WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 I want to welcome everyone back to the Pekanana Show. 2 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:07.400 Thomas is right back. Two episodes in a row with Thomas. 3 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.080 We are blessed. How you doing, Thomas, I'm doing well, 4 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:10.519 Thank you. 5 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:14.599 I'm glad. I'm glad people aren't suffering. Thomas Ordals I guess, 6 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:19.559 but yeah. 7 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:20.239 I don't think that's possible. All right. So the last 8 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:24.199 time we recorded, you had mentioned what we were talking 9 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:31.440 about Russia. You had mentioned Russian Syrian relations and I'm 10 00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:35.799 just obsessed with Syria, have been for a while now. 11 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:36.200 Been. 12 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:38.520 I got kicked off of podcast ones for saying that 13 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:40.759 Asad was probably one of the best leaders in the 14 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:45.640 world right now. And when you look at the post 15 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:50.200 the post Nuremberg order, these are two countries that you're 16 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:54.719 supposed to hate. So I have great interest in them, 17 00:00:54.880 --> 00:01:00.799 and you have information on their relations since this sense 18 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.159 disorder kicked off, and I want to hear about that, 19 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:05.640 So start anywhere you want. 20 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:13.359 Yeah, I mean there's two there's two variables that even 21 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:22.079 people who are generally dissident adjacent don't fully grasp regarding 22 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:28.719 the relationship between Russia and Syria. Syria's got outsized significance 23 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.760 for a small country, for a lot of reasons. Okay, 24 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:36.159 some of those are cultural, some of those are Jewish strategic, 25 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:40.840 you know, some of them oh to the kind of 26 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:48.200 peculiar circumstances that Syrian people, who are unique people. It's 27 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:53.359 not just some kind of euschauvinistic mythology that the Syrians 28 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:58.920 themselves you know promote, you know, they they view themselves. 29 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:00.879 They're very much the air the kind of like the 30 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:07.280 Hellenic tradition. You know. But when the case of the 31 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:12.439 Soviet Union and then Russia, you know, a major component 32 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:16.639 of the Cold War was the ability to index with 33 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:23.159 both developing societies as well as as well as well 34 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:29.439 established national cultures in a meaningful way. You were basically 35 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:32.879 like selling your culture, okay, and the case of the Russians, 36 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:38.960 stuff like this was deeply historical in a way. It 37 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:41.719 wasn't for America. I mean, for reasons that I think 38 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:44.960 are fairly obvious. You know, like what America had is 39 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:47.840 kind of its selling point, to be kind of basic 40 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:53.280 about it, you know, was a technology, a model for prosperity, 41 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:59.439 you know, an opportunity to kind of align oneself with 42 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:04.439 what appeared to be the sewer power that had kind 43 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:07.960 of like the momentum of history and and kind of 44 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:14.080 the glamour and prestige of of what is new behind it. 45 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.639 The Russians really, I mean, maybe this is somewhat ironic 46 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:28.479 considering the kind of dictates of Marxist Leninism. You know, 47 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.960 the Russians really kind of sold the Soviet Union, and 48 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:36.840 the Russians today kind of like sell their diplomacy in 49 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:40.719 terms of you know, like them representing a deep and 50 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:47.680 powerful heritage. Okay, And as I'm sure people have noticed, 51 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:51.240 there's been something of an orthodox resurgence which is really 52 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:56.759 interesting that very much owes kind of like United Russia 53 00:03:56.840 --> 00:04:00.439 and not just putin himself. I don't think it's particularly religious, 54 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:03.000 but that it was very much to kind of the 55 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.319 you know, Russian public diplomacy. And I mean there's historical 56 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:12.599 and Zeitgeist variables obviously they facilitated, but you know, Syria 57 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.920 is very much part of that. Okay, you know, after 58 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:22.639 I'm jumping around a bit, but bear with me. I 59 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:26.480 cite nineteen ninety nine is the year when not only 60 00:04:26.519 --> 00:04:31.120 did kind of the the neo conservative backs truly triumph 61 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:35.120 and foreign policy corridors, but that's also when the Bush 62 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:39.399 Baker concord that they established with Moscow, which is like 63 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.480 shattered for all time. And what shattered it was like 64 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:48.879 the unprovoked and like latantly irrational attack on Serbia, because 65 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:52.920 I mean Serbia, Serbia is the Russian Federation and like 66 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.319 the Russian nation, kind of what Croatias did Germany, but 67 00:04:56.360 --> 00:05:01.199 even more like deeply felt because obviously, you know, there's 68 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:08.160 a there's a there's a sectarian homogeneity in among Russian 69 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:11.079 people that there's not as part of it, but you 70 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:16.040 know that when when NATO assaulted Serbia, it it was, uh, 71 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:17.959 it was like it was kind of like viewed as 72 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:23.360 like an assault and Byzantium itself. Okay. Now, Syria obviously 73 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:30.160 is very diverse in sectarian terms. However, there's a tremendous 74 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:36.839 amount of Orthodox artifacts of Orthodox lore in in Syria, 75 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:43.720 you know. And I believe, although cultural anthropologists or relisous 76 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:46.920 scholars will disagree on this somewhat, I believe that Alo 77 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:53.000 whites are are occulted Christians. Okay, even if they're not, 78 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:59.639 they're very much adjacent Oriental Christianity, which itself is a 79 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:05.839 very or indexes very tightly with Orthodoxy. Okay, So there's 80 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:10.360 something of a special relationship between Russia and Syria anyway, 81 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:17.360 and not to be I mean crash isn't the word, 82 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:20.800 like not to be like overly simplistic about it, or 83 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:27.800 not to like fetishize, you know, racial matters. But I 84 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:28.920 mean if you look at if you look at the 85 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:35.279 Syrian uh kind of like ruling cadre Alo white or Moslim. 86 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:38.720 I mean, these look like white people. Okay, that's not 87 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.279 like some that's not just like they're it's not that's 88 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:46.839 not Telemundo optics. That's not some accident. You know. Traditionally 89 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:50.279 everybody kind of viewed like the Levantine Arabs and especially 90 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:53.279 you know, like the Alo Whites and the Christians is 91 00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:55.720 like basically like not a Western people, but like a 92 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.839 civilized people. So trying to cast the Syrians is like 93 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:02.879 a bunch of like Beto Win like salavies or something 94 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:06.680 is totally bizarre. Like that's that's like saying like the 95 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:09.480 Japanese or a bunch of like primitive like cave dwellers 96 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:13.279 or something like. It's really it's really really ignorant. But 97 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:15.519 it's also just like totally at odds with kind of 98 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:21.319 how how Near Eastern cultures sort of like index with 99 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:24.199 the West and with Russia, which isn't the West, but 100 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:31.839 which is you know, a powerful, a powerful cultural force 101 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:36.360 to this day, although obviously not not I know, the 102 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:41.519 same degree as as kind of anglophone societies and mores 103 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:50.319 have have formative power. But there's a lot here. And 104 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:54.680 if you want to, like, if you want to understand, 105 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:59.560 like why the Syrian War also like Syrian Civil War 106 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:05.439 like cut so deep in the minds of Zionis, Like 107 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:11.199 Russia has been at war with Israel for decades, like intermittently, okay, 108 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:16.360 And a lot of that derives from Israel's ongoing conflict 109 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:20.319 with Syria. You know, as we get into like Russian 110 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:24.279 forces literally went into action against the IDF. There was 111 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:30.480 a huge dog fight over the Suez Canal between Soviet 112 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:34.919 MiGs and like Israeli F four's and Mirage fighters. I'm 113 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:37.519 talking like the largest like Ariel and like larger than 114 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:40.240 anything happened over Vietnam. This was like a general war 115 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:45.360 between the Soviet Union and Israel. Okay, this is why 116 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:51.600 the nineteen seventy three crisis was so dangerous, you know, 117 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:54.240 Like I'm always saying, that's what the Nixon quotes from 118 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:55.840 the Nickson tapes where he says, like, you know, we 119 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.320 can't blow up the damn world for these people, like 120 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:04.159 these people meaning the Israelis, that's what he's talking about. Okay, 121 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:09.799 it wasn't just an ordinary matter of coldor proxy battle 122 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:15.600 that kind of got out of control. You know. I 123 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:18.240 think we should get a little bit into like Jewish 124 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:22.080 Russian relations it just to kind of recap. If that's 125 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:26.960 not gonna derail the conversation too much. This might have 126 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.159 to be like a two part thing. If that's agreeable, 127 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.200 no problem at all, Okay. And I know that we've 128 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:41.240 dealt somewhat with so Jewish relations before. But let me 129 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:44.000 give like a brief, like a little background, Okay, and 130 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:47.759 stop me if I'm I'm kind of becoming too tangential, 131 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:54.399 like for context. By the turn of the twentieth century, 132 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:59.360 like by nineteen hundred, the majority of European Jewry, like 133 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.480 as we've think of it were, like lived in the 134 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:06.759 Russian Empire. There was about eight eight point between eight 135 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:12.200 point five and eight point seven million, like European Jews. 136 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.799 Over five million of those people lived in the Russian Empire. 137 00:10:16.120 --> 00:10:19.120 They constant do about four percent of the total population 138 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:22.840 of the Russian Empire, and about ninety percent of that 139 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:27.440 population they lived in the pale of settlement, you know, 140 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:30.559 to which they were. They were largely restricted there, you know, 141 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.799 like going to owing to both law and custom. Okay, 142 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:41.360 like we got the uh and all, but about like 143 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:44.559 three to five percent. I've heard varying statistics. I rely 144 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:46.480 on Hannah or Rent for a lot of this because 145 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:48.879 I I don't think people can I mean, people try 146 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:51.320 to impeach her credibility all the time, but like serious 147 00:10:51.320 --> 00:10:57.039 people don't, you know, really attempt to suggest that she's 148 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:02.080 not a wasn't a credible scholar, but basic but close 149 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:06.399 to close to ninety seven percent of these these Jewish 150 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:10.360 people in the palest settlement or or it works as 151 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:13.679 like middlemen of a sort, okay, in commodities, you know, 152 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:17.120 like uh, it was like literally like the converse, like 153 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:22.440 this funny converse of of uh, like the Russian Orthodox 154 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:26.360 peasant population where like the lot majority of them were farmers, 155 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:30.399 you know, like virtually virtually no, virtually none of the 156 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:32.919 people in the Pale settlement were farmers or factory workers. 157 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:38.080 The primary role of these Pale settlement Jews, you know, 158 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:43.360 they bought, shipped, resold local produce. You know, they provided 159 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:49.399 uh commodities on credit to provide a kind of a 160 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:56.480 basic uh like security to to the standing crops, as 161 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.320 well as you know, like more and more speculative endeavors 162 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:04.519 they're involved in in in a state management, you know, 163 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:10.240 and and and leasing. You know, they held the deed 164 00:12:10.679 --> 00:12:16.120 or the title to a lot of productive capital, you know, tanneries, distilleries, 165 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:20.360 like sugar mills, like graneries, and like taverns and inns, 166 00:12:20.919 --> 00:12:24.200 which the latter were like heavily indexed with the government 167 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:26.679 because there was the government had and a lot of 168 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:31.879 these Eastern European kingdoms and states like a monopoly on 169 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:41.720 liquor production and things. I mean, it's complicated, but you know, uh, 170 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:47.399 they were disproportioning represented in the in professional services, namely 171 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:51.200 as doctors and pharmacists, which obviously had you know, some 172 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:54.639 prestige behind it. I mean it's like today it doesn't really, 173 00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:01.799 but in those days it really did, you know, And 174 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:05.240 there was a this became an issue during the Second 175 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:09.000 World War as like ethnic cleansing began in earnest I 176 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.559 mean between various populations. But there's a lot of Jewish artisans, 177 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:17.519 you know, like Taylor's shoemakers, guys who understood like medals, 178 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:21.840 how to work medals, you know, specialized jewelers and watchmakers. 179 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:29.720 These guys are overwhelmingly Jewish, and and especially in rural environments. 180 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:35.120 You know, I think we got into before two. These people, 181 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:38.799 the Russian Jews and the and the and the Russian peasantry. 182 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:44.399 They lived in absolutely segregated quarters. Like the Jews spoke Yiddish. 183 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:47.679 You know, they woren't distinctive clothes. They observed, you know, 184 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:53.279 a dietary regiment totally different than the majority. They practiced 185 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:57.240 a rigid kind of endogamy. You know, they only married 186 00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:01.799 within the tribe. You know, they basically like every aspect 187 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:07.519 of kind of like their cultural learning was oriented towards like, uh, 188 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:11.919 the preservation of a collective memory, which was contra that 189 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:16.639 and the majority. Okay, you know they the centers of 190 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:20.679 communal life obviously were you know, like the synagogue. You know, 191 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:22.799 like in Russian culture, like there's like going to like 192 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:24.960 the bathhouse or sona is a big thing. There was 193 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:29.320 like Jewish saunas and like you know Russian ones. You know, 194 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.679 these these people that were not like assimilated into like 195 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:36.080 Russian society. And it wasn't just like because they desperately 196 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:38.559 wanted to be but like Russians were racist or something 197 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:41.799 like these like these people literally lived like parallel but 198 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:45.559 not intersecting lives and like the Russians themselves, like they 199 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:48.039 viewed Jews as like this kind of the did the 200 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:51.440 culture is bizarre and opaque. They viewed it as as 201 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:54.000 uh as hostile to the Christ. They viewed it as 202 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:58.000 like unclean, like literally and like ritually like other you know, 203 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:03.279 those were three people, you know, so basically these people 204 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.720 on the cross paths in the course of business, which 205 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:13.600 was sometimes basically amiable, sometimes pretty hostile, and occasionally you know, 206 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:17.240 they they'd run across each other, and you know, because 207 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:18.879 they they both had to deal with the same you know, 208 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:23.799 state bureaucracies to which one of the other population was 209 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:27.399 you know, like heavily represented, depending on mandate and locale 210 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:31.159 and stuff, you know, and I mean like not non 211 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:33.919 Jews didn't even most it was very other than scholars, 212 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:38.600 you know, and and linguists, like almost no Russians even 213 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:43.960 understoody Ish, you know. And this went beyond just Russia, 214 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:48.799 like in in Ukraine and Lithuania, Lafia and Moldova and Belarus, 215 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:54.000 like we're like, what's now Poland, Like these these these 216 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:58.039 pale settlement people and the people outside the pale settlement, nonetheless, 217 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:02.759 who were like you know, heavily indexed into that cultural milu, 218 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:04.919 like they didn't a lot of them didn't even speak 219 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:07.120 like the national language what we think of as the 220 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:13.279 national language. You know. It's so there you're you're talking 221 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:20.960 about you're talking about like an enforced alienation, okay, coming 222 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:24.519 from you know, Russian jewelry itself. I don't mean that 223 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:26.759 like the Tsarist system was like we must exclude these 224 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:28.879 people at all costs. Like, don't get me wrong, there 225 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:32.840 was definitely like reciprocal enmity, you know. But it's but 226 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:35.840 people gotta understand. It's like you read you read these 227 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:38.240 like dummy accounts where it's like, oh, there was you know, 228 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:40.840 Russian and Polish Jews were just like everybody else. But 229 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:42.360 then there was this prejudice that came out in the 230 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:46.320 twentieth century that's totally completely acidine. It was nothing like that. 231 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.600 You know, you could make the case in Berlin, which 232 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:52.600 might as well have been a different planet, you know 233 00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:56.360 than the Russian Empire. Especially and it's kind of rural 234 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:02.960 geographic corridors. You had Jewish Berliners who basically like looked 235 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:07.480 askance at kind of like there the ostudent their their 236 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:11.920 ostudent brethren. You know, they they spoke German. You know, 237 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.400 they even if they didn't particularly want to mix or 238 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:21.039 integrate with German people, you know, they they kept up appearances. 