Security

Sacked Air Force Secretary: We Shoulda Sent Jets, Troops to Fight Russia

The former Secretary of the Air Force says he would’ve been willing to risk World War III, to take on Moscow. When Russia invaded U.S. ally Georgia last month, American think-tankers and policy makers were quick to offer a whole range of ways that the U.S. could react. Some suggested standing pat. Others counseled diplomatic […]

F22_raptor_sThe former Secretary of the Air Force says he would've been willing to risk World War III, to take on Moscow.

When Russia invaded U.S. ally Georgia last month, American think-tankers and policy makers were quick to offer a whole range of ways that the U.S. could react. Some suggested standing pat. Others counseled diplomatic actions against Russia. The most extreme advisors proposed giving the Georgians Stinger missiles, or going after
Russia's oligarchs.

But Michael Wynne, recently-fired Air Force Secretary, says we should have gone a big step further in siding with Georgia. As in, a World War III-size step. Military.com published Wynne's editorial yesterday:

We could have flown Global Hawks or U-2s on the Russian-Georgian border to signal our watchfulness to the Russians. We could have escorted these assets with the F-22s, which fly at high enough altitude to operate as a defense of unmanned assets, or can operate to defend key assets in Georgia. If the Russians determined to invade, we could have strengthened air defenses of key Georgian positions, provided fighter re-enforcements, and placed Special Forces or Marines on the ground in the national capital.

Holy pointless apocalypse, Batman! Wynne's idea would have instantly escalated a limited regional conflict into a full-blown global war, the first between major nuclear-armed states. Say what you will about the justice of Georgia's initial attack on Ossetian separatists or Russia's supposedly "disproportionate" response -- does anyone beside Wynne really think Georgia is worth risking Armageddon?

(Photo: BW Jones)

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