>> i think the hope is, definitely, that the russians get themselves into some kind of quagmire, learn their lesson, and pull back. but the problem is, there's going to be so much wreckage in the meantime, that the country is going to be in a worse situation and more refugees. and as was mentioned, the saudis. they're apoplectic about this, that we are going off the russian state, they're going after theest are. o opposition, and they are dumping into all islamic groups there. so the tension is going up rather than lessening. so this could get a lot worse, erin. >> it could get a lot worse. i know you've been incredibly concerned about a broader war that could happen, if u.s. and russian planes, for example, were to collide. president obama, in the meantime, bob, says he's keeping troops in afghanistan, a place you've spent a whole lot of time. and he says he's doing it explicitly to prevent terror attacks on americans. will it make a difference? >> no, it's not going to make any difference. that's a political statement. what he's afraid of is that