239 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:23.839 You know, it was totally different. You can't extrapolate that 240 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:27.599 experience or or the experience like Parisan Jews to that 241 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:31.200 of to there the East. You know, like I'm not 242 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:34.720 saying there weren't like enmities in in the case of 243 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:38.480 the former that sort of dictated the terms of cultural interaction, 244 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:41.400 but it was it was not remotely comparable. It's like 245 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.240 I want to move, I want to jump ahead a bit, 246 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.519 you know. So that's this kind of like laid so 247 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:50.400 this is the context, understand you know, like the the 248 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:53.920 the Russian national culture and the place of like Jews 249 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:59.480 in it now obviously like the Bolshevik Revolution. You know, 250 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.759 it's kind of mac Donald. He coded a lot of 251 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:05.200 data and he wrote a lot about you know, the 252 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:12.400 outsized role that the outsize role that Russian Jewish people 253 00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:15.519 played in in the NKVD and the terror apparatus and 254 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.920 things like that. You know that that's all true, okay. 255 00:18:20.279 --> 00:18:24.559 And then of course, you know we've talked about you know, 256 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:27.839 Yaqui's view of the Doctor's plot in what was then 257 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:32.759 Czechoslovakia and the kind of purging of these elements from 258 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:37.839 the nomenclatura. I don't want to rehash all of that 259 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:39.640 because it's kind of too outside the scope. But the 260 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.799 point is when people today talk about it like, oh, Russia, 261 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:46.279 Russia is zog quote unquote zog or like Russia is 262 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:50.119 this you know vis a the you know, the the 263 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:54.160 Jewish diaspra or Israel. You're talking about like deep seated 264 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:59.400 hatred and animosity, like real hatred. You know, the fact 265 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:03.200 that like Theians don't like as that punch the air 266 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:06.920 and like openly curse you Da every morning. But the 267 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:09.039 fact that like Putin doesn't go on TV and like 268 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.720 declare that like you know, I deny the Holocaust, and 269 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:16.559 the fact that you know, Netanya who doesn't say inflammatory 270 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.680 things about the Russians publicly, like that means absolutely nothing. 271 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.160 Like first of all, I mean, if you don't understand politics, 272 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:25.519 if you think it's about you know, wearing your actual 273 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.519 feelings on your sleeve. You don't understand diplomacy, even at war, 274 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:31.279 especially at war if you think that does as characteristic 275 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:35.039 about enemies relate. But anybody would say that, you know, 276 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:39.160 like Moscow is something like love for jewelry is an idiot? Okay, 277 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:43.000 I mean that's not This is a very very very 278 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:49.480 hostile and tragic history. You know, so jumping forward as 279 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:53.960 people know, you know, Stalin, who is the constant machiavellian. 280 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:58.119 Stalin played cards pretty close to his chest when like 281 00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:03.759 the uh when you know, during the when when Israel 282 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:07.440 like you know, from nineteen forty seven to forty nine 283 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:10.920 basically you know, like when when when Israel is a 284 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:13.400 Jewish state it was being established. He did it for 285 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.079 a couple of reasons. First of all, because elements like 286 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:19.559 Ergun you know, and Hagan and whatever we're like get 287 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:22.319 war with the British Empire would remained like the falling 288 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:26.279 British Empire, and Stalin obviously like supported that. But Stalin 289 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:29.920 also like he wasn't clear like what kind of trajectory 290 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.119 Israeli politic from take like very quickly, you know, the 291 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:37.359 Soviets like dropped and you know, all appearance of good 292 00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:41.160 offices with Israel whenever game clear that this was you know, 293 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:45.200 the the that it was basically you know, a state 294 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:48.240 that represented kind of like the express political will of 295 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:52.000 like radicals and and and highly racializion is and it 296 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:53.680 was it was just like it was totally off the 297 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:57.240 table for like the Soviets to get behind Israel. And 298 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:07.279 really by after the Suez Canal crisis, like like Israel, 299 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:11.359 like Palestine became like literally kind of like other than 300 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:14.319 other than Europe Central. It became kind of like the 301 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:21.119 conflict diet of the Cold War, okay, and the Soviet 302 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:24.559 Union literally went to war with Israel. And the key 303 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:32.759 to this, you know, hostilities in absolute earnest really emerge 304 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:35.640 in conventional terms, and the immediate aftermath of the Sixth 305 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:39.599 Day War in ninety sixty seven, this kicked off what 306 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.119 was called by the Kremlin as well as as well 307 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:48.400 as by Nasaar's people the Continuity War. It translates Rolphick 308 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:55.000 to the Continuity War. It so between nineteen sixty seven 309 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:58.720 and seventy three, the story is not only it took 310 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:05.160 a massive reireament and retraining program of the of Egyptian forces. 311 00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:08.200 They actually started trying to prop up Egypt when well 312 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:12.519 the sixty were was still in progress. But regular Soviet troops, 313 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:15.400 I'm not talking advisors, I'm talking the Red Army. They 314 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:19.279 took up infantry positions opposite Israeli forces to hold the 315 00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:22.599 Suez Canal line at all costs. There was there was 316 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:25.480 Soviets who were manning the anti aircraft defenses around Cairo. 317 00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:31.920 There was a there there were Soviet advisors who were 318 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:37.079 like leading company level elements of Egyptians against the IDEF. 319 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:42.200 You know, Like again, this isn't speculation or or or 320 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:44.640 something or something that was like you know, filtered out 321 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:48.119 of some like CIA memo that may or may not 322 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:51.480 have been an accurate reading of the the battle space. 323 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:54.359 This is this is this, This happened, This is documented, 324 00:22:57.559 --> 00:23:03.599 something that became a grave concern to Kissinger himself as 325 00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:07.599 well as uh people at Defense Intelligence as well as 326 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:12.359 the Pentagon. There was uh this So there was a 327 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:17.559 massive deployment of of integral Soviet combat units the Egypt 328 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:21.720 in response to what Israel called depth bombing in the 329 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:29.359 Egyptian hinterland. Like like basically this this this, this is 330 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:32.480 this is a campaign of strategic bombing of basically like 331 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:37.319 any like any target that uh it could remotely be 332 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:42.559 construed like infrastructural okay, like they're basically trying to flatten 333 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:46.759 Egypt and and you know, like and that and bombed 334 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:52.279 back to the Stone Age as it were. Okay, Naser 335 00:23:53.759 --> 00:24:03.359 visited Moscow secretly on grounds of you know, legitimate urgency, 336 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:09.920 and this accelerated, this rapidly accelerated implementation basically NASA for 337 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.519 a head of state, especially in those days when I 338 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:15.240 mean this is obviously like well into like the jet 339 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:19.319 commercial travel era, but for the chief executive of a 340 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:22.240 nation at war to travel to Moscow and say, like 341 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:26.400 we're getting killed like a help, I mean, that's that's 342 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:33.680 that's crazy. Okay. So from that point forward until the 343 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:37.839 conclusion of the seventy three war, like basically the Soviets 344 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:44.400 took over uh like operational authority, like on the Egyptian front, 345 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:48.960 the Soviet expeditionary force that showed up in Egypt. It 346 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:53.680 was the most advanced element. They had some of these 347 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:56.640 uh like service their missile systems they were using. They 348 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:59.079 weren't even sending these to North Vietnam. This is like 349 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:01.559 still a spiritmental They were sending like their best man, 350 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:04.720 their best material, their best hardware the Egypt to fight 351 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:12.240 the idea, you know, and contra of what Israeli propaganda 352 00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:15.599 was at the time, I think not. I think this 353 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:18.759 wasn't just capped kind of like both to the perception 354 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:23.319 of IDFs aptitude, but it was also kind of like 355 00:25:23.319 --> 00:25:26.480 a suage American anxieties, which at that point were at 356 00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:29.720 a fever pitch. You know. These Raelis claimed that by 357 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:32.720 the time the ceasefire in August nineteen seventy, there was 358 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:39.839 like this tascit ceasefire with Egypt. They claimed that like, well, 359 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:43.440 you know, there's this to like our victory over Soviet 360 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:45.599 and Egyptian forces and such, and it's only like a 361 00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:48.240 you know, it's only like a skeleton crew or kind 362 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:52.480 of like a token detachment of of of Warsaw Pact 363 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:55.200 forces on the ground in Egypt. Like that that was complete, 364 00:25:55.519 --> 00:26:01.039 that that was completely at odds with reality the uh 365 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:03.359 and and also too, I mean, if you're fighting if 366 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:06.200 the Soviets, and I mean today with far lesser degree, 367 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:09.200 but I think the point still stands in some capacities 368 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:13.640 saying that like the Soviets saying that Russians can't stand 369 00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:17.079 the attrition you're implementing. I mean, that's that's ridiculous. I Mean, 370 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:19.279 the one thing is Russian whatever their problems, and I 371 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:23.319 don't have any illusions about the problems Russians had the 372 00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:29.880 Russian Federation and Russians historically have in in military operations. Uh, Like, 373 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:33.000 suggesting they can't handle attrition is I mean, it's kind 374 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:34.880 of like laughable. I mean, that's like the one thing 375 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:41.799 they can absolutely handle. So there's so this uh kind 376 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:50.839 of bizarre uh state of things like set in. We're 377 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:54.400 on the one hand, on you know, there was a 378 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:58.160 there was this, there was kind of like this the 379 00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:01.720 like the official party line in Washington was that this 380 00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:04.759 wasn't a meaningful deployment by the Soviet Union, although the 381 00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:09.480 theater remains critical. You know, you had the actual Soviet 382 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:14.480 army on the ground like fighting IDF in nineteen seventy two. 383 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:17.599 And part of this, I believe was NASA's alleged Maine 384 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.799 and and and and and then and Naster's successors alledgered 385 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:25.000 Maine because like periodically this was declared nineteen seventy two, 386 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:28.119 there was a quote nquote rift between Cairo and Moscow 387 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:34.240 whereby Soviet advisors were supposedly like expelled from Cairo. Meanwhile, 388 00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:39.599 like the Soviet army again is fully indexed at you know, 389 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:44.720 in the command and commanding control capacity on you know what, 390 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:48.039 on the on the Egyptian front contra I d F 391 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:53.839 and they're like waging active war and you know this, 392 00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:58.039 So this was uh that, this was murky as anything 393 00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:00.759 was during the Cold War. But that's like the standard 394 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:02.720 rebuttal people have is like, oh but what about what 395 00:28:02.759 --> 00:28:05.119 about the you know, the expulsion of Soviet advisors? But 396 00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:07.359 it's like, okay, it also bigs the questions like why 397 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:09.759 this would be some public schism, you know, I mean 398 00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:11.920 it's not That's not the way the Communists did things. 399 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:13.559 That's certainly not the way the Russians do things, and 400 00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:19.480 that's certainly not the way Nasaites Egypt did things. There 401 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:22.599 were tensions between Moscow and Cairo leading up to the 402 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:27.440 seventy three war, but I mean literally on the October 403 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:37.000 sixth offensive and in concert with uh, with with with Syria, 404 00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:41.000 this was literally planned on the Arab's side by bye, 405 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:45.319 by Soviet command elements, you know. So I mean like 406 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:47.279 if if there was this like a rift whereby like 407 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:50.039 Soviet advisors or something like banished from Cairo. It's like, well, 408 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:52.519 I mean apparently they were. They remained, you know, like 409 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:56.920 prop practical purposes, like the war planners in Cairo. But 410 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:04.680 the U there's a guy named Victor Kayak and he 411 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:10.880 was a he was a KGB type who in a 412 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:13.640 ninety two back when a lot of these security apparatus 413 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:15.640 types on the Formeries block. I mean they were both 414 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:18.000 substantially younger then a lot more than we're alive. But 415 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:21.559 also there was it was a rare brought nineteen ninety 416 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:24.759 one to like nineteen ninety six, there was a rare 417 00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:27.319 kind of candor that these guys were prone to and 418 00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:34.640 in terms of discussing cooler operations. But and Kayak and said, uh, 419 00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:39.160 you know it was the KGB like US, US made 420 00:29:39.240 --> 00:29:43.640 the kgby quote, the KGB persuaded President Nashoul to wage 421 00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:46.240 the war of attrition to the bitter end. You know, 422 00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:49.920 Naster may not, Naser may not trusted the KGB entirely, 423 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:56.079 but he did ask for help, and US, the KGB, 424 00:29:57.319 --> 00:30:00.680 the best friend of oppress nations, did help and military 425 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:03.599 gear when it became clear there it's gonna do it 426 00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:05.960 on the own by sending in our own forces. That's 427 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:10.599 a quote from Kayagin. Okay, now the actual more matrician 428 00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:16.079 I will bring it back to Syria, I promise. From 429 00:30:16.359 --> 00:30:23.720 seventy this involved fighting between not just the idea, the 430 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:25.720 idea f on one side, and not just Egypt but 431 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:32.039 also Jordan, the PLO Kuwait and really kind of the 432 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:33.599 what I think of it is like the step punk 433 00:30:34.599 --> 00:30:38.559 the USSR, the Cubans as well as Syria, all right, 434 00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:42.279 from sixty seven to seventy is kind of the peak 435 00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:47.279 of this conflict cycle, you know, and then did it 436 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:51.000 endure the varying intensities until seventy three, and then seventy 437 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:54.559 three led to you know, the escalation to the point 438 00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:58.319 of of of Defcon three in America and that that 439 00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:01.640 changed everything. But that's that that's kind of ahead of ourselves. 440 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.119 Following the sixty seven sixty war, there was no serious 441 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:11.759 diplomatic efforts the for for a political solution to the 442 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:15.599 Arab Israeli conflict like the Arab League in sixty seven. 443 00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:19.720 I mean, in the media aftermath there possibly became known 444 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:23.880 as the three no's, you know, no no recognition, no 445 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:28.480 negotiations with Israel, and like no peace until Palestine is liberated, okay. 446 00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:35.119 And the Soviets basically they're the ones who, like, uh, 447 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:40.319 who made this possible. They made the confidence the side 448 00:31:40.359 --> 00:31:43.880 on for the the several you know, for the Arab 449 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:47.400 League plus some of these non state actors to sign 450 00:31:47.480 --> 00:31:54.960 off on a long campaign all right, initially as it's 451 00:31:55.079 --> 00:32:07.720 kind of the the traditional Russian doctrine it like in 452 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:10.680 in the opening cells, as it were, of this kind 453 00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:16.519 of period and hostilities engagement form like limited artillery doables 454 00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:23.680 like small scale incursions from sign into Sinai and vice versa. 455 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:29.759 By sixty nine, the Egyptians, uh or at least or 456 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:37.359 at least there's Soviet advisors and commanders judged the judge 457 00:32:38.920 --> 00:32:42.720 like company size and forces level, company sized forces and beyond, 458 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:45.400 like they judged them like prepared for like a higher 459 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:51.160 level of operational sophistication. Okay, because it's kind of when 460 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:53.519 like the true like war of attrition kicked off. I 461 00:32:53.559 --> 00:32:55.519 think in like the public mind in terms of people 462 00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:58.400 who consumed like global news and things, as well as 463 00:32:58.440 --> 00:33:02.640 people kind of on the periphery of of military affairs, 464 00:33:02.680 --> 00:33:09.079 you know, extensive aerial warfare like large scale shelling, you know, 465 00:33:09.160 --> 00:33:14.400 like commando raids, like you know, combined arms assaults the frontiers. 466 00:33:14.400 --> 00:33:16.519 I mean the same as when the war began, but 467 00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:21.680 this you're talking about like real clashes of combined arms here, okay. 468 00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:28.480 The Israeli Air Force responded by directly targeting Soviet military personnel. 469 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:32.160 From January to March in nineteen seventy forty eight Soviet 470 00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:34.920 troops and pilots were killed in bombing raids at Cairo. 471 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:37.640 And then this there's a suburb of Cairo called that Sure, 472 00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:40.960 this was uh, this is where most like Soviet fighter 473 00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:49.640 pilots like lived. Okay. The Soviets responded, which was in 474 00:33:49.720 --> 00:33:54.359 flagrant violation international agreements. They deployed S one service their 475 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:57.039 missile system to the Sewiz Canal zone like they were 476 00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:59.880 fortifying the Suiz Canal zone like a smaller scale like 477 00:34:00.039 --> 00:34:04.920 as deep as Hannoi was, okay, And this led to 478 00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:10.159 like heavy attrition. This this culminated in a massive dog 479 00:34:10.199 --> 00:34:14.239 flight over a This is the this the operation was 480 00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:18.679 coding ramone twenty by the Israeli Air Force. There was 481 00:34:18.880 --> 00:34:23.239 twelve to fourteen Soviet Mid twenty ones and twelve Israeli 482 00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:28.599 Mirage threes and F four phantom twos. They it was 483 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:30.840 like I said, it was this massive dog flight in 484 00:34:30.880 --> 00:34:35.760 the Suez Canal operational area, like five Soviet aircraft went down. 485 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:39.920 At least four of those pilots were killed. Israeli attrition 486 00:34:40.159 --> 00:34:42.599 it's hard to say. I mean, the Soviets claimed it 487 00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:45.599 was like far higher than it was. The Israelis claimed 488 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:49.719 like minimal attrition, but it was probably uncomparable. But the 489 00:34:49.880 --> 00:34:52.159 entire purpose of this, by idea app was the lowreer 490 00:34:52.280 --> 00:34:55.719 Soviet fighter pilots into in the in the air at 491 00:34:55.719 --> 00:34:59.400 air combat so that they could be taken out because 492 00:34:59.400 --> 00:35:02.280 I mean, it's cast you will like kill fighter pilots, 493 00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:05.960 you know, I mean obviously you know. And but this 494 00:35:06.159 --> 00:35:07.639 is for that for the people who claim it's like 495 00:35:07.639 --> 00:35:11.599 euphemistic that you know, the Soviets right war with Israel. 