Morning Joe - Morning Joe 9/12/22

Episode Date: September 12, 2022

Ukraine recaptures territory from Russian forces in Kharkiv

My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, We gather today in remembrance of the remarkable span of the Queen's dedicated service to her nations and peoples. While very young, Her Late Majesty pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the precious principles of constitutional government which lie at the heart of our nation. kept with unsurpassed devotion. She set an example of selfless duty, which, with God's help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow. King Charles makes his first address to Parliament since taking the throne. We're looking at live pictures now of his motorcade headed to Edinburgh as the remembrance of Queen Elizabeth continues. The new monarch quoted Shakespeare when talking about his late mother, Queen Elizabeth. We'll have more of his comments and all the funeral arrangements just ahead. Plus, Ukraine raises its flag following a major victory in

the country's second largest city. Some experts are calling it the worst loss for Russian forces since the Kiev retreat began back in March. Also ahead, the latest in the legal fight over documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. We will have the latest on all of those legal developments. Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It is Monday, September 12th. With us, we have U.S. special correspondent for BBC News, Katty Kay, the host of way too early White House beer chief at Politico, Jonathan Lemire, and president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haass, just back from Ukraine, and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis.

He is MSNBC's chief international analyst. And we'll begin right there with the war in Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are claiming major victories on the battlefield after recapturing large parts of territories in eastern Ukraine. Local officials say Ukrainian troops on Saturday took back the strategic city of Izyum, areas around the country's second largest city, Kharkiv, forcing Russian forces to retreat. Russia initially claimed it was pulling back to regroup. However, Moscow yesterday acknowledged that it had lost nearly all of the northern parts of Kharkiv. Ukraine's commander in chief says their forces have retaken more than 1,000 square miles

of the land since the counteroffensive began at the beginning of the month. That is more area than Russian forces have captured in all of their operations in Ukraine since April. Remarkable. Videos from Kharkiv yesterday showed local residents celebrating and hugging Ukrainian troops. Analysts say the fast-moving Ukrainian offensive shows that the tide of the war is shifting. Meanwhile, The New York Times reporting that Russia's performance has prompted discontent among pro-Kremlin bloggers and staunch Vladimir Putin loyalists, creating new challenges for the Russian president. Joe, this feels like a turning point. Well, it is. I mean, it certainly is a turning point at a critical time before

winter sets in. You can be certain that Russia is going to try at some point their own counter offensive and we'll see what happens there. But but as far as this stage of the war, it Admiral, as you said several weeks ago, winter is coming. A successful Ukrainian counteroffensive absolutely necessary before everybody's frozen in place by the long Russian and Ukrainian winter. So if you could tell us how these victories fit in and just give us the scope and the impact of these advances by the Ukrainians. I think they're very significant, Joe. And, you know, you reach back and look at other wars. Think about the Korean War. At the beginning of that war, the North Koreans had massive advances, pushed the South Koreans and the U.S. allies all the way to a tiny corner of what is today South Korea, the landing at Incheon kind of came around behind them and created a new circumstance on the battlefield. So, yeah,

I think this is pivotal. We'll know more in the days and weeks ahead, of course. But four quick points. One, tactically, this is really hurting the Russians in all the ways Mika mentions, but also it's the loss of manpower, the loss of morale as they watch this unfold, the Russian troops. Operationally, what the Ukrainians have showed us is they can conduct a complex dual front, if you will, offensive set of operations using combined arms very effectively. Thirdly, strategically, think how this is playing today in Beijing, where they're in preparations for the big meeting with Xi and Putin and how this is being portrayed there. They're going to try and make it look better than it is. And then fourth and finally, and I think most obviously,

huge psychological uplift for the Ukrainians. Look at that flag flying. Look at the faces of those people. As as one would say about war, the morale is to material the equipment as three as one. This is a pretty good moment for the Ukrainians. So, Admiral, you mentioned MacArthur's brilliant landing at Inchon. That obviously was just a strategic move, brilliance that caught the communists off guard. I'm curious, what happened here? How did we have such a decisive turning point and such a rapid collapse by Russian forces? I would point to three things, Joe. The first was a brilliantly executed campaign of misdirection. Everyone was talking about the coming offensive in the south. It was going to be focused on Kherson. It was going to be

