1 00:01:14,380 --> 00:01:16,880 The plot thickens this morning, 2 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,180 with US officials telling ABC News 3 00:01:19,180 --> 00:01:21,720 that Russian President Putin was directly involved 4 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:23,930 in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee. 5 00:01:23,930 --> 00:01:27,900 We have said repeatedly over the last two months 6 00:01:27,900 --> 00:01:31,190 that our source is not the Russian government. 7 00:01:31,190 --> 00:01:36,400 Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyberattacks. 8 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:38,740 - Do you respect Putin? - I do respect him. 9 00:01:38,740 --> 00:01:41,200 Do you? Why? Putin's a killer. 10 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,870 There are a lot of killers. What, you think our country's so innocent? 11 00:01:45,910 --> 00:01:48,210 - Hello. - How are you? 12 00:01:48,210 --> 00:01:50,380 Mr. President. Nice to see you again. 13 00:01:50,380 --> 00:01:51,420 I thought maybe you could sit over there? 14 00:01:51,420 --> 00:01:54,050 - Okay. - And I'll sit here, and we'll see. 15 00:01:54,050 --> 00:01:56,380 Play it by ear a little bit. 16 00:01:58,050 --> 00:02:00,050 And we'll improvise. 17 00:02:00,050 --> 00:02:02,260 No rules about this one. 18 00:02:02,260 --> 00:02:03,390 Yes! 19 00:02:10,100 --> 00:02:12,230 For over 40 years, the United States led the West 20 00:02:12,230 --> 00:02:15,230 in the struggle against Communism 21 00:02:15,230 --> 00:02:18,910 and the threat it posed to our most precious values. 22 00:02:18,910 --> 00:02:21,780 This struggle shaped the lives of all Americans. 23 00:02:22,950 --> 00:02:24,990 It forced all nations to live 24 00:02:24,990 --> 00:02:27,250 under the specter of nuclear destruction. 25 00:02:28,500 --> 00:02:29,731 That confrontation is now over. 26 00:02:47,890 --> 00:02:51,980 I think a lot of Western people don't know much about you. 27 00:02:51,980 --> 00:02:53,520 We'd like to know about your background, 28 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:55,860 and where you came from. 29 00:02:55,860 --> 00:02:59,490 I know that you were born in October 1952, 30 00:02:59,490 --> 00:03:01,660 after the war, 31 00:03:01,660 --> 00:03:03,370 that your mother was a factory worker, 32 00:03:03,370 --> 00:03:06,990 and your father had been in the war. 33 00:03:06,990 --> 00:03:09,000 And I know that you lived in a collective apartment 34 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,710 with other families as you grew up. 35 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:18,010 Doing what exactly? 36 00:03:25,050 --> 00:03:27,060 He was wounded in the war, though? 37 00:03:56,710 --> 00:04:01,380 I heard he had a bit of juvenile delinquency problems. 38 00:04:01,380 --> 00:04:02,550 He was a bit of a wild child 39 00:04:02,550 --> 00:04:05,640 until he studied judo at the age of 12. 40 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,740 You, uh, graduated from, uh, high school 41 00:04:25,740 --> 00:04:27,740 and I believe you went directly to law school. 42 00:04:27,740 --> 00:04:28,772 That's the Russian system? 43 00:04:40,210 --> 00:04:41,550 And met your first wife there? 44 00:04:44,380 --> 00:04:45,970 You last wife. I mean, your only wife. 45 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,690 And then you joined the KGB right away in '75? 46 00:04:56,690 --> 00:05:00,530 1975. Yeah, you joined, in Leningrad. 47 00:05:12,450 --> 00:05:13,839 Oh, you were s... You had no choice? 48 00:05:23,710 --> 00:05:26,800 And you had romanticized of course this... 49 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,050 There's the Soviet films about the KGB and intelligence. 50 00:05:37,230 --> 00:05:39,810 You went to Dresden in 1985 through 1990. 