496 00:35:11.639 --> 00:35:13.880 I mean this this is my rebuttal okay, I'm in 497 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:22.360 a serious people don't don't claim that the uh in 498 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:26.320 it's aftermath like varying sources like some people, I mean, 499 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:30.039 and I'm talking objective people, not not just Zionis shields 500 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:33.320 or something like some people claim that like well Israel 501 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:36.960 was stood Soviet combined arms and you know they were 502 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:40.159 able to fight off. Uh, you know, they they're able 503 00:35:40.199 --> 00:35:42.639 to fight in ways that here there too they hadn't 504 00:35:42.679 --> 00:35:46.440 been comfortable with, or that hitherto had been an alien 505 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:49.800 type of warfare. I mean, I don't I don't know 506 00:35:49.880 --> 00:35:52.559 any think that's true. I mean, I think the Soviets 507 00:35:52.599 --> 00:35:56.400 brought brought they brought a quality of hardware and manpower 508 00:35:56.400 --> 00:36:00.559 and operational sophistication to the table. Obviously, but the idea 509 00:36:00.760 --> 00:36:04.760 was used to fighting Arab armies that had real problems 510 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:13.039 but were basically following warsaw peg doctrine. You know. The 511 00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:17.360 American claim was that well, Israel successful and continuing to 512 00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:19.840 hold the main line of resistance, which was the Barrow 513 00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:24.280 called the bar Level line, and forcing the Egyptians ultimately 514 00:36:24.280 --> 00:36:29.239 to come to the table. But uh, you know eventually, 515 00:36:29.320 --> 00:36:35.320 I mean, but the but the consensus really on both 516 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:38.320 sides of the Aisle was that this this really kind 517 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:41.960 of sapped Israeli morale, you know, and this this really 518 00:36:42.039 --> 00:36:46.039 this culminated really in the seventy three warrants conclusion. I mean, 519 00:36:46.159 --> 00:36:48.840 is Israel had some big victories in seventy three, but 520 00:36:48.880 --> 00:36:51.679 they also took some big hits. You know, this wasn't 521 00:36:53.079 --> 00:36:55.360 people kind of trying to cast Israeli history as like 522 00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:58.159 the Sixth Day War into perpetuity, like oh, these really 523 00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:00.760 armies just top notch and they just over all their 524 00:37:00.760 --> 00:37:04.280 ops Like that's not true, you know. And admittedly, like 525 00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:09.840 if you're fighting the Soviet army and what was then 526 00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:12.599 you know they're cutting edge wartech, like it's not a 527 00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:15.280 minor thing, Like I'm not even saying that, like there's 528 00:37:15.280 --> 00:37:17.320 some like shame in it, you know, it's. 529 00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:19.159 I U. 530 00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:24.320 Interestingly, there's a couple. There's a guy and a lady 531 00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:29.039 there Israeli military type academics. The guy's name is Gideon 532 00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:34.000 ramez Lay. His name is Isabella Jenor or Ginnor. They've 533 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:38.599 written a lot on Soviet Israeli hostilities. And obviously, like 534 00:37:38.639 --> 00:37:41.199 I said, these people are both like Israeli Jews, They're not. 535 00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:44.440 They're certainly not you know, people gonna be said to 536 00:37:44.519 --> 00:37:48.519 have a poor review of the zigon of state. They 537 00:37:48.559 --> 00:37:51.719 they both consider the war have been like a defeat 538 00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:54.880 for israel I mean Israel. Their argument is Israel is 539 00:37:54.880 --> 00:37:59.719 forced to accept the ceasefire and and basically a change 540 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:03.440 like a change in uh kind of like the criteria 541 00:38:03.480 --> 00:38:05.800 for peace on the Israeli side and just like a 542 00:38:05.840 --> 00:38:08.639 holy and just and and they you know, just completely 543 00:38:08.679 --> 00:38:11.599 a complete sea change in the tenor of negotiations. But 544 00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:14.360 so Soviet air defenses were dropping it for fantoms out 545 00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:18.880 of the sky at an unsustainable rate. The Soviets and 546 00:38:18.880 --> 00:38:26.639 the Egyptians proved they they blatantly violate not just proceeding 547 00:38:26.760 --> 00:38:32.960 uh you know, ceasefire and treaty arrangements in the theater. 548 00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:37.280 But they they didn't care a whit about you know, 549 00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:41.320 deploying you know, banned weapons systems to the region. You know, 550 00:38:41.320 --> 00:38:43.400 they they were in it to win it. You know 551 00:38:46.119 --> 00:38:51.960 ramone twenty, this aerial operation that you know was purposed 552 00:38:51.960 --> 00:38:56.679 to zapp the Soviet Air Force tactically. Yeah, that that 553 00:38:56.679 --> 00:39:00.039 that was Ah, that that was a victory. But I 554 00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:02.119 think that as part of the whole paradigm, like that 555 00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:05.480 allowed the Israelis to kind of accept what there toofore 556 00:39:05.519 --> 00:39:10.519 would have been not acceptable to design as hardliners, but 557 00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:13.519 will also saving face. You know, hey, look like we 558 00:39:13.519 --> 00:39:16.280 we defeated the mighty Soviet Air Force. You know, we 559 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:19.119 we can't we can't be said to have have lost. 560 00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:23.400 So I mean it's complicated, Okay, but like my point 561 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:28.599 is that like Israel's fortunes were literally decided by the 562 00:39:28.639 --> 00:39:32.639 Soviet Union, you know, in the Continuity War then in 563 00:39:32.719 --> 00:39:36.320 seventy three, you know, so this, I I mean, there's 564 00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:38.960 two things here. So I mean this, this is demonstrative 565 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:46.039 of how heavily the Soviet Union and Russia wasn't as 566 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:49.760 like politically invested in Arab fortunes and specifically Syrian ones. 567 00:39:50.559 --> 00:39:52.639 But it's also like you think, you think the Israelis 568 00:39:52.760 --> 00:39:55.920 have like good feelings towards Russia. I mean really, I 569 00:39:55.960 --> 00:40:07.199 mean it's you know, it's propossible. Is closer to this 570 00:40:07.360 --> 00:40:12.199 The main subject at hand, what uh halfes As Sad 571 00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:16.079 was doing during this period. Hafesa Sad himself was a 572 00:40:16.079 --> 00:40:20.639 MiG driver, he was a fighter pilot. In nineteen seventy one, 573 00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:25.559 as a Syrian bath was kind of consolidating its hold, 574 00:40:26.920 --> 00:40:30.719 like serious Syrian politics. We were very byzantine and and 575 00:40:30.719 --> 00:40:32.599 and a lot of a lot of backstabbing, a lot 576 00:40:32.599 --> 00:40:35.440 of corruption, things like this. Not quite as bad as 577 00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:38.519 as the Iraqi situation has developed about a decade later, 578 00:40:38.599 --> 00:40:44.519 but it was very chaotic asades A Sad. Really, it's 579 00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:47.559 kind of like the father of modern serious political culture. Okay, 580 00:40:48.679 --> 00:40:52.239 but that's kind of a subject for another day. But 581 00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:57.800 in nineteen seventy one, Halfes as sad than the Soviet Union. 582 00:40:58.199 --> 00:41:00.400 He permitted the Soviet Union to open its naval and 583 00:41:00.440 --> 00:41:06.960 Tartis and then that the so the Russians community, you 584 00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:11.239 utilize this this base. To this day Tartis is the 585 00:41:11.280 --> 00:41:14.559 sole Mediterranean naval base for the Black Sea Fleet of 586 00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:20.760 the Russian Navy. Okay, this was this is a big deal, 587 00:41:22.599 --> 00:41:25.440 not just in not not just in like you know, 588 00:41:25.559 --> 00:41:29.840 strategic terms, but uh it it it demonstrates like a 589 00:41:29.880 --> 00:41:34.840 willingness of uh the Russians the sign on for the 590 00:41:34.920 --> 00:41:39.559 long term on on on what am also like a 591 00:41:39.599 --> 00:41:44.320 mutual defense treaty. So they've really got like absolute confidence 592 00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:47.039 and like the tenure the perennial tenure of of the 593 00:41:47.079 --> 00:41:50.079 regime currently situated in Damascus, or they're absolutely not gonna 594 00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:54.159 let that regime fall. Okay. Like the Tartars treaty for example, 595 00:41:54.239 --> 00:41:58.679 it runs, it ran it uh. It was set to 596 00:41:58.760 --> 00:42:02.840 run for twenty years with automatic five year extensions unless 597 00:42:02.840 --> 00:42:10.719 the unilateral unilaterally terminated I mean at uh and immediately 598 00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:15.599 immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union, officially like 599 00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:20.599 a fesisade recognized the Russian Federation as the legal successor 600 00:42:20.639 --> 00:42:23.880 to the USSR and you know, retaining all basing rights 601 00:42:23.920 --> 00:42:30.920 and everything else. Okay. During the seventy three war obviously, 602 00:42:31.480 --> 00:42:34.679 which was kind of like Syria's moment in the sun, 603 00:42:35.440 --> 00:42:41.000 because they proved themselves, you know, that they could think 604 00:42:41.039 --> 00:42:44.159 they could function at a high level of operational sophistication. 605 00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:53.840 Thousands of Soviet advisors, technicians, officers like combat officers assisted 606 00:42:53.880 --> 00:42:56.719 the Syrian Arab Army. At least twenty were killed in action. 607 00:42:58.239 --> 00:43:01.920 Almost three fifty funds of aid was airlifted to Syria. 608 00:43:02.679 --> 00:43:05.679 They seelifted at the at the conclusion no hostilities, the 609 00:43:05.719 --> 00:43:12.840 Sovietians sealifted over sixty thousand tons materials UH to Syria 610 00:43:12.920 --> 00:43:17.400 to replenished losses, you know, like infrastructural military, you know, 611 00:43:17.639 --> 00:43:22.000 like food stuffs like you name it. The one, uh, 612 00:43:22.519 --> 00:43:26.119 the one kind of blip in Soviet or Russian Syrian 613 00:43:26.159 --> 00:43:29.960 relations came in seventy six. The Soviets were just pleased 614 00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:33.119 when ASAD deployed the Syrian Air of Army to Lebanon 615 00:43:36.360 --> 00:43:40.119 and something of a diplomatic rift emerged. The Soviets were 616 00:43:40.119 --> 00:43:43.079 really worried about a confrontation between the PLO and the 617 00:43:43.119 --> 00:43:45.280 Syrian Era of Army, and for good reason, like they 618 00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:49.239 were very much at odds. You know, both of them were 619 00:43:49.239 --> 00:43:54.559 Moscow clients. This would have this could have been catastrophic 620 00:43:54.639 --> 00:44:01.280 in terms of broader interests held by Moscow in the 621 00:44:01.320 --> 00:44:04.760 Near East, and like taking sides in the sectarian war 622 00:44:05.440 --> 00:44:08.679 between Arab factions. I mean, that's that's always going to 623 00:44:08.719 --> 00:44:17.159 be a losing proposition. The UH. Brezhnev went as far 624 00:44:17.280 --> 00:44:25.599 as UH threatening the threatened to freeze UH military aid shipments. 625 00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:31.000 This ultimately was like smoothed over like a fence visited 626 00:44:31.039 --> 00:44:34.000 at Moscow in nineteen seventy seven, like much fan fear. 627 00:44:34.320 --> 00:44:39.599 He met with Brezhnev and Alexei Cossagen among others, or Cossagan, 628 00:44:42.199 --> 00:44:47.760 you know, the UH Assade openly endorsed and supported one 629 00:44:47.800 --> 00:44:53.840 hundred percent the the the the Soviet attack in Afghanistan, 630 00:44:54.199 --> 00:44:57.360 which distanced them from basically every other Arab leader. But 631 00:44:57.440 --> 00:45:00.599 I mean he didn't care like Assad's assad the message, 632 00:45:00.599 --> 00:45:02.880 like he stands with Russia. So I mean the final 633 00:45:03.000 --> 00:45:05.119 kind of if there was in fact, like a rift 634 00:45:05.199 --> 00:45:08.880 that still need a remedy by Christmas nineteen seventy nine. 635 00:45:09.199 --> 00:45:14.239 Like that. What sealed that, like Russian Syrian kind of 636 00:45:14.239 --> 00:45:16.880 like the affinity for all time was the fact that 637 00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:19.159 Asad said, like, you know, we stand, we stand with 638 00:45:19.199 --> 00:45:24.760 the Soviet Union like against its enemies in Afghanistan, you know, 639 00:45:24.880 --> 00:45:28.519 which was incredibly ballsy among other things, and it was 640 00:45:28.519 --> 00:45:31.920 the right play for Asad, but it was very ballsy. 641 00:45:32.320 --> 00:45:35.960 I covered nineteen eighty uh, Syria, the Soviet Union side, 642 00:45:36.079 --> 00:45:42.480 the Treaty of friendship really until until it all went 643 00:45:42.599 --> 00:45:49.760 down in eighty nine. You know, Uh, Syria, South Yemen 644 00:45:49.920 --> 00:45:53.400 was the only Marxist Leninist Arab state, but Syria was 645 00:45:53.400 --> 00:45:55.840 that even though Syria was not a Communist state at all, 646 00:45:56.320 --> 00:45:58.360 like they were the jewel in the Crown, a warsaw 647 00:45:58.440 --> 00:46:00.880 packed in terms of their in terms of era of 648 00:46:00.920 --> 00:46:11.440 affairs and in the Middle Eastern theater. This uh. Gorbachev 649 00:46:11.559 --> 00:46:20.039 scaled this back in April eighty seven, but once uh, 650 00:46:21.239 --> 00:46:26.440 but again like within after after. I mean your Russia 651 00:46:26.559 --> 00:46:30.559 was a mess like post Gorbachev, but the the any 652 00:46:30.679 --> 00:46:36.119 uh any unwillingness other other newly m a stale in 653 00:46:36.199 --> 00:46:40.360 Russian Federation, the back a sade like evaporated with you know, 654 00:46:40.440 --> 00:46:47.079 the end of Gorbachev's tenure that uh interestingly he met Videv. 655 00:46:47.880 --> 00:46:49.719 He was the first run He was the first Russian 656 00:46:50.199 --> 00:46:57.480 president to visit Syria, like uh Putin visited Syria. I 657 00:46:57.559 --> 00:47:01.719 believe he was on the ground for the there's two 658 00:47:01.880 --> 00:47:05.320 parades or on me a condor a legion honestly, like 659 00:47:05.360 --> 00:47:10.800 the the Russian UH military contingent, you know, marched in 660 00:47:11.239 --> 00:47:18.639 Damascus after UH after victory, and I think, uh, I 661 00:47:18.639 --> 00:47:21.039 can't remember if Pudin was made a state visit there 662 00:47:21.119 --> 00:47:23.400 or not, but point being, maybe it was the first 663 00:47:23.480 --> 00:47:30.559 leader of the Russian Federation to visit Syria. Jumping ahead 664 00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:35.239 closer to the present for context, you know that this 665 00:47:35.320 --> 00:47:38.320 is exactly why Syria was targeted for destruction in tart 666 00:47:38.400 --> 00:47:46.320 okayd joined Boshwiti was golf or coalition which was instrumental, 667 00:47:46.800 --> 00:47:52.519 you know, and the Syrians deployed to fight uh Saiddam. 668 00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:56.039 You know, like any anybody remotely reasonable would view assad 669 00:47:56.119 --> 00:47:59.679 As as like you know, somebody who the West wants 670 00:47:59.719 --> 00:48:04.400 on their side. But of course you know he was it. Uh. 671 00:48:04.599 --> 00:48:08.639 There's no like strategic logic to trying to destroy Syria 672 00:48:09.199 --> 00:48:13.199 and utilizing you know, terrorists and ISIS and and these 673 00:48:13.239 --> 00:48:20.960 tech theory lunatics, as is a deadnaz strategy. At the 674 00:48:21.079 --> 00:48:26.920 onset of the Russian intervention in Syria government forces, they 675 00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:29.840 controlled only about twenty six percent of the country. You know, 676 00:48:29.880 --> 00:48:38.360 they're truly beleaguered. The UH. You know, Russia was fighting 677 00:48:38.360 --> 00:48:41.719 the Islamic State, they were fighting the el news for affront, 678 00:48:41.760 --> 00:48:44.440 which is basically al Qaeda. These the guys, like John 679 00:48:44.480 --> 00:48:47.079 McCain said, are like are great guys and are like, 680 00:48:47.239 --> 00:48:50.320 you know, fighting for democracy. He was talking about al Qaeda, 681 00:48:51.239 --> 00:48:53.159 John McKay wine. He said, we need to support al 682 00:48:53.199 --> 00:48:56.199 Qaeda to murder the Asad family. And I guess everybody 683 00:48:56.199 --> 00:48:59.599 else who like al Qaeda doesn't like, you know, great 684 00:48:59.599 --> 00:49:07.800 guy Thatjohn McCain. The UH. Putin and I mean for context, 685 00:49:07.800 --> 00:49:11.360 I mean Putin is constantly cautious, as I think people know, 686 00:49:12.719 --> 00:49:15.079 which is ironic that he's painted as this like mad, 687 00:49:15.199 --> 00:49:20.079 reckless mad man, like he's you know, he really it 688 00:49:20.559 --> 00:49:26.679 really uh disturviced uh to the Russian State that he's 689 00:49:26.880 --> 00:49:34.360 he's he's pissed poor at at decision points. I think, Okay, 690 00:49:34.519 --> 00:49:37.480 so it's not that he's prone to ultimatums. It's not 691 00:49:37.679 --> 00:49:41.239 he's prone to absolute declaration of the matters of war 692 00:49:41.280 --> 00:49:48.280 in peace. But uh, Putin said that the you know, 693 00:49:48.320 --> 00:49:51.360 the Bath regime is absolutely not going to be allowed 694 00:49:51.360 --> 00:49:54.199 to fall, you know, And he said, we don't negotiate 695 00:49:54.199 --> 00:49:58.800 with terrorists. Neither does not neither does you know, President Asad? 696 00:49:59.760 --> 00:50:01.360 And I mean that was the core of the issue too, 697 00:50:01.440 --> 00:50:03.159 Like there was still it was on a tail end 698 00:50:03.159 --> 00:50:05.599 of such things. There was still an America supposedly fighting 699 00:50:05.599 --> 00:50:09.119 the global war on terror. I remember like a Bath 700 00:50:09.199 --> 00:50:12.320 Party spokeswoman who I can't remember her name, which she 701 00:50:12.320 --> 00:50:14.480 was got of this like severe Arab lady of whom 702 00:50:14.519 --> 00:50:19.280 there are many, but uh, she was addressing some British 703 00:50:19.320 --> 00:50:22.719 media contingent and she said, like, we don't negotiate with terrorists. 704 00:50:22.719 --> 00:50:24.760 We're not We're not gonna let We're not gonna let 705 00:50:24.760 --> 00:50:26.679 al Kaita. We're not gonna let Isis. We're not gonna 706 00:50:26.719 --> 00:50:31.519 let some constellation of of jahadas, you know, forced us 707 00:50:31.559 --> 00:50:34.800 to change the government by murdering people, you know. And 708 00:50:34.840 --> 00:50:37.000 I mean there was this they're just kind of like 709 00:50:37.360 --> 00:50:40.440 dummy silence by these media people. Then you know, when 710 00:50:40.440 --> 00:50:42.639 they're like the great chorus of talking about like how 711 00:50:42.719 --> 00:50:46.519 evil Lacade is. But I mean that's really this to 712 00:50:46.599 --> 00:50:49.679 me is really this is when America lost all credibility 713 00:50:49.960 --> 00:50:53.039 in foreign policy. You know, you're like you're literally saying 714 00:50:53.079 --> 00:50:58.440 that you're you're arming and equipping al Qaeda to destroy 715 00:50:58.960 --> 00:51:02.239 a secular regime led by a guy who's an eye 716 00:51:02.280 --> 00:51:06.119 doctor who was raised in London. You know, like it's 717 00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:08.480 I mean, that's it's not this isn't even like a 718 00:51:08.679 --> 00:51:11.800 you can't even raginalize. They hadn't under you know, some 719 00:51:11.920 --> 00:51:15.719 kind of appeal in Machiavellian necessity. It's just like it's 720 00:51:15.719 --> 00:51:19.159 just bizarre. It's it's just like it's just like a 721 00:51:19.199 --> 00:51:25.119 bizarre uh scorched earth position, you know, uh that only 722 00:51:25.119 --> 00:51:29.880 makes sense designs, you know. Yeah. 723 00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:32.079 A buddy of mine, a buddy of mine used to say, 724 00:51:32.480 --> 00:51:34.480 how do you make excuses for what? Trying to kill 725 00:51:34.559 --> 00:51:36.920 somebody who wakes up and shaves his chin every day? 726 00:51:37.880 --> 00:51:43.199 That's like it's interestingly back with CNN. I mean, CNN 727 00:51:43.280 --> 00:51:45.280 was always they always had some goofs on their staff, 728 00:51:45.280 --> 00:51:47.239 but they, you know, I'm talking like thirty years ago, 729 00:51:47.280 --> 00:51:49.400 they were like they were like a normal news network. 730 00:51:50.239 --> 00:51:52.840 You know, like they had they had goops like Peter Arnett, 731 00:51:52.920 --> 00:51:55.039 but like there was this they did this big interview 732 00:51:55.039 --> 00:51:57.840 with a Fez Astad who people viewed as a compelling guy, 733 00:51:58.400 --> 00:52:02.800 you know, and he kind of came to dominance, oh 734 00:52:02.880 --> 00:52:06.960 to the Gulf or coalition, you know, and uh, people 735 00:52:07.039 --> 00:52:09.639 seemed grateful for that, you know, and I'm sure like 736 00:52:09.679 --> 00:52:12.800 Baker State Department was. But it's like if you you 737 00:52:12.800 --> 00:52:16.920 know his like we paid back the Asad family by 738 00:52:17.119 --> 00:52:20.360 arming al Qaeda and like calling for you know, Bishah 739 00:52:20.440 --> 00:52:23.239 Asad his family to be murdered. I mean, like like 740 00:52:23.320 --> 00:52:26.760 who does that? You know, Like you can't there's no percentage. 741 00:52:26.800 --> 00:52:30.480 And uh, you know if you if you lay down 742 00:52:30.519 --> 00:52:33.360 with pigs, you're gonna get dirty, you know. And not 743 00:52:33.360 --> 00:52:35.440 not only gonna get dirty by dealing with America, but 744 00:52:35.480 --> 00:52:37.639 they'll they're gonna try and like arbitrarily murder you at 745 00:52:37.639 --> 00:52:40.880 some point, you know what I mean, Like this isn't 746 00:52:41.239 --> 00:52:44.280 that it's aside from like the naked irrationality of it. 747 00:52:44.320 --> 00:52:48.920 I mean, you you can't conduct politics that way. 748 00:52:47.920 --> 00:52:51.239 You know. I mean that's uh, that's like trying to 749 00:52:52.440 --> 00:52:54.400 that that's like trying to go into business with Jeffrey 750 00:52:54.440 --> 00:52:59.800 Dahmer or something you know, like uh, some some unhit 751 00:53:00.079 --> 00:53:03.239 like a Mary is literally like it's a second unhinde 752 00:53:03.280 --> 00:53:05.840 psychopath that might like randomly trying to murder you, like 753 00:53:06.559 --> 00:53:08.719 you know, but you're supposed to They're supposed to be 754 00:53:08.719 --> 00:53:15.480 something percentage and playing ball with with the with its ambitions. 755 00:53:15.599 --> 00:53:18.519 But we should probably wrap it up because I'm coming 756 00:53:18.599 --> 00:53:22.280 up on an hour and my our dear friend, uh 757 00:53:22.519 --> 00:53:25.960 Jay Burden, I gotta he's hosting me in a minute 758 00:53:26.039 --> 00:53:28.440 on his show. But I'm started to break this up 759 00:53:28.480 --> 00:53:31.519 into two segments if that's not what you had planned. 760 00:53:31.559 --> 00:53:33.079 But there's a lot here. Is that cool? 761 00:53:34.639 --> 00:53:35.119 Absolutely? 762 00:53:35.159 --> 00:53:38.679 All right? Yeah? Yeah, let me know when you want 763 00:53:38.679 --> 00:53:41.679 to complete part two and we'll get it done. 764 00:53:42.639 --> 00:53:45.159 Sure as per normal. Two plugs. 765 00:53:45.400 --> 00:53:48.519 Yeah, man, for those who don't know, I'm sure everybody 766 00:53:48.559 --> 00:53:51.440 probably does know already. Like I'm back on Twitter. It's 767 00:53:51.440 --> 00:53:54.800 like the same account. It's at Capital r e a 768 00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.920 L underscore number seven h on as seven seven seven. 769 00:54:00.119 --> 00:54:04.320 I'm on substack real Thomas seven seven seven at subsec 770 00:54:04.360 --> 00:54:09.199 dot com. I'm on Instagram, I I'm on I'm on Telegram, 771 00:54:09.280 --> 00:54:13.079 I'm I got a website. It's number seven hm S 772 00:54:13.079 --> 00:54:16.519 seven seven seven dot com like finding all those places, 773 00:54:16.559 --> 00:54:20.000 and I got like a merse line that people seem 774 00:54:20.039 --> 00:54:24.280 to like, and I'm very honored by that. Put they 775 00:54:24.519 --> 00:54:27.760 put that in the description line. If you would please. 776 00:54:28.719 --> 00:54:32.719 Always yeah, some good Eric Craig does some good, good works. 777 00:54:32.760 --> 00:54:34.639 The man I really owe him a lot, Like he's 778 00:54:34.639 --> 00:54:36.320 a great I mean, he's like he's just a good dude, 779 00:54:36.320 --> 00:54:40.559 but his designs are really a really tremendous man. Yeah, definitely. 780 00:54:41.960 --> 00:54:47.039 All right, Thomas, thank you very much. I want to 781 00:54:47.039 --> 00:54:51.360 welcome everyone back to the Peca Show. Thomas is back 782 00:54:51.960 --> 00:54:56.639 for more Syria and Russia talk. How are you doing, Thomas, I'm. 783 00:54:56.519 --> 00:55:01.760 Well, thank you. I'm not It's been a minute since 784 00:55:02.079 --> 00:55:06.920 we recorded. So if I'm repeating myself, please correct me, 785 00:55:06.960 --> 00:55:12.800 because I can't remember exactly where I left off. I 786 00:55:12.840 --> 00:55:17.719 think I think we left off approximately where I was 787 00:55:17.760 --> 00:55:21.719 talking about some of the more recent scholarship on the 788 00:55:21.800 --> 00:55:22.960 nineteen seventy three war. 789 00:55:24.320 --> 00:55:26.000 Yeah, that's it. That's exactly where it was. 790 00:55:26.079 --> 00:55:29.679 Yeah, which has something of an outside significance. It's warranted. 791 00:55:29.679 --> 00:55:31.800 I don't I don't mean outsized in the sense that 792 00:55:33.039 --> 00:55:39.800 it's emphasized on duly that really changed the regional security 793 00:55:39.840 --> 00:55:44.159 paradigm in the near ease, exposed a lot of idea 794 00:55:44.199 --> 00:55:47.079 of weaknesses. I mean, don't get me wrong, ideaf on 795 00:55:47.119 --> 00:55:54.440 the Egyptian front, they performed exceedingly well. The Syrians, however, 796 00:55:54.519 --> 00:56:01.280 caught them lacking in some key capacities, you know, and 797 00:56:01.320 --> 00:56:06.440 one of the reasons why Israel is so fixated on Iran. Admittedly, 798 00:56:08.000 --> 00:56:11.000 then Yah was very clumsy in the way he articulates propaganda. 799 00:56:11.039 --> 00:56:12.840 I mean that that's just a fact that I don't 800 00:56:12.880 --> 00:56:16.639 think that can be denied. Ariel Sharon didn't have a 801 00:56:16.639 --> 00:56:21.639 lot of finesse, but Sharon was something of a military 802 00:56:21.719 --> 00:56:26.880 prodigy at these comparative terms. And obviously then Yah, who 803 00:56:26.960 --> 00:56:36.360 doesn't possess that skill set. However, the his blass Syria, 804 00:56:39.360 --> 00:56:44.360 the Syrian ara of army, you know, and in the 805 00:56:44.440 --> 00:56:47.039 art forms of the Russian Federation. You've kind of got 806 00:56:47.079 --> 00:56:54.360 to look at all those actors. It's kind of operationally integrated. 