Ex Special Forces Vet sees Opportunity in the Crimea to Make Putin’s life Difficult

While President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry wring their hands in frustration over Russia’s occupation of the Crimea, ex-special forces veteran Robert Tripp offers some suggestions on how we could raise the cost of Russia’s occupation at minimal risk to the United States.

“If I were a Ukrainian patriot, I know exactly what I would do if Russia carries out a full occupation of Ukraine,” says Robert Tripp who served in the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany in the 1960s.

“Russia's current economic health is dependent on the sale of the natural gas they ship to the Western European nations. All the Russian pipelines to Western Europe pass through Ukraine.”

In Tripp’s view, this makes Russia’s situation much weaker than our leadership seem to realize.

“ If I were a Ukrainian patriot and my nation was occupied by the Russians, I would feel no personal stake in seeing that those pipelines continue to fill Russian coffers with revenues from gas sales. I would destroy every one of them along with their ancillary facilities. Those are easy targets to hit and hard to defend.”

According to Robert Tripp, the United States could insert Special Forces teams into the Ukraine in order to train Ukrainians to become more effective in resisting Russian aggression.

“This type of mission is exactly what our SF teams train indigenous forces to carry out, “ says Tripp. “SOCOM should be readying detachments to send to Ukraine now to prepare for this eventuality.”

According to Tripp, this kind of situation is ready made for Special Forces.

“I see an opportunity for the ideal Special Forces mission here. Makes me wish I were back in the 10th again.”