WASHINGTON DC - Two senior retired US generals, including a former national security adviser to US President Donald Trump, on Friday delivered a stark message to the White House regarding Russia and the war in Ukraine, urging a hardline approach centered on military strength, offensive action and a sustained global presence.
Lieutenant General. (ret.) H.R. McMaster, who served in the Trump administration’s first term, and General (ret.) Laura Richardson warned that the perceived weakness of the US and its allies is what drives Russian aggression, not foreign engagement.
They spoke at a Foundation for Defense of Democracies event in Washington, as the administration was “finalizing” its new National Security Strategy.
McMaster urges ‘peace through strength’
McMaster stated that Trump is “confronting a much more complex and dangerous world” in a second term due to the coalescing of an “Axis of Aggressors” – Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
His central counsel for the administration’s national security planning was to make a “sustained argument” for “peace through strength” based on demonstrable military power, not “pixie dust” deterrence strategies.
McMaster on Russia and Ukraine
McMaster asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not stop until he is stopped”. He urged the administration to resolve its internal divisions to impose “much more severe costs” on the Kremlin.
Furthermore, he argued that effective deterrence relies on “hard power”, and that the perception of US weakness is what is truly “provocative,” not providing Ukraine with advanced capabilities.
He noted the 2022 re-invasion of Ukraine was a “failure of deterrence”.
McMaster also called for an “offensive mindset” to counter Russia, specifically advising the administration to seize frozen Russian assets and target the “ghost fleet” of oil tankers to “constrain the flow of cash” fueling the war.
McMaster cautioned the administration against an isolationist shift, warning that to disengage portions of our force from Europe would repeat the mistakes the previous administrations have made.
Richardson highlights Russia’s information war
General Richardson, who commanded US Southern Command until 2024, focused on Russia’s non-military aggression in the Western Hemisphere, stating Moscow has the “information corner market” in the region.
She highlighted that Russian state-backed media, specifically Sputnik Mundo and Russia Today Espanol, operate aggressively, using social media to spread disinformation and influence to more than 30 million followers daily.
Richardson’s comments emphasized that the competition with adversaries like Russia is actively playing out in the US immediate neighborhood, utilizing all instruments of national power.
She stressed that to counter these threats, the US must be present and consistent with its allies.