cutting off the Crimean Peninsula. And by the way, that is moving forward. But that was all the Ukrainians talked about. Meanwhile, they were preparing for this strike in the north and in the east. Secondly, you're really seeing now the heavy, heavy impact of the Western equipment going into this. That is very significant. And then thirdly, the the moment at which the Russian troops start to see the walls close in on them. You really feel that, you know, armies are like people. They get scared. They find themselves in moments when all of a sudden all you want to do is turn around and run. And these

are Russian troops, many conscripts among them. Second tier, a lot of them have been killed, maybe 80,000 killed and wounded. This is not a red badge of courage moment. These troops are going to start rolling out. I think that's going to accelerate in the days ahead. So, Richard Haass, there's obviously more help potentially on the way, a request for more aid from the U.S. This aid has obviously been at least in part helpful in terms of the Ukrainian success. And there's some conservative groups pushing lawmakers to vote against that. So while that happens here, I'm curious what your reflections are from the latest news out of Ukraine and how well they are doing from on the ground there. Well, the obvious reality is, as the Admiral was saying, is they're

doing well in this part of the country. It's still less than 1% of all the land that Russia occupies of Ukraine. I think we have to be a little bit careful not to get too forward on our skis. I think it's a little bit dangerous to extrapolate as much as we'd all like to from this military success in the Kharkiv region to the rest of the country, to Odessa, to Crimea, and the rest. We've got a long ways to go. There's three months before winter. I think what's significant about this, and President Zelensky was quite explicit on this

at this meeting I was at, that it's important over the next three months to do things like this, to gain some momentum, because the feeling is this will help lock in European support. They're very worried as the Europeans go through a dark winter, the winter of our discontent, as he described it, that short of seeing military progress on the ground, they might become much more wobbly in their support of Ukraine. So a lot of this is not just about military advance. It's about shoring up Western support for Ukraine, getting them through a very difficult winter where Mr. Putin is going to turn off the taps. So I think that's one thing. My other big takeaway from the trip, and there's actually a different parallel to the Korean War

that Admiral Sterevich was alluding to. One of the things that happened in the Korean War is after the United States and the South Koreans and everybody else were pushed back by the North, we then came in after the Incheon Landon, liberated South Korea, and then we went North. And we went north of the 38th parallel, ultimately marched up near the Yalu River. China ended the war. Essentially what happened is we expanded our war aims, and that became extraordinarily costly. What is going on in Ukraine right now is a debate in which you see the war aims expanding. I was in a meeting, and people are talking about recovering every square inch of Ukrainian territory, every square inch.

They're talking about reparations, full economic reparations, full war crimes, accountability. Any agreement signed by Russia won't matter so long as Mr. Putin is in charge, i.e. we have to think about a post Putin relationship. What I'm saying is that part of the reaction to this military progress has been to raise Ukrainian definition of victory or success. Plus, the war itself has so hardened Ukraine. I went to Bucha. You can't go there and not be affected by what you see and what happened there. And that, too, has really hardened Ukraine. There is, Mika, zero disposition to compromise right now. So this war is still going to go on and on and on. If anything, the diplomatic prospects are more remote than they've ever been. Yeah. And you feel, Joe, that disposition from Zelensky all the way down to the

common Ukrainian citizen. You do. And of course, you wouldn't want them talking about a negotiated settlement, giving up large swaths of their land. At the same time, obviously, a time may come where both sides finally are exhausted and there will have to be compromises if this this very long could be very long running war is to come to an end. Katie Kay, let's let's ask you about Europe's resolve. Richard brought it up. We had actually brought up some some hard right groups in Washington. Think tanks are starting to try to pressure Republican lawmakers to vote against the next Ukraine funding bill. That stands little chance of gaining much momentum right now. I think most Republican leaders, elected leaders, are firmly on the side of freedom,

