American Juncture as Israel’s Eighth War Front Ignites

Alastair Crooke, 25 Sept 2025

The second stage to Trump’s ‘hand-off’ of the Ukraine war to the Europeans was clearly set out in his Truth Social post of 23 September. In the first phase of the hand-over, Trump withdrew from being the primary supplier of armaments to Kiev, and indicated that from now on Europe would have to pay for virtually everything -- with weapons purchased from US manufacturers.

Of course, Trump knows that Europe is fiscally ‘bust’. It hasn’t the money to fund itself, let alone a major war. He then ‘rubbed salt’ into this fiscal crisis wound by challenging NATO states to be first in line to sanction all Russian fuels. That won’t happen, of course either. It would be madness.

In this latest Truth Social post, Trump takes the Keith Kellogg line to its reductio ad absurdum: “Ukraine, with the support of the EU, can take back the country [Ukraine] to its original form – making Russia look like a ‘paper tiger’… and who knows, maybe go even further that that!”

Sure -- Kiev advancing to the doorstep of Moscow? Pull the other leg, Mr Trump. Of course he is trolling Kellogg and the Europeans.