“Peace is not a noun, it’s a verb. Peace takes action, not words.” That is a message carried by Secretary of State Marco Rubio today during his interview with CBS Margaret Brennan that pertains to both the Israel -v- Hamas conflict and the Russia -v- Ukraine conflict.

Brennan used the interview to push the MSM narrative that JD Vance was lecturing European leaders at the Munich Security Conference.  Rubio defended the remarks by Vice President Vance and told Ms. Brennan that certain uncomfortable truths need to be said regardless of the reception to them. The video and transcript are below:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to “Face the Nation.” We want to begin today with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in Jerusalem on the second leg of his trip through Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Secretary, I know it’s the evening hours there, and you’ve had a long day. We appreciate your time. You’ve got quite a busy schedule. You met earlier with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He said he’s lock step with the Trump administration, but he can’t share details on, quote, “when the gates of hell will be open…if all our hostages are not released.” Did he tell you he wants to keep talks going to get to phase two of this hostage deal?

SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO: Well, I think we share a common goal. We want to see every hostage released. Frankly, I think, and the President has said this, we want to see them out as soon as we possibly can. And- and certainly, you know, the world has watched these images of people, and it’s just heartbreaking to remember that some of them have been now almost two years there. It’s a horrifying situation. So we coordinate and work very close with them. We share the goal that every hostage needs to come home, every single one, without delay. Obviously, the- there are details of how we’re pursuing that and coordinating that we’re not going to share publicly because we don’t want to endanger the hostages and we don’t want to endanger this process. But suffice it to say that if it was up to us, every one of these hostages would be home right now, and we want it to happen as soon as possible.

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When reviewing the production, it is important to remember – when Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to an assembly in English, his audience is not in the room in Munich. Zelenskyy is speaking to America, through the scripted remarks.

When Zelenskyy is scripted to speak to Europe, he speaks Ukrainian.  When Zelenskyy is scripted to speak to America, he speaks English. This production pattern is consistent.

President Zelenskyy spoke to the Munich Security Conference after speaking to President Trump, after speaking to Secretary Rubio and after Vice-President JD Vance stunned the European audience by calling out their weak and fearful framework of democracy.  All of that is in the background of his remarks.

Acting as if he were a NATO member, he’s not, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy tells the European audience they need to plan for the U.S. to pull-back from NATO, and the European Union needs to assemble a collective “European Army.”   If Europe puts an army together, not a NATO army, but an independent European army, then the French, Germans, Dutch, Norwegians, Italians etc., can send their soldiers into Ukraine to join the fight against Russia.  Yeah, good luck with that.  WATCH:

The audience wasn’t exactly enthusiastic at the suggestion.

“The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that the time has come for the creation of a European army. ‘Our army alone is not enough, we need your support,’ he said, adding that the ‘old days’, when the US supported Europe ‘just because it always had’, are over. He told attendees he would not take Nato membership for Ukraine off the table and insisted that no decisions should be taken on ending Russia’s war without the involvement of Kyiv and Europe.”

Zelensky also told the European leaders at the Munich Security Conference that Russia, Belarus and North Korea are planning a full scale, nuclear invasion of Europe. He urged Europe to take preemptive action.  The full video is below:

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As expected, initial direct talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are being planned to take place in Saudi Arabia.  Saudi King Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) will be the key emissary to coordinate the agenda.

WASHINGTON DC – U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio held a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Feb. 15, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Building on the Feb. 12 phone conversation between the presidents of Russia and the United States, the foreign ministers agreed to maintain a communication channel to address accumulated issues in Russian-American relations,” a readout from the Russian Foreign Ministry read.

“This is aimed at removing the unilateral barriers inherited from the previous administration that hinder mutually beneficial trade, economic, and investment cooperation.”

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I have written about the Trump Doctrine for several years; however, as we enter this critical inflection moment perhaps a revisit is worthwhile to consider.

What you will notice from President Trump’s responses to questions during foreign leader engagements is the unique nature of his honesty.   In the most consequential of ways, President Trump is the most consequential foreign policy leader in generations.   We forget that during Trump’s first term in office, the headlines about North and South Korea were not about conflict, but rather about the possibility of unification on the Korean peninsula.

