Judging Freedom - Ukraine - Fighting Intensifies w/SCOTT RITTER fmr UN Weapons Inspector

Episode Date: July 28, 2023

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Thank you. Hi, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Friday, July 28, 2023. Our dear friend and colleague Scott Ritter joins us now. Scott, always a pleasure. Thank you for joining us. You have a recent piece out there. I don't remember if it's written or something you said in another venue, suggesting that China is supplying Russia with materials. Do I have that right? And if so, what is China supplying and what's in it for China? I haven't said that China's supplying materials. In fact, my position is that Russia is a modern sovereign nation state and the Russian military cannot be held hostage by supply chain issues when it comes to critical

munitions. There's a lot of people saying that Russia would be acquiring artillery shells from China, things of that nature. And I just don't see it because at the end of the day, you know, China is a sovereign state that is susceptible to outside pressures. China could cut a back deal to limit supplies to Russia at a time when Russia needed supplies the most. I don't think Russia allows that kind of vulnerability to be created. Russia is buying, you know, I think some military uniforms for some of its militia units. I think Russia is getting some body armor from Chinese sources, things of that nature. But in terms of strategy, I think the other way around is what I did mention, that China, when their defense minister came to Russia,

that China might have been in the market for some Russian technology, especially the Kinzhal missile, which China would definitely benefit from if there was to be a shooting war between China and the United States. But Russia is not in the business of buying significant Chinese technology. China could be in the business of buying Russian technology. Does China have a dog in the fight between Russia and Ukraine? They have an indirect dog, meaning that they're before the grace of God to vote them. The collective West has lined up against China just as they lined up against Russia prior to this conflict. China is threatened by economic sanctions from the United States. NATO is

threatening to expand its reach into the Pacific for the sole purpose of containing China. So China is looking at what's happening with Russia and recognizing that if Russia loses this fight, it's going to be a bad time for China. That it's in China's best interest that Russia prevail in this fight. China has to be careful not to articulate that too loudly because that would fall afoul of their Westphalian principles of non-interference. But I think China's made it clear by its actions, not its words, its actions, that it's behind Russia. It's funny that you should mention the Far East and NATO. Our friend Jack Devine has a piece out there lauding the prospect of G7 joining NATO. Now, that would put Canada, New Zealand, and Japan in NATO. Are these people crazy that Article 5 would apply to New Zealand and Japan?

They are crazy, but unless, I'd have to take a look at the structure. I don't know if the G7 would, first of all, the G7 is a non-governmental entity. G7 has no military. The G7 is a group. Most of the G7 are already NATO members. So I don't believe that the G7 could join NATO. G7 could, they could enter into a relationship where they consult on a regular basis, but they already do. It makes no sense because, you know, the United States is a G7 member. It's going to consult with itself, United Kingdom, G7, Italy, G7, Germany. Remember, it used to be G8 before they kicked Putin out. Kicked the Russians out.

Yeah. I mean, look, if that's what NATO wants to do, then, you know, look, NATO is a failing entity. There's some people, I think Jack Devine might count himself as one who views Vilnius as a great success, that NATO has never been more unified. I would ask Jack to consider a couple of things about that NATO unity. Hey, Jack, what about Turkey and Greece? They're both NATO members. They hate each other. They're about to verge and go to war against each other on a daily basis. Jack said that as a result of Vilnius, NATO is now solidified and it's time for implementation. Implementation of what, Jack? Yeah, I mean, you know what?

Stoltenberg's fantasy of a 300,000-man rapid response force. Hey, Jack, they got a 40,000-man rapid response force. How rapidly can they respond to anything? And the answer is they can't because it exists on paper only. That's the problem with all of NATO. I challenge NATO to put together a multidivisional force capable of sustained offensive operations anywhere in the world today, right now. Multinational, multidivisional force. They can't do it.

Can't do it, Jack. Because why? They don't know how to fight anymore. Why, Jack? Because they were in place. You started a war back in the 1980s, Afghanistan. They bled out in Afghanistan. They got beaten in Afghanistan. They spent 20 years learning how to kill Afghan wedding parties, and they forgot how to kill Russians. And now we have a situation where the only war they can fight against Russia is a proxy war, sacrificing Ukrainian life, and they're losing that one badly.