firmly on the side of pushing back against Russian tyranny. What about Europe? Are you starting to pick up in your reporting and the BBC's reporting, perhaps some hesitation and staying with the Ukrainians through the winter? The concern has been, as you suggest, Joe, that it's going to be the winter and whether the high gas prices put pressure on European governments. Every European government is handling this slightly different. The UK, for example, is about to announce a big government package to try to limit the amount that ordinary residents are exposed in their energy bills. The French are suggesting that there should be a turndown

in heating so that they're capping the amount of heating that energy is being used over the next few weeks. Governments are intensely conscious of the impact of these high energy prices on their populations. And the risk then is that that spills out into some kind of fracturing of the European alliance. But we're not seeing it so far. So far, they're managing to hold together. Richard might know more. He's just come back. But that is the concern. All right. We have other news that we're following this morning. We want to get to before we go to break. We'll be talking that we're following this morning we want to get to before we go to break. We'll be talking about this throughout the show. The palace has announced

the schedule for the mourning period and the funeral arrangements for Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen will travel through Scotland on a journey to her final destination of London. Yesterday, the Queen's body was transported to the Palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh. Today, the Queen, the coffin, will move to St. Giles Cathedral. The royal family is expected to take part in that procession and service. The Queen's body will remain in Scotland until tomorrow when it will be moved to Buckingham Palace. On Wednesday, the Queen will be moved a final time to Westminster. She will remain there lying in state until the funeral next Monday. Members of the public will be allowed to see the coffin and pay their respects during that time. And at the top, we played for you some of

King Charles' first address to Parliament since taking the throne on Friday. He made his first public address as king, paying tribute to his mother, the queen, and speaking to his new role as head of the British monarchy. I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow. Throughout her life, Her Majesty the Queen, my beloved mother, was an inspiration, an example to me and to all my family. And we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother. Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept, and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.

As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation. And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom or in the realms and territories across the world, and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect and love as I have throughout my life. Katie Kay, for those who haven't followed the coverage of King Charles III since he was Prince Charles, the British tabloids have beaten him up pretty badly through the years, knocked him around. I must say, perhaps I was taking those expectations into that speech and other speeches he's delivered over the weekend. But I've got to say, after watching that speech, I was very impressed at his ability to read the lines, to hit the marks, to play the role every

bit as ably as an actor in The Crown. Charles, far more impressive in that moment than I expected. What's the reaction in Britain? Yeah, I mean, the tabloids you'll write in the past have beaten him up and he has given them, to be fair, a certain amount of fodder with which to beat him up. But the reaction over the course of the weekend to that speech and to the performance just now in Parliament as well has been universally well received. There has been, as you might expect, Joe, an outpouring of affection for the king because he has just lost his mother and because of his relationship with the queen who was so beloved herself. But there's also separate from that. People have been impressed and it's been remarked on in those very same tabloids that gave him a hard time, have remarked on that speech

that he gave, that recorded address to the British public. Look, this is a man who has lived his life being overshadowed. He was overshadowed by his mother. He was overshadowed by his wife, Diana. And then he was overshadowed by his children, William and Harry. And for the first time, really, here is King Charles stepping out into the spotlight and owning the spotlight himself. And in these moments that you see right here of him sitting in Parliament and addressing members of Parliament and all the pomp and ceremony that surrounded the proclamation of him becoming king over the course of the weekend, with each one of those incidents, he appears to grow more comfortable with the role of king that he has waited so long for.

He is no one else has had so much time to prepare themselves for becoming king. And it's interesting to watch him becoming more comfortable with the mantle of monarchy. And we will be covering the funeral, a commemoration of Queen Elizabeth, live from London in the coming days. Other news now, members of the Biden administration fanned out across the East Coast yesterday for memorial events marking 21 years since the September 11th attacks. In New York City, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff paid their respects to the more than 2,600 people killed there that day and more than 1,000 who have died in the years after,

after being exposed to dangerous toxins in the pit. About 300 miles away, just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, First Lady Jill Biden honored the 40 people killed when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field there. The First Lady was also joined by her sister, who is a flight attendant. And in Washington, President Biden mourned the close to 200 people killed when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. There, the president reflected on the way America united following the deadliest terror attack in world history. In the midst of these dark days, we dug deep.

