(BBC live thread on plans on Ukraine minerals deal)

[nitpicked]

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cvg1402yyvet

(snip)

Analysis
US aid in Trump era comes with strings attached
published at 01:38
01:38

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

"That’s what I do. I do deals," Donald Trump said at his news conference with French President Emanuel Macron on Monday. "My whole life is deals."

Now, Ukrainian officials have told the BBC the American president has his rare-earth deal with Ukraine, and Trump has suggested Zelensky will visit Washington DC on Friday to sign the deal.

According to the Ukrainian sources, the US had to back away from some of its more onerous demands from the war-torn nation. And many of the details of this agreement will require further negotiation.

The precedent, however, is set. US aid in the Trump era comes with strings attached. Aid for aid's sake – whether given for humanitarian or strategic reasons – is a thing of the past.

That represents a fundamental reordering of American foreign policy for more than 75 years, from the days of the Marshall Plan to post-Cold War idealism and George W Bush’s "Freedom Agenda" push to promote global democracy.
(snip)

[RazorbackExpat]

1. I'm pretty sure that Dubya's ""Freedom Agenda""

wasn't an altruistic "push to promote global democracy"

[Crunchy Frog]

2. It wasn't, but at least they fucking pretended.

[RazorbackExpat]

3. Maybe so,

but it was pretty obvious that the "freedom agenda" had about as much to do with "democracy" as "freedom fries" did