National Security Advisor McMaster just issued an urgent warning about Russia

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster leaves the White House officially on April 9th and will be replaced by the bloodthirsty, dangerous John Bolton. In Bolton, Trump has chosen one of the most hawkish figures in American politics to join his administration, and the entire world is waiting to see if the United States will stumble into another war.

With his looming departure in mind, McMaster seems to be scrambling to get as much done as possible in his final days in power. CNN reports that he made his final public remarks as National Security Advisor at the Atlantic Council in D.C., during which he sounded the alarm bells over Russia.

“We have failed to impose sufficient costs on Russia,” McMaster said. “The Kremlin’s confidence is growing. Russia has used old and new forms of aggression to undermine our open societies.”

Presumably, McMaster was referring to the unprecedented attack on American democracy launched by Putin during the 2016 election, aimed at installing Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Russia has also shown naked expansionist tendencies by invading Ukraine to annex Crimea as well as a complete disregard for international law and great power peace, demonstrated by their alleged deployment of nerve gas in the United Kingdom in an assassination attempt on an ex-Russian spy.

Putin is becoming more and more emboldened by the American president’s reluctance to take any kind of substantive action against his increasingly aggressive policies.

Unfortunately, McMaster failed to truthfully assess the problem by failing to criticize Trump and in fact, offered the reality television conman some undeserved praise. In particular, he touted the president’s decision to expel Russian diplomats. It was an appropriate action yes, but not nearly strong enough.

“In the United States, President Trump ordered the removal of dozens of Russian intelligence officers and the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle. This action will also help protect our democratic institutions and processes as these Russian officers orchestrate Russia’s sustained campaign or propaganda, disinformation and political subversion,” McMaster said.

It’s unlikely that Trump will take any meaningful steps to stop Putin’s global destabilization efforts. The American president has shown a disturbing fondness for the foreign dictator, going so far as to congratulate him on his rigged election win.

Whether or not Trump is actively working to help Russia, due to some kind of blackmail is still unclear. What is clear is that we have a leader who lacks the strength to stand up to our enemies. Putin will continue to run roughshod over America until Trump is replaced.

Natalie Dickinson

Natalie is a staff writer for the Washington Press. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been freelance blogging and writing for progressive outlets ever since.