We cared for each other. We came together. You know, we regained the light by reaching out to one another and finding something all too rare, a true sense of national unity. To me, that's the greatest lesson of September 11. Hard to imagine, Admiral Stavridis. It's been 21 years. I was a young reporter in New York City that day. I was at ground zero in the days ahead. And even now, two decades on, the skyline doesn't look quite right. And certainly, it's still a very hard day for many. But let's have you weigh in on what the president said

there, this idea of national unity and purpose that came for the aftermath of the attacks. The world's changed a lot in those 21 years. Do you think this nation still has it in us to summon that strength of resolve and unity again for another upcoming challenge, whatever that might be? Well, having lived through 9-11 in the Pentagon, and I was on the side of the building that was struck by the aircraft, I actually caught a glimpse of the airplane. I was about 150 feet off the impact point. And in the immediate aftermath of that terrible moment, we were all trying to do whatever we could until the heroes of the day showed up, the first responders. In that moment, Jonathan, there really was a sense of not only we're going to come together, there was a sense of real purpose and I would say real anger.

What has happened here? We cannot let this stand. And so we went to war. To your question, which is the right one to ask, when you contrast almost a million dead in the pandemic and the way it has riven the country and not brought us together, you can begin to feel perhaps we can't recapture that. But I'm optimistic and I think most Americans are optimistic. And I point and I'll conclude here at the the way in which the response to Ukraine has really crossed party lines. What's the only city in the world, trivia question, that Mitch McConnell and the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, had visited? That would be key. And so we can do this. And I think that our response to this

kind of activity in Ukraine and the horrors that Richard spoke about a moment ago can help unify us again. So let's be optimistic as Americans, even as we look at a terrible day in our past. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Sabretas, thank you. And Richard Haas, same question to you. Do you think he's a sort of ground zero for democratic values and that fight? And of course, your reflections on 9-11 21 years later. Well, 9-11, I was in all places. I was in Ireland. I was literally in the office of the prime minister.

I was the U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process at the time. And I remember standing with him. We got the words of the first attack. We watched the second plane on television, went out and did a press conference. And that night, of all places, Mika, I traveled to Belfast, the city that in my generation was synonymous with the word terrorism. And it was just it just felt incongruous. And, you know, I remember speaking to Colin Powell about how we needed to respond and so forth. And that was that was, you know, that day. Here we are 21 years later. I'd like to agree with Jim Stavridis.

I think it's tougher now, though. I think it's tougher in part because of social media, the suspicion, the conspiracy theories. I think it's harder to bring this country together. I don't think crisis is quite the automatic glue or motivator in our society that it used to be. I think we've learned that. That said, all sorts of things still matter. Leadership still matters. Religious leaders matter. Parents matter. The society can't come together. I just think we have to understand it's not automatic. We can't be passive. If we want the society to come together from the top and from the bottom. Participate in it. Exactly. Good things don't just happen. Good things happen when good people work together to make them happen. And that's from leadership at the top. And we were lucky, I think, on 9-11

at George W. Bush rose to the occasion. I think Joe Biden has risen to the occasion on Ukraine, but also from the bottom. I think all of us have a role to play. And that, to me, is the big lesson of 9-11. All right. We're going to turn now quickly to sports over the weekend. The 2022 U.S. Open is in the books with Carlos Alcaraz winning the men's championship last night. The 19 year old from Spain defeated Norway's Kasper Ruud in four sets for his first Grand Slam title. He's also now the youngest man to ever be number one in the ATP rankings. On the women's side, top ranked Iga Spiatek earned her third major title in the first at the U.S. Open in a straight set victory over Anz Yebor on Saturday. She's Polish. She is, but you left out one important thing in the sports. What's that? The undefeated New York Giants.

