This is the France Vister debating society. I'm John Bachelors with Professor H. J. McInder

observing six capital six points of view mid-winter 2023 Ukraine conflict now and livened by a

debate in these last weeks about tanks main battle tanks from Germany from Great Britain from

the United States. There's now speculation or chatter about from France. The significance is

a puzzle because these are offensive weapons and they'll take weeks or months of training.

So we're looking at springtime summer at best, a long preparation time and also we have the record

of what happened to the main battle tanks from Russia early in the conflict. They were neutralized.

In fact, badly mauled by one man holding an anti-tank weapon. Professor, the DC point of view,

finally committing the Abrams tank but at the same time now in conversation about F-16s,

about long-range missiles that can strike into Crimea where a lot of the strikes come out of for

Russia or into Russian territory. What is Washington's point of view about this war now

with the caveat that American foreign policy is an extension of American domestic policy and

all eyes on the dispute between the Republican House of Representatives and the White House?

Well, I just I find a few things in my life more disappointing than the performance of our

American government in connection with this Ukraine war. We take serious steps agreeing to send

an M1 Abrams main battle tank which is more advanced than Ukraine needs or than they can support

is a very serious step but we do not engage in serious strategic thought and in particular as I

keep saying we don't think about our policy objectives, what we want the world to look like

after we're through with the military say. Furthermore, we are not approaching this with the kind of

intensity of diplomatic effort that would be appropriate. I think the Pentagon has got a pretty

good command of what's going on and I think that you perhaps exaggerate how long it's going to be

before if the polls send send send send send their tanks in I think those tanks will be in action

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