russian troops and other pro-russian forces are gaining ground in crimea, accused of more bullying tactics, blocking international observers from entering the region, taking over a crimean military office and shooting at a ukraine plane. i'm joe jonhns. those are the headlines. fareed zakaria "gps" starts right now. >> this is "gps," the global public square. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. coming to you live from new york today. we'll start the show with the continuing crisis with russia. i will ask president obama's former national security adviser tom donilon what the president's options are at this hour. and to understand crimea, you have to understand its history and put the current crisis in context. we will do just that with a terrific panel.

also, israel's prime minister netanyahu finally came out for secretary of state john kerry's middle east peace efforts this week. but he faces intense opposition within his own country. in fact, within his own cabinet. i will talk to his economics minister, naftali bennett who tells us why his boss is wrong. the olympics reminds us of the agony of defeat. but is failure actually good for you? that's what a new book says. i will talk to its author. finally, i will bring you back to crimea, to the valley of the shadow of death. if you know the poem, "the charge of the light brigade" you will want to see these early war photos. but first, here's my take. inevitab inevitably, the crisis in ukraine has been discussed in washington, largely through the lens of political po lorization. it seems like any and every

topic is fodder for partisan dis putt, even the weather. especially the weather. many republicans arguing that vladimir putin intervened in crimea because of president obama's weakness. putin saw that obama didn't want to go to war in syria, for example, and this emboldened putin. well who knows, right? it's tough to know what would have happened in an alternative universe. imagine that we still had putten around in charge of russia but imagine he faced a different president, one who was tough, aggressive no compunctions about invading countries. wait, we ran that experiment in 2008. putin faced george w. bush, a president who had invaded afghanistan and iraq for good measure, in the latter case, defying massive international pressure and opposition, and yet, putin invaded georgia. and not as he did this time in a stealthy way with soldiers who were already there who switched

their uniforms, he sent in russian tanks, roaring into georgia, and without any referendums, simply annexed two pieces of that country. does this prove that bush was a wi wimpp after all? it doesn't. there has been some very good and careful scholarship by daryl press and jonathan mercer, among others, that looks at historical cases to figure out whether having a reputation for toughness actually deters your opponents from doing bad things like invading countries. in general, the answer is no. countries make these decisions based on many factors, but the most important ones seem to be a careful analysis of the power dynamics of the specific case. in ukraine, russia would ask, is this a vital interest of the united states. and what is washington's capacity to act in this particular situation. in other words, putin would look at hiss cards, washington's

cards and the specifics of the situation in ukraine rather than assuming because bush inviteded iraq he would defend georgia or because obama didn't invade syria he would do nothing about ukraine. politicians in washington are convinced that putin was encouraged by western weakness. it's actually quite possible that he, putin, felt he was acting to stop the west's growing strength. look at the situation from russian eyes. in 1991, moscow gave up its 75-year-old soviet empire. it also gave up large parts of its 300-year-old russian empire, including ukraine. since then, its historical rival, nato, has expanded closer and closer to moscow's borders and then the west encouraged ukrainians to take to the streets and depose their president who had close ties to moscow. none of this excuses aggression or justifies putin's response, but if we're going to find a political solution in ukraine

that will stick, we need to recognize that issues at stake are not personal, and that they are larger than obama's weakness and putin's paranoia. let's get started. in the midst of a crisis like crimea, the president's national security adviser is charged with keeping the president up to the minute on developments, advising the president how to proceed, and ensure that the president's decisions are actually carried out. until nine months ago that job belonged to my next guest, tom donilon. welcome back to the show, tom. >> thank you, fareed. good to see you. good morning. >> my impression is on the basis of some intelligence reports that we've heard about at cnn, that russian forces are consolidating their control over crimea. in fact, perhaps even poised to do more than that.

