In order to effectively combat Russia and President Vladimir Putin, the United States needs to be less transparent and more creative, former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Lincoln Bloomfield tells
Newsmax TV.
"I've always been trained to believe that in security affairs, a little bit of deception and surprise goes a long way, and we're way too transparent and predictable," Bloomfield told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" Friday.
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"What the United States could do, and what it has done for years within NATO, is bring to the table some new initiatives," the former George W. Bush administration official said.
"Look at what Mr. Putin is doing — he's sending forces into Ukraine without any markings on their uniforms. Why is he doing this?" Bloomfield asked. "It's not only a violation of the Geneva Convention, it's not worthy of a state that has the status of a permanent member on the U.N. Security Council.
"He should be called out for this terrible, diminution of war and peace management by a major state," he added.
"Also, look at what he's doing in the media — he's controlling the information to the Russian people — 95 percent of whom get their news from television," Bloomfield said.
"He's controlling the television, and they don't know that there are Russian soldiers in Ukraine," he said.
"The way to undermine that strategy may be to try to get the word to the families of the Red Army," Bloomfield suggested.
"Our European command has been doing . . . 30 exercises a year with the Red Army," he said.
"There are lots of connections, then firewalls we could break down to get the word to the Russian people that Mr. Putin is putting his army and his country at much greater risk than they realize."
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