection.
* eliminates Artilleries type carpet targeting [ used by RU] they shoot 10 shells for every one Ukraine shell, and UKR has an 85% accuracy.
* Common sense targeting. hit all air defense [S-300& 400 and PMU 3 SAM and drone detection of RU and blinding them.
* then hit oil refineries. Fuel and ammo depots pumping stations and oil depot ports, Electric Generation; war production factories and all key [non civilian infrastructure.
All of this is done with the guidance of Star Link and Star Shield.
* learn to make your own defense system Show them how to fish]
Trump is not afraid to take the heat and criticism of what an how he is making all this happen, but the results are clear.
Ever since the Oval Office kabuki theatrical event we have seen Z suddenly develop long range missiles which hit only strategic targets crippling Russias money making facilitates.
* Ukraine is winning more than they were as slaves to Biden and the US Dem war machine who want this war to drag on for ever so they make $$$.
* Ukraine is now making and selling their weapons [helping their GDP] to others while Russia weapons sales plunged 47% in direct proportion to how the world sees Putin's Paper Tiger burn and crumble.
* Z and his people now have the confidence to do it on their own and not rely on the US as much
* Trump gave Ukraine more than a nice fish meal. He taught them to stand on their own which is so much better in many ways.
Thanks for listening to the other side of the "Bad Orange Man" common sense.
Like tough love, it is often painful, but better. It helps answer the age old question about evil and suffering in the world. Sometimes these things have to happen so we can seek to appreciate the final good which will prevail if we manage to sustain our Faith in Things Unseen.
