The Dictatorship
I’m a former U.S. intelligence officer. Trump’s Ukraine betrayal will have terrible consequences.
The United States is doing it again: walking away from allies. It is almost as if each U.S. presidency needs to practice betrayal as a form of statecraft. The examples of men and women who counted on our support are many. George H.W. Bush with the Kurds. Barack Obama with the Syrians. Donald Trump and Joe Biden with the Afghans. And now, Trump with the Ukrainians. America, the dependable ally, we are not.
I served as a U.S. intelligence officer in the field, often in dangerous conflict zones from Iraq to Syria to Afghanistan. I retired before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but as the Trump administration abandons this former American ally, PTSD is setting in for many of my ilk: the actual operational practitioners of U.S. foreign policy. We were “on the ground,” far from Congress and the Situation Room, far from think tanks and academic institutions. We were the first ones in, parachuted into conflicts with the implication that the proverbial cavalry would be on the way shortly.
This clear policy shift is nevertheless subtle enough that many Americans may not understand it.
My U.S. government colleagues and I were upfront and personal with our allies, whoever they were. At times, we were even in harm’s way, just like our allies. We lived side by side with them, broke bread with them, rejoiced in their successes and mourned their deaths. We made grand promises, offered platitudes and provided assistance — at least initially. Yet so often there is no fairy-tale ending, as time and time again politicians decided that the going had gotten too tough or that political expediency outweighed morality.
I once told a four-star U.S. Army general that I was lucky to work with the finest fighting force in eastern Afghanistan. He looked around puzzled, seeing no U.S. troops at the small front-line paramilitary base where we were standing. But I was singing the praises of the group of Afghan Indigenous fighters whom we were on the way to inspect. The general was not amused, yet no truer comment could ever have been said about the bravery of the Afghans. But years after the hasty U.S. withdrawal from their country, many of those who helped fight the Taliban are still on the run. Tens of thousands of interpreters, engineers and other noncombatant allies have been left behind to face starvation, poverty and retribution.
Many of us, however, thought Ukraine would really be different. This was a classic story of right versus wrong, of “David vs. Goliath,” and the U.S. did come to Ukraine’s aid once Russian forces were on the move. Since then, Ukraine has exacted hundreds of thousands of casualties on the Russian invaders. Behind the scenes, the U.S. has reportedly provided critical military and intelligence assistance — without a drop of U.S. blood shed.
Did the U.S. do enough? No. Biden’s fear of possible escalation with Russia squandered too many opportunities, to the immense frustration of Ukraine, its soldiers and its supporters. But $60 billion in aid is not small potatoes. The Ukrainians fight valiantly and bravely, proving time and again that they would never be defeated. With the backing of the world’s greatest superpower, anything was possible.
Yet now, the Trump administration appears eager to walk away from Ukraine. Details of exactly how remain murky. The president and those around him are not talking with one voice. Trump says one thing one day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth another, Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Keith Kellogg something else the next. Yet one thing appears abundantly clear: The U.S. is not an ally of Ukraine any longer. At best, America is now a neutral party, and at worst complicit in its demise.
Our adversaries even now must be celebrating; there are surely open vodka bottles in the Kremlin.
This clear policy shift is nevertheless subtle enough that many Americans may not understand it. But for Ukrainians, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in particular, there is no doubt about the United States’ intentions. At the Munich Security Conference last week, Zelenskyy repeatedly pleaded that Ukraine needs the U.S. to support it against Russia, not to mediate between the two. Not only was Trump unpersuaded, he blamed Ukraine for starting the war — an allegation that is of course patently false.
Trust is so hard to gain, and yet so easily lost. And though some of the Trump team’s errors — such as Hegseth’s statement that Ukraine would never join NATO — were walked back, the damage is already done. Each concession to Russia gives Russian President Vladimir Putin a victory even before negotiations begin. One former U.S. senior intelligence officer told me that Ukraine, even in the best-case scenario, will look now at the U.S. from the vantage of a spouse scorned by infidelity.
I have spoken with numerous retired U.S. national security practitioners who have worked globally countering Russian aggression, including those who spent the last decade in and out of Ukraine, asking them what the recent U.S. policy change personally meant to them. Often there is a long silence. Then a sigh. A former intelligence officer said his thoughts immediately went to the scores of Ukrainians with whom he worked — their incredible sense of resolve and will to fight. Some have recently visited Ukraine to make contact with old friends. It was difficult for them to look old Ukrainian partners in the eye as the U.S. shifts from ally to neutral player, or maybe worse.
