UKRAINE BUT THAT HIS MISSTEP IS
ONLY LIKELY TO SOLIDIFY HIS
RESOLVE TO DOUBLE DOWN IN
UKRAINIAN OCCUPATION.
JOINED BY ONE OF THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
IS CONGRESSMAN MIKE QUIGLEY.
CONGRESSMAN, APPRECIATE YOU
GIVING US A FEW MINUTES.
I KNOW YOU'RE ABOUT TO GO INTO
THE CLOSED SESSION WHICH MEANS
YOU GET THE SCARIER STUFF,
PERHAPS. LET ME START WITH THE STATE OF
LET ME START WITH THE STATE OF
THE RUSSIAN MILITARY.
ONE OF THE FORMER RUSSIAN AIDES
TO BORIS YELTSIN SAID HE SPENT A
BUNCH OF MONEY ON THE MILITARY
AND THE OLIGARCHS POCKETED MOST
OF IT.
IS THAT WHAT YOUR U.S. OFFICIALS
SEE?
>> LOOK, I THINK THE WORLD WAS
SURPRISED AT SOME OF THE
INCOMPETENCE THAT THEY'RE
WITNESSING WITH THE RUSSIAN
MILITARY
MILITARY, A CONVOY 40 MILES LONG
STUCK IN PLACE, LOGISTICAL
NIGHTMARES.
BUT IN NO WAY DO I WANT TO
DIMINISH THE EXTRAORDINARY
THREAT THEY POSE TO UKRAINE AND
EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE
WORLD.
OBVIOUSLY, THEY HAVE A NUCLEAR
ARSENAL AND THEY HAVE A
PRESIDENT WHO SEEMS TO BE MAKING
ANY KIND OF THREAT THAT HE
THINKS HE CAN JUSTIFY.
>> NOW, WE KNOW THAT PUTIN HAS
SABRE RATTLED ON NUKES, BUT OUR
FOLKS SAY HE'S NOT ACTUALLY DONE
ANYTHING INTERNALLY.
LET ME ASK YOU THIS,
CONGRESSMAN.
DO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW THEIR
NUCLEAR SORT OF CHAIN OF
COMMAND, THE COMMAND AND CONTROL
WORKS? AND HOW ISOLATED ARE THESE FOLKS
AND HOW ISOLATED ARE THESE FOLKS
WITH PUTIN OR FROM PUTIN?
>> THERE WERE WELL WRITTEN
ARTICLES THAT TALKED ABOUT HOW
ISOLATED PUTIN IS AND HOW
DIFFICULT IT IS TO GET GOOD
INTELLIGENCE ON HIM.
THAT'S STILL ACCURATE.
WHAT TROUBLES ME WHEN I THINK OF
PUTIN AND STATEMENTS HE'S MADE,
WE HAVEN'T HAD A RUSSIAN LEADER
TALK LIKE THAT SINCE THE '60s,
RAMBLING, DISCOHERENT, ONE-HOUR
SPEECH PRIOR TO THE INVASION,
THE FACT HE SEEMS FAR LESS CALM
AND CONTROLLED REGARDLESS OF
WHAT HE'S DOING RAISES THOSE
CONCERNS.
SO THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS
RIGHT.
WE SEE NOTHING ABOUT THEM
PUTTING ANYTHING IN PLACE, BUT
AS GENERAL BERRIER SAID, YOU
HAVE TO TAKE PUTIN AT HIS WORD.
>> I'M CURIOUS OF YOUR REACTION
TO THIS IDEA -- I HAD THE FORMER
SIGNER OF THIS LETTER CALLING
FOR A LIMITED NO-FLY ZONE
FOCUSED ON HUMANITARIAN
CORRIDORS.
THEY'RE NOT WORKING YET.
IS THIS THE PROPER ROLE FOR US
RIGHT NOW?
>> YOU KNOW, AFTER PRESIDENT
ZELENSKYY SPOKE SATURDAY, I
COMPARED HIM TO WINSTON
CHURCHILL DURING THE BLITZ.
