
Putin's Russia today - Former Ambassador Michael McFaul on "Intelligence Matters"
CBSN
In this episode of "Intelligence Matters," host Michael Morell speaks with Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and current director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Morell and McFaul discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin's main geopolitical objectives and personal anxieties about the West. McFaul shares behind-the-scenes details of meeting and negotiating with Putin, as well as thoughts on how the Biden administration should approach its relationship with the Kremlin.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Putin's attitude: "[H]e's been in power for over two decades. So he thinks he knows everything. He doesn't listen even to his closest advisers anymore. They're all second-tier people compared to him. It kind of reminds me of what I used to read about Stalin. He has no peers inside the country anymore, in his view. So he's quite arrogant."

WASHINGTON — An American intelligence assessment of the Ecuadorian presidential election, set for Sunday, concluded that a reelection of the incumbent president would better serve U.S. national security interests over the challenger. The assessment comes as the Trump administration mulls establishing a permanent U.S. military presence in the South American country, once known as the "island of peace," to help battle violent gangs, CBS News has learned.