now. sunday, february 6, our georgetown university law professor will talk about race relations and inequality. her books include the figures of integration and her latest, white space: lack hood. join us with phone calls, text, tweets live on sunday, for weight sixth at noon eastern on book tv, c-span two.

(202) 748-8002. send us your name and where you are texting from. we will look for your paste on -- we will look for your post on facebook, twitter and instagram at c-span wj. i will also hear from members of the biden administration, nato secretary-general and also members of congress. comments and tweets of theirs as well as congress is out this week. we are hearing from -- members have asked for an all member briefing of the administration on the conflict between russia and the ukraine. here is a story from the wall street journal this morning. nato beefs up russian presence.

the european union set out loans and grants worth more than 1.3 billion. and the pentagon ordered thousands of troops to prepare for possible deployment. washington journal writes the moves are part of efforts by the u.s. and its allies to guard for what they believe could be an imminent military invasion of ukraine, which russia denies it is planning. a bit more from that wall street journal piece as well. they say russia has insisted that nato provide guarantees it won't give membership to ukraine, reversing a pledge the alliance made in 2008 that ukraine and the country of georgia would become members. moscow has also demanded nato

curb military exercises in ukraine and other reformer soviet states and restrict military deployments on the territory of the alliances eastern european member. that is from the washington journal. just for some perspective -- that is forum -- that is from the wall street journal. this is from nato. a look at some of the 30 member countries, the yacht -- the largest being the united states, not on this map. there is ukraine. we mentioned della roos. the borders lithuania, poland and slovakia as well. also perspective on the funding, a major part of the trump administration on getting nato, other nato countries to contribute to the alliance. this is a 2019 figure, in terms

of the top contributors. percentage of gdp who contributes to nato. as a 2019, the united states contributed to .6% of our gdp to nato costs. greece, 2.4 percent. the united kingdom 2.1%. the top countries in overall spending on nato, the countries with the most nato spending, the united states, united kingdom, germany, france and italy. top five. in response to those nato moves as well, the u.s. making its own moves in calling out and alerting, putting on higher alert u.s. troops. the headline here from u.s. military times. up to 8500 u.s. troops. they write that a handful of u.s.-based units have prepared themselves for possible deployment in response to russian incursion into ukraine. the pentagon announced on monday.

the units have not been given orders to deploy but to shorten their recall timelines in case nato activates its response force, according to john kirby. "there is not a mission, per se, this is about the secretary wanting to get ahead of potential activation and making sure these units have time to prepare. " the units are being notified and the pentagon will have more information on them following that process. stateside, the u.s. maintains an immediate response force which includes the 82nd airborne and supporting asked -- supporting assets. former veterans you can call (202) 748-8003.

we will get to your calls momentarily. [video clip] >> nato is a defense alliance and has a responsibility to their members if they need them. that is the spirit in which secretary has made these early heightened alert decisions. >> clarification, if nato is the defensive alliance and these troops, if they are activated, are defensive, how does this protect ukraine? how does this stop putin from going into ukraine? >> it is designed to reassure our nato allies, jan. -- jenna. >> how does it protect ukraine? >> it sends a very clear message to putin that we take our nato country seriously.

we are working to implement severe consequences for mr. putin if you were to go, again into ukraine. largely economic consequences. i am trying to be very clear. about what success looks like, we obviously do not want to see another incursion in ukraine. we are using lots of leverage to try to communicate why that would be a bad thing for russia to do. number two, it is not an insignificant number two, to make sure nato stays unified and our allies are able to defend themselves. that is what this decision is all about. it is about putting these forces on high alert. host: here on washington journal, we would like to hear from you on nato's potential role in incursion of russia into

ukraine. for republicans and independents, and others, (202) 748-8002. the european union called on russia monday to defuse tensions that moscow would face consequences if it is -- if it attacked its neighbor. calls on russia to de-escalate. "notions of spirit of influence have no place in the 21st century. any further military aggression by russia over ukraine will have massive consequences and severe costs p, -- costs."

annie on the republican line, go ahead. caller: i am kind of blown away by the whole thing. i kind of want to get more information by listening to your show. i was thinking, it is tragic. i guess, putin, his whole personality is driving this. biden does not seem to be very strong in terms of any kind of a response. i wondered what biden, what his role is in terms of nato. host: let me ask you, annie, do you think vladimir putin is pressuring joe biden in seizing

opportunity to press her -- to pressure the u.s. president? caller: yes, i think that is highly likely. he is a strong arm type. he is definitely pressuring joe biden. host: let's hear from john, retired military. caller: my main problem is not so much with the administration but constantly flexing all over the planet. we, as part of nato, need to step up and definitely help out countries that they will be free, want to have democracy, they will have a say. until we actually draw a line in

the sand, and my 50 years plus of life, i do not think i have seen too many lines in the sand. the line in the sand, we told iraq, if you do not get out, this is what is going to happen. this is what we need to take against countries like north iran, china, russia. their goal is to take over the planet. as a free nation, we must put the beacon of freedom up and say "no, we will not submit to communist dictator roles. " host: thanks john. vincent on the republican line, go ahead. caller: i would like to know, the 85 hundred troops, why do we

have to impress nato about anything, number one, number two, i was on my way and they deployed us to vietnam. how is the same thing going to happen with these troops? why are they not deploying to our own border? that is my question. everyone else, have a great day. host: free democrats, (202) 748-8000; for republicans, (202) 748-8001; for independents, and all others, (202) 748-8002.

russia launched new military exercises in the west of the country, involving short range ballistic missile units. russia was closely watching u.s. moves, including the pentagon's decision to put 8500 troops on high alert monday for possible deployment to europe. observing these actions of the united states -- russia's military district announced tuesday, releasing video of short range ballistic missile cruisers and field positions. the latest in a rapidfire series of drills that russia has run in recent weeks, increasing pressure on nato and the ukraine. the secretary-general spoke yesterday with reporters on the latest in nato's efforts. [video clip] >> more policing.

there are currently five nato ships -- we are increasing our presence in the area. we are, for the first time a u.s. group. that is not in the baltic sea. we have stepped up. nato is not freshening russia, it is proportionate. we have stepped up to invite to continue our dialogue. we are going to engage in good faith in the efforts to find a solution.

whether to listen to their considered -- their security concerns. we will not compromise in the right of every nation to choose their own path. host: we are focusing this first hour on the potential involvement of nato's role on conflict if russia does attack ukraine. (202) 748-8000, for democrats. (202) 748-8001, for republicans. (202) 748-8002, for independents, and all others. paul gosar saying "russia invading ukraine is not an

immediate threat to the security of the american people, homeland, and way of life." ruben gill lego, "russia is mistaken if it believes the u.s. will stand by her cold -- standby. " caller: good morning, c-span. what a mistake. we just got out of afghanistan, not even a year ago. this idea we care about the ukraine people to the extent we are going to further engage in military industrialization, i

cannot believe we are even considering it. i hope we do not go much further with this. thanks for taking my call. host: to roberto in houston texas, good morning. caller: good morning. ukraine is self understands a very corrupt government. are we going to support a corrupt government in ukraine. in vietnam, we held up a corrupt government. why? because it was not communist. big deal. i agree with the last caller, hey, folks we just got out of 20 years in afghanistan. do we ever learn anything? i thought nato should have been disbanded when the soviet union

was dissolved. let europe take care of their own problems and let's stay out of it. that is my opinion. thank you. host: on the republican line, go ahead. caller: i do not think we should be over there. they too biden's son. we got run out of one country and we are still trying to fight for another country. we shouldn't be over there, we should just stay at home. thank you. host: wall street journal, reporting on the ground, ukrainians are resigned and prepared.

that is training colleagues to run his business so he can focus on fighting russians. ukraine has struggled to maintain a sense of stability since a fully established itself as a sovereign country in 1991, has been at war since 2014. when 100,000 russian troops gathered nearby, threatening europe's biggest land war since the 1940's, people there say something feels different this time. "it has been come kind of normal to say, what again?" that is from the wall street journal. also from the washington times this morning on nato and may be behind some of vladimir putin's thinking, on the front page this morning, putin waits as nato unity weekends.

foreign policy analysts say the russian policy gains a strategic edge driving off military standoff. he says the ultimate goal is to exacerbate the nato allies and cast down how effectively the west can respond. russian nato was showing division beneath the surface on monday, even as the pentagon confirmed it put 8500 troops on high alert status for deployment to the region. president biden acknowledged last week minor incursion by russia forces into ukraine could spark a fight. that unity could crack as time passes.

the white house press secretary jen psaki was asked about the heightened -- of u.s. troops and whether that added increased tension in the region. [video clip] >> the question is, you are sending some thousands of troops -- increase this more than reducing it? >> we have had troops -- for decades. >> we have a sacred obligation to support our eastern countries. it is important to remember who the aggressor is here. it is not the united states, it is not these eastern flying states. it is russia who has tens of thousands of troops on the border of ukraine. they have the power to de-escalate. we would welcome that. >> none of the british have put

out intelligence on a possible coup. how will the u.s. respond if that happens? >> i am not going to get into intelligence matters, of course. we have been warning about russian tactics like this for weeks. reports are deeply concerning. certainly, there would be consequences. host: back to your calls and comments. we will go to michelle on the independent line. michelle, go ahead, you are on the air. arcade, new york, one more time. all right, too rich in springfield, missouri. rich on the republican line. caller: biden should get out of putting troops into ukraine. they are going to drag this into a war. our economy is shot. china is the one we should be worrying about.

putin is just a little strongman. let's get out of ukraine before we even get in there. thanks. host: to betty next in south carolina. hello, betty. caller: hello, thank you. my opinion is, if they cannot see it, you have got to be blind to not see what all is going on. he needs to change everything that donald trump doesn't. we did not have all these problems. i am 77 years old and i have never seen nothing like this in my lifetime. and when they get what they want

, they are going to -- them people to the dogs. thank you and have a good day. host: all right, betty. this is from usa today, this morning. troops on alert as biden consults allies. we will look at the location of russian troops on this map. the economics of this. the economic issues involved in this, usa today writes diverse -- energy interest have long divided. about 40% of the eu's national gas imports come from russia. pipelines across ukraine. gas prices have skyrocketed. head of the international energy agency said russian energy giant gas prom reduced its -- its exports to the eu in late 2021

despite high prices. thom tillis, senator thom tillis is the ranking republican member of the armed services committee, personnel subcommittee. he spoke about his views on how the administration is handling the crisis in ukraine. [video clip] >> vladimir putin is threatening a democratic nation and it is critical the united states and our nato allies stand up to its latest tyranny. while there is bipartisan agreement on this in congress, unfortunately, it does not extend to the white house. i was shocked when president biden recently said he would accept a minor encouragement on the part of russia. the president of the united states, essentially gave putin a green light to --. those remarks came with a

bipartisan measure to slap sanctions on the pipeline. the white house is sending the wrong message, which already feels and boded enough to invade ukraine because they think they can get away with it. history has repeatedly demonstrated that a smit never works. the biden administration needs to rethink their strategy and make it crystal clear that any russian aggression will be met with a strong response against putin and his regime. that must start with imposing robust economic sanctions and casting russia as a pariah state. democracy democracy is in danger in europe. we must clarify our support for ukraine and do everything in our power to protect our allies. host: back to your calls. line for active military, michelle. caller: good morning.

one of my question is, the fact that it is bipartisan to keep going into these wars. the same crew that was involved in the removal in afghanistan. what about our borders? we have an invasion on our borders. we had a synagogue that was just taken over by islamic terrorists. now whether that is related or not, i do not know. i do not understand why we care about other countries. host: michael, scottsboro, alabama. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you to c-span. mr. tillis is wrong. everybody keeps thinking we are going to war with russia. we have troops in ukraine, that

is wrong, we do not have troops in ukraine. they're planning on sending extra troops to nato countries, lithuania. just in case pool decides to make a push there as well. i am former military. i do not think we want to go to war with russia. i think this is a game that russia is playing and i think president biden was trying to make a point that russia's incursion is not going to throw america into war. we do not have troops in ukraine. this is just another game that vladimir putin is playing. he misses his buddy, donald

trump, being in washington. he wants desperately to have his puppet dictator back. host: michael, as you said, you are former military. you're probably aware of the u.s. has tens of thousands of troops in bases in europe. 8500 in high alert would be in addition to that. do you think part of this as the u.s. being the largest contributor to nato is just the administration saying, "we have your back", to those countries. just support of those countries and the threat they may feel, potentially on the border, poland, lithuania, other immediate countries to that. the presence of russian troops, however small they may be on the border? caller: i think the additional troops he is planning on sending

is to bolster these countries and to make them feel more secure. i think it is also just in case putin decides to make a push. putin, i think he is rational but he is trying to play a game. he thinks he can push and push and push and we will give and give and give. -- let's give everything to russia because he was the former president. i am sick of hearing it from them. host: ok, michael, from alabama.

representative jerry carl with a tweet on this. he says "when president biden says he's the only one who will go total with putin, he must have been talking about dan -- dancing with him because he certainly was not talking about applying military pressure." stephen duncan tweets "-- to where they totally have nothing to live on." let's hear, also in alabama, former military, kurt, good morning. caller: good morning.

i am a little nervous because i have not had a lot of experience speaking in public. i had three tours in germany. i have had several times being on the alert status. alert status means your unit is closed off from the world. now, ukraine is corrupt. very corrupt. the only thing about protecting the ukraine is the other countries that are afraid of russia. poland, czech republic, all of

those countries and so on. the ukraine is about to get hit in two directions, and russian style is a steamroller. if we send troops in, it would be light infantry troops. they would be steamroller. just like another cartoon. there is no way we could have any power. russia, in 10 days they could take the country, even if ukraine resisted tremendously. the countries we need to protect our poland, so on. germany has no power. president trump was offended.

they decided to spend money on other things the purpose of nato is to hold of the enemy until americans can get there. the times i was on alert in germany, we had real fine german troops that i would never have messed with. we had real fine american troops. weird -- we do not have anything there. they need a percentage of their tanks and aircraft ready to go. they are helpless. when they are threatened, we say, we will cut off their energy supplies.

you will see what happens. host: this half-hour on washington journal, we are discussing nato and what their response should be if russia invades or attacks ukraine. (202) 748-8000, the line for democrats. (202) 748-8001, the line for republicans. (202) 748-8002, the line for independents and all others. (202) 748-8003, the line if you are former military or current military. the headline, playing the long game, putin has america where he wants it. this is bigger than closing nato's open door to ukraine and taking more territory. he wants to evict the united states from europe. as he might hit it, goodbye

america, don't let the door hit you on the way out. as i have seen over two decades of observing mr. putin and analyzing his moods, his actions are purposeful and his choice of this moment to throw down the gauntlet in ukraine and europe is very intentional. december 2021 was the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the soviet union when russia lost its dominant position in europe. mr. putin wants to give the united states a taste of the same bitter medicine russia had to swallow in the 1990's. he believes the united states is in the same predicament as russia was after the soviet collapse. he also thinks nato is nothing more than an extension of the united states. russian officials and commentators routinely deny any agency or independent strategic thought to other nato members. when it comes to the alliance, all moscow's moves are directed

against washington. calls, let's hear from brian on the independent line. caller: good morning. i feel this is ultimately going to backfire against biden in a bad way. it is carrying the order. for reasons unknown to most people, the common sense for most americans is why are we potentially going to deploy these groups as ukraine and so on but at the same time ignoring our own problems here at home. if it goes that way, we hope not, we do not want lives to be lost.

host: carl is next on the democrats line. go ahead. caller: we as americans should support nato. if it wasn't for people like putin, he is nothing but a dictator and really a bully. if you let him get away with that, what makes you think he probably won't try to do it in america? also, you talking about ukraine is a corrupt government. you have got corrupt governments all over the world, even here in the united states. my thing is, the -- you have people like putin who are going to believe lies when they know the truth but they accept lies over the truth. i am saying to all the leaders in office that are serving in the pulpit, serving in public

office, very elect. we have to elect presidents and preachers, pastors over the churches. this is a spiritual warfare. god just wants -- if you are going to let people take over the world or are you going to let good take over the world? it is a battle between good and evil. if you don't know putin is evil, i do not care how corrupt government is, no one should be able to be bullied to take over nobody else house or nobody else country. host: to check on our line, chuck for former military in michigan. go ahead, chuck. caller: thank you for taking my call. as a combat that was drafted and we had no choice but to go to

vietnam, i think we are in up to our next. thank you. host: as we talk about potential military conflict and u.s. involvement in that conflict by nato, it is worth noting that u.s. military forces are active overseas. many of you are aware. engaged in military conflict. the u.s. joins and assaults in prison held by isis. american ground forces have joined the fight to retake control of a prison in northeast syria where islamic state fighters are holding hundreds of boys hostage. after four days of american airstrikes, the fight has become the biggest known american engagement with isis since the fall of its so-called caliphate three years ago. hundreds of islamic state fighters attacked the makeshift prison on friday in an effort to

free their detained in recent years. that is from the new york times. orchard park, new york. let's hear from her but the republican line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. the purpose of my call is to criticize c-span and frankly the entire media, national media for giving the american people incorrect information about crime many a. -- as we know was the southern portion of ukraine and the information from the media, including c-span is that the russians invaded. absolutely nothing truthful about that. the people of the crimea decided they wanted to align themselves with russia.

95% of the people in crimea voted to realign themselves with russia. this was observed by international observers and found it was very fair and objective election. this business about russia invading the crimea is absolutely false. i am disappointed at c-span and the national media for allowing a falsehood to go out over the airways. host: art is next in odessa, texas on the democrats line. caller: we were warned about all this. eisenhower said do not get mixed up in industrial military conflicts. secretary blinken said, if you

put him in the house, he is going to stay. that is what the last president did. also, what the republicans are saying, they are running away. i guess they don't care. we are going to do a hell of a job. whatever it takes, we are going to do it. i believe in to. i believe in the allies to the united states. we should go forward with this. host: the state department yesterday was asked if european allies were on the same page as far as a russian attack on the ukraine. [video clip] >> we have heard from european allies, nato, geo, the european

union, european council, you have heard the same message. if any russian forces move across the border, it will be met with a swift, severe and united response. on the part of the united states and on the part of our allies. there is no ambiguity about that. there is no ambiguity, there is no daylight. we know that and the russian federation knows that. >> there is quite a bit of daylight. i am not going to entertain that story too long. can you shed light on what you guys want to achieve with this particular meeting? and then i am going to go on to the on paper. >> let me come back to your flippant remark. >> the president said there are

differences of opinion. this is the such thing we have been experiencing. >> what you have heard from the president, what you have heard from the secretary, what you have heard from the national security advisor is that in the event of russian aggression against ukraine, there will be a response. it will be swift, it will be severe, in the event, it will be unprecedented in terms of the steps we are prepared to take. you can say that there is daylight, but i hope you also take a look and listen to the statements that have emanated from european capitals. the statements that have emanated from nato, the united states, our allies standing next to secretary blinken, whether that was foreign minister bear box, other allies who we have met in recent weeks and over the past two months.

one can claim there is daylight but certainly if you take a look at the volume and material that is prominently within the public record, i think that would provide --. host: comments on twitter, does anyone think germany is going to alienate its primary supplier of heating fuel at this time of year? we missed the moment ukraine is lost. let's not start a war for a bolstering filling president. mary owen says i wouldn't pretend to be an expert of military science or strategy. let's go to springfield, illinois. this is the independent line. caller: my question is this, why didn't putin announced all of these troops around ukraine when

was the president? why did he wait until biden was in the white house? host: what is your thinking on that? caller: my thinking is this: putin is doing what trump wants him to do and vice versa. nothing will change my mind on this. host: to houston, texas on the republican line, charlotte, hello there. caller: good morning. first of all, thank god for the gentleman from new york. crimea was not taken by russia, it was voted to russia. let's correct that. all these it is that our calling and saying because of trump, get

off of it. get off of it. get your brains together. this is ridiculous. we do not need any of this as a distraction. that is what it is, it is a distraction. putin just wants to stay away from his borders. i do not think the man is going to go and invade the ukraine. they hyped this all up and get everybody all excited, only to leave the people, if there should be a problem. we are going to leave them stranded just like we do everywhere else. to the guy in new york, thank you. there are people out there who really do know the industry. host: charlotte, you have a great day as well. from the military times, we read you part of a piece on the 8500 troops that have been put on high alert. they are a part of the immediate response.

they write further in that article that the irs first deployed to the middle east in 2020 after the attack on the u.s. embassy in iraq. it also deployed to afghanistan in 20 -- in august 2021. roughly 8500 troops to be activated to support the nato response force, a multinational, 40 thousand troops contingent tasked with responding to aggressive actions against nato countries. u.s. will not deploy its forces on the u.s. -- deploy its unless the nrf is activated. quote -- the marine corps recently sent an eight marine team. that team based out of marine corps base quantico, virginia

was first created in the wake of the attack 2020 -- 2012 attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi. back to your calls, this is mary on the independent line. caller: good morning. host: morning. caller: i am calling about the russia aggression. russia is on ukraine's border in addition to that about the aggression. i remember when russia went into yugoslavia 20 years ago. then russia went into iraq and

that was russia. i remember when libya went in and turned it from the most rushed -- the most wealthy country in africa and they have open slave markets. nobody talked about that. that was president joe biden -- that was president obama. russia went in and destroy those countries. i am just appalled at the situation. i don't know why in the world we would be supporting a government like that. thank you for allowing me. host: ok, to donna in butler,

missouri. donna, hello. caller: i have a question. my question is, if russia goes to war with ukraine, why are we there to start with? why don't we let them work it out? i am afraid a lot of americans might get left behind there, again. joe biden is not going to get everybody out. he did not get all of our americans out of afghanistan. could you answer the question for me? host: thanks for your call. alex is in maryland. good morning, alex. caller: the question on everybody's mind ever since last fall has been this build up of

forces, is russia going to invade the ukraine. for the record, russia is not going to invade the ukraine. very simple, the end. host: alex, what makes you so confident? caller: my parents lived during the summers there. they are american citizens. they have been living there for several years. and we were in ukraine while everything was happening. i also visited around that time, briefly, and recall, at the time , media hysteria was focused on