if you have a question you'd like to share send us a message thank you for spending part of your sunday with us i hope you have a great week ahead "life, liberty & levin" is up next. >> hello america this is "life, liberty & levin" welcome. we will not discuss the johnny depp trial because honestly i don't give a damn. but there is a lot we need to discuss that's very important. let's start with us what does it mean when we say i'm an

american first i believe in america first? what does that mean how do people throw around that phrase but they use that as a bumper sticker slogan to justify their ideological approach to governance and society and our culture? i assume most countries think so on the blank russia, communist china, the terrorist regime in iran so where does this get us with america first what is a nationalist somebody who believes in america first? what is a populist somebody who believes in me the people? i would like to spend a few hours on this so let me spend a little bit of time then you will understand i'm not a nationalist.

i have in front of me the pocket edition of the declaration of independence of the constitution of the united states white nationalist cannot be found in the declaration or the constitution? because the people who founded your country and the framers of the constitution are not nationalist. they were americans, yanks, they created and believed in americanism in the declaration of independence talks about what? natural law and rights not nationalism. we have a supreme court nominee now a woman who will be on the supreme court, judge jackson who said in a written response to what does she believe natural law means and she doesn't take a position. she doesn't take a position on the declaration of independence? on the basis of western civilization?

just take a position on the core fundamental principle of the judeo-christian belief system? natural law is the almighty. you have a right to live and to be happy and to be free. not because the government says so not because you're a nationalist or a populist. but because you are a human being. these are natural rights. that predate the united states and predate greece predate all of ancient history. there are certain truisms and beliefs we embrace in this country whether they are practiced or not is a whole different story. good and evil is the same thing and newark new jersey as pakistan or havana or anywhere else. it doesn't mean regimes will practice what is good.

most don't but it's wrong to kill somebody if you killed and in france or kansas. why is that? because there is the internal truth and the ten commandments and all of this and the framers of the constitution believe that they never would have use the words nationalism or populism look at the construct of the country. is that populism is there democracy? the only direct about set up in the constitution is the house of representatives the senate was to be chosen or elected by the same legislatures the president of the united states and the vice president are directly elected as the electoral college coming between the people and those who are elected. we have lifetime appointed federal judges where is all the democracy and the constitution? why did they put it in there?

why are they a populist? these are men who fought the american revolution at the same time watching the french revolution that was populism it turned into terrorism there was no justice or due process the mob voted you are dead and then you die. what about privacy? look at the bill of rights is that up for a vote constitution is not even about voting it's about liberty. a secure civil society with voting and somehow putin keeps winning. but they write all the time and of course the democrats want to destroy the voting system maybe you can vote two

or three times from heaven or hell that's not what this country is about. and the constitutional system. nationalism? why do we have the tenth amendment it rejects stop mom —- have you read that when talk about individual liberty they put it right there in the ninth amendment that is your protection nationalism strikes me and all centralized federal government. i am not a nationalist. so what is this america first of? those who use it really do believe in the all-powerful federal government. they are schizophrenic not of

what they say but they like to repeat it as justification for their ideological approach for me ask you this question. is it a good idea from a nationalism point of view to be an isolationist? the 21st century who will this be? the 19th century many people believe was britain 20th many people believe that is america. who century will the 21st century be? if you blink too many times it will be communist china because we have a fusion of ideologies coming on the so-called nationalist populist who were not constitutionalist who are not conservatives who do not believe in representative government how can you be a populist and believe in representative

government they don't even embrace the constitution they know not what they say but they say it all the time and with authority and the american marxist movement that we talked about at length that one out right hates the country trying to destroy from within the other says i love the country so much we have to be isolated from everything else. really? yes. we should only buy american. i tried most of the time but we have millions of people who work in this country and those who rely on included clothing and housing and material to come from somewhere else. you cannot even build this pen in the united states without some support from another country so what am i saying? in my a globalist? and what that means now i'm a

red blood blooded constitutionalist that believes in capitalism representative government. and with prudence. what does that mean you don't treat communist china the way you treat great britain when it comes to trade and don't send advanced technologies to russia or to iran, technologies you may send to israel or another ally. use your noggin in common sense. mexico is not north korea thank god. we have our problems. these countries in a perfect in terms of trade with immigration and we are to put our foot down. and pushback when it comes to globalism i will tell you what i oppose i oppose exporting governance to international organizations like the icc or

whatever you want to call it exporting the economic system under the name of climate change international organizations are treaties to destroy our economic system and that's what i oppose. but i do not oppose getting material from other places if it improves american society and the life of individuals in our own country so what am i talking about? let's move this into foreign-policy. i keep hearing this line. be still do want us to get us into a war with russia or ukraine at least people pretend to be conservatives america first know not of what they speak as lack of idiocy

and lack of foresight. america first is the biggest kick ass military on the face of the earth to use it if we need it. to secure the borders everyone comes in here if we let them to meet american standards. that's the way it used to be that's the way it needs to be america first doesn't mean the all-powerful national government and those to vote with the unalienable rights because the populist. with that constitutional construct that means embracing capitalism but not selling to the enemy are giving to the enemy weapons they will sure as hell use against us. and to me that means when you

see mass graves in ukraine, 9000 and people being slaughtered by a monster of a war machine that is imperialistic they will do the same and light the fuse with allies in communist china and terrorist are ran. on and on to created true role for america first doesn't mean putting the head in the sand to protest pretend otherwise protect your children from the war stand up now protect the country from more than you stand up now do you believe in with the founding principles and economic system. you must object american marxism and nationalism and populism and all the others.

and the incoherent and destructive. the country is dented this before. i am not a radical interventionist i'm not a warmonger or a neocon. and i don't believe we can the constitutional declaration over to the mob anymore than we handed over to those who will decide for the rest of us of how we live constitution is a magnificent document declaration lays out why it was founded in the first place and i would encourage you leave them again. i will be right back.

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>> welcome back america it's a great honor to have my dear friend with us tonight. colonel a look at the situation in ukraine getting worse and worse with the mass grave site with 9000 bodies intercepted communication from the russians to the russians to say kill all pows. we see what's happening with

russia and the build-up and people still say i'm an american first what's the problem here? it is horrific was taking place but this really isn't anything from america to be involved in so what is your answer as a combat veteran quick. >> it's good to be with you. is not just the fact i am a combat veteran my father served in world war ii my older brother served in vietnam i served 22 years myself with desert storm in iraq and afghanistan and my nephew has had three combat tours and we believe in our family and overall the constitutional conservatives and peace through strength. what is happening right now is if we don't honor our agreements of commitment going back to the budapest memorandum which said if ukraine or kazakhstan part of

the nuclear nonproliferation treaty would be protected we have not lived up to that agreement. and then to restore the city that sits upon a hill. that they understand the risk that it is very sickening to us to see what is happening because if you look at history and role for two to stop adolf hitler early on taking on czechoslovakia then you cannot continue to reward bad behavior and the despots and dictators with the acquiescence of those of neville chamberlain. there comes a time we have to stand up to believe for something real fall for anything.

>> colonel west collett as you see it those that were romanticizing putin also went donald trump took out solo money and back daddy and went donald trump fired missiles and then with poisonous gas and i could go on and on but the same course the small minority of the population looking at the polls americans and republicans and independents supporting the ukrainian people. but when you criticize any say you attack their free speech and accusing them of supporting pretend that im accusing them because at this point colonel when you see mass graves if you see what he said how could you not be anything but pro- putin if you

don't believe in stopping him now? >> the battle lines have been drawn the russian general called the butcher of syria has been reassigned in today ukraine into operation so we see all the telltale signs there are no questions about war crimes being done or targeting of innocent civilians and killing of women and children or targeting of prisoners of war which is a violation of the geneva convention if you are person in a uniform of the nationstate you are supposed to be granted certain treatments. and then not to stand up to these dictators and not just to vladimir putin but also to the ayatollah i found it hypocritical that we are allowing russian mediators to

negotiate going back into the iranian nuclear agreement i don't know how we can do that because in essence it signs of the very maniacal individual. >> and extraordinarily well read man and also a man of deep faith. it's things like this going on in ukraine my are people speaking out and rise up isn't this why we go to synagogue on saturday or sunday on church? and not to intervene in every case but where we can help our fellow man from being slaughtered in a massive

genocide doesn't that motivate us quick. >> it should and the judeo-christian faith is rooted in a standing up against evil and as we see happening here in ukraine you have a designated nationstate invaded and we of the judeo-christian faith of the western not have allow that to happen. the fact we are sitting around and twiddling our thumbs to look at the half measures is not how you send a message to people. the only thing you can do is to squash and i say right now if you have people in ukraine why don't we supply with the needed resources i found it unconscionable to send portable air defense systems that are reticent so they can shoot down the airplanes that's what they need to have an ukraine to have dominance of the airspace.

>> we wille' be right back.

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but what we have to do is go back to the obama biden administration when they have that off microphone moment with dmitri medvedev and to say say i will have more flexibility and that is what got us into this position in ukraine because not too long after that russia came across and took over portions of eastern ukraine and then annexed to crimea and barack obama set the mr e-aside so when joe biden comes into office with the same failed policies of the obama administration the red line in the sand as opposed to the strength shown by donald trump that you articulated to take out the terrorist and bomb that syrian airfield you do

not hear any response from vladimir putin joe biden has shown weakness he cannot even protect his own border with the vice president who has shown that she is not confident a time she travels she says very embarrassing they all see this as a moment of opportunity. once again firing rockets into israel. >> do you agree with what i said in my opening monologue? there seems to be some confusion when it says america verse are we about to surrender to the communist chinese and the military machine? are we about to surrender our allies to russia or north korea or to iran? does that mean america verse that we do not confront enemies unless they strike lawrence, kansas? there is a level of incoherence and insanity and people claim to

be for america first really sound like aoc. at undermine and hit the country too. >> you are right it comes back to what reagan talked about america being the shining city that sits on a hill of liberty, freedom and all that really is good in the world that's important we stand this exact same principles. i look at what's happening here in the night states of america right now let's face it we have a biden administration that is somewhat compromised when it comes to dealings with russia, china and maybe even ironic. again i don't understand but were going back into the iranian nuclear agreement. if we do not get back to understanding, we need to have a strong military. we need to have a strong economy paid we need to have strong diplomatic actions because right now we don't have those things for that is what we call the dime theory which are the four

elements of national power for the country but we got to go back and understand the fabric of who we are, constitutional conservatism which is classical liberalism that you talked about natural right theories meant something else i would recommend for people to read and that is a very short essay from a french economist from the 1850s by the name of frederick. it's called the law. it talks about the right role of relationship of government with the individual. i think that is another thing we have to get back to understanding. >> that little book you talk about the law, was one of ronald reagan's favorite essays. he had it in as a private library and had it at home at home with the alexis de tocqueville and all of these other things are so crucially important so people really understand what americanism is all about. americanism is not about turning and running when you face hitler, stalin, the ayatollahs

in iran, putin or anybody else. that will come back to bite you or you do not want to be bitten. and then you wake up one day and all of the said use a good god, what is going on? that's when you lose a lot of men and women and it is too late but i cannot thank you enough colonel west for your patriotism, for your service to your country your entire family in your wisdom. thank you very much my friend it. >> a god be with you. >> youtube. will be right back. you lived through thirty-seven red-eye flights in a middle seat. eleven miracle diets... forty-two college campus tours... four overseas postings... one minor stroke... and four citywide blackouts... and now, with leqvio, you can lower your cholesterol, too.

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mark: will come back america for this group we've talked about that is not received enough attention. that vladimir putin works with, particularly when he wants to commit the worst kind of atrocities. i think it is very important that we step back a little bit, take some time and educate

ourselves, what is this group? nobody better then at georgetown university professor of strategy, sean mick fêtes. i read your piece in the hill. it's really eye-opening to me it says germany's intelligence agency intercepted radio traffic recently confirming the notorious russian mercenary unit, played a leading role in the war crimes. professor, what is this group? its ties to putin and what is their mission? >> the wagner group has been putin's weapon of choice the last essay eight years since like 2013/14. what it is, these are mercenaries they do not work for the russian military. they are recruited from ex- russia military and from around russia and the former soviet union. they do the kremlin's dirty work for putin. they are completely owned by an

