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(upbeat music)

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- On the Brink of War.

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- As of this moment, 
I'm convinced he's 
made the decision.

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- [Yamiche] President Biden 
warns the president of Russia

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has decided to invade Ukraine.

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- I am here today, not to start 
a war, but to prevent one.

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- [Yamiche] But diplomats 
continue to scramble

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for a peaceful 
solution, meanwhile.

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- There was much in 
the president's remarks

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that I appreciated.

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- [Yamiche] Some 
Republicans support

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President Biden's 
handling of the crisis.

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- This is not our 
fight, we got other

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fish in the fry 
pan, so to speak.

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- [Yamiche] The 
concerned remained

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about a military conflict.

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Plus former president Trump is 
ordered to testify under oath

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about his business practices

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as investigations 
intensify, next.

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(upbeat music)

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- [Announcer] This 
is "Washington Week".

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- [Announcer] Once 
again from Washington

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moderator Yamiche Alcindor.

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- Good evening and welcome 
to "Washington Week".

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As of tonight, President 
Biden says he is convinced

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that President Putin has 
decided to invade Ukraine.

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Though President Biden is 
continuing to stress that Russia

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can still choose a peaceful 
diplomatic solution.

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Yet the people of 
Ukraine are bracing

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for a possible invasion.

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US officials are saying as 
many as 190,000 Russian troops

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and separatists are gathered 
in and around Ukraine,

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a significant increase 
over the last few days.

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And this week at NATO 
headquarters in Brussels

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defense secretary Lloyd Austin

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said Russia is making 
war time preparations.

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- We see them fly in more 
combat and support aircraft.

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We see them sharpen their 
readiness in the black sea.

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We even see them stocking 
up their blood supplies.

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You know, I was a soldier 
myself, not that long ago,

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and I know firsthand that you 
don't do these sort of things

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for no reason.

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- Yet Kremlin 
continues to insist

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it is not planning 
to invade Ukraine.

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In response Republican 
center, James Risch

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said this on the 
"PBS News Hour".

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- The Russians lie and I 
don't know how they can look

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in the camera and tell the 
world they have no intention

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of invading and they 
have amassed the 
largest invasion force

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that the world is 
seen in decades.

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So look, the world 
doesn't believe it.

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- Meanwhile, Russia's 
government expelled

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a top US embassy 
official from Moscow,

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a state department official, 
the state department rather

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called the move " 
escalatory step."

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Russia also warned it will take,

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"Military technical measures 
if the US refuses to roll back

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the NATO presence 
in Eastern Europe."

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A lot to talk about tonight,

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joining me to discuss 
it and all is Dan Balz,

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Chief Correspondent for 
the Washington Post,

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Francesca Chambers, Senior 
White House Correspondent

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for McClatchy, David Sanger,

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White House and National 
Security Correspondent

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for the New York Times.

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He's also joining us

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from the Munich Security 
Conference in Germany.

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And Barbara Starr, Pentagon 
Correspondent for CNN.

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Thank you so much all 
of you for being here.

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David, I wanna start with you.

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You're in Germany,

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where there are a lot 
of key players here.

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We of course heard 
President Biden come out,

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and say that he is convinced

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that Putin has 
made his decision.

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Talk a bit about sort 
of what you're hearing

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on the latest on this situation.

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And also I'm wondering

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how great is the 
risk of war now,

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given the path that 
President Putin is on?

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- Well, Yamiche I 
think we are seeing,

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as you suggested at the opening,

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one of those rare moments

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where it looks 
like we could have

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a very major land war in Europe.

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Just a few months ago, 
that near discussion

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would have seemed 
extremely strange.

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The Biden administration 
came to office worried more

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about China and its ability 
to be an existential threat

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to the United States because 
of its technological, economic,

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and military prowess.

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And &all of a sudden dealing

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with the great disruptor, 
Vladimir Putin.

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the United States began to 
see this buildup in October,

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sent the CIA director, Bill 
Burns to warn President Putin.

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Who he only spoke to by phone

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because Putin has been so 
isolated, largely thanks

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to COVID prevention.

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And ever since that time,

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they've just been on 
a steady path upward,

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until we hit the 
point this week,

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where the number is somewhere 
between 150 to 190,000 troops.

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That's more than, we had 
in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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And very hard to explain as 
you heard Secretary Austin say,

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except if you're 
planning to invade.

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Now it's possible, despite 
the president's warning

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that Putin's using this just

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for diplomatic leverage 
seems increasingly unlikely.

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It's also possible 
that he won't do

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a single massive invasion.

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And that's been the 
discussion here today

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at the opening of Munich 
Security Conference,

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which is the largest security 
conference in Europe,

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an annual event.

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And it happens to 
be taking place

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in the middle of the largest 
security crisis in Europe

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in many decades.

