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Support the Occupying Force: The Logic Behind Trump’s Foreign Policy

3 0
04.03.2025

In the wake of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s combative Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Friday, the White House decided late Monday evening that it will stop sending U.S. weapons to Ukraine.

A White House official said that Trump “is focused on peace” and that it needs its allies “to be committed to that goal as well,” referring to Ukraine, according to multiple reports. “We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” the official said.

Trump had leveled an ultimatum at the end of the televised Oval Office meeting: Accept a ceasefire deal with Russia, “or we’re out.”

A halt to sending weapons to Ukraine was an expected shift for the Trump administration. Even before his selection as Trump’s running mate, Vance had advocated the idea that other European nations should be responsible for their own security and called for the end of U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Europe should “stand on its own two feet” and “not continue to use America as a crutch,” he said. Meanwhile Trump has openly embraced Russia, claiming President Vladimir Putin is interested in peace despite the fact his nation is the aggressor in the ongoing war that has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.

But while the Trump administration’s policy has shifted on Ukraine–Russia, making allies less reliant on the U.S. for security isn’t a uniform policy goal. Just look to Israel, a U.S. ally that continues to be the beneficiary of steadfast, undying American military support.

Mere hours after the Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy, the State Department notified Congress that the Trump administration had approved a new weapons deal worth about $3 billion in arms to Israel. The sale came even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu violated the terms of the ceasefire deal in Gaza by halting humanitarian aid from entering the territory. Netanyahu’s move — intended to force Hamas to accept new deal terms he credits to real estate developer and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff — restricted the flow of food and other vital supplies into Gaza. The freeze has drawn criticism from the U.N., as well as Arab nations and human rights groups, which have blasted Netanyahu’s move as collective punishment of Palestinian people and a violation of international law.

“The Trump Administration will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement over the weekend about the new arms deal.

Trump’s new arms sales to Israel bypassed congressional approval, which is required under U.S. law for foreign sales. Trump used an “

© The Intercept