{"id":22314,"date":"2022-04-17T15:32:09","date_gmt":"2022-04-17T15:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/04\/17\/transcript-ret-lt-gen-ben-hodges-on-face-the-nation-april-17-2022\/"},"modified":"2022-04-17T15:32:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-17T15:32:09","slug":"transcript-ret-lt-gen-ben-hodges-on-face-the-nation-april-17-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/04\/17\/transcript-ret-lt-gen-ben-hodges-on-face-the-nation-april-17-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Transcript: Ret. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges on “Face the Nation,” April 17, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The following is a transcript of an interview with retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army in Europe, which aired on Sunday, April 17, 2022 on “Face the Nation.” .<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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MARGARET BRENNAN: Let’s go to Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army in Europe, and join us from Frankfurt, Germany. Good morning to you.<\/p>\n

Lt. GENERAL (RETIRED) BEN HODGES: Good morning, Margaret.<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: You just heard the Minister of Foreign Affairs describe what was happening, especially in the port city of Mariupol, in the southeast. Many expect President Putin to step up this assault until May 9, which is a key holiday. What are you waiting to see?<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: Well, first of all, of course, I agree with everything I’ve just heard Minister Kuleba say and what’s going on in Mariupol, the incredible courage and resilience of the civilians there, as well as the soldiers who have been fighting. But I do believe that the pressure on the General Staff to finally hand over Mariupol before May 9 is immense. May 9, of course, is the annual celebration in Russia of the end of World War II or what they call the Great Patriotic War. It’s a big parade in the Red Square every year. So obviously they have to have something to parade to show off as a victory on May 9th. So I think this date does matter.<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm hmm. Well, now you have described a new offensive as a whole new war. What do you mean by that?<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: Well, what we’ve seen over the last seven weeks, of course, has been a mismanaged effort by Russia. They totally overestimated their ability. They were not prepared for the struggle they entered. The Ukrainians defeated them at every turn. So of course, Russia has now withdrawn from most places and is focusing on the Donbas region. And interestingly, the staff has decided not to mobilize all its reservists, which tells me that there will be no phase three, that what we will do now over the next few weeks is the second. And they will focus on trying to gain control of all of Donbas. And I think that will be for the rest of the year, because they don\u2019t have the capacity, I don\u2019t think so, especially if they don\u2019t mobilize reserves to continue the fight after that.<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: Does that mean the fight could end on May 9?<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: No. It means that they will not be able to carry out any more offensive operations …<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: All right.<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: –after that. And I’m sure the fight will continue. They will continue as long as they have missiles killing innocent Ukrainian civilians<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm hmm.<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: –in the pressure on Ukraine. But my feeling is that they have made a decision because of the blows they have made and the lack of resources. I mean, frankly, they can\u2019t even build new tanks because sanctions are restricting the types of parts they have to carry for new equipment that are really culminating in their ability to launch more offensive operations, especially towards Odessa. , for example, or Kyiv. I don\u2019t see it – they have potential for that this year.<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: President Biden has authorized new arms transfers. We now know that some of them arrived just last weekend. In this new package, artillery, 18 medium-range howitzers, 40,000 rounds of artillery. There are other types of ammunition, armored personnel carriers. How long does this type of weapon last? How important is the struggle?<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: Hmm. The shells are especially important and, above all, the 40,000 rounds of ammunition that come with these shells. This is the equivalent of an American artillery battalion, 18 howitzers. That is, this is substantial, a high quality weapon system. But I must say that this is not enough. What Ukrainians desperately need are long-range fire, rockets, artillery, drones that can disrupt or destroy systems that are causing so much damage to Ukrainian cities and that will also play a critical role in this next phase if and when it begins. Hundreds of switchblade drones, for example. They are very good, but we need a thousand more. If you assume a drone for a tank, for an artillery system, for an infantry fighting vehicle, you can see why the numbers are that we are the arsenal of democracy. It is about us supporting democracy versus autocracy. And I would love to hear the administration talk about winning and having a sense of urgency to get these things done. Otherwise, this window of opportunity that we have in the coming weeks to really interrupt Russia’s construction attempt will pass.<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, from the administration we have heard that the aim of all this is to strengthen the hand of Ukraine at the negotiating table. But we have heard from the Ukrainians that right now there is no table to sit on.<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: Correct.<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you saying that you don’t think the administration has decided that it wants Ukraine to win? Do they just want a break?<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: I’d say I don’t hear the administration talking about winning. I am reluctant to say that the administration does not want them to win. But what about our goal, the United States? You know, here we are not just observers applauding Ukraine. It is about democracy across Europe and stopping an autocracy. And so, of course, the Chinese are watching. So there are implications far beyond Mariupol or even Kyiv. And so if the United States says we want to win, that means all Russian forces are back before February 24th. All the deported Ukrainians returned home immediately, a long-term commitment to the full restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty. That means Crimea and Donbas and finally breaking the back of Russia’s ability to project power out of Russia by …<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm hmm.<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: –threater Georgia, threaten Moldova, threaten our Baltic allies.<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: Ben Hodges, thank you for your analysis this morning. Happy Easter.<\/p>\n

LT. GEN. (RET.) HODGES: Thank you, Margaret. Happy Easter.<\/p>\n

MARGARET BRENNAN: Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us.<\/p>\n

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