特朗普总统试图通过向受害者施压来结束俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争，这一赌注注定会失败。他对待这场战争的方式表明，他误解了美国选民非常清楚的事实。当弗拉基米尔·普京无视特朗普先生呼吁的能源停火，并继续屠杀乌克兰平民时，美国总统却声称俄罗斯“在乌克兰问题上表现一直不错”。这在事实上是错误的，在战略上是幼稚的，在道德上是破产的。
President Trump’s gambit to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring the victim is certain to fail. His approach to the war reveals he misunderstands facts that American voters understand well. While Vladimir Putin ignores Mr. Trump’s call for an energy cease-fire and continues to murder Ukrainian civilians, the U.S. president claims that Russia “has been fine on Ukraine.”This is factually wrong, strategically naive and morally bankrupt.
他对俄罗斯的卑躬屈膝式迁就，以制裁解换取侵略者的奖赏，无法说服普京先生停手。历史表明，这种行为只会让俄罗斯独裁者更加大胆，他将其视为软弱的表现。
His obsequious accommodation of Russia, rewarding the aggressor with sanctions relief, won’t persuade Mr. Putin to stop. History shows that such behavior emboldens Russia’s autocrat, who sees it as weakness.
2021年6月，普京先生眼看着拜登总统为了寻求美俄峰会的“成果”，暂停了向乌克兰提供1亿美元的致命安全援助。我们知道第二年发生了什么。然而，特朗普先生似乎决心重蹈一位他鄙视的前任的覆辙。
In June 2021, Mr. Putin watched President Biden pause $100 million in lethal security assistance to Ukraine in pursuit of “deliverables” for a U.S.-Russia summit. We know what happened the following year. Yet Mr. Trump seems determined to repeat the mistakes of a predecessor he scorns.
威胁扣留安全和情报援助，或扣留对关键卫星通信系统的使用权，不会实质性地削弱乌克兰保卫自己的意志，但这可能让普京先生在战场上取得进展，而此前这一直遥不可及。这可能会拖长战争，而非缩短战争。而当俄罗斯有限的柴油供应易手之后，这对降低加油站油价几乎毫无作用。
Threatening to withhold security and intelligence assistance or access to crucial satellite communications systems won’t materially weaken Ukraine’s will to defend itself, but it may allow Mr. Putin to make battlefield headway that had until now been out of reach. This could prolong the war, not shorten it. And when Russia’s limited supply of diesel has changed hands, it will have done little to bring down prices at the pump.
无论中期选举结果如何，普京先生都是美国的敌人。他与中国、伊朗和朝鲜结盟，旨在将美国与其盟友分裂，削弱美国的全球影响力。
Regardless of the midterm election results, Mr. Putin is America’s enemy. He is aligned with China, Iran and North Korea to divide the U.S. from our allies and undermine our global influence.
美国人，包括大多数共和党人，都理解这一点。他们同情乌克兰的守卫者、被绑架的儿童、在严寒中颤抖的老人和受迫害的基督徒。他们知道美国的战略利益与基辅的利益是一致的。
Americans, including most Republicans, understand this. They sympathize with Ukraine’s defenders, its abducted children, its shivering elderly and persecuted Christians. They know America’s strategic interests are aligned with Kyiv’s.
如果总统说到做到，想要结束冲突，他应该倾听美国人民的智慧，而不是那些天真的商人的意见，后者似乎认为外交就是向对手献媚。特朗普先生普京是什么样的人固然不一而足，但他绝非人道主义者。俄罗斯获胜将给我们的经济安全、国家安全和全球影响力带来后果严重得多的打击，其危害远超暂时的柴油价格高企。普京先生指使网络攻击针对美国政府机构、企业和基础设施，并协助伊朗在中东袭击美国人员和设施。他是习近平的盟友。他将继续抓住机会削弱美国——以及欧洲。
If the president means what he says about ending the conflict, he should look to the wisdom of the American people, not naive businessmen who seem to think diplomacy entails fawning over adversaries. Mr. Putin is many things, but he is no humanitarian. A Russian victory would have far worse consequences for our economic and national security and our global influence than temporarily high diesel prices. Mr. Putin has directed cyberattacks against U.S. government agencies, businesses and infrastructure and helped Iran target U.S. personnel and facilities in the Middle East. He is an ally of Xi Jinping. He will continue to seize opportunities to weaken America—and Europe.
欧洲大陆是我们最大的贸易伙伴，也是美国经济增长的引擎。任何让俄罗斯更容易威胁欧洲的战争结局都将损害我们自身的利益。与此同时，乌克兰在战场上对抗更强大的侵略者所展现的创新能力，使其作为合作伙伴的价值显而易见。
The Continent is our biggest trading partner and an engine of American economic growth. An outcome to this war that makes it easier for Russia to threaten Europe harms our own interests. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s innovation on the battlefield against a more powerful aggressor makes its value as a partner obvious.
