“NATO -like” guarantees of the security of Ukraine”
Did Russia announce that or is it another Pipe Dream of the Neocons?
I only repeat my thoughts in a previous reply made just before events:
Perhaps each side should consider the point of view of the other.
Supporters of Ukraine should concede that an American guarantee of some sort running to peacekeepers in Ukraine carries a risk to the United States of deeper involvement in Ukraine and, potentially, even in kinetic war.
Opponents of United States support of Ukraine should concede that peace in Ukraine, even at the cost of the risks noted above, carry benefits for the United States that might outweigh the risks. The benefits include retention by the United States of the power to deter aggression against places like Taiwan and, ultimately, against the United States itself or United States’ vital trade interests. The benefits might also include prying Russia away from its alliance with China, a development clearly in American national interest.
Donald Trump has evidently had his epiphany. He has expressed willingness to send arms to Ukraine and, reportedly, a willingness to guarantee a cease-fire with American military power. In doing so he has presumably weighed the risks against the benefits.
In making a risk-benefit analysis we are actually speculating about future consequences. We might at least muster the humility, born of limited vision, to concede that there is merit as well as risks to both points of view.