Transcripts For KNTV Meet The Press 20140223

The battle for ukraine underlies the tension between russia and the United States of late. Some believe it harkens back to the cold war. Im joined now by the president S National Security advise ser susan rice. Welcome back to meet the press. Good to be with you. What is the latest . Where is yanukovych . Are you worried this is a situation teetering towards civil wars . Yanukovychs whereabouts are not own at the present. We do know he picked up in a very orderly fashion and left the capital kiev just after having signed an agreement that was designed to lead to a unity government. From the u. S. Point of view, our interests have been clear all along. We want to see a deescalation of the violence, constitutional change, we want to see democratic elections in very short order. And the opportunity for the people of ukraine to come together in a coalition unity. Thats happening is the United States on the side of the protests are . The United States is on the side of the ukrainian people. They have indicated three months ago when this began than president i yanukovych, his decision to turn away from europe was not the choice of the ukrainian people. The people expressed themselves peacefully. They were met with violence and that did not end well for yanukovych. Did he have to go, in the president s mind . He has gone. But does he have to relinquish power . He has gone. In it is an interesting and complicated situation. Hes lost enormous legitimacy despite having originally been democratically elected. By turning it on his people, using violence in the streets and flouting the will of the people. Hes saying hes not stepping down. But he left kiev packed up, in an orderly fashion, took his stuff, his furniture with him. This was not fleeing in a very disorderly fashion. Now he is in a place that will reveal itself. Yesterday we know where he was. Today, were not so sure. The fact is hes not leading at the present in. In foreign affairs, as in other things, location matters. I want to show viewers the map. Ukraine is a huge country, 46 Million People on the doorstep of russia. That certainly matters to russian president Vladimir Putin who very much views ukraine within his sphere of influence. Half the country, big eastwest divide, half to the country to the east. Millions of them speak russia, identify with russia. The president spoke with putin. Was message pointed lit back off here . Let ukraine follow its own course . The president s message was look, we have a shared in a ukraine that remains unified, whole, independent and is able to be exercise t will of its people freely. At that point, putin was in agreement. They were both able to say that they wanted to seep is the implementation of the agreement signed on friday. That agreement is consistent with our principles and consistent, in fact, david, with where the situation is going. We are going to have a unity government, we are going to have near term elections and constitutional reform. That reflects the will of the ukrainian people and the interests of the United States and europe. Putin is viewed widely as the architect of this bloody crackdown. Do you not feel this could take an ominous turn, that russia after the Olympic Games could decided to perhaps send forces in and restore the kind of government that russia would like to see . It was putin who guaranteed 15 billion of loans to union covich so sheld reject the european and. Its in nobodys interest to see violence return and the situation escalate. There is not an inherent contradiction between a ukraine that has longstanding ties to russia and i ahmad dern ukraine that wants to integrate more to europe. Isnt it interesting i heard the president say, we dont want to look at this like the cold war. Doesnt Vladimir Putin look at this sphere of influence very much in a cold war context . He may, but if he does, thats a pretty dated perspective that doesnt reflect where the people of ukraine are coming from. This is about whether the people of ukraine have the opportunity to fulfill aspirations and be democratic and part of europe. Is this a good thing . Three years ago, the arab spring in egypt, see this is democratic fer meant. Ukraine and venezuela and other places. Does president obama view this as a positive sign . Democracy is a good thing, david. Sometimes the making of it is very messy. There can be setbacks, it can be uneven. We all know through many examples in history that democracies are more, they protect their people, more peaceful it, more able to be deliver Economic Opportunity to their people. Over time this trajectory is a good one. Yet, as americans are paying attention to this, i talk to people who may not understand all the complications of ukraine and the split toward the European Union versus russia. They see Vladimir Putin trying to shore up a sphere of influence. They see the russians releasing this tape of our diplomat Victoria Nuland talking about the opposition and the political future of ukraine. They see russia talking about the u. S. Meddling in its area, giving an i lum to edward snowden, blocking the United States when it comes to syria. Why shouldnt americans look at Vladimir Putin and russia today as an enemy. We have to be very pragmatic about our dealings with russia. There are areas where we cooperate and areas where we disagree bitterly with them. Look at both sides of the ledger. We will have been able to reach a new and very important arms control with them, the new stfrlg s. T. A. R. T. Treaty and cooperate on afghanistan and russias role in enabling us to move our personnel in and out of afghanistan, very important. On iran weve been working together on the effort to use diplomacy to see if we cant obtain a nuclear