Leaked: Gen. Breedlove plotted US conflict with Russia

Leaked private emails show that retired US General Philip Breedlove, until recently NATO’s supreme allied commander, plotted against the White House to escalate military tensions with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

In a series of messages in 2014, Breedlove reached out to several influential insiders for advice on how to pressure President Barack Obama to take a more aggressive approach toward Russia, according to emails from the general’s Gmail account, posted on DC Leaks.

The hacked emails show Breedlove kept regular contact, among others, with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs Victoria Nuland and US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, The Intercept reported.

“I may be wrong, … but I do not see this WH really ‘engaged’ by working with Europe/NATO. Frankly I think we are a ‘worry,’ … ie a threat to get the nation drug (dragged) into a conflict,” Breedlove wrote in an email to Powell, while extending an invitation for a private meeting.

Powell reportedly accepted the invitation to meet and discuss the situation.

Breedlove was referred to Powell by Harlan Ullman, a senior adviser to the Atlantic Council.

“I think POTUS [president of the United States] sees us as a threat that must be minimized, … ie do not get me into a war????” Breedlove wrote in an email to Ullman.

Ullman replied that Breedlove’s ongoing attempt to “leverage, cajole, convince or coerce the US to react” to Russia “may be a tough sell” since he was instructed by Obama “not to start a war.”

Breedlove also had communications with retired US General Wesley Clark, who commanded NATO during the 1999 war in Yugoslavia.

“Phil, can’t we get a statement to counteract the Russians on use of force? What can I do to help? If the Ukrainians lose control of the narrative, the Russians will see it as an open door,” wrote Clark, who also forwarded on his messages with Nuland.

In other messages, Clark advised Breedlove to encourage Ukraine to hire some “first-rate” lobbyists in the US and Europe to influence policymakers.

Breedlove stepped down from his NATO leadership position in May and officially retired from the US military on July 1.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted between government forces and pro-Russia fighters demanding greater autonomy following the overthrow of the country’s former President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.

The US and its European allies accuse Moscow of destabilizing Ukraine by arming and supporting pro-Russian forces fighting in eastern Ukraine. Moscow, however, rejects the allegations.

Washington approved hundreds of millions of dollars in “non-lethal” aid to the Ukrainian government in the 2016 military budget.

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