oligarch. in one of the things they do is commit atrocities per. >> they seem to be doing a hell of a good job of it lately in ukraine. what are their numbers? about how many of them are them if you know? >> we don't know exactly i've talked to a few members actually. they would estimate about ten -- 15000 members have it passed through their doors since 2014. but it's hard to know at any given time how many there are. the number's range from five -- 10,000 break many of them are trigger polars and many have a special like russian special forces backgrounds. their numbers have been dwindling in ukraine recently too. mark: why is that they're getting killed? >> there being whacked. putin use the wagner group as a fifth column they have been used

in africa and the middle east for the kremlin's purposes. and they are not russian soldiers. they are used to do the dirty work. then they work for oil as well. right before the war in ukraine started, many of them left africa and we expected them to be redeployed and sure enough they were. they were in kyiv, kirk eve operating in small teams like five men elements in plain clothes for the missions were to sabotage ukraine infrastructure, to help pave the way for the ukrainian and tanks. they had a kill list of political leadership they're trying to kill or capture. or in some cases like bucha they would massacre civilians as a way to coerce the ukrainian

population. and now that we are seeing a russia do more of this, putin is now shifting away from sort of conventional warfare into flattening cities and massacring people. this is what the group specializes in. mark: we just read a mass grave of 9000 people. we are reading about the movement of tens of thousands of ukrainians into russia. like stalin and hitler pulling these people in. we are looking at all of this. and then we read about the most sickening kind of torture, and rape and as i read your piece and i listen to you now, it is not just the russian regular army, it is these guys who are doing this. has the united states ever taken affirmative steps to deal with this group given the fact i has

been used by putin all over the world? this is a central question. the reason why putin has come to use it mercenaries as his weapon of choice is because our intelligence community like the cia and others, they do not track these groups. they track russians, chinese, iranians, terrorists they do not track mercenaries and they do not track this makes them an ideal instrument for putin preview it to wage war in secret if you want to war they could get dirty fast you know the agency is not using them. we should be doing is step up the intelligence collection of where the wagoner group is operating now in ukraine and other places. they are looking to work in sudan. they were working in sierra for a while, and libya all over the

place. and the reason why the wagoner group is so valuable to putin is they provide good, plausible deniability. if they get caught massacring a village putin can say hey, it wasn't me, wasn't the army. it was these rogue mercenaries. which of course is completely false. these guys are working on the orders of the kremlin and the g are you military intelligence et cetera. so, but we need to do if you want to put a stop to this, one of two things. one, if they live off of plausible deniability, put in plausible deniability. our intelligence community can easily track some of these guys and shine the light on them. so, at that point they are useless to putin. they only have value to putin if they can stick around in the shadows. let's turn on the spotlight,

take the shadows out and that is okay. they'll disappear putin putin doesn't need them anymore. but more importantly we need to consider getting more aggressive. so if putin says hey we find out there's a bunch of wagner group guys in ukraine, or wherever in the world, and putin says they are not bare, then who will miss them if they disappear? maybe we should take them out. or find people to take them out. >> maybe we should. who's the oligarch that owns this paramilitary operation? >> the guys is sometimes called putin's chef as a nickname. he is in putin's inner circle. he has an umbrella corporation called concorde group. under this corporation has the wagner group which is not a legal entity is with a college

other. in st. petersburg the internet research agency also owns a bunch of oil and gas and mining companies. the way he has worked in the past is he uses the troll factory to create a fog of war. the mercenary group slithers through that fog of war for victory for the way they get paid some of it comes the russian government allowed us to the oil and mining companies this oligarch also owns. it sort of its own ecosystem. which we could disrupt if we wanted too. mark: good idea. we come back with this organization had an impact on propaganda in the united states hearing with the media and the political party? we'll be right back.

