‘Putin thinks he can wear the West down!’ | How Russia’s president will react to Trump shooting

‘Putin thinks he can wear the West down!’ | How Russia’s president will react to Trump shooting

uh welcome back is the ongoing Russia Ukraine conflict a European problem a former United States military strategist and Trump Ally Elbridge Colby has suggested this week that labor has been more willing than Rishi Sunex Administration was to accept Donald Trump’s plan to reduce us involvement in Ukraine kobby argues that the United States has to deal with a threat from China and that Britain should adopt a Britain first approach to defense and security Colby denounced David Cameron for Haring the United States for more money while Britain spends relatively small amounts itself on supplies to Ukraine to discuss the future of Western policy on Ukraine I’m joined now by the former deputy chief of the defense staff Lieutenant General Sir Simon ma uh Simon hi good morning Michael welcome um what do you make of this what do you make of the UK’s policy towards Ukraine at the moment how sustainable is it both from the point of view that we’re running down supplies and that we may look forward to a change of administration in United States yeah well you know col’s made some interesting points there I think it’s ridiculous for him to uh say it’s European problem uh as if it’s not a threat to democratic liberal states all across the world and the linkage between a Putin’s success and what Iran is doing and what China is doing Etc um but he has a case which has been made by the Americans all the way back both about European nations uh in general and not not necessarily Britain in particular but European nations about not stepping up to address problems that are very much on our doorstep for which our politicians should should have been making much more provision uh and there no doubt about it under the last government of course labor has inherited this we have run down our Armed Forces we have depleted our stop piles in a very good cause but we haven’t resupplied them uh and it is really as important that if we’re going to lock America in uh despite the siren voices of the French and the like occasionally on a European security independent security identity the key to defense of the western world and what do you want to put ideology or politics or style of life is very much the transatlantic link and you’ll remember it from your time as defense secretary Michael that transatlantic link NATO uh but quite understandably Americans who don’t see the European element Britain among them not picking up the tab and just cheering from the sidelines will have a degree of cynicism so we’ve got to react to that with more than rhetoric it is rather surprising to me that the American right in particular doesn’t regard the threat from Russia as you might expect it to I mean traditionally in the postwar period the threat was from the Soviet Union and the American right you know was absolutely determined yeah to to control the Soviet Union it seems now that even though the threat is clear I mean Russia has invaded a neighboring state that is a clear threat I perfectly understand that Trump might want to concern himself with China but China hasn’t yet invaded a neighboring state whereas Russia has yes what where does the American right get this Viewpoint from I think I think we looked on the rise of China I think differently than the Americans did it’s more on their doorstep they’ve always been you know Pacific leaning Atlantic leaning um for them they thought the Atlantic had rather gone and I think we all did to an extent it’s the fuky armor Vision it’s the collapse of the Soviet Union um they also to an extent look on Russia as being a diminished power as a result of what it’s doing in Ukraine and you’ve seen the horrendous figures they talking about 70,000 casualties in the last two months I have to say the same size as the British army that’d be the equivalent of every man woman killed or wounded in the British Army in the last two months uh and they do see the rise of China as an existential threat so they think it could be managed I think the key about the American I suppose the American political establishment not just the right you know Democrat Republican was this confidence in the ideology that bound the liberal democracies together but if you look geographically here and you looking there as a threat but and here is Europe uh it’s quite easy as you know and you’ve dealt a lot with the Americans to say well you’re rich enough to be dealing with this it is in verticom your problem we have always inclined to say it should be our problem but like any our problem it’s got to be a shared problem and a shared response were you concerned as I was the other day there seemed to be a rather unfortunate incident where president zalinski understood that he was going to be allowed to use British missiles to attack Targets in Russia said so publicly and then the British government rode back and said oh no there’s been no change to the policy the storm Shadows that we have supplied are not to be used against Russia I mean firstly you know making so public what are the conditions under which you supply weapons to a combatant seems to be most unfortunate but also the idea that there was this discussion that maybe the Prime