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- Yeah and David you're 
talking about this sort of

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steady upward trajectory, 
with all that going on,

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the president of Ukraine 
is supposed to be coming

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where you are to the 
Munich Conference,

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but there is some concerns 
from the white house

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about whether or not there 
might be an opening there

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if the president of 
Ukraine leaves the country

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for President Putin to invade 
while he's out of the country.

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What are you hearing about 
the latest on whether or not

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the president of 
Ukraine will be there?

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Whether or not those worries

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about him being 
out of the country

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are sort of grounded 
in anything.

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- Well, he's coming here to 
see vice president Harris,

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who's here with secretary 
of state Tony Blinken,

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and they're supposed 
to meet around midday.

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I've run into many members 
of the US delegation

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who are here, a very 
large delegation led 
by speaker Pelosi,

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but many of the armed services

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and intelligence 
committee members.

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And most of them have said 
to me that they think that

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it would be a crazy thing 
for President Zelenskyy

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to leave the capital now at a 
time that intelligence reports

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suggests that the 
Russians are lining up

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people to go replace him.

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They don't doubt he could 
get out of the country.

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They wonder whether 
he could get back in,

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and they fear for 
his personal safety.

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We don't know yet 
whether he is coming.

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I wouldn't be surprised if 
at the last minute he decides

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that isn't a wise 
course of action.

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But it tells you just how 
fragile this situation is.

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And I thought the most 
interesting moment of the week

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was when secretary Blinken 
was at the United Nations,

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and basically said, yes, it 
sounds to the whole world,

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like we are saying that 
the sky falling in,

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but we would rather reveal 
all of this intelligence

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and offer this 
warning and be wrong,

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and force Putin to back down 
and take the criticism for that

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than to stay silent and 
let Putin run right through

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what is the second largest 
country by land mass in Europe.

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- Yeah, and Francesca, 
the president's words

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were really grave today, 
you almost had to listen

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to it twice to get the idea 
that he really is saying,

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he thinks the president of 
Russia has made up his mind.

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What are you hearing about

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the white house's 
latest thinking here,

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and also do is there a sense

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that Putin is on this path and 
that there is no turning back

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at this moment, or they 
still possibly thinking

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diplomacy could work 
behind the scenes?

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- Well, president Biden said 
today that he still hoped

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that diplomacy could work here,

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but Yamiche as you 
were just saying,

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we've heard an escalating 
message from President Biden

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this week about what's at stake.

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Just the other day, we 
heard him put in stark terms

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to the American people.

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What they could potentially 
expect in terms of how

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a conflict could 
affect gas crisis.

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He told Americans in Ukraine

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that they needed to 
leave the country.

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Then he gave a direct 
to camera message

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to the Russian people 
essentially begging them

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not to go to war with 
Ukraine and saying

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that he did not think 
that this is something

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that the Russian people wanted.

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So trying a number of 
tactics as the white house

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sought to get in 
front of this conflict

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and for the American 
people to understand

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really what's at stake 
here, both from speeches,

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from President Biden 
that he's made,

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but also in remarks that 
press secretary Jen Psaki

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has been making daily 
from the podium.

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- And as Francesca was 
talking about sort of

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the increasing rhetoric here, 
Barbara, I wanna come to you.

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What's the Pentagon 
view of all of this.

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And also I wonder,

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could you talk a little 
bit about your reporting

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that you have on how 
president Biden is able

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to have this 
intelligence to make

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this statement that Russia 
has made up its mind.

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- Well, you know 
the US military,

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the US intelligence community,

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and I think intelligence 
services across Europe

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have been keeping such a 
sharp eye on all of this.

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So what does the 
US have at hand?

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Look, it starts with 
satellites overhead.

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They are able to 
collect imagery.

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We've seen a lot of 
commercial satellite images

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on social media.

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They can collect imagery.

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They can understand 
what conversations

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and communications 
are taking place.

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You also have manned aircraft 
that have been flying

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over Ukraine for weeks now,

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they will have to stop flying.

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If a conflict breaks out, the 
Pentagon is very a concerned

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that US troops have no 
contact with the Russians.

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You will see drones flying.

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These are the kinds of things 
that are able to collect

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intercepts all the way to 
Moscow that are able to see

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the heat signature of 
weapons being turned on

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and potentially moved around.

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The Pentagon, even 
keeping a sharp eye

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on weather forecasts 
in the region

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to see how long the ground 
may stay hard and freeze,

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where it will be soft and muddy,

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where it will be hard 
for Russian troops 
to maneuver around.

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They have all of this in hand.

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And what's so 
interesting in this case,

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they're letting the world know 
it, it's an information war.

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00:11:18,978 --> 00:11:20,980
What the Pentagon 
has been hoping to do

251
00:11:20,980 --> 00:11:23,949
for the last several 
weeks is make sure

252
00:11:23,949 --> 00:11:28,087
the world understands 
the information at hand.

