Episode 202: “Biden’s Playing Nuclear War Brinksmanship with Russia; Meanwhile China Looms” with KT McFarland

In the 20 months that Joe Biden has been President, his decisions and rhetoric have made the world ever more combustible. Events in Ukraine has reached a flash point. Still, the Biden Administration refuses to negotiate with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The chance of a wider war between NATO and Russia grows ever more likely, a war that would immediately draw in the United States under NATO’s Article 5 requiring collective defense .  Worse, supposedly serious people - both in the Biden Administration and many top Republicans - are talking about a “limited nuclear war.’ Do they really want to risk this outcome over a country that most Americans cannot even find on a map?  Meanwhile, China is about to elect President Xi Jinping to a third term, effectively anointing him as Emperor for Life. And Xi has his sights set on Taiwan, which like Putin with Ukraine, he believes must be absorbed into China. “The complete reunification of our country must be realized, and it can without a doubt be realized,” he declared this weekend. China will “never promise to renounce the use of force” on Taiwan. Neither Putin, nor Xi, are making idle threats. As my guest on this episode, KT McFarland explains: “Both the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, have the same sort of mindset problem. They think that they have been designated by fate to restore the greatness of their nations and that they personally want to achieve this during their time in office. And they're both in their seventies, so the clock is ticking.” KT McFarland shares her penetrating and savvy insights into these threats from Russian and China and has a plan of action for what to do about them. She has served as Deputy National Security Advisor under President Trump, in the Pentagon under President Reagan and is author of several books including “Revolution: Trump, Washington and “We the People.”” The main thing we need to do now is to keep the Ukraine conflict from escalating.  Putin has put a general in charge who led the bombing campaign in Syria whose nickname is “General Armageddon.” Ukraine’s President Zelensky recklessly wants to join NATO now, has asked for the United States to deploy nuclear weapons and keeps upping his endless demands for billions of American dollars. Instead of refusing to negotiate with Russia, the United States needs to step in and bring Russian and Ukraine to the table to wrap this thing up.  “For the first time in my adult lifetime … and I’ve studied nuclear weapons and taught nuclear weapons at MIT in the '80s. I was in the Reagan administration. I even go back to the Nixon and Ford administrations, so I have a long 45, 50 year old career, and I have never been as nervous about the threat of escalation to the point where it runs out of everybody's control as I am right now,” worries KT.  Americans should be terrified that one of their politicians could push the wrong button and destroy the world. For a short, chock full with information and insight, briefing on both Russian and China today, listen in to this conversation with KT McFarland.