Minister had rode back we we worried about that I was it always worries me these sort of things if you know these These are life and death issues in many ways and Battlefield outcomes to pen on precisely these sort of red lines of use and I I sense the Ukrainian frustration um I to an extent do understand the political um sensitivity about an attack on the Russian uh the Rina the motherland feeding the Putin narrative that we’re under attack from the West um but I do think these discussions should not be had in public um they under they under they they unsettle allies they unsettle people in the front line doing the fighting it’s it’s also pretty asymmetric isn’t it I mean a Chinese or North Korean weapon can be used to attack KF but a British weapon can’t be used to attack a Target in Russia well of course they’ll say Ukrainian and the Ukraine has been quite bold about this they’ll say anything we manufacture is is is game on but they do accept there are sensitivities in certain Western countries now you know to an extent here we are two and a half n you know moving on toward three years into this conflict uh it’s not getting any better you know the security of Europe is definitely at at stake on the outcome of this Putin seems absolutely convinced in old Russian style that he can continue to wear wear the U wear the west down and just going to fighting for to a standstill or a stalemate Michael gives to an extent Putin you know a narrative Victory um in which he holds on to what he’s got and he will be watching what happened in America last night because on the outcome of the presidential election in November will depend you know fundamentally which way the policy goes cuz whatever the French Germans ourselves do it is not a war winner it’s really important what the Americans do will be absolutely critical and their Instinct for many of them as you say will be to look look to the Pacific uh which I think would be utterly the wrong the wrong move but it’s exactly what European politicians need to be making the case now to whichever Administration comes in that you must stay bound with the European Western European increasingly Eastern European Democracies Trump has survived the assassination attempt last night one can speculate that he emerges stronger he certainly looked like yep you know physically like a powerful and brave figure quite impressive those images coming out his chances of being elected have probably not been diminished they may even have been increased we obviously have to cater for the possibility of a Trump trump Administration and we should take seriously should we that almost the first thing he’ll do is lean on zalinsky for a peace settlement yes he may well um I think I hope he’ll be he’ll be warned off that at the moment though he has very effectively in some ways used the idea that America might step back you know most most European members of NATO have now signed up to 2% they’ve been driven up to 2 and a half% um he has made uh you know in his in his time as president and but Obama made the same thing he has forced European nations to confront the reality of what the world looks like and the idea of bribing electorates with their own money on the basis of you know Social Security benefits or the NHS wider Health Systems when the only place you can go for for more money into defense is going to be those areas I think has been really important and I think there really is a grownup debate to be had and will we to find ourselves a policy decision that America was stepping back I hope not from NATO but support for Ukraine we could not in any short order to fill in that Gap so we have got to be making the case to the Americans that Europe gets it Europe understands the importance of the American underpinning of our security please stay engaged but we must do our part and Beyond rhetoric ifor my experience of the ministry of Defense probably yours too was that in a way it doesn’t quite matter how much you spend it’s whether you spend it effectively or not and and I don’t believe it is spent very effectively I’ve been quite reluctant to call for greater defense spending because I I think it is so poorly spent at the moment you we’re just coming to the end but you implied a moment ago that the missiles and other equipment ammunition that we’re supplying to Ukraine is not being being replaced do you know that for a fact well it has not been replaced at the speed it should have been and again you’ll recall Michael that if you went on operations and expended ammunition you instantly went to the treasury and demanded that they uh resupply because that was not was in the core military budget and my understanding is we’d been very slow when we started using our stock piles which were for largely for British consumption on British operations to to Really open up the production lines for missiles uh and ammunition again uh General uh thank you very much that’s s Simon mail

‘Putin seems to be convinced he can wear the West down…’

Former Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, Sir Simon Mayall KBE, on what Putin’s reaction will be to yesterday’s attempt on Trump’s life.

#putin #valdimirputin #russia #trump #donaldtrumpnews #donaldtrumplatest #shooting #election #president #pennsylvania #usnews #gbnews

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