My former colleagues’ thoughts shifted to the future as well. Many stated that this betrayal was the big one: epic in its scope, with far-reaching consequences for the next fight, likely with China. The fallout will be even worse than the Afghans left to fend for themselves. It will now be impossible for anyone to trust the U.S. as an ally. Our adversaries even now must be celebrating; there are surely open vodka bottles in the Kremlin.
Is this what Trump wants as his legacy? Does “America First” really mean “America the Betrayer”? Or will this White House come to its senses, stop pushing for an unjust peace deal and actually allow Ukrainians agency in their future?
Marc Polymeropoulos is a national security and intelligence contributor for BLN and a former CIA senior intelligence service officer who served 26 years in a variety of operational and management positions focusing on the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and counterterrorism.
President Donald Trump celebrating his 80th birthday with UFC fights on the White House lawn was classless enough. Then Josh Hokit was given a microphone. After the UFC fighter won his cage match at Trump’s flamboyant celebration Sunday night, Hokit, who spoke mostly in disturbingly trite rhymes after his win, managed to further degrade the event. At the conclusion of his post-fight interview with announcer, podcaster and manosphere extraordinaire Joe Rogan, the athlete declared,“Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
Many in the crowd of thousands of UFC fans ate it up, and expecting anything less would require an exceptional level of delusion. Misogynoir and transphobia have been lobbed against Obama at least since 2008, when America elected her husband, Barack Obama, president.
Misogynoir and transphobia have been lobbed against Obama at least since 2008, when America elected her husband, Barack Obama, president.
Misogynoir was coined by academic Moya Bailey in 2008 to describe the intertwining of racism and misogyny that targets Black women. As pervasive as it is, it took 15 yearsfor Merriam-Webster to add the word to its dictionary. Even in writing this piece, each time I’ve typed the term, spell-check suggests I have made a typo.
While it’s tempting to categorize Hokit’s remark as random, it was fully on brand for the athlete. ESPN reported, “In his post-fight interview at UFC 324 in January, Hokit called WNBA star Brittney Griner ‘a man.’”
He’s the poster child for misogynoir.
But his statement was also characteristic of the machismo that drove the event itself. Trump’s entire political persona is crafted in the mold of a strongmanan archetype that couldn’t exist without toxic masculinity. And when he was elected to the presidency a second time, Trump brought back to the forefront an erroneous vision of manhood. Hokit, and a lamentable number of other public figures, have since been empowered to espouse misogyny and preach the shallow gospel of toxic masculinity.
But showmanshiprepressed emotionality and a desperate adherence to benighted notions of manhood alone don’t suffice. Toxic masculinity also requires an allegiance to the desirability politics that are often informed by white supremacy. And Hokit gave it a shoutout Sunday night.
If toxic masculinity is a declaration of what we are expected to perceive as a quintessential depiction of manhood, then completing that picture requires a similar declaration about what we are expected to perceive as a quintessential depiction of womanhood. As has historically been the case, the beauty of Black women, as a whole, doesn’t align with mainstream ideals of attractiveness. So a Trump supporter’s recycling of a racist trope about the first Black first lady being a man was a natural offshoot of Sunday’s glorification of problematic masculinity.
Obama addressed misogynoir-laden and transphobic insults, among others, that she has faced over the years in her 2018 book “Becoming.” She writes, “I’ve smiled for photos with people who call my husband horrible names on national television, but still want a framed keepsake for their mantel. I’ve heard about the swampy parts of the internet that question everything about me, right down to whether I’m a woman or a man. A sitting U.S. congressman has made fun of my butt. I’ve been hurt. I’ve been furious. But mostly, I’ve tried to laugh this stuff off.”
I’ve been furious. But mostly, I’ve tried to laugh this stuff off.
michelle obama in her book “becoming”
Hokit thumping his chest after a violent brawl per the request of a strongman-in-chief, then deriding a high-profile Black female figure as masculine and thus, unappealing, was a true full-circle moment for the manosphere. Notice that Hokit didn’t do a full stop after he insulted Obama. He asked, “Am I right, America?”
