Among the numerous misstatements uttered by Donald Trump in the train wreck that was his debate performance with Kamala Harris, the most egregious relate to his continued obeisance to Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin.
As has been true throughout his political career, Trump once again refused to criticize Putin, and would not condemn his murderous and misbegotten invasion of Ukraine. When asked if he would prefer a Ukrainian victory in the war, Trump did not even respond.
It will be remembered that Putin invaded his southern neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022, in full expectation of a rapid and bloodless victory. After a week or so of minor skirmishes, Kyiv and Odesa would be securely in Russian hands and the “glory” of tsarist and Stalinist Russia would be fully restored.
Instead, Putin crashed into a brick wall of solid Ukrainian resistance. Hundreds of thousands of Russian troops have been killed or wounded for no worthwhile purpose. The brutality of Putin’s invasion has been matched only by the stupidity of its execution.
Not surprisingly, the former KGB careerist Putin has targeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for assassination. This brave statesman, upon whom the fate of European democracy largely depends, deserves our continued support against Putin — and Trump.
Official assassination attempts on political leaders are not unknown in times of war. But intelligence decrypted through the fog of war often is incomplete, misleading or totally false.
One of the few European countries to stay neutral during World War II was Portugal. Regular civilian flights from Portugal to Britain remained unhindered by the Germans — with one horrifying exception.
On June 1, 1943, a German spy at the Lisbon airport noticed “a thickset man smoking a cigar.” Somehow concluding, in the midst of a world war, that this was Winston Churchill, the spy signaled as much by secret code to his superiors. Thus did the Luftwaffe deliberately shoot down the next plane to Britain, killing all 17 passengers and crew.
Among the dead was the distinguished actor Leslie Howard, who had played Ashley Wilkes in “Gone with the Wind.” Ironically, the Wilkes character was one of the few who fully understood the tragedy of war.
As wrote Churchill: “The brutality of the Germans was only matched by the stupidity of their agents.”
In fact, Churchill, like Volodymyr Zelenskyy, traveled frequently and at great risk as a courageous wartime leader, but never, of course, on commercial airlines.
As quipped Bob Hope: “Churchill — isn’t he something? He’s been to Casablanca more times than Humphrey Bogart.”
Joseph Tipler
Centralia