Oh, my goodness. What is this? He thinks he's the golf reporter. Now he's the football reporter. Just saying. Just won't be able to say that for long. And I thought I just wanted to get it. You got it.

New York Giants. It's a rare. You got it in. OK, still ahead. I'm morning, Joe. Former President Trump and the Justice Department have each proposed candidates to serve as special master in the review of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago. NBC's Ken Delaney joins us for the very latest on that. Plus, a judge tosses out former President Trump's lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and some former FBI officials. We'll take

a look at the judge's scathing ruling. Also this morning, President Biden will give an update today on his cancer moonshot initiative. It comes on the 60th anniversary of former President John F. Kennedy's famous moonshot speech. You're watching Morning Joe. We'll be right back. Twenty nine past the hour. Live with Washington in a foggy morning time to get up. Both the Justice Department and lawyers for former President Donald Trump submitted a list of candidates to serve as a court appointed third party or special master to examine the documents seized during the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago last month. The DOJ is suggesting two former federal district judges, Barbara Jones is a Clinton appointee and Thomas Griffith, who is a George W. Bush appointee. The Trump legal team is suggesting retired federal district court judge

and Reagan appointee Raymond Deary. The other, former Deputy Attorney General in Florida, Paul Huck Jr. It comes as the Justice Department gave Judge Aileen Cannon until Thursday to restore the government's access to classified materials seized at Mar-a-Lago. Otherwise, the DOJ says it plans to appeal to a higher court in the interest of national security. Let's bring in NBC News justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Delaney. And Ken, how long can they go back and forth disagreeing on who the special special master is? And can this DOJ appeal overrule all of that? Good morning, Mika.

It could. And today is an important day because the judge has given the Trump side until 10 a.m. this morning to respond with a brief to the Justice Department's appeal and their request that she stay part of her order. In terms of the special masters, it's really interesting. There were three sort of non-controversial candidates, former federal judges. And then there's this one that the Trump side put forward, Paul Huck, who is not a former former federal judge. He is a member of the Federalist Society. And his wife was appointed to the 11th Circuit by President Trump. The 11th Circuit is the circuit that would hear any appeal in this case. So a lot of legal experts are saying he has a conflict of interest. But the other the other person put forward by the Trump side, Raymond Deary, some people are saying the DOJ should take that name because he's a

respected former federal judge in New York. But you're absolutely right. At the end of the day, this special master situation could become moot because what the Justice Department had made clear in their request to the judges, what they really care about here are the 100 classified documents that they seized at Mar-a-Lago. They're happy. I mean, they're not happy. They disagree with the special master idea, but they're willing to allow a special master to review the thousands of other documents seized, including Trump's health records and tax records. But they argue that these 100 classified documents should not be viewed by a special master. They're already in a special room right now. And they're saying that it's a matter of national security, that they need access to those right now as part of their FBI investigation.

And the damage assessment that the DNI was doing into whether sources and methods were compromised, that's on hold right now because of this judge's order. So we await the Trump side's response to that at 10 a.m. Hey, Ken, good morning. It's Jonathan. A question that I get a lot and have received a lot in the last month or so since the Mar-a-Lago search is one that I'm now going to pose to you is that we know that the FBI searched this property. Donald Trump, of course, has lots of other properties. And people are wondering, well, why hasn't there been a search of Bedminster that we know of? Why hasn't there been one of Trump Tower? Why haven't there been one of his other golf courses across the country? Walk us through what would require, how that would happen, how DOJ would give the okay, what they would need to give the okay

to do one of these other searches. And is there any suggestion that they're working on it? It's a great question, Jonathan. And obviously, we don't know the inner workings of this investigation. But what's required is more than just a theory that some evidence might be at a place. They need actual hard evidence. And in the case of this Mar-a-Lago search, they had witnesses who were telling them that not only was there classified information there, but that they were misled, that they were lied to essentially by the Trump side. And they and that's all blacked out in the affidavit. But we're aware that it exists. And they use that to go to a judge and say, judge, we need to do a search. A search is a