253
00:11:28,087 --> 00:11:30,056
The state department as well.

254
00:11:30,056 --> 00:11:33,526
Make sure they understand the 
so-called Russian playbook,

255
00:11:33,526 --> 00:11:35,428
what the Russians 
could get up to,

256
00:11:35,428 --> 00:11:38,831
and hope that that would be 
enough to persuade Putin,

257
00:11:38,831 --> 00:11:40,733
it'll be too hard to 
carry something out.

258
00:11:40,733 --> 00:11:43,836
But as we sit here tonight, 
I think everyone agrees,

259
00:11:43,836 --> 00:11:46,072
there's just simply no 
indication that Putin

260
00:11:46,072 --> 00:11:47,606
is about to change his mind.

261
00:11:47,606 --> 00:11:51,143
And we have this bottom line 
situation where the world

262
00:11:51,143 --> 00:11:54,780
is holding its breath based 
on what may be going on

263
00:11:54,780 --> 00:11:57,216
in the mind of just one man.

264
00:11:57,216 --> 00:11:59,285
- And Dan, certainly 
as Barbara just said,

265
00:11:59,285 --> 00:12:00,986
the world is holding its breath.

266
00:12:00,986 --> 00:12:02,588
I wonder when you talk about,

267
00:12:02,588 --> 00:12:04,590
or when we think about 
this information warfare,

268
00:12:04,590 --> 00:12:06,659
that's going on between 
two nuclear powers,

269
00:12:06,659 --> 00:12:08,694
we have to remind folks that 
it's information warfare,

270
00:12:08,694 --> 00:12:10,196
but it's between of course,

271
00:12:10,196 --> 00:12:12,331
two countries that have 
nuclear capabilities here.

272
00:12:12,331 --> 00:12:14,834
Talk a bit about how 
President Biden sees this,

273
00:12:14,834 --> 00:12:18,471
and in particular, 
why he doesn't see 
it as an US' interest

274
00:12:18,471 --> 00:12:20,906
to send in troops to 
defend the sovereignty

275
00:12:20,906 --> 00:12:22,208
of Ukraine at this time.

276
00:12:23,642 --> 00:12:26,679
- Well, Yamiche there's no 
appetite in this country

277
00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:29,648
for the United States to 
enter into a new conflict.

278
00:12:29,648 --> 00:12:34,286
We saw with the botched 
withdrawal from Afghanistan

279
00:12:34,286 --> 00:12:37,757
that while the public judged 
President Biden harshly

280
00:12:37,757 --> 00:12:39,225
for what happened,

281
00:12:39,225 --> 00:12:41,627
they were supportive of 
the decision to get out.

282
00:12:41,627 --> 00:12:45,631
And the idea that we would 
now send troops into Ukraine

283
00:12:45,631 --> 00:12:48,100
in one way or 
another is something

284
00:12:48,100 --> 00:12:50,302
that the Biden administration 
clearly understands

285
00:12:50,302 --> 00:12:52,071
is off the table.

286
00:12:52,071 --> 00:12:54,540
But I've been struck 
by the degree to which

287
00:12:54,540 --> 00:12:58,811
they have very skillfully used 
intelligence and information

288
00:12:58,811 --> 00:13:01,113
as part of the deterrent.

289
00:13:01,113 --> 00:13:03,249
I've talked to 
several people today,

290
00:13:03,249 --> 00:13:07,820
and the only analogy that 
people came up with was

291
00:13:07,820 --> 00:13:09,255
the Cuban Missile Crisis.

292
00:13:09,255 --> 00:13:12,158
When Adlai Stevenson 
famously showed at the UN,

293
00:13:12,158 --> 00:13:15,861
the pictures of the 
Russian missiles in Cuba,

294
00:13:15,861 --> 00:13:20,566
the Soviet missiles in Cuba 
then, but for the most part,

295
00:13:20,566 --> 00:13:23,435
the US intelligence 
community does not want

296
00:13:23,435 --> 00:13:25,838
public discussion 
of what they see,

297
00:13:25,838 --> 00:13:28,774
and what they believe and 
what their interpretation is.

298
00:13:28,774 --> 00:13:32,311
And this has been a case 
in which as David said,

299
00:13:33,245 --> 00:13:34,847
Bill Burns went to Moscow

300
00:13:34,847 --> 00:13:37,383
last fall to basically 
say to Putin,

301
00:13:37,383 --> 00:13:39,485
we know what's going on.

302
00:13:39,485 --> 00:13:44,290
The administration began 
sharing this with our allies

303
00:13:44,290 --> 00:13:49,295
in Europe, in part, I think 
to help bolster the alliance,

304
00:13:50,763 --> 00:13:53,732
and to get people on board 
that this was very serious

305
00:13:53,732 --> 00:13:55,267
and it had to be serious.

