World Review: Missiles for Ukraine? What is up with Venezuela
A brief synopsis of this week's show
Each Friday morning, I host a Substack Live called “World Review with Ivo Daalder” where journalists from major news outlets around the world join me to discuss the latest global news stories of the week.
Yesterday morning, October 17, we discussed the ceasefire President Zelensky's visit to the White House and Trump’s call with Putin and tried to figure out what Trump wants from Venezuela. Joining me this week were Steven Erlanger New York Times and Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post. My thanks to Louisa Brög for helping to draft this summary.
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While I encourage you to watch or listen to the episode (and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!), here are a few interesting things I took away from our discussion:
Ahead of Trump’s meeting with President Zelenskyy, we discussed the surprise announcement of President Trump’s call with Vladimir Putin and plans for a summit in Budapest in two weeks. What motivated the call and how it might impact Trump’s decision on the delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles? Clearly, Karen argued, Putin called to throw a monkey wrench into the delivery of the Tomahawks, which could have a big impact on the course of the war. At the same time, Trump, still on a high from his success in the Middle East, might seize on the momentum and try for an agreement with Putin when the two meet in Budapest.
The response in Europe to Trump’s call with Putin has been mixed. After Anchorage and the subsequent Washington meetings, many Europeans thought Trump might finally be moving in a steadier direction. European leaders worry less about a single weapons decision than about strategy: Putin still holds significant leverage, from unused conventional capacity to nuclear forces, and shows little intent to end the war. Steve saw little prospect of a quick end to the war, and argued European leaders while united by Ukraine, still worry that Trump is more interested in finding a way to end the war than helping Ukraine. The Budapest meeting sends the wrong message.
In the final ten minutes of our conversation, we discussed the rapid escalation regarding the US position on Venezuela. The President publicly confirmed that he had signed a covert action finding on Venezuela. The US SouthCom Commander announced his sudden resignation. And the Post reported Delta Force helicopter exercises off the coast of Venezuela. Karen asked whether this was all for show or part of a coherent strategy towards Venezuela? She worried that if no decision on the endgame had been made, the administration was boxing itself in by designating the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization and President Maduro as its head.
That’s it for my quick takes of this week’s episode here on America Abroad. To get the full flavor, please listen to or watch the episode itself.