Some have compared Trump’s demand for minerals in Ukraine to the odious reparations imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. There is a fundamental flaw in that argument. Germany in 1919 was a defeated foe. Ukraine in 2025 is a loyal ally who is still in the fight.

There are two more precise examples. Also in the wake of World War I, there were efforts to forgive Britain’s war debt. After all, the United States was the only major economy to come out of the war intact, while allies who bore the brunt of the conflict were prostrate. The suggestion was torpedoed by Calvin Coolidge with this bit of profundity: “They hired the money, didn’t they?”

And there is the sad history of Haiti. After that nation gained its independence, one of France’s demands, presented by a flotilla of warships, was an extortionate payment scheme to reimburse France for their losses which, incidentally, included slaves. Haiti’s economy was crippled by the arrangement; and the final payment wasn’t made until 1947, well over a century after independence. The names and places change, but the story remains much the same.

William Politt

Weare