Here's President Biden right at the very end of Vilnius. He actually has left Vilnius and he's in Helsinki. So this is two weeks ago. I think this will raise your blood pressure just a little bit, Scott. The issue of whether or not this is going to keep Putin from continuing to fight. The answer is Putin's already lost the war. Putin has a real problem. How does he move from here? What does he do? And so the idea that there's going to be what vehicle is used, he could end the war tomorrow. He could just say, I'm out. But what agreement is ultimately reached depends upon Putin and what he decides to do. But there is no possibility of him winning the war in Ukraine. He's already lost that war. Imagine if even if, anyway, he's already lost that war.

Putting aside the syntax and this Giddishness, he obviously doesn't know what he's talking about. No, I mean, it's a purely political statement. It's pure spin coming out of Washington, D.C., because the alternate reality to Biden's reality is ground truth. And Russia's winning this war across the board. There's not a single parameter that one could put out there that says Russia's losing. They're winning economically, they're winning geopolitically, and they're winning militarily. Russia's the one with a mobilized defense industry right now that's cranking out, you know, modern military equipment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The United States is

the one that's having a hard time getting additional artillery munitions built for Ukraine because we don't know how to do it. No defense industry is willing to invest the billions of dollars into bringing up a new production line. And he talks about, you know, what role or what terms Putin is going to put out. Putin's not putting any terms out there. Putin's winning. It's the United States, I would remind Joe Biden, he would know this because he's the one that authorized Jake Sullivan to do this. It's reaching out to Europe and reaching out to other partners to find a venue for negotiating an end to this conflict. The United States is desperate to bring this war to a conclusion before it gets even worse.

We're the ones telling the Ukrainians that not only are you not going to be a member ever, that you're going to have to settle for a peace that requires you to concede territory. Now, we're not saying this publicly, but we're saying it behind the scenes. We're preparing the Ukrainians for the inevitability of a termination of this conflict that's not on Ukraine's benefit. That's why Ukraine is doubling down on this offensive right now. That's why they are pouring their troops into the lines, because they have to convince the United States, they have to convince NATO that they can prevail on the battlefield to a degree sufficient to justify the continuation of supporting them militarily. If the Ukrainians don't prevail, they don't win this offensive, and they're not, then NATO's going to say, we don't want to continue giving you that which we no longer have. Where are they on the

offensive? Have they even reached the first of the three rings of Russia's defenses? My understanding is that in the major area of their development or their counteroffensive, the village of Robotino in Zaporizhia, that there's heavy fighting for the town of Robotino, that the Ukrainians were able to move into Robitino. They've been pushed out. They're attempting to move back in. But Robitino's in what we call the crumple zone. That is the flexible defense zone in front of the main, the initial line of the Russian defense. Ukrainians haven't reached the first line of defense.

They're still playing in the crumple zone, in the flexible defense zone, and they're getting slaughtered. They're getting slaughtered. So no, there's no success for them whatsoever. When we come back, we'll run a clip from Admiral Kirby claiming that the United States and Ukraine are talking about a 10-point peace proposal. One can only imagine if this was written by Vladimir Zelensky what's in the proposal. But first this. Hey, Judge Napolitano here. You know that I believe that that government is best which governs least and that government is worst which interferes and regulates the most. There's no better example of this than government printing cash.

