Former deputy national security adviser KT McFarland told Newsmax on Thursday that victory in Ukraine comes down to leveraging America's greatest economic asset to destabilize Russia.
"It's really easy," McFarland said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "It's energy. It's all about energy. When I actually helped write that speech that President Reagan gave in 1984, we understood at the time [that] … our greatest strength is our economy, our technology. Today, what's our greatest strength? It's our energy. What's Russia's greatest strength? It's its energy. So, go at them right there."
McFarland continued: "If the United States were to take the shackles off of our energy industry, we could produce enough energy not just to make us energy independent, but energy dominant. We could provide energy for the whole world for hundreds of years. We could do it cheaply, safely, abundantly, securely. And so do that.
"What happens then? The price of oil goes in half, it's cut in half. What's Russia's only major revenue source? Its oil and natural gas exports. Bankrupt them. That's what we did in the Cold War. It works, and I think we ought to do it again."
President Joe Biden reportedly is concerned about the removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker of the House because of what that could mean for Ukraine funding. McFarland said that one of the reasons aid for Ukraine is so unpopular "is because President Biden hasn't made the case."
"He hasn't gone to the Oval Office; he hasn't gone to the people, and said, Look, this is worth spending $1,000 per household of the American people to support Ukraine," McFarland said. "In fact, the way they present it, the conventional wisdom is, you're either all in on Ukraine, no strings attached, or you pull out, let Russia take Ukraine and then you end up fighting World War III, because Russia will take the rest of Europe. Those are two very bad options; that's why they need to find a third option.
"When President Biden isn't making the case, you want to know why? The reason President Biden doesn't have a game plan or an end plan? Because there isn't one. That's the problem.
"When I went into the White House, in the beginning of the Trump administration, I met with the national security adviser — my predecessor — and said, 'Well, you're putting all this money into the Iraq War, into the Afghanistan war at the time. What's your metric for success? How are you judging whether what you're doing is effective?' She looked at me and was stunned that I would dare ask that question."
According to McFarland, the same situation is unfolding in Ukraine, where there is no plan to reach a cease-fire and come to the negotiating table.
"They're going to throw money at it and hope, somehow, it works out," she said. "It's not going to work out."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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