During an interview with MSNBC’s Alex Witt on Sunday, Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey threw cold water on the fears that Vladimir Putin could use nukes at “zero” in Ukraine and urged NATO forces to destroy the Russian military forces on the ground in Ukraine before they begin their final assault on Kyiv. McCaffrey also said that Putin is in “way over his head” by invading Ukraine without expecting a fierce push back.
The four-star general went on to say that the decision to not implement a no-fly over Ukraine zone is a “political one” and that NATO forces could destroy the Russian military in just a few days.
Asked to offer his assessment today of NATO’s ability to fend off Russia militarily, McCaffrey said: “It is enormous. The Russians would be squashed if they tried to attack Poland, Romania, never mind a massive movement to take Western Europe. It’s not even in the cards. However, what is in the cards is that NATO has now pulled itself together in dramatic fashion. I think the Biden’s team been brilliant in the way they handled this, moved forward as an alliance, not as a U.S. unilateral move.”
When asked about the fears that Vladimir Putin might try to use tactical nuclear weapons, the retired general shot down that possibility.
“I think it approaches zero,” McCaffrey replied. “I cannot imagine a lieutenant colonel in the Russian Air Force telling Mr. Putin, this is a good idea. We have tactical nuclear weapons sitting on boomer submarines of the U.S. Navy that within 15 minutes could respond to a tactical attack. No one in their right mind thinks you can win a nuclear conflict.”
“The Russians have written their doctrine that says escalate to de-escalate. mumbo jumbo,” he added. “They nuke, what? Ukrainian forces, Polish forces, U.S. forces and then say now we want to talk? I don’t think he’s even remotely going to do that. If there was a giant nuclear exchange, it would be armageddon for the civilized world.”
Watch the interview below:
