Ex-Obama adviser: ‘Everything should be on the table’ in Ukraine conflict

A former national security adviser to President Obama said Thursday “everything should be on the table” in how the United States intervenes in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. 

In an interview on “CBS This Morning,” retired Marine Corps Gen. Jim Jones was asked whether the U.S. should use the threat of military intervention. 

“I think everything should be on the table. You don’t really have to talk about it. If you talk about it too much, you lose your credibility. And you have to be taken seriously,” said Jones, who served as Obama’s national security adviser for two years. 

{mosads}On Wednesday, lawmakers questioned Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel about whether intelligence agencies saw the Russian invasion into Crimea coming. 

Jones is out of the Pentagon now, he said, but he’s “quite sure” intelligence networks had advance warning, and would be surprised if the U.S. didn’t.

The crisis will end “hopefully diplomatically,” Jones said, and added that the U.S. should leave room for Russian President Vladimir Putin to retreat.

“I think that you do have to allow for the fact that he may conclude that he might have overreached and you do have to give him an opportunity to back out,” he said.

Encouraging allied support within NATO and reassuring the Baltic states should be the next steps, Jones explained. 

“I would say that this is a moment now where actions are required and words should be chosen very carefully.”