is that what you're hearing? and how dangerous is this? >> well, that's what i see as well. the russians have put in place a full occupation of crimea. they are intensifying their position there. they're reinforcing their position there. they've become much more aggressive. they turned away monitors from the osce and the u.n. yesterday again through firing shots. it's an exceedingly dangerous situation right now and you have a dynamic where you have ukraine soldiers on bases basically held hostage by russian soldiers. in a situation like that anything can happen, and i think it's just an exceedingly dangerous and tense situation right now because if you did have, god forbid, an exchange of fire, between ukraine and russian soldiers you would have a real escalation of this crisis. >> tom, you met with putin one on one several times. you spent hours with him the night before his inauguration in 2012. what kind of a man is he? >> well, he's a man for which

concepts like balance of power and spear of influence are real concepts. i think he's evolved in his view to have a zero sum view of international relations. he's tried to carve out a distinct russian foreign policy moved away from any integrative instinct of his foreign policy or of russia into the west in terms of political action. he is as i said, very focused on spears of influence. feels real threats you outlined in the top of your package today, the kinds of threats he views. sees conspiracy around most developments. certainly saw the west as a -- as behind the fall of ukraine moving to the west. and he had here a situation where he had a real threat to what he regards as a spear of influence, the former soviet republic, when ukraine did turn to europe, even a turn to open up association agreement or free trade agreement, even that moved

to the west was too much for putin. he has a stance, kind of a fanciful idea, he can build a our ray shan union to be a counter-point to the european union. he knows it would be impossible without ukraine. >> what does he plan for ukraine? it appears crimea is under his control. there would be a referendum so the de facto authority is then bolstered by some kind of de jour authority. is he presumably going to try to influence the rest of ukraine through various kinds of intelligence operations, money, things like that, bribing politicians? that has been what they've done in the past after all. >> i think that is. those are the sources of their influence. this is a full-fledged black op in ukraine right now with multiple elements to it, information warfare, military action, and political action including the putting on this referendum. what i think the goal here is to

get more influence in the situation, to regain leverage, to be able to influence ukraine's future and to, i fear, also to destabilize the situation and it also i think he wanted to put himself in a situation here to give him the most leverage in any negotiations that go forward. but this was -- i think he got back from the sochi olympics where they spent 50 billion trying to enhance the image of russia, had a real blow to what he considered his u.s. strategic interests. they acted to try to regain leverage in the situation as i said and being in a position here to perhaps to destabilize and undermine the new ukraine government. all the more important. >> tom, what can we do? if you were advising the president now? the europeans are probably almost certainly not going to go along with truly comprehensive sanctions because they get 30% of their natural gas from russia. there will be blackouts in europe without it. the united states is going to

get probably some partial sanctions which will be limited, perhaps it can do some things unilaterally. what are american options? >> i think we need a number of lines of effort here and i don't agree with the proposition there's not a lot we can do here. number one, we need to reinforce politically the interim government in kiev and embrace that government. i would have the next foreign governors meeting around this issue. second to support that government financially as it gets through the elections and beyond and the united states and europeans are doing that. third, to. the efforts of john kerry and chancellor merkel have tried to deescalate and reach some sort of solution. president obama and merkel have provided putin with an offer if he wants to take it. fourth, i think it's critical we continue to reinforce our nato commitment and reassure our nato partners and fifth, to show increased cost to putin for escalation. if he continues to escalate the

way we've seen, not taking any steps towards diplomatic resolution, i think you'll see the krueuropeans support the sanctions. i want to make one point here in terms of their analysis. putin can stand aside politically, try to carve out this defiant, if you will, posture to the world politically. he's obviously rejecting -- he was part of rejecting a u.n. observer and ose observer in crimea to have an objective look at what was going on. russia is a member of those organizations. he can strike this defiant pose. what russia can't do in a globalized economy, of course, is to isolate their economy. and that's i think really where the leverage is here. someone wrote in a column the other day, i think in "the new york times" that in 1968, of course, in august of 1968, the russians invaded czechoslovakia. but -- and there wasn't -- the question is, what happened to the russian stock market then? nothing happened because they didn't have a stock market. russia is integrated in the international economy right now and that's where the leverage is.