306
00:13:55,267 --> 00:13:57,937
And then they have started 
on an almost daily basis

307
00:13:57,937 --> 00:14:00,172
to reveal everything 
they seem to know,

308
00:14:00,172 --> 00:14:01,874
or most of what 
they seem to know,

309
00:14:01,874 --> 00:14:06,212
again, so that there is no 
surprise if something happens.

310
00:14:06,212 --> 00:14:07,880
You know, there was a surprise

311
00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,283
when the Russians went 
into Crimea in 2014.

312
00:14:11,283 --> 00:14:13,586
I think one of the 
efforts is to avoid

313
00:14:13,586 --> 00:14:15,821
that kind of problem now.

314
00:14:15,821 --> 00:14:17,790
- Yeah, and Barbara 
Russia, of course,

315
00:14:17,790 --> 00:14:22,795
is talking about taking these 
military technical measures.

316
00:14:23,929 --> 00:14:25,164
The white house 
also accused Russia

317
00:14:25,164 --> 00:14:27,299
of carrying out cyber 
attacks in Ukraine.

318
00:14:27,299 --> 00:14:29,301
I wonder if you could 
sort of talk about

319
00:14:31,303 --> 00:14:34,206
what retaliatory military 
technical measure could mean.

320
00:14:34,206 --> 00:14:35,307
It's a mouthful.

321
00:14:35,307 --> 00:14:37,076
What does that 
actually mean, Barbara,

322
00:14:37,076 --> 00:14:40,112
and sort of is the future 
of war here cyber as well?

323
00:14:41,814 --> 00:14:44,550
- Well, I think 
that is a good deal

324
00:14:44,550 --> 00:14:46,051
of what is going on already.

325
00:14:46,051 --> 00:14:49,188
The US tagging the Russians 
for cyber attacks in Ukraine,

326
00:14:49,188 --> 00:14:52,558
and actually quite worried 
that the Russians could come

327
00:14:52,558 --> 00:14:57,029
to the United States shores 
with cyber tax against US banks,

328
00:14:57,029 --> 00:15:01,834
US power structures, that 
sort of thing, huge worry.

329
00:15:01,834 --> 00:15:04,403
What we're talking about, 
I think in the Ukraine,

330
00:15:04,403 --> 00:15:07,840
immediate area of 
Ukraine is a conventional

331
00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:09,842
Russian attack to some extent.

332
00:15:09,842 --> 00:15:13,479
These troops, these 
thousands of troops,

333
00:15:13,479 --> 00:15:16,482
the weapons, these are 
conventional heavy weapons.

334
00:15:16,482 --> 00:15:19,785
We're talking tanks, 
artillery, rockets, mortars,

335
00:15:19,785 --> 00:15:22,087
hundreds of ballistic missiles,

336
00:15:22,087 --> 00:15:24,490
helicopters, attack aircraft.

337
00:15:24,490 --> 00:15:27,293
And what the Pentagon 
has calculated,

338
00:15:27,293 --> 00:15:29,194
the human disaster is just,

339
00:15:29,194 --> 00:15:31,196
you can't wrap your 
head around it.

340
00:15:31,196 --> 00:15:35,401
If they go in with a full blown 
invasion north from Belarus,

341
00:15:35,401 --> 00:15:39,305
east and south from 
Russia, from Crimea,

342
00:15:39,305 --> 00:15:43,509
if they go after population 
centers inside Ukraine,

343
00:15:43,509 --> 00:15:46,078
the calculations is 
tens of thousands

344
00:15:46,078 --> 00:15:48,447
of civilian casualties wounded.

345
00:15:48,447 --> 00:15:52,384
It will just be horrific 
beyond on belief.

346
00:15:52,384 --> 00:15:57,056
And there is a good deal of 
effort to make that very plain.

347
00:15:59,358 --> 00:16:01,694
It will be just appalling.

348
00:16:01,694 --> 00:16:05,464
Now there are US forces 
across the border in Poland,

349
00:16:05,464 --> 00:16:06,966
which is a NATO member.

350
00:16:06,966 --> 00:16:11,203
The US is sending troops for 
deterrence and reassurance

351
00:16:11,203 --> 00:16:14,640
against NATO's 
eastern flank members.

352
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,009
But you know, in the year 2022,

353
00:16:17,009 --> 00:16:19,712
we're talking about the 
possibility of people,

354
00:16:19,712 --> 00:16:22,081
including Americans, 
still in Ukraine,

355
00:16:22,081 --> 00:16:24,917
trying to escape 
across the border,

356
00:16:24,917 --> 00:16:27,686
into Poland with their lives.

357
00:16:27,686 --> 00:16:31,824
And it just seems extraordinary 
that that's where we are.

358
00:16:31,824 --> 00:16:34,293
- Yeah, and David Afghanistan,

359
00:16:34,293 --> 00:16:36,362
it's hovering over all of this.