51 00:05:39,810 --> 00:05:43,940 But the first 10 years, uh, you were mostly in Leningrad. 52 00:05:49,990 --> 00:05:51,990 East Germany in 1985 to '90 was pretty dismal. 53 00:06:01,710 --> 00:06:03,300 It was a strange time. 54 00:06:03,300 --> 00:06:06,630 Did you go back to Moscow? Did you experience perestroika? 55 00:06:28,110 --> 00:06:29,490 But these are Gorbachev's ideas, 56 00:06:29,490 --> 00:06:31,370 so you were influenced by Gorbachev. 57 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,490 The Soviet Union collapsed 58 00:07:12,490 --> 00:07:16,240 and the Russian Federation was formed with Yeltsin. 59 00:07:19,210 --> 00:07:21,750 Yeah. 60 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:42,270 Yeah. 61 00:07:42,270 --> 00:07:45,020 You moved to Moscow in 1996. 62 00:07:45,020 --> 00:07:49,280 And you became the head of the Federal Security Bureau for 13 months. 63 00:08:11,970 --> 00:08:15,680 So, in that role, you must have seen what a mess this was. 64 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,010 I gather, there was a nightmare of chaos. 65 00:09:19,830 --> 00:09:24,210 In October 1993, Russia was on the brink of civil war... 66 00:09:24,210 --> 00:09:25,870 With parliament deputies on one side 67 00:09:25,870 --> 00:09:28,790 and Boris Yeltsin and his supporters on the other. 68 00:09:28,790 --> 00:09:31,880 Yeltsin, who controlled tank divisions, 69 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,800 would give the order to fire directly at the parliament building 70 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,260 with shells pounding the offices of the Supreme Soviet chairman 71 00:09:38,260 --> 00:09:40,970 and the vice president who sided with the deputies. 72 00:09:40,970 --> 00:09:46,190 Two days of street fighting left hundreds dead and injured. 73 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:58,490 The United States continues to stand firm in its support of President Yeltsin 74 00:09:58,490 --> 00:10:01,580 because he is Russia's democratically elected leader. 75 00:10:01,580 --> 00:10:04,580 And in 1999, you worked your way up to acting prime minister. 76 00:10:04,580 --> 00:10:07,670 And Yeltsin resigned in 2000. 77 00:10:07,670 --> 00:10:11,880 Just looking at, uh, press conferences and film of Mr. Yeltsin, 78 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:17,260 it was clearly, uh, alcohol, uh, disease. 79 00:10:17,260 --> 00:10:19,720 His brain seemed to be... 80 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:23,260 The way he spoke, and the way he... he stared at the camera, 81 00:10:23,260 --> 00:10:25,470 the way he moved, he looked like he was catatonic. 82 00:11:43,510 --> 00:11:44,640 So, here you are, 83 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:45,510 many prime ministers come and go, 84 00:11:45,510 --> 00:11:47,470 and all of a sudden, 85 00:11:47,470 --> 00:11:49,060 wow, you're the acting prime minister. 86 00:11:49,060 --> 00:11:50,390 Now what? 87 00:12:22,220 --> 00:12:23,590 You refused? Why is that? 88 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:47,070 Change his life, in what way? 89 00:12:47,070 --> 00:12:50,290 I mean, he's already been a bureaucrat 90 00:12:50,290 --> 00:12:52,200 in the government for a long time. 91 00:13:46,300 --> 00:13:47,340 Oh, really? 92 00:13:47,340 --> 00:13:48,890 What would you do? 93 00:14:23,340 --> 00:14:25,010 Yeah, but did you see his... 94 00:14:25,010 --> 00:14:27,420 Did he see his children during this period and his wife? 95 00:14:36,430 --> 00:14:39,140 And, uh, did you wake up at four in the morning? Did you ever sleep? 96 00:14:51,660 --> 00:14:52,740 Really? 97 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:56,750 No nightmares? 98 00:14:56,750 --> 00:15:01,460 This is a discipline from the from military, from your KGB experience? 