>> tom donilon, thank you very much. very important words. lots more ahead. we've got a great panel standing by to look more closely at russia's motivations in this crisis. i have some of the best russian experts in the world. there's a saying around here, you stand behind what you say. around here you don't make excuses. you make commitments. and when you can't live up to them, you own up, and make it right. some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where it's needed most. but i know you'll still find it when you know where to look. man: yeah, scott. i was just about to use the uh... scott: that's a bunch of ground-up paper, lad!

scotts ez seed uses the finest seed, fertilizer, and natural mulch that holds water so you can grow grass anywhere! looking good, lad! man: thanks, scott. ez seed really works! so, how come haggis is so well behaved? scott: 'cause he's a scotty. man: oh. scott: get scotts ez seed. it's guaranteed. seed your lawn. seed it! [ mthat if you wear a partial,w you're almost twice as likely to lose your supporting teeth? try poligrip for partials. poligrip helps minimize stress which may damage supporting teeth by stabilizing your partial. care for your partial. help protect your natural teeth. ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing really good around ♪ ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tired ♪ ♪ of living off the taste of the air ♪ ♪ turn around, barry ♪ finally, i have a manly chocolatey snack ♪

♪ and fiber so my wife won't give me any more flack ♪ ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ but with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer, worsening prostate symptoms, decreased sperm count, ankle, feet or body swelling, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing while sleeping and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count,

headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. ask your doctor about axiron. tthe will..., mobilizing to take on the world? you don't know "aarp." aarp and its foundation are taking on hunger with 29 million meals donated. drive to end hunger teams with local agencies to reach the hungriest among us. if you don't think feed the hungry when you think aarp, then you don't know "aarp." find more surprising possibilities and get to know us at aarp.org/possibilities. [ laughing ] ...is the crackle of the campfire. it can be a million years old... cool. ...or a few weeks young. ♪ [ laughs ] away beckons from orion's belt. away...is a place that's closer than you think.

find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com. let's get deeper into the crimeaen turmoil with chrystia freeland just back from kiev, she had a piece in yesterday's "new york times" entitled "russia has already lost the war." a former managing director of reuters, currently a member of

parliament in canada. stephen cohen study of politics at new york university and princeton university and stephen kotkin a professor of history at princeton and specializes in the history of russia and the soviet union. you're just back from kiev. one of the things you said in your piece that struck me was that people make this division in ukraine between those who speak ukrainians and those who speak russian and russian ethnics. you say that doesn't mean the people in the east, the russian ethnics, all want to be under the domination of russia. >> well that's absolutely right. i think that people make a lot of confusion about the linguistic situation in ukraine. ukraine is ethnically 7 % eth c ethnically ukrainian. only crimea has a majority ethnic population. all of ukraine is biling gal. almost no one in ukraine who doesn't speak and understand

russian and almost no one in ukraine who doesn't understand ukrainian. the ukrainian leadership today people like clich kov, these are people who are much more comfortable speaking russian than ukrainian. this notion there is this deep hostility towards the russian language, towards russian culture, ethnic russians in ukraine right now is not true. >> but you say that even those -- these russian speakers want to be part of the west? >> absolutely. and it's not -- the other thing i would say is what i was very struck by this week is for ukrainens this was less about a choice of the u.s. and russia, and more about a political choice, a belief and reality that the regime was deeply corrupt, was deeply violating of human dignity and in the end, murderous towards its own people. it was a rebellion against that and the perception which is the reality that in backi ining you

covich putin was supporting a suppression on human rights. >> can putin allow independent ukraine that is allied with the west, at least economically? is that something you believe a russian leader like putin could allow? >> including or without crimea. >> give him crimea. >> probably so but it would depend on the conditions. i'm struck by your introduction in the show. let me go back to that. i think we're two steps from a cuban missile crisis and three steps from war with russia for the first time. part of the problem is, as you pointed out, we don't hear what russia is saying. part of the reason for that is, is that anybody who tries to explain what russia is saying, it's called a putin apologist. we need to get a negotiation going on. we're told putin and obama are talking past each other.