♦President Trump’s foreign policy approach brought North and South Korea together away from the table of conflict.  ♦President Trump’s foreign policy approach brought Serbia and Kosovo together away from the table of conflict.  ♦President Trump’s foreign policy rallied the Gulf Cooperation Council to stop Qatar’s support for Islamic extremists via the Muslim Brotherhood. ♦President Trump’s foreign policy brought Turkey and the Kurdish forces together away from war and conflict.  ♦President Trump’s foreign policy created a ceasefire to stop the bloodshed in Syria.  President Trump mediated a cessation of hostilities between India & Pakistan in the Kashmir region. ♦President Trump’s foreign policy brought Israel and the UAE together… and then Bahrain… and then Sudan in the Abraham Accords.

President Trump executes a unique doctrine of sorts, where national security is achieved by leveraging U.S. economic power. It is a fundamental shift in approaching both allies and adversaries; summarized within the oft repeated phrase: “economic security is national security.”

The Trump Doctrine using economics to achieve national security objectives and global peace is a fundamental paradigm shift.  Modern U.S. history provides no easy reference for the effective outcome.

President Trump doesn’t just represent an office or title, nor does he simply represent the majority of the American people; President Trump’s voice is the voice of every ordinary person, what the non-English speaking world defines as “simple people,” and he channels a global message from the majority to the top of the highest power structures.

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A little detail from behind the wire.  I was asked very recently for my thoughts on why President Trump is a giant of influence in world leadership, my response was simple:  President Trump’s power is bottom up, historic global power structures are top down.

President Trump doesn’t just represent an office or title, nor does he simply represent the majority of the American people; President Trump’s voice is the voice of every ordinary person, what the non-English speaking world defines as “simple people,” and he channels a global message from the majority to the top of the highest power structures.

Smart leaders like Vladimir Putin recognize this power source, and they don’t challenge it – they align with it.  Stupid leaders, those who do not recognize their national nakedness like Emmanuel Macron, attempt to avoid & manipulate it.  The Make America Great Again doctrine is a borderless goal, empowering people to make their own lives great.

(VIA ABC) – […] Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday he stands by his comments from Brussels earlier this week on it being unrealistic for Ukraine to be offered NATO membership as part of a settlement, for it to regain its pre-2014 territory, or for U.S. troops to enter the country to keep the peace. 

“My job today, and in Brussels, was to introduce realism to the conversation – the reality that returning to 2014 borders as part of a negotiated settlement is unlikely; the reality of U.S. troops in Ukraine is unlikely; the reality of Ukraine membership in NATO as a part of a negotiated settlement unlikely. And I stand by the comments that I made on that first day in the Ukraine Contact Group,” Hegseth said at a press conference in Poland Friday. (source)

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UPDATE: Transcript Added

Shortly, Vice-President JD Vance is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Germany, at the Munich Security Conference.

The meeting was originally scheduled to take place this morning, however, a member of the Ukrainian delegation confirmed that their meeting will now take place after 5 p.m. local time in Munich (approximately 11 a.m. ET). Vice-President Vance delivered remarks earlier to the Munich conference.

If you do nothing else today ….  WATCH THIS SPEECH!

It is very interesting that JD Vance brought up the recent Romanian election and the nullification of the result by European courts.  Vance shot an arrow directly into the heart of the hypocrisy of ‘democracy’ as defined by the European control agents (essentially EU intel).  Within the remarks, Vance alludes to missing elections in Ukraine and other various anti-democratic activities that have been recently visible in the EU.

“There is no security if you are afraid of the voices of your own people,” Vance said.  Continuing, “if you are running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing the American people can do to assist you.” WATCH:

You can hear a pin drop as Vice President Vance, tells the EU bureaucrats exactly how their activity is undemocratic, totalitarian and against the will of the majority of the people they are supposed to represent.

This is a seismic confrontation between JD Vance, President Trump representing the true cause of liberty, and the EU elites who believe they know better than the proles underneath them with their pesky demands for freedom.  Congratulations to JD Vance and President Trump for pulling no punches.  This is awesome.

