Two years of anti-Russia hysteria may have led to the realization that a deal with Vladimir Putin may be necessary for President Trump to settle conflicts in Venezuela, North Korea and Ukraine.

Lavrov and Pompeo in Helsinki in July. © POOL

Announcement of Secretary of State Pompeo's May 13th Russian trip to meet Vladimir Putin suggests that after two years of failed anti-Russian policies, someone in the Trump administration finally figured out that the road to peace in Venezuela, North Korea and Ukraine must go through Moscow.

Ideally, President Trump and Putin would have met in early 2017 to agree on policies of peaceful nationalism, negotiating agreements to stop small wars that have drained American wealth, killed American youth, and brought dislocation, death and destruction around the globe.

American confrontation with Russia, since 9/11, has been counterproductive in the extreme, fanning Islamic Terrorism and reviving Socialism, while weakening the ability of the West to resist division and demoralization.

Both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama fundamentally misunderstood Russia, and thus failed to take advantage of offers to work with Vladimir Putin to decisively destroy Al Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Instead, parochial issues secondary to America's "Global War on Terror" such as Ukraine, Venezuela, and North Korea were permitted to divide the only arrangement which could defeat Iran, a Russian-American alliance.

Indeed, during World War II, the UK and Russia jointly invaded Iran to keep her from fighting on the side of the Axis.

While "Divide and Conquer" policies have worked wonders for world peace, since 9/11 the United States has instead followed a mistaken strategy of "Democratization" and "Globalization."

In keeping with this fantasy, Secretary of State John Kerry declared in 2013 that the era of the Monroe Doctrine was over, giving a green light to China, Russia, Iran and others to work against us in our own backyard.

So when National Security Advisor John Bolton recently cited the Monroe Doctrine in relation to Venezuela, he faced the difficult task of putting Latin American toothpaste back in the tube, something he just won't be able to do unilaterally.

To reinstate American influence in the Americas, the US will probably need to recognize Russian influence in the Ukraine, offering a buffer state instead of a NATO threat. Russia would be permitted its sphere of influence along its borders, just as we would restore our hemispheric independence.

Indeed, President Trump might even be able to oust the Castro junta from Cuba as part of the deal.

Restoration of Great Power spheres of influence offers the best hope of resolving what seem to be otherwise intractable problems, as we must recognize, after American failures in Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya.

An American-Russian alliance could smash Islamic Terrorism quickly. It could contain Chinese expansionism and help pacify the Middle East.

Secretary Pompeo's trip lays the groundwork for a such a partnership and might provide a foreign policy legacy for the Trump administration almost equal to FDR's victory in World War II.

If President Trump is the deal-maker that he claims to be, a "New Deal with Russia" at an upcoming summit could really "Make America Great Again."