Editor,

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine on his first day in office. His intransigence and refusal to utilize all the soft power at the disposal of the commander in chief has been an unequivocal failure for his international diplomacy and his aspirations of being a “peacemaker and unifier.” It might be apropos for someone in his administration to delve into how his predecessors have fared on a similar stage.

The Suez Crisis of 1956 tested then President Eisenhower. British, French, and Israeli troops attacked Egypt in a brazen attempt to wrest control of the Suez Canal from the Egyptian government. Enraged and indignant, Eisenhower picked up the phone and contacted the three belligerents, informing them of the punitive sanctions he was immediately imposing, making it clear this was an initial salvo of a withering barrage he was poised to unleash. The military operation ground to a halt in nine days.

Currently, Trump has been president for 140 days. During this time, he has sponsored the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an attempt to marginalize the United Nations. Starving civilians have been shot while waiting for food at GHF distribution sites. He also vetoed a UN Resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the blockade of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

To date the only action he has taken in the war on Ukraine has been to temporarily suspend all assistance to Ukraine, retribution aimed at Ukrainian President Zelenski for not taking a knee during their Oval Office meeting. In his most recent phone contact with Putin, he gave tacit support to Putin’s vow to extract “revenge,” for a Ukrainian assault on Russian military aircraft.

Amid the political posturing and lamentations about how uncooperative the opposing factions are in these conflicts; the real issue is that Trump is not willing to back up his rhetoric with concrete actions. There is a simple solution, Trump could pick a ceasefire date on the calendar and inform all factions that any violation would result in the termination of all U.S. aid and initiation of crippling economic sanctions. Until Trump makes those calls, the bodies of innocent civilians will continue to pile up unabated on the evening news.

Jack Gribble

Oak Harbor