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Glenn's Show Prep

Morning Brief 2025-08-29

August 29, 2025
Chris Brady

No guests slated for today's show. Subject to change.

News...

These are all the mass shootings committed by trans people in the US
The latest case occurred on Wednesday at a Catholic Church and school in Minneapolis.

Motive Of Trans Shooter Who Killed Christians Is Not A ‘Mystery’
When the truth is right in front of them, clear as day, you can bet on the corporate media ignoring it as an expression of fealty to "transgender" ideology.

RFK Jr. investigating whether Minneapolis church shooting may have been sparked by gender transition drugs
He said the drugs involved had been linked to side effects related to violence.

Don’t Say Trans: How Mainstream Media Outlets Referred to Minneapolis Transgender School Shooter
"FBI Director Kash Patel identified the shooter as male. Legal documents requesting a name change for Westman say she identified as female," NBC reports.

Wikipedia editors clash over pronouns, deadnaming in Minneapolis school shooting entry
Wikipedia editors fought over whether to use the attacker’s birth name and his actual sex, with others citing “deadnaming” rules in favor of accuracy.

Gavin Newsom Mocks Prayer After Catholic School Shooting
Newsom mocked prayer on Thursday after Karoline Leavitt defended the power and importance of prayer for people of faith.

Bedford: Attacks against American Catholics and churches are out of control
America has recorded over 520 attacks on Catholic churches since 2020, fueled by a culture of abortion extremism and open anti-Christian hate.

We finally have an idea why John Bolton is in hot water
The FBI raided Bolton’s Maryland home and D.C. office over allegations he sent classified national security documents to family members on a private email server while serving as Trump’s national security adviser.

DC will convict praying pro-lifers but not activists who assault immigration officials
A frail 77-year-old grandmother is serving prison time for praying outside an abortion clinic, while a DOJ staffer who struck a federal officer with a Subway sandwich walked free after a D.C. grand jury refused to indict. The double standard highlights how politics, not justice, rules the capital’s courts.

‘Undercover’ Spy At Center Of WSJ Sob Story Is Actually A Public CIA Russia Hoaxer
The hit piece blasting Tulsi Gabbard for outing omnipresent CIA agent Julia Gurganus is filled with falsities.

Former CDC official used term 'pregnant people' in resignation letter
During his long social media post, he accused President Trump of trying to erase the transgender community.

Worse than Antifa: Inside the new breed of ultra-extremist groups dedicated to chaos, violence — and even alleged murder
Experts who track domestic terrorism and extremist movements say Antifa has lost its spark. But experts warn that could be a dangerous thing, as the vacuum has given way to even more fringe and violent offshoots that are coalescing in the Marxist ether. And we’re only beginning to see the deadly fallout.

‘Looks cleaner than it has in years’: Reporter blown away by Trump’s cleanup success at Union Station
After Trump’s federal takeover of D.C. police and Union Station, reporters noted the landmark is safer and cleaner, with over 1,200 arrests and 135 guns seized in the citywide crackdown on crime.

Florida cracked down on 'billboard lawyers' — and is reaping the rewards
Gov. Ron DeSantis took away the tricks that made rampant lawsuits so profitable — and now, auto insurance rates are falling there for the first time in years.

Hurricane Katrina 20-year anniversary...

Flashback: Global Storm Warning
“Sea-level rise and increased storm intensity are no longer abstract, long-term issues but are associated with horrific pictures seen on television every evening,” says Christopher Flavin, president of the Worldwatch Institute. Yes, the Bush administration and its right-wing allies will continue to deny that global warming exists and resist cutting carbon emissions.

Flashback: Hurricane Katrina's real name is global warming
In 2000, big oil and big coal scored their biggest electoral victory yet when George W. Bush was elected president — and subsequently took suggestions from the industry for his climate and energy policies.

Flashback: Forecaster theory of mobsters causing Katrina labeled ridiculous
Meteorologist Scott Stevens, a veteran of KPVI-TV in Pocatello, says Japan's Yakuza mafia used a Russian-made electromagnetic generator to cause Hurricane Katrina in a bid to avenge itself for the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack and that the technology will soon be wielded again to hit another U.S. city.