very intrusive thing, right? You're you're trampling someone's Fourth Amendment rights, but for a good reason, because you have evidence that there is evidence of a crime is at this location. Absent that, like, for example, there's a there's a social media theory going around. There's some there's some video of Trump aides loading boxes onto a private jet heading for Bedminster. And I have to say, I mean, when I first saw that on Twitter over the weekend, I thought, oh, another conspiracy theory. The more you look at it, the more it's pretty disturbing. I mean, these banker boxes are the same kinds of boxes that the classified documents were found in. But absent any other kinds of evidence, they would need witnesses telling them, yes, there were classified documents in those boxes and they were taken to Bedminster.

They're not just going to do it based on a video or on a theory, Jonathan. All right. NBC News justice correspondent Ken Delaney. And thank you very much. Time now for a look at the morning papers in Maine. The Portland Press Herald reports that Portland public schools have seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism since the onset of the covid pandemic. According to a new report, nearly 25 percent of students missed at least 10 percent of school days last year. That is more than a five percent jump compared to student absentee rates four years ago. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that a Georgia man who was pardoned by former President Trump is now suing the state to reclaim all of the restitution money he paid as part of his sentence. John Duncan Fordham,

a former pharmacist, spent four years in federal prison after a health care fraud conviction. He was ordered to return one million dollars to the state and insurance company he defrauded. At the time of his pardon in January 2021, Fordham had already paid more than $500,000 in restitution. To the Arizona Republic, which leads with the rise in police shootings in the state's capital. New figures show the number of shootings involving officers of the Phoenix Police Department so far this year has exceeded the department's total for all of 2021. The department has so far reported three more shootings compared to last year. The figures also show an increase in violent crimes in Phoenix, which has spiked nearly 3% compared to 2021. Let's go to Kentucky. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that health regulators have issued an advisory for residents to limit their

fish intake from lakes and rivers due to contamination by chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. The chemicals have been found on fish tissue from several waterways in the state. Kentucky joins a number of other states with advisory limits on eating fish due to the chemical, including Michigan, Maine and New York. And in New Jersey, the record reports that housing advocates are leading a renewed push to kill the one-time real estate payment known as the broker's fee. The push comes amid reports of egregious broker's fees with some as high as $20,000 for rent-stabilized apartments. The must-read opinion pages are next, including a piece in The New York Times calling out Republicans who stay silent about Trump's big lie that the election was stolen and an editorial from the Las Vegas Sun that takes a look at Queen Elizabeth's legacy

and how it can be a lesson for all of us, even here in America. Morning Joe. Joe, it's 42 past the hour. Live look at Buckingham Palace, where the country is preparing to say goodbye to their queen. Let's look at the must read opinion pages. The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes about the Ukraine taking the offensive, saying, quote, Ukraine's counteroffensive against invading Russian forces is an important turn in the war, though not without peril, as Vladimir Putin calculates how to respond. In less than a week, Ukrainian forces have retaken some 3,000 square kilometers from the Russian invaders. That's more Ukrainian territory than Russia has seized since April. Ukraine's advances raised the stakes for Putin. The Russian is capable of anything.

He could engage NATO forces in some fashion that he would blame on the West and use to justify a military draft. Russia's use of chemical and tactical nuclear weapons also can't be ruled out. And, Joe, that's that's sort of the the moving part here. Russia doesn't seem to have any limits or boundaries to what they would do. And there's right now the concern about a nuclear explosion, given the fighting happening happening so clear, so near to a nuclear power plant. Well, I mean, that's what's so important to recognize right now, that there are apparently some boundaries that Vladimir Putin is containing himself within, even though he has committed war crimes since the beginning of this war. There is a possibility,