99 00:15:06,670 --> 00:15:12,390 Your theory of life, they say is summed up in the philosophy of judo? 100 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:15,810 Not too complicated. 101 00:15:28,070 --> 00:15:30,360 You have a lot of discipline, sir. 102 00:15:49,170 --> 00:15:51,380 Okay. Well, then, we're in 2000 now. 103 00:15:51,380 --> 00:15:56,510 You've become president. The vote was 53 percent. 104 00:15:56,510 --> 00:15:58,060 You're not expected to last. 105 00:15:58,060 --> 00:16:00,060 You're president of a country which is in a dark time. 106 00:16:00,060 --> 00:16:03,150 Chechenya War is going on, it looks very bad. 107 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,080 One side says that it is fighting against terrorism, 108 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,300 the other side says it is fighting for independence. 109 00:16:28,300 --> 00:16:32,130 And all the while, bodies line the street amid the rubble of war. 110 00:16:32,130 --> 00:16:33,630 This is not the Middle East. 111 00:16:33,630 --> 00:16:36,550 This is the break-way Russian Republic of Chechnya, 112 00:16:36,550 --> 00:16:39,310 little mentioned, but no less horrifying. 113 00:17:17,930 --> 00:17:21,430 You're credited with, uh, doing many fine things in your first term. 114 00:17:21,430 --> 00:17:23,310 You built up industries, 115 00:17:23,310 --> 00:17:28,690 electronics, engineering, petrochemical, agriculture. 116 00:17:28,690 --> 00:17:32,360 You raised the GDP, you raised the income. 117 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:34,030 You reformed the army. 118 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:39,620 The privatization was stopped. 119 00:17:39,620 --> 00:17:41,120 A real son of Russia. 120 00:18:30,330 --> 00:18:33,590 The oligarchs took... Underestimated him. 121 00:18:33,590 --> 00:18:37,380 And when he became president, they didn't think he would last. 122 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:44,410 He cut the poverty rate by two-thirds. 123 00:19:45,330 --> 00:19:49,200 Respect for the old people, pensions. 124 00:19:53,500 --> 00:19:57,210 In 2000, 700 rubles was the average income, 125 00:19:57,210 --> 00:20:00,050 in 2012, 29,000 rubles. 126 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:02,970 Immensely popular in 2004, 127 00:20:02,970 --> 00:20:04,637 he's reelected with 70 percent of the vote. 128 00:20:07,060 --> 00:20:10,060 And 2008, because, uh, two terms are only allowed, 129 00:20:10,060 --> 00:20:12,770 you become the prime minister. 130 00:20:12,770 --> 00:20:14,913 Well, you worked hard when you were prime minister too. 131 00:20:43,970 --> 00:20:48,050 And in 2012, you run for president, 132 00:20:48,050 --> 00:20:50,060 and you win by 63 percent? 133 00:20:50,060 --> 00:20:53,560 Yeah, you're right. 134 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:58,190 Three times president. Five assassination attempts, I'm told. 135 00:20:58,190 --> 00:21:01,320 Not as much as Castro, who I've interviewed. 136 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:03,030 I think he must've had 50, 137 00:21:03,030 --> 00:21:05,360 but, uh, there's a legitimate five I've heard about. 138 00:21:28,090 --> 00:21:29,970 In other words, you trust your security, 139 00:21:29,970 --> 00:21:31,970 and they've done a great job. 140 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:35,940 Because, always, the first mode of assassination, 141 00:21:35,940 --> 00:21:39,690 you try to get inside the security of the... of the president. 142 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:51,700 What is your fate, sir? 143 00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:52,830 Have you... Do you know? 144 00:21:57,230 --> 00:21:58,460 To die in bed, maybe. 