Fire Ant Survival During Hurricane Katrina
During the flood that followed Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, golf-sized balls of shimmery copper could be seen floating on the surface of the water. These balls were fire ants. By using air bubbles and interlocking their bodies, they are able to create a "raft" that has the ability to stay afloat for MONTHS.
- Pictures from other fire ant 'rafts' from other storms

Politics...

Trump scraps $5B in foreign aid in rare ‘pocket rescission’
President Trump is moving to cancel nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid and peacekeeping spending in a rare “pocket rescission,” the Post has learned — making use of a legally debated maneuver that hasn’t been done in 48 years.

These are the outrageously radical DSA-NYC policies Zohran Mamdani refuses to say he rejects
Newly unearthed platforms from the DSA's New York City chapter paint a shocking picture of the potential radical shift in policies in the Big Apple if Mamdani is elected as mayor in November.

GOP lawmaker introduces bill barring illegal aliens from 'sabotaged' census
Rep. August Pfluger introduced the COUNT Act to codify Trump’s order requiring only U.S. citizens be included in the census, arguing Democrats used illegal aliens to tilt congressional representation. Pfluger says Biden’s approach cost Texas a seat and created a “constitutional crisis.”

Former Yankee Mark Teixeira launches Texas congressional run
The former All-Star first baseman announced he’s running in Texas’ 21st district, pledging to defend Trump’s America First agenda after Rep. Chip Roy vacated the seat to run for attorney general.

Leftist dark money group secretly paid influencers up to $8,000 a month
WIRED revealed that the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a Democrat-aligned dark money network run through Arabella Advisors, funded a secret program paying influencers thousands monthly to push progressive content while hiding their ties.

Economy...

White House touts lowest Labor Day gas prices since 2020
The average gas price across the country is predicted to be $3.15 per gallon, according to Gas Buddy — which is a notable 14 cents lower than in 2024.

Trump’s Opportunity Zones 2.0 aims to help low-income areas become economically productive
Helping disadvantaged areas help themselves out of poverty: The goal is to spur economic development in economically distressed areas by offering tax incentives for investors to reinvest capital gains into designated low-income census tracts.

End of US Low-Value Package Tariff Exemption Is Permanent, Trump Officials Say
The U.S. tariff exemption for package shipments valued under $800 ends permanently on Friday. Shippers can opt to pay a flat duty of $80 to $200 per package depending on the country of origin, Trump administration officials said.

Fed governor Lisa Cook's record is a reminder of 2020's social justice insanity
Cook was a loud participant in the 2020 cancel-culture wave — calling for the ouster of a University of Chicago economist who criticized Black Lives Matter and claiming such speech inflicted “real pain.” Her record highlights how deeply woke orthodoxy infected institutions at the height of that cultural madness.

Immigration...

White House clarifies position on Chinese students after MAGA backlash against 600,000 figure
"President Trump isn't proposing an increase in student visas for Chinese students. The 600K references two years' worth of visas. It's simply a continuation of existing policy," the statement reads.

Trump targets 'forever' students gaming America's visa system
"For too long, past administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the U.S. virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing [an] untold amount of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging U.S. citizens."

WAR News...

A general and an admiral turned down last-minute chances to keep Taliban out of Kabul
Missed chances, tragic outcomes: A U.S. general turned down an offer from the Taliban allowing the U.S. to secure Kabul, and a U.S. rear admiral nixed a proposal by Afghan generals that might have kept Kabul out of the hands of the Taliban. Both decisions are little-known but had devastating consequences.

Federal judge allows families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia
The judge denied Saudi Arabia's motion to dismiss the 20-year-old lawsuit.

Israel...

‘We Are Fighting the Jews, Not Zionism,’ Says Palestinian Activist Hailed in Mainstream Media Reports As ‘Hero’
Ahed Tamimi, who rose to prominence as a teenager when she slapped an Israeli soldier on camera, has also praised Adolf Hitler and promised to drink the blood of Jewish civilians.

Microsoft Fires Radical Anti-Israel Employees Who Stormed President's Office
Tech giant delayed firing one staffer arrested at another anti-Israel disruption last week.

Entertainment...

Leftists Melt Down Over ‘Gay Icon’ Gloria Gaynor Being A Republican Donor
The 'I Will Survive' singer donated $22,000 in support of GOP candidates between 2023 and 2024.

