On Tucker Carlson Tonight, Erik Prince complains the Biden administration did not listen to him on Ukraine
Prince: “Trust me, if 140 ex-American combat aircraft had showed up by well-flown, aggressive, carnivore pilots, believe me, Putin would not have invaded”
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From the February 24, 2022, edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight
ERIK PRINCE (GUEST): All those aircraft could have been provided to the Ukrainians on a lend-lease program just like American pilots showed up in World War I in France to help France fight the Germans. Just like American pilots showed up in Britain to help fight the Battle of Britain. Just like American pilots showed up to fight the Japanese over Japan -- over China in the flying tigers that same model could have followed. And, trust me, if 140 ex-American combat aircraft showed up by well-flown, aggressive, carnivore pilots, believe me, Putin would not have invaded because that is the kind of deterrence he was not expecting. Because he needs air superiority, that's why he's moved troops into the airport just west of Kyiv to try to seize the capital.
That kind of model is a failure of imagination by the administration. I provided that kind of thought that-- a concept to the administration already early in December and they just don't want to think outside of the box. It's really frustrating. And so now the permutations of what happens in this war, we certainly don't want to send troops. But for heaven's sake, it should have been stopped before it ever started.
TUCKER CARLSON (HOST): Yeah, what a shame. So many of those.