360
00:16:36,362 --> 00:16:37,863
The lessons learned there,

361
00:16:37,863 --> 00:16:40,032
but also I'm thinking at the 
same time that President Biden

362
00:16:40,032 --> 00:16:41,500
has talked so much about China.

363
00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:43,702
I wonder if you could bridge 
those two things for us,

364
00:16:43,702 --> 00:16:44,903
the lessons learned,

365
00:16:44,903 --> 00:16:46,538
but also when you're 
looking into the future,

366
00:16:46,538 --> 00:16:48,607
what they're looking 
on the horizon on

367
00:16:48,607 --> 00:16:49,942
when it comes to 
sort of adversaries

368
00:16:49,942 --> 00:16:51,477
that they wanna keep an eye on.

369
00:16:52,611 --> 00:16:54,046
- That's a fascinating 
question, Yamiche.

370
00:16:54,046 --> 00:16:58,984
So first of all, I think 
they learned from Afghanistan

371
00:17:00,352 --> 00:17:02,588
that the details matter, 
even as Dan suggested before,

372
00:17:02,588 --> 00:17:03,989
I think accurately,

373
00:17:03,989 --> 00:17:07,559
the most Americans supported 
leaving Afghanistan.

374
00:17:07,559 --> 00:17:10,262
They didn't like the 
way it was coordinated.

375
00:17:10,262 --> 00:17:11,830
This has been the opposite.

376
00:17:11,830 --> 00:17:13,432
If anything, there's been,

377
00:17:14,967 --> 00:17:18,237
an oversharing, an 
over coordination 
because they realized

378
00:17:18,237 --> 00:17:22,374
that they needed to keep 
all of the allies together.

379
00:17:22,374 --> 00:17:27,046
That said there are two 
things that I think really

380
00:17:27,046 --> 00:17:31,383
distinguished this conflict 
from any that we've seen before.

381
00:17:32,251 --> 00:17:34,053
The first we've hinted at.

382
00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:37,156
And that is that this 
is the first major,

383
00:17:37,156 --> 00:17:40,592
potentially major war 
if the Russians go in

384
00:17:40,592 --> 00:17:44,396
that is taking place in a world 
of open source intelligence

385
00:17:44,396 --> 00:17:46,598
where we don't need the 
government satellites.

386
00:17:46,598 --> 00:17:48,067
Back in the Cuban 
Missile Crisis,

387
00:17:48,067 --> 00:17:50,702
it was just the right 
analogy that Dan used,

388
00:17:50,702 --> 00:17:53,072
the government had to 
decide to declassify

389
00:17:53,072 --> 00:17:54,440
the satellite photographs.

390
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,209
They were propped up 
behind President Kennedy

391
00:17:57,209 --> 00:18:00,512
when he gave this famous speech.

392
00:18:00,512 --> 00:18:03,649
In this case, we're all 
getting satellite photographs

393
00:18:03,649 --> 00:18:06,952
every morning from 
companies like Maxar

394
00:18:06,952 --> 00:18:09,555
that are as good as what 
the intelligence agencies

395
00:18:09,555 --> 00:18:11,657
had just a few years ago.

396
00:18:11,657 --> 00:18:15,094
And so in some ways that makes 
the US information war case

397
00:18:15,094 --> 00:18:17,896
a lot easier because every day,

398
00:18:17,896 --> 00:18:22,568
there's an unclassified backup 
to show what's happening.

399
00:18:22,568 --> 00:18:24,636
The second thing that 
distinguishes this

400
00:18:24,636 --> 00:18:26,605
is the cyber capability,

401
00:18:26,605 --> 00:18:30,542
because the Russians have a 
way apart from nuclear weapons

402
00:18:30,542 --> 00:18:33,979
of reaching to Western Europe 
or to the United States,

403
00:18:33,979 --> 00:18:36,648
if they wanna retaliate 
for the sanctions.

404
00:18:36,648 --> 00:18:39,017
That didn't exist 
in the old cold war.

405
00:18:39,017 --> 00:18:41,120
- Yeah, well, thank you 
Barbara, for joining us,

406
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:43,188
we really appreciate 
you coming on.

407
00:18:43,188 --> 00:18:46,658
And this week, President 
Biden also warned Americans

408
00:18:46,658 --> 00:18:49,027
could feel the effects 
on their wallets

409
00:18:49,027 --> 00:18:50,896
if Russia invades Ukraine.

410
00:18:52,998 --> 00:18:55,667
- I will not pretend 
this will be painless.

411
00:18:55,667 --> 00:18:57,803
There could be impact 
on our energy prices.

412
00:18:59,204 --> 00:19:01,740
So we are taking active steps 
to alleviate the pressure

413
00:19:01,740 --> 00:19:05,144
on our own energy markets 
and offset raising prices.