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800-511-4620, learjudgenap.com. booklet. They'll tell you what you need to know. There's no pressure. There's no obligation. 800-511-4620, learjudgenap.com. So Admiral Kirby recently spoke at a White House press conference about so-called peace negotiations and 10 points for peace. Take a listen. That's going to be up to President Zelensky. He gets to determine if and when he's ready to sit down and negotiate. Right now, this country is still under attack. He still has tens of thousands of Russian troops on his soil, dug in deeply, entrenched, protected by minefields on ground that doesn't belong to them. And he has every right to want to reclaim his territorial integrity and his country's sovereignty. He's put forward a 10-point peace formula

that we are working with him and his government to help actualize because we believe that for any diplomacy to work, it's got to start, the foundation has to be President Zelensky's view of what a just peace looks like. Have you ever seen a person struggle so hard with saying something? I mean, this is a spokesperson. He can't even articulate. The poor guy's job is to lie and put spin on things. I don't know what the military regulations are. I guess technically he's a civilian now. He receives his pension from being an admiral, but I don't know how he can get away with that. But what the hell is he talking about? What 10 point proposal? Oh, Russians go home and then we'll talk to you about our 10-point proposal? Oh, it's even more ridiculous than that.

The Zelensky government is saying that not only must Russia be evicted from the four territories that they annexed or took control of after the referendums in the fall of last year, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Lugansk, but they also have to get out of Crimea. And then they must pay reparations that Russia is going to pay Ukraine and Russia is going to rebuild Ukraine. And that Russian leadership must be held accountable for allegations of war crimes before the international criminal court. Scott, these are not serious negotiating points for a settlement or a ceasefire. Absolutely not. And what Kirby's not saying is the United States is telling Zelensky just that. Basically, what we're telling Zelensky is, if you haven't prevailed, we gave you everything you needed, everything you wanted. Remember, General Zeluzny last December said straight up, I need 300 tanks, 500 fighting vehicles, 500 artillery pieces, ammunition, all that. And I will be able to carry out an offensive that allows us to advance 84 kilometers to the city of Melitopol,

cut off the land bridge between Russia and Crimea, and begin to bring Crimea under effective fire, and the Russians will sue for peace at that point in time. But I can't do it without this equipment. Well, we gave them the equipment, we trained them, and now they're getting slaughtered. They can't even get off, you know, like I said, can't even reach the first line of defense, let alone drive to Melitopol. So the counteroffensive is done, and the United States is telling Ukraine, it's over. So now you have to modify your position, pal. I mean, I love it when we, of course, Zelensky has to decide what's going on. Kirby, why don't we just be honest? Putin is dictating the terms, and they're pretty reasonable terms. We know what the terms are.

They're the same terms that Ukraine agreed to back on April 1st, except now there's some territorial loss because, you know, if you fool around, you find out. What are the terms, Scott? The terms are simple. The territory that belongs to Russia is Russia, and Ukraine has to recognize that. So Ukraine now has to recognize Crimea, Kras has to recognize Crimea kerson lugansk and zaparizhia as being Russia um Ukraine cannot be a member of NATO

cannot be a member of NATO uh they have to be when you speak of demilitarization all of the NATO equipment that's been given to Ukraine must be taken out, must be eliminated. Ukraine has to denazify. And what that means is Ukraine is going to have to pass laws which outlaw the ideology of Stepan Bandera, which delegitimized the political parties that have endorsed the odious ideology of Banderaism. But after that, now, one of the things the Russians have said is, we encourage Ukraine to join the European Union. We're not banning that. We want Ukraine to enter into security agreements of assurances with other nations, including the United States. Russia is willing to do it. Other nations, anybody who wants to provide security guarantees to Ukraine can do.

We're not opposed to that. And we will work with Ukraine for economic revitalization. Think about what I just said. If Ukraine accepts these terms, they get to keep the city of Odessa, which means they get to keep access to the Black Sea, which keeps them economically viable going forward. If Ukraine refuses this, and they continue to try and fight this war they could lose odessa lose karkov lose nepotism and basically they become a little rump state already poland is talking with lithuania about carving out western ukraine into a polish lithuanian sphere of influence well you know so ukraine has to be carried and i think the united telling Zelensky, hey, it's one thing to say these things when you have a chance of victory on the battlefield. But when it's been proven that you have no chance, maybe you need to modify your position going in.

