Putin provoking US to justify more Ukraine attacks: Juan Williams
'Special Report' All-Star panel discusses the possibility of a 'hot war' between the U.S. and Russia.
This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," February 28, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have not taken some steps on energy sanctions. The Europeans, for example, are very concerned about further price spikes on gas in particular.
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD, (R-OK): Just last week the Biden administration announced they are going to cut off use through FERC to be able to cut off natural gas exports and natural gas pipeline expansion. He is literally limiting access to oil and gas to the world.
SEN. TOM COTTON, (R-AR): It's time for the president and some of our European partners to quit pussyfooting around. I know that they say they sanctioned 80 percent of the banks in Russia. Vladimir Putin controls 100 of the banks in Russia. He can use the other 20 percent to continue to finance his war machine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Just some of the sounds from leaders around what is happening on the ground in Ukraine.
Let's bring in our panel, Juan Williams, FOX News analyst, Jason Riley, "Wall Street Journal" columnist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Hugh, I talked with Brit about the amazing outpouring from European nations, some that have not been active on this front before, and a change in tide there. But what the Biden administration is doing and not doing is a factor ahead of the State of the Union address tomorrow.
HUGH HEWITT, SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: Well, I heard Brit say what I also believe, Bret, and I heard that exchange, we have to sanction Russian oil. Russian oil is paying for cluster bombs that are killing children in Kyiv and Kharkiv and other cities throughout Ukraine. There is a direct line from Russian oil, the money that comes in, the invasions that is underway, the atrocities for which hopefully war crime trials will be held.
And 57 percent of people asked by Quinnipiac in a new poll released today, has President Biden been too tough, not tough enough, or just right -- 57 percent said not tough enough. I think they think they are talking about the oil sanctions. We need to stop that oil. We need to do it yesterday. Hopefully he will announce it in the State of the Union.
BAIER: Correspondents over there, our own Trey Yingst, Steve Harrigan, Lucas Tomlinson, Benjamin Hall. But other networks obviously have their own. One of them is NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, who treated this, "Perhaps the biggest risk calculation, moral dilemma of the war so far is the massive Russian convoy about 30 miles from Kyiv. The U.S. NATO could likely destroy it. But that would be direct involvement against Russia and risk everything. Does the west watch in silence as it rolls?"
That's great question, Juan, and one in which we're going to have to deal with the images that come from whatever happens on the ground, probably in coming days.
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: I think that's right. But a hot war between the United States and Russia, two nuclear powers, Bret, I don't think that is exactly what the world wants. I don't think it's what the American people want at this juncture.
I think what we want is understanding, and I just go back to what we heard in the previous segment, that we're dealing with someone who appears to be erratic. The normal purpose, planning, perspective, that we associate with a calculating former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin, is absent. And I think he is trying to provoke some reaction from the United States, from even the NATO allies that would therefore allow him to justify taking more brutal action against the Ukraine.
And I think in coming days, given the fact that his military does not -- is not having success, he's going to try ramp things up. And we have got to be in position to be patient, to use the high level intelligence we have had to preview and anticipate his moves rather than play into his hand and suddenly make us the topic of conversation rather than his villainy.
BAIER: Fair enough. And there are a lot of questions about the erratic behavior of Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations presented these texts from a Russian soldier to his mother, a dead Russian soldier now. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGIY KYSLYTSYA, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N. (through translator): "Momma, I'm in Ukraine. There is a real war raging here. I'm afraid. We are bombing all of the cities together, even targeting civilians. We were told that they would welcome us. And they are falling under our armored vehicles, throwing themselves under the wheels and not allowing us to pass. They call us fascists. Momma, this is so hard."
This was several moments before he was killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: Jason, obviously we have no way to authenticate that text, but the United Nations, the ambassador is reading it to the United Nations. Both sides trying to make their case. But that is compelling, and you wonder how much Russian forces have a morale issue as they go through Ukraine.
JASON RILEY, COLUMNIST, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Sure, Bret. But this is also part of the targeted sanctions strategy that others have been critiquing. It's only going to prolong that type of suffering. If we're going to do sanctions, they need to be comprehensive and they need to be severe. And to spare the energy sector, which is the lifeline of Putin and Russia, doesn't make a lot of the sense here. You have got to go after the energy sector.
Biden is concerned -- one of the reasons we are not doing this is out of domestic policy concerns of Joe Biden. He is worried that it will redound to energy prices here to U.S. where inflation is already at a 40 year high. He doesn't want to exacerbate that situation. But if Biden wants to tackle that, then stop the war on fossil fuels here in the U.S. Open up the drilling on federal lands.
We are a large energy producer. Exploit that. Tell Europe, if you don't get it from Russia, you will get from us. That is the way to handle that. But we have to go after the energy sector ultimately if we want to make Putin and Russia feel the pain.
BAIER: But Hugh, the possibility that President Biden is going to say something like that about energy here in the U.S. at the State of the Union is probably what percentage?
HEWITT: Five percent. But if he does not, I hope tomorrow night, Bret, that Nancy Pelosi in her last State of the Union behind the president rips up the speech like she did, because unless the president does that, children are going to continue to die from cluster bombs in the big cities of Ukraine.
BAIER: The over/under on the rip up speech is definitely taking the under.
(LAUGHTER)
BAIER: All right, guys, thank you very much.
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