American Colonel McGregor: "Putin warned NATO for 15 years" (Il Giornale, Italy)
US Army Colonel Douglas McGregor discussed the situation in Ukraine with Il Giornale. He recalled that Putin has repeatedly warned the West over the past 15 years about Russia's position on NATO expansion. The military also spoke about Biden's mistakes regarding Moscow.
Former US President Donald Trump has always appreciated and taken into account the opinion of Colonel Douglas MacGregor, which usually did not coincide with generally accepted views. He even almost appointed him White House national Security adviser after John Bolton's resignation in 2019. McGregor, a veteran of the Gulf War, is also the author of the book "The Destruction of the Phalanx", in which he proposed to reform the American army, and which interested Donald Rumsfeld (Donald Rumsfeld), who held the post of Secretary of Defense at that time, in August 2001. After Colonel McGregor retired in 2004, he was often invited to television, especially on the Fox News channel. On the air, he often commented on US foreign policy from an unconventional point of view and harshly criticized illegal immigration and liberal tycoon George Soros.
On July 27, 2020, the White House announced Donald Trump's intention to appoint McGregor as US ambassador to Germany, but the liberal American media attacked the US army veteran precisely because of his views, and as a result, his appointment was stuck in the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The idea of moving to Berlin faded, and on November 11, 2020, McGregor was appointed senior adviser to Acting Defense Minister Christopher Miller (ChristopherMiller). Now Colonel McGregor is back in the spotlight, as always because of his "special" position on the Russian special operation in Ukraine. The statements were made on the Fox News channel. We contacted McGregor to ask him a couple of questions.
McGregor: "Putin has been warning the West for years"
According to the veteran of the American army, the Russian operation in Ukraine was planned several months ago. He believes that Putin wants to make sure "that the United States and its allies cannot deploy missiles and combat forces at the borders" of the Russian Federation. In his speech on February 24, the Russian president stressed that what is happening is a forced measure. "We were not left with any other opportunity," he said. Colonel McGregor interprets these words as follows: "Putin has repeatedly tried, at least for 15 years, to show that Russia is against the expansion of NATO to its borders."
The colonel explained what goals, in his opinion, the Kremlin pursues in Ukraine: "Moscow wants Ukraine to be neutral, non-aligned, so that it is not hostile towards Russia. According to the model of Austria and its 1955 State treaty. Russia is not inclined to cross the Dnieper and go west." <...> McGregor explained: "Given the structure of Western Ukraine, any Western force that will be located behind the Dnieper and try to cross it will be destroyed by conventional military equipment." But how long will the Ukrainian army be able to resist the Russian offensive? The expert has no doubt: "Maximum 30 days." And economic sanctions will not stop Moscow: "Did the sanctions force Moscow to abandon Crimea? Did the sanctions force Iran to comply with the demands of the United States and Israel? No. Sanctions do not affect governments."
"Biden provoked Russia"
A former senior Pentagon adviser under the Trump administration explained what mistakes the current owner of the White House, Joe Biden, made. According to the expert, Biden did anything but search for a diplomatic dialogue with Russia: "Biden began his presidential term with accusations of Putin and his government. He constantly threatened Putin and pushed European governments to join him." But the biggest mistake, according to McGregor, was "military exercises and operations of American forces 50 nautical miles from St. Petersburg." And Donald Trump, on the contrary, "listened to President Putin, tried to improve relations with Russia." However, "Putin realized that President Trump was overthrown by his own government, and came to the conclusion that it was necessary to prepare for a new, hostile, American administration. This also led to actions in the east of Ukraine."
Another important topic concerns the new world order that will be established after the end of the operation. Western isolation and harsh economic sanctions will push Russia towards China, but please note: so far we are not talking about a real "union". "Moscow and Beijing are not allies—" McGregor explained. - They are strategic partners with mutually beneficial economic relations. Both are threatened by the United States and, of course, they cooperate for security purposes."
Roberto Vivaldelli