145 00:22:12,310 --> 00:22:15,430 You've had a tough day. 146 00:22:15,430 --> 00:22:17,060 It's been a while. Nice to see you. 147 00:22:20,810 --> 00:22:23,020 I think, uh, last June was the, uh... 148 00:22:23,020 --> 00:22:25,150 was the last time I saw you. 149 00:22:27,150 --> 00:22:28,910 You miss me? 150 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,330 I'm sure you cried about other things. 151 00:22:36,330 --> 00:22:38,670 Uh, excuse me, I just feel asleep upstairs. 152 00:22:38,670 --> 00:22:41,040 Uh, I caught up on my jet lag. 153 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,460 How was your day? 154 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,400 Holy cow! Well, you didn't have a cabinet meeting then, did you? 155 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,030 There was... I'm told there was 156 00:23:12,030 --> 00:23:13,830 a national security council kind of meeting? 157 00:23:27,710 --> 00:23:29,840 I see. A crisis or anything? 158 00:23:31,380 --> 00:23:34,010 Well, I'm just asking, 'cause I'm curious, 159 00:23:34,010 --> 00:23:36,060 'cause we're normally scheduled at 3:00 p. m., 160 00:23:36,060 --> 00:23:39,480 and it's six hours and forty minutes later. 161 00:23:45,650 --> 00:23:47,070 No, but I'm saying there's always... 162 00:23:47,070 --> 00:23:47,940 There are crises that come up? 163 00:23:47,940 --> 00:23:50,030 There are things that aren't scheduled? 164 00:24:12,130 --> 00:24:14,340 Uh, that goes to my bigger question, 165 00:24:14,340 --> 00:24:16,640 'cause my producer who's here, Fernando, 166 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:18,220 we were talking about you earlier, 167 00:24:18,220 --> 00:24:20,730 and he said, you are an excellent CEO, 168 00:24:20,730 --> 00:24:23,270 uh, Chief Executive Officer of a company... 169 00:24:23,270 --> 00:24:24,600 Russia is your company. 170 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,150 You kick the tires, you deal with these problems, 171 00:24:28,150 --> 00:24:30,280 and you try to solve them on the spot. 172 00:24:32,950 --> 00:24:36,200 Let's say the problem is this, and you go into the detail here, 173 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:39,620 and the detail sometimes gets smaller, and you do a micro-detail, 174 00:24:39,620 --> 00:24:43,460 and the micro-detail has another micro-detail, and before you know it, 175 00:24:43,460 --> 00:24:46,500 you've lost the forest for the trees, as they say. 176 00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:49,130 That can be very irritating. You could probably go to bed at night, 177 00:24:49,130 --> 00:24:52,340 not having solved some of these things, and it really drives you nuts. 178 00:25:15,660 --> 00:25:17,990 He says he needs to complete something? 179 00:25:32,510 --> 00:25:34,010 Which bring us to the... A large problem, 180 00:25:34,010 --> 00:25:37,800 which is he's been doing this as a president, prime minister, 181 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,720 and now president again, for 15 years. 182 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:43,640 I'm sure he knows the story of Ronald Reagan, 183 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,980 one of the most admired presidents... by conservatives... in my country. 184 00:25:46,980 --> 00:25:50,110 He was famous for sticking to his schedule, 185 00:25:50,110 --> 00:25:52,610 which required him, on most nights, to come home, 186 00:25:52,610 --> 00:25:55,860 in the White House by six o'clock, 187 00:25:55,860 --> 00:26:00,200 and have an early supper and watch TV with his wife. 188 00:26:07,790 --> 00:26:11,290 That is my point, is that he was a smiley man. 189 00:26:11,290 --> 00:26:14,210 He was a great greeter and meeter. 190 00:26:14,210 --> 00:26:17,430 He was very happy eating jelly beans 191 00:26:17,430 --> 00:26:18,800 and telling a good joke. 192 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,390 Though Reagan was a big believer in delegating authority, 193 00:26:22,390 --> 00:26:26,640 to everyone around him. 194 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,690 I'm just trying to make that example because... 