agreement. They have been cooperative in that. On the other hand, we differ bitterly over issues of human rights, differ over syria, over their treatment of lgbt persons and we differ over a number of issues. The fact of the matter is, we should cooperate where we can. Where we cant and dont agree, we should be very plain about that and stand up for that, which we do. Dont you understand the perspective of american whos say when is enough enough . When do you confront putin at some point. We do call him on it and the president is plain and forceful in his dealings with putin. Its not necessaritors return to a cold war construct which doesnt reflect the realities of the 21st century. One of the areas where the russians have been so unhelpful and secretary of state john kerry was really critical past week is about syria. This is how president obama described syria a couple of weeks ago on the situation there. We still have horrendous situation on the ground in syria. The state of syria itself is crumbling. That is bad for syria, it is bad for the region. It is bad for global National Security. And yet, this deterioration that the president describes follows the president issuing a red lin for syria over chemical weapons and then stepping back from that. Now you have the situation he zwribs. Assad is stronger with russias help al qaeda and other jihadis are present in syria and 95. 5 of the most dangerous chemical weapons remain in that country. Isnt it time for a new u. S. Strategy . David, look, nobody is content with the situation in syria from a humanitarian point of view its horrific. Theres no question. Were constantly reviewing our options and looking at ways to accomplish our objective. Let me be clear what that is. First of all we dont want to see terrorists and the threat emanate from syria. Were concerned about the growing extremist presence there. We believe its critical that assad leave power and there be a Transitional Government formed by Mutual Consent and that the institutions of the syrian state remain intact. We dont want to see the state fragment. Its important to understand this. Which is why we have tried to pursue a diplomatic resolution, not because were naive and think there isnt a real hot war on the ground. At the end of the day, unless and until theres a political situation, this thing is not going to be resolved. Its not going to be resolved on the battlefield. You met with intelligence chiefs from the region, the saudis and others who want more lethal aid provided to the rebels to tip the balance and take assad out. Is the u. S. Prepared to escalate on the ground to achieve a different result on the battlefield . The United States spts actively supporting the moderate support where the material and political support. That will superior is increasing in consultation abcoordination with countries in the region. Were also the largest supplier of humanitarian assistance. Yesterday because of u. S. Leadership and other partners we were able to get a resolution in the United Nations Security Council that will binds the Syrian Government to allow humanitarian assistance in. You talk about the humanitarian assistance. The level of suffering is huge. The fact that assad has killed about a Million People have died. Refugee crisis adding numbers to that by almost another million. I mean, the scale of mass suffering is huge in syria. Its more like 100,000. I was speaking about the refugee number, i apologize. But the scale of mass suffering is huge. Senator mccain has said that future president s will apologize for what the u. S. Has failed to do now. Youve beened is in the past about mass suffering, genocide in rwanda and president clintons admitted failure to intervene. And you worked on those issues. This is what you told the atlantic back in september of 2001. I sow are 0 myself if i ever faced such a crisis again, i would come down on the side of dramatic action going down in flames if that was required. How does that view influence the advice you give to the president on syria . First of all, david, this is not a genocide. Its a horrific civil war that has spilled over and infused the neighboring states, one we have worked very hard to end through support to the opposition, humanitarian assistance, through active and aggressive diplomacy, and david, we have the every interest in trying to bring this conflict to a conclusion, but if the alternative here senior tore intervene with american bootsen ot ground as some have argued, i think that the judgment the United States has made and the president of the United States has made, that is not in the United States interests. We are very much committed to trying to work to resolve this conflict, but in a way that doesnt insert the United States back into a hot bloody conflict in the middle of the middle east. This is a complicated time for the world, as you know, better than anybody. If you think about democratic fer meant around the globe, think about american retrenchment from afghanistan and iraq, sectarian division in syria, and iraq. Theres been some criticism of president obama about just what his view of the world is in his Foreign Policy. He wrote this add dasity of hope. He wrote without a well articulated strategy that the public supports and the world understands, americaing will lack the legitimacy and ultimately the power it needs to make the world safer than it is today. What is that view of the world that president obama has that he seeks legitimacy for in. President obama views the United States as the leading and most important global power because of the power of our economy, the power of our values, the power of our military. We are and will remain the most important country in the world and without our leadership, which we exercise