Khloe Kardashian flaunts banned stem cell treatment in Mexico
The reality star told her 301 million followers she underwent a “muse stem cell” procedure — illegal in the U.S. — to boost recovery, fight inflammation, and slow aging, praising a Mexican clinic for administering the controversial treatment.

Pauly Shore shares emotional update after pancreatic tumor scare
The comedy star said a routine full-body scan uncovered a benign tumor lurking in his pancreas for possibly 20 years. After successful surgery, Shore urged fans to get checked, warning, “You want to find it before it finds you.”

‘Gangnam Style’ K-pop star PSY accused of illegally obtaining prescription drugs
“Gangnam Style” was the first video to ever reach one billion views on YouTube. It then became the first video to reach two billion views on the platform in 2014.

Media...

Fox News’ John Roberts Hospitalized with ‘Severe' Malaria After ‘Uncontrolled Shivering' On-Air
“I had been hurting from the top of my head to the tip of my toes,” he tells PEOPLE.

Environment...

Car color could be raising temperatures in cities, study shows
A new study reveals parked dark-colored vehicles in Lisbon raise local air temperatures by 3.8°C compared to nearby asphalt, while white vehicles reflect up to 85% of sunlight. With cars covering 10% of city roads, their heat contribution significantly impacts urban warming.

Science...

Ancient Crocodile 'Hypercarnivore' Discovered — And It Ate Dinosaurs
Scientists have unearthed Kostensuchus atrox, a 70-million-year-old crocodile relative in southern Patagonia. The 11.5-foot-long predator weighed 550 pounds and possessed over 50 serrated teeth, capable of hunting medium-sized dinosaurs.

August 29, 2005 - Hurricane Katrina makes landfall... Superdome roof partially blown off... Cindy Sheehan... Hollywood says it's going to make better movies... Fire ants, oil slicks on fire, dangers faced in New Orleans...

Durham annex EXPOSES Soros, Pentagon ties to Deep State machine

ullstein bild Dtl. / Contributor | Getty Images

The Durham annex and ODNI report documents expose a vast network of funders and fixers — from Soros’ Open Society Foundations to the Pentagon.

In a column earlier this month, I argued the deep state is no longer deniable, thanks to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. I outlined the structural design of the deep state as revealed by two recent declassifications: Gabbard’s ODNI report and the Durham annex released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

These documents expose a transnational apparatus of intelligence agencies, media platforms, think tanks, and NGOs operating as a parallel government.

The deep state is funded by elite donors, shielded by bureaucracies, and perpetuated by operatives who drift between public office and private influence without accountability.

But institutions are only part of the story. This web of influence is made possible by people — and by money. This follow-up to the first piece traces the key operatives and financial networks fueling the deep state’s most consequential manipulations, including the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.

Architects and operatives

At the top of the intelligence pyramid sits John Brennan, President Obama’s CIA director and one of the principal architects of the manipulated 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. James Clapper, who served as director of national intelligence, signed off on that same ICA and later joined 50 other former officials in concluding the Hunter Biden laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation” ahead of the 2020 election. The timing, once again, served a political objective.

James Comey, then FBI director, presided over Crossfire Hurricane. According to the Durham annex, he also allowed the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server to collapse after it became entangled with “sensitive intelligence” revealing her plan to tie President Donald Trump to Russia.

That plan, as documented in the annex, originated with Hillary Clinton herself and was personally pushed by President Obama. Her campaign, through law firm Perkins Coie, hired Fusion GPS, which commissioned the now-debunked Steele dossier — a document used to justify surveillance warrants on Trump associates.

Several individuals orbiting the Clinton operation have remained influential. Jake Sullivan, who served as President Biden’s national security adviser, was a foreign policy aide to Clinton during her 2016 campaign. He was named in 2021 as a figure involved in circulating the collusion narrative, and his presence in successive Democratic administrations suggests institutional continuity.

Andrew McCabe, then the FBI’s deputy director, approved the use of FISA warrants derived from unverified sources. His connection to the internal “insurance policy” discussion — described in a 2016 text by FBI official Peter Strzok to colleague Lisa Page — underscores the Bureau’s political posture during that election cycle.

The list of political enablers is long but revealing:

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who, as a former representative from California, chaired the House Intelligence Committee at the time and publicly promoted the collusion narrative while having access to intelligence that contradicted it.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), both members of the “Gang of Eight” with oversight of intelligence operations, advanced the same narrative despite receiving classified briefings.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, exchanged encrypted text messages with a Russian lobbyist in efforts to speak with Christopher Steele.