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mark: welcome back america. professor sean is a georgetown university professor strategy. has done a fascinating analysis and examination of the wagner group. so professor, my question to you do they have an influence on our

own media? not that our media intentionally's influence but are they involved in the propaganda game? >> the wagner group is not. they work in the same umbrella corporation of this oligarch who is. so, the wagner group will works very closely with the internet research agency also known as the troll factory in st. petersburg which tries to spread disinformation in the united states to destabilize our country. they work together. we know for example in sudan is a very ambitious politician there who is trying to entice the wagner group and the troll factory into sudan to make him if you will essentially a president and give them mining rights. so we have seen them work closely with this information in the past. >> putin has been behind the assassination of journalist, political opponents, former

corporate allies, oligarchs. he has reached into london, he's reached into washington, he is reached all over the world. they estimate may be 200 assassinations give or take it. is the wagner group behind this sort of thing? >> it's hard to say if there behind political assassinations there mostly like a field a team or something like that. they could be. they get some training and some of those things. you see accusations of this everywhere they have worked. everywhere the wagner group is been in africa, the middle east it seems war crimes follow them wherever they go. and there have been accusations they have assassinated people. certainly have done massacres. one question we should think about is how would we know if the wagner group were in the united states right now? they can work undercover for

action which is a tradecraft i'm not saying the wagner group is in the united states. it is something that if you were putin, they are a better way if you want to do paramilitary operations in the united states is a better way to use wagoner versus a special forces. i think we should be asking these difficult questions. mark: everybody else is in the states these days so why not. when it comes to the wagner group and russia, is this the kind of group that potentially could turn on putin? or does he have them so firmly and his back pocket and the shelf oligarch or whatever you call them is quite the opposite they would help putin stay in power in the in the inner circle in any of the in the shadows knifing this going on at the kremlin. >> it's a very interesting question. people have speculated what

happens if decided to have a palace coup using the wagner group, could he do it? the wagner group are pretty tough. these are ex- special forces guys. but putin also has his own guard around him. so who knows. could be an interesting firefight. i would say this it seems he's pretty loyal to putin. but the rank-and-file of the wagner group is not always that loyal. they are mercenaries they are interested in the money. some of them are sociopaths they actually just want to kill people. a few of them are pretty loyal to not putin but the russian national cause. but the wagner group guys i have talked to her pretty unhappy. the wagner group has a morale problem. they would rather be working

like for somebody and that united air of emma's a lot more money, a lot more danger. they don't necessarily like working in their situation where they know their ultimately cannon fodder. it is a possibility we could find ways to help get them out of russia and not that we went to support them but if you went to neuter the wagner group that is only to do it. for who knows maybe there could be a palace coup. although i'm not saying that will happen but it is certainly possible. mark: professor thank you for opening our eyes to the wagner group which is really part of the putin regime and what is taking place in this horrendous genocide in ukraine rethink usurper. >> thank you very th much. mark: we'll be right back. a promise is everything to old dominion, because it means everything to you. and it's easier than ever to get your projects done right. with angi, you can connect with and see ratings and reviews.

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mark: since i've been asked i will answer. my father was a world war ii vet signed up when he was 17 years

old my mother's father, my grandfather was a world war ii vets, he signed up when he was 34 years old. and in fact he was a marine who saw combat in iwo jima and guam. his brother-in-law, my great uncle, ted he was a world war ii vet he fought at canal i can go on, and on about the great heroes in my family, i am not one of them. i'm very proud of what they did. and i think they would consider the current commander-in-chief a disgrace and i know they would consider the republican party the democrat party as turncoats of liberty of this country. you cannot see what is taking place in ukraine, good versus evil. you cannot see another ukraine holocaust taking place the butchering of individuals like this and pretend it has nothing to do with the united states as a putin has said himself that

his goal is to go beyond ukraine, read what he wrote last summer. 91-year-old holocaust survivor parishes of mariupol basement and she said as she was dying, why is this happening? why is this happening? think about it i will see you next time on life, liberty, and levine. >> without was an alert tonight ukraine officials the u.s. secretary entity blinken and lloyd also met with zelenskyy today and kyiv. lloyd austin is a genius when he was head of centcom called isis a flash in the pan i thought were just be helping ukraine question a good evening kevin buckley next revolution. so tonight we have just learned the president of france is going to stay an officer of the five-year site may not like micron you may not agree with his policies he was an interesting fact. at the end of his