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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 12, 2026

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So Trump has now not only signed an oil deal with Russia, but also wants to lift sanctions. This seems totally indefensible. Not only does it send a clear signal (if the Greenland debacle was not clear enough) that America no longer gives a shit about the rules-based world order or the stability of the west as a block, by removing sanctions from a country that is fighting an aggressive war and that Europe regards as a serious threat. It also lifts sanctions on an ally of Iran. A country that America is currently fighting and active war against. A country that Russia is providing with military aid. He is trying to lower the high oil prices caused by the war with Iran, but seemingly making Iran stronger in the process by aiding its ally, thus making the war more difficult.

Is there some 5head strategy move I am not seeing here? Or is the man actually that inept? Is this because he is mad that Zelensky called him weak?

It seems stupid and incredibly short sighted, and it is difficult to see how this will even help America.

I feel like the framing of your question needs some reconsideration. Countries always claim to care about rules based international order, and then never actually do if they need something. This is not new. Our ties to Europe are deep except the Europeans don't care for their treaty obligations, are lately nearly useless allies, and claim that our relationship with them is now over because Trump is bad. Why spend American effort on helping them?

The impact on the conflict with Iran is uncertain. You could easily make this deal with hidden concessions involving that.

In the moment right now the US needs to loosen restrictions to help our economy and everyone else's. We can put it back later.

People are going to scream and blame America and Trump no matter what we and he does. That further incentivizes doing this, especially as a temporary measure.

It's also a fantastic move if you want to punish Ukraine for not following Trump's requests. You might not like that strategy but it is a good implementation of it.

Europeans generally understand themselves as allies of something like "the US minus Trump+supporters", thinking, whether rightly or wrongly, that this makes them allies of the essential part of the country. Indeed, it's easy to forget now but before the multiple-year-long media campaign, the cause of post-Maidan Ukraine was understood to be a geopolitical concession to/imposition by the Americans (see Victoria Nuland, Biden's constant threats and pressure to suspend Nord Stream in favour of US LNG, etc.). If Trump is now visibly reluctant or obstructive towards Ukraine, this reinforces that European understanding: Ukraine is a proxy war between Trump+Russia and Dems+US deep state+Europe.