These were not passive recipients of flawed intelligence. They were participants in its amplification.

The funding networks behind the machine

The deep state’s operations are not possible without financing — much of it indirect, routed through a nexus of private foundations, quasi-governmental entities, and federal agencies.

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations appear throughout the Durham annex. In one instance, Open Society Foundations documents were intercepted by foreign intelligence and used to track coordination between NGOs and the Clinton campaign’s anti-Trump strategy.

This system was not designed for transparency but for control.

Soros has also been a principal funder of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, which ran a project during the Trump administration called the Moscow Project, dedicated to promoting the Russia collusion narrative.

The Tides Foundation and Arabella Advisors both specialize in “dark money” donor-advised funds that obscure the source and destination of political funding. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was the biggest donor to the Arabella Advisors by far, which routed $127 million through Arabella’s network in 2020 alone and nearly $500 million in total.

The MacArthur Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation also financed many of the think tanks named in the Durham annex, including the Council on Foreign Relations.

Federal funding pipelines

Parallel to the private networks are government-funded influence operations, often justified under the guise of “democracy promotion” or counter-disinformation initiatives.

USAID directed $270 million to Soros-affiliated organizations for overseas “democracy” programs, a significant portion of which has reverberated back into domestic influence campaigns.

The State Department funds the National Endowment for Democracy, a quasi-governmental organization with a $315 million annual budget and ties to narrative engineering projects.

The Department of Homeland Security underwrote entities involved in online censorship programs targeting American citizens.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The Pentagon, from 2020 to 2024, awarded over $2.4 trillion to private contractors — many with domestic intelligence capabilities. It also directed $1.4 billion to select think tanks since 2019.

According to public records compiled by DataRepublican, these tax-funded flows often support the very actors shaping U.S. political discourse and global perception campaigns.

Not just domestic — but global

What these disclosures confirm is that the deep state is not a theory. It is a documented structure — funded by elite donors, shielded by bureaucracies, and perpetuated by operatives who drift between public office and private influence without accountability.

This system was not designed for transparency but for control. It launders narratives, neutralizes opposition, and overrides democratic will by leveraging the very institutions meant to protect it.

With the Durham annex and the ODNI report, we now see the network's architecture and its actors — names, agencies, funding trails — all laid bare. What remains is the task of dismantling it before its next iteration takes shape.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The truth behind ‘defense’: How America was rebranded for war

PAUL J. RICHARDS / Staff | Getty Images

Donald Trump emphasizes peace through strength, reminding the world that the United States is willing to fight to win. That’s beyond ‘defense.’

President Donald Trump made headlines this week by signaling a rebrand of the Defense Department — restoring its original name, the Department of War.

At first, I was skeptical. “Defense” suggests restraint, a principle I consider vital to U.S. foreign policy. “War” suggests aggression. But for the first 158 years of the republic, that was the honest name: the Department of War.

A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.

The founders never intended a permanent standing army. When conflict came — the Revolution, the War of 1812, the trenches of France, the beaches of Normandy — the nation called men to arms, fought, and then sent them home. Each campaign was temporary, targeted, and necessary.

From ‘war’ to ‘military-industrial complex’

Everything changed in 1947. President Harry Truman — facing the new reality of nuclear weapons, global tension, and two world wars within 20 years — established a full-time military and rebranded the Department of War as the Department of Defense. Americans resisted; we had never wanted a permanent army. But Truman convinced the country it was necessary.

Was the name change an early form of political correctness? A way to soften America’s image as a global aggressor? Or was it simply practical? Regardless, the move created a permanent, professional military. But it also set the stage for something Truman’s successor, President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, famously warned about: the military-industrial complex.

Ike, the five-star general who commanded Allied forces in World War II and stormed Normandy, delivered a harrowing warning during his farewell address: The military-industrial complex would grow powerful. Left unchecked, it could influence policy and push the nation toward unnecessary wars.

And that’s exactly what happened. The Department of Defense, with its full-time and permanent army, began spending like there was no tomorrow. Weapons were developed, deployed, and sometimes used simply to justify their existence.

Peace through strength

When Donald Trump said this week, “I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too,” some people freaked out. They called him a warmonger. He isn’t. Trump is channeling a principle older than him: peace through strength. Ronald Reagan preached it; Trump is taking it a step further.

