K.T. McFarland at CPAC: Can Negotiate for Peace But Most ‘Effective When You’ve Got Your Arms Around the Guy’s Neck’

(CNSNews.com) – At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 2, former Trump administration Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland spoke about the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict and said “a negotiation is so much more effective when you’ve got your arms around the guy’s neck.”

McFarland was joined on-stage by former Trump administration Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Michael Anton, in a discussion tagged “Dr. Strangelove Isn’t Just a Movie.”

“You’re not a pro-commie, you’re not an anti-commie,” if you are looking for peace and negotiation in the war,” said McFarland. “You’re just trying to find a way” to avoid one of two alternatives, “the complete destruction of a society,” and “an escalation to World War III.”

McFarland said she was a “foot-solider” for the Reagan Revolution, and saw how the United States won the Cold War “through economic means.” She explained how the United States convinced the Arab oil-producing countries to pump more oil, which drastically dropped the price per barrel.

“What that meant was Russia’s income was cut in half,” she said. “That, plus a whole lot of other things, meant that the Russians, the Soviet Union, it was inevitable that they were going to lose the Cold War. It was only a matter of time.”

There is another alternative to “total capitulation” or “World War III,” she said.  But how do you to get the Ukrainians and Russians to the negotiating table? she asked. 

The next U.S. president needs to cancel “Biden’s war on fossil fuels,” said McFarland, and let U.S. energy producers “do what they do best,” produce abundant, safe, and competitively priced “natural gas and energy.”

“Once again, we’re going to be energy dominant,” she added. “We are going to shove the price of oil down, what does that do to the Russians?” said McFarland. “They may want to pursue this war till the end of time, but without the resources to pursue this war till the end of time, they are put into a position where they really have to negotiate.”

“You know a negotiation is so much more effective when you’ve got your arms around the guy’s neck, and that’s the way we could negotiate with Russia,” she added.

She then discussed what a new world would look like “if we have a negotiated solution with Russia” over the Ukraine conflict.

Michael Anton then remarked, “When the Soviets were strong and riding high, Reagan was tough, but when his policies started to put them on the back heel, he became more conciliatory and wanted to talk to them. So if toughness is a prelude to negotiation, to me that is the right way to use toughness, not toughness so that your adversary gets so scared that he lashes out and does anything.”

If the Russians are willing to negotiate a peace, the U.S. should be front and center on the deal, said Anton. We want “to stop the bleeding and the destruction” in Ukraine, he added. “It is in our strategic interest not to have the worst possible relationship with Russia. … We don’t have to be this level of enemies.”

Anton further said he agreed with McFarland on unleashing the American energy companies because it is a policy that is “good for us on every level.”

On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, January 20, 2021, he issued Executive Order 13990: “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.”

This executive order, “directs Federal agencies to immediately review, and take action to address, Federal regulations promulgated and other actions taken during the last 4 years that conflict with national objectives to improve public health and the environment; ensure access to clean air and water; limit exposure to dangerous chemicals and pesticides; hold polluters accountable, including those who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change; restore and expand our national treasures and monuments; and prioritize both environmental justice and employment.”

The order directly and negatively affected U.S. fossil fuel producers. In addition, it called for  “Revoking the March 2019 Permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline.” The Biden administration claimed that the “Keystone XL pipeline disserves the U.S. national interest.”

As energy analyst Steve Milloy commented in March 2022, “Since Biden became president, he has done everything in his power to de-power America. On Day 1, he killed the Keystone XL Pipeline, halted new oil and gas drilling on public lands, and rejoined the Paris climate agreement, which commits America to cutting our greenhouse gas emissions but not China’s.”

“The reason for not embracing the normal and reasonable solution to the current situation – allowing the U.S. oil and gas industry to produce as much as possible, as soon as possible – is that the Biden administration intends to use the gasoline crisis to advance its elitist climate agenda,” said Milloy.

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