At least that part made actual sense — Hokit’s instinct to seek validation is yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity. His question offered a boisterous representation of the need for male approval that exists in the manosphere and the willingness of problematic men to give one another an outsized influence on their behavior. It wasn’t enough for Hokit to disparage a prominent Black woman. He wanted someone to say, “Well done.”
As for his question, the answer is “no.” Hokit was the farthest from “right” as one gets. But the derision of Obama surely scored him brownie points in the manosphere. What better way to secure a nod of respect from the community than to denigrate, arguably, the most high-profile Black woman in the United States while at an event teeming with hypermasculinity?
But neither Obama nor any other woman, Black or otherwise, should have to bear the burden of men insulting them in a desperate quest to secure approbation from other men.
Hokit appears to be developing a habit of ascribing masculinity to Black women. He would be better served by questioning why his idea of manhood includes belittling women for applause.
Zahara Hill is a coordinating producer for MS NOW. She previously worked as a front page editor for HuffPost and the deputy editor for Blavity News.
President Donald Trump, with the support of Republicans in Congress, signed legislation last week funding federal immigration agencies through the end of his term. Americans should know how millions of their taxpayer dollars are being spent on the active destruction of their fellow human beings.
As part of my constitutional oversight responsibilities in Congress, I have visited Delaney Halla privately run detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, four times. From the first time I stepped into Delaney Hall, my worst fears were confirmed.
The smell of sewage permeated the building. The air felt stagnant, and I questioned whether there was adequate ventilation for detainees or staff.
What I witnessed with my own eyes was alarming enough. The smell of sewage permeated the building. The air felt stagnant, and I questioned whether there was adequate ventilation for detainees or staff. In the cafeteria, I saw a space that appeared far too small to accommodate the number of people being held. When I asked how hundreds of detainees were fed, I was told meals were served in waves beginning as early as 4 a.m.
Detainees described freezing temperatures, poor sanitation, spoiled food, isolation and being required to clean bathrooms and showers contaminated with urine and other biological waste without proper protective materials.
The most alarming thing I have witnessed, however, is the treatment — really, the lack of treatment — of people with serious and chronic medical conditions. I believe what I have witnessed at both Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center amounts to nothing short of medical abuse.
While the Department of Homeland Security leadership may try to wave away accusations of inhumane treatment, they cannot wave away the effect of their medical negligence — nor should they be allowed to. Every time I have visited both the Delaney and Elizabeth detention centers, I encountered detainees whose health was deteriorating because of the actions overseen by DHS employees and contractors. Individuals with chronic health conditions were not monitored, critical medications are given sporadically or not at all and there is little to no continuity of care for the medically vulnerable.
Individuals with chronic health conditions were not monitored, critical medications are given sporadically or not at all, and there is little to no continuity of care for the medically vulnerable.
One woman detained with diabetes told me she was receiving only a fraction of the medication prescribed by her doctor. When I questioned medical staff, they confirmed her dosage had been reduced shortly after she entered detention without first contacting her pharmacy or physician. They also confirmed blood sugar readings consistent with poorly controlled diabetes.
I spoke with a man who suffered ongoing headaches and hearing loss after striking his head in a fall. He told me he feared seeking additional medical care because he had been warned he could be placed in isolation if sent to the hospital. When I raised the issue with facility leadership, they confirmed isolation was their policy.
Other detainees have described to me equally disturbing experiences, including a woman who said she suffered a miscarriage while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after being denied proper medical care when symptoms first appeared. Another pregnant woman told me she feared for the health of her unborn child because she could not obtain the specialized care her condition requires.
These were not isolated complaints. And together, they paint a picture of a detention system failing to provide adequate medical care to the people in its custody.
The Department of Homeland Security insists healthcare is available inside Delaney Hall. What I witnessed firsthand tells a different story. Detainees may have access to care, but they are not receiving the care that their conditions, diagnoses, doctors or even our own good conscience would warrant.
When I questioned Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about whether ICE tracks detainees with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, whether those conditions are regularly monitored and whether independent health officials are allowed to inspect the facility, I did not receive answers. That lack of accountability should concern every American.
The consequences of these failures could be deadly. Severe hypoglycemia can become life-threatening within hours. Heart conditions can rapidly worsen without medication. Untreated infections can become medical emergencies, and the disruption of medication can have life-threatening consequences in the short and long run.
What makes this even more troubling is who is being detained.
