Biden's 'Unnecessary Escalation' Only Sets Trump Up for Failure - Ex-DoD Analyst
23:43 GMT 17.11.2024 (Updated: 03:44 GMT 18.11.2024)
© AP Photo / South Korea Defense Ministry
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Ukraine's use of ATACMS does not change much militarily, only adds up to escalation and sets Donald Trump up for failure after inauguration, Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst in the Office of the US Secretary of Defense, told Sputnik.
President Biden has approved the Ukrainian military's employment of US-manufactured ATACMS missiles to aid in defending their weakening positions within the Ukrainian-held territories of Russia's Kursk region, as reported by the New York Times on Sunday, citing informed US officials.
ATACMS missiles have range of up to 200km, which is simillar or less than those Ukrainian drones already can fly. This makes the Biden's decision, if true, an act of 'unnecessary escalation', former Pentagon analyst said.
The ATACMS require NATO's assistance because of the information flow that is necessary to provide for the flight of the missile. So that necessarily brings in NATO's participation," he said.
There may only be one reason for such a move by American administration, and it appears to be a political one. By allowing Ukraine to use ATACMS in strikes on Russian territory, Biden is setting up Trump for Ukrainian failure if the new administration doesn't stand by that decision, Maloof suggests.
"If that's the case, Biden is basically setting up Trump for failure. And that is insidious and it's wrong, when an outgoing administration does that to an incoming administration. And they should be condemned for it," he told Sputnik.
Biden's decision, if true, would only lead to an intensification of Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and stockpiles to force Kiev to seek peace.
"The war is essentially lost for the Ukrainians. They just haven't acknowledged it yet. And Russia actually have been restrained in really applying the hammer," he said.
President Putin's September warning about the implications of NATO countries freeing Kiev's hand to use long-range missiles to target areas deep inside Russia seemed to have influenced alliance plans to do so, with the bloc publicly backpeddling on its plans later that month.
