glen brown

A writer must “know and have an ever-present consciousness that this world is a world of fools and rogues… tormented with envy, consumed with vanity; selfish, false, cruel, cursed with illusions… He should free himself of all doctrines, theories, etiquettes, politics…” —Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?). “The nobility of the writer's occupation lies in resisting oppression, thus in accepting isolation” —Albert Camus (1913-1960). “What are you gonna do” —Bertha Brown (1895-1987).

Friday, November 21, 2025

"Surrender document may herald biggest transatlantic crisis since WWII"

It's an old cliche that you're probably on the menu if you're not at the table, says military analyst Michael Clarke in his analysis of the 28-point peace plan. "And there it is, Ukraine's on the menu."

His verdict on the plan is that it's "so amateur, apart from being politically outrageous, because it's basically a surrender document", Clarke said. Russia has given nothing and not changed its demands vis-a-vis the early days of the war, he noted.

Ukraine has to give "more or less everything" in what appears like a "diminution of its sovereignty" and leaves it "completely insecure", Clarke added. Regarding the future of the plan, Clarke said it looks like the Americans will "slap this on the table and say to Ukraine: sign it."

Meanwhile, the Europeans will be trying to "put some professional diplomacy into it to tighten up some of this extremely vague language", he estimated.

Trump and Putin as 'Mafioso bosses':

Clarke sees a "big message" beyond Ukraine in the document: "Because if you just look at item four... it says that the United States will mediate between NATO and Russia to create a European security arrangement... The United States in this document is talking as if it's not part of NATO, that when the US, a founding member, talks about NATO, it means the Europeans."

Clarke said this is giving Russia what it wanted before the full-scale invasion: control over the sovereignty of some eastern European states while NATO is pulling back.

What this means for Europe is that "we're on the road to a major transatlantic rift, where the Americans say: you're on your own, Europe", he added.

"This is Trump and Putin as a pair of big Mafioso bosses. It may all fade away. But on paper this is the biggest crisis in transatlantic relations since 1949."