Just this week, Trump also suggested limiting nuclear missiles — hardly the considerations of a warmonger — echoing Reagan, who wanted to remove missiles from silos while keeping them deployable on planes.

The seemingly contradictory move of Trump calling for a Department of War sends a clear message: He wants Americans to recognize that our military exists not just for defense, but to project power when necessary.

Trump has pointed to something critically important: The best way to prevent war is to have a leader who knows exactly who he is and what he will do. Trump signals strength, deterrence, and resolve. You want to negotiate? Great. You don’t? Then we’ll finish the fight decisively.

That’s why the world listens to us. That’s why nations come to the table — not because Trump is reckless, but because he means what he says and says what he means. Peace under weakness invites aggression. Peace under strength commands respect.

Trump is the most anti-war president we’ve had since Jimmy Carter. But unlike Carter, Trump isn’t weak. Carter’s indecision emboldened enemies and made the world less safe. Trump’s strength makes the country stronger. He believes in peace as much as any president. But he knows peace requires readiness for war.

Names matter

When we think of “defense,” we imagine cybersecurity, spy programs, and missile shields. But when we think of “war,” we recall its harsh reality: death, destruction, and national survival. Trump is reminding us what the Department of Defense is really for: war. Not nation-building, not diplomacy disguised as military action, not endless training missions. War — full stop.

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

Names matter. Words matter. They shape identity and character. A Department of Defense implies passivity, a posture of reaction. A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.

So yes, I’ve changed my mind. I’m for the rebranding to the Department of War. It shows strength to the world. It reminds Americans, internally and externally, of the reality we face. The Department of Defense can no longer be a euphemism. Our military exists for war — not without deterrence, but not without strength either. And we need to stop deluding ourselves.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Censorship, spying, lies—The Deep State’s web finally unmasked

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

From surveillance abuse to censorship, the deep state used state power and private institutions to suppress dissent and influence two US elections.

The term “deep state” has long been dismissed as the province of cranks and conspiracists. But the recent declassification of two critical documents — the Durham annex, released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and a report publicized by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — has rendered further denial untenable.

These documents lay bare the structure and function of a bureaucratic, semi-autonomous network of agencies, contractors, nonprofits, and media entities that together constitute a parallel government operating alongside — and at times in opposition to — the duly elected one.

The ‘deep state’ is a self-reinforcing institutional machine — a decentralized, global bureaucracy whose members share ideological alignment.

The disclosures do not merely recount past abuses; they offer a schematic of how modern influence operations are conceived, coordinated, and deployed across domestic and international domains.

What they reveal is not a rogue element operating in secret, but a systematized apparatus capable of shaping elections, suppressing dissent, and laundering narratives through a transnational network of intelligence, academia, media, and philanthropic institutions.

Narrative engineering from the top

According to Gabbard’s report, a pivotal moment occurred on December 9, 2016, when the Obama White House convened its national security leadership in the Situation Room. Attendees included CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Secretary of State John Kerry, and others.

During this meeting, the consensus view up to that point — that Russia had not manipulated the election outcome — was subordinated to new instructions.

The record states plainly: The intelligence community was directed to prepare an assessment “per the President’s request” that would frame Russia as the aggressor and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump as its preferred candidate. Notably absent was any claim that new intelligence had emerged. The motivation was political, not evidentiary.

This maneuver became the foundation for the now-discredited 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian election interference. From that point on, U.S. intelligence agencies became not neutral evaluators of fact but active participants in constructing a public narrative designed to delegitimize the incoming administration.

Institutional and media coordination

The ODNI report and the Durham annex jointly describe a feedback loop in which intelligence is laundered through think tanks and nongovernmental organizations, then cited by media outlets as “independent verification.” At the center of this loop are agencies like the CIA, FBI, and ODNI; law firms such as Perkins Coie; and NGOs such as the Open Society Foundations.

According to the Durham annex, think tanks including the Atlantic Council, the Carnegie Endowment, and the Center for a New American Security were allegedly informed of Clinton’s 2016 plan to link Trump to Russia. These institutions, operating under the veneer of academic independence, helped diffuse the narrative into public discourse.