every day, actively from africa to the middle east to asia, the world would not be nearly as stable and as prosperous as it is. Now, it is complicated as you said. There are setbacks and there are difficult circumstances but david, look what the United States is doing around the world. Were actively working to try to bring a negotiated resolution finally to the conflict between israelis and palestinians and as difficult and fraught as that is, were making progress because of United States leadership, we have the prospect of resolving the Iranian Nuclear program through diplomacy. We dont know that it will succeed, but were closer to that goal than we have ever been. You dont worry about a potential for stalemate as you already hear the iranians say that the idea of removing missiles is off the table . David, theres always the potential this is doesnt succeed. But we have already halted the progress of the Iranian Nuclear program and began top roll it back in critical ways. For six months, this program will be set back in the timelines for them to achieve any kind of breakout have been expanded. In the meanwhile, we have the potential to explore a comprehensive peaceful resolution to the Iranian Nuclear program. That is not something that we could say six months ago, and it is very substantially a product of american diplomacy. And its indicative of the way we approached conflict around the world where we are actively involved in trying to resolve them from africa to asia to the middle east. When you were last here, ambassador rice, it was an eventful morning on a story of benghazi and the horrible attack on our compound there. We havent seen you in awhile. As you look back at your involvement in all of that, do you have any regrets . David, no. Because what i said to you that morning and what i did every day since was to share the best information that we had at the time. The information i provided, which i explained to you was what we had at the moment. It could change. I commented that this was based on what weep knew on that morning was provided to me and my colleagues and indeed to congress by the Intelligence Community and thats been well validated in many different ways since. And than information turned out in some respects not to be 100 correct. But the notion that somehow i or anybody else in the administration misled the American People is patently false, and i think that thats been aptly demonstrated. The politics of this are still intense. Do you believe it cost you the secretary of state job . David, i dont know. What i do know is that i have a great job. Its the greatest honor in the world to work for the president of the United States and on behalf of the American People. And i couldnt ask for anything more. We know as was said at that time and has been found later that security at the compound was a gaping deficiency. But its also an issue of finding the people responsible for this attack. The president spoke forcefully about that during the president ial debates. This is what he said in october of 2012. We are going to find out who did this and we are going to hunt them down because one of the things that ive said throughout my presidency is when folks mess with americans, we go after them. 17 months later, are we any closer to finding who was responsible. Yes, i think youve heard the attorney general speak to this. The investigation is ongoing and indeed has made progress. The point is we will get the perpetrators. We were stay on it until this gets done. If you need any proof of that, recall the capture operation that occurred not long ago in libya against somebody who attacked the United States many years ago in africa. The United States stays on the case. This president , our president obama, has said that we do what will it takes to bring the perpetrators to justice. And indeed, we will. Finally, i just want to on a final point about ukraine and what you will be monitoring and watching for today and in the days to come. Well, most importantly, david, we want to obviously see a deescalation of the violence. For the last few days, things have been much more peaceful. That is welcome and something we want to see sustained. The parliament is actively involved now in choosinging this Transitional Government, setting the date for elections, and appointing acting heads of ministries. We want to shore that up and very importantly, we want to the cooperate with partners in europe, the imf, the russians if theyre prepared to participate, to help the ukrainian economy which is very, very fragile. Need to reform and they need financing. And that will be very much a part of our shared efforts. Do you think the United States has a big financial role to play in helping . The United States will play a role along with partners in europe. If russia chooses to participate, this he be welcome. The imf is the big player on the block in it respect. Susan rice, appreciate it very much. Coming next here, were going to get a sense of whats happening in ukraine on the ground from our chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel in kiev, plus our roundtable, insights and analysis, david brooks, Chris Matthews, Judy Woodruff and Helene Cooper with their reaction to ambassador rice and also americas role in the word coming up here on meet the press. Like carpools. Polly wants to know if we can pick her up. Yeah, we can make room. Yeah. [ male announcer ]. Office space. Yes, were loving this communal seating. Oh, its great. Yeah. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share . A data plan. New at t mobile share value plans for business. Our best value plans ever. For example, you can get 10 gigs of data to share. And 5 lines would be 175 a month. Plus you can add a line anytime for 15 a month. Sharings never been better for business. Sharings never been better for business. All stations come over to mithis is for real this time. Step seven point two one two. Verify and lock. Command is locked. Five seconds. Three, two, one. Standing by for capture. The most Innovative Software on the planet. Dragon is captured. Is connecting todays leading companies to places beyond it. Siemens. Answers. Were back. Youre looking live at Independence Square in eyev, the capital of ukraine. Before we get to our round table, fast moving developments this morning. I want to go to Richard Engel live in the capital, as i said, kiev. Richard, good morning. Reporter good morning, david. The parliament here has appointed its speaker as the nut interim president and an arrest warrant has been issued for i guess we can describe him now as former president yanukovych although he claims he is still president. There were never more than 20,000 dem mon straighters in the squire behind me but in less than a week they managed to change the balance of power in europe and central asia. The revolution began with way fiery miscalculation by the government. When last tuesday, riot police tried to storm a threemonthold protest camp in the center of kiev. The demonstrators held their ground, setting bonfires to keep the police at bay. Police couldnt take the square, and by the next morning, they were reduced to throwing stone. The police didnt have much food or shelter either. We saw them exhausted, are sleeping on the streets. By day, three protesters felt they had the upper hand and charged police lines. Then the government made a second tragic mistake. Riot police opened fire, killing nearly 80 demonstrators. In minutes, volunteers converted a nearby hotel into a field hospital. Yanukovych with support of russia tries to kill ukraine. Reporter the u. S. And other nations threatened sanctions and under pressure everybody europe, ukraines president yanukovych agreed to limit his authority and hold new elections by the end of the year. The protesters sensed weakness and chose to push on. They occupied kiev. Starting with the president ial offices. Police abandoned their posts. So is today your liberation ta day . I hope so. Yanukovych fled for Eastern Ukraine and demonstrators entered his chalet. Kiev fell without a shot. Hungry for information, people pressed their faces to the gates of parliament for updates, broadcast on loud speakers. Parliament was taking over the government. For the demonstrators, yanukovych was a russian puppet. Im not against russia, just im against putin. Maybe he wants to return Something Like that. This week, Vladimir Putins real politic met 21st century politic as Tahrir Square style seized is demonstrations aimed to moscows doorstep making russia wonder will there be more . Is this the store of a eurasian spring . Demonstrators say they will stay in the square to act as an insurance policy during this transition of power. Richard, thank you very much. This morning, im joined by our roundtable, jude id woodruff is, pbs newshour, New York Times columnist david brooks, host of hardball Chris Matthews and National Security correspondent Helene Cooper of the times. A big fast moving with great importance. I come back, chris, to the idea of this being a high stakes moment between the United States and russia. Not just about the ukraine. Its so familiar too because i grew up with rooting for the captive nations of eastern europe, catholic school, a lot of catholics went to school with us from ukrainian. We rooted like hell for them. We spent is the entire cold war avoiding face to face military conflict with the soviet union. We didnt want to fight him and i think were on the same tricky slope right now. Make our values clear but dont let it get to be the russia and putin who is very much like the soviet union fighting over turf. Dont let it become that will because that is means real trouble. That, judy, is what you heard ambassador rice insist on, thats not how president obama wants this to be ued. Thats right. You asked her ifs in a return to the cold war. You heard her say, thats not how we see it. And but for the United States, it is it is crucial in that it affects europes stability. Its another plates. The u. S. Needs russia right now to work with us on syria. You asked her about syria. The u. S. Needs russia to work with us on iran. These are countries that have a direct relationship right now to some of the International Issues we care the most about. But at the same time, david, we cant forget about the people of ukraine. Has all happened very fast. They are facing an incredibly uncertain period right now, economically, they are in somebody said to me theyve gone from being the breadbasket of that part of the world to being a basket case. The imf, role of the u. S. All matters right now. I just think, too, as i think why this matters, it is ultimately about the United States and russia, but its the also about what america stands for in the rest of the world, david. What is our voice . What is the president s voice . Is it a Foreign Policy thats defined by its limitations or by its potential . And you look at, you know, this democratic fer meant on the streets. Its not just happening there, but lots of parts of the world. Weve got a big test coming up. The crucial battlefield is in putins mind. Hes seen an autocrat fall on his border. Hes got be thinking about himself. Hes probably thinking he was not tough enough. Putin is probably going to want to crack down more and the second thing, what about cry meria . Do i let ukraine break up . No, i dont. I do what i if to what i did in georgia. This is a potential epic conflict between us and then. What the u. S. Is doing, i think pretty well, give the administration