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Dispatches
Commentary
April 1, 2022
Donald Trump launches sharp attack against Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine
In a surprising move, former U.S. President Donald Trump today launched a scathing attack against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Trump decried Putin’s blatant violation of the most fundamental norms of the U.N. Charter, and denounced Russia’s commission of widespread crimes against humanity by intentionally bombarding civilians and civilian infrastructure. There could be no excuse for reducing Ukrainian cities to ash and rubble, as in the case of Mariupol, he declared.
Trump called for the establishment of an international tribunal, or an expansion of the jurisdiction and capabilities of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to try Putin for the crime of aggression, and all responsible soldiers, both officers and regular soldiers, for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly acts of genocide which they may have committed.
Trump was caustic in his criticism of countries which have not condemned the Russian invasion, singling out Israel, Saudi Arablia, the UAE, China, and India, in particular.
“They can’t have it both ways,” he declared. “There is no excuse for OPEC countries refusing to increase oil production in the face of this unprecedented Russian assault on international law, and on our very civilization.”
“These countries must choose sides. Either they will join the civilized countries of the world in condemning Russian lawlessness and barbarism, or we must sharply reduce or eliminate all economic and military support for them,” Trump declared.
Ex-president calls for “harshest possible” economic sanctions, and possible use of force against Russia
Trump called for the immediate adoption by the U.S., the EU and NATO countries, and all other civilized countries, of the “harshest possible” economic sanctions, including trade embargoes, the blocking of Russian access to Western and other ports, and the blocking of all Russian banks and entities from access to the SWIFT international payments system.
Trump launches impassioned plea for decisive action to uphold the U.N. Charter and International law
The ex-President stressed that the entire international legal order depended on upholding the basic principles of the U.N. Charter and international law.
These include, in particular, Trump stressed, respect for the sovereign equality of all states, the prohibition against the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, the principles of non-recognition of territory seized by force and of the invalidity of treaties or other international agreements secured through coercion, and international humanitarian law as established in the 1948 Geneva Conventions, related treaties, and customary international law.
Trump declares West and allies must defeat Putin and Russian barbarism in all-out war to defend civilization
Finally, in his impassioned statements on April 1, Trump emphasized the fact that civilization is at a decisive turning point, as it was in 1914 and 1939.
“We are facing the greatest challenge to our civilization the world has seen in hundreds of years,” Trump declared. “There can be no ‘normal’ in the future if this aggression is allowed to stand, or if Putin is allowed to emerge from this war with any advantage secured by force.”
“The civilized nations of the world are in a life-or-death struggle,” Trump asserted. “They must defeat Putin and Russian barbarism, even if the struggle lasts for 30 or 50 years.”
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