Europe could suffer if sanctions against Russia and China are mishandled, but the United States must adopt tougher policies while avoiding moves that push India closer to its rivals, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt said Sunday on Newsmax.
“Everybody seems to be getting really giddy about this thing called secondary sanctions,” Holt told “Wake Up America Weekend.” “The problem is, strategically, that may not work out for Europe very well.”
He noted that while Europe has threatened penalties on India for refining Russian oil, “Europe is buying the gas because they get around their own sanctions.”
Holt urged a harder U.S. line on China, warning of internal instability under Chinese President Xi Jinping while criticizing Commerce Department officials for what he called sympathetic stances on issues such as student visas.
“We need to work our opportunities with China,” he said, but added, “We can’t let the Chinese eat our lunch here at home with fentanyl, with their lands that they own, and all that.”
On India, Holt said Washington should avoid rhetoric that could backfire diplomatically.
“India’s not an ally of ours. They’re not an ally of anybody’s,” he said. “They prefer to be a regional power, making their own decisions. When you have officials of the administration get on TV and start throwing rocks at Indian policy, you’re not helping yourself diplomatically.”
Holt closed with a warning about U.S. dependence on foreign supply chains. “We need to get them from right here at home,” he said. “There is a degree of self-sufficiency which we can never give up, or we will make ourselves vulnerable to very bad things.”
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