807 00:56:55.519 --> 00:56:59.360 You know, there's nothing conspiratorial there. I mean, these are 808 00:56:59.400 --> 00:57:02.480 these are israel primary ops, okay, And you know, like 809 00:57:02.519 --> 00:57:08.280 we've talked about before, and anybody who is it all 810 00:57:08.320 --> 00:57:15.880 knowledgeable about the conflict paradigm dynamics understands that Israel and 811 00:57:16.280 --> 00:57:21.719 NATO to varying degrees back you know, these Salafi elements. Okay, 812 00:57:23.480 --> 00:57:29.320 that's something of a detonation strategy, you know, because they 813 00:57:29.360 --> 00:57:35.239 identify their their primary ops is is Syria hissbil uh 814 00:57:36.719 --> 00:57:39.440 you know hasibial a slash Iran, I mean in all 815 00:57:39.480 --> 00:57:42.239 but name his as kind of the Iranian foreign legion, 816 00:57:43.480 --> 00:57:47.199 and the Russian Federation is part of that is like 817 00:57:47.199 --> 00:57:50.239 an essential part of the constellation. And this goes way back. 818 00:57:51.519 --> 00:57:56.880 And that's ket understanding the state of war and peace 819 00:57:59.400 --> 00:58:05.000 in and occupied Palestine, and and and and with respect 820 00:58:05.039 --> 00:58:07.880 to the Jewish state, they saidly so they I mean, 821 00:58:08.039 --> 00:58:13.639 Israel essentially has two problems. They've got this internal crisis, 822 00:58:13.880 --> 00:58:19.360 demographic crisis relating to the fact that Israel is a 823 00:58:19.440 --> 00:58:28.920 racial state, you know, and they've got this unmanageable majoritarian population. 824 00:58:29.119 --> 00:58:35.199 It's like super majoritarian population. You know, it's not their 825 00:58:35.239 --> 00:58:41.360 strategic situation is not unlike they're the Republic of South 826 00:58:41.400 --> 00:58:45.800 Africa around the time of Bota, you know, when the 827 00:58:46.119 --> 00:58:49.480 when the kind of permanent emergency set in. You know, 828 00:58:49.679 --> 00:58:53.880 I mean, I'm not I'm not comparing Israel to the 829 00:58:53.920 --> 00:58:57.719 Boer Republic at all, unlike cultural or ideological or ethical 830 00:58:57.760 --> 00:59:00.800 terms or anything like that. But in terms of the 831 00:59:00.800 --> 00:59:07.199 military situation, there's a parallel, you know. And so they've 832 00:59:07.199 --> 00:59:13.360 got this internal, this ongoing internal emergency. They've also got 833 00:59:13.360 --> 00:59:19.559 this geostrategic problem, you know, with respect to what they 834 00:59:19.599 --> 00:59:25.000 call the Shia Crescent, which I mean, she are obviously 835 00:59:25.119 --> 00:59:32.599 very much the minority in darl Islam, but there's there's 836 00:59:32.639 --> 00:59:37.679 a critical kind of like the Shia heartland, you know, 837 00:59:37.880 --> 00:59:43.760 is is I ran in Iraq obviously, and it cuts 838 00:59:43.800 --> 00:59:49.880 across the region in the Webanon, you know, So it 839 00:59:53.400 --> 01:00:01.280 there's a that's that's a very dawn thing. That's a 840 01:00:01.360 --> 01:00:07.000 very daunting arrangement, you know, in a general war. It's 841 01:00:07.039 --> 01:00:09.320 a discussion of another time. But it kind of begs 842 01:00:09.360 --> 01:00:16.599 the question like why exactly Israel maintains nuclear arms. You know, 843 01:00:16.679 --> 01:00:20.599 some people argued it was a prestige and cloud move 844 01:00:21.199 --> 01:00:26.599 during the Cold War. Being Prebaal, he basically suggests it's 845 01:00:26.639 --> 01:00:35.320 like a Samson options sort of thing, whereby people wouldn't 846 01:00:35.360 --> 01:00:39.719 let Tel Aviv fall because there'd be this uncertainty relating 847 01:00:39.760 --> 01:00:42.400 to what they would do with these weapons of mass destruction. 848 01:00:43.440 --> 01:00:46.880 I think that's a bit too imprecise, Like it's not 849 01:00:46.920 --> 01:00:53.519 really a military imperative. That doesn't mean it's impossible. And 850 01:00:53.679 --> 01:00:59.920 Israel is kind of strange in the way they approached 851 01:01:00.079 --> 01:01:06.639 things because they're a totally abnormal state, invokes novelty a 852 01:01:06.679 --> 01:01:12.599 lot and discussions of you know, dialectical processes and things, 853 01:01:12.639 --> 01:01:27.599 and but he was he was kind of reluctant during 854 01:01:27.599 --> 01:01:31.920 the Cold War to like diagnose, like then current strategic matters. 855 01:01:32.960 --> 01:01:35.480 But the exception was kind of the case of Israel, 856 01:01:35.559 --> 01:01:39.519 and he made the point that you know, Israel is 857 01:01:39.559 --> 01:01:42.320 not really Israel's not an anachronism in the way some 858 01:01:43.159 --> 01:01:46.320 people on the left would talk about it and still 859 01:01:46.400 --> 01:01:48.840 do to some degrees. It's not like it's not like 860 01:01:48.920 --> 01:01:53.599 it's a retrograde state like colonial power or something, despite 861 01:01:55.360 --> 01:01:57.920 you know, a lot of the a lot of the 862 01:01:57.960 --> 01:02:02.360 propaganda in the era of that effect that it derived 863 01:02:03.480 --> 01:02:07.760 from the same kind of like dialectical process and like 864 01:02:09.599 --> 01:02:15.960 causal nexus sociologically, historically, ideologically speaking, is the Third Reich 865 01:02:16.039 --> 01:02:18.960 in the Soviet Union, Like that's why it's so strange. 866 01:02:20.440 --> 01:02:25.079 I mean, obviously, Department of State, in the executive branch, 867 01:02:25.840 --> 01:02:29.159 they're constantly claiming it's a liberal democracy, because I mean 868 01:02:29.199 --> 01:02:34.559 that that's just a floating signifier that's suggests moral approval. 869 01:02:35.159 --> 01:02:39.280 But even even where that not the case, it would 870 01:02:39.320 --> 01:02:43.480 be difficult to describe what exactly Israel is, you know, 871 01:02:45.039 --> 01:02:51.559 it just would be because it's it's it's not just 872 01:02:51.559 --> 01:02:58.599 an outlier like North Korea is owing to its to 873 01:02:58.719 --> 01:03:01.480 a strategic situation. And it's not like one of these 874 01:03:01.480 --> 01:03:05.599 emirates or one of these small countries or constellation of 875 01:03:07.880 --> 01:03:10.320 a sovereignties that you know, like rolled by a monarch 876 01:03:10.400 --> 01:03:13.079 or something. It's it's something totally different than that, and 877 01:03:13.119 --> 01:03:16.000 it very much belongs to the twentieth century, the twentieth 878 01:03:16.039 --> 01:03:24.480 century dialectic. But anyway, kind of bring it back. The 879 01:03:24.519 --> 01:03:29.159 consensus these days is essentially that the seventy three war 880 01:03:29.280 --> 01:03:39.360 was a stalemate. Okay. David A. Korn he was a 881 01:03:39.480 --> 01:03:43.880 diplomat back when Department of State was still a trithin 882 01:03:43.960 --> 01:03:48.360 quality people. And he's he's written a lot, he's contributed 883 01:03:48.360 --> 01:03:53.039 to a lot of articles, especially to publications like Foreign Affairs, 884 01:03:54.159 --> 01:03:58.719 you know, things like that. He served he served for 885 01:03:58.840 --> 01:04:03.639 some time until eve as it's called the political officer 886 01:04:04.239 --> 01:04:07.920 and Hansho what's called the political section. That's kind of 887 01:04:07.960 --> 01:04:14.679 like a halfway. If you're in that role, you're kind 888 01:04:14.679 --> 01:04:20.119 of halfway between an intelligence officer and a diplomat, you know. 889 01:04:20.199 --> 01:04:25.400 I mean, everybody who's assigned to a diplomatic posting is 890 01:04:26.679 --> 01:04:32.280 in some ways an intelligence representative under light diplomatic cover, 891 01:04:32.400 --> 01:04:38.079 and everybody knows that. But guys like Coren they deal 892 01:04:38.159 --> 01:04:42.760 more in diagnostic analysis and things, and they're then they're 893 01:04:42.760 --> 01:04:45.039 not just going to cocktail parties and and kind of 894 01:04:45.039 --> 01:04:51.639 trying to dominate, you know, palace intrigues and things that 895 01:04:53.280 --> 01:04:55.599 determine what the true seat of power is. You know, 896 01:04:55.639 --> 01:05:00.679 they they've got a more they got more serious roles 897 01:05:00.719 --> 01:05:10.960 in that. And he made the point pretty consistently that 898 01:05:11.599 --> 01:05:16.440 one of the reasons why the paradigm is so volatile 899 01:05:17.880 --> 01:05:24.000 Israel contra the that Shia Crescent, the states that constitute 900 01:05:24.039 --> 01:05:28.559 that you a strategic concept. One of the reasons that's 901 01:05:28.559 --> 01:05:35.639 so volatile is because you know, there was the outcome 902 01:05:35.760 --> 01:05:37.559 was it's not now it was a no clear victor 903 01:05:37.559 --> 01:05:40.880 on the Syrian front. Is the outcome is poorly understood, 904 01:05:41.880 --> 01:05:45.719 you know, especially in Israel. It was retrospectively deemed a 905 01:05:45.800 --> 01:05:52.199 success because there was some big there, there's some there's 906 01:05:52.239 --> 01:06:00.599 some major kills scored by the idea AP in some 907 01:06:00.639 --> 01:06:03.719 cases where they were pretty seriously outnumbered, like combined arms. 908 01:06:06.039 --> 01:06:10.559 But the fact that they kind of convinced themselves of this, 909 01:06:11.079 --> 01:06:13.960 they led to a false sense of security, especially on 910 01:06:14.000 --> 01:06:19.480 the political side of things. The military IDEAF whatever it's problems, 911 01:06:19.880 --> 01:06:23.679 it's it's military is pretty serious because they have to 912 01:06:23.719 --> 01:06:35.119 be to sustain the status quo, you know, and as 913 01:06:35.119 --> 01:06:39.039 people on the left, they don't so much anymore because 914 01:06:38.760 --> 01:06:43.920 the intellectual left is kind of dead. But during the 915 01:06:44.000 --> 01:06:46.400 Cold War and even beyond the event into the nineties, 916 01:06:46.760 --> 01:06:49.480 they make the point that IDF is I mean, yeah, 917 01:06:49.480 --> 01:06:54.639 they've got a National service law in place. You know, 918 01:06:54.639 --> 01:06:57.920 it's like young people get drafted, but generally they get 919 01:06:58.000 --> 01:07:01.480 drafted into support roles like you're talking about like special operations, 920 01:07:01.519 --> 01:07:05.119 capable elements and like infantry elements. You basically have to 921 01:07:05.159 --> 01:07:09.199 sign up for that, and the guys who do, they're 922 01:07:09.239 --> 01:07:13.280 going to be pretty racialized in the first place. That's 923 01:07:13.280 --> 01:07:16.440 why they want to do that kind of work. And 924 01:07:16.480 --> 01:07:18.880 even if they weren't before, it's going to become that way. 925 01:07:19.599 --> 01:07:22.440 You know, Like they there's no pretension in an army, 926 01:07:22.599 --> 01:07:26.159 like the idef of like, hey, we're a political we 927 01:07:26.159 --> 01:07:29.199 don't you know, take any position. We're just we're just 928 01:07:29.199 --> 01:07:32.559 like loyal to the state. I mean, part of that 929 01:07:32.599 --> 01:07:35.480 is because the fact that this you know, that Israel's 930 01:07:36.760 --> 01:07:40.639 find itself in a ross and creed. But part of 931 01:07:40.679 --> 01:07:45.039 it also is that, you know, again, like Israel's not 932 01:07:47.239 --> 01:07:51.079 it didn't develop organically like a European country did or something, 933 01:07:51.760 --> 01:07:54.440 So there's not there's not this tradition of like an 934 01:07:54.599 --> 01:08:00.000 Israeli state that's you know, they like the post medieval 935 01:08:00.119 --> 01:08:03.800 heritage of the people who live there or something. You know, 936 01:08:06.360 --> 01:08:11.679 Israel is the Jewish state. The way it's configured isn't 937 01:08:11.719 --> 01:08:17.560 really important so long as it is capable of sustaining 938 01:08:18.479 --> 01:08:27.239 that demographic balance and being able to perpetuate its demographic 939 01:08:27.279 --> 01:08:34.239 supremacy despite being massively outnumbered. So you're not gonna have 940 01:08:34.439 --> 01:08:38.920 I mean, even if the just under those conditions like 941 01:08:38.960 --> 01:08:40.920 you can't mean, I guess I'm getting as you can't 942 01:08:40.920 --> 01:08:45.960 extricate those conditions from like ideological and parabise. Okay, So 943 01:08:48.399 --> 01:08:52.720 that's probably a force multiplier in some ways. Like when 944 01:08:52.760 --> 01:08:57.199 IDF actually goes into action, it can also lead to 945 01:08:57.239 --> 01:09:03.800 some bad outcomes because it's the institutions like that, particularly 946 01:09:03.800 --> 01:09:08.319 military institutions. We're having the wrong opinion can be interpreted 947 01:09:08.319 --> 01:09:12.079 as like a breaching doctrine or something. It becomes this 948 01:09:12.199 --> 01:09:18.920 kind of like ideological ghetto, you know. And Ehud Barak, 949 01:09:21.199 --> 01:09:25.079 he's really the Israeli guy I pay attention to. Okay, 950 01:09:25.800 --> 01:09:31.319 he's an interesting guy. He was a military man, you know, 951 01:09:31.399 --> 01:09:38.840 like career idef type, and he's not a particularly charming guy, 952 01:09:38.880 --> 01:09:42.640 but he's really kind of been the only champion oft 953 01:09:42.680 --> 01:09:46.800 jitsuk ra Being's memory, you know, we're being of course, 954 01:09:46.880 --> 01:09:52.239 is unceremoniously murdered in ninety five by this crazy young 955 01:09:52.279 --> 01:09:56.560 guy who's like rotting in prison now. But you know, 956 01:10:00.079 --> 01:10:03.760 I I'm not gonna say there was some conspiracy to 957 01:10:03.800 --> 01:10:07.399 whack Rabine, but a lot of people were happy that 958 01:10:06.960 --> 01:10:11.239 that that that that happened, and from that point forward, 959 01:10:12.159 --> 01:10:15.439 Israel became a one party state, you know, and Rabine 960 01:10:15.479 --> 01:10:21.520 was going to Rabine was was looking to commit to 961 01:10:21.560 --> 01:10:25.720 some way out of the racial war. Okay, I don't 962 01:10:25.720 --> 01:10:28.199 think that would have I don't think you ever would 963 01:10:28.159 --> 01:10:32.960 have seen any kind of like formal equality between the populations. 964 01:10:33.800 --> 01:10:36.399 Nor was Rabine just gonna throw his hands up and 965 01:10:37.600 --> 01:10:41.880 be forced into the position that the clerk was in 966 01:10:41.920 --> 01:10:45.520 South Africa and just say, okay, we're you know, any 967 01:10:45.880 --> 01:10:49.520 any any any man or woman of majority within Israel Palestine, 968 01:10:49.720 --> 01:10:52.560 or we're just gonna have you know where, We're gonna 969 01:10:52.560 --> 01:10:55.399 give them the ballot and and see where the ships follow. 970 01:10:55.439 --> 01:10:59.920 That wouldn't have happened, but some kind of extra case 971 01:11:00.079 --> 01:11:09.359 and from grant apartheide would have happened. Okay, But Barack, Ehud, Barack, 972 01:11:11.279 --> 01:11:14.399 he's the guy who made the point as well, that 973 01:11:17.079 --> 01:11:22.319 really was keeping that Nyahu alive politically. It's the fact 974 01:11:22.319 --> 01:11:27.239 that swapping out the civilian executive or kind of like 975 01:11:27.279 --> 01:11:31.359 rendering it headless, like if you Dona was removed by 976 01:11:31.359 --> 01:11:33.800 no confidence or if he was indicted, which you may 977 01:11:33.920 --> 01:11:39.199 very well be if and when this war results. But 978 01:11:40.199 --> 01:11:44.199 just perverse incentives that kind of pursue like bad strategy 979 01:11:44.319 --> 01:11:47.000 is what I'm getting at, okay, and and what Barack 980 01:11:47.159 --> 01:11:55.039 is getting it. You know, people turn around, I know 981 01:11:55.119 --> 01:11:58.159 what I hear from them, and they say, like, well, 982 01:11:58.880 --> 01:12:01.279 how does real performing so well? If what you say 983 01:12:01.359 --> 01:12:05.840 is true? Well, two things, like I said We're talking 984 01:12:05.840 --> 01:12:12.920 about basically two totally different conflicts that are related and 985 01:12:13.279 --> 01:12:17.880 increasingly is she and soon you are breaching the sectarian 986 01:12:17.960 --> 01:12:26.000 divide to tentatively cooperate against the common Zionist enemy. But 987 01:12:27.439 --> 01:12:31.039 the gods of situation and in the situation in the 988 01:12:31.119 --> 01:12:35.680 Levant and syria Is are two different things. I don't 989 01:12:35.720 --> 01:12:38.520 feel comfortable going as far as to say that they're 990 01:12:38.520 --> 01:12:41.880 just like two fronts of the same conflict. I mean, 991 01:12:41.880 --> 01:12:47.520 there's like a common nexus and causes, but it's more 992 01:12:47.560 --> 01:12:53.199 complicated than that. However, you know, idea got caught lacking 993 01:12:53.319 --> 01:12:57.680 when Hamas assaulted. I think I covered this on a pod, 994 01:12:58.079 --> 01:13:05.039 so if I'm repeating myself, forgive me. You know, on 995 01:13:05.119 --> 01:13:12.359 October seventh, Price it's almost been a year. But when 996 01:13:12.399 --> 01:13:19.920 Hamas breached the barrier fence, they assumed that the lead 997 01:13:20.000 --> 01:13:23.399 element was gonna get wiped out, you know, basically like 998 01:13:23.439 --> 01:13:26.439 a company sized element like storm to the mainline of resistance. 999 01:13:26.920 --> 01:13:31.680 But when they did that, there was nobody there, you know, 1000 01:13:31.760 --> 01:13:34.960 like these Raelis were. It was like a skeleton crew 1001 01:13:36.359 --> 01:13:42.840 that was not abiding any kind of alert deployment at all, 1002 01:13:43.159 --> 01:13:46.079 Like some of them were literally sleeping, and Hamas just 1003 01:13:46.239 --> 01:13:50.279 like waxed them, and then when they broke through, immediately 1004 01:13:50.960 --> 01:13:53.800 Hamas like immediately started storming the breach with like as 1005 01:13:53.840 --> 01:13:56.640 many men as they could get through as possible. You know. 1006 01:13:57.800 --> 01:13:59.960 Then ID have like swarm drones on him and combine 1007 01:14:00.079 --> 01:14:02.359 garb and sort of like hosing them with fire. But 1008 01:14:02.399 --> 01:14:04.680 my point is that shouldn't have happened in the first place. 1009 01:14:05.359 --> 01:14:08.960 You know that feel like if when that'd be like 1010 01:14:09.000 --> 01:14:10.720 I point, it became clear the Russians were going to 1011 01:14:10.800 --> 01:14:16.479 like assault you know, don Bass to like relieve they're 1012 01:14:16.560 --> 01:14:20.920 people who were under pressure there from these guys who 1013 01:14:20.920 --> 01:14:24.079 were like supposedly like irregulars like Azo, but were very 1014 01:14:24.079 --> 01:14:33.319 obviously you know, very obviously like acting as official you know, 1015 01:14:33.359 --> 01:14:35.880 and in the service of the Kya regime. That'd be 1016 01:14:35.960 --> 01:14:37.800 like a point. It became clear like Russia was going 1017 01:14:37.840 --> 01:14:42.199 to assault these like as of guys, and uh, the 1018 01:14:42.279 --> 01:14:47.279 Ukrainian armed forces like preemptively like assaulted them then like 1019 01:14:47.359 --> 01:14:50.720 broke through the Russian mainline resistance like ended up in Russia. 1020 01:14:50.880 --> 01:14:54.359 Then like the Russians had to reconstitute like bring up 1021 01:14:54.359 --> 01:14:58.720 their bring up bring their firepower to bear on them, 1022 01:14:58.760 --> 01:15:00.399 like in the form of like armor, and you know, 1023 01:15:01.239 --> 01:15:05.560 like hyperbard artillery and stuff like get the situation under control. 1024 01:15:05.760 --> 01:15:08.520 Like if that had happened, like Putin would have been gone. 1025 01:15:09.600 --> 01:15:13.039 You know that that's that's that's a catastrophic fuck up. 1026 01:15:14.199 --> 01:15:17.960 So you know, I'm not I'm not saying like, oh, 1027 01:15:18.039 --> 01:15:22.039 IDF is like a shit force, because they're not. But 1028 01:15:24.279 --> 01:15:27.319 there's real problems there, okay, And this isn't just like 1029 01:15:27.359 --> 01:15:29.199 some like intelligence failure or something. 1030 01:15:30.800 --> 01:15:38.000 But moving on, there were, like immediately immediately after that, 1031 01:15:38.079 --> 01:15:41.199 there were I was tracking people in the State Department 1032 01:15:41.239 --> 01:15:45.039 who are retiring, and there was one specifically, I can't 1033 01:15:45.039 --> 01:15:48.119 remember his name, but I did an episode with someone 1034 01:15:48.199 --> 01:15:53.439 else talking about it. Was that he retired because he 1035 01:15:53.600 --> 01:15:56.880 was in charge of getting the IDF and getting foreign 1036 01:15:56.960 --> 01:16:02.119 militaries are weapons and he said that there were divisions 1037 01:16:02.119 --> 01:16:05.319 in the IDF that he was not comfortable with arming. 1038 01:16:06.840 --> 01:16:10.800 Yeah. I I'm sure that's true, and they've got real problems, 1039 01:16:11.319 --> 01:16:14.279 you know. Like I I'm not some expert. I know 1040 01:16:14.359 --> 01:16:18.600 something about Judaism, like the like the faith. I know 1041 01:16:18.680 --> 01:16:21.279 something about their heritages of people. I mean I do. 1042 01:16:22.920 --> 01:16:26.119 I am not some expert on the internal situation in Israel, 1043 01:16:26.279 --> 01:16:33.279 but I do know that hard line Zionus of the 1044 01:16:33.359 --> 01:16:38.880 kind who like sustain the military apparatus. Those people are 1045 01:16:38.960 --> 01:16:40.760 aging and there's not a lot of young people to 1046 01:16:40.840 --> 01:16:44.000 replace them, Like there is a hard line Jewish right, 1047 01:16:45.000 --> 01:16:50.159 but more and more it's that's kind to be constituted 1048 01:16:50.199 --> 01:16:53.760 by the people who are called correctly or incorrectly in 1049 01:16:53.760 --> 01:16:57.520 clogial terms like the ultra Orthodox. And they have a 1050 01:16:57.560 --> 01:17:01.720 strange they have a strange and somewhat contentious relationship with 1051 01:17:01.760 --> 01:17:05.920 the military. I mean, Israel's got real problems, you know. 1052 01:17:06.039 --> 01:17:10.840 I mean they that they can't be denied. So I 1053 01:17:11.239 --> 01:17:15.239 don't doubt that guy's testimony for a minute, But I mean, 1054 01:17:15.279 --> 01:17:17.279 like why would he lie about that. That doesn't if 1055 01:17:17.279 --> 01:17:19.199 he was going to try and make if he was 1056 01:17:19.239 --> 01:17:21.000 going to drop some kind of cap to try and 1057 01:17:21.159 --> 01:17:23.640 make the situation seem less severe than it was, or 1058 01:17:23.680 --> 01:17:25.800 to try and make Israel look like more cable with 1059 01:17:25.880 --> 01:17:30.680 your role. Like you wouldn't say that, but you know 1060 01:17:30.840 --> 01:17:36.800 the degree of which two you know, Israel had to 1061 01:17:36.920 --> 01:17:41.279 kind of Israel kind of had to win in Syria, Okay, 1062 01:17:41.439 --> 01:17:43.479 if they could have like knocked out a sod and 1063 01:17:43.560 --> 01:17:47.159 like crushed the string era of army. And also like 1064 01:17:47.479 --> 01:17:52.359 hit Hesiblah and like really really hard because the idea's 1065 01:17:52.359 --> 01:17:55.680 been smarting from from their fight with HESBLA in two 1066 01:17:55.680 --> 01:18:00.439 thousand and six for almost like twenty years now. You know, 1067 01:18:01.319 --> 01:18:03.600 they really kind of needed to make a statement like that. 1068 01:18:03.760 --> 01:18:07.800 And if if it's if Damasks had gone down in 1069 01:18:07.920 --> 01:18:15.079 flames and Syria kind of became partitioned, they the would 1070 01:18:15.079 --> 01:18:18.199 have been totally fine with like these lunatic killers, like 1071 01:18:18.319 --> 01:18:22.039 isis controlling like some chunk of it. You know. Then 1072 01:18:22.079 --> 01:18:24.319 they wanted to like basically like you know, create some 1073 01:18:24.439 --> 01:18:27.399 like fake like Kurdistan like through like you know, a 1074 01:18:27.439 --> 01:18:30.560 swath of Iraq and like assimilate part of Syria into that, 1075 01:18:31.319 --> 01:18:35.119 and then probably like have some some zone that was 1076 01:18:35.159 --> 01:18:37.960 like occupied by America but it was technically like you know, 1077 01:18:38.640 --> 01:18:40.600 the a d m Z or something or some kind 1078 01:18:40.600 --> 01:18:43.239 of like free zone. So it's like okay, then like 1079 01:18:44.840 --> 01:18:48.920 basically like they've sown up, They've sown up their problem. 1080 01:18:49.399 --> 01:18:52.079 And also too then like the Russians can't like access 1081 01:18:52.119 --> 01:18:54.800 like their key port there, like the Russian Our Federation 1082 01:18:54.920 --> 01:18:58.119 can't deploy there. That would have solved the like basically 1083 01:18:58.199 --> 01:19:01.600 like that that would have solved like one half of 1084 01:19:01.640 --> 01:19:05.079 the equation, you know, and then they could have brought 1085 01:19:05.119 --> 01:19:10.239 like full firepower to bear and you know, one hundred 1086 01:19:10.239 --> 01:19:13.319 percent of forces and being like to bear like on Gaza, 1087 01:19:14.239 --> 01:19:17.039 and there's really nothing anybody could do about it. So 1088 01:19:17.079 --> 01:19:20.560 the Russian the Russians really food barred their program. Like 1089 01:19:20.680 --> 01:19:23.520 the degree of which they did, like can't be overstated. 1090 01:19:24.640 --> 01:19:26.479 That's why like when I say to people, like when 1091 01:19:26.479 --> 01:19:29.840 I point out to them the fact that you know, 1092 01:19:29.880 --> 01:19:33.359 like the Ukrainian War is literally like a secondary front. 1093 01:19:33.840 --> 01:19:35.720 I mean, it's not secondary to people there. It's a 1094 01:19:35.760 --> 01:19:38.560 disaster and it's scale, it's it's it's just like a 1095 01:19:39.319 --> 01:19:46.279 they're is suffering and death is staggering. But I'm saying, 1096 01:19:46.359 --> 01:19:50.319 like to Israel, that's like a secondary front where they 1097 01:19:50.319 --> 01:19:53.039 can bring pressure to bear on Russia. And the fact 1098 01:19:53.079 --> 01:19:55.520 that when I raise that to people, they look at 1099 01:19:55.520 --> 01:19:57.399 me like why would you say that, It's like you 1100 01:19:57.439 --> 01:20:01.319 really don't understand that Russian Israel are like hate each other. 1101 01:20:02.479 --> 01:20:05.640 You know, they're like literally like mortal enemies. You know. 1102 01:20:07.239 --> 01:20:10.960 It's like the fact that Putin doesn't like call them 1103 01:20:10.960 --> 01:20:12.920 the K word and like shake his fist in the 1104 01:20:12.920 --> 01:20:17.680 ear and call for them to be destroyed, like you know, 1105 01:20:17.720 --> 01:20:19.920 like you sound like Arab strong man or something. I 1106 01:20:21.319 --> 01:20:23.800 guess people are so literally minded they can't like compute 1107 01:20:23.800 --> 01:20:27.039 this or something. But the fact that like you know, 1108 01:20:27.079 --> 01:20:29.680 likeever Offen going around like calling for some like pogram 1109 01:20:29.760 --> 01:20:33.119 of like Ukrainian jewelry or something like. I don't know, 1110 01:20:33.159 --> 01:20:40.239 I don't know how people can't discern this. But that's 1111 01:20:40.279 --> 01:20:42.960 really what's so dangerous about this situation. And that's also 1112 01:20:43.039 --> 01:20:47.600 why it's also like NATO's being so reckless. You know, 1113 01:20:47.640 --> 01:20:49.479 if it was just a question of we want to 1114 01:20:49.560 --> 01:20:55.319 murk the Russians and moving forward, you know, we want 1115 01:20:55.359 --> 01:21:01.880 to ford deployment where we can. That's like farther east 1116 01:21:02.199 --> 01:21:06.560 and central these are the you know, the central Asian 1117 01:21:06.640 --> 01:21:12.359 land mass. You know, then then Germany is that America 1118 01:21:12.399 --> 01:21:14.159 wouldn't be going about it. And it's kind of like 1119 01:21:14.600 --> 01:21:19.159 just like catastrophically reckless way. It's because it's you know it, 1120 01:21:19.319 --> 01:21:23.800 this is this is a this is like a key 1121 01:21:23.840 --> 01:21:27.960 front of basically of of Israel's war to survive and 1122 01:21:28.079 --> 01:21:31.239 perpetuate it as like the Jewish racial state. You know, 1123 01:21:33.119 --> 01:21:35.079 that's also what it likes the Lenski's in there like 1124 01:21:35.199 --> 01:21:40.159 outfront like that that's not good optics at all. And 1125 01:21:40.199 --> 01:21:42.720 it's not just that the Ukraineism and Alibi like, oh no, 1126 01:21:42.800 --> 01:21:47.680 we're not you know that this isn't some criminal psychotic regime. 1127 01:21:47.760 --> 01:21:50.479 Look we've got we've got the Jewish guy out fronto. 