414
00:19:05,144 --> 00:19:07,880
- Now across the US gas 
prices have been surging.

415
00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,349
And this week, according 
to the energy department,

416
00:19:10,349 --> 00:19:12,851
those costs hit an 
eight year high.

417
00:19:12,851 --> 00:19:15,587
Dan, I wanna come to you 
talk a bit about sort of,

418
00:19:15,587 --> 00:19:16,989
you wrote this 
week about sort of

419
00:19:16,989 --> 00:19:19,358
all of the different 
challenges that Democrats face.

420
00:19:19,358 --> 00:19:20,826
I wonder if you could sort of

421
00:19:20,826 --> 00:19:24,129
talk to us a little bit about 
what the cost to Americans

422
00:19:24,129 --> 00:19:27,299
could look like here and how 
that might impact the midterms.

423
00:19:28,734 --> 00:19:32,070
- Well, let me answer the 
second part first, which is,

424
00:19:32,070 --> 00:19:34,673
it's very difficult to 
predict what this might mean

425
00:19:34,673 --> 00:19:36,842
for the midterms, because 
we ultimately don't know

426
00:19:36,842 --> 00:19:39,978
what Putin is going to do 
if there is an invasion

427
00:19:39,978 --> 00:19:42,080
exactly what that 
invasion would look like.

428
00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:43,582
But let's say there is one,

429
00:19:43,582 --> 00:19:46,185
as the president said, he 
believes there will be one.

430
00:19:46,185 --> 00:19:51,190
In that case, we know that oil 
markets will be in turbulence

431
00:19:52,357 --> 00:19:53,759
and that there could 
be a substantial spike

432
00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:55,260
in the oil markets,

433
00:19:55,260 --> 00:19:57,963
which would substantially 
increase gasoline prices

434
00:19:57,963 --> 00:20:01,200
here at home and elsewhere 
around the world.

435
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,602
That is a big problem 
for the president,

436
00:20:03,602 --> 00:20:05,938
and for the Democrats heading 
into the fall campaign.

437
00:20:05,938 --> 00:20:09,541
We know at this point, 
despite many of the successes

438
00:20:09,541 --> 00:20:13,011
that the administration has 
chalked up on the economy,

439
00:20:13,011 --> 00:20:15,814
a significant lowering 
of the unemployment rate,

440
00:20:15,814 --> 00:20:18,317
a substantial increase 
in the number of jobs

441
00:20:18,317 --> 00:20:19,985
that it is the rise in prices

442
00:20:19,985 --> 00:20:23,922
that is the most sensitive 
issue to voters at this point.

443
00:20:23,922 --> 00:20:27,626
And if those gasoline 
prices go higher,

444
00:20:27,626 --> 00:20:30,262
that will have a negative 
impact on the president,

445
00:20:30,262 --> 00:20:31,830
and on Democrats running.

446
00:20:31,830 --> 00:20:34,600
Which is why there is talk 
about trying to do something

447
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,135
about it, try to 
mitigate in some way.

448
00:20:37,135 --> 00:20:39,871
But it's not clear that 
this administration

449
00:20:39,871 --> 00:20:42,107
or any administration, frankly,

450
00:20:42,107 --> 00:20:45,978
has major tools that 
can substantially change

451
00:20:45,978 --> 00:20:47,512
what the markets are doing.

452
00:20:47,512 --> 00:20:50,415
And so I think that their 
hands are a little bit tied.

453
00:20:50,415 --> 00:20:52,618
They have to look like 
they are doing something,

454
00:20:52,618 --> 00:20:55,120
but the question is how 
effective might that be?

455
00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:56,989
- Yeah, and how 
effective it might be

456
00:20:56,989 --> 00:20:58,457
is the critical question.

457
00:20:58,457 --> 00:21:02,094
Francesca, Americans often 
aren't focused on foreign policy

458
00:21:02,094 --> 00:21:03,795
when they think of sort 
of domestic politics,

459
00:21:03,795 --> 00:21:05,530
but look to Afghanistan,

460
00:21:05,530 --> 00:21:07,599
and the fact that President 
Biden's poll numbers

461
00:21:07,599 --> 00:21:09,501
never really recovered 
after that withdrawal,

462
00:21:09,501 --> 00:21:11,503
that he defended and 
continues to defend.

463
00:21:11,503 --> 00:21:13,605
I wonder what you're hearing 
from the white house about

464
00:21:13,605 --> 00:21:15,907
how this, in terms of inflation

465
00:21:15,907 --> 00:21:17,976
and all of these things could 
be handled by the white house,

466
00:21:17,976 --> 00:21:21,313
but also how that sort of 
ghost of the Afghanistan

467
00:21:21,313 --> 00:21:23,282
withdrawal is 
continuing to impact

468
00:21:23,282 --> 00:21:24,850
their thinking about this.