195 00:26:29,690 --> 00:26:30,860 it's another way of living. 196 00:26:38,450 --> 00:26:40,435 Well, it seems to me, you're doing it the hard way. 197 00:27:03,100 --> 00:27:04,600 Well, Reagan would disagree. 198 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,930 He would say the country America was broke, 199 00:27:06,930 --> 00:27:08,600 and that it needed to be fixed, 200 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,650 and it was morning in America again, 201 00:27:10,650 --> 00:27:13,980 and it was his job to bring in positive energy to America. 202 00:27:13,980 --> 00:27:16,780 And he did a pretty good job of making that feeling. 203 00:27:16,780 --> 00:27:18,820 It's a feeling. It's an illusion. 204 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:28,620 Well, uh, actually, some people would argue 205 00:27:28,620 --> 00:27:31,540 that Reagan made America more broke 206 00:27:31,540 --> 00:27:32,830 because the debt grew enormously. 207 00:27:36,420 --> 00:27:38,420 I forgot. 208 00:27:38,420 --> 00:27:40,340 Russia's one, right? 209 00:27:45,970 --> 00:27:47,270 Eighteen trillion, US? 210 00:27:48,020 --> 00:27:50,020 And about one trillion, Russia. 211 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:29,430 The food prices went up 20 percent in 2015, 212 00:28:29,430 --> 00:28:32,890 and, uh, inflation was running at 13 percent. 213 00:28:35,610 --> 00:28:39,190 12.9 percent to be more precise. Okay. Okay. 214 00:28:39,190 --> 00:28:41,280 What is the Russian Central Bank about? 215 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:42,450 What is that doing? 216 00:28:56,380 --> 00:28:57,710 I thought you had nothing outstanding. 217 00:28:57,710 --> 00:28:59,710 You had no debts to the IMF, I'm told. 218 00:29:44,090 --> 00:29:48,140 Aah, you know, you still talk as if the IMF is a partner of Russia's. 219 00:29:48,140 --> 00:29:50,470 You act as if Wall Street wants Russia to succeed, 220 00:29:50,470 --> 00:29:52,390 and I question that. 221 00:29:52,390 --> 00:29:54,850 And I would ask you, 222 00:29:54,850 --> 00:29:59,270 is Wall Street actively working to destroy the Russian economy, 223 00:29:59,270 --> 00:30:01,190 in the interest of the United States? 224 00:30:34,310 --> 00:30:35,480 That is the throne of the tzar 225 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,270 and the throne for the tzarina... Yeah. 226 00:30:37,270 --> 00:30:40,520 And also for the dowager empress. Yeah. 227 00:30:42,230 --> 00:30:44,480 You know, they say that you want to be tzar. 228 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,150 This is, uh, you know, that you're the new tzar. 229 00:30:47,150 --> 00:30:48,400 They put magazine covers out there... 230 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,120 You laugh, right? 231 00:30:55,330 --> 00:30:56,330 Yeah. 232 00:31:01,210 --> 00:31:04,920 But you allowed, uh, Charlie Rose to make a point 233 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,760 when he said, you have all the power, 234 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:09,680 you can do what you want. 235 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:11,510 He made that very clear, and then... 236 00:31:11,510 --> 00:31:13,510 Because that's the way many Americans think, 237 00:31:13,510 --> 00:31:16,020 that there's no system here. 238 00:31:16,020 --> 00:31:18,060 And, uh, you didn't correct him. 239 00:31:18,060 --> 00:31:19,390 You, you... 240 00:31:19,390 --> 00:31:20,390 Excuse, excuse me. 241 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:30,200 Well, then you should shoot the interpreter too... 242 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,200 That's why we say that. 243 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,700 Was it you? Yeah... 244 00:31:34,700 --> 00:31:37,870 I don't think he understood the question that Rose was leading him to. 245 00:31:37,870 --> 00:31:41,870 I mean, in other words, in English, it sounded like he wants the tzar, 246 00:31:41,870 --> 00:31:43,960 and he took it for granted that he was tzar. 247 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:47,460 Some have called you a tzar. 248 00:31:49,510 --> 00:31:52,890 So what? You know, people call me different names. 