1128 01:21:51.680 --> 01:21:54.479 You know, it's involved in the entertainment business, and you 1129 01:21:54.520 --> 01:21:57.159 know we're a normal country. Like that's not why they're 1130 01:21:57.199 --> 01:22:04.000 doing it. It's because, uh, there's no way, uh, there's 1131 01:22:04.000 --> 01:22:06.399 no way some like boyish front man would would be 1132 01:22:06.439 --> 01:22:09.479 trusted there because I at any minute, like he could flip, 1133 01:22:10.439 --> 01:22:13.520 even if he wasn't intending to that, he could find 1134 01:22:13.600 --> 01:22:17.079 himself in a Melosovitch situation. We're suddenly like a bunch 1135 01:22:17.079 --> 01:22:19.039 of band right, So like, look, we're like tired of this, 1136 01:22:19.479 --> 01:22:22.319 you know, like we were not gonna like we're gonna 1137 01:22:22.399 --> 01:22:24.520 keep killing the Ivans, but we're not. We're not taking 1138 01:22:24.600 --> 01:22:31.079 orders from from his zid they call them. But that's 1139 01:22:34.119 --> 01:22:37.760 you know, that's and Syria is an important country and 1140 01:22:37.800 --> 01:22:42.840 it's got an outsized significance. There was I know that 1141 01:22:42.840 --> 01:22:48.560 your friend he was asking forgive me for being a 1142 01:22:48.560 --> 01:22:52.520 little scared, or he was asking about why there's panthers 1143 01:22:52.560 --> 01:22:56.119 in Syria and Lebanon. One of the reasons why part 1144 01:22:56.119 --> 01:22:58.520 of it is because of the peculiar dynamics of the 1145 01:22:58.600 --> 01:23:01.960 Lebanese Civil War that went on for decades, and then 1146 01:23:02.079 --> 01:23:04.039 the French were kind of backing all sides in that 1147 01:23:04.119 --> 01:23:06.359 war depending on like who had the upper hand, that's 1148 01:23:06.359 --> 01:23:09.760 what the French do, and the French like shove some 1149 01:23:09.840 --> 01:23:18.279 panthers into the breach on on the Arab side. But 1150 01:23:19.960 --> 01:23:25.279 there were a few dozen Vermacht officers who serving the 1151 01:23:25.279 --> 01:23:32.000 Court of Nasa as well as in Syria both before 1152 01:23:32.039 --> 01:23:38.159 and after, you know, the Syrian Bath conquered the political 1153 01:23:38.199 --> 01:23:46.079 culture and the Czechs the Skoda Arms Works, which is 1154 01:23:46.159 --> 01:23:49.439 kind of like the Czechs make great weapons. They're like 1155 01:23:49.479 --> 01:23:53.039 the Transylvanian Saxons historically, and like the Skoda Arms Works, 1156 01:23:53.560 --> 01:23:57.600 that's kind of like the Czech counterpart to Krupp that 1157 01:23:57.800 --> 01:24:01.800 during a comunist Czechoslovakia there are so many panzers and 1158 01:24:01.920 --> 01:24:06.399 like various like warsaw packed armies and adjacent armies. They 1159 01:24:06.439 --> 01:24:11.079 started like manufacturing replacing parts for panders and also too 1160 01:24:11.119 --> 01:24:15.199 obviously that's what that that's that's what these Vermachs guys 1161 01:24:15.199 --> 01:24:17.920 were familiar with. You know, and that's then that's why 1162 01:24:18.399 --> 01:24:22.039 that's the armor they knew how to fight in and 1163 01:24:22.079 --> 01:24:25.079 habituating yourself to a new tank model that you can 1164 01:24:25.119 --> 01:24:29.840 do it if you're a skilled tanker, but it's hard. 1165 01:24:31.600 --> 01:24:37.439 Franco Spain in nineteen forty three, they got about twenty 1166 01:24:37.520 --> 01:24:42.239 panzers like Mark four panzers that they'd ordered and Serrano Sooner, 1167 01:24:43.199 --> 01:24:45.920 who's a great man. I'm like Franco, and he was 1168 01:24:45.960 --> 01:24:49.920 like a diehard national socialist. He was constantly looking for 1169 01:24:50.000 --> 01:24:53.439 a way to get Spain into the war against the 1170 01:24:53.520 --> 01:24:59.800 UK in an official capacity. And after negotiations it broke 1171 01:24:59.840 --> 01:25:02.239 down because like Franco was like a ludicrous demands that 1172 01:25:02.319 --> 01:25:07.399 were you know, purposely that personally sabotaged any agreement between 1173 01:25:08.720 --> 01:25:13.000 you know, the the Reich and Madrid. There was still 1174 01:25:13.079 --> 01:25:17.199 hope and the Pandras that arrived like towards that end 1175 01:25:17.279 --> 01:25:20.520 because people thought so highly a Sooner and I mean 1176 01:25:20.640 --> 01:25:24.520 German counter legion had like spilled blood on Spain. I 1177 01:25:24.560 --> 01:25:27.239 mean that was sacred. You know. These Mark four as 1178 01:25:27.279 --> 01:25:29.000 they got were like the same ones that like the 1179 01:25:29.079 --> 01:25:31.600 pans are arm used. They weren't these they were they 1180 01:25:31.600 --> 01:25:34.680 weren't the like off brand like knockoffs, you know, they 1181 01:25:34.680 --> 01:25:37.119 were real pantheras and like most of them had never 1182 01:25:37.239 --> 01:25:41.800 like been deployed anywhere. So the Syrians got they the 1183 01:25:41.800 --> 01:25:43.920 Syrians got like a bunch of like brand spanking new 1184 01:25:44.039 --> 01:25:46.560 like mark for panders, and they also got some like yeah, 1185 01:25:46.680 --> 01:25:49.000 they also got some yag coons are like tank killers 1186 01:25:49.000 --> 01:25:52.720 like what was called assault guns in those days. So yeah, 1187 01:25:52.760 --> 01:25:55.119 like in sixty seven and seventy three, like there was 1188 01:25:55.159 --> 01:25:59.960 a there were panthers like assaulting idea, which is pretty 1189 01:26:00.159 --> 01:26:01.039 pretty cool. 1190 01:26:01.680 --> 01:26:05.319 And there's a certain level of irony there that's not exact, 1191 01:26:05.439 --> 01:26:07.520 but still. 1192 01:26:11.079 --> 01:26:18.399 I mean, I'm people like me, I you know, I'm 1193 01:26:18.520 --> 01:26:22.079 very much like an anglophone person. I mean, I'm I 1194 01:26:22.199 --> 01:26:27.760 uh I realized, uh, I realized proper Englishman. And Scott's 1195 01:26:27.760 --> 01:26:29.760 like Peter Brimlow, who's like an awesome guy and he 1196 01:26:29.840 --> 01:26:31.880 was like very cool to us at either. But I 1197 01:26:31.880 --> 01:26:33.880 can tell you things. I can tell you things that 1198 01:26:33.920 --> 01:26:36.399 I'm like, I can tell you things that I'm kind 1199 01:26:36.399 --> 01:26:38.920 of like a little ulster bastard and like that's not wrong, 1200 01:26:39.479 --> 01:26:42.239 but uh, I'm like a very Anglophone person. So I've 1201 01:26:42.279 --> 01:26:47.720 got I think every I think every angle Saxon is 1202 01:26:47.760 --> 01:26:54.279 something of like a an orientalist. So I find I 1203 01:26:54.319 --> 01:26:58.039 find Eastern people is very interesting for various reasons, you know, 1204 01:26:58.079 --> 01:27:00.359 as did guys like Johann Van and Lee and a 1205 01:27:00.359 --> 01:27:03.720 lot of these National socialist guys who ended up in 1206 01:27:03.760 --> 01:27:07.159 these Arab states. It was twofold. On the one hand, 1207 01:27:07.199 --> 01:27:11.800 they're like, okay, well, we've got to accept Cold War realities, 1208 01:27:11.840 --> 01:27:17.560 but there's room to there's proverbial room to breathe and 1209 01:27:18.119 --> 01:27:20.760 ideological and cultural terms in some of these places in 1210 01:27:20.840 --> 01:27:24.800 Latin America and the Near East, and there's people or 1211 01:27:24.960 --> 01:27:29.000 remain receptive to our ideas and kind of want to 1212 01:27:29.039 --> 01:27:33.079 be shaped by our ways. And uh they were also 1213 01:27:33.159 --> 01:27:37.840 kind of like the shock troops contra Zionism, you know, 1214 01:27:39.880 --> 01:27:43.039 So there wasn't ideological component to it. There's like incredibly 1215 01:27:43.079 --> 01:27:46.800 silly propaganda and cap like put out by guys you 1216 01:27:46.840 --> 01:27:51.560 know about oh, like you know, Islamism is is just uh, 1217 01:27:52.039 --> 01:27:56.119 it's just this sort of anti Semitic, you know, Nazi conspiracy. 1218 01:27:56.159 --> 01:27:59.000 I mean, there's like very stupid stuff that affects. But 1219 01:28:00.199 --> 01:28:03.159 there was an is ideological affinity between people like the 1220 01:28:03.159 --> 01:28:08.840 Syrian bath and and and national socialists. That's not the 1221 01:28:08.880 --> 01:28:10.880 reason why. Like I mean, I like the Syrian people. 1222 01:28:10.920 --> 01:28:12.439 I know a lot of Syrians, and I hold in 1223 01:28:12.479 --> 01:28:14.960 a highest scheme. I think I think they're interesting in 1224 01:28:15.039 --> 01:28:19.199 like a cultured people. But they also you know, if 1225 01:28:19.199 --> 01:28:24.199 you if you there's some of these are are are 1226 01:28:24.199 --> 01:28:27.239 with the Third Reich and what it stood for, you know, 1227 01:28:27.399 --> 01:28:31.239 the obviously like a like like I think too too much. 1228 01:28:31.319 --> 01:28:34.800 Croatia was the only it was the only true like 1229 01:28:34.880 --> 01:28:37.399 national social estate that existed at the day to feed. 1230 01:28:38.119 --> 01:28:42.239 But like an adjacent political culture is like is like 1231 01:28:42.319 --> 01:28:46.960 bath is Syria? Like absolutely so yeah, I mean that's 1232 01:28:47.000 --> 01:28:51.079 not to your point, Like it's not it's not totally 1233 01:28:51.079 --> 01:28:54.119 all base or anything. But I'll i'll movie ahead. I 1234 01:28:54.359 --> 01:28:59.279 realized I'm getting tangential. But the you know, in the 1235 01:28:59.279 --> 01:29:02.479 the Russians cultivated. I can't remember how much we got 1236 01:29:02.479 --> 01:29:05.560 into this. I should have reviewed our earlier episode before, 1237 01:29:06.479 --> 01:29:08.680 like like yesterday this morning, So forgive me again if 1238 01:29:08.680 --> 01:29:13.000 I'm repeating myself, please call me on it. But you know, 1239 01:29:13.119 --> 01:29:21.760 the the Soviet leadership, they really they really cultivated and 1240 01:29:21.840 --> 01:29:26.880 like vice versa. You know, like I the naval basic tartis, 1241 01:29:28.640 --> 01:29:32.680 which is essential, it's the soul it's the sole Mediterranean 1242 01:29:33.119 --> 01:29:36.720 base for the for the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet 1243 01:29:37.119 --> 01:29:41.000 to this day, that was a big deal after if 1244 01:29:41.079 --> 01:29:44.920 the Suy Union went down the assade and the Russian 1245 01:29:44.960 --> 01:29:47.560 Federation worked out that this is like like the so 1246 01:29:47.840 --> 01:29:51.239 is that like permanent rights, like the Tartist Naval base. 1247 01:29:54.319 --> 01:29:59.239 You know, it's uh and it was it was. It 1248 01:29:59.279 --> 01:30:02.800 was a sad. I mean, it takes nothing away obviously 1249 01:30:02.840 --> 01:30:06.319 from the game. That's the Syrian Air of army and 1250 01:30:06.319 --> 01:30:12.880 and and their toughness and there and they desire to 1251 01:30:12.920 --> 01:30:16.520 win and things like that. But during the seventy three war, 1252 01:30:17.520 --> 01:30:20.640 you know, which which males is called the Ramadan War, 1253 01:30:24.439 --> 01:30:28.640 Alo Whites and Christians call it a couple of different things, 1254 01:30:28.880 --> 01:30:31.800 or just the nineteen seventy three war. The Israelis call 1255 01:30:31.840 --> 01:30:34.279 it the yan Kapoor War. But you know, like we 1256 01:30:34.399 --> 01:30:41.520 like we talked about, there was thousands of advisors, technicians there, 1257 01:30:41.520 --> 01:30:45.359 there were there were special operations type Soviet true, it's 1258 01:30:45.399 --> 01:30:49.039 about twenty of whom died in action in seventy three, 1259 01:30:52.159 --> 01:30:54.800 you know, and over close to four thousand tons of 1260 01:30:54.880 --> 01:31:00.439 aid you know ammo uh like ration packs, you medical 1261 01:31:00.479 --> 01:31:05.359 supplies like you name it by the by the conclusion 1262 01:31:06.039 --> 01:31:09.000 by the end of October, you know, it's a station 1263 01:31:09.079 --> 01:31:13.760 about still is immediately beyond the Soviet Navy. They'd see 1264 01:31:13.760 --> 01:31:19.680 lifted over sixty thousand tons of gear like weapons again 1265 01:31:19.760 --> 01:31:29.159 like weapons, AMMO, food stuffs, agricultural commodities to Syria or 1266 01:31:29.199 --> 01:31:33.960 replace its losses. I mean, that's that that's a huge effort, 1267 01:31:34.119 --> 01:31:40.760 you know. And as as we talked about, there was 1268 01:31:40.800 --> 01:31:47.079 some tension from about seventy five to seventy seven, I 1269 01:31:47.079 --> 01:31:51.199 guess the Syrians directly intervened in a webinon. There was 1270 01:31:51.239 --> 01:31:55.000 this kind of tense minuet because you know, the PLO, 1271 01:31:57.159 --> 01:32:03.039 the PLO, despite its, despite his like declared secularism, was 1272 01:32:03.079 --> 01:32:08.600 always you know, like a like a Sunni outfit, and 1273 01:32:08.600 --> 01:32:14.600 the Soviets were really concerned about, you know, active hostilities 1274 01:32:14.600 --> 01:32:16.920 breaking out between the Syrian Ara of Army and and 1275 01:32:17.000 --> 01:32:23.680 the plofes. Asad was able to smooth that over with 1276 01:32:24.039 --> 01:32:31.359 skillful diplomacy. But what really what really kind of solidified 1277 01:32:31.479 --> 01:32:37.359 their relationship even in the midst of some of these 1278 01:32:37.439 --> 01:32:44.039 like interscene conflicts between Soviet Allied elements, was Asad Asad 1279 01:32:44.479 --> 01:32:48.479 unconditionally backed like the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, and he 1280 01:32:48.560 --> 01:32:50.760 made a lot of people really upset by doing that, 1281 01:32:51.960 --> 01:32:54.560 you know, like within his own within Darla Islam, you know, 1282 01:32:56.439 --> 01:33:01.279 but it was it was the right play considering the circumstances. 1283 01:33:02.279 --> 01:33:06.920 And it was also essential, I mean building during the 1284 01:33:06.960 --> 01:33:14.039 Cold War like that, that kind of consensus building across 1285 01:33:14.119 --> 01:33:18.159 a national frontiers was essential, you know, And it was, uh, 1286 01:33:19.800 --> 01:33:26.319 the kind of last hurrah of that sort of war 1287 01:33:26.399 --> 01:33:30.520 in peace diplomacy was Bush forty one's like quorum that 1288 01:33:30.600 --> 01:33:34.239 he gathered to wage the Gulf War, which was an 1289 01:33:34.239 --> 01:33:38.359 incredible which was a master stroke, you know, but that 1290 01:33:38.560 --> 01:33:40.039 was I think of that as kind of the book 1291 01:33:40.159 --> 01:33:44.359 end of the Cold War and the entire prodige and 1292 01:33:44.359 --> 01:33:47.560 of course the Physicsade you know, the syiener have already deployed, 1293 01:33:48.600 --> 01:33:53.479 you know, to back to back US forces and of 1294 01:33:53.520 --> 01:33:56.039 course America. How is America like pay that back by 1295 01:33:56.119 --> 01:33:59.560 like trying to murder the Assade family. It's it's it's unconstable, 1296 01:34:00.359 --> 01:34:03.079 like it's it's a vile I mean, aside in the 1297 01:34:03.199 --> 01:34:06.159 fact it's it's totally irrational, but it's just it's just vile, 1298 01:34:06.279 --> 01:34:13.560 Like you don't do that. April seventy seven as Asade, 1299 01:34:13.600 --> 01:34:17.520 he made a state visit to Moscow and he got 1300 01:34:17.560 --> 01:34:21.000 an audience in the president himself as well as Alexi 1301 01:34:22.399 --> 01:34:27.720 proceedon Kaseigan, you know who were I mean basically got 1302 01:34:27.720 --> 01:34:29.720 to meet the old Control Group of the Soviet Union. 1303 01:34:29.800 --> 01:34:34.439 I mean for for a small, you know, underdeveloped country, 1304 01:34:34.520 --> 01:34:40.600 that's that's pretty remarkable. And they signed h they put 1305 01:34:40.640 --> 01:34:42.600 pen to paper on what was called the Treaty of 1306 01:34:42.640 --> 01:34:45.279 Friendship in nineteen eighty, you know, less than a year 1307 01:34:45.319 --> 01:34:49.399 after the Soviets assaulted Afghanistan. And that was that was 1308 01:34:49.439 --> 01:34:52.159 not a that was not coincidental. That was very much 1309 01:34:52.479 --> 01:34:57.600 Taylor to send a message to the world. And subsequently 1310 01:34:58.680 --> 01:35:04.600 there became a permanent gar sin in Syria of Soviet troops. 1311 01:35:06.560 --> 01:35:10.119 You know, not only were the balk Assyrian weapons you know, 1312 01:35:10.199 --> 01:35:13.039 coming from Warsaw Pact, you know, the Soviet Union itself, 1313 01:35:13.399 --> 01:35:19.000 the d d R, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, what have you, but 1314 01:35:19.079 --> 01:35:23.479 also like North Korea, you know, like Syria, because there 1315 01:35:23.560 --> 01:35:28.960 wasn't the only uh, the only Marxist Leninist Arab state 1316 01:35:29.159 --> 01:35:36.239 was South Yemen, you know, so having having an ally 1317 01:35:38.279 --> 01:35:43.079 in the Arab world, which again Syria had and has 1318 01:35:43.079 --> 01:35:49.640 something about outside profile and conceptual terms, this is this 1319 01:35:49.760 --> 01:35:53.319 is a big win for the for the communist world, 1320 01:35:53.800 --> 01:36:00.600 even even though the Syrian Bath was not particularly empathetic 1321 01:36:00.640 --> 01:36:07.880 to doctrinal Marcis Lentinism, but that, you know, that's the 1322 01:36:07.960 --> 01:36:12.319 degree to which the Soviets became tolerant increasingly of what 1323 01:36:12.920 --> 01:36:14.439 a lot of people would have viewed as kind of 1324 01:36:14.439 --> 01:36:18.239 like a third position as tendency. That's very that's highly significant. 1325 01:36:18.319 --> 01:36:21.079 And of course that's kind of stuff that guys like 1326 01:36:21.079 --> 01:36:24.640 Otto Riemer and and George Switzer, Vierick and Ah Thompson 1327 01:36:24.680 --> 01:36:29.840 and Francis Yaqui. I mean, that was their whole that 1328 01:36:29.880 --> 01:36:36.079 that was their whole kind of diagnostic prediction, you know, 1329 01:36:36.119 --> 01:36:40.159 and that's one of the reasons why they did this. 1330 01:36:40.439 --> 01:36:45.680 Incredibly ignorant people who they like to bandy that there's 1331 01:36:45.680 --> 01:36:48.119 some kind of third worldism. I don't even know what 1332 01:36:48.159 --> 01:36:52.880 that means, but it, you know, within the X time, 1333 01:36:53.039 --> 01:36:57.479 within the extent paradigm of the Cold War, this made 1334 01:36:57.520 --> 01:37:02.399 absolute sense for you know, anybody who was on the 1335 01:37:03.399 --> 01:37:05.800 you know, on the national socialist or fascist side of things. 1336 01:37:06.319 --> 01:37:13.800 You know, it's it absolutely tracks. And Carrie Bolton, he's 1337 01:37:13.800 --> 01:37:17.279 one of the only he's one of the only kind 1338 01:37:17.279 --> 01:37:20.800 of contemporary I mean, he's an old guy now, but 1339 01:37:21.560 --> 01:37:25.159 when I take an temporary, I mean like somebody is active. 1340 01:37:25.439 --> 01:37:29.560 He's the only sort of like to like dissident, like 1341 01:37:29.560 --> 01:37:35.880 like national socialists, like academic writers. I take really seriously 1342 01:37:36.039 --> 01:37:39.920 like he's great, you know, and I he's kind of 1343 01:37:39.920 --> 01:37:43.319 an eccentric guy. He's some of his interests are kind 1344 01:37:43.319 --> 01:37:48.239 of eccentric, but I you know, he's his his viewpoint 1345 01:37:48.399 --> 01:37:53.239 is closest to mine own out of anybody. He's kind 1346 01:37:53.239 --> 01:37:57.880 of active in writing about you know, political theory and 1347 01:37:58.079 --> 01:38:05.439 national socialism and stuff. In twenty ten, Medgetev became he 1348 01:38:05.520 --> 01:38:08.600 became the first president of the Russian Federation to reciprocate 1349 01:38:08.640 --> 01:38:11.119 and visit Syria. I think, like I said before, I 1350 01:38:11.159 --> 01:38:18.279 can't I cannot remember if when the Russians after at 1351 01:38:18.279 --> 01:38:25.520 the Syria of Army routed isis you know, there was 1352 01:38:25.600 --> 01:38:29.680 a there was this parade for the Russian contingent there 1353 01:38:30.000 --> 01:38:32.720 there reminded me of the Conor Legion parade. It was 1354 01:38:32.760 --> 01:38:37.720 I thought it was really cool. I was. I watched 1355 01:38:37.760 --> 01:38:41.279 it on there's a YouTube stream that came through live 1356 01:38:41.319 --> 01:38:46.159 at like three am. And I can't remember if Putin 1357 01:38:46.279 --> 01:38:52.560 was there or not, but regardless it was you know, 1358 01:38:53.199 --> 01:38:57.159 the first state visit by a Russian Federation executive. It 1359 01:38:57.199 --> 01:39:03.880 was mitigative and that was ah, that was a big 1360 01:39:03.920 --> 01:39:06.199 deal too. And obviously in twenty ten, like less than 1361 01:39:06.239 --> 01:39:09.520 a year later, you know, the civil war kicked off 1362 01:39:09.560 --> 01:39:16.119 and that that wasn't that that wasn't uh, that wasn't accidental. 1363 01:39:16.760 --> 01:39:22.840 You know, ever conducts I can't remember we got into 1364 01:39:22.840 --> 01:39:31.800 this or not, but the did it to understand the 1365 01:39:31.840 --> 01:39:36.039 situation in Syria with Isis al Qaeda on news refront 1366 01:39:36.359 --> 01:39:43.760 the the Salafi terrorist elements who were assaulting the government. 1367 01:39:46.800 --> 01:39:50.800 These guys were these guys were rapidly successful. You know, 1368 01:39:50.880 --> 01:39:59.199 like obviously they had deep support you know, above border 1369 01:39:59.239 --> 01:40:04.000 or not from from Washington and Tel Aviv. You know, 1370 01:40:04.119 --> 01:40:11.159 they the Syrian government by the time of Russian intervention, 1371 01:40:12.680 --> 01:40:14.760 they could be set in control only about twenty six 1372 01:40:14.800 --> 01:40:18.079 percent of the country. I mean, they had Damascus and 1373 01:40:18.119 --> 01:40:20.159 they had most of the built up areas that but 1374 01:40:20.199 --> 01:40:29.159 that didn't matter. You know, when the integrating between Damascus 1375 01:40:29.319 --> 01:40:33.640 and these kind of like outlying territories that were held 1376 01:40:33.680 --> 01:40:40.520 by government forces and and UH and adjacent allies, it 1377 01:40:40.560 --> 01:40:44.119 was they couldn't operationally integrate with the forces and being 1378 01:40:44.800 --> 01:40:46.800 that they had. That's one of the things that the 1379 01:40:46.920 --> 01:40:54.079 Russian Federation brought to the table, you know. Russia also 1380 01:40:54.520 --> 01:41:00.880 they showed absolutely no mercy to these to these Salafi Islamis, 1381 01:41:00.920 --> 01:41:07.520 you know, the they were practicing a scorched earth campaign 1382 01:41:07.600 --> 01:41:11.359 against them. But that's what so the most horrifying modern 1383 01:41:11.399 --> 01:41:15.920 more footage I've seen is when Isis they assaulted, they 1384 01:41:15.960 --> 01:41:21.359 assaulted the suburb of Aleppo, and they beheaded all the males, 1385 01:41:21.680 --> 01:41:24.760 you know, from like little kids to like military age, 1386 01:41:24.960 --> 01:41:29.960 like teenage boys, to like old men. And it was 1387 01:41:30.000 --> 01:41:34.239 like this forest of like heads like impaled on these steaks, 1388 01:41:35.319 --> 01:41:44.600 and these Isis guys, Uh, they were doing their they 1389 01:41:44.600 --> 01:41:49.560 were doing one of their afternoon prayers and you know, 1390 01:41:49.600 --> 01:41:54.239 they were on their prayer mats. Like it's probably like 1391 01:41:54.239 --> 01:41:59.399 a whole platoon of them, and there was just these heads, 1392 01:42:00.760 --> 01:42:04.000 you know, like it's it's like something out of a 1393 01:42:04.039 --> 01:42:08.800 horror movie, you know, I mean, that's those are the 1394 01:42:08.880 --> 01:42:15.199 kinds of animals that American Israel returning it loose on 1395 01:42:15.199 --> 01:42:18.439 on Syria as a dead nation strategy, you know, and 1396 01:42:20.439 --> 01:42:23.560 to the Russians, I mean, God bless the Russians for 1397 01:42:23.680 --> 01:42:29.439 like blasting those guys to help. But you know, the 1398 01:42:32.760 --> 01:42:40.680 that that's probably the greatest victory, like battlefield victory. The 1399 01:42:41.399 --> 01:42:46.479 anybody like who should be you should view as like 1400 01:42:46.520 --> 01:42:52.079 an adjacent element if you're right wing. That that's really 1401 01:42:52.119 --> 01:42:56.359 like what the what the Syrina of r and the 1402 01:42:56.399 --> 01:42:59.960 Russian Federation and his block accomplished there other than operations 1403 01:43:00.039 --> 01:43:02.399 storm like when the Cross routed the chet Nicks and 1404 01:43:02.479 --> 01:43:06.800 like liberated the crying, that's like the only thing in 1405 01:43:06.800 --> 01:43:11.760 my lifetime that was comparable. So when these like demento 1406 01:43:11.920 --> 01:43:14.760 internet guys like don't go outside or something instead of 1407 01:43:14.760 --> 01:43:17.159 talking about, say love Ukraine, it's I realize like how 1408 01:43:17.239 --> 01:43:21.359 sick these fucking people are, and like I'm just like delusional, 1409 01:43:21.760 --> 01:43:25.800 you know, like they don't they they're they're like they're 1410 01:43:25.840 --> 01:43:28.960 either like ops or like masquerading as being like right wing, 1411 01:43:29.039 --> 01:43:31.760 or they're or they're just like or they just like 1412 01:43:31.840 --> 01:43:34.239 think that ship's like video games or something. I don't know, 1413 01:43:34.520 --> 01:43:37.640 but you know, I make the point again and again 1414 01:43:37.720 --> 01:43:41.680 if you don't if you don't understand that, like the 1415 01:43:41.760 --> 01:43:45.520 Syrians are like your allies and and this this is 1416 01:43:45.560 --> 01:43:48.520 an international struggle you can't isolate it and say, like 1417 01:43:48.520 --> 01:43:50.800 I don't care what happens outside of America. Like that's 1418 01:43:50.840 --> 01:43:54.680 this that the basic bitch like white and words stuff. 1419 01:43:54.720 --> 01:43:57.399 But it's also like you're not in the game if 1420 01:43:57.439 --> 01:44:00.560 you think these things occur in isolation. You know, whether 1421 01:44:00.560 --> 01:44:03.239 you like like globalism or not, it doesn't matter. Like 1422 01:44:03.279 --> 01:44:06.439 it's you can't ignore gravity, you know, it's it's the 1423 01:44:06.479 --> 01:44:11.640 same thing. Globalism is like gravity. The power playable paradigm 1424 01:44:11.640 --> 01:44:13.840 you live under is like the weather. You can't change it. 1425 01:44:14.880 --> 01:44:16.760 I mean, I mean, you can change it, but if 1426 01:44:16.760 --> 01:44:18.840 you got to like work within its parameters, you know, 1427 01:44:18.960 --> 01:44:24.039 like saying you're a you're you're gonna like you're gonna 1428 01:44:24.039 --> 01:44:27.239 take some like non position owing owing to some like 1429 01:44:27.319 --> 01:44:31.880 ethical orientation that you know, you convince yourself like means 1430 01:44:31.920 --> 01:44:36.880 you like rechecked like the prevailing the prevailing order that 1431 01:44:36.920 --> 01:44:41.119 I mean, that's that's that's that's meaningless and in playable terms. 1432 01:44:41.439 --> 01:44:46.560 But you know the UH plus too, that's when the 1433 01:44:46.600 --> 01:44:50.600 Russian Federation like finally drew a line in the sand, 1434 01:44:50.720 --> 01:44:55.399 you know, and I had they not, I I think 1435 01:44:55.479 --> 01:44:57.800 Russia would be an even worse shape today than than 1436 01:44:58.119 --> 01:45:01.960 than it is. Okay, I'm not saying bad things aret 1437 01:45:02.000 --> 01:45:04.560 Russian people. I mean, the Russians are in a desperate situation. 1438 01:45:06.359 --> 01:45:09.760 Putin said that like demand like like like I said, 1439 01:45:09.920 --> 01:45:12.319 is not going down. He said, the bad regime is 1440 01:45:12.359 --> 01:45:18.880 going to remain at all costs, and that and and 1441 01:45:18.960 --> 01:45:21.720 he and he delivered on it. You know. That's that's 1442 01:45:21.720 --> 01:45:26.920 that's what's kept Russia alive, is in in Warranty's terms, 1443 01:45:27.159 --> 01:45:29.279 you know, like, had had the Russians just allowed Seria 1444 01:45:29.319 --> 01:45:33.560 to go down like they they would have had a 1445 01:45:33.600 --> 01:45:42.680 cascading effect of of of catastrophes. You know, you've he 1446 01:45:42.760 --> 01:45:50.479 developed certain instincts for identifying what events are gonna have 1447 01:45:50.600 --> 01:45:54.359 those sort of seismic kinetic effects. And you better believe 1448 01:45:54.439 --> 01:45:56.520 if Damasius had fallen, that would have been one of 1449 01:45:56.560 --> 01:46:04.359 those events. Uh. It's also it was executed pretty splendidly, man. 1450 01:46:05.680 --> 01:46:10.520 You know, I'm We've talked a lot in various capacities, 1451 01:46:11.159 --> 01:46:14.640 and I recommend you know, super off. He's most known 1452 01:46:14.640 --> 01:46:21.399 for Icebreaker, but his book Inside the Red Army, you know, 1453 01:46:21.439 --> 01:46:24.119 it's about the state of it's about the state of 1454 01:46:24.159 --> 01:46:28.079 the Soviet Army, you know, basically in the in the 1455 01:46:28.239 --> 01:46:33.159 in the later bresident of the era and something that 1456 01:46:34.960 --> 01:46:39.840 remains this day and something that preceded the Bolshek Revolution. 1457 01:46:41.520 --> 01:46:44.880 You know, the Russians big thing, the big military science 1458 01:46:44.880 --> 01:46:52.039 imperative is to do everything possible to like overcome fog 1459 01:46:52.079 --> 01:47:03.640 of war issues, you know, situational awareness issues within the 1460 01:47:03.680 --> 01:47:09.720 battle space, you know, by eradicating and certainties. So they 1461 01:47:09.760 --> 01:47:12.840 treat they treat battle doctor and almost like a Western 1462 01:47:12.920 --> 01:47:15.600 army or like or like the US Army would treat regulation. 