469
00:21:26,018 --> 00:21:28,153
- Well, I actually asked 
the energy sectary,

470
00:21:28,153 --> 00:21:30,622
Jennifer Granholm about 
that this morning Yamiche.

471
00:21:30,622 --> 00:21:32,557
And she said a 
couple things here,

472
00:21:32,557 --> 00:21:34,059
that in the longer term,

473
00:21:34,059 --> 00:21:37,062
this is part of the reason 
why the Biden administration

474
00:21:37,062 --> 00:21:40,399
is focused on trying to develop 
clean energy initiatives

475
00:21:40,399 --> 00:21:43,068
to reduce the reliance 
on fossil fuels.

476
00:21:43,068 --> 00:21:44,569
But in the short term,

477
00:21:44,569 --> 00:21:46,738
she did mention how they have 
tapped into the strategic

478
00:21:46,738 --> 00:21:48,473
petroleum reserve in the past.

479
00:21:48,473 --> 00:21:50,575
And she also mentioned 
in the context

480
00:21:50,575 --> 00:21:53,812
of the potential conflict 
between Ukraine and Russia,

481
00:21:53,812 --> 00:21:57,115
the United States is working 
with its allies globally

482
00:21:57,115 --> 00:21:59,918
to try and increase 
the oil supply,

483
00:21:59,918 --> 00:22:02,688
so that supply 
would meet demand.

484
00:22:02,688 --> 00:22:05,090
Because that is one of 
the big questions here

485
00:22:05,090 --> 00:22:06,625
in terms of the 
crippling sanctions

486
00:22:06,625 --> 00:22:09,461
that the United States says 
that it would put on Russia

487
00:22:09,461 --> 00:22:10,796
in case of a conflict.

488
00:22:10,796 --> 00:22:13,999
Even if the US does 
not directly sanction

489
00:22:13,999 --> 00:22:15,500
the oil and gas industry,

490
00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:17,002
there are still 
plenty of sanctions

491
00:22:17,002 --> 00:22:18,704
my sources are telling 
me that are indirect,

492
00:22:18,704 --> 00:22:22,107
that could have an effect on 
costs in the United States.

493
00:22:22,107 --> 00:22:24,509
- Yeah, and Dan, a 
quick question to you,

494
00:22:24,509 --> 00:22:25,711
we only about 45 second left,

495
00:22:25,711 --> 00:22:27,612
but we have to of course 
talk about the fact

496
00:22:27,612 --> 00:22:29,314
that the former 
president President Trump

497
00:22:29,314 --> 00:22:31,116
that he was ordered 
by a New York judge

498
00:22:31,116 --> 00:22:33,652
to testify along with 
two of his children.

499
00:22:33,652 --> 00:22:35,320
What's the significance 
of that as we see

500
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:38,857
all these other 
investigations intensifying?

501
00:22:38,857 --> 00:22:41,026
- Well, it's a very 
significant moment

502
00:22:41,026 --> 00:22:43,195
for the former president 
and his family,

503
00:22:43,195 --> 00:22:44,963
that they're gonna 
be forced to testify

504
00:22:44,963 --> 00:22:49,735
in the legal undertaking that's 
going on in New York state.

505
00:22:51,169 --> 00:22:54,806
He's had a number of legal 
setbacks since he left office.

506
00:22:54,806 --> 00:22:56,074
And this is just the latest.

507
00:22:56,074 --> 00:22:59,244
Now whether that the 
prosecutors will be able

508
00:22:59,244 --> 00:23:01,546
to get anything out 
of him and his family

509
00:23:01,546 --> 00:23:02,748
is another question.

510
00:23:02,748 --> 00:23:04,983
They obviously can take 
the fifth amendment

511
00:23:04,983 --> 00:23:06,318
and say nothing.

512
00:23:06,318 --> 00:23:11,323
But given that he had 
been very, very hard

513
00:23:12,724 --> 00:23:15,394
to avoid this moment, 
this has to be considered

514
00:23:15,394 --> 00:23:16,862
a major setback for him.

515
00:23:18,230 --> 00:23:20,132
- And David with the 30 
seconds that I have left here.

516
00:23:20,132 --> 00:23:22,234
Obviously, of course you focus 
on national security issues,

517
00:23:22,234 --> 00:23:24,703
but you covered President 
Trump, just like me.

518
00:23:24,703 --> 00:23:26,705
Talk a little bit about 
sort of the other thing

519
00:23:26,705 --> 00:23:28,540
that happened this 
week, which is that,

520
00:23:28,540 --> 00:23:32,377
a judge ruled that former 
president Trump can be sued

521
00:23:32,377 --> 00:23:34,546
because of the 
January 6th attack.

522
00:23:34,546 --> 00:23:35,781
What does that mean?

