Retired Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt, speaking to Newsmax, condemned Secretary of State Antony Blinken's assertion of Ukraine's eventual NATO membership as "irresponsible" and cautioned against the possibility of escalating tensions with Russia to the point of triggering World War III.
During a Thursday press briefing in Brussels, Blinken said, "Ukraine will become a member of NATO. Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership."
Holt said, "If we admitted Ukraine into the alliance, we would be at World War III immediately. And if we put troops into Ukraine, the red lines from the Russians have been drawn, and they're pretty clear."
Holt emphasized the need for diplomatic efforts to defuse the situation.
"In three years or in two years of this war, they haven't even tried diplomacy. Give it a whirl. See what it's like to get this thing off-ramped. We haven't done well here, so now we have to mop it up," Holt said on "The Count."
He said that Blinkin is "encouraging China with Taiwan. He's encouraging more of the flood of these terrorist groups that have already come across our nation. He's encouraging more instability in the Middle East because everybody sees that these academics who have not worn a stitch of uniform or ever pondered military strategy in their lives are just wreaking havoc with our alliance."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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