249 00:31:52,890 --> 00:31:55,510 Well, does the name fit? 250 00:32:01,730 --> 00:32:05,230 Do you ever lose it? 251 00:32:05,230 --> 00:32:08,230 He says, you're so irrational 252 00:32:08,230 --> 00:32:09,280 every time you're asked a question, 253 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,700 do you ever like have a day, like a bad day? And... 254 00:32:20,710 --> 00:32:22,000 Is that right? 255 00:32:28,090 --> 00:32:28,880 There you go. Now you're going to insult 256 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:32,220 50 percent of the American public. 257 00:32:32,220 --> 00:32:34,050 The way they're gonna take it. 258 00:32:39,100 --> 00:32:40,140 I know. 259 00:32:41,770 --> 00:32:45,060 So a woman to you is a... Tends to be more emotional? 260 00:32:45,060 --> 00:32:49,150 You don't want to have your emotions ever cut in and control your reasoning? 261 00:33:15,220 --> 00:33:17,800 - Question to, uh, - President Bush. 262 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:19,640 Is this a man that Americans can trust? 263 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:20,850 Uh, I'll answer the question. 264 00:33:20,850 --> 00:33:22,350 I looked the man in the eye. 265 00:33:22,350 --> 00:33:26,100 I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. 266 00:33:27,690 --> 00:33:30,020 Now, we had a very good dialogue. 267 00:33:30,020 --> 00:33:33,280 I was able to, uh... get a sense of his soul. 268 00:33:35,660 --> 00:33:37,620 What did you sense when he was saying that? 269 00:33:46,710 --> 00:33:49,040 And on 9/11, you were one of the... 270 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:50,000 You were one of the first to call him 271 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,170 and offer him condolences and cooperation. 272 00:34:13,650 --> 00:34:16,740 When President Bush, invaded Afghanistan, uh, 273 00:34:16,740 --> 00:34:20,070 President Putin cooperated with the, uh, invasion 274 00:34:20,070 --> 00:34:23,700 and set up bases in the Caucasus and Eurasia, 275 00:34:23,700 --> 00:34:27,330 in order for the Americans to supply line Afghanistan. 276 00:34:52,820 --> 00:34:55,150 And continued to do so until recently. 277 00:35:13,340 --> 00:35:16,710 Russia has a long history in Afghanistan. 278 00:35:16,710 --> 00:35:20,380 So how come you guys did not figure out where Bin Laden was, 279 00:35:20,380 --> 00:35:23,850 and what was really happening with Bin Laden? 280 00:35:23,850 --> 00:35:26,140 Not just where he was, but... 281 00:35:26,140 --> 00:35:30,390 how weak the Al Qaeda base was at this point in Afghanistan. 282 00:36:14,150 --> 00:36:17,650 Bill Casey, director of the CIA under Ronald Reagan, 283 00:36:17,650 --> 00:36:19,610 made it a special effort 284 00:36:19,610 --> 00:36:22,150 to excite the Muslims 285 00:36:22,150 --> 00:36:25,700 in the Caucasus in Central Asia against the Soviet Union. 286 00:36:25,700 --> 00:36:29,910 His plan was bigger than just to defeat the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. 287 00:36:29,910 --> 00:36:34,290 His plan was basically regime change in the Soviet Union. 288 00:38:01,170 --> 00:38:04,090 In his mind, what was the most dangerous moment in the Chechen Wars? 289 00:38:04,090 --> 00:38:06,180 The first one, the second one? What years? 290 00:38:41,380 --> 00:38:44,050 The US support was covert. 291 00:38:44,050 --> 00:38:46,970 You say you have evidence that they were supporting the Chechens. 