Defense Secy. Admits Biden Admin Goal Was to Deter Putin
Apr 6, 2022 21:11:24 GMT -5
Post by Berean on Apr 6, 2022 21:11:24 GMT -5
Defense Secretary Admits Biden Administration’s Goal Was to Deter Putin
KRISTINA WONG
6 Apr 2022
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday admitted during a House hearing under questioning from a Republican lawmaker that one of the Biden administration’s goals was to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine.
During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) asked if Austin had shared the goal of European Command Commander Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters — who recently testified to the committee — on deterring Putin from invasion, to which Austin responded:
Well, I hope General Wolters shared my goals, since I’m the Secretary of Defense. And my — my objectives were to, number one, defend this nation; number two, make sure that we did everything possible to unify and defend NATO if required. Number three, flow security force assistance to — to Ukraine. And then number four, manage escalation.
Gallagher asked, “So the goal was not to deter Putin from invading Ukraine?”
Austin responded, “I’ve just laid out what my goals were, and certainly –,” before Gallagher noted, “Which did not include deterring Putin from visiting Ukraine, unless I missed it.”
Austin then admitted it was not only a goal to deter Putin, but admitted that deterrence was likely to fail unless forces were put on the ground and that the administration had taken that measure of deterrence off the table early on.
“Well, it was an objective of the government to deter Putin, but as General Milley described, it’s very difficult to do unless you put forces on the ground, and that’s a decision that we made early in the effort here, that we’re not going to put forces in Ukraine to fight Russia,” Austin said.
Continued at link
KRISTINA WONG
6 Apr 2022
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday admitted during a House hearing under questioning from a Republican lawmaker that one of the Biden administration’s goals was to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine.
During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) asked if Austin had shared the goal of European Command Commander Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters — who recently testified to the committee — on deterring Putin from invasion, to which Austin responded:
Well, I hope General Wolters shared my goals, since I’m the Secretary of Defense. And my — my objectives were to, number one, defend this nation; number two, make sure that we did everything possible to unify and defend NATO if required. Number three, flow security force assistance to — to Ukraine. And then number four, manage escalation.
Gallagher asked, “So the goal was not to deter Putin from invading Ukraine?”
Austin responded, “I’ve just laid out what my goals were, and certainly –,” before Gallagher noted, “Which did not include deterring Putin from visiting Ukraine, unless I missed it.”
Austin then admitted it was not only a goal to deter Putin, but admitted that deterrence was likely to fail unless forces were put on the ground and that the administration had taken that measure of deterrence off the table early on.
“Well, it was an objective of the government to deter Putin, but as General Milley described, it’s very difficult to do unless you put forces on the ground, and that’s a decision that we made early in the effort here, that we’re not going to put forces in Ukraine to fight Russia,” Austin said.
Continued at link