As the Middle East Erupts into War, Our Country’s Leaders React from Two Distinct Directions

By Kenneth Lee Warner in ROME Magazine

The insensitivity of Donald Trump is unfathomable in light of the conflicts that are fast spreading across the world. (Photo by Naomie Daslin)

The world awoke on Saturday last week to news that war had once again erupted in the Middle East. Hamas began shooting thousands of rockets reaching well into Israel and as far as Tel Aviv. Israel responded with complete mobilization and vowed to retaliate against the invaders without reservation.

History shows us that the Israelis are not ones to be messed with.

Reaction by America’s leaders was swift. And, the two most likely contenders for President in 2024 demonstrated a clear difference in their responses. President Biden was strong and concise in his support for our Israeli allies.

“I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the government and people of Israel,”

and

“Israel has a right to defend itself and its people — full stop,” he said. “Let me say this as clearly as I can. This is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. The world is watching.”

Donald Trump immediately used the occasion for personal gain and, rather than demonstrate real leadership and diplomatic skill, he chose to blame President Biden for the conflict.

“Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden Administration,”

If I had any small idea that Donald Trump was in any way fit to lead America, that thought disintegrated with his response.

This guy is a self-serving idiot with little regard for America’s standing in the world or for the lives of so many innocent civilians who will be lost in this conflict.

It’s disgusting.

For one day at least, while the Middle East is enveloped in war, Putin’s plan for empire-building is temporarily out of the headlines. Trump may have his legacy border wall and a self-absorbed Congress blindly allocated the funds to build it. But make no mistake, Putin will never stop until he rebuilds the iron curtain that sealed off much of Europe far into the waning years of the last century.

The Berlin Wall, which half of America has forgotten, came down in November of 1989 symbolizing the end of Soviet domination and independence for countries for whom WWII had never really ended.

That means that anyone under the age of 35 (fully a third of our population in the United States) doesn't even know the wall existed or the history of Soviet domination in Europe.

That’s why some 90 Republicans in Congress voted to stop aid to Ukraine, ignoring that Putin’s plan for rebuilding the Russian empire is right out of Adolf Hitler’s textbook. First Hitler annexed Austria, then marched into Czechoslovakia, and finally started a world war by creating a fictional crisis in Poland.

Last year at this time, I was right where World War II started in Gdansk, Poland. I wrote then about what military leaders call the most dangerous place on earth.

The air hangs heavy with the fact that Gdańsk is two hours away from Russian territory. Right now, an estimated 20 to 30 thousand Ukrainian refugees are in Gdańsk out of the 2,000,000 who have fled their homeland and into Poland. There are signs of their presence everywhere.

Poland shares a 300-mile border with Ukraine. The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is a scant 2-hour drive away. And, just a little further is Druskininkai and the Suwałki Gap, a place POLITICO has labeled the most dangerous location on earth.

The Russians could be here before dinner if Putin decides to expand his tragic war to the rest of Europe. Worse yet, his missiles could be here in minutes.

While in Poland I visited the Westerplatte peninsula, once a booming seaside resort, but in 1939 it was a tiny military garrison and the site of World War II’s beginning. Hitler’s plan for European domination and the subjugation of France and Great Britain ended up with somewhere between 30 and 60 million people dying. Including the “extermination” of some 6 million Jews.

It has been almost 80 years since the planet fought a worldwide war. Sadly though, they say history repeats itself. And I fear that without real leadership for America, it will.