And now we go back to what Joe Biden said. Putin's already lost the war. It ain't Putin that's going behind the scenes trying to negotiate an off ramp to this conflict. It's Joe Biden. Joe Biden's already lost this war. Here's President Putin on who's winning and who's losing. We confirmed that over the past days, hostilities have significantly intensified, the main clashes taking place around Zaporizhia. But the enemy was not successful in any of the areas of combat. All counter-attack attempts have been stopped. The enemy has been pushed back and suffered big losses.

For any reason to doubt or question, uh, what president Putin just said. What he said was honest, uh, heavy fighting, heavy fighting. Um, and, uh, you know in the russian ministry of defense has oftentimes come out and said that the uh you know the situation is uh is you know not in doubt but the situation remains uncertain and there's heavy fighting going on we know that the um ukrainians have put their best brigades in there uh right now in zaparizhia in the in the uh in the village of ropatino we have the brigades equipped with the M2 Bradley. That's an American vehicle, the German Leopard tank.

They're being thrown into this battle and they're coming into mass armored formations. But they're being destroyed. They're being eviscerated. There's video out there that appears to be accurate that shows, you know, newly destroyed Leopard tanks, newly destroyed Bradley vehicles. They're not getting through the minefields. They're being slaughtered in place. And, you know, the Russians are taking casualties. There'd be no doubt about that. You don't get involved in this kind of a fight without taking casualties. But let's, you know, I think the Russians have said since June 8th, they've killed about 30,000, 35,000 Ukrainians. Putin has said there's a 10 to 1 kill ratio. That means Russia's lost 3,000 to 3,500 guys. And think about

it from an American standpoint. How would an American president explain to the American people in the span of a month and a half, 3,000 to 3,500 American troops are dead? Where do you see this going? How much longer do you think this fight will go on? War is an extension of politics by other means. If this is purely a military fight, I think that the Russians are going to be successful in eroding Ukraine's viability to continue large-scale combat operations by the end of summer, early fall. I mean, the Ukrainians simply cannot sustain the casualty levels. They're running out of artillery ammunition, and when they run out of artillery ammunition, it's game, set, match. The problem

comes to a political solution. How to bring this about politically? Russia does not have the force structure capable of occupying Ukraine. They don't even have the force structure capable of occupying, I believe, Kharkov and Odessa at the same time. There would have to be additional mobilizations for Russia to take control of this territory. And I don't think Russia wants to. I think Russia is looking for a political solution. And so I see a sort of a ceasefire kicking in sometime in the fall that leads to a negotiated end of this conflict. But these would be terms, as I already outlined, that will be negotiated by Russia. One of the guests who comes on this program on a regular basis is a young American named Matt Van Dyke. You and I have spoken about him off air. He runs some group called Sons of Liberty International. He's not a veteran, but everybody else in the group is. And now he and they have signed up to join the Ukraine military and are about to enter the field of battle.

If you could talk to Matt, what would you say to him? Well, first thing I'd do is I'd ask the State Department to communicate with him and have him turn in his U.S. passport because he's not an American anymore. So shame on you, Matt. You're wearing the uniform of a foreign country. You're not an American anymore. So I have literally no respect for you at all. Serve your country, don't serve other countries. But since you decided to become a Ukrainian soldier, you're going to die. That's your future. You have no other future. You're a dead man walking, a dead man talking. I don't know how much longer you'll be able to contact people like the judge. You're literally dead man walking, a dead man talking. I don't know how much longer you'll be able to contact people like the judge. You're literally dead.

The Russians will kill you. You have no chance of victory. You have no training. You have no capability of fighting significant fight. You'll be thrown in as meat into the meat grinder. Ukrainians don't care about you at all. So you're just a body that'll be thrown in and no one's going to cry when you die. Maybe you have friends, maybe a family that might shed a tear, but you're

meaningless to the history of the world. You're an American who gave up being an American by putting on the uniform of another country and you're going to die in that foreign land forgotten. That's it. Scott Ritter, speaking like nobody else does, thank you very much for joining us, my dear friend. Have a great weekend. We'll talk to you again soon. Thank you. More as we get it. Jack Devine with the other side of all of this at three o'clock Eastern today. Judge Napolitano for Judging Freedom. Altyazı M.K.