292 00:38:56,140 --> 00:39:00,810 I think the administration has adopted a hands-off attitude, 293 00:39:00,810 --> 00:39:03,480 repeating like a mantra that this is an internal Russian affair, 294 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:07,990 which in effect legitimated the Russian action. 295 00:39:07,990 --> 00:39:11,570 And then on top of it, senior administration spokesmen 296 00:39:11,570 --> 00:39:13,620 have engaged in a vilification of the Chechens. 297 00:40:26,820 --> 00:40:31,070 And, uh, all this while they're fighting the war against terror in Afghanistan? 298 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:36,910 It seems like contradictory behavior, and strange behavior. 299 00:40:42,540 --> 00:40:45,540 I guess the letter is top secret, so, it's not available for viewing? 300 00:40:57,600 --> 00:40:58,560 Today we welcome 301 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:02,520 Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, 302 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:04,940 finally erasing the boundary line the Cold War 303 00:41:04,940 --> 00:41:08,440 artificially imposed on the continent of Europe, 304 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:11,990 strengthening an alliance that now clearly 305 00:41:11,990 --> 00:41:14,450 is better preserved to keep the peace 306 00:41:14,450 --> 00:41:17,950 and preserve our security into the 21st century. 307 00:41:17,950 --> 00:41:21,450 Our goal is to help to build a Europe 308 00:41:21,450 --> 00:41:24,830 that is undivided, free, 309 00:41:24,830 --> 00:41:29,000 democratic, at peace, and secure. 310 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,960 Today we proudly welcome 311 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:34,090 Bulgaria... 312 00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:37,220 Estonia... 313 00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:39,890 Latvia... 314 00:41:40,430 --> 00:41:42,140 Lithuania... 315 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:46,150 Romania... 316 00:41:46,150 --> 00:41:48,020 Slovakia... 317 00:41:48,020 --> 00:41:49,020 and Slovenia. 318 00:41:51,820 --> 00:41:52,860 We welcome them into the ranks 319 00:41:52,860 --> 00:41:55,950 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 320 00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:02,540 This is a special moment 321 00:42:02,540 --> 00:42:06,750 in the hopeful story of human liberty, 322 00:42:06,750 --> 00:42:10,290 as America formally declares its support for Albania 323 00:42:10,290 --> 00:42:11,840 and Croatia's entry into NATO. 324 00:42:14,380 --> 00:42:16,010 What I've heard from Mr. Gorbachev 325 00:42:16,010 --> 00:42:19,470 as well as American officials, including James Baker, 326 00:42:19,470 --> 00:42:22,510 there was a, a deal with the Soviet Union 327 00:42:22,510 --> 00:42:23,720 not to expand NATO eastward. 328 00:42:56,380 --> 00:42:58,340 So this was a clear violation. 329 00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:34,590 And right now the Warsaw Treaty has faded into oblivion. 330 00:43:34,590 --> 00:43:36,630 There is no Soviet Union. 331 00:46:51,450 --> 00:46:53,700 Under the rules of NATO, I believe you'd have to share 332 00:46:53,700 --> 00:46:56,000 all your nuclear information with the United States. 333 00:47:14,970 --> 00:47:16,100 Yeah. Right. 334 00:47:29,240 --> 00:47:31,200 Right. 335 00:47:49,220 --> 00:47:52,340 The old Soviets were always very realistic about American policy. 336 00:47:52,340 --> 00:47:54,550 They always tried to understand the intentions of the Americans. 337 00:47:54,550 --> 00:47:59,560 I don't know if those think tanks still exist here. I would imagine they do, 338 00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:02,690 that Mr. Putin gets very accurate assessments about 339 00:48:02,690 --> 00:48:04,150 what United States' intentions are. 340 00:48:48,820 --> 00:48:51,400 Has this ever stopped? 