U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker, who works closely with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in procuring U.S. weapons to be sent to Ukraine via NATO, has spent the last several days burning up the airwaves in multiple interviews warning Russia and its trading partners that they should succumb to the Trump administration’s “peace” plan for Ukraine or face dire consequences. What this boils down to, first, is the demand that China, India, and Brazil stop purchasing Russian oil, as this, allegedly, provides Vladimir Putin with revenue for his war against Ukraine. Without that revenue, the war against Ukraine would be “unsustainable.” Secondly, Putin is being ordered to stop the fighting and agree to a ceasefire by Donald Trump’s Aug. 8 deadline. As Whitaker warned in an Aug. 3 interview with Newsmax’s “Sunday Agenda” program, posted to Facebook, failure to act by the deadline will result in the imposition of “devastating” sanctions on Russia and its three trading partners.
Whitaker would never be mistaken for a diplomat. Blandishing war threats, he blustered to Newsmax, “It’s impossible to get into the mind of Vladimir Putin because it’s sick and twisted and probably not logical, but I’m guessing he doesn’t want to take on the most powerful military in the world,” that of the United States of America. In a separate interview with Newsmax just three days earlier on July 31, the ambassador boasted, “we hold all the cards as the United States of America. And most importantly, Donald Trump holds all the cards. This isn’t the last option that he has. If China and Russia want to join the world that follows the rules, does not invade other countries, does not kill and wreak havoc, then they’re more than welcome to.”