1463 01:47:16.920 --> 01:47:22.119 It's highly inflexible, okay, but for what they rush. By 1464 01:47:22.159 --> 01:47:29.119 the way the Russians fight, it does work. And the 1465 01:47:29.199 --> 01:47:34.279 combined arms the Russians brought to bear against isis like 1466 01:47:34.520 --> 01:47:40.399 cut them to pieces, you know. And it was absolutely 1467 01:47:43.319 --> 01:47:45.319 you know, like a like like the Russians isn't just 1468 01:47:45.319 --> 01:47:49.520 like rashally deployed. Like I remember, I can't remember his 1469 01:47:49.640 --> 01:47:53.600 name he was. He said black guy on I don't 1470 01:47:53.600 --> 01:47:57.000 even think he's on TV anymore. But he was kind 1471 01:47:57.039 --> 01:47:59.159 of like he was kind of like mini me Lester 1472 01:47:59.319 --> 01:48:01.079 Holt or something. He was. I mean, not that Lester 1473 01:48:01.199 --> 01:48:04.560 Hal's any great shakes, but this guy was like he 1474 01:48:04.640 --> 01:48:06.359 was kind of like the bush Ley Lester Halt, and 1475 01:48:06.399 --> 01:48:11.399 he was he was talking to he saw its like 1476 01:48:11.520 --> 01:48:16.439 uber Zionists, like like Nato Schill, like idiot who was 1477 01:48:16.439 --> 01:48:18.800 like a light current, like a retired like light colonel 1478 01:48:18.880 --> 01:48:22.159 or something. And this guy was dropping Cavaboll like, well 1479 01:48:22.199 --> 01:48:25.039 we saw him, Chuch, beyond ninety four. The Russians can't fight. 1480 01:48:25.119 --> 01:48:28.119 It's like, first of all, those you know twenty years ago, 1481 01:48:28.199 --> 01:48:37.199 you fool. Secondly, it you know, if if that was 1482 01:48:37.199 --> 01:48:38.880 a state of the arm front of the Russian Federation, 1483 01:48:38.960 --> 01:48:41.159 frankly wouldn't be able to deploy a scale the Syria 1484 01:48:41.199 --> 01:48:43.800 at all. You know. It's it's not like he would 1485 01:48:43.800 --> 01:48:48.359 have been able to like arrive in the battlespace, you know, 1486 01:48:48.479 --> 01:48:51.239 deploy in depth and then and then and then completely 1487 01:48:51.239 --> 01:48:53.479 food bar the operation. I mean, they definitely could have 1488 01:48:53.600 --> 01:48:59.560 lost it. But and I'm not going to suggest that 1489 01:48:59.600 --> 01:49:02.800 the rush An Army deploying the Syria as like something 1490 01:49:02.840 --> 01:49:09.279 on order of the British accomplishing that kind of logistic 1491 01:49:09.319 --> 01:49:11.199 what mirrorable they did at the falk Whens maybe two 1492 01:49:11.399 --> 01:49:14.159 or something, but it was was pretty damn impressive, okay. 1493 01:49:14.199 --> 01:49:19.640 And once they were able to essentially like immediately drop 1494 01:49:19.800 --> 01:49:21.920 like you know, five thousand boots on the ground and 1495 01:49:23.239 --> 01:49:30.600 a whole gang a mid twenty nines and some kind 1496 01:49:30.600 --> 01:49:33.600 of sex stuff like thermobar re artillery and things like that. 1497 01:49:34.239 --> 01:49:37.600 It's like, okay, I mean, i it appears as if 1498 01:49:38.199 --> 01:49:41.720 like the Russian army's back. I mean, the Roginary performed 1499 01:49:41.720 --> 01:49:46.319 pretty well in Georgia in two thousand and eight, but 1500 01:49:46.359 --> 01:49:49.600 there were still there were still problems. I mean, there's 1501 01:49:49.640 --> 01:49:57.159 problems today. But the you know, I nobody who's not 1502 01:49:57.720 --> 01:50:03.439 resorting the kind of callow propaganda, very deliberate sword is 1503 01:50:03.520 --> 01:50:05.199 is going to say that, you know, the Russian operation 1504 01:50:05.279 --> 01:50:12.079 in Syria wasn't impressive or something. You know, it's but uh, 1505 01:50:13.640 --> 01:50:26.720 moving on, Yeah, it's uh. The Russian the chief of 1506 01:50:26.800 --> 01:50:39.239 Staff of the Russian Air Force grass him of, he 1507 01:50:39.359 --> 01:50:43.039 stated in twenty seventeen. In twenty seventeen, like in twenty sixteen, 1508 01:50:43.079 --> 01:50:45.680 like twenty seventeen, there's kind of like this big like 1509 01:50:45.760 --> 01:50:49.920 retrospective on the Syrian operation, and part of it was, 1510 01:50:50.000 --> 01:50:52.119 you know, like a Russian flex like hey, this is 1511 01:50:52.119 --> 01:50:55.000 what we did. Like you know, rah rah, we're back. 1512 01:50:55.079 --> 01:50:59.640 We you know, we we're a serious you know, we're 1513 01:50:59.720 --> 01:51:06.239 we're we're serious military power again. But they carried out. 1514 01:51:06.960 --> 01:51:10.720 They carried out around twenty thousand sorties, like like yeah, 1515 01:51:10.760 --> 01:51:15.399 between like eighteen and twenty thousand sorties and there was 1516 01:51:15.479 --> 01:51:21.239 over seventy thousand strikes on what Grass them off called 1517 01:51:21.359 --> 01:51:26.720 quote the infrastructure of terrorism, which what I take that 1518 01:51:26.800 --> 01:51:28.920 to me is like a lot of ground assault type 1519 01:51:28.960 --> 01:51:31.439 stuff like basically like it has blood on the Seria 1520 01:51:32.399 --> 01:51:37.279 Army going into action, probably backed up by some Russian 1521 01:51:37.399 --> 01:51:41.920 armor and artillery, and then like basically like the Russians 1522 01:51:41.920 --> 01:51:46.159 that uh, they like pound the hell out of Isis 1523 01:51:46.199 --> 01:51:49.960 positions from the air, you know, like in immediate advance 1524 01:51:50.039 --> 01:51:54.840 of that combined ground and element you know, which would 1525 01:51:54.840 --> 01:52:00.960 then like encircle these positions with kind of like textbook 1526 01:52:01.039 --> 01:52:06.760 like Warsaw Pag deep battle just like smaller scale you know, 1527 01:52:06.880 --> 01:52:13.479 and basically treat basically treat the operation as as like 1528 01:52:13.640 --> 01:52:16.359 you know, the advance of fire wherever possible, you know, 1529 01:52:16.359 --> 01:52:22.239 like lay as much fire as possible on the opposing 1530 01:52:22.239 --> 01:52:28.279 force to kill it, you know, and even overkill it. 1531 01:52:29.159 --> 01:52:30.720 You know. It's not exactly a lot of places to 1532 01:52:30.800 --> 01:52:35.199 hide in the in the battle space and the uh 1533 01:52:36.279 --> 01:52:39.840 there are some very serious fighting in Damascus, but I 1534 01:52:39.920 --> 01:52:43.520 believe by the time there are friends of the Russian 1535 01:52:43.560 --> 01:52:50.439 Federation arrived on the ground. I believe that it basically resolved, 1536 01:52:50.800 --> 01:52:54.800 you know, the had the Russians had to route Isis 1537 01:52:54.840 --> 01:53:00.000 from demand. I mean, I it might be an improper 1538 01:53:00.119 --> 01:53:03.840 counterfactual because like if Isis was holding Damascus, it's like 1539 01:53:03.840 --> 01:53:06.199 what I mean that would indicate the war was over. 1540 01:53:06.680 --> 01:53:10.479 But it the point being, you know, they that would 1541 01:53:10.520 --> 01:53:16.319 have changed things, if that would have changed things, if 1542 01:53:16.399 --> 01:53:19.640 like his Blah was charged basically it was like liberating Damascus. 1543 01:53:19.720 --> 01:53:21.680 I mean, like what do you that would have kind 1544 01:53:21.680 --> 01:53:25.800 of neutralized Russian firepower too, unless they were playing on 1545 01:53:25.840 --> 01:53:31.079 like leveling the city without regard to without regard to 1546 01:53:32.399 --> 01:53:48.439 you know, friendly attrition and things. But yeah, it's uh yeah, 1547 01:53:48.520 --> 01:53:53.840 I I guess we went on an hour. Yeah, I'm sorry, 1548 01:53:53.880 --> 01:53:56.680 those two like heavy on the military side of things. 1549 01:53:57.239 --> 01:54:02.199 I'd like to I realize we still get a grip 1550 01:54:02.319 --> 01:54:09.119 of our Gladio series. There's if you want to do 1551 01:54:09.199 --> 01:54:10.720 like an epilogue in this, I mean, it's totally up 1552 01:54:10.760 --> 01:54:15.520 to you, obviously, it's just so literally there's something to 1553 01:54:15.520 --> 01:54:20.840 be said for like the the Jackson Vanic amendments and 1554 01:54:20.880 --> 01:54:27.439 what led to its passing and the whole kind of 1555 01:54:27.520 --> 01:54:33.560 narrative of Soviet Jewurry being like under threat and you know, 1556 01:54:33.640 --> 01:54:37.560 the g r U and the kg D quite literally 1557 01:54:37.720 --> 01:54:42.159 uh establishing a directorate to monitor Zionism. I mean this, 1558 01:54:42.159 --> 01:54:46.079 this is part of the equation. I mean there's a 1559 01:54:46.079 --> 01:54:49.279 lot to the Russian Syrian relationship and and just kind 1560 01:54:49.279 --> 01:54:55.159 of like the Russian you know, Russian enmity with with Israel. 1561 01:54:55.840 --> 01:54:57.720 And we could definitely go like another hour on that 1562 01:54:57.760 --> 01:55:00.760 if you want, but it's totally up to you. Just 1563 01:55:00.880 --> 01:55:02.439 let me know what you want to do next. 1564 01:55:03.960 --> 01:55:07.880 Yeah, let's finish since we're on this, let's finish this 1565 01:55:08.039 --> 01:55:10.319 up and then we'll come back into a wrap up 1566 01:55:10.359 --> 01:55:12.720 episode on Gladio and then figure out where you want 1567 01:55:12.720 --> 01:55:17.560 to go from there. Yeah that's great, man, all right, 1568 01:55:17.920 --> 01:55:20.560 So just tell everybody where they can find your stuff 1569 01:55:20.600 --> 01:55:22.640 and uhpe. 1570 01:55:22.840 --> 01:55:29.680 Yeah, man, you can find me on substick. This for 1571 01:55:29.800 --> 01:55:34.479 my podcast content is it's real Thomas seven seven seven. 1572 01:55:34.560 --> 01:55:39.319 That's substick dot com. I'm doing some by week we 1573 01:55:40.720 --> 01:55:44.800 pods with Jay Burden. He's like my homeboy. He's great, 1574 01:55:45.039 --> 01:55:49.079 like he really is. We're putting that up on gum 1575 01:55:49.159 --> 01:55:51.359 Road and having Burden do it like I might be 1576 01:55:51.359 --> 01:55:54.800 a total retard. I literally found gum Road like fucking unusable. 1577 01:55:55.359 --> 01:55:57.920 I spent like four hours of that fucking platform. 1578 01:55:59.039 --> 01:55:59.880 It's not easy. 1579 01:56:00.079 --> 01:56:04.760 It's it's it's like always there's always like there's always 1580 01:56:04.760 --> 01:56:07.560 like redundant buttons that don't do anything, and it's like 1581 01:56:08.479 --> 01:56:12.920 it's like some fucking uh yeah, it's it's like some 1582 01:56:13.000 --> 01:56:17.000 crazy person or like some like the bottomized page like 1583 01:56:17.079 --> 01:56:20.479 programmed or something. So I after like four hours this garbage, 1584 01:56:20.479 --> 01:56:22.479 I'm like, what the am I doing. I'm like, I'm 1585 01:56:22.479 --> 01:56:25.560 not gonna I'm like, it's I'd rather have a root 1586 01:56:25.560 --> 01:56:26.199 canal than like. 1587 01:56:27.479 --> 01:56:30.520 Just like burden do it. He's young exactly. 1588 01:56:31.319 --> 01:56:33.560 To do it. And the main thing is I love 1589 01:56:33.640 --> 01:56:37.479 substack because it's literally simple as like point and click 1590 01:56:37.600 --> 01:56:41.399 or like drag and populate, but they make it difficult. 1591 01:56:41.680 --> 01:56:44.960 You can like add collaborators on substack, but it doesn't 1592 01:56:45.000 --> 01:56:52.199 just like automatically like split revenue. Right, it's uh. 1593 01:56:52.119 --> 01:56:53.359 Now we're getting inside baseball. 1594 01:56:54.159 --> 01:56:59.880 Yeah yeah, check out check out Burn's action on gum Road. 1595 01:57:00.000 --> 01:57:03.479 It's radio free Chicago. And I shouted out when we 1596 01:57:03.520 --> 01:57:06.479 record new stuff, like on my substick, I like post 1597 01:57:06.479 --> 01:57:07.239 a link and stuff. 1598 01:57:07.279 --> 01:57:09.520 As well as I'll pick up a link to it 1599 01:57:09.600 --> 01:57:10.479 and add it in. 1600 01:57:10.840 --> 01:57:13.000 Yeah, thank you, and yeah, I mean obviously I'm on 1601 01:57:14.399 --> 01:57:18.680 I'm on X formerly bird app. You know, I'm at 1602 01:57:18.960 --> 01:57:23.560 Capital R E A L underscore number seven h on 1603 01:57:23.640 --> 01:57:27.840 A S seven seven seven. Here Kreig has been. He's 1604 01:57:27.880 --> 01:57:32.119 been busily making some new swag for like our merchandise, 1605 01:57:32.600 --> 01:57:35.479 which I think is pretty cool. Man, Like I legit, 1606 01:57:35.640 --> 01:57:37.880 like I stand by it because I think it's cool 1607 01:57:38.520 --> 01:57:42.199 and people seem to like it. So yeah, if you 1608 01:57:42.199 --> 01:57:44.680 could like drop a link to the merse stuff in 1609 01:57:44.760 --> 01:57:48.960 the description, that would probably be cool. But that's otherwise. Man. 1610 01:57:49.039 --> 01:57:55.119 I'm I'm I'm trying to get a jump on my 1611 01:57:55.920 --> 01:58:00.359 I make progress on my my manuscript stuff, my long 1612 01:58:00.439 --> 01:58:04.600 form written stuff, especially causin I'm gonna have to travel 1613 01:58:04.640 --> 01:58:07.239 a bunch this winter, which I didn't, which is is fine. 1614 01:58:07.319 --> 01:58:13.600 I am blessed people enjoy my company and want me 1615 01:58:13.680 --> 01:58:17.439 to go places where they're hosting things, but I didn't. 1616 01:58:17.880 --> 01:58:19.680 I didn't think i'd be like hitting the road again 1617 01:58:19.760 --> 01:58:24.039 until like springtime. So I'm gonna try, and you know, 1618 01:58:24.079 --> 01:58:26.319 like the next month, I'm I'm hoping I can have 1619 01:58:26.359 --> 01:58:31.279 like a workable manuscript. It just takes time, especially when 1620 01:58:31.279 --> 01:58:34.399 you got to properly like cite you know, your data 1621 01:58:34.479 --> 01:58:36.560 on things. But that's what I've been up on. 1622 01:58:38.800 --> 01:58:42.159 Awesome though. All Right, till the next time, we'll wrap 1623 01:58:42.199 --> 01:58:45.159 this and wrap up Gladio and figure out where to 1624 01:58:45.239 --> 01:58:45.760 go from there. 1625 01:58:46.199 --> 01:58:47.119 Yeah, man, that's great. 1626 01:58:47.760 --> 01:58:51.079 Take care, Thomas, thank you. I want to welcome everyone 1627 01:58:51.119 --> 01:58:54.960 back to the Pecananas Show. Thomas, how have you been? 1628 01:58:55.520 --> 01:58:59.159 I'm right, let's uh, let's finish this up talking about 1629 01:58:59.239 --> 01:59:02.239 Russian series and I think, uh, I think I know 1630 01:59:02.279 --> 01:59:06.039 where you're gonna go with this one, so just let loose. 1631 01:59:07.760 --> 01:59:10.479 Yeah, sort of thing. You know. Obviously we're coming up 1632 01:59:10.520 --> 01:59:13.560 to in the in the University of the Ramadan war 1633 01:59:13.960 --> 01:59:18.720 you or they're the Yan Kapoor war is, which interestingly 1634 01:59:18.840 --> 01:59:22.199 doesn't get it doesn't appear a lot in media these days. 1635 01:59:25.399 --> 01:59:28.399 Some of the fellows that made the point in our 1636 01:59:28.439 --> 01:59:34.880 discussions that you know, historical events don't really occur anymore. 1637 01:59:34.920 --> 01:59:39.119 I mean that, like you know, like Zazec makes that 1638 01:59:39.159 --> 01:59:41.039 point a lot, and and so does some of these 1639 01:59:41.039 --> 01:59:44.720 other guys who are kind of trying to salvage what 1640 01:59:45.000 --> 01:59:48.199 remains a condo philosophy. I mean there's something that's that's 1641 01:59:48.239 --> 01:59:51.720 a deeply psychological mechanism, you know, and there's like sociological 1642 01:59:51.840 --> 01:59:55.319 locations to it too, but in more kind of prosaic terms. 1643 01:59:55.760 --> 01:59:58.359 That that's an important point because I'm always emphasizing to 1644 01:59:58.439 --> 02:00:02.800 the fellas who don't remember because they weren't born yet, 1645 02:00:02.960 --> 02:00:07.600 that media narratives like however corrupt they were corrupted they 1646 02:00:07.600 --> 02:00:10.800 were by ideology and like conceptual biases, they did in 1647 02:00:10.840 --> 02:00:15.119 fact build on a continuing foundation of historical time, you know. 1648 02:00:15.159 --> 02:00:17.520 I make the point even really up until two thousand, 1649 02:00:18.800 --> 02:00:20.880 kind of like the last instance of this in this 1650 02:00:22.239 --> 02:00:25.600 in the spring or it was like summer or fall 1651 02:00:25.600 --> 02:00:28.119 of two thousand. I remember this vivid lead because I 1652 02:00:28.159 --> 02:00:31.399 made my dad really upset, and he went in this 1653 02:00:31.439 --> 02:00:35.760 local radio show to talk about it, the show Beyond 1654 02:00:35.760 --> 02:00:38.720 the Beltway that used to be like based here in Chicago, 1655 02:00:39.119 --> 02:00:43.279 and me and like my then girlfriend, we went down 1656 02:00:43.279 --> 02:00:45.159 to the studio to meet him, like in the loop. 1657 02:00:45.239 --> 02:00:48.239 And the subject that my dad was on this panel 1658 02:00:48.239 --> 02:00:50.680 with this like foreign navy seal guy and this kind 1659 02:00:50.720 --> 02:00:53.960 of crusty older dude was a civilian, but he'd been 1660 02:00:54.000 --> 02:00:58.960 on William Odom's staff in some capacity but Peter Arnett, 1661 02:00:59.000 --> 02:01:00.439 and this is one of the things that kind of 1662 02:01:00.439 --> 02:01:03.000 crushed his career. I mean, he was getting old up 1663 02:01:03.039 --> 02:01:07.960 there in years anyway, but he broke this story where 1664 02:01:07.960 --> 02:01:11.159 this guy claimed that. First of all, guy claimed that 1665 02:01:11.439 --> 02:01:13.640 he was a deserter in the Vietnam War, and he 1666 02:01:13.680 --> 02:01:16.920 claimed he ended up in Laos, Okay, and he said 1667 02:01:16.920 --> 02:01:20.560 there was this village like full of like you know, 1668 02:01:20.720 --> 02:01:24.239 like young white men who were like married to Indigenous women. 1669 02:01:24.600 --> 02:01:26.439 And he's like, what's happening here? And they're like, oh, 1670 02:01:26.439 --> 02:01:29.000 we're all deserters. This is like our commune where we're 1671 02:01:29.039 --> 02:01:32.279 like escaping the war. And if anybody who knows the 1672 02:01:32.319 --> 02:01:35.720 history of the conflict, that's preposterous on his own terms. Okay, 1673 02:01:36.279 --> 02:01:38.640 there's no way that happened. But he was or that 1674 02:01:38.800 --> 02:01:40.920 was taking what this guy said is fact. So our 1675 02:01:41.000 --> 02:01:43.359 nets like, well, like what happened. There's no record of 1676 02:01:43.399 --> 02:01:47.159 this place. So this guy's like, well, you know, he's 1677 02:01:47.159 --> 02:01:50.239 like Army special forces arrived one day after they bombarded 1678 02:01:50.279 --> 02:01:53.279 us with nerve gas and everybody died, but I was 1679 02:01:53.319 --> 02:01:55.720 out in the fields that day or the rice patties, 1680 02:01:55.960 --> 02:02:01.199 so I escaped. And he's like it was called Operation Tailwind, 1681 02:02:02.119 --> 02:02:05.000 you know, and my Dad's like, this is outrageous. This 1682 02:02:05.079 --> 02:02:08.600 is outrageous is being reported as news, And how dare 1683 02:02:08.640 --> 02:02:13.680 this guy like defame uh these Special Forces operators? But 1684 02:02:13.760 --> 02:02:16.359 did it takes that real? Seriously? You know, he was 1685 02:02:16.399 --> 02:02:18.079 a civilian, but he got to know a lot of 1686 02:02:18.079 --> 02:02:22.039 these guys very well, you know, and he takes he 1687 02:02:22.079 --> 02:02:26.319 takes the honor of such people seriously, you know. And 1688 02:02:26.359 --> 02:02:28.399 I mean for me, I mean, it was just I mean, 1689 02:02:28.439 --> 02:02:29.880 aside from that, it was like, I mean, our NETT 1690 02:02:29.960 --> 02:02:33.039 was just like lying, like it's if you're a serious journalist, 1691 02:02:33.039 --> 02:02:35.560 this guy's story was preposterous. You know. Like I said, 1692 02:02:36.159 --> 02:02:38.960 I was, I was like twenty four to twenty five 1693 02:02:39.039 --> 02:02:41.199 years old, and I was just kind of like a 1694 02:02:41.239 --> 02:02:43.199 student of the Vietnam War, and I'm like, there's no 1695 02:02:43.239 --> 02:02:45.359 way that happened. And of course it broke that this 1696 02:02:45.399 --> 02:02:48.199 guy with some crazy liars, that our net kind of disappeared. 1697 02:02:48.239 --> 02:02:52.399 But it was a big deal, man, because you know, 1698 02:02:53.119 --> 02:02:58.479 even twenty five years after Saigon went to put you know, 1699 02:02:58.600 --> 02:03:01.319 Vietnam was still on people's mind man, you know, in 1700 02:03:01.399 --> 02:03:03.479 conceptual terms, it was one of their main kind of 1701 02:03:03.560 --> 02:03:09.199 like pull stars of historical events, so that it doesn't 1702 02:03:09.239 --> 02:03:11.520 really that's it's just like not the case anymore. And 1703 02:03:11.560 --> 02:03:14.000 part of it's deliberate. It's like a deliberate sort of 1704 02:03:14.039 --> 02:03:17.560 like whitewashing of the collective memory. They're not so much 1705 02:03:17.840 --> 02:03:20.399 just kind of like erasing the collective memory of historical time. 1706 02:03:21.359 --> 02:03:25.079 But it's also these narratives increasingly are just kind of 1707 02:03:25.119 --> 02:03:28.119 generated out of nothing, you know, They're they draw upon 1708 02:03:28.199 --> 02:03:29.840 these kinds of like endure it this kind of like 1709 02:03:29.920 --> 02:03:38.039 enduring phraseology that regime information or propaganda. Oh, let's disseminate, 1710 02:03:38.600 --> 02:03:40.880 you know. So there's a certain structure to it, there's 1711 02:03:40.880 --> 02:03:44.600 a certain conceptual structure, but it's very much like it 1712 02:03:44.760 --> 02:03:46.920 kind of like every every aspect of it's just kind 1713 02:03:46.920 --> 02:03:50.279 of like autonomously situated in a psychological terms. It's really weird. 1714 02:03:50.960 --> 02:03:56.640 But in any event, even uh, even to the late nineties, 1715 02:03:57.479 --> 02:04:02.039 they when when there was when when when any kind 1716 02:04:02.039 --> 02:04:04.680 of crisis was an emergent between like Israel and it's 1717 02:04:04.760 --> 02:04:11.199 and its enemies, they there there'd be contextual references to 1718 02:04:11.319 --> 02:04:13.840 the Ramanan War, which they called the yan Kapor War, 1719 02:04:14.239 --> 02:04:16.880 in the nineteen sixty seven Six Day War, which was 1720 02:04:16.960 --> 02:04:22.880 Israel's greatest victory. That's not just cap that Israel had. 1721 02:04:23.039 --> 02:04:28.399 They were unusually larded with military talent at operational level 1722 02:04:28.479 --> 02:04:32.479 for various reasons. And I mean that was so that 1723 02:04:32.560 --> 02:04:34.119 was a big deal. And that's kind of what the 1724 02:04:34.119 --> 02:04:37.920 myth of Israeli military supremacy like was emergent, because in 1725 02:04:37.960 --> 02:04:40.079 sixty seven it wasn't a myth. I mean, on the 1726 02:04:40.119 --> 02:04:43.560 one hand, like modern combat resolves rapidly. That's why I 1727 02:04:43.600 --> 02:04:47.720 was trying to beside the people. You know, they people 1728 02:04:47.720 --> 02:04:50.720 get a corrupted view of this because pretty much like 1729 02:04:51.199 --> 02:04:56.399 the only like the only wars in living memory involve uh, 1730 02:04:56.560 --> 02:05:00.439 these kinds of nonsensical paradigms were like you know, some 1731 02:05:00.600 --> 02:05:07.159 Pentagon guy or some State department spokesman or woman is suggesting, well, 1732 02:05:07.159 --> 02:05:09.840 we're making incremental progress, you know, like the he's kind 1733 02:05:09.840 --> 02:05:12.680 of like endless deployments that don't resolve anything. Like people 1734 02:05:12.720 --> 02:05:17.039 think that that's normal, Like they don't understand that even 1735 02:05:17.119 --> 02:05:20.279 on condition, even under conditions, they're relative parody, you know, 1736 02:05:20.279 --> 02:05:24.079 like modern combined arms war. It's battles are usually massively 1737 02:05:24.119 --> 02:05:27.600 one sided, it's usually your route, it usually resolves like 1738 02:05:27.760 --> 02:05:34.920 within days, you know, but just the same uh, the 1739 02:05:35.000 --> 02:05:39.319 idea's performance in sixty seven was unusually strong. But all 1740 02:05:39.359 --> 02:05:43.000 of that, all that basically came to an end in 1741 02:05:43.039 --> 02:05:46.920 the seventy three war. And it's significant to us. I 1742 02:05:46.920 --> 02:05:50.079 mean even people who aren't particularly invested in Israel Palestine. 1743 02:05:50.760 --> 02:05:55.399 I don't think that's a correct disposition because if you know, 1744 02:05:56.319 --> 02:05:59.520 within the current paradigm, you you can't just kind of 1745 02:05:59.560 --> 02:06:02.000 like select, we choose what you quote care about that 1746 02:06:02.159 --> 02:06:04.840 wasn't of caring about it either, Like everything is impactful. 1747 02:06:05.399 --> 02:06:10.239 You know anywhere that anywhere that the US forces are 1748 02:06:10.279 --> 02:06:13.479 deployed under roscas a NATO or the ADF has deployed 1749 02:06:14.319 --> 02:06:16.760 you know, with the full with the full faith and 1750 02:06:16.800 --> 02:06:20.359 blessing and operational integration with an other the United States. 1751 02:06:20.600 --> 02:06:24.680 You know that this has this has implications for everything 1752 02:06:24.720 --> 02:06:30.880 that occurs in clinical nature. But you know, in seventy three, 1753 02:06:31.479 --> 02:06:38.239 I I believe that that was a more dangerous crisis 1754 02:06:38.359 --> 02:06:44.439 uh modality than the Cuban missile crisis, like the cubansical prizes, 1755 02:06:44.479 --> 02:06:47.439 the way it was unfolding in real time and the 1756 02:06:47.760 --> 02:06:52.600 way these Soviet naval vessels were approaching Cuba and there's 1757 02:06:52.600 --> 02:06:54.720 a question like will they run the blockade or not, 1758 02:06:55.680 --> 02:06:58.600 or like how will this resolve? Like and and as 1759 02:06:58.640 --> 02:07:03.800 like the days and hours were away in Kennedy's war room. 1760 02:07:04.319 --> 02:07:07.760 You know, people got the perception that this was especially critical, 1761 02:07:07.960 --> 02:07:13.000 and it was don't get me wrong. However, there was 1762 02:07:13.039 --> 02:07:17.560 nothing approaching strategic parody. Then in nineteen seventy three, there 1763 02:07:17.560 --> 02:07:22.000 absolutely was, like the stories didn't officially accomplish like strategic 1764 02:07:22.079 --> 02:07:24.960 parody in terms of forces and being you know that 1765 02:07:25.279 --> 02:07:30.399 were in fact deployed until seventy six or seventy seven. 1766 02:07:30.600 --> 02:07:35.720 By seventy three, that they they had the capability to 1767 02:07:35.760 --> 02:07:39.239 absolutely devastate Western Europe and the connell the United States, 1768 02:07:39.600 --> 02:07:45.199 you know, and uh owing to command and control duances 1769 02:07:46.119 --> 02:07:50.359 and the shrinking of the window where human decision makers 1770 02:07:50.359 --> 02:07:56.079 are capable of reacting, you know, that window of opportunity 1771 02:07:56.159 --> 02:08:03.399 to render decision had had shrunk dramatic from a decade previous, 1772 02:08:03.439 --> 02:08:07.399 you know, And so I maintaining that nineteen seventy three 1773 02:08:08.960 --> 02:08:11.560 when America went to deaf Con three, and it's the 1774 02:08:11.560 --> 02:08:16.079 only time that's ever happened, you know. And for context, 1775 02:08:16.680 --> 02:08:18.600 it's not like during the early years the War on 1776 02:08:18.720 --> 02:08:21.520 Terror with those like goofy, like color coded alerts, like 1777 02:08:21.520 --> 02:08:23.640 today you look at terror thread as purple, so like 1778 02:08:23.760 --> 02:08:26.000 chovid drubel up your rest or whatever, like you're supposed 1779 02:08:26.039 --> 02:08:30.319 to do. It wasn't like that, Like, it was quite serious. 1780 02:08:30.359 --> 02:08:36.880 And at deaf Con three, you know, basically that means 1781 02:08:36.920 --> 02:08:42.039 America shifted to a war footing and missileers in their silos. 1782 02:08:42.079 --> 02:08:44.920 They strapped into their siege to prepare for deep impact 1783 02:08:45.680 --> 02:08:48.520 and awaited launch orders and like the little doors like 1784 02:08:48.520 --> 02:08:52.880 atop the silo went like you know, which is kind 1785 02:08:52.880 --> 02:09:02.159 of horrifying. But and Brezhnev he mobilized the Soviet Union operationally. 1786 02:09:02.199 --> 02:09:04.960 In some ways they mirrored the NATI or order of battle, 1787 02:09:05.239 --> 02:09:08.000 but in other ways they were totally different. But they 1788 02:09:08.079 --> 02:09:11.800 had you know, America's kind of America's kind of rapid 1789 02:09:11.840 --> 02:09:15.600 reaction force during the Cold War was uh, it was 1790 02:09:15.600 --> 02:09:22.680 the eighty second Airborne Division. The Soviets mirrored that, like 1791 02:09:22.760 --> 02:09:24.960 the Soviet airborne troops and at that point were like 1792 02:09:24.960 --> 02:09:31.640 an air assault element. They they went on high alert 1793 02:09:32.239 --> 02:09:36.199 and they were preparing to deploy to the Middle East 1794 02:09:36.239 --> 02:09:40.399 to relieve the Egyptian Army. You know, so this was 1795 02:09:40.439 --> 02:09:44.800 this was really really bad. But that it's interesting that 1796 02:09:44.800 --> 02:09:48.000 that's been conspicuously absent. I mean it's to somebody in 1797 02:09:48.039 --> 02:09:51.359 my age, the absence is conspicuous. I haven't read one 1798 02:09:51.439 --> 02:09:58.039 reference to it. And since the IDF assaulted that Russian target, 1799 02:09:58.960 --> 02:10:01.960 which don't get me wrong, happened many times before, okay, 1800 02:10:02.000 --> 02:10:05.840 but it does constitute, if only in the court of 1801 02:10:08.399 --> 02:10:12.399 public opinion, and public opinion in wartime takes on and 1802 02:10:12.479 --> 02:10:16.199 outside significance, it does represent a kind of escalation that, 1803 02:10:16.359 --> 02:10:19.840 you know, the idea of is flagrantly assaulting Russian targets. 