GOOD IDEA. THAT’LL SHOW TRUMP. Europe Hatches Plans for Ukraine Peacekeepers Without U.S.: Defense chiefs from the ‘coalition of the willing’ discuss how best to put boots on the ground in Ukraine if there is peace. Well, maybe. It’s typical EU BS when you look past the headlines:

Western allies are trying to hash out a bold European idea: sending 10,000 to 30,000 troops to Ukraine to help enforce any eventual peace deal with Russia.

With cease-fire talks continuing with the Kremlin, defense officials from dozens of Western nations met in the U.K. on Thursday to hammer out details of how the so-called “coalition of the willing” led by the U.K. and France could help Ukraine deter Russia from attacking in the future. No U.S. troops would be involved.

The unusual talks—Western military allies getting together without the Americans—are the latest sign of the world’s shifting geopolitics. The pivot in U.S. diplomacy to accommodate Russia has left Western allies struggling with how to help Ukraine find a lasting peace, especially since they lack the military capacity that only the U.S. can bring.

Already, however, discussions among these allies are proving arduous. A major concern is that coalition troops could get sucked into a hot war with Russia without substantial U.S. support to back them up. There is also a debate over whether the Western troops in Ukraine would even be permitted to fire at Russians if there were an incursion.

Peacekeepers who can’t shoot are hostages. You want peacekeepers who can –and will — shoot if you want to actually keep peace. In the words of Keith Laumer, there’s noting so peaceful as a dead troublemaker.