In August, standing with President Trump in Alaska, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin laughed While looking at a B-2 stealth bomber flyover. He understood its message. Yet he completely failed to understand how much Trump’s show of force meant to Putin and the Kremlin.
Now, less than two months later, the full meaning of the B-2 flyover has become clear. Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s three major nuclear facilities – Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz – was aimed at repelling Eastern Europe as well as the Middle East. It was a turning point in Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s war against the West.
Trump himself made this clear in Egypt during the recent signing of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.Trump arguedThe impetus for the deal “really started when we dismantled Iran’s nuclear capability.”
Hamas now lacks Iran’s active support and is gradually being abandoned by Türkiye and Qatar, which is rapidly running out of options. Israel threatened to take back all of Gaza City, andTrump clarifiedHe was on the ship, absent from any dealings.
Moscow is now in crisis. Following the expulsion of his key ally Iran and the overthrow of Syria’s pro-Russian regime, Putin finds himself looking outwards when it comes to the Middle East. Putin’s isolation was evident in his cancellation of the October 15 Arab conference in Moscow. As Bloomberg said, “There weren’t enough Arab leaders saying ‘yes’ to holding the summit.”
compare it to Trump’s victoryAttendance in Egypt with prominent Middle and Near East leaders – both from Egypt itself and from Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Pakistan. He was accompanied by key NATO leaders from France, Germany and the United Kingdom and six others. Trump, whether you like him or not, was a global powerhouse magnet in Egypt. Putin has essentially become a bug repellent in the Arab world.
Team Trump understands its advantage and is working on a rapid ceasefire. Inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Oval Office on Friday – Trump’s first international meeting since returning from Egypt – is even more of a message to Putin that he has stopped playing the Kremlin game. The message to Hamas was delivered via B-2 bombers into Iran; Putin may be delivered by Tomahawks.
Shortly after Trump won a second term last November, we argued thatWorld War 3 is Trump’s victoryOur suggestion was to start in Ukraine. Instead, Team Trump flipped the script and started in the Middle East by building on the Abraham Accords. The move has not only set Putin back in the region, but it has also pushed Beijing back in both the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.
Another prominent guest in Egypt was Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. he leadsCountry with largest Muslim populationIn this world. Subianto was seen talking to Trump at the summit, andWashington has long encouragedStrategic Indo-Pacific state joining the Abraham Accords. Xi views deepening ties with Jakarta as an important part of his so-called “neighborhood diplomacy”.
After Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang visited the Indonesian capital in May, Puan Maharani, Chairman of the People’s Representative Council of Indonesia, said,reaffirmed his country’s commitmentFor the one-China principle.
But it’s one thing to reaffirm one-China – quite another to accept Beijing’s withdrawal of Taiwan. If Trump can successfully induce Subianto to join the Abraham Accords, he will indirectly strengthen Washington’s defense of Taipei.
Trump still needs a win in Ukraine to win in the Indo-Pacific. Unlike Iran, no jab at Putin will force Moscow to the negotiating table. Rather, likeWe debated on our weekly showOn Tuesday, Team Trump will need to take a series of steps to dissuade Moscow in order to defeat Putin and, by extension, Xi.
One of these steps is to approve the sale of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, which deep hitting ability This would allow Kiev to target, among others, the Engels 2 airbase, Yelabuga and Shaheed drone facilities in Tatarstan, and the Kerch Strait bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula to Russia.
Yet another step would be the implementation of a NATO-led or willing coalition no-fly zone over western Ukraine. This will free up Ukrainian air defense assets to protect critical infrastructure and support frontline combat operations.
Trump should also close the Baltic Sea to Russian shadow fleets that are transporting oil and gas to avoid sanctions.Many of these ships are similar Possibly being used to cut and launch cablessurprise drone swarm As happened recently against Denmark.
Trump should also prompt the Senate to pass itSecondary sanctions against RussiaImplementing them would help bring Putin to his knees. Russia’s economy is collapsing due to the war.
Trump’s strike in Iran was a good start to winning World War III. Team Trump then swept the board by defeating Putin in the Middle East and marginalizing Iran and Hamas in Gaza. Now, Putin must consider not only the Tomahawk missile, but the deeds associated with the October 2025 surprise – munitions and weapons that can now be used in Ukraine.
To win in the Indo-Pacific and stop Beijing advancing militarily on Taiwan, Trump must win in Eastern Europe as decisively as he has in the Middle East. This means driving out every last Russian soldier from every inch of Ukrainian territory.
Trump has momentum. They now have to count out Putin and send a message to Xi that we want to achieve a Russian and Chinese-inspired victoryideological global warAgainst the West, in one way or another.
mark tothWrites on national security and foreign policy. Colonel (Retd) Jonathan SweetServed for 30 years as a military intelligence officer and led the U.S. European Command Intelligence Engagement Division from 2012 to 2014.