341 00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:54,780 Has this attitude of the US ever stopped, 342 00:48:54,780 --> 00:48:56,240 that they had an enemy in Russia? 343 00:48:56,240 --> 00:49:00,910 Whether it was Communism or whether it was Putinism 344 00:49:00,910 --> 00:49:03,410 or whether it was any form, it was just the concept of an enemy. 345 00:50:18,490 --> 00:50:20,030 It raises the question of, 346 00:50:20,030 --> 00:50:23,040 you know, the broader question, of what is the US policy? 347 00:50:23,040 --> 00:50:23,750 What is its strategy in the world? 348 00:50:23,750 --> 00:50:25,830 In the whole world? 349 00:50:37,340 --> 00:50:42,140 Well, uh, I can state it for you, and you can argue with me. 350 00:50:42,140 --> 00:50:44,430 That's one thing, I could say I think 351 00:50:44,430 --> 00:50:46,890 or many learned people think that US strategy 352 00:50:46,890 --> 00:50:50,730 right now is to destroy the Russian economy, 353 00:50:50,730 --> 00:50:53,530 bring it back to 1990s' levels. 354 00:50:53,530 --> 00:50:56,700 And change the leadership of Russia. 355 00:50:56,700 --> 00:51:00,120 Make a new ally out of Russia for the United States, 356 00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:04,540 and basically, dominate Russia, as they once did. 357 00:51:04,540 --> 00:51:07,500 And perhaps did not... they feel they did not go far enough 358 00:51:07,500 --> 00:51:10,330 and take your nuclear arsenal away from Russia. 359 00:51:51,250 --> 00:51:55,550 I understand that Russia will not give up. 360 00:51:55,550 --> 00:51:57,920 They will go to the end on this economy. Under Stalin, 361 00:51:57,920 --> 00:52:00,470 they gave their jewelry. 362 00:52:00,470 --> 00:52:02,930 They gave their personal possessions down to their last dollar 363 00:52:02,930 --> 00:52:05,390 to support the government against the Nazis. 364 00:53:28,850 --> 00:53:31,390 We have the US elections in this year, 365 00:53:31,390 --> 00:53:33,600 and none of these issues, 366 00:53:33,600 --> 00:53:36,730 uh, the environment, fixing our alliances 367 00:53:36,730 --> 00:53:38,610 has even been discussed one time. 368 00:53:38,610 --> 00:53:42,190 Everything in the election rhetoric has been 369 00:53:42,190 --> 00:53:45,740 get tough, be tougher, build up our military again, 370 00:53:45,740 --> 00:53:48,410 and in addition to that... 371 00:53:48,410 --> 00:53:51,410 And that goes for both sides, that includes Hillary Clinton, 372 00:53:51,410 --> 00:53:56,830 who's most definitely become a neoconservative, a hawk, 373 00:53:56,830 --> 00:53:58,500 strong policies against Russia. 374 00:53:58,500 --> 00:54:01,460 She was certainly for the Syrian intervention, and so forth. 375 00:54:01,460 --> 00:54:05,510 And we have to send a very clear message to Putin 376 00:54:05,510 --> 00:54:07,890 that this kind of belligerence, 377 00:54:07,890 --> 00:54:10,180 this kind of testing of boundaries 378 00:54:10,180 --> 00:54:12,390 will have to be responded to. 379 00:54:12,390 --> 00:54:16,100 In addition to that, the Pentagon has announced recently, 380 00:54:16,100 --> 00:54:20,900 this new general has announced that Russia is the number one threat to the United States. 381 00:54:20,900 --> 00:54:24,400 He's been very forceful in those statements. 382 00:54:24,400 --> 00:54:28,280 If you want to talk about a nation that could pose 383 00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:29,160 an existential threat to the United States, 384 00:54:29,160 --> 00:54:30,660 I'd have to point to Russia. 385 00:54:30,660 --> 00:54:33,750 If you look at their behavior, it's nothing short of alarming. 386 00:57:14,410 --> 00:57:14,820 Do you ever see him? 387 00:57:14,820 --> 00:57:16,910 Yeah. 388 00:57:32,590 --> 00:57:34,590 He has an opinion of his own and some things...