you made the point over the last 20 years, we've moved nato right to russia's borders. ten years ago putin announced very clearly, i don't like nato on my borders but looking ahead i have two red lines. one is georgia, the former soev soviet republic. we crossed that red line he thinks and we've had a war. now he thinks we've crossed the red line elsewhere in ukraine. now that story requires us asking -- >> can i interrupt you? >> is it we crossed the line or the people of georgia and ukraine crossed it by wanting to be associated with the west? >> polls show chrystia is wrong. polls repeatedly have shown ukrainians are divided by this, the polls come up 43, 43 and the rest don't know. the point i would like to ask everybody and the president of the united states, does russia have any legitimate interest? is russia right in any way in its narrative? we have two conflicting

narratives of how we came to this crisis. putin wants us to go back to february 21st when the deal brokered by the u.n. foreign ministers was destroyed in the streets. but we can't turn history back. but he says that's where we need to talk. if we do that, i think negotiations can begin and i can imagine an outcome that would avoid war. s. >> steve, resolve this for us. history of ukraine/russia. is ukraine deeply divided and therefore is going to be potentially highly unstable, or is it at the end of the day a majority of ukrainians, particularly the next generation as chrystia is suggesting, really want to be part of the west? >> ukraine is a wreck. it does destroyed by ukrainian elites. every ukraine since 1991 has ripped off that country, ripped off everything that wasn't nailed down and then ripped off

everything that was nailed down. ukraine gives corruption a bad name. the economy has shrunk. soev yeets era economy is hard to measure because they don't have real prices, but the ukrainian economy today is smaller than it was in 1991. by any measure. the economy in poland is at least twice as big as it was in 1991. so ukraine is a basket case because of the ukrainian political class. that's the first and most important point i would like to make today. secondly, the eu was bluffing. the eu has nop appetite for additional eastern expansion. they were going towards ukraine because they felt they had something to do. but the idea that they were going to incorporate ukraine, give them a path to exsession, was a bluff. moreover, that bluff was taken seriously by the russianrussian. the russians have interest in ukraine. that's not the question.

is the putin regime defending or is it a criminal enterprise hurting russian interests in ukraine. that's the question for me. here's the fourth and final point. yanukovych won a real election in 2010. he won by half a million votes. he won crimea by a million votes. so yanukovych is president of ukraine because of the votes in crimea. now, this is not an attempt to justify, rationalize or approve the kind of aggressive action we've seen in breaking off crimea. but it fundamentally alters the domestic politics of ukraine and you can't get eastern ukraine alone to elect somebody from eastern ukraine without crimea anymore. >> we have to take a break. stephen cohen says we're two steps away from a cuban missile crisis. we will try to resolve it when we come back. more with the panel.

so our business can be on at&t's network for $175 a month? yup. all 5 of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans our best value plans ever for business. spcan go 795 highway milesen on a single tank. huh... so you could drive from los angeles all the way philadelphia with just three stops for fuel. that's just a hop, skip, and a jump. try that in another midsize sedan. it's more of a hop... a skip... a jump... a leap... maybe a schlep...

probably a hurdle... a little bit of a trek... avo: during the tdi clean diesel event, get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months. iwe don't back down. we only know one direction: up so we're up early. up late. thinking up game-changing ideas, like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. [ male announcer ] just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles. [ corrine ] super poligrip is part of my life now.

but something about spending this time together -- sailing past ancient glaciers in alaska -- makes you realize how old time is and how short life is. you can't get eastern ukraine e all the time she wants. princess cruises. come back new. [ female announcer ] plan your seven-day cruise from just $549. call your travel agent or 1-800-princess.

and we are back for more with chrystia freeland, stephen cohen and stephen kotkin.