1804 02:10:20.000 --> 02:10:21.399 And it was one thing to do that during the 1805 02:10:21.439 --> 02:10:25.239 Serian Civil Wars. Nothing to do that now, But I 1806 02:10:25.279 --> 02:10:31.560 would think that any newsman or lady would, you know, 1807 02:10:31.680 --> 02:10:35.199 kind of like invoke the seventy three war as the 1808 02:10:35.279 --> 02:10:39.520 direct precedent to conteptualize what's happening, you know, and they're 1809 02:10:39.560 --> 02:10:43.800 not doing that at all. So that's just something that 1810 02:10:43.960 --> 02:10:45.920 sort of jumped out of me. But like moving on 1811 02:10:46.039 --> 02:10:50.239 to you know, the topic of the day. You know, 1812 02:10:50.319 --> 02:10:53.239 once again, I as I indicated, I don't want to 1813 02:10:53.279 --> 02:10:56.960 sound like some crazy old person, but if I'm repeating myself, 1814 02:10:57.039 --> 02:10:59.199 let me know, because I do forget sometimes where we 1815 02:10:59.319 --> 02:11:02.000 left off, and I try to refresh my recollection from 1816 02:11:02.000 --> 02:11:03.960 the last episode, but it always I don't always have 1817 02:11:04.000 --> 02:11:06.520 time to like totally go through it. So I'm not 1818 02:11:06.520 --> 02:11:08.960 gonna be offended if if you stop me and say, 1819 02:11:08.960 --> 02:11:12.119 like we're already covered that. But I think where we ended, 1820 02:11:13.039 --> 02:11:18.119 we were talking about, you know, the Russian Federation in Syria, 1821 02:11:18.279 --> 02:11:21.720 and how one of the major, one of the major 1822 02:11:21.760 --> 02:11:27.239 foreign policy moves, even even in the Yeltsin era, was 1823 02:11:27.239 --> 02:11:31.880 to absolutely you know, guarantee that you know, the Soviet 1824 02:11:32.319 --> 02:11:35.840 Mediterranean Fleet could still base in Syria, and the Syrians 1825 02:11:35.840 --> 02:11:40.079 were still obviously very much amenable to that. But you know, 1826 02:11:40.159 --> 02:11:45.199 despite even even Jelson's either you know, apathy or gross 1827 02:11:45.199 --> 02:11:49.880 in confidence or combination of both on parapelitical matters. You know, 1828 02:11:49.920 --> 02:11:51.920 it wasn't just him obviously either. It was you know, 1829 02:11:52.000 --> 02:11:55.199 the the the equivalent of the General Staff and the 1830 02:11:55.279 --> 02:11:59.399 enforced the Russian Federation and and in the Foreign Ministry 1831 02:11:59.399 --> 02:12:02.439 and other things. But they even when they were not 1832 02:12:02.560 --> 02:12:05.600 at all in a position to you know, be pursuing 1833 02:12:05.680 --> 02:12:13.520 a true kind of world velt politique strategy, you know, 1834 02:12:13.560 --> 02:12:17.760 they made sure they locked in a continuation of of 1835 02:12:17.800 --> 02:12:24.319 good offices with Syria. You know, and this is the 1836 02:12:24.399 --> 02:12:28.239 nineteen seventy one Naval Treaty that was signed with Halfes 1837 02:12:28.279 --> 02:12:35.119 al Asad. It granted the Soviet Union. He basically understriged 1838 02:12:35.119 --> 02:12:37.760 the access to the naval basic artists that it had 1839 02:12:37.760 --> 02:12:43.760 built and they continue to this day, you know. And 1840 02:12:44.960 --> 02:12:47.600 if the treaty runs for twenty years and there's automatic 1841 02:12:47.640 --> 02:12:51.479 five year extensions and it's one of the parties oppsiturnity agreement, 1842 02:12:52.199 --> 02:12:54.439 but it but it's it's a rubber stamp sort of thing, 1843 02:12:55.239 --> 02:12:58.640 you know. And the the Syrian state, Hauf as Asad, 1844 02:12:58.960 --> 02:13:04.600 who passed away in two thousand, he was one of 1845 02:13:04.600 --> 02:13:09.279 the first uh heads of state to recognize the Russian Federation. 1846 02:13:09.800 --> 02:13:11.920 You know, basically immediately as a Soviet Union became the 1847 02:13:11.960 --> 02:13:17.600 Russian Federation, he recognized it and made clear that the 1848 02:13:17.600 --> 02:13:22.600 Syrian government was going to abide any and any military agreements, 1849 02:13:22.600 --> 02:13:28.800 and specifically the the naval treaty regarding tartists. But you know, 1850 02:13:28.880 --> 02:13:31.079 and the UH I can remember got into this or not. 1851 02:13:31.119 --> 02:13:35.000 We were talking about the Continuity War between sixty seven 1852 02:13:35.039 --> 02:13:38.720 and seventy three and how the the Israeli air force, 1853 02:13:38.880 --> 02:13:40.760 you know, they fought this pitch there was this pitched 1854 02:13:40.800 --> 02:13:45.680 air battle you know, between the Israeli Air Force and 1855 02:13:45.680 --> 02:13:50.319 and and Soviet megs. But during the during the the 1856 02:13:50.439 --> 02:13:54.439 Ramedan War, Jogapor War itself, Uh, you know, there's thousands 1857 02:13:54.479 --> 02:13:57.720 of Soviet advisors on the ground as well as you know, 1858 02:13:58.000 --> 02:14:02.760 direct action military elements, you know, technicians, know, a veritable 1859 02:14:02.920 --> 02:14:07.079 battalion and technicians to assist the Syrian Arab army and 1860 02:14:08.359 --> 02:14:13.880 you know, to maintain their equipment and their armored platforms, 1861 02:14:13.920 --> 02:14:19.479 their aircraft, all of that. And at least twenty of 1862 02:14:19.520 --> 02:14:22.920 them died the Russians, So at least twenty kia and 1863 02:14:23.000 --> 02:14:26.039 probably more. I mean, that's just what the Kremline acknowledged. 1864 02:14:26.079 --> 02:14:30.359 But there was a during the war. There was over 1865 02:14:30.479 --> 02:14:35.640 thirty seven hundred tons of aid airlifted to the battlespace 1866 02:14:37.039 --> 02:14:41.800 by the end of October ninety seventy three. By sea, 1867 02:14:41.960 --> 02:14:47.720 the Soviet Union that transported sixty three thousand tons to 1868 02:14:47.840 --> 02:14:52.720 Steea or replaced it's military and infrastructural losses. That's a 1869 02:14:52.760 --> 02:14:56.800 massive commitment in relative and absolute terms. I'm not sure 1870 02:14:56.960 --> 02:15:01.520 people recognize that because you know, America throw his money 1871 02:15:01.560 --> 02:15:07.239 around like water, and it's constantly just like dumping these 1872 02:15:07.279 --> 02:15:10.199 like aid packages and secondary theaters that this was a 1873 02:15:10.199 --> 02:15:16.279 big deal. Okay, I think I got into the fact 1874 02:15:16.279 --> 02:15:20.279 that there was some tension in seventy six seventy seven 1875 02:15:20.600 --> 02:15:25.439 between Damascus and Moscow. The Syrian Arab Army deployed to 1876 02:15:25.560 --> 02:15:30.399 the Lebanese battle space, which put them directly opposite the PLO, 1877 02:15:31.039 --> 02:15:33.199 and you know the PLO the Popular Front and the 1878 02:15:33.239 --> 02:15:38.520 Popular Front Delivery of Palestine. They were very warshaw packed adjacent. 1879 02:15:38.720 --> 02:15:40.680 There's a big concern in the Soviet camp that this 1880 02:15:40.720 --> 02:15:45.399 would upset the kind of delicate balance that was in 1881 02:15:45.479 --> 02:15:49.760 place in the Arab Cold War as it's called. This 1882 02:15:49.920 --> 02:15:55.039 was remedied basically one hundred and ten percent when the 1883 02:15:55.279 --> 02:15:58.520 when the sovietwents were in Afghanistan. Because I can't remember 1884 02:15:58.520 --> 02:16:01.399 if I mentioned this or not, either, I guess aside 1885 02:16:01.560 --> 02:16:05.680 immediately like declared like solidarity with the Soviet Union in 1886 02:16:05.680 --> 02:16:09.359 in the war from in Afghanistan, and obviously I put 1887 02:16:09.399 --> 02:16:12.880 him at odds with basically every other Arab government, you know, 1888 02:16:14.159 --> 02:16:18.840 and that that and that's huge, it's and it's always 1889 02:16:18.840 --> 02:16:22.560 it's significant too. I mean, because the there's obvious and 1890 02:16:22.640 --> 02:16:27.439 inherent tensions between the Soviet between there were between the 1891 02:16:27.439 --> 02:16:29.039 Soviet Union and I ran and there out a day 1892 02:16:29.039 --> 02:16:31.600 between the Russian Federation and Iran. Some of these a 1893 02:16:31.640 --> 02:16:36.799 sectarian and religious theological. Some of these are ethnic. You know, 1894 02:16:36.840 --> 02:16:40.360 I that the persons in the Russians aren't aren't particularly cozy. 1895 02:16:40.959 --> 02:16:44.840 But there's there's a very large Azeri minority in Iran, 1896 02:16:45.120 --> 02:16:50.840 you know, Amadina Jods and ethnic Asiari. There's there, there's 1897 02:16:50.879 --> 02:16:54.680 there's some bad blood there, you know, aside from the 1898 02:16:54.760 --> 02:16:58.600 intrinsic value with Syria in absolute geo strategic terms to 1899 02:16:58.639 --> 02:17:02.159 the Russian Federation, it's it's also very much like a 1900 02:17:02.239 --> 02:17:07.079 con it represents kind of like it facilitates concord between 1901 02:17:07.120 --> 02:17:11.440 the Russians and in Tehran in a real way. You 1902 02:17:11.479 --> 02:17:26.879 know the UH I'm sorry one second, oh, and it's 1903 02:17:26.920 --> 02:17:30.000 in UH in April of seventy seven, like it has 1904 02:17:30.040 --> 02:17:36.879 this kind of Lebanon situation was developing as he had. 1905 02:17:37.000 --> 02:17:39.719 He traveled the Moscow and there's some interesting sort of 1906 02:17:39.959 --> 02:17:44.760 like cool footage that the Russians shot, and there's there's 1907 02:17:44.799 --> 02:17:48.760 also some there's also some British UH media guy in 1908 02:17:48.799 --> 02:17:52.719 the ground. The British were very well, very well indexed 1909 02:17:52.959 --> 02:17:55.520 with the Soviet Union and in terms of media for 1910 02:17:55.520 --> 02:17:58.360 whatever reason. So a lot of this, but there's this 1911 02:17:58.360 --> 02:18:03.360 this footage of Hafesisa arriving in Moscow and receiving you know, 1912 02:18:03.440 --> 02:18:08.319 like great honors. You know, it's really it's really interesting, 1913 02:18:08.360 --> 02:18:13.440 and especially for a small country. You know, it's Syria 1914 02:18:13.479 --> 02:18:21.440 has a very outsized relevance for this reason. But it's 1915 02:18:21.559 --> 02:18:26.079 uh he he got a side gottage an audience with Bresnan, 1916 02:18:27.000 --> 02:18:35.000 but uh with Alexei Pasigan, who uh was uh he. 1917 02:18:35.159 --> 02:18:36.319 The way to think of him is he he was 1918 02:18:36.399 --> 02:18:39.239 kind of in the role that Lavrov is today. You know, 1919 02:18:39.239 --> 02:18:44.200 it's an imperfect analogy, but for foreign policy purposes and 1920 02:18:44.280 --> 02:18:47.280 Warren peace terms, especially like if he's a via the 1921 02:18:47.280 --> 02:18:52.680 Arab world, it tracks and you know it's not that's 1922 02:18:52.680 --> 02:18:56.079 that's no small thing and it's not you know, that's 1923 02:18:56.079 --> 02:18:58.360 why when people when people talk about the assad family 1924 02:18:58.440 --> 02:19:01.959 like they're they're like you know, like like they're like 1925 02:19:02.000 --> 02:19:05.040 Saddam and his clan, they're there not at all. You know, 1926 02:19:05.040 --> 02:19:09.799 they're they're facade was anything but just some like tinpot dictator. 1927 02:19:10.719 --> 02:19:15.159 You know, I mean I I I think they're I 1928 02:19:15.159 --> 02:19:18.600 think the Syrians are a noble people generally and I 1929 02:19:18.680 --> 02:19:21.760 find the ASSAD is particularly impressive, but that that's not 1930 02:19:22.760 --> 02:19:26.600 that's not just that, that's not just cap I mean 1931 02:19:26.600 --> 02:19:32.159 a conceptual bias or something. You know. Fesisade visited at 1932 02:19:32.200 --> 02:19:38.200 Moscow again in early spring eighty seven April nineteen eighty seven, 1933 02:19:39.280 --> 02:19:44.600 and he traveled there with the then serving Defense minister 1934 02:19:45.559 --> 02:19:54.040 Mustafa class and he has to require the this advanced 1935 02:19:54.600 --> 02:19:59.959 service to air missile system it UH and Gorbachev denied it, 1936 02:20:00.520 --> 02:20:04.920 which is really interesting. And this was during a time 1937 02:20:04.959 --> 02:20:09.280 when it's a critical period when when when avionics were 1938 02:20:09.280 --> 02:20:16.879 becoming hyper advanced. You know, obviously the stealth but like 1939 02:20:16.920 --> 02:20:20.440 the beef stealth bomber. It was a very different kind 1940 02:20:20.440 --> 02:20:24.559 of plaid for him than those that the these missile 1941 02:20:24.559 --> 02:20:28.319 systems that the Syrians wanted to acquire were tailored the 1942 02:20:29.280 --> 02:20:32.959 as a counter measure for But that that entire sort 1943 02:20:32.959 --> 02:20:38.040 of like skunk Works series of projects that was the 1944 02:20:38.040 --> 02:20:41.159 emergent from this, that this kind of culture of high 1945 02:20:41.200 --> 02:20:45.879 tech adeonics. Okay, so you know the Syrians were asking 1946 02:20:46.280 --> 02:20:49.840 were requesting this for a reason, you know, they they 1947 02:20:49.920 --> 02:20:59.120 need they desperately needed countermeasures because Israel, uh Israel and 1948 02:20:59.120 --> 02:21:02.040 in Western Germanian the Cold War they were getting America's 1949 02:21:02.040 --> 02:21:03.959 best equipment. I mean the Germans and their own right, 1950 02:21:04.000 --> 02:21:06.760 I think the I think the Leopard tank is the best, 1951 02:21:07.000 --> 02:21:11.319 like modern bail tank, like hands down, but the but 1952 02:21:12.799 --> 02:21:16.280 they the West Germans and Israel I mean in the 1953 02:21:16.399 --> 02:21:17.959 in the in the former case that you know what, 1954 02:21:18.159 --> 02:21:21.719 obviously cold residencies, the latter was ideological and the ladder 1955 02:21:21.719 --> 02:21:23.360 obviously still this is the case in terms of what 1956 02:21:23.399 --> 02:21:26.719 they received. But they weren't getting like, they weren't getting 1957 02:21:27.360 --> 02:21:31.200 like knockoff versions of of American aircraft. They were getting 1958 02:21:31.200 --> 02:21:36.680 the real thing, you know. And this obviously decides to 1959 02:21:36.760 --> 02:21:40.680 give the Syrians pause because even before even before UH, 1960 02:21:41.120 --> 02:21:46.239 stealth technology became the norm, you know, long before it 1961 02:21:47.559 --> 02:21:51.879 advanced avionics were making it increasingly difficult really to but 1962 02:21:52.040 --> 02:21:54.600 he developed any counter, any counter versions at all, and 1963 02:21:56.000 --> 02:21:59.200 the Soviets UH. One of the things the worstaw packed 1964 02:21:59.360 --> 02:22:05.239 did very very well was aircraft countermagers. Okay, particularly service 1965 02:22:05.280 --> 02:22:07.840 the air missiles, like you know, the old the old 1966 02:22:07.879 --> 02:22:10.159 book and film Flag of the Intruder. It's it's a 1967 02:22:10.239 --> 02:22:12.959 dumb movie, but it's a pretty good book. If you're 1968 02:22:13.280 --> 02:22:13.959 in the air where. 1969 02:22:13.799 --> 02:22:16.280 I read, I read the book and saw the movie. Yeah, 1970 02:22:16.319 --> 02:22:17.239 the book is a lot better. 1971 02:22:17.719 --> 02:22:21.000 Yeah, but it's and Stephen koons Is is kind of 1972 02:22:21.000 --> 02:22:23.959 a he's kind of a strange guy, but he he 1973 02:22:24.040 --> 02:22:31.239 flew ay sixes over Vietnam and the part where the 1974 02:22:31.239 --> 02:22:34.760 the the kind of the kind of John Wayne type 1975 02:22:34.879 --> 02:22:38.799 aviator Jake Rafton, you know, his new his new uh 1976 02:22:39.319 --> 02:22:42.280 radar intercept of officer, his new ra O is is 1977 02:22:42.319 --> 02:22:47.040 this kind of like wild guy. But even he, like 1978 02:22:48.319 --> 02:22:51.440 fu sorties were downtown Hanoi is like a terrifying prospect 1979 02:22:51.520 --> 02:22:54.399 for American aviators because other other than Moscow, like it 1980 02:22:54.440 --> 02:22:56.680 was like the most hardened like target on this planet. 1981 02:22:57.200 --> 02:23:00.520 Like that. That's not that wasn't creative license. That was 1982 02:23:00.520 --> 02:23:03.719 including the book or something. And that owed the fact that, 1983 02:23:03.760 --> 02:23:05.680 I mean the Soviets built it up to make it 1984 02:23:05.680 --> 02:23:09.879 that way. You know, it wasn't it obviously there was 1985 02:23:09.920 --> 02:23:12.680 you know, they the Vietnamese are and industrious people, but 1986 02:23:12.799 --> 02:23:16.319 they they had nothing approaching that kind of technology. And 1987 02:23:17.520 --> 02:23:21.079 you know, they the Soviets knew that. I mean that 1988 02:23:21.159 --> 02:23:25.799 was before the sound of Soviets split. But you know, 1989 02:23:25.840 --> 02:23:29.159 the like like the Chinese had nothing remotely honorable, you know, 1990 02:23:29.239 --> 02:23:33.520 like the the chadac On equivalent was junk. But in 1991 02:23:33.600 --> 02:23:36.879 any event, so this was, uh, that was kind of 1992 02:23:38.319 --> 02:23:41.440 a turning point obviously in eighty seven when Garbasheff refused 1993 02:23:41.520 --> 02:23:48.000 basically the kind of honor the good offices that had 1994 02:23:48.040 --> 02:23:50.639 been sustained with serious really since day one, at least, 1995 02:23:50.799 --> 02:23:54.319 you know, in as regards military necessities and exigencies. But 1996 02:23:55.079 --> 02:23:59.959 you know, that was the what what garbage off was 1997 02:24:00.120 --> 02:24:03.879 attempting to accomplish. I was writing something about this the 1998 02:24:03.920 --> 02:24:07.319 other day, but that's kind of a subject for another episode. 1999 02:24:07.319 --> 02:24:08.959 I know, if if we go off on that tangent 2000 02:24:09.079 --> 02:24:13.399 like we'll be here all night. But it is uh 2001 02:24:13.959 --> 02:24:16.440 that that that was definitely like a novelist though, you know, 2002 02:24:16.520 --> 02:24:21.079 like I said, it even even even under Yel since tenure, 2003 02:24:21.200 --> 02:24:25.399 the you know, the Moscow never made any indication that 2004 02:24:25.840 --> 02:24:31.479 they did any intention of abandoning Syria. But moving forward, 2005 02:24:31.600 --> 02:24:35.079 what's I mean obviously it was most relevant to the 2006 02:24:35.120 --> 02:24:38.040 president is you know, the Serian Civil War, you know, 2007 02:24:38.079 --> 02:24:43.959 and I it's it's hard to diminate really what's what 2008 02:24:44.000 --> 02:24:47.920 people are thinking in Washington because you don't have a 2009 02:24:47.959 --> 02:24:50.959 serious foreign policy establishment, and you haven't since you know, 2010 02:24:51.040 --> 02:24:55.280 nineteen ninety two. But when Obama's people, when they were 2011 02:24:55.360 --> 02:25:00.079 saying that Damascus is imminiately going to fall, that that 2012 02:25:00.079 --> 02:25:05.040 that was that was in fact accurate at the outset 2013 02:25:05.079 --> 02:25:08.559 of the intervention, the Russian intervention, and there's another case 2014 02:25:08.559 --> 02:25:11.079 of pot putin waited far too long intervene. I mean 2015 02:25:11.079 --> 02:25:14.760 it it's a credit to the Syrian people, you know, 2016 02:25:14.760 --> 02:25:17.520 those loyal to Asad and the Hezebla and those Russian 2017 02:25:18.840 --> 02:25:24.600 forces were deployed. That they won, but it was becoming critical. 2018 02:25:25.000 --> 02:25:30.200 You know, the the Syrian government they officially only controlled 2019 02:25:30.239 --> 02:25:33.840 about a quarter of the country. You know, the statistics 2020 02:25:33.799 --> 02:25:36.799 separated is like twenty six percent of overall like territory. 2021 02:25:37.200 --> 02:25:39.440 And how how much that territory you can deploy in 2022 02:25:39.520 --> 02:25:43.879 depth or defend it. I mean they had they they 2023 02:25:43.920 --> 02:25:47.440 had the built up areas buying large but you know 2024 02:25:47.479 --> 02:25:49.920 they were they were essentially there was this there was 2025 02:25:49.920 --> 02:25:54.040 this garrison. Demaskus was like becoming a frontline city, you know. 2026 02:25:54.120 --> 02:25:59.159 And assad Uh Asad sends his wife away, and he 2027 02:25:59.280 --> 02:26:06.159 sent his Asad away, and you know he I developed 2028 02:26:06.200 --> 02:26:11.600 huge respect for Bashar the son because he said, I'm 2029 02:26:11.600 --> 02:26:13.559 not leaving Damascus if I have to well die here 2030 02:26:13.879 --> 02:26:16.239 and that's you know, I'm like, Okay, this guy's a 2031 02:26:16.319 --> 02:26:18.239 real man, and he's a real president. You know, he's 2032 02:26:18.319 --> 02:26:22.440 he's a real leader of he's a real worldlord now, 2033 02:26:22.719 --> 02:26:24.600 you know, because that's the way it has to be. 2034 02:26:25.920 --> 02:26:30.799 But you know, when the Russians did arrive, you know, 2035 02:26:30.799 --> 02:26:34.440 they rapidly integrated with you know, a lot of the 2036 02:26:34.440 --> 02:26:39.600 Syrian Arab Army defected. You know, I think a lot 2037 02:26:39.639 --> 02:26:44.200 of that the degree to which that Sunny Bath elements 2038 02:26:44.319 --> 02:26:47.319 and the Iraqi Bath and the Syrian Bath Party are 2039 02:26:47.399 --> 02:26:51.719 very different animals, but there is like a common ideological 2040 02:26:51.840 --> 02:26:55.799 core and there's and there's a common sociological rationale to 2041 02:26:55.840 --> 02:26:59.159 like the men who were in our heavily index with 2042 02:26:59.159 --> 02:27:04.680 the party, and you know, a bunch of Saddams officers 2043 02:27:06.600 --> 02:27:08.840 who were you know, part of the Sunni minority in Iraq, 2044 02:27:09.120 --> 02:27:11.920 like they clipped they clipped up with ices basically immediately, 2045 02:27:12.040 --> 02:27:13.319 not all of them, but a lot of them did. 2046 02:27:13.600 --> 02:27:16.520 And they were accepted by these guys, which is really interesting. 2047 02:27:17.319 --> 02:27:21.280 And some of the same thing happened in Syria, you know. 2048 02:27:21.799 --> 02:27:28.920 And the uh, the Syrian Bath Party even like at 2049 02:27:28.959 --> 02:27:33.920 the top, is more ecumenical than they're credited but it 2050 02:27:34.000 --> 02:27:35.959 still is. I mean, it's it's basically, you know, like 2051 02:27:36.000 --> 02:27:43.159 an an Alley white like minority rule situation. But and 2052 02:27:43.200 --> 02:27:47.959 it's it's interesting. And in May twenty ten, like before 2053 02:27:48.040 --> 02:27:53.559 the formal on set of hostilities, Medvedev had visited Syria 2054 02:27:54.239 --> 02:28:01.440 and that mid Medviedev's like brief ten, you're as the 2055 02:28:01.479 --> 02:28:06.200 president is interesting, man, and it's interesting how we became. 2056 02:28:06.319 --> 02:28:10.000 It was like out bad with Putin subsequently. But it's 2057 02:28:10.000 --> 02:28:19.399 pretty obvious that NATO Israel and I'm sure their proxies 2058 02:28:19.879 --> 02:28:23.760 in these isis types as well, because those guys weren't stupid. 2059 02:28:24.760 --> 02:28:28.280 They realize, you know, look, the time to move, you know, 2060 02:28:28.319 --> 02:28:31.159 the time to truly escalate is when the Russians are 2061 02:28:31.239 --> 02:28:34.120 are having some kind of crisis of leadership, you know, 2062 02:28:35.280 --> 02:28:37.239 or if not not, if not so much a crisis 2063 02:28:37.280 --> 02:28:39.719 and a literal like you know, war in the Kremlin, 2064 02:28:39.799 --> 02:28:42.479 like happened after a drop off died. You know, you 2065 02:28:44.680 --> 02:28:49.440 when the civilian executive is kind of headless, that that 2066 02:28:49.559 --> 02:28:54.360 causes problems. You know, it causes problems in terms of 2067 02:28:54.399 --> 02:28:57.239 like grand schemes, peated decision making, it all the way 2068 02:28:57.239 --> 02:28:59.959 down to the operational level. That's That's when I really 2069 02:29:00.079 --> 02:29:05.360 when Yahoo was secure. Unfortunately, because even people who despise them, 2070 02:29:05.600 --> 02:29:10.120 you know, they're playing musical chairs with with the civilian executive. 2071 02:29:10.200 --> 02:29:13.040 Is not what you want to do at war. But 2072 02:29:14.120 --> 02:29:21.559 because it may. When the Russians did deploy, they immediately integrated, 2073 02:29:21.719 --> 02:29:23.520 you know, with Heslo and the Serenira of army and 2074 02:29:23.559 --> 02:29:26.879 comand control capacities, you know, like like deeply and this 2075 02:29:28.600 --> 02:29:31.239 how this you know, there were the Russians no like 2076 02:29:31.319 --> 02:29:34.360 wartime diplomacy, man, I mean that during the Cold War, 2077 02:29:35.360 --> 02:29:38.600 I'd say the key ways I mean NATO had them 2078 02:29:38.600 --> 02:29:43.239 beat in all kinds of capacities like material, political and otherwise. 2079 02:29:43.319 --> 02:29:45.840 But you know what the Russians head was. I mean 2080 02:29:45.840 --> 02:29:49.719 they had firepower, obviously, they had a very tough and 2081 02:29:49.799 --> 02:29:54.639 game population in the Russian people, but they were very 2082 02:29:54.719 --> 02:29:57.520 they weren't aren't very adept at like war and peace 2083 02:29:57.600 --> 02:30:03.239 politics and that uh that that that's how they were 2084 02:30:03.239 --> 02:30:06.520 able to accomplish that, you know because like I I 2085 02:30:06.520 --> 02:30:11.600 mean obviously especially considering the the tactical situation on the 2086 02:30:11.600 --> 02:30:14.559 ground in Syria. I mean, Habla wasn't about to say, 2087 02:30:14.639 --> 02:30:18.479 like we won't index with the Russian. The Russian federation. 2088 02:30:18.920 --> 02:30:22.280 But there's always tensions in trying to integrate a command 2089 02:30:22.280 --> 02:30:27.520 and control structure, you know. And this was accomplished seamlessly essentially. 2090 02:30:29.479 --> 02:30:33.479 But the well, you know, the Russians, they the Russians 2091 02:30:33.479 --> 02:30:37.680 brought in like real firepower to bear. You know. The 2092 02:30:37.760 --> 02:30:41.440 Russians can't do high tech like America can. But the 2093 02:30:41.600 --> 02:30:44.159 war tech as during the Cold War is now was 2094 02:30:44.239 --> 02:30:49.319 good enough. And the Syrian intervention and the way they 2095 02:30:50.280 --> 02:30:53.559 you know, they they pursued it truly scorched earth policy 2096 02:30:54.000 --> 02:30:56.360 in the on the in the battle space, like against 2097 02:30:56.399 --> 02:31:00.399 their against the up for and it paid off, you know, 2098 02:31:00.840 --> 02:31:04.920 the and and Putin declared in knowing certain terms that 2099 02:31:05.920 --> 02:31:08.920 you know, the the like the Asad government is not 2100 02:31:08.959 --> 02:31:12.079 going to be allowed to fall. There is some momentum 2101 02:31:12.120 --> 02:31:18.559 behind Syria two in the quart of world opinion. It's 2102 02:31:18.600 --> 02:31:22.719 like we talked about, I'm not successful to propaganda, and 2103 02:31:22.760 --> 02:31:26.120 I mean I I'm not some young naive person. I 2104 02:31:26.159 --> 02:31:29.760 was legitimately horrified by those scenes from you know, like 2105 02:31:29.799 --> 02:31:32.680 the subbers of a Lepo over these these Isis barbarians. 2106 02:31:33.600 --> 02:31:38.600 You know, we're beheading people and putting heads on steaks. 2107 02:31:39.760 --> 02:31:41.479 You know, like I said, I saw the video of them, 2108 02:31:41.760 --> 02:31:44.479 you know, they were doing their afternoon prayers and their 2109 02:31:44.520 --> 02:31:47.559 prayer mats and uh, there's like a forest of hits. 2110 02:31:48.079 --> 02:31:51.680 You know, it's it's like a horror movie. But you 2111 02:31:51.719 --> 02:31:56.639 know people were seeing that kind of thing. And I 2112 02:31:56.680 --> 02:32:00.399 remember a Bath Party spokeswoman in knowing certain terms, telling 2113 02:32:00.440 --> 02:32:04.920 some European media type like, look, we're not we do 2114 02:32:05.000 --> 02:32:07.920 not negotiate with people who we will not negotiate with. 2115 02:32:07.959 --> 02:32:10.040 We're not going to change our government because terrorists are 2116 02:32:10.239 --> 02:32:13.959 are bombing us and killing people and beheading people. Like 2117 02:32:13.959 --> 02:32:17.879 what that's you can't ever allow that, you know this 2118 02:32:17.959 --> 02:32:21.040 is and you know this was also too when the 2119 02:32:21.079 --> 02:32:25.079 War on Terror was still on. It's like, so you 2120 02:32:25.159 --> 02:32:27.879 America is telling us and telling the world like, you know, 2121 02:32:27.920 --> 02:32:30.639 we're waging the war on terror, yet you're you're trying 2122 02:32:30.639 --> 02:32:36.040 to bring down a secularist eye doctor who it's got 2123 02:32:36.120 --> 02:32:38.159 like a pretty wife who looks kind of like any 2124 02:32:38.200 --> 02:32:41.040 white woman in the United States, and you're saying that 2125 02:32:41.120 --> 02:32:43.559 like isis are the good guys? Like that's that's really 2126 02:32:43.600 --> 02:32:46.879 when America lost all credibility, you know, like even more so, 2127 02:32:47.000 --> 02:32:50.360 I think than the Iraq fiasco, because that was just 2128 02:32:50.360 --> 02:32:52.879 like laid there. You know, it's like we will burn 2129 02:32:53.000 --> 02:32:57.959 down civilization and hand it to barbarians. You know that 2130 02:32:58.079 --> 02:33:00.760 basically a cow is what we want, and that's the 2131 02:33:00.799 --> 02:33:05.239 opposite of civilization, you know, the same nothing of the 2132 02:33:05.280 --> 02:33:10.120 fact that that's I mean nine eleven should never happen, 2133 02:33:10.799 --> 02:33:14.360 but it did happen, and it's like okay, so okay, 2134 02:33:14.399 --> 02:33:18.879 decades on, you know, a mere decade subsequent like now, now, 2135 02:33:19.040 --> 02:33:20.719 now you're willing to like accept that as you know, 2136 02:33:20.799 --> 02:33:23.360 just kind of like the verbial costs of going business. 