He was in charge of the “punishers” of the group Seal 3An elite unit that fought in Ramadi in the 2006 Iraq War. John Gretton, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army, discusses the war in Ukraine.
51-year-old E.A. Commodore Cretan Jocko Willing Jr. retired in 2010 and is now an author, podcaster and president of a consulting firm.
Many would expect a battle-hardened veteran spoon-fed the Iraq War to take a “hawkish” view of the war.
However, the decorated Willing, who has lost many of his comrades in his country's wars of aggression and has taken lives without hesitation, makes his words count.
Speaking on the famous British journalist Piers Morgan's show “Piers Morgan Uncensored”, he was asked if it was the West's “duty” to help Ukraine against “dictator” Putin.
Willing, however, immediately asked for a clarification: “Do you think it is the West's duty to send American men and women to fight against the Russians? Are you saying that?” he asked the reporter before answering.
But the latter made it clear to him that he meant weapons and equipment.
“I think we should try to find a better solution than sending everyone to slaughter,” the veteran said.
“This war is really brutal, and at this point, I think it's a treacherous war, it's not a maneuver war or a guerrilla war, the way the Ukrainians are fighting is a treacherous war,” Willing explained.
Then he remembered the difference in the sizes of the two enemies.
“It's a huge population of Russians against a small population of Ukrainians,” he said, warning that Ukrainians would soon face a shortage of workers.
Therefore, giving people weapons that will strengthen them for a certain period of time is not the right formula.
“You have to eventually find a just solution and bring peace to stop killing each other,” he said.
Asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin, he says he believes he cares about his people, his country, and will continue to do so.
However, a US Navy SEAL veteran believes that Putin may have underestimated the Ukrainian adventure as the invasion turned out to be more difficult than he expected.
He said willing doubts that Putin is willing to sacrifice even more people and “so, given certain circumstances, he can sit at the negotiating table to achieve peace.”
