Putin's choices in Ukraine: Former top Pentagon official Mike Vickers weighs in - "Intelligence Matters"
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In this episode of "Intelligence Matters," host Michael Morell speaks with Mike Vickers, former undersecretary of defense for intelligence and a former Special Forces officer and CIA operations officer. Vickers and Morell discuss whether and how Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine may have been a gross strategic miscalculation, how and when the West might have deterred his moves, and what future scenarios for the conflict exist. They discuss Putin's options and decision-making and how his pariah status will affect developments domestically and globally.
Highlights
Russia's military performance to date: "He's really in a no-win situation. I mean, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Territorial Defense Forces are way overperforming and Russia's forces are way underperforming. They haven't been able to take any major cities. Its forces have been repelled and pushed back in several places. They haven't even been able to achieve air superiority after four days of war. You know, in short, Ukrainian David is just kicking the crap out of the Russian Goliath."
Rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife are making end-of-life preparations for their 3-year-old son after he was found unconscious in a creek, a close family friend said in updates posted on social media and confirmed to CBS affiliate KUTV. The boy had been playing on his tractor before he ended up in the water and a mile downstream.
The launch of Boeing's star-crossed Starliner spacecraft on its first piloted test flight is slipping to at least June 1 to give engineers more time to assess a small-but-persistent helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system, and its potential impact across all phases of flight, NASA announced Wednesday.
Washington — As former President Donald Trump's "hush money" criminal trial in New York proceeds to closing arguments next week, the legal focus is moving south. His attorneys and longtime aide Walt Nauta appeared before Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, where they sparred with prosecutors during two contentious, day-long hearings on Wednesday.