significant consequences to the russian economy. joining me now, michael mcfaul, former u.s. ambassador to the russian federation. he wrote an op-ed in today s new york times entitled confronting putin s russia. and the atlantic s steve clemmons. he s also an msnbc contributor. ambassador mcfaul, what is the significance, the real significance to russia of being dropped from the g8? russia s trying to play it as oh, this is no big deal. i think it s the end of a 30-year era. an era that began under president reagan and mikhail gorbachev which was defined by engagement with russian leaders, engagement with western leaders, and integration into these western clubs. gorbachev was invited in the summer of 1991 to be a guest of the g7. it took several years until they formally joined in 1998. but that s always been the strategy. integration, bringing russia in.
uh-oh. geico. fifteen minutes could save you.well, you know. we re following breaking news involving a possible israeli strike against syria. israeli warplanes are reportedly suspected of firing on a shipment of russian missiles near the syrian coastal town of latakia. this apparently part of an effort to keep advanced weapons from falling into the wrong hands. israeli officials are not commenting. it comes on the heels of a deadline in which syria declared it has destroyed its stockpiles of chemical weapons and production facilities. for more on the significance of this, i m joined by the atlantic s steve clemens. steve, what can you tell us? well, i just happened to come from a meeting with a senior administration official who happened to state that this was an israeli attack.
stop! the nation could be headed for its first-ever default. uncle! uncle! the president saying i won t have a conversation. we asked to sit down and have a conversation. it s about having a conversation. what s up, i m pay pay phone. if it you re there, pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up. he knows what my phone number is. we re having ourselves quite a little game of phone tag here. george, i m ready for the phone call. i just want to hang out. no big deal! i m ready for a conversation. let s get right to our panel. joining us is msnbc contributor, goldie taylor. the atlantic s molly ball and jonathan capehart of the washington post. welcome to all of you. go goldie, this crisis, there could be an up or down vote and end today. the president has advised him to do so. why doesn t he do it? because, frankly, his
he can do is increasing the polygraphs and checks on information that may have been leaked. it still means we have to have an independent counsel to look at how all this happened. and turkey is today warning syria that from now on, any military units near the border will be seen as a direct threat and a military target. the turkish prime minister says he changed his country s rules of engagement after syria shot down that turkish jet last friday. the passionate debate over the atlantic s cover story coming up next. hi, i m phil mickelson.
that music ageless. he ll be there tomorrow night like all politicians raising money, whether he ll have a gaga-inspired outfit on is what i m looking to find out. are you a gaga fan, chris? she s just madonna, right. i keep saying that and that makes me feel old. it s good workout music. chris cillizza good to see you. thanks, norah. that does it for andrea mitchell reports. and tomorrow, jane harman back from afghanistan, and the atlantic s jeffrey goldberg, and andrew ross sorkin. 7 here s tamron hall with a look at what s coming up next on mjs. the new nbc/ wall street journal poll backs up that the democrats are in trouble. and it s a mad as hell day,