Just three years ago, 4-star general James Mattis, served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense. During his time in the Marines, he commanded forces during the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq wars and served as Nato's Supreme Allied Commander, to name a few.
War is his business.
"I can only look away if I want to lose my moral compass. We better look at it, these are innocent people," General Mattis said.
We caught up with the retired general on Thursday during a lecture series at Washington State Univerity in Pullman. The Bryan Hall is just a short walk from where he was born.
When asked about the chance that the U.S. forces would be drawn into the war, he said it's something that should be answered.
"Well, first of all, that's a good question to ask. It's not one you can deny and push away and say 'I'm not going to look at that, I'm going whistling past the graveyard.' Wars are fundamentally unpredictable," said Mattis.
Mattis said the unity of the European Union and NATO will help limit the expansion of the war. However, he doesn't think it will stop President Vladamir Putin from escalating atrocities and using chemical weapons, as Russian troops fail to take the capital of Kyiv.
"The idea that he wouldn't use them, I think would be naive," Mattis said.
In 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, right as the European Union opened its doors to Ukraine. Mattis said as more countries moved toward western philosophy, Putin became more aggressive.
"You can look at economic triggers more than a lot of people have right now," Mattis said.
With Germany stopping the opening of Nord Stream 2, the major gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, Russia is feeling the pressure even more. So is Germany as it and much of eastern Europe relies heavily on Russian energy.
"Putin has upended the security architecture with the biggest ground war, biggest war in Europe since World War II," Mattis said.
Mattis does think there is a way out of this war.
"The continued sanctions and a diplomatic bridge out of the mess he's created for himself," Mattis said.
Meaning, a way for Putin to save face in front of his people as thousands of conscripted Russian soldiers die in a foreign country.
Mattis also said those sanctions must be widespread and there's uncertainty surrounding what China will do. Its leader Xi Jinping seems to back President Putin.
"Not only have they not condemned this, but they have also amplified the lies coming out of Moscow," Mattis said.
For now, the 4-star general believes the United States is hitting on all cylinders and U.S. troops are right where they need to be.
"In light of the unity of NATO, they have probably never been in a stronger position where ever ally is standing with them. And I would add that this is what Americans of every generation have done. They've stood up for freedom, they've stood up to say no further," Mattis said.
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