chrystia, you were shaking your head before the break when stephen cohen was speaking about ukraine and the crucial issue is, is ukraine divided and the reason this is important is because, you know, are we dealing with some part of the population that would rather be part of russia's sphere or, as you seem to feel, most of the country really wanting to be part of the west? >> so, of course ukraine is divided. to democratic country is unanimous. but what is important to state is that there is no division in ukraine about legitimacy of yanukovych. it is striking that what happened -- >> the old president who was deposed, even though -- deposed in an extra constitutional manner. >> and actually what happened in the end was his regime melted away. he fled. and his armed supporters melted away. in parliament now, his former mps are strongly against him. so ukraine is united in reviling

yanukovych. in terms of the west and russia, the other thing that is crucial to point out is, prior to this moment, there was no separatist movements in any part of ukraine. you know, think about it, ukraine has been independent for more than 22 years. there was no transmeester, owe sed ya type movement even in crimea, the only part of ukraine that has a majority ethnic russian population. >> steve, i said that you said we were two steps from the cuban missile crisis. actually you said we're one step from the cuban missile crisis and two steps from war. why war? >> why war? there's clamor in europe and washington to move nato troops to the polish, west ukrainian border. this is an option being considered. two days ago, nato aircraft landed on polish airfields. i don't know what that means. if we, the west, move nato troops to that border, i am

guessing, educating guessing, putin will send the 150,000 troops he was practicing last week, into southern and eastern ukraine. that will be the cuban missile crisis plus, and you know how close we came to war. therefore, your point in your lead, is how do we get people to sit down -- and let me say one thing about this. putin doesn't trust or like obama. he thinks he's weak, irresolute and doesn't keep his word. putin trusts merkel, the chancellor of germany. merkel has to come into this and talk to both of these leaders now, today and i assume she is. >> stephen kotkin, last thoughts, we've got about a minute. >> what you've got here is finding a way for putin to climb down without losing face domestically in a way that is acceptable to the eu, the u.s., but above all to ukraine.

this goes into east asia. the russia are on their hands and knees begging the chinese to accept the de facto annexation of crimea should there be the ref ren double and should the referendum whose results will be falsified, report a majority in favor of annexation of russia. they're on their hands and knees, what do you want, we'll give you anything, gas at less than world prices. in east asia unsettled borders everywhere you look. the settlement of crimea and the ukrainian situation is absolutely critical going forward for the entire international system. especially east asia. >> chrystia, 30 seconds. you met with the ukrainian minister of economy. this strikes me as perhaps the world's most thankless job at this point. how is -- can ukraine survive economically? >> first of all he's a fan of your show. what they would like to do, if they don't have a war, is really radical economic reforms, starting with making the

government less corrupt. one of the first things they did is get rid of almost all the cars that the ministry had. the acting prime minister flew commercial economy class for his meeting to brussels. a big part of what they need to do. i agree with stephen, the ukrainian elites have been dreadful. what they would like to do if left to their own devices is form a normal transparent government. that's going to be hard enough. >> 15 seconds, stephen cohen, can ukraine survive independently if russia is against it? >> no. but there's no reason it should be faced with the either/or choice and that's what the european union did in november and brought on this crisis. >> lots more ahead on the show. israel's minister of economy will tell us why he disagrees with his bob, benjamin netanyahu on peace in the middle east. up next, what in the world? china has eased its one child policy and families are balking at having more kids. i will explain why. dentures are very different to real teeth.

they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day.

i takbecause you can't beatrning for my frzero heartburn.n. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. . now for our what in the world segment. much has been made about how china recently eased restrictions on having children. if a couple wanted to have a second child, both husband and wife needed to be the only offspring of their parents. under the new rules, a second child could be allowed if just one of its potential parents was an only child.

the change impacts about 20 million chinese. you would imagine after decades of restrictions many of them would jump at the chance to have a second child, right? wrong. an article in "the new york times" wrote as many as half the families impacted at the new rules are balking at the idea. parents quoted say the children simply cost too much. why is this attitude surprising and what went wrong? it's simple. china is getting richer. and it womens are getting more educated. according to the cia the five countries with the highest birth rates in the world include the likes of mali and uganda. a clear correlation these countries have some of the lowest per capita incomes in the world. the average in niger is $800 a year. the five countries with the lowest birth rates in the world include monaco, hong kong, singapore and japan.