Despite the administration’s rhetoric about targeting dangerous criminals, the people I met at Delaney Hall were overwhelmingly low-risk individuals being held for civil immigration violations, not criminal offenses. Some said they had legal status until this administration stripped it away. Others described being picked up off the street, or where they work, or at laundromats, schools and even outside courthouses or routine immigration appointments.
We cannot turn a blind eye to the conditions inside these facilities. Nor can we ignore the role of corporations such as the GEO Group, the company with an estimated $1 billion contract to operate Delaney Hall. Taxpayer dollars are being used to inflict profound human suffering, all too often condoned because those detained are viewed as “other.” To make matters worse, the $70 billion that Congress recently approved for ICE and Customs and Border Protection is in addition to $191 billion previously allocated to DHS with a party-line vote.
The least my Republican colleagues can do now is demand answers about what is happening inside facilities like Delaney Hall and hear firsthand from detainees about what they are experiencing. If they truly listen, they will be moved to action. I know I was.
Because the people I met at Delaney Hall are mothers, fathers, workers and neighbors. They are human beings. They deserve dignity, medical care and due process.
No matter where someone was born or what their immigration status may be, their humanity does not disappear when they enter a detention facility.
The measure of any nation is how it treats the people in its custody. By that standard, what is happening at Delaney Hall is a moral failure that extends far beyond its walls.
And when we allow due process, equal protection under the law and basic human rights to be denied to some, we weaken those protections for everyone. The Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to defend it. We must seek to protect it, starting by closing Delaney Hall.
Analilia Mejia, a Democrat, represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House.
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Russia’s latest deadly attack in Ukraine: “A large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine killed five rescuers in Kharkiv and wounded at least 20 people in the capital Kyiv on Monday as strikes set apartment buildings ablaze and sparked a fire at one of the country’s most significant religious landmarks. The rescuers were killed in Kharkiv by a second Russian strike as they fought a blaze caused by an earlier attack, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. At least five other emergency workers were wounded.”
* From late last week: “A joint strike by the United States and Venezuela killed a leader of the Tren de Aragua transnational gang, President Trump and officials in both countries said on Friday, dealing a blow to a syndicate the Trump administration has blamed for an influx of violent crime and illicit drugs.”
* The right way to do it: “Hungarian lawmakers on Monday passed a constitutional amendment that would ban Viktor Orbán from returning to power. The amendment, approved by 135 votes in favor and 50 against, would limit prime ministers to just eight years in office if it becomes law. The amendment is written to apply retroactively, meaning that Viktor Orbán could not return as Hungary’s prime minister. Orbán served as prime minister for a total of 20 years.”
* A case we have been keeping an eye on: “A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to reinstall exhibits and signs on topics like slavery and climate change that it had removed from parks and monuments nationwide because they ‘do not align with its preferred narrative.’”
* Trump’s Department of Justice does what Trump wants: “The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has signed off on Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. The approval, first reported by Blue Light News, clears a major regulatory hurdle for a deal that has become one of the most closely watched media merger reviews of the Trump era.”
* Failing to make America healthy again: “A relentless measles outbreak in Utah has been spreading for nearly a year, putting the U.S. on a path to losing the measles-elimination status it earned more than two decades ago. Fueling the nearly 12-month outbreak: more parents opting not to vaccinate their children for school; infections hitting communities statewide; and lenient public-health policies on quarantining exposed students.”
* McConnell’s health issues persist: “Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, was hospitalized on Sunday, according to his spokesperson, who provided no details on the former Senate majority leader’s condition.”
See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
- Congressional staff visit prison facility where Ghislaine Maxwell is held
- How a fired FEMA leader got a second chance from Trump
- The Democratic Socialists of America are leaving it all on the field in NYC
- Trump falls short in Georgia governor’s race: 5 takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries
- Ian McKellen says he yelled ‘Mar-a-Lago!’ while shooting ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Magneto destruction scene
- White on track to succeed Holmes Norton as DC delegate
- Federal judge temporarily blocks Idaho’s transgender bathroom ban
- Pastors for Trump founder advances to runoff in Oklahoma primary for Hern’s seat
- Trump’s endorsement power just met its $100M limit
- Republicans are still really worried about beating Jon Ossoff
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
Uncategorized2 years ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
The Josh Fourrier Show2 years agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship9 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words