During a House Armed Services Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) questioned General Christopher G. Cavoli, the Commander of the U.S. European Command, about a potential resolution in the Ukraine-Russia war.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Chairman, I recognize a gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. Higgins.
00:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:07General, thank you so much for being here, sir.
00:11You have tremendous service to our country.
00:13I'm an old Army guy, enlisted.
00:16I wanted to be Navy, but my ASFAB scores were too high.
00:21So I appreciate your service.
00:24And it just can't be overstated, the debt that our country has, Steve, your family.
00:33So many decades of sacrifice.
00:35Thank you, sir.
00:36Thank you, sir.
00:37Since you're a former enlisted member of the service, I should point out that Sergeant Major Abernathy,
00:42sitting right behind me, is leaving after many years of service this year as well.
00:48And we thank him for it.
00:50Well, the NCO is always quite certain that if the officers don't show up, eventually somebody will notice.
00:58But if the NCOs don't show up, a lot of Army is in trouble.
01:02So, General, Ukraine, I'd just like to chat with you about Ukraine.
01:11And if you could, for America and for some members of this committee that need clarity, could you describe from your perspective, which is quite unique in experience, what does victory look like?
01:28Can you share with us how you would envision victory?
01:34Should we continue to invest American treasure to seek some resolution of the Ukrainian war and the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
01:49Clearly, we seek some definition of victory.
01:52Could you possibly share that?
01:54Absolutely, Congressman.
01:56And without getting into the realm of policy, which Ms. Thompson is obviously much, much better prepared to talk about than I.
02:06I think you have to start by saying victory for whom, right, and whose victory.
02:13What does a good outcome for the United States look like is one part of that.
02:18Okay.
02:19What does a good outcome for Ukraine look like?
02:21When you think about Ukraine, you know, you can think about it in increments.
02:27The first step to winning is not losing, right?
02:31So Ukraine has to defeat Russia's efforts to continue to take their territory.
02:38Then, after that, you have a national question.
02:42How much of it do we want to take back?
02:44And what is the cost benefit analysis of what it will take to take that back?
02:49And I think the Ukrainians calculate that every day and plan against that every day.
02:56So, you know, it's a complicated question.
02:59But I think an important part of it is we have to ask ourselves, you know, what are the benefits for us in the various outcomes?
03:06So, to the gentleman's point, and thank you for sharing your perspective there in this setting.
03:12You're limited in how you can respond, I'm quite sure.
03:15But it's important for America to observe that we do seek resolution of this war.
03:22And this Congress, and this committee in particular, carries quite a heavy burden on, you know, making responsible decisions on behalf of the American people that we represent.
03:37So defining victory to some of us at this point has become as clear as just a cessation of war, the cessation of the killing.
03:52And for some of us, it was difficult to envision any scenario where Ukraine defeats Russia.
04:01This seemed to be a fantastic projection of the wildest imaginations of what potentials could be.
04:11So sustaining the war would be sustaining the killing of Ukrainian men and women and the destruction of Ukrainian territories.
04:23And it seems to us that Russia can bear the brunt of this conflict for quite a long time.
04:30And I would ask the good lady's perspective of, give us a window on ending this thing, and how can we look forward to some sustained peace in a way that Ukraine could measure some prevail?
04:46Thank you, Congressman.
04:47And I can certainly provide additional color to this in our closed session from a policy perspective.
04:52But President Trump, as you've rightly hit on, his goal is to end it as soon as possible.
04:56And that's why we're undergoing the peace process that's currently in discussion.
05:02And I would say, you know, again, the goal is to end that peace process in an enduring fashion so that we're not at this table again in the short, medium or long term period of time.
05:14Thank you, Madam Chairman.
05:16My time has expired.