Former United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis claimed that Russia is withering "before our eyes," referencing Moscow's "pathetic" military performance in Ukraine.
The former defense official's remarks were made on Friday and included his calling of Russia's unprovoked war as being "operationally stupid." While speaking at the Seoul Forums 2022 in South Korea, Mattis said that nations with allies thrive and nations without allies wither, saying Russia was part of the latter.
Former US Defense Secretary
The former Marine four-star general also led the Pentagon during the first two years of the Trump administration. He condemned the "immoral, the tactically incompetent, operationally stupid, and strategically foolish effort" of Russia's war on Ukraine.
Mattis was also asked about what military lessons could be learned from Russia's more than four-month-long war with Ukraine. The former defense secretary replied by saying, "One is don't have incompetent generals in charge of your operations."
So far, more than a dozen Russian generals have so far been killed in the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, according to officials from Ukraine and other countries. President Vladimir Putin launched his war on Ukraine in late February, deploying troops to surround and shell towns and cities across the region, as per Business Insider.
Furthermore, thousands of soldiers from both sides have lost their lives since the beginning of the brutal war. A former United States general last month compared Russia's war in Ukraine to a "heavyweight boxing match" and predicted that a "knockout blow" is coming soon.
Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who served as the commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, posted a tweet saying that in two months of fighting, there has not yet been a knockout blow, arguing that it will come as RU forces become more depleted.
According to Yahoo News, Mattis also spoke of previous attempts by American officials to try and bring Russia into the "community of nations" but argued that it was not possible with Putin as the country's leader. He added that the "tragedy of our time" is that the Russian president is a "creature straight out of Dostoevsky."
Russia's Pathetic Military Performance
The former defense secretary claimed that Putin goes to bed every night angry, fearful, and thinking that Russia is surrounded by nightmares. The Russian leader has removed anyone from his inner circle that would disagree with him, so he "probably thought that the Ukrainian people were going to welcome him."
Mattis' most pointed comments aimed at Putin include his portrayal that the Russian president was unhinged and unable to make smart decisions due to the lack of people giving him sound advice. Furthermore, he also criticized China's growing relations with Russia despite the latter's invasion of Ukraine.
He said that a country cannot be great if they continue to support Russia's criminal and unprovoked invasion of another country. Addressing his tenure under Trump, Mattis spoke of "raucous times" and called former United States President Donald Trump an "unusual leader" but did not directly criticize the Republican businessman or his allies during the former administration, VOA News reported.
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