2137 02:33:23.520 --> 02:33:30.200 It's like, that's that's unconstable. It scoresesque, but you know, 2138 02:33:30.200 --> 02:33:34.120 and then Putin clarified in twenty fifteen. It's really interesting 2139 02:33:34.159 --> 02:33:38.799 too because when speaking of the Medvita situation for three 2140 02:33:38.920 --> 02:33:44.959 four years, when when Putin, you know, he's kind of 2141 02:33:45.000 --> 02:33:49.600 like second uh permanent tenure as President of Russian Federation, 2142 02:33:50.959 --> 02:33:53.159 there's this kind of window where we're speaking very candle 2143 02:33:53.280 --> 02:33:56.079 I think I think Putin quotes himself pretty well generally, 2144 02:33:56.600 --> 02:33:59.360 but he plays up post of the chest and issues 2145 02:33:59.360 --> 02:34:02.799 he's like non answers that policy questions. There's like this 2146 02:34:02.920 --> 02:34:05.200 brief period of a few years where he was he 2147 02:34:05.239 --> 02:34:06.920 was kind of trying to like humanize his image. I 2148 02:34:07.000 --> 02:34:10.559 think I remember in October twenty fifteen. Yeah, it was 2149 02:34:10.559 --> 02:34:13.520 like it was like October November twenty fifteen. He gives 2150 02:34:13.600 --> 02:34:16.079 us an interview and he's like, look, he's like this, 2151 02:34:16.639 --> 02:34:19.600 He's like, you know, our the Syrian intervention was prepared 2152 02:34:19.600 --> 02:34:22.440 well in advance. Despite what made have appeared, we weren't 2153 02:34:22.479 --> 02:34:24.639 just responding to an emergency situation on the ground. We 2154 02:34:24.680 --> 02:34:27.479 knew that America and Israel wanted to bring down the 2155 02:34:27.559 --> 02:34:31.159 bath regime. We consider this unacceptable. We still do. It 2156 02:34:31.239 --> 02:34:33.760 was really interesting things like he'd never think. He just 2157 02:34:33.760 --> 02:34:36.120 doesn't talk that way anymore, you know. And one of 2158 02:34:36.200 --> 02:34:39.440 the things people criticize him for is is this kind 2159 02:34:39.440 --> 02:34:43.000 of like ambiguous language about Ukraine. You know, oh no, 2160 02:34:43.040 --> 02:34:45.639 this this is a special military operation, and you know, 2161 02:34:46.479 --> 02:34:50.159 not not being clear about objectives and things. It's it's 2162 02:34:50.239 --> 02:34:55.120 very different, but I think it's relevant, you know it, 2163 02:34:57.280 --> 02:35:02.879 I know it is. But uh, the uh in Putin's 2164 02:35:03.000 --> 02:35:08.239 terms and uh Russian speakers I'm sure will suggest and 2165 02:35:08.319 --> 02:35:15.040 suggest correctly. This is an imprecise, imprecise translation, but it's 2166 02:35:15.239 --> 02:35:19.680 the most coherent when I found, Like, in the same interview, 2167 02:35:19.680 --> 02:35:24.440 he said quote that that the objective wasn't remains quote 2168 02:35:24.479 --> 02:35:28.399 stabilizing the legitimate power in Syria and creating conditions for 2169 02:35:28.520 --> 02:35:35.120 political compromise. And that's very much a Putinism. Putin's always 2170 02:35:35.120 --> 02:35:40.159 resorting the you know, the rules based international order that 2171 02:35:40.239 --> 02:35:43.319 purportedly exists, and like, I understand why he does that, 2172 02:35:43.440 --> 02:35:46.440 but I think the time has passed for that those 2173 02:35:46.479 --> 02:35:50.959 sorts of appeals, But it's just it's just interesting, the 2174 02:35:51.159 --> 02:35:54.559 uh and if I can't remember, we dropped the brass tax, 2175 02:35:54.760 --> 02:35:58.680 like the like the literal numbers of what this operation 2176 02:35:58.840 --> 02:36:05.040 constituted in Syria. In some ways, especially considering a lot 2177 02:36:05.079 --> 02:36:08.840 of the discussion about the deterioration of Russian capabilities, in 2178 02:36:08.879 --> 02:36:13.079 some ways, this was as much a coup in world 2179 02:36:13.079 --> 02:36:18.239 opinion terms as the UK's effort in the fault Ones, 2180 02:36:19.120 --> 02:36:23.959 you know, because people were, I mean, Washington's always suggesting 2181 02:36:23.959 --> 02:36:30.319 that Russians can't do anything right in military terms, but 2182 02:36:31.280 --> 02:36:34.600 even relatively serious people were prone to talking that way. 2183 02:36:36.399 --> 02:36:40.680 But the Russian Air Force, it carried out over nineteen 2184 02:36:40.760 --> 02:36:46.120 thousand sorties, seventy one thousand direct strikes on what they 2185 02:36:46.159 --> 02:36:51.520 called the quote infrastructure of terrorists. You know, I interpret 2186 02:36:51.520 --> 02:36:55.239 that in like real human language, not military language, as 2187 02:36:54.920 --> 02:37:01.719 a combination of you know, ground support, attack missions, you know, 2188 02:37:01.760 --> 02:37:07.440 as well as uh you know, as well as bonding 2189 02:37:07.440 --> 02:37:14.360 of any positions and things. But i uh, close air 2190 02:37:14.440 --> 02:37:19.959 support and direct support of ground element forces is what 2191 02:37:20.079 --> 02:37:24.239 really carried the day. And again, the Russians they've always 2192 02:37:24.319 --> 02:37:27.799 viewed warfare as as kind of the advance of fire. 2193 02:37:28.559 --> 02:37:30.479 You know, they're very clouds of woodsy and they're like 2194 02:37:30.559 --> 02:37:34.120 literally clouds of wits end in their perspectives. You know. 2195 02:37:34.200 --> 02:37:36.840 That's who train them to fight modern war. You know. 2196 02:37:36.920 --> 02:37:43.000 It was uh clouds with himself and officers and there 2197 02:37:43.520 --> 02:37:46.479 are for the Russian Federation on parade they still you know, 2198 02:37:46.600 --> 02:37:51.000 perform the goose stuff. This you know, not a coincidence 2199 02:37:51.159 --> 02:37:54.479 because they they think it looks really sharp, which it does, 2200 02:37:54.680 --> 02:37:59.959 but it's because that's how they learned drill, you know. 2201 02:38:00.159 --> 02:38:04.639 And this, this, this solidified Russia as a as a 2202 02:38:04.680 --> 02:38:09.120 real military power on the world stage once again, you know. 2203 02:38:09.200 --> 02:38:14.200 And that's why it's there's it's not as like a 2204 02:38:14.799 --> 02:38:18.200 conceptual bias or like a categorical ignorance, when it's both 2205 02:38:18.239 --> 02:38:20.920 those things too. What you know, like the honest of 2206 02:38:20.959 --> 02:38:24.239 facilities in Ukraine. Like however mismanaged that war has been 2207 02:38:24.319 --> 02:38:26.079 and it's kind of like grossing is managed on on 2208 02:38:26.120 --> 02:38:30.120 the Russian side. Okay, But this idea that like Russia 2209 02:38:30.280 --> 02:38:33.760 lacks the capability to deploy its scale, It's like, what 2210 02:38:34.000 --> 02:38:36.360 are you talking about? I mean that that's that's at 2211 02:38:36.360 --> 02:38:42.319 odds of reality, you know. And if you're gonna if 2212 02:38:42.319 --> 02:38:45.120 you're gonna fight the uh, you're gonna fight the arm 2213 02:38:45.159 --> 02:38:48.000 force of the Russian Federation like literally on their own frontier, 2214 02:38:49.719 --> 02:38:52.440 you know, the the direct precedent that cons that bear 2215 02:38:52.559 --> 02:38:56.120 as well what happened in Syria. You know, I not 2216 02:38:56.120 --> 02:38:59.399 not make a mistake. I there is no like military 2217 02:38:59.399 --> 02:39:02.840 objective on you know that that Ukraine is pursuing because 2218 02:39:02.840 --> 02:39:05.879 there's no there's no path in victory in military terms. 2219 02:39:05.879 --> 02:39:10.120 And it's but if you accept that, you know, US, NATO, 2220 02:39:10.479 --> 02:39:13.639 Israel their only interest is you know, and it is 2221 02:39:14.000 --> 02:39:20.280 in creating attrition. You know, it's uh, it makes perfect sense. 2222 02:39:20.319 --> 02:39:24.360 But this idea that these these it's not as these 2223 02:39:24.360 --> 02:39:29.360 fools like blinking either, like as you know, there's this people. 2224 02:39:29.360 --> 02:39:30.920 I don't think there's any serious people in the foreign 2225 02:39:30.920 --> 02:39:34.799 policies stay asman, but even people less kind of you know, 2226 02:39:34.840 --> 02:39:37.280 out of it than he is. You know, they were 2227 02:39:37.319 --> 02:39:40.120 talking like, well, yeah, you know, the the Russian mainline 2228 02:39:40.159 --> 02:39:42.399 resistance is just going to collapse. You know, the moment 2229 02:39:43.479 --> 02:39:46.920 basically we start popping off combined arms and you know 2230 02:39:47.200 --> 02:39:50.000 from a borough communitions or whatever, and and then like 2231 02:39:50.040 --> 02:39:51.959 the you know, the the United Russia is just going 2232 02:39:52.040 --> 02:39:55.600 to collapse. It's like what are you smoking? Crack Like 2233 02:39:55.680 --> 02:40:00.440 that's you know, the one thing, the one thing the 2234 02:40:00.520 --> 02:40:04.319 Russians have going for them again is the fact that 2235 02:40:05.280 --> 02:40:08.079 they can bring firepower to bear. They've got a very 2236 02:40:08.159 --> 02:40:13.760 game population, and I as long as as long as 2237 02:40:13.840 --> 02:40:16.760 Putin is alive and relatively healthy, like United Russia is 2238 02:40:16.760 --> 02:40:20.079 like never been stronger, like they're Their problem is that 2239 02:40:20.399 --> 02:40:24.879 apparently they can't achieve consensus on who on a man 2240 02:40:24.920 --> 02:40:30.079 to take his place. But this idea that butth of 2241 02:40:30.120 --> 02:40:33.760 Russians literally took twenty five million dead. You know, if 2242 02:40:33.760 --> 02:40:37.040 you lose one in seven of your population to the 2243 02:40:37.120 --> 02:40:40.559 Wehrmacht in four years, and not only do you not 2244 02:40:40.680 --> 02:40:47.159 fall apart, you you can reconstitute into a superpower, albeit 2245 02:40:47.200 --> 02:40:51.840 a crippled one, immediately subsequent There's nothing sort of incredible, 2246 02:40:52.479 --> 02:40:55.840 and I think I think it's basically unprecedented, you know, 2247 02:40:55.959 --> 02:41:01.479 like some some sort of comparable scenario or a state 2248 02:41:01.600 --> 02:41:06.840 endoors that level of devastation and is able to you know, 2249 02:41:08.239 --> 02:41:13.040 it's not profit from it to uh, you know, immediately 2250 02:41:13.079 --> 02:41:21.360 reconstitute and project power in a way theretofore unthinkable even 2251 02:41:21.399 --> 02:41:29.079 prior to the onset of hostilities. But you know, the uh, 2252 02:41:29.440 --> 02:41:33.680 that's one of the reasons why I mean the the 2253 02:41:34.040 --> 02:41:36.680 You've got to understand the Ukraine War as as literally 2254 02:41:36.719 --> 02:41:41.239 like another a secondary front, a secondary theater of the 2255 02:41:41.360 --> 02:41:47.079 same conflict as was underway in Syria. And one of 2256 02:41:47.079 --> 02:41:52.000 the things facility Russian facilitated by Russian victory there was 2257 02:41:52.079 --> 02:41:55.399 not just clout in the national stage, but uh, it 2258 02:41:55.479 --> 02:41:59.600 basically guaranteed them access to the Eastern Mediterranean, you know, 2259 02:41:59.680 --> 02:42:02.959 and uh uh from there you can stage you can 2260 02:42:03.000 --> 02:42:09.959 stage comment operations like fear wide basically, you know, including 2261 02:42:09.959 --> 02:42:13.000 in places like Libya that for reasons, some of which 2262 02:42:13.000 --> 02:42:18.440 are within the bound rationality of ah, you know, NATO 2263 02:42:18.520 --> 02:42:21.879 decision making, and for some reasons they have it Libya 2264 02:42:21.959 --> 02:42:26.000 that makes sense. There's some that don't. But like point being, 2265 02:42:26.879 --> 02:42:29.959 Russia absolutely can deploy their in depth if they're not 2266 02:42:30.040 --> 02:42:33.319 tied down in their own frontier viause of Ukraine, and 2267 02:42:33.360 --> 02:42:36.079 that's really the key to understanding what is underway there 2268 02:42:37.280 --> 02:42:41.079 in in in in like hard material terms, I mean. 2269 02:42:42.120 --> 02:42:56.120 But the Aside himself apparently on the h on the 2270 02:42:56.159 --> 02:43:01.959 eve of Russian intervention, he I assume this came from 2271 02:43:02.040 --> 02:43:05.879 his general staff, and I the Seriennery of Army. I know, 2272 02:43:05.959 --> 02:43:09.719 people claim that they're shit, like the Egyptian Army or something. 2273 02:43:09.760 --> 02:43:11.799 I don't accept that. I don't accept that because of 2274 02:43:11.799 --> 02:43:14.559 the nineteen seventy three war. And like I said, the 2275 02:43:14.600 --> 02:43:17.360 issue with the Syriennery of Army, it wasn't that like 2276 02:43:17.440 --> 02:43:21.360 they were getting mauled in the field. It's that basically 2277 02:43:21.440 --> 02:43:24.920 like this soon he said, like we're not gonna fight 2278 02:43:25.000 --> 02:43:34.399 this war, you know. But Asad again I'm certain through 2279 02:43:34.479 --> 02:43:38.319 like his general staff or its equivalent, they issued this 2280 02:43:39.040 --> 02:43:42.719 series of reports to Moscow saying like this is the 2281 02:43:42.920 --> 02:43:46.760 this is the tactical situation, this is what we absolutely need, 2282 02:43:47.319 --> 02:43:49.799 this is what needs to be brought to bear. You know, 2283 02:43:49.959 --> 02:43:53.079 they basically like identified and characterized up for and like 2284 02:43:53.159 --> 02:43:57.319 how it was hurting them, and in a very concise 2285 02:43:57.360 --> 02:44:01.280 and clearheaded way said like this is why we're going 2286 02:44:01.319 --> 02:44:04.879 to lose this war unless you're able to deploy and 2287 02:44:04.879 --> 02:44:08.840 guarantee A, B and C, you know, and that that 2288 02:44:08.959 --> 02:44:12.440 events is like a remarkable level of trust because like 2289 02:44:12.479 --> 02:44:16.200 among other things, if you invite a great power and 2290 02:44:16.239 --> 02:44:18.760 in very reduced terms, Russia still is a great power 2291 02:44:18.760 --> 02:44:22.159 in relative terms, although like nothing you know, like a superpower. 2292 02:44:22.680 --> 02:44:24.719 You know, you invite the Russians to deploy in depth 2293 02:44:24.760 --> 02:44:28.840 and in hand your command control mechanism over to them, 2294 02:44:28.879 --> 02:44:31.000 they may will just decide that like now serious part 2295 02:44:31.000 --> 02:44:33.360 of Russia for all practical purposes like that that's not 2296 02:44:33.399 --> 02:44:35.479 just cap like when people like you know who's going 2297 02:44:35.520 --> 02:44:39.040 to attack one, Like it's it's no small measure inviting 2298 02:44:39.159 --> 02:44:41.760 like five or eight thousand like armed Russians and their 2299 02:44:41.799 --> 02:44:45.360 common aircraft and guys in their general staff like into 2300 02:44:45.360 --> 02:44:47.600 your country and saying like okay, fellas, like you know, 2301 02:44:47.639 --> 02:44:53.440 do do you do best? Then implement like death at 2302 02:44:53.479 --> 02:44:55.600 scale among like those people, but then like kind of 2303 02:44:55.600 --> 02:44:59.239 politely bow out when it's done. I mean, it's it's 2304 02:44:59.280 --> 02:45:03.000 a rare case, like real kind of like respect and 2305 02:45:03.040 --> 02:45:09.360 reciprocity at like cultural level as well as practical levels 2306 02:45:10.319 --> 02:45:13.840 but yeah, and that's why, uh you know, like I said, 2307 02:45:13.840 --> 02:45:18.959 if I could, if I can meet the when I 2308 02:45:19.040 --> 02:45:20.639 go I head to state, like I found a little 2309 02:45:20.639 --> 02:45:25.280 interesting as Bashar al Assade, like you know, he's uh, 2310 02:45:26.280 --> 02:45:28.959 he's a fascinating dude, and I find it highly relatable. 2311 02:45:34.879 --> 02:45:41.959 But yeah, the I think that's uh, yeah, I was 2312 02:45:42.000 --> 02:45:46.920 gonna get at some point. And we covered some of 2313 02:45:47.000 --> 02:45:49.959 this in earlier, I mean in like a different series. 2314 02:45:50.040 --> 02:45:55.959 I mean we were talking about, you know, the the 2315 02:45:56.120 --> 02:45:59.159 Jackson Vanic Amendment and what prompted it, which wasn't a 2316 02:45:59.239 --> 02:46:04.280 large measure, you know, the the public bro and the 2317 02:46:04.319 --> 02:46:08.280 Supreme Soviet moving moving to literally like outlaws of Zionism, 2318 02:46:08.520 --> 02:46:12.559 like it became it became a political crime against the 2319 02:46:12.639 --> 02:46:15.719 state to you know, like advocate for Zionism, you know, 2320 02:46:15.799 --> 02:46:19.879 and there's a party official in in April eighty three, 2321 02:46:22.399 --> 02:46:28.040 they're like this full page this full page ad titled 2322 02:46:28.559 --> 02:46:35.399 quote from the Soviet leadership laying out the case against 2323 02:46:35.639 --> 02:46:40.479 Zionism as as as viewed from Moscow, which is fascinating, 2324 02:46:41.399 --> 02:46:46.559 you know, and this and then subsequently, you know, that's 2325 02:46:46.719 --> 02:46:49.639 when you started hearing in media this narrative like like 2326 02:46:49.680 --> 02:46:52.879 a Soviet Jews the right risk of annihilation. You know, 2327 02:46:52.920 --> 02:46:55.719 the Soviet Union is this you know, anti Semitic country. 2328 02:46:56.120 --> 02:46:58.399 I mean they've been at war for decades already, but 2329 02:46:58.680 --> 02:47:05.280 it's it. Uh, it took on like an over the 2330 02:47:05.959 --> 02:47:13.879 you know, an above board like character, you know, and this, uh, 2331 02:47:14.200 --> 02:47:17.239 the the you know, the purported plate of Soviet jewelry. 2332 02:47:17.399 --> 02:47:21.200 It it was something that was endlessly bandied about by 2333 02:47:22.440 --> 02:47:26.559 not just NGOs and sympathetic media people, by the Reagan 2334 02:47:26.559 --> 02:47:31.319 administration like it's really it's really wild. And you know, 2335 02:47:31.360 --> 02:47:34.200 speaking of cold war movies or cold war theme movies, 2336 02:47:35.040 --> 02:47:39.600 then we Firefox is a really good movie. This if 2337 02:47:39.639 --> 02:47:41.399 you can, I mean you've got to look like the propaganda. 2338 02:47:41.440 --> 02:47:42.760 But I when I was like a little kid, my 2339 02:47:42.840 --> 02:47:44.239 mom and dad, I want to see it with them, 2340 02:47:44.280 --> 02:47:47.280 and it like blew my mind. But uh, you know, 2341 02:47:47.479 --> 02:47:50.520 one of the subtexts of it is that you know 2342 02:47:50.600 --> 02:47:54.479 that Clint Eastwood is like the Russo American like non 2343 02:47:54.680 --> 02:47:58.600 era combat pilot. You know, he uh he goes hit 2344 02:47:58.680 --> 02:48:02.920 his mission is like steal uh what the then fictional 2345 02:48:03.000 --> 02:48:05.600 mid thirty one, Like there is an actual mid thirty one. 2346 02:48:05.680 --> 02:48:09.040 It's it's call signs his Fox bat But it didn't 2347 02:48:09.079 --> 02:48:13.000 exist when Firebox came out, but the the med thirty one, 2348 02:48:13.079 --> 02:48:19.040 Firefox is like the super plane and it directly interfaces 2349 02:48:19.079 --> 02:48:21.840 with the pilot's brain waves, so like if you so 2350 02:48:21.959 --> 02:48:26.120 you think commands to the central processing unit and then 2351 02:48:26.200 --> 02:48:30.399 it responds. And because Eastwood in the film, his character 2352 02:48:30.559 --> 02:48:33.600 is this Russian guy Russian to he he speaks Russian, 2353 02:48:34.600 --> 02:48:37.159 you know, so it's so he can think in Russian 2354 02:48:37.280 --> 02:48:42.360 to manipulate the avionics. But any event, like a subplot 2355 02:48:42.520 --> 02:48:48.040 is there's this Jewish avi ONYX engineer and the Soviets 2356 02:48:48.040 --> 02:48:51.040 are basically they're like threatening to like waste his family 2357 02:48:51.159 --> 02:48:56.360 if he doesn't build the Firefox, and like uh, at 2358 02:48:56.399 --> 02:49:00.239 one point, like Queneatwood's character makes conted with him and 2359 02:49:00.319 --> 02:49:02.959 he's like, yeah, you know, like the the Soviets are, 2360 02:49:03.239 --> 02:49:05.719 you know, they're they're as bad as like the German Reich. 2361 02:49:05.799 --> 02:49:09.040 And that's kind of like obvious propaganda insinuated, you know, 2362 02:49:09.120 --> 02:49:12.600 But that he like he even that wasn't just like 2363 02:49:12.719 --> 02:49:16.040 Hollywood stuff like that's that was the narrative being presented, 2364 02:49:16.200 --> 02:49:22.079 but that that's kind of a tangential when it's a 2365 02:49:22.200 --> 02:49:27.479 long topic. But yeah, I think, uh, I think we're 2366 02:49:27.520 --> 02:49:32.920 coming up in the hour. Yeah, no, that's uh, that's 2367 02:49:32.959 --> 02:49:36.360 about all I got for this series. I don't I 2368 02:49:36.399 --> 02:49:41.399 don't want to break off another like subtopic. Man, And 2369 02:49:41.520 --> 02:49:44.079 forgive me if I repeated myself, but uh, yeah, I 2370 02:49:44.159 --> 02:49:49.799 think uh unless uh and unless I'm I got a 2371 02:49:49.879 --> 02:49:52.479 real gap and uh my recollection, I think we I 2372 02:49:52.520 --> 02:49:56.360 think we covered quite a bit of the of uh 2373 02:49:56.559 --> 02:49:59.239 what's relevant you know over these past few sessions. 2374 02:50:01.120 --> 02:50:04.479 Can I hit you with one question from yeah, what 2375 02:50:04.680 --> 02:50:08.479 was your what was your take on the the Iranian 2376 02:50:08.680 --> 02:50:12.399 uh missile offensive? 2377 02:50:13.920 --> 02:50:16.479 The Iranians had to do something, I mean, yes, like 2378 02:50:16.760 --> 02:50:19.440 his blase is for all practical purposes, you know, like 2379 02:50:19.520 --> 02:50:23.760 the foreign the Iranian foreign legion. But there's a plausible 2380 02:50:23.799 --> 02:50:28.079 deniability that the Iranians like very sort of jealously guard there, 2381 02:50:28.680 --> 02:50:32.000 but also just in in in terms of in terms 2382 02:50:32.000 --> 02:50:34.879 of poopolitical terms as well as for domestic consumption as 2383 02:50:34.920 --> 02:50:37.440 well as in the court of world opinion, like I 2384 02:50:37.799 --> 02:50:41.360 Ran had to respond somehow. And this this is basically identical. 2385 02:50:41.799 --> 02:50:45.120 It is basically a reducs of when when SOLMANI was 2386 02:50:46.000 --> 02:50:47.120 you know, it was the same thing. It was just 2387 02:50:47.239 --> 02:50:51.200 like it was just like very very controlled response. You know, 2388 02:50:51.879 --> 02:50:55.120 the target the areas targeted were like exclusively counter value. 2389 02:50:56.079 --> 02:50:59.159 You know, it was announced that this was going to happen, 2390 02:51:00.280 --> 02:51:02.799 So that's the way I read it. And it's more 2391 02:51:02.879 --> 02:51:06.120 for the benefit of like they were in regime despite 2392 02:51:06.680 --> 02:51:08.559 the time about media says this, it's not like the 2393 02:51:08.719 --> 02:51:12.280 Taliban or something, and it's it's also like it's already 2394 02:51:13.600 --> 02:51:15.920 they actually hold election as and I ran all the time, 2395 02:51:16.799 --> 02:51:21.159 and like the regime does have like certain credibility problems, 2396 02:51:21.200 --> 02:51:24.920 but like I'm a Dana Jod. You know, he was 2397 02:51:24.959 --> 02:51:26.719 not only in a Zeri, but the reason he's were 2398 02:51:26.799 --> 02:51:29.079 that like members only jacket. I remember, like media people 2399 02:51:29.120 --> 02:51:31.399 that make fun of him, but it's like the dude 2400 02:51:31.479 --> 02:51:33.479 work he was like an he was he was he 2401 02:51:33.600 --> 02:51:35.639 was like an oil rig worker or like a pipeline 2402 02:51:35.840 --> 02:51:39.319 like a like a foreman, and like that's why he 2403 02:51:39.360 --> 02:51:40.719 was trying to look the part of like you know, 2404 02:51:40.840 --> 02:51:43.280 mister like a Zeri working man. He was like this 2405 02:51:43.399 --> 02:51:46.799 big like socialist kind of like labor leader like Rabel Rouser, 2406 02:51:47.479 --> 02:51:50.159 and like the religious authorities didn't like him at all, 2407 02:51:50.760 --> 02:51:54.639 Like they basically allowed him they into the top job 2408 02:51:54.680 --> 02:51:57.559 because they had to, you know, and so talking about 2409 02:51:57.920 --> 02:51:59.840 something is alamist. It's like this most like you like 2410 02:52:00.079 --> 02:52:04.799 looking crack if you think that. But point being Iran's 2411 02:52:05.799 --> 02:52:10.079 it just gets it's a complicated situation domestically and the 2412 02:52:10.200 --> 02:52:14.879 regime there. They do have to cater to public opinion 2413 02:52:14.959 --> 02:52:19.840 more than people acknowledge in the West, and especially if 2414 02:52:19.879 --> 02:52:22.040 it looks like I mean, even if even if these 2415 02:52:22.120 --> 02:52:25.840 like retaliatory strikes like don't mean anything, it doesn't matter. 2416 02:52:26.159 --> 02:52:30.600 It's for domestic consumption anyway, you know, like Iran's Iran's 2417 02:52:30.639 --> 02:52:36.639 ground element in real terms is hepla. That's my interversation. 2418 02:52:38.000 --> 02:52:41.760 Yeah, and it seems like with some of the incursions 2419 02:52:41.840 --> 02:52:44.559 that I've been monitoring over the past twenty four to 2420 02:52:44.639 --> 02:52:48.440 thirty six hours, was doing a pretty damn good job 2421 02:52:48.559 --> 02:52:51.799 on the ground there. Yeah, it seems like it seems 2422 02:52:51.840 --> 02:52:55.440 like Israel they're only they can only do anything from 2423 02:52:55.479 --> 02:52:56.079 the air right now. 2424 02:52:56.920 --> 02:52:58.600 Yeah, they don't want Well it's also too what are 2425 02:52:58.600 --> 02:53:01.280 they gonna do? Are they gonna assault Evanon? Like it's 2426 02:53:01.399 --> 02:53:04.840 some the eighties early nineties. You were in two thousand 2427 02:53:04.840 --> 02:53:06.879 and six and they tried that you're not You're not 2428 02:53:06.920 --> 02:53:09.000 gonna they don't have the forces they don't have the 2429 02:53:09.120 --> 02:53:13.079 force structure or the political will to assault Beirut and 2430 02:53:13.200 --> 02:53:16.920 try and like route Hesibla from the Shia urban heartland. 2431 02:53:17.239 --> 02:53:19.879 You're gonna fight house to house against HESBLAF the next 2432 02:53:20.280 --> 02:53:24.000 five years and you know and take like twenty thousand 2433 02:53:24.079 --> 02:53:25.959 dead in a few months. Like, no, you're not gonna 2434 02:53:26.000 --> 02:53:29.479 do that. No, his was They're they're no joke, man, 2435 02:53:29.520 --> 02:53:34.200 They're they're definitely the most capable ground element other than 2436 02:53:34.280 --> 02:53:35.520 IDF in the region. 2437 02:53:38.760 --> 02:53:41.920 Cool, well, do your plugs. We'll get out of here, 2438 02:53:42.000 --> 02:53:44.120 and I guess the next uh, next time we get 2439 02:53:44.159 --> 02:53:46.840 together will finish up the gladiol and then move on 2440 02:53:46.959 --> 02:53:47.799 to something after that. 2441 02:53:48.639 --> 02:53:53.559 That's great. Yeah, yeah, yeah man. You can find me 2442 02:53:53.680 --> 02:53:58.159 on Subspect. It's real Thomas seven seven seven of subspect 2443 02:53:58.200 --> 02:54:02.719 dot com. That's where the pod is at, and as 2444 02:54:02.719 --> 02:54:05.520 well as like longer form stuff and just like various things. 2445 02:54:06.559 --> 02:54:11.319 I uh, I'm on social media at Capital R E 2446 02:54:11.559 --> 02:54:16.399 A L Underscore number seven h O M A S 2447 02:54:16.879 --> 02:54:20.440 seven seven seven. I'm on Instagram, I'm on t Gram. 2448 02:54:20.959 --> 02:54:23.959 I got my own website. It's Thomas seven seven seven 2449 02:54:24.040 --> 02:54:27.319 dot com number seven h O M A S seven 2450 02:54:27.440 --> 02:54:33.600 seven seven dot com And I got uh, I got 2451 02:54:33.760 --> 02:54:37.959 like merse that I sell because owing to popular demand. 2452 02:54:38.040 --> 02:54:40.239 I'm not trying to be corny like that's literally why 2453 02:54:40.399 --> 02:54:45.399 like I started doing it with my friend and partner 2454 02:54:45.479 --> 02:54:48.639 in crime, Hair Cree. But if you would include a 2455 02:54:48.719 --> 02:54:51.120 link to that in the description, that would be a 2456 02:54:51.200 --> 02:54:53.239 great help so people can find it. 2457 02:54:54.840 --> 02:54:58.319 Yep, dah, last time it'll be it'll be there this time. 2458 02:54:58.520 --> 02:54:58.920 Yeah, thank you. 2459 02:54:59.079 --> 02:55:01.200 I appreciate it. Thomas, It's all the next time. Thank you. 2460 02:55:01.360 --> 02:55:01.600 Boys,