I want to turn to the war in Ukr
We continue to see reports
that the counter insurgency
isn't making the gains
that might have been expected.
So why aren't Ukrainians
getting more traction right now?
Well, part of it,
I think all that has to do with
that the Ukrainians
still have air superiority in th
that the counteroffensive
is actually going to be taking p
That is a significant shortfall.
There was an interview
in The Washington Post
with the head of
the Ukrainian armed forces
general solution.
And he correctly points out
that if a Western army
and even if a
Russian army goes into battle,
they are going to try
to gain air superiority
before they mount an offensive o
The failure to mount
an offensive operation without a
is is a significant failure.
And it's pretty clear
that airpower, longer-range arti
faster delivery of weapons
systems, faster delivery of muni
all of those things play a part
And the West
and the United States especially
I would really be well advised
to get these weapons to Ukrainia
as quickly as possible.
If we want
to see results on the battlefiel
that will help
Ukraine maintain its sovereignty
CNN has learned that the
Biden administration
is strongly
considering sending
cluster munition warheads to Ukr
Apparently,
the Pentagon
believes those could help
given the current conditions.
So for starters,
what exactly are cluster munitio
what do you make of this assessm
To these munitions?
Or are weapons systems that can
either from a ground
based system or from air?
And what they do is they spread
they release
multiple bomblets in various dir
So the main danger
explode on impact or upon releas
And once that that happens,
you have the possibility
that civilians could years from
be wounded
or even killed
by cluster munitions bomblets
that find their way into farm fi
Onto city streets
and into other areas like that.
So cluster munitions
is a very dangerous weapon.
And in fact,
120 nations consider them inhuma
And have banned their use.
United States and Ukraine,
by the way, are not among those.
Those weapons. And it's very
interesting.
We learned
this week
that the CIA director paid a vis
to President Zelensky
during a recent visit to Ukraine
So how important is U.S.
intelligence to Ukraine
and why exactly would the CIA di
go there in person?
Well, the CIA director
also, in addition
to running,
one of the most important
intelligence agencies
in the United States,
is really a diplomatic mission
in many cases.
And they know anybody
who is in the role of CIA direct
finds themselves
doing some very interesting thin
in the case of Director Burns.
He is one to actually assess
any different aspects
of the Ukrainian war. Effort.
And that Ukrainian war effort
really depends a lot on U.S.
intelligence, and a lot of
that is provided by the CIA.
So I believe he was out there in
not only speak
with President
Zelenskiy and Ukrainian military
but his was also out there
to make sure that our intelligen
is getting
to the right people in Ukraine.
And that's the critical thing,
because if it doesn't get to the
people, it's basically worthless
They can't make the right decisi
They can't do the right things.
For the war effort
and they can't do the right thin
politically as well.
So it was critical for him to be
and lay eyes on target, as we sa
Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank y
You bet, Paula.