I WANT TO TAKE TWO LINES FROM
WHAT HE SAID TO THE BRITISH PAR
PLAMT TODAY -- "WE WILL FIGHT TO
THE END AT SEA AND AIR, WE WILL
FIGHT FOR OUR LAND IN THE
FORESTS AND THE FIELDS."
HE'S CLEARLY CHANNELING
CHURCHILL.
I THINK WHAT WE IN THE WEST HAVE
TO REMIND OURSELVES IS WE WERE
LATE TO ARRIVE TO THE FINAL
POINT OF WHAT WE NEED DO IN THE
SECOND WORLD WAR AND PERHAPS
WE'RE THERE NOW.
THEY WEREN'T ARGUING FOR THEIR
OWN COUNTRY.
THEY WERE ARGUE L FOR THE
PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY AT RISK
HERE.
WE ARE ALL TO A VERY LARGE
EXTENT AT WAR WITH PUTIN NOW.
HE'S DECLARED WAR ON US THROUGH
PREVIOUS CYBERATTACKS AND WHAT
WE ARE SEEING HERE.
WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES, AS
GENERAL BREED LOVE SAID, WHAT
LINE DO THE RUSSIANS HAVE TO
CROSS?
DO WE WATCH CHICAGO'S SISTER
CITY, KYIV, GET WIPED OUT AS
HUMANITARIAN LINES ARE SHELLED?
SO, I THINK WE NEED TO ACT.
BY THE WAY, I DON'T KNOW THAT
THERE'S ANY SUCH THING AS A
LIMITED NO-FLY ZONE OR EVEN A
NO-FLY ZONE.
IT'S NATO AND RUSSIAN JETS
FIGHTING EACH OTHER, KILLING
RUSSIANS.
>> BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE
GROWING MORE IN SUPPORT OF THE
IDEA BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO --
IT'S HARD TO DISCERN IF A LINE
ALREADY HASN'T BEEN CROSSED, IN
YOUR MIND?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, EVERY
ARGUMENT IS PREFACED WITH, WELL,
THEY'RE NOT PART OF NATO.
WE DEFEND EVERY INCH OF NATO.
HASN'T UKRAINE EARNED THAT RIGHT TO BE TREATED -- BECAUSE WHAT
TO BE TREATED -- BECAUSE WHAT
UKRAINE IS FIGHTING,ITS
PRINCIPLES ARE THE VERY REASON
WE FORMED NATO.
IF WE ALLOW TYRANTS TO TAKE A
SOVEREIGN, DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY,
AND NOT FIGHT ON THE EXACT TERMS
IN THE WAYS THEY'RE BEING
MASSACRED, AGAIN, ZELENSKYY
SATURDAY ASKED US DIRECTLY,
DON'T ALLOW US TO BE
EXTERMINATED.
IT HAS TO BE A LESSON FOR ALL
THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LAST FULL
MEASURE OF DEVOTION IN THE
SECOND WAR TO END SUCH THREATS.
>> GIVEN PUTIN'S ACTIONS AT THIS
POINT, SHOULD WE EVEN OFFER HIM
AN OFF-RAMP THAT KEEPS HIM IN
POWER?
>> OH, THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR
DIPLOMACY, AND I SUSPECT WE HAVE
VERY LITTLE ABILITY TO REMOVE
PUTIN FROM POWER OTHER THAN
STRANGELY AS IT SEEMS THE
SANCTIONS, BECAUSE ILL THINK
PUTIN'S GREATEST FEAR AS WAS
PREVIOUSLY REFERENCED, IS TO BE
THROWN OUT BY HIS OWN PEOPLE AND
HIDE IN SOME HOLE AS WE'VE SEEN
PREVIOUS TYRANTS DO, HIDING FROM
THEIR OWN PEOPLE.
BUT THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR
DIPLOMACY.
IF THERE'S WAY TO END THIS AND
END THE MASSACRE THAT'S TAKING
PLACE, I THINK YOU MAKE EVERY
EFFORT TO DO SO.
>> CONGRESSMAN MIKE QUIGLEY, I
KNOW YOU HAVE TO RUN OFF.
DEMOCRAT FROM THE HOUSE
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE.