c-span now app or online c-span.org. >> a news update from reuters that the u.s. anto reopen four n mic border crossings on thursday. personnel we freed up due to a drop in illegal immigratioand the crossings include an international bridge in eagle pass, texas, two crossings in arizona and another near san diego, california. lawmakers are negotiating a d to combi increased border security with foreign aid, specifically, military assistance to ukraine. read more at reuters.com.

washington journal continues. host: >> now let's focus on foreign policy. steve clemons is our guest focusing on editor at large for semaphore. viewers. guest: we have a global platform that is growing like a weed. about a yeaand a half now. we have abo 5.5 o million meters. i think the distinctive thing about what is important is that we try to always tell the news

as it is but have the writ give his or her take to remind americans that you can look at something and have different perspectives and views that can be handled in aivil, imrtant and constructive way. host: what does an at lge do? guest: everything. i do some writing. i had a piece. publications will be a weekly they that appears. but essentially i help with editorial events. we have a two day massive summi that will be on the edge of the imf world bank.

you can save a syllable on twitter host: gaza and ukraine are probably the two hottest not to the world right now. what is likely to happen here? which of those countries meet that need of urgently right now? guest: both of them are on the edge of desperately needed. ght now, israel was given emgent the funng for a limited set of munition.

ukraine is much more dire situation. hyper ballistic missile attacks. it has defensive systems, but no doubt that ukraine in terms of offense of munition and decent -- defensive munitions. they are being drawn down. it is a much more dire situation , given the shortfalls and everyone's stocks our lives today. there is not enough capacity. ukraine, as big as it i israel and gaza -- ty are small when you look at the obligations i the world. we need to look at how much credible capacity.

host: the biden administration asking for $2 million and over 55 billion for ukraine. other place they can go, there is a lot of focus. the other question is, what about you crane's other two and allies providing this money? guest: the frozen ruian aid is complicated. i have a friend who has been essentially -- the one who essentially held to greed a nation's right behavior and abuses. they have been arguing sometime. it happened here since we first

talked about this. it is because it gets into the question of what a sovereign nation is. in terms of a nation's asset. once you begin doing that, a lot of other this can happen. i think that what i see happening right now, they see a you, massive dl. the last one being done way as a continui resolution negotiation. there is a high degree of confidence. the naysayers have been problematic in the house, bu they believe they will get on

last package. you are going to have much more discussion on how they get picked for more of a lift. they are providing as much or more as the u.s. right now. host: bringing up the question what does victory look like for ukraine right now? guest: that is an important question andne that is hotly debated. for me, i think it would be a question of getting to a point where both sides can manage arou a . i'm afraido say yes, most likely a line with ukraine. they believe at some point that the cost of taking cmea are

stly t high. i understand why thatki and others believe every square inch tray nds to be overturned. it is leading to some form of frozen conflict. i do not see the wherewithal right now. a massive escalation of this confct. right now america not rustly engaging. we have never witnessed this work before. in terms of others, you may get

some formeal or cessation of stilities. thats where i think this is going. host: william agree with you. calling it a bitter pill for ukrainians to swallow but that it will open the door to an evenal nato you mbership. if you want to join the conversation, democrats can call in a(202) 748-8000. republicans can call in at (202) 748-80. and independent can call and (2) 748-8002 guest: is tough in my view. we see a situation right now

where we just had an assassination of a has. they didot yield to the depths of other innocent peoplend civilian. israel had a long and successful history. it is an example of what i wish bncr 22,000 dead. almost all of them, you count women and children, but it is a pretty trac thing. i have talked to other generals. i have talked to of israel. israel right now.

it is stirring up another generation of hamas sympathizers. ey are going after individuals. they are beginning to blur that line of who may be responsible. the rest of society is a mistake. what is victory? victory will take a generation. it will be a cessation of hostilities and an operation that helps guide and govern the west bank. there will be an economic plan and a political plan. host: how does the world view

less democracy right now? est: i think the wld looks at it as -- right now, they see ings like jaary 6. they see the tumulty aut to happen. challenges in different courts. you see the wrestling over who is on the ballot. america looks like a bren and failing democracy. they see the support and energy fosomething like israel and gaza. i would even put ukraine and russia ithis. there are conflicts in somal and afra that were essentially

in the es of the world, head of t line of the ukrne and russia crisis. but the momentu basically -- you have a lot of the global south looking at the mess as hypocritical in the way it assesses. host: this is out of midlothian, virginia. good morning. guest: -- caller: my question is, you have israel fighting, but how do you get people to realize that hamas and the palestinian people are not the same thing? i do not think they have a good

understanding of the area,ut how can you tell people? how does the news get pple to understand the difference between the palestinian people and hamas? guest: i think it is a very important point. the fact that most people who have any experience or orientation in the middle east understand their distinctions. michael, the ambassador of israel to the united gates, a friend o mine understands those distinctions. there are some the israeli cabinet and society who see no distinctions between palestinians and hamas.

that is a problem. we think u.s. government officials are also making that distinction, saying to be careful. the bigger issue is that we also have to understand that hamas built its infrastructure in tunnels, networks and systems come in and arod the infrastructure of gaza, and churches. you have hated sites that have been hit. do i think israel is purposely going after the site? that is another question. but i think they are going after the infrastructure. this crees a complexity and i understand that.

it shows an indiscriminate. host: line for democrats. good morning. caller: mr. clemens, could you please explain to me in the 21st century, how do we win the war in ukraine without their superiority. in reference to the mess of their, maybe that is the fighting force we should send over to you pain. the legislative ranch of the u.s. what did congress do? they did not pass a budget. i was waiting for the omnibus to come crashing through the door.

host: we are away from a couple of funding deadlines. guest: number one on the broadside is that there are a lot of dimensions to it. right now ukraine is showing a greater capacity. it is pretty awful and it raises a sense of terror, sec cities that are not targets. i have talked to many military leaders and ukrainian leaders at the front end of this conflict. one is the ammo that they have. when this source started, russia had a supply.

the total production capacity. it deals with the russian stock. the russians have not deployed well in a lot of areas and have not behaved well in a lot of other areas. you see the management. it is unlike any we have ever seen. they have very much been a part of providing the infrastructure and creating an almost instantaneous digitized attack. we are seeing things we have never seen before. broadly on budgets, the speaker

of the house was brought down by a motion to vacate. a little bit a honeymoon period. but with the resolution comes an end, we will see if the republicans can together behind her cuent leader. we began processing each spending bill in its own track. that is what the debate is about. host:here are o biggest commitments right now? how does taiwafit into that? guest: this comes from mike mccall. the senator of nebraska has been

ising and saying that the u.s. has drawn down, as it supplies the needs of other allies. it raises questions in taiwan. there is a split out there. there is a belief that the suort -- an enforced embargo by china around taiwan with the kind of munitions and suppo for the different. there are people that do not buy that. we are under resourced for that. it is a genuine and deep divide. they keep underscoring that the u.s. -- almost every european nation has also gone down the port.

it raises the question that we ju act. but if you as a group have brought down and decrease your muscle power it creates possibilities. host: when we talk about a possible war, is that more of a hypothetical future possibility? or is a real possibility coming in 12 months? guest: despite what we are seeing with xiinping, it looks like a purge of leaders. it has -- i know him quite well.

when you look at that, it raises fundamental questions about the fragility and frivolous this. he has made decisions to take on finance in china. it is a recognition of the typical epidemic -- economics. it does not mean that we are going to war in china. but we have a naonal reunification belief. it does not mean that it will happen tomorrow. i think when it looks at the cost russia has endured -- it has not been a great success. it has been a stitch edict >> remarks firehouse figure mike johnson on border security. thank you for my colleagues joining on the epicenter of the crisis at e