Richard Haass, of nuclear or biological or chemical weapons being used against the Ukrainians. There is a possibility, Richard Haass, of nuclear or biological or chemical weapons being used against the Ukrainians. There's a possibility of a draft. There are many possibilities. More things, even though, again, what he's done thus far has been heinous, he still has more options, even more bleak options to unleash on the Ukrainian people. So that's why when you tell me about this no holds barred attitude regarding any negotiations, any talks coming from the Ukrainians, it does cause a concern because I will say now what we said at the beginning of this, this war, you know, it's the best interest of Ukraine, the best interest of Russia, the best interest of Europe, the best interest of the world

for this fighting to stop. And of course, it has to be done in a way that that respects the wishes of the Ukrainian people. At the same time, there needs to be a realistic path out of this war. And it doesn't sound like right now, either side, based on your reporting, that either side is prepared to do that. It's exactly right, Joe. The situation is not set up. It's not ripe. Ukrainians are not inclined to compromise. And Putin, I think, is worried that if he if he settles for too little, if he's compromised, it'll be seen back at home as a as a sign of weakness. And who knows what a sign of weakness might might might lead to. So I think the most likely situation is he digs in.

He could also escalate in all the ways that you just talked about, either target selection, sending more forces, introducing chemical or nuclear. He's got a range of options. And he also thinks that time is on his side. And that's why, again, this winter, you're going to see enormous pressure on European governments and Ukraine. One thing we didn't talk about is the Ukraine economy is hurting. It's down probably over 30 percent. The currency is down a quarter against the dollar. Inflation is over 20 percent. So, again, Ukraine needs significant economic help. And I think what Putin is basically counting on is he can bear pain better than either Europe or Ukraine. I'm not sure that's right, but that's why, again, I don't think either side is inclined to make any near-term compromises. Let's look at what the Las Vegas Sun editorial board is saying.

Queen Elizabeth's legacy is a lesson for all of us, even in America. Quote, while there are many fair critiques of her leadership and actions, Queen Elizabeth II modeled how a symbolic leader can shape society by balancing the interests of stability and conservative tradition with the need to evolve and improve to meet current realities. There are lessons the U.S. could benefit from. There is a time for tradition and decorum. There is a time for nonconformity and breaking with tradition. But in all things, we should carry ourselves with dignity and steady composure. And Joe, she certainly did. I just when when I think of the queen, I actually I think of Russell Kirk

and a book that I've had for decades called The Conservative Mind. And Russell Kirk, of course, was was a conservative thinker that that led to Bill Buckley. But Kirk wrote, but the impulse to improve and the impulse to conserve are necessary to the healthy functioning of any society. Whether we, he's speaking of conservatives, join our energies to the party of progress or the party of permanence must depend upon the circumstances of the time. And, and, Katty Kay, that is something that Queen Elizabeth II constantly was weighing. And that looking back over 70 years, she did pretty darn well. It's the notion of changing in order to stay the same.

And that is where she changed when she felt that it was necessary to do so in order to protect the monarchy. Her whole life was really dedicated to protecting this institution that she was thrust into, not by choice, not actually by birth. She had not been destined to be queen. And yet her whole life was really revolved around the premise that she was going to protect the monarchy. She almost saw it not as herself, but as an institution that she was protecting. And that's why she did it so ferociously. And as herself, but as an institution that she was protecting. And that's why she did it so ferociously. And as you say, Joe, I think she did it really well. That is what Brits are celebrating this week. I think that is why we have seen this outpouring, perhaps unexpected outpouring of universal approval. It is about the woman we are watching

on the screen right now. Yeah, absolutely. Yes, that's a look at the must read opinion pages. We will have more later in the show. Still ahead, football is back. We'll have the highlights, Richard, from week one of the NFL. And if you have a fantasy league, you know the name Matthew Barry. He joins us next. Baby, baby, baby, please keep me. One victory for Pittsburgh surprised everybody walking into Orchard Park and getting the win. Burrow, fires, intercepted! Picked off at a pick six! Lamar winding up, going deep for Bateman! He's got him! Touchdown!

