Subject: Re: Trump Threatens Zelenski
What nobody in the lib 'o sphere realizes is that the strategic minerals deal (I don't want to call it rare Earth, because IIRC they don't have actual rare Earth elements) amounts to a de facto security guarantee between the US and the Ukraine.

No, it doesn't. While the value of that deal is uncertain, there's no possibility that it's valuable enough to meaningfully affect the U.S.' decision to commit military forces to defend Ukraine against Russia. If the Administration doesn't think defending Ukraine to support international collective security arrangement against Russian aggression is worthwhile, a partial interest in mineral rights of uncertain developability or value isn't going to matter much. I mean, Trump was willing to throw it away in an instant in reaction to his displeasure over today's event - so it isn't something even he felt was all that important.