US and Ukraine agree to terms on minerals and reconstruction

By Jim Denison, PhD - Posted at Denison Forum:

What the war with Russia says about the future of war

Kyiv and Washington agreed yesterday on the terms of a draft minerals deal that Ukrainian officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for long-term security commitments by the US. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky now plans to travel to Washington on Friday to see President Trump and formalize the deal.

There was a day when such incentives were ideological rather than economic as the West opposed the Soviet Union’s drive to impose Communism on the world. But Russia is not the USSR. It is a nation-state doing what Vladimir Putin thinks is in Russia’s (and his) best interest.

Understanding this shift from ideology to pragmatism is vital to understanding the world today—and finding peace with God, others, and ourselves.

“A reordering moment in international relations”

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker theorized that all human behavior consists of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. As a result, the decision to commit or refrain from a crime depends entirely on our weighing the benefit against the expected punishment.

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See also:

• Trump administration pauses all aid to Ukraine (Denison Forum)