credit, trying to get ukraine to a place where they dont force pugh tin to make these decisions, getting the imf involved, getting the opposition to unify, getting this legal. The deeskalaization is the core to our strategy done as effectively as we canning helene, i was struck by josh in the talking points memo blog this week where he took on the idea this is a cold war again. He basically said stop it. Russia doesnt matter. He said russia still has Nuclear Weapons but they simply arent the same kind of threat other than its dangerous to have so many of them around in the world. At the end of the day, russia, meaning the Nuclear Weapons, russian just doesnt matter that much. In the early 21st century world, certainly not as a primary threat to the United States. I wonder if he was talking to mitt romney who said that russia was our number one strategic threat back during the campaign. I think thats why youre seeing the Obama Administration reaction is not over the top because at the end of the day did, what we need to remember is this whats happening in ukraine matters so much more to Vladimir Putin than it ever will to us. And thats why this is his backyard, his sphere of influence. He sees things and the russians tend to see this so much as a zero sum game. The americans are ahead and theyre behind. And so what chris was saying i thought was really interesting. This is so familiar. Ten years ago, we saw this almost the same scenario, not quite coming to too close to civil war but saw the same thing in the ukraine with the president ial prsh elections where russia tried to influence, it turned off the gas pass and thats when weep saw an yanukovych beaten but he ended up back in power and youre seeing the same thing over and over again, and we need to remember just how important this is to russia at the end of the day, its not the number one priority for the United States. And in effect, what happened ten years ago laid the seeds for what happened today because there was the orange revolution and yet, the victors fought among themselves. This was a messy outcome. Yanukovych took over. The corruption has become rampant. Youre looking at a country where they had the golden opportunity but theyve gotten much more complicated. I think this will be a major issue for ten years. This is a civillation scene between these twos places. Ukraine sits on the middle of that scene. If putin goes into ukraine either in a more heavy handed way he has, if the country falls apart, then europe is sucked in. Youve got to really a gigantic part of the world, russia which essentially has a failing system, an economy based on corruption and petro dollars. The talent leaving, a gigantic part of the world moerlsz imploding. Its hard 0 to not seep how that is not a major issue. Chris, i want to talk about obama. I do think that this becomes a leadership challenge. You heard susan rice say, its not in our interests to go into syria. Theres a lot of agreement about that. But nevertheless, have you another country falling apart, thats syria, iraq looks like 80s listing a bit because of sectarian division. Do you think this president has been clear enough what america stands for . I think hes clear about what he stands for which is not to get involved in any who are countries. It is consistent with the American Peoples sense of pulling back. What i found interesting over the weekend not the olympics but in ukraine, theyre wearing ski masks which told me that the people involved with the overthrow of the president there are not at all comfortable that this is going to hold. That the russians are coming. You dont want to be identified. I think theyre worried whats coming next. The russians coming in, at least a portion of the country. Let me bring the conversation back home. Meanwhile, back in washington where things have been a little bit quiet. Theres a great message. This is our Political Team described in our first read blog on friday. Both democrats and republicans have cleared the decks of anything that could divide their parties before the 2014 midterms. Republicans have essentially taken immigration off t table as well as the threat of default or a government shutdown. Meanwhile the white house has now remove chain cpi from its budget and slowed the push for fast track. Both sides oods are employing a lets do no harm strategy. The white house is saying we want to spend more on the president s obama and get back to some of the infrastructure priorities. Thats campaign condition mode. Its all bad for the country. What are the things that are going to help the economy . Immigration would be a huge boost. A fast track drad deal across the atlantic and pacific, huge boost. Chain cpi would save a trillion dollars off the federal budget debt. These are all very good policies where there is majority support and where in the old days in washington, you would cobble together a Bipartisan Coalition and get rid of the fringes. Right now the fringes have veto power over Everything Else and nobodys found a solution to that. Used to be the parties would help each other to make up for their differences. To the democrats, this election a rosy scenario is to lose five senate seats not. They could lose ten. Theyve said if were going to lose ten seats, a big sweep, theyre going to battle stations. Nothing on social security. All out talk about minimum wage, nothing on trade. Davids dead right. Nothing is going to get down because both parties have gone to their base. Something that cog make a difference is the president. 