Fields keeps it alive as a wide open Pettis! And now Pettis down the sideline and in Wentz deep drop pressure on gets rid of it sideline throw he's got Terry McClellan and that's a Washington commander touchdown Cousins over the middle how is he that widefferson again inside the 10 lunging for the end zone touchdown on second and ten on the blitz loose ball inside the five to the end zone touchdown dolphins under pressure caught hit as he throws it was deflected by kaiser white and james bradbury has his first Philadelphia pick, and it's a pick six. James, the motion man. Shovel.

Barkley. Breaks a tackle. Dives in for two. Wow. Those are some of the biggest scoring plays from winning teams on the first Sunday of the NFL regular season. Who would have ever believed the Jets would actually lose? And in the Sunday night game, a victory for the first 45-year-old starting quarterback in league history.

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers dominate the Dallas Cowboys 19-3 in their season opener. The Cowboys also lost their starting quarterback, Dak Prescott. He's going to need surgery for a fracture near the thumb on his throwing hand. Ouch. After injuring it during a pass in the fourth quarter. Prescott is expected, unfortunately, to miss six to eight weeks. Let's bring right now the fantasy football guru for NBC Sports, Matthew Barry. He's part, of course, of Football Night in America and host of Fantasy Football Happy Hour on Peacock.

So great to have you here. What are your takeaways from the first week? I mean, first off, I mean, I think you just mentioned right there. That's a big story, right? It's Dak Prescott, one of the stars of the league and a team that had Super Bowl aspirations, losing their quarterback for possibly two months. To me, that's a big one. And then obviously some of the upsets i think were

were surprising the giants winning against the titans at home brian dayball going for two there at the end gutty call there the the fact that the colts and the texans tied the colts had to battle back to get a tie with the colts the steelers beating the bangles and joe Burrow off of a Super Bowl appearance last year, having five turnovers and a loss to the Steelers. So, yeah, pretty crazy week one. Hey, Matthew Berry. It's Jonathan Lemire. Welcome to NBC.

I've listened to you for years. You'll be happy to know my teams went one and one this weekend. And though I'm tempted to just ask you questions about Tom Brady, I will not. Instead, I will talk about another superstar quarterback, one who didn't make that many headlines this offseason, Patrick Mahomes. He didn't miss Tyreek Hill yesterday. He had 360 yards and five touchdowns. To your estimation, are Chiefs, you know, between them and then the Bills with an impressive win Thursday night, are those the two best teams in football and where should we look for them rematch in January? Well, certainly it's early, right? It's just week one. But when you have great quarterbacks, that's a big start. And Mahomes and Allen playing as well

as any quarterbacks in the NFL. To your point, sometimes you see somebody like Tyreek Hill, it's not a good thing. He's a very talented player, but it opens up the offense. Suddenly the quarterback doesn't have to feed just tyree kill mahomes is one of the best quarterbacks if not the best quarterback in the nfl and andy reeds is going to play callers that has been in the history of the league so i'm not surprised to see them come out smoking and you're right josh allen just put on the display uh in the in the rams home the super bowl champion Rams, just absolutely a clinic in Los Angeles. So those two teams, I think, are certainly,

along with the Buccaneers and Tom Brady, make no mistake, the Bucs, despite being down a couple of guys and injuries on their offensive line, dominated Dallas on Sunday night. Now, please, please don't encourage Lemire anymore than he's already encouraged to talk about Brady all day. Fantasy football expert for NBC Sports, Matthew Barry. Thank you so much. Great having you with us. And Richard Haas, enjoy your one week. Things will get worse for the

Giants. Oh, Joe, come on. Saquon Barkley, player of the week. Give some love. Okay. Okay. Thank you, Richard. After more than six months of war, Ukraine makes major strategic gains as Moscow's army retreats. Retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey joins us with his analysis of where things stand right now. And former ambassador to Russia Michael McFFaul, will join us with his thoughts on what's next for Vladimir Putin. We're back in two minutes.