Washington Still Wants Moscow Contained

The Libertarian Institute · Oct 12, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly promised he could end the Russo-Ukrainian War quickly. Yet the actions attributed to his administration point toward a more familiar Washington strategy that demands capitulation to the so-called “rules-based” order. The contradiction reinforces an old rule of politics. Watch what officials do, not simply what they say.

The clearest example is the reported expansion of CIA and Pentagon support for Ukraine’s campaign against Russian energy infrastructure. A New York Times investigation reported that the CIA and U.S. military, acting with Trump’s approval…