523
00:23:35,781 --> 00:23:36,882
What does it mean 
for this white house

524
00:23:36,882 --> 00:23:38,116
that this will continue

525
00:23:38,116 --> 00:23:39,351
to be something that 
they'll deal with?

526
00:23:39,351 --> 00:23:40,352
And again, we only have 
about 30 seconds left,

527
00:23:40,352 --> 00:23:42,154
but I wanna give it to you.

528
00:23:42,154 --> 00:23:44,289
- Sure, so, I mean, I 
think the remarkable thing

529
00:23:44,289 --> 00:23:46,958
about this Yamiche is 
that President Trump

530
00:23:46,958 --> 00:23:51,963
has believed that he 
was basically immune 
from court review

531
00:23:53,098 --> 00:23:55,567
of anything he did 
during his presidency.

532
00:23:55,567 --> 00:23:59,638
And that ranged from his 
personal business of work

533
00:23:59,638 --> 00:24:04,543
to of course his role in 
speaking to the protestors

534
00:24:05,710 --> 00:24:08,447
just before they went up 
and launched the riot.

535
00:24:08,447 --> 00:24:11,416
And he's just discovered, 
he's not protected.

536
00:24:11,416 --> 00:24:13,452
- Yeah, well, a 
lot to talk about.

537
00:24:13,452 --> 00:24:14,986
We'll definitely be talking 
more about the former president

538
00:24:14,986 --> 00:24:17,889
and of course this tension 
going on in Russia and Ukraine.

539
00:24:17,889 --> 00:24:20,025
Thank you so much to 
Dan, Francesca and David

540
00:24:20,025 --> 00:24:21,927
for joining us and 
sharing your reporting.

541
00:24:21,927 --> 00:24:23,395
We will continue 
our conversation

542
00:24:23,395 --> 00:24:24,863
on the "Washington Week Extra"

543
00:24:24,863 --> 00:24:27,365
this week's topic, 
Domestic Challenges,

544
00:24:27,365 --> 00:24:30,035
find it on our website, 
Facebook and YouTube.

545
00:24:30,035 --> 00:24:31,470
And for the latest 
on the tensions

546
00:24:31,470 --> 00:24:32,871
between Russia and Ukraine,

547
00:24:32,871 --> 00:24:35,640
tune in to the "PBS 
News Hour" on Monday.

548
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,009
And finally, as part of 
this black history month,

549
00:24:38,009 --> 00:24:40,212
I wanna honor former 
"Washington Week" moderator

550
00:24:40,212 --> 00:24:42,647
and trail blazing 
journalists, Gwen Eiffel.

551
00:24:42,647 --> 00:24:45,484
in 1999, she made 
history on this show

552
00:24:45,484 --> 00:24:47,719
when she became the first 
African American woman

553
00:24:47,719 --> 00:24:51,656
to host a nationally televised 
public affairs program.

554
00:24:51,656 --> 00:24:54,559
Gwen was of course deeply 
loved by her family and friends

555
00:24:54,559 --> 00:24:56,828
and by people she 
made time to mentor.

556
00:24:58,497 --> 00:25:01,132
- I very much embrace the 
idea of being a role model

557
00:25:01,132 --> 00:25:04,736
and I set out to be, and to 
let you see from what I am,

558
00:25:04,736 --> 00:25:08,673
that you can be that too, 
that to me is role model.

559
00:25:08,673 --> 00:25:11,610
And I will listen and 
advise and encourage

560
00:25:11,610 --> 00:25:13,411
every opportunity 
I get young people

561
00:25:13,411 --> 00:25:15,981
who are trying to figure 
it out for themselves,

562
00:25:15,981 --> 00:25:18,316
but there's nothing more 
powerful than my just doing it

563
00:25:18,316 --> 00:25:19,885
and doing it well.

564
00:25:19,885 --> 00:25:21,820
- And she did, of 
course do it very well.

565
00:25:21,820 --> 00:25:24,222
I met Gwen through a mutual 
friend Athelia Knight,

566
00:25:24,222 --> 00:25:26,591
a long time, Washington 
Post reporter.

567
00:25:26,591 --> 00:25:29,327
Gwen and Athelia, two 
exceptional black women,

568
00:25:29,327 --> 00:25:32,230
both inspired me to pursue 
a career in journalism.

569
00:25:32,230 --> 00:25:34,633
And they helped me navigate 
the path that ultimately

570
00:25:34,633 --> 00:25:37,536
led to my becoming the 
moderator of "Washington Week".

571
00:25:37,536 --> 00:25:41,006
It is a deep honor to follow 
in the footsteps of Gwen.

572
00:25:41,006 --> 00:25:43,108
Thank you so much 
again for joining us.

573
00:25:43,108 --> 00:25:44,676
Goodnight from Washington.

574
00:25:44,676 --> 00:25:47,279
(upbeat music)