80s approval rating. Its in the low 40s. As long as it stays in that range, the democrats really have to worry about not only losing seats in the house but also losing control of the senate. If he can figure out a way at this point and here we are february, to get his numbers up somehow, i think that helps across the board. But right now, youre right. Both parties, both parties have gone into their bunker and theyre waiting, theyre sitting there waiting to see, you know, what happens on the campaign trail. Its all out of washington. Helene, its so interesting in a bit of this vacuum, campaigning goes on, Foreign Policy comes back in in respect. Still a lot of focus on Hillary Clinton income 2016 on this program, rand paul raising the specter of bill clinton as a sexual predator reviving the lewinsky scandal, the 1990s return. Heres Lindsey Graham facing a primary fight in the South Carolina being challenged because of his positive comments about secretary of state clinton and her record. Heres a portion of that ad running against him. I think she is a good role model, one of the most effective secretaries of states, greatest ambassadors for the American People that ive known in my lifetime. Secretary Hillary Clinton. Isnt 20 years of Lindsey Graham in. Washington enough . So here it comes, right . The state Department Record and proximity to the Hillary Clinton. Thats so funny. I think whats really interesting about this though gets to something that the republicans should actually be worried about coming up in the midterms is that you know, they are in danger of having in their primary season ante up with candidates too far to the right even for the republicans. They need people more moderate if theyre going to have any chance of taking the senate from the democrats in november. And so they will if they go too far to the right, if you start coming in, people like Lindsey Graham from the right, you could end up in another dangerous situation for republican candidates. Should be said Lindsey Graham was a house manager in the impeachment of bill clinton. Not like hes a conservative guy. Hes a pretty conservative guy. We complain about washington but so the voters of South Carolina get a chance it 0 make a decision, do they want a guy who is a very conservative senator . Hes a very effective senator. The people of South Carolina, do they want an effective senator or a talk show host. Ironically, Lindsey Graham was among the most confrontational on the issue of benghazi. He chooses his issues. Could i defend, well, former ambassador rice, when she was on the program with you, if you look at the bipartisan report of the Senate Intelligence committee beacon the pain points it was a copycat situation, came out of what happened which came out of that crazy video out of los angeles but it did track and the language used by her that day which is extremism rather than terrorism had come from the Intelligence Community. The refusal to mention al qaeda in that context was direct lit a decision by petraeus as d. C. I. So it wasnt ta bad a performance. And for them to make a big deal about this thing i think think is not going to get very far. The intriguing about that appearance on then program and others by susan rice that Hillary Clinton didnt whether it cost her her job as secretary of state, she didnt engage on that as i didnt necessarily expect her to today. Thats right. I think the republicans have beaten that drum. Theyll continue to beat that drum. But i dont see it playing a central role in the election. I mean we all know, weve said this 1,000 times, politics of six months from now much less two, three years from now might as well as be 100 years away. We dote know whats going to happen. Ted nugent will stay something stupid. Well come back with the roundtable later on. Up next, a live report on the capture of one of the worlds most wanted criminals, the arrest of mexicos top drug lord, plus a story from harry smith you dont want to the miss about a member of the 1980 miracle on ice u. S. Hockey team who sold his most precious memory of that will magical year, his gold medal. Thats coming up. Meet the press is brought to you by morgan stanley. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. [ birds squawking ] my mom makes airplane engines that can talk. [ birds squawking ] my mom makes hospitals you can hold in your hand. My mom can print Amazing Things right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] my mom makes trains that are friends with trees. [ train whistle blows ] my mom works at ge. Youre looking at the worlds top drug lord, el chael chapon arrested by Pacific Resources in ma dat zat lan on saturday. He has long been considered the most wanted figure in the mexican drug war that have left tens of thousands of mexicans dead. Mark potter is live for us in miami with an inside look at the man responsible for much of the drug traffic to the United States. Good morning, mark. Reporter good morning. To the measurement can government and u. S. Drug agents the arrest of guzman is equivalent to the il canning of Pablo Escobar in columbia or even Osama Bin Laden in the war on terror. Chap poe had been saw the for years and legends grew he was invincible. But now he has been caught. The arrest this weekend by Mexican Marines of joaquin chap poe guzman ends his years long reign as the man widely believed to be the most powerful and prolific drug trafficker in the world. The drug cartel he headed were infamous for their levels of brutality throughout mexico and the u. S. Boarder. When most of america thinks of organized crime, they naturally think of guys like john gotti, sammy is the bull is, even al capone. But the reality of the situation is chap pole guzman made those guys look like boy scouts. Authorities say the Sinaloa Cartel has long been mexicos longest Drug Trafficking organization supplying with the United States with myth it, heroin and cocaine. And 80 to maybe 90 of all the drugs that came into this country belong tong chap poe