Media coordination was not incidental. On the very day of the aforementioned White House meeting, the Washington Post published a front-page article headlined “Obama Orders Review of Russian Hacking During Presidential Campaign” — a story that mirrored the internal shift in official narrative. The article marked the beginning of a coordinated media campaign that would amplify the Trump-Russia collusion narrative throughout the transition period.

Surveillance and suppression

Surveillance, once limited to foreign intelligence operations, was turned inward through the abuse of FISA warrants. The Steele dossier — funded by the Clinton campaign via Perkins Coie and Fusion GPS — served as the basis for wiretaps on Trump affiliates, despite being unverified and partially discredited. The FBI even altered emails to facilitate the warrants.

ROBYN BECK / Contributor | Getty Images

This capacity for internal subversion reappeared in 2020, when 51 former intelligence officials signed a letter labeling the Hunter Biden laptop story as “Russian disinformation.” According to polling, 79% of Americans believed truthful coverage of the laptop could have altered the election. The suppression of that story — now confirmed as authentic — was election interference, pure and simple.

A machine, not a ‘conspiracy theory’

The deep state is a self-reinforcing institutional machine — a decentralized, global bureaucracy whose members share ideological alignment and strategic goals.

Each node — law firms, think tanks, newsrooms, federal agencies — operates with plausible deniability. But taken together, they form a matrix of influence capable of undermining electoral legitimacy and redirecting national policy without democratic input.

The ODNI report and the Durham annex mark the first crack in the firewall shielding this machine. They expose more than a political scandal buried in the past. They lay bare a living system of elite coordination — one that demands exposure, confrontation, and ultimately dismantling.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Trump's proposal explained: Ukraine's path to peace without NATO expansion

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor | Getty Images

Strategic compromise, not absolute victory, often ensures lasting stability.

When has any country been asked to give up land it won in a war? Even if a nation is at fault, the punishment must be measured.

After World War I, Germany, the main aggressor, faced harsh penalties under the Treaty of Versailles. Germans resented the restrictions, and that resentment fueled the rise of Adolf Hitler, ultimately leading to World War II. History teaches that justice for transgressions must avoid creating conditions for future conflict.

Ukraine and Russia must choose to either continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

Russia and Ukraine now stand at a similar crossroads. They can cling to disputed land and prolong a devastating war, or they can make concessions that might secure a lasting peace. The stakes could not be higher: Tens of thousands die each month, and the choice between endless bloodshed and negotiated stability hinges on each side’s willingness to yield.

History offers a guide. In 1967, Israel faced annihilation. Surrounded by hostile armies, the nation fought back and seized large swaths of territory from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Yet Israel did not seek an empire. It held only the buffer zones needed for survival and returned most of the land. Security and peace, not conquest, drove its decisions.

Peace requires concessions

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says both Russia and Ukraine will need to “get something” from a peace deal. He’s right. Israel proved that survival outweighs pride. By giving up land in exchange for recognition and an end to hostilities, it stopped the cycle of war. Egypt and Israel have not fought in more than 50 years.

Russia and Ukraine now press opposing security demands. Moscow wants a buffer to block NATO. Kyiv, scarred by invasion, seeks NATO membership — a pledge that any attack would trigger collective defense by the United States and Europe.

President Donald Trump and his allies have floated a middle path: an Article 5-style guarantee without full NATO membership. Article 5, the core of NATO’s charter, declares that an attack on one is an attack on all. For Ukraine, such a pledge would act as a powerful deterrent. For Russia, it might be more palatable than NATO expansion to its border

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

Peace requires concessions. The human cost is staggering: U.S. estimates indicate 20,000 Russian soldiers died in a single month — nearly half the total U.S. casualties in Vietnam — and the toll on Ukrainians is also severe. To stop this bloodshed, both sides need to recognize reality on the ground, make difficult choices, and anchor negotiations in security and peace rather than pride.

Peace or bloodshed?

Both Russia and Ukraine claim deep historical grievances. Ukraine arguably has a stronger claim of injustice. But the question is not whose parchment is older or whose deed is more valid. The question is whether either side is willing to trade some land for the lives of thousands of innocent people. True security, not historical vindication, must guide the path forward.

History shows that punitive measures or rigid insistence on territorial claims can perpetuate cycles of war. Germany’s punishment after World War I contributed directly to World War II. By contrast, Israel’s willingness to cede land for security and recognition created enduring peace. Ukraine and Russia now face the same choice: Continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.