look at their average incomes. china clearly aspires to be in monaco and singapore's company. addition to the wealth effect, studies show that the more educated women get, the less likely they are to have more children. this has happened across the world in europe and even in traditional asian societies like south korea and singapore. china is the great historic anoma anomaly. china citizens have gotp as old as europeans well before they've reached european levels of wealth and education and while china is not as rich as south korea or singapore it has higher increasing female literacy, the rate is 93%. getting them to have more kids now might not be that easy. why is china an anomaly? well, it is the only country that was able to pull off a century edict like the one child policy. it was an unprecedented experiment in population control.

the problem is, now china really needs young people. by 2050, about a third of chinese will be over the age of 60. what can beijing do? it's probably looking at experiments in the rich world. consider france which in the 1990s realized it needed to boost fertility rates. the central government put in place a program of incentives including tax breaks for parent, subsidized housing, and access to child care. according to the "wall street journal" france spends 4% of its gdp on these programs, about twice as much as other rich countries. what happened? look at this chart of france's fertility rate over the last 20 years from an average of 1.65 children in 1994 to two children per women last year. if china wants its people to have more children, it may have to do a lot more than minor relaxations of the one child policy. it might have to go in for a

french solution. lots more ahead. we're going to bring you to the charge of the light brigade which was in crimea. up right now, peace in the middle east. >> i'm prepared to make a historic peace with our palestinian neighbors. >> prime minister netanyahu is now all for it but i will introduce you to a man who might spoil his plans. [ male announcer ] did you know that if you wear a partial, you're almost twice as likely to lose your supporting teeth? try poligrip for partials. poligrip helps minimize stress which may damage supporting teeth by stabilizing your partial. care for your partial. help protect your natural teeth. ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing really good around ♪ ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tired ♪ ♪ of living off the taste of the air ♪ ♪ turn around, barry ♪ finally, i have a manly chocolatey snack ♪ ♪ and fiber so my wife won't give me any more flack ♪

♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day women's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day women's 50+. with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. but with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer,

worsening prostate symptoms, decreased sperm count, ankle, feet or body swelling, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing while sleeping and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. ask your doctor about axiron. you get 4 lines onw at&t's network...ilies including unlimited talk unlimited text ...and 10 gigs of data to share. 10 gigs? 10 gigs. all for $160 dollars a month. you know, i think our family really needed this. it's really gonna bring us closer together. yep. yep. yep. yep. yep. yep. introducing our best-ever family pricing for instance, a family of four gets 10 gigs of data with unlimited talk and text for 160 dollars a month. only from at&t.

israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is finally talking peace. this week at the apec conference in washington, d.c., he made perhaps his strongest ever pitch for peace in the middle east.

>> i'm prepared to make historic peace with our palestinian neighbors. a peace that would end a century of conflict and bloodshed. >> but that doesn't mean he has got his country or even his cabinet behind him. one potential spoiler who was also in the united states this week, is the new leader of israel's right wing, naftali bennett. bennett is part of israel's coalition government and thus a member of netanyahu's cabinet. he was once netanyahu's chief of staff. he's currently minister of the economy. i sat down with him to understand why he disagrees with his boss on the most important issue facing his country. so you say that prime minister netanyahu is on the wrong track and most importantly, john kerry is on the wrong track with this whole idea of a peace process ending with a two-state solution. why? >> well, fareed, no one wants peace more than me. unfortunately i have to fight quite a few times in our various

conflicts. i lost my best friend. we want peace in israel. the question is how do you achieve peace? right now the current approach which is to hand over to an arab state or palestinians the heart of israel and expect that after we did it three times already and got missiles and suicide bombers killing israelis, this time somehow it's going to work, i think it's ludicrous. it's not working. i'm a business man. i learned that when you try the same thing again and again a and it fails you have to try something different and i am. what i'm working is for peace on ground between israelis and palestinians through business, through economy, through quality of life. >> but how does that deal with what everybody, including the prime minister netanyahu now says is the long-term challenge, which is you would have a smaller number of jews who would rule over a very large number of palestinians who do not have the vote? and can israel continue that