guzman. Officials say guzman was arrested at this condominium in the resort city of mazatlan and that he offered no resistance and no one was hurt. Sources say u. S. Agents from the dea, i. C. E. And the u. S. Marshal Office Supplied mexico with intelligence leading to the arrest. Guzman has also been indicted in a half dozen u. S. Cities as far as north as new york and chicago where he was named public enemy number one. In addition to his reputation for extreme violence, especially while seizing drug routes in other cartel, the group is known for its use of tunnels to sneak drugs under the u. S. Border fence. Forbes magazine named him one of the worlds richest men and Authorities Say he spent hundreds of millions of dollars a year to corrupt officials in mexico and the United States. Hes turned more and more on our country. To corrupt Law Enforcement on our side of the board offer and our judicial system. Law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and prison officials. After guzman escaped from a mexican maximum security prison 13 years ago by hiding in a laundry truck, he built his cartel in the ruggeded mountains and his exploits became legendary. And were even celebrated in songs. But this morning, its a different story. With guzman back behind bars. And a question now is where will guzman be held and tried in pex mexico or the United States . There are also concerns his arrest could lead to another outbreak of violence over the next year as rival traffickers try to take over his routes. David . Mark, thank you so much. Theres so much intrigue about getting him this time and previous times that they tried to find guzman that were unsuccessful. Well, both mexican and u. S. Officials say they h been tailing guzman for the last month. And in the one instance just missed him by seconds. Finally figuring out the way he escaped was by using a tunnel dug beneath the house where he was hiding. This weekend they were on to that and got him. Mark pot ter for us in miami this morning. A fascinating story. Thank you so much. Were going to take a break here. Up next, remembering our colleague, garrick ultimately, a man for all season at nbc news and a former moderator of meet the press. Plus later on this final day of the olympics, tough times for one member of the famous u. S. Miracle on ice team and why he was forced to sell his coveted gold medal. 20 years of my life was gone. However, that memory will never go away. Er, that memory will ne go theres a saying around here, you stand behind what you say. Around here you dont make excuses. You make commitments. And when you cant live up to them, you own up, and make it right. Some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where its needed most. But i know youll still find it when you know where to look. Coming up, it was one of the greatest achievements in modern sports history, but for one player, tough times forced him to part with his gold medal. Harry smith has the story. You dont want to miss it coming up next. Part with his goad medal. Harry smith has the story. You can separate runway ridiculousness. From fashion that flies off the shelves. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. And only national is ranked highest in car rental Customer Satisfaction by j. D. Power. natalie ooooh, i like your style. vo so do we, business pro. So do we. Go national. Go like a pro. Anbe a name and not a number . Tor scottrade. Ron im never alone with scottrade. I can always call or stop by my local office. Theyre nearby and ready to help. So when i have questions, i can talk to someone who knows exactly how i trade. Because i dont trade like everybody. I trade like me. 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We got some sad news around here friday morning that we lost a great journalist and colleague, garrick utley. Utleys career spanned the globe as a Foreign Correspondent, he covered major moments in history from the vietnam war to the soviet led invasion of prague, and, of course, politics here at home. He moderated this program for from 1989 through 1991. During that period, he reported on the Tiananmen Square protests in china and the fall of the berlin wall. There is certainly no more appropriate place to talk about the breathtaking events of the past several days and the prospects for the future than right here on what has been the front line of the cold war. Our friend tom brokaw remembered utley this way, garrick embodied history of nbc news for most of the latter half of the 20th century. And he will be greatly missed. Garrick utley was 74 years old. You can go to our website and watch utleys final sign off as moderator of meet the press in 1991. It is at meetthepressnbc. Com. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. [ birds squawking ] my mom makes airplane engines that can talk. [ birds squawking ] my mom makes hospitals you can hold in your hand. My mom can print Amazing Things right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] my mom makes trains that are friends with trees. [ train whistle blows ] my mom works at ge. You really love, what would you do . [ woman ] id be a writer. [ man ] id be a baker. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] id be an architect. What if i told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you . When you think about it, isnt that what retirement should be, paying ourselves to do what we love . We know in the cyber world, threats are always evolving. At first, we were protecting networks. Then, we were protecting the transfer of data. And today its evolved to infrastructure. Finance. And military missions. Were constantly innovating to advance the front line in the cyber battle, wherever it takes us. Thats the value of performance. Northrop grumman. Thats the value of performance. Weve all met bill. He shows up once a month asking for money. You cant avoid him, but you can stop him from wasting 150 Million Pounds of paper every year. Ask bill to go online. Green bill is much cooler. The more you know. Now to the final day of the Olympic Games. The u. S. Hasnt won the gold medal in mens hockey since 1980. That was the year, of course, of the famous miracle on ice triumph against the soviet union. Still considered one of the greatest wins by an underdog in sports history. But as our harry smith reports, there is one member of that celebrated u. S. Team still searching for a miracle. Reporter at a public rink in st. Claire shores, michigan, a man laces up his skates, when he gets on the ice, he moves with neither grace nor speed. But that doesnt matter to mark wells, that hes back on skates at all is remarkable. Maybe even a kind of miracle. Wells knows a bit about such things. He was a member of the 1980 u. S. Olympic hockey team. The team that beat the soviets and went on to win the gold medal. This is at the end of you guys beating the soviet union. Yes. Reporter is there a word beyond elation . No. Reporter that can describe the feeling . No. You know, if i could find one word, id be lucky. It was more a feeling, a feeling within. God was there. There was magic. Reporter in 1980, no one could imagine a thaw in the cold war. Nor could anyone imagine beating the soviets in hockey. In international play, no one was better, not even close. Back then, we believed the victory was a triumph for our way of life. And we meant it. You guys are all standing there, and the gold medals are being put over your heads, what was that like . At first i didnt believe it. Even though i had been through all the trials and tribulations, to this day, i was the hero. I knew it was the feeling of being a hero in my country. It wasnt about hockey anymore. Reporter after the games, wells would bounce around pro hockey, but soon found himself flat on his back, disabled by agonizing back pain. He underwent surgery after surgery, became a recluse, ran out of money, and then did the unthinkable. He sold his medal for 40,000. Years later, it would bring 310,000 at auction. Youre getting ready to make this decision to sell this medal. Symbolic of maybe the most important moments of your life, how hard was it to make the decision . How hard . Felt like i died. 20 years of my life was gone. However, that memory will never go away. Reporter it was the memory of what happened on the ice in lake placid that helped pull wells out of his despair. He started moving again, started living again. I had to dream of walking one day, and that was, again, going back to being an olympian at that has put me at this level today. Took me able to do this interview and thats why im here to tell the world, nothings impossible. Reporter wells is working on a book about his life. Hes become a father. And, against doctors orders, gotten back on skates. Ive overcome. And, it is, to me, a miracle. Of course it would create a miracle. Why cant i do it again . Reporter a second miracle on ice. Exactly. Thats the way i see it. Whoo reporter for meet the press, harry smith, nbc news. And as harry mentioned, mark wells gold medal was eventually sold at an auction in november of 2010 for 310,000. The buyer was identified only as a rancher from the western u. S. Were back with our round table with some final thoughts on these Olympic Games and the medal count, which we can share with everybody and put on the screen. There is some advantage to home field advantage. It is the russians who have the highest total, david brooks, and highest number of gold, but didnt win it in hockey. I had a conversation with mitt romney, you can shave the ice. There are actual home field advantages to hosting the winter games. I, of course, model my life after the x games. I know. People dont know my costume, everything. I thought shaun whites grace in defeat was one of the highlights of the game for me. Hes known as a pretty competitive guy in that culture, but he handled it well. Anybody can win well. Losing well is hard. I want to pay tribute to the women athletes. We dont celebrate womens athletics enough in this country. If theyre winning or losing, i remember the womens snowboard halfpipe, cakaitlyn farrington. I think slope style is a great our women did so wonderfully. And even and Michaela Shiffrin as well. Christiansen went up in the air, doing all the stuff in the air. Way up there and then finally comes down perfectly. Like some sports, like baseball, i dont think they get much better every year. Football maybe. But definitely the winter sports, these people are better than they ever were before. For all of the fear, security fears, fear of terrorism, and violence, the games up until this final moment have come off well. They have. I mean, i think thats because were so worried about it beforehand, we gave putin a giant gift of a good luck charm. Thank you, all, very much. That is all for us today. Well be back here next week. Tonight, dont miss the olympic closing ceremonies right here on nbc. And coming up this friday, on today, an exclusive interview with first Lady Michelle obama. If its sunday, its meet the press. This morning, big names in high tech pour their money into coffee. Well talk to blue bottle founder james freeman, anna net true and the search is on for silicon valleys top enpreprenewer. Martin giles of the economic this week on press here. Good morning, my first guest would tell you whatever coffee you are sipping this morning is not as good as his coffee. He serves each and every day at blue bottle coffee, so fine and carefully crafted, some would say so fusscy, its drawn all kinds of attention and money from some of