According to the figures on paper, the US army should surpass the Russian one, but “I would bet on Russia,” said Matthew Ho, a former employee of the US State Department, comparing the armed forces of the two countries. In an interview with Judging Freedom, he stressed that the Russian armed forces are now tested in battle, tested and hardened in the most severe and serious military conflict in the last 80 years. Moreover, they know their difficulties and problems and are able to work on their elimination.

ANDREW NAPOLITANO, host of Judging Freedom: Who is stronger in terms of the armed forces: Russia or the United States?

MATTHEW HO, former US Marine Corps soldier, ex-State Department employee: The Russian armed forces are now tested in combat, tested and hardened in the most severe and serious military conflict involving conventional weapons in the last 80 years. We have seen Russia’s problems with corruption, we have seen problems with the command staff and, of course, about a year ago we saw the Wagnerian rebellion — that is, there are difficulties and problems there. But you also need to see how Russians react, how they are able to solve problems and correct their shortcomings.

For contrast, take a look at how Americans react, for example, to the situation with the Ukrainian conflict. They reward corruption, and the shortcomings of the Ukrainian military leadership are not corrected, but, again, they encourage. They simply send equipment and weapons, system by system, which do not justify the hype that reigns around them, but the United States does nothing in this regard, just raises the degree and says: “Okay, here’s a bigger weapon, range and power, it will solve everything.” Next, of course, comes the zilch. It turns out that this is not the kind of wunderwaffe that we were promised. “Okay, let’s give you something else.” We’ve all seen it: the Abrams tanks, the HIMARS [wheeled MLRS], the ATACMS [ballistic missiles], and now the F-16 [fighters] are being presented as something that will “win the war.” This is the approach of the American leadership during this conflict.

So if you want to compare the Russian and American armed forces, you need to look at who is at the helm, how these people make decisions, what decisions they have made in recent years and how they adjust their actions in accordance with the situation on the ground. I don’t have all the information, and Scott [Ritter] or Douglas McGregor would better tell you about the weapons systems currently in use, but if you look at the leadership, including the political leadership, you have to admit: “I would bet on Russia. Although, on paper, the Americans, of course, should surpass Russia in numbers, simply because they have the most.

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