indefinitely? >> no, not at all. that's not the case. in fact, fareed, there's 2 million palestinians that govern themselves. they have their own parliament, their own government, their own elections, their own tax system. i don't want to govern the palestinians, no one does. they already govern themselves. >> but abu mazin has said the leader of the palestinian authority unless he gets an actual palestinian state because this is not that's not a state, he will -- one of the things he says is he'll throw this all back into israel's lap because he doesn't want to be their head of a proto state that doesn't have an actual flag, nation and recognition. >> they do. they have a flag, nation -- >> you don't recognize it. >> i don't recognize it as a state. we had a trial -- >> you can have this indefinitely, you think for the next 50 years, palestinians can rule themselves in this kind of what some people call situation? >> i think we need to improve

the situation on ground, we need the freedom of movement, we need to improve the quality of life for the actual people. >> but not give them a nation state? >> a nation state in the heart of israel, no. a nation state implies they have their full security, they have an army, they control, you know -- >> they said they would -- >> the west bank is a big mountain that overlooks a very narrow plain called israel. would you let a palestinian state be formed on top of your home? after what they've done for the past 20 years. every time we gave them a piece of land, immediately iranian forces got filled in and started killing us. a thousand israelis were blown up in coffee shops ten years ago after we pulled out. so we're going to do that again? we're going to try that again? sometimes there's no perfect solution. we have to be very mature about this. not everything can be solved quickly. i think if we give time, if we build it bottom up, we will achieve peace.

>> when you sit down at the cabinet table with bb netanyahu, you were his chief of staff, part of his party and you have now created your own breakaway party to the right. he was the leader of the right. you have become the leader of the right. he must view you as a traitor. >> no. i have great respect for prime minister netanyahu. clearly we do disagree on some things, but we agree on the fundamental objective of keeping israel as the beacon of democracy in this very difficult middle east. >> but you disagree with prime minister netanyahu on the fundamental issue of the peace process? >> i disagree on the process. i agree on the objective. i want peace. no less than anyone. i'm telling you, as someone who fought, i want peace more than most people. i -- the only disagreement is how we achieve it. i submit that if we instill a palestinian state in the heart

of israel, if we divide jerusalem, divide the land of israel we're guaranteeing 100 years of conflict. however if we take my approach which is to build economy based peace, build it bottom up, slowly, it takes more time, more patience, we'll get us a sustainable peace for many, many years to come. >> but do you think that israel can exist as a jewish and democratic state while it is essentially denying three, four, by that point 5 million palestinians the opportunity for self-determination? >> we're not denying anything. they have defl determination. they have a state right now -- >> would you consider it self-determination if you didn't have a nation? >> look, in sri lanka, the kurds, hundreds of people that want their own state. the palestinians, unlike others, have their own state called gaza right now and what i've seen it's turned into afghanistan.

do i want another afghanistan? do i want to be flanked by two afghanistans that are shelling my home? no. will i fight for the security of my children? yes, i will. i think there's a better approach, more intelligent approach, more mature approach, which is the economy and building bridges between the people and we'll get there. i'm very optimistic. >> naftali bennett, pleasure to have you on. >> great to be here. >> up next, some advice for vladimir putin from 19th century photographers and poets. scott: appears buster's been busy. man: yeah, scott. i was just about to use the uh... scott: that's a bunch of ground-up paper, lad! scotts ez seed uses the finest seed, fertilizer, and natural mulch that holds water

so you can grow grass anywhere! looking good, lad! man: thanks, scott. ez seed really works! so, how come haggis is so well behaved? scott: 'cause he's a scotty. man: oh. scott: get scotts ez seed. it's guaranteed. seed your lawn. seed it! iwe don't back down. we only know one direction: up so we're up early. up late. thinking up game-changing ideas, like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. [ male announcer ] just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles.

