Trump mimics the Israeli ‘Way of War’

The old rules of war and international law are ‘dusted and done’. Welcome to the spreading madness of hybrid war -- Alastair Crooke, 17 July 2025

Trump on Monday launched his much headlined new get-tough approach for dealing with President Putin. The televised drama -- though less than overwhelming -- nonetheless offers further evidence that Trump pursues the Zbig Brzezenski rule from his Grand Chessboard that Russia WITH Ukraine controls the Asian Heartland, but WITHOUT it, Russia remains nothing more than a mere regional power. This constitutes one of the deepest structures supporting the US security-state’s architecture -- the aim to move Ukraine irretrievably out of the Russian sphere of influence, and into the NATO sphere of interest, where it can be leveraged for weakening Russia.

Trump says he is angry with Putin for not agreeing to General Kellogg’s ‘ceasefire’; one which, with European support, precisely is crafted to move ‘core Ukraine’ irretrievably out from the Russian sphere, and (ultimately) into the US sphere. The back picture to Trump’s declared anger is that the US has not implemented even the baby-steps towards ‘normalisation’ with Russia (return of earlier seized diplomatic premises, nor flights between capitals, nor even the appointment of a US Ambassador to Moscow).

The much heralded normalization of relations with Russia from the US side thus consists of statements of good intent that somehow are never implemented. The conclusion drawn in Moscow must be either that the promises were bogus -- no more than lures intended to pull the Russians into strategic concessions. Or that Trump was somehow prevented from delivering on these promises. Neither of the latter alternatives suggests that collective Putin can trust Trump or his process toward a settlement that Moscow can agree.

Well, plainly Putin sees through the deception and won’t play along. So, Trump seemingly follows the Israeli ‘playbook’ -- that if ‘carrots’ don’t do it, then, by threatening that ‘the boss has gone crazy-angry’, he might magically coerce the political change he wants.