[Transcript]  “One of the things that I wanted to talk about today is, of course, our shared values. And, you know, it’s great to be back in Germany. As you heard earlier, I was here last year as United States senator. I saw Foreign Secretary David Lammy and joked that both of us last year had different jobs than we have now. But now it’s time for all of our countries, for all of us who have been fortunate enough to be given political power by our respective peoples, to use it wisely to improve their lives.”

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In an interview with President Trump, the New York Post reveals President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun discussions. You can read the article here. However, as would be expected, it is short on details.

This is a critical dynamic because the larger question that will not be pondered by Western media, but will weigh heavily in the background of President Trump’s perspective is, “is it too late?”

Staying in close contact with friends in Russia, it is apparent to me from the reality on the ground as well as the datapoints from all political angles, that President Putin is no longer in a position to feel any impact from non-military geopolitical pressure.  Quite simply the consideration in the mind of Russian President Putin is something entirely different than it was a few years, or even a few months ago.

The Western economic sanctions against Russia have failed.  There is no outward pressure or internal concern about Western financial and economic sanctions any longer.  The Russian economy (govt) and the Russian people (civic society) in aggregate have now organized their economy and their consumer reality without further need for Western connection.

At this point, Putin almost certainly doesn’t care if the sanctions remain.  Those pressure points are now moot to Russian interest, and in many ways the outcome has been beneficial from an economic nationalist perspective.  While the most severe Western sanctions ever delivered in history, did – at first, create a problem for Russia; those problems are now resolved.

Factually, it may sound silly but McDonalds in Russia is better without McDonald’s Inc controlling it.  Starbucks in Russia is now better delivering better products, under Russian management under a new name.  The products and systems of commerce the Russian people initially missed, have all been replaced and new connections to finance have been established with commercial allies outside the zone of western influence.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was designated as a target by CIA/USAID revolution efforts for his nationalist mindset and opposition to the global agenda of the European Commission.  Orban is also a very strong ally of President Trump and a close personal friend.

Today, Prime Minister Orban reacts to the sunlight now unstoppable upon the agenda of USAID and the architect of the targeting effort, USAID Administrator Samantha Power.

[Source]

PM Orban is the most fearless of the targets, but it is unlikely he will be the last one to speak out.  The CIA/USAID had many targets for regime change, Viktor Orban, in alignment with President Trump, was just the one who went most public in his opposition to their efforts.  Keep in mind, Bolsonaro in Brazil was one of the targets who was successfully removed.

BACKGROUND BELOW as previously outlined in 2023:

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Get ready for a key geopolitical battle; the fight to end the Marshall Plan.

Since the end of World War II, the USA has permitted a system of one-way trade rules that allowed Europe to rebuild on the backs of the American economy.  A series of trade tariffs against U.S. goods was imposed to raise funds for the reconstruction.  Those tariffs never ended; the Marshall Plan continues through today.

Additionally, as a measure to allow the EU to focus internally, the USA provided most of the national security protection for the entire region and the American taxpayer funded U.S. military operations throughout Europe so the EU could spend defense money on their rebuilding.   Again, that never really ended; and the USA maintains the largest majority of NATO military spending.

President Trump has stated his intention to reset both dynamics.  To lower the USA footprint within NATO, demand every NATO member meet its financial obligations, and to reset the trade and tariff system to create equity and reciprocity; thereby effectively ending the Marshall Plan.

The aggregate European Union does not like this Trump trade agenda, nor are they willing to spend more on their own defense.  Today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a press briefing where she spoke about the looming negotiations with President Trump, and stated the EU will never permit financial, economic or military equity.  The EU will fight any effort to stop the Marshall Plan. WATCH:

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There are trillions at stake.

It is always, always, about the economics of the thing.

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Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen that he’s ready to speak with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

(VIA DAILY MAIL) – Greenland’s leader, Múte Egede, has expressed his willingness to engage in negotiations with President-elect Trump – although it won’t be over American potentially gaining control of the country.

Instead, the discussions would focus on the future of the mineral-rich Arctic territory, with a clear emphasis that Greenland’s people have no interest in becoming Americans.

Speaking at a press conference in Denmark on Friday, which holds nominal sovereignty over Greenland, Egede acknowledged the strategic importance of Greenland to the U.S. and said he was open to discussing areas of mutual interest. (more)

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