[ corrine ] super poligrip is part of my life now. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. spcan go 795 highway milesen on a single tank. huh... [ bottle ] ensure®. so you could drive from los angeles all the way philadelphia with just three stops for fuel. that's just a hop, skip, and a jump. try that in another midsize sedan. it's more of a hop... a skip... a jump... a leap... maybe a schlep... probably a hurdle... a little bit of a trek... avo: during the tdi clean diesel event, get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months.

television announcer: mattress discounters' $197 mattress sale $197 mattress sale is ending soon. bulldog: mattress discounters' $197 mattress sale! television announcer: right now, you can get a serta mattress, any size, for just $197 each piece when you buy the complete set. bulldog: any size mattress - twin, full, queen, or king - for one low price! and they'll deliver it free. television announcer: the $197 mattress sale... bulldog: oh boy! television announcer: ...is ending soon. ♪ mattress discounters

39-year-old mateo was sworn in as the youngest prime minister in italy's history. but he's mot the youngest head of an elected government. that brings me to our question of the week. who is currently the youngest leader of a democratically elected government? is it iraki, enrique, sigmundur,

or kim jong-un. this week's book is "the limits of partnership, u.s./russian relations in the twenty first century" by angela stent. timed for the ukraine crisis this book gives us the full picture of why russia's relations with the west and washington have gotten worse and worse. well written, well balanced and very well explained. now for the last look. over the past week images of troops massing in crimea have been broadcast to millions around the globe. it happens the first ever official war photographs were from the very same region. in 1853 the russian empire fought the al lied armies in the short but brutal crimean war that claimed the lives of three quarters of a million soldiers and for the first time photographers were able to give people a glimpse of what war was like. the most famous image, perhaps, is roger fenton's "the valley of

the shadow of death" which showed cannonballs strewn throughout a valley. some say it was the first staged photo. the technology didn't allow for action shots but the images captured the moments between battles. the foley of war was probably best articulated with paper. listen to this, an 1890 reporting of alfred lord tennyson reading his poem "the charge of the light brigade." so we can see, and we can hear what conflict over crimea was like 160 years ago.

then as now as leaders plot and plan, every soldier must think, ours is not to reason why, ours but to do and die. the answer to our "gps" challenge question is a, the prime minister of georgia is the world's youngest head of a democratically elected government. at a sprightly 31 years old. kim jong-un of north korea is reportedly the same age, though, of course, he is not democratically elected. compared to this lot, president obama is a positively antique 52. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. right now i'm going to send you to cnn headquarters for a check on the latest news. good morning. i'm eric mcpike in washington with a check of our top stories.

a vietnamese rescue aircraft has spotted a floating object which could possibly be debris from the malaysian jetliner that disappeared about 48 hours ago. three search boats have been deployed to the area to investigate. we're also learning more about tickets bought by two passengers on board malaysian airlines flight 370 who were traveling on stolen passports. the passports were stolen in thailand and the tickets were apparently bought together. ukraine's interim prime minister will fly to the u.s. to meet with president obama. that will be just a few days before crimea votes on if it will become a part of russia. the prime minister has called it an illegitimate decision. and we just learned that russian president vladimir putin spoke about ukraine today with the british prime minister and the german chancellor. meanwhile, in russia, ukrainian pair limb pick athlete dedicated her medal to an independent and peaceful ukraine. ukraine has won six medals in the paralympics so far. senator rand paul won the straw pearl at the conservative

political action conference. the second year in a row he's won. the poll is nonbinding but an early gauge of who conservative i mass want as the 2016 nomination for president. he led the pack at 31%, followed by senator ted cruz with 11%. at 2:00 a.m. a break through on detecting alzheimer's disease. it's a first and senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen has the story in the 2:00 hour of "newsroom." "reliable sources" starts right now. good morning. i'm brian stelter, i have a jam packed "reliable sources" ahead for you. here's what's coming up. when vladimir putin is your boss, it takes guts to say take this job and shove it. >> i am resigning. i probably won't be taking any trips to russia any time soon. >> the real story of how russia pumps propaganda into your living room. and speaking of tough jobs, how would you like to be a democrat working at