伊朗无人机摧毁美国飞机、装备和设施，并杀害美国人员——俄罗斯用来袭击乌克兰城市的正是同款伊朗无人机——这凸显了与乌克兰合作的紧迫性。曾到访乌克兰的陆军高层领导，如前部长丹·德里斯科尔、克里斯·多纳休上将和柯蒂斯·巴扎德中将，都理解这一点。而似乎没有一位五角大楼高级政策官员做到这一点，后果显而易见。
The destruction of American aircraft, materiel and facilities, and the killing of U.S. personnel by Iranian drones—the same kind of Iranian drones Russia uses against Ukrainian cities—underscores the urgency of working with Ukraine. Senior Army leaders who traveled to Ukraine, like former Secretary Dan Driscoll, Gen. Chris Donahue and Lt. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, understood this. Not a single senior Pentagon policy official appears to have done the same, and it shows.
参与限制美国对乌援助的五角大楼官员，应当解释：抛弃“战争硅谷”以及全球战场无人机创新领域的专家，将如何助力美国实现无人机主导地位。接着，他们还应解释：为何总统指责乌克战导致美军“战斧”巡航导弹短缺，尽管我们根本未向乌克兰提供过任何“战斧”导弹。
The Pentagon officials involved in restricting U.S. assistance to Ukraine should explain how abandoning the “Silicon Valley of warfare” and the world’s experts in battlefield drone innovation will help America achieve drone dominance. Next, they should explain why the president blames Ukraine for the U.S. military’s shortage of Tomahawk cruise missiles, even though we haven’t provided any to Ukraine.
这种战略上的前后矛盾不止体现在乌克兰问题上。五角大楼还削弱了北大西洋公约组织盟友的地位，而这些盟友达成军费开支目标的速度比我们更快。
The strategic incoherence extends beyond Ukraine. The Pentagon has undercut allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that are meeting military spending targets faster than we are.
这从五角大楼政策办公室认定支持波罗的海盟友是浪费，以及五角大楼未能将已拨款项投入波罗的海安全倡议中可见一斑。这些资金直接投入美国国防工业基础。该倡议的采购装备了北约前线的盟友，并刺激了他们对美国武器进行更大规模的自主投资。欧洲对乌克兰的援助已超过美国。《优先乌克兰需求清单》允许盟友为此采购美国制造的武器。
This is evident in the Pentagon policy office’s determination that supporting Baltic allies is wasteful and the Pentagon’s failure to commit appropriated funds to the Baltic Security Initiative. These funds are invested directly in the U.S. defense industrial base. The initiative’s procurement equips friends on NATO’s front line and spurs their own far greater investments in American weapons. European assistance to Ukraine outpaces our own. The Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List lets allies procure American-made weapons for this purpose.
但特朗普政府正利用该清单向盟友施压，要求其偿还国会已拨付的安全援助资金。这削弱了盟友的购买力，损害了美国的领导地位和信誉。它还以一种扭曲的方式鼓励盟友尽快减少对美国军事装备的使用。
But the Trump administration is using PURL to pressure allies to reimburse the U.S. for security assistance Congress already appropriated. This dilutes our allies’ buying power and undermines American leadership and credibility. It also perversely encourages allies to reduce their use of American military hardware as soon as they can.
在乌克兰实现公正且稳定的和平，需要有道德勇气将责任归咎于应负责之处，并愿意为普京先生唯一听得懂的语言——强力——发声。
Securing a just and stable peace in Ukraine will require the moral clarity to assign blame where it belongs and a willingness to speak the only language Mr. Putin understands: strength.
对美国人而言，好消息是参议院共和党人反对撤退和绥靖，主张强力国防。他们支持乌克兰，支持北约。他们明白俄罗斯、中国、朝鲜和伊朗是敌人。他们希望总统与国会合作，恢复美国的首要地位。
The good news for Americans is that Senate Republicans oppose retreat and appeasement and favor a strong defense. They support Ukraine. They support NATO. They understand Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are enemies. And they want the president to work with Congress to restore American primacy.
特朗普先生对跛脚鸭立法议程寄予厚望，其中包括我曾敦促政府纳入全年拨款法案的一次性国防开支。推进这一议程需要与那些分得清谁是好人、谁是坏人的共和党人合作。停止对普京先生的屈从，可能是年底立法的入场券。总统应当做好相应打算。麦康奈尔先生，共和党人，是来自肯塔基州的美国参议员。
Mr. Trump has high hopes for a lame-duck legislative agenda, including the one-time defense spending I’ve urged the administration instead to build into full-year appropriations. Passing this agenda will require working with Republicans who know the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Ending the obeisance to Mr. Putin may be table stakes for the end-of-year legislation. The president should plan accordingly. Mr. McConnell, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Kentucky.