Speaker 1: From the voices on the trail to the voices in town.
Speaker 1: We're your elects, your headquarters, fifty five KARC, the talk
Speaker 1: station at six here, fifty five KRCD talk station. Happy Tuesday,
Speaker 1: love my Tuesdays. Here in the fifty five ARC Morning Show.
Speaker 1: For no other reason. Two segments one right now, the
Speaker 1: Breitbart Inside Scoop and we'll get the Daniel Davis deep
Speaker 1: Dive at the bottom of the air. In the meantime, though,
Speaker 1: I'm happy to welcome back to the fifty five KRC
Speaker 1: Morning Show. Bright bartb r e I t b Art
Speaker 1: dot com. Book Market International Editor Francis Martel. Good you
Speaker 1: have you back on.
Speaker 2: Francis, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1: All right, let's try to make some sense out of
Speaker 1: what's going on in the Middle East. Beginning with something
Speaker 1: that I thought I wanted to laugh, but it scared
Speaker 1: me at the same time, just recognizing the realities of
Speaker 1: the technology that exists today, but the idea that we
Speaker 1: were going to assume because our presum because they haven't
Speaker 1: taken responsibility for it, but that Israel somehow managed to
Speaker 1: get pagers and then also walkie talkies into the hands
Speaker 1: of members of Hezbala and then on two separate occasions
Speaker 1: simultaneously blew them up, killing a multitude of people and
Speaker 1: injuring thousands, most notably members of Hezbala. How does any
Speaker 1: I'm pulling that off is just genius? And then my
Speaker 1: expectation was, well, once they do that, given that hisball
Speaker 1: will be back knocked back on their heels or severely damaged.
Speaker 1: From a hierarchy standpoint, that Israel would go in with
Speaker 1: an offensive and try to get those terrorists out of
Speaker 1: the area. So that seems to be the way it unfolded.
Speaker 1: But your reaction initially to the explosive devices.
Speaker 2: Well definitely shocked. I mean, I think like every American,
Speaker 2: you know, my first reaction was pagers were what years
Speaker 2: is this?
Speaker 1: I know as you dive.
Speaker 2: Deeper into it, there is evidence that several months ago,
Speaker 2: after the October seventh attacks by Hamas, the leadership in
Speaker 2: Hasbala told their officials get rid of your cell phone,
Speaker 2: get rid of anything smart. We're going to go back
Speaker 2: to beepers because we don't want our communications intercepted. And
Speaker 2: then they made this large order of beepers from what
Speaker 2: they thought was this Taiwanese company which is one of
Speaker 2: the few companies in the world that still makes pagers,
Speaker 2: And it turns out that that shipment was outsourced to
Speaker 2: a very mysterious Bulgarian supplier. And so the Taiwanese company
Speaker 2: whose brand name is on the exploding pagers said, we
Speaker 2: didn't make these. We just had a supplier come up
Speaker 2: to us and say we want to pay you to
Speaker 2: use your branding to make pagers. And so now the
Speaker 2: question is what is this company? I think it was,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, not Bulgarian, Hungarian from Budapest. Who are these people?
Speaker 2: How did they get this shipment? How did they come
Speaker 2: into contact with Hezbala? And the walkie talkies are very
Speaker 2: similar situations. The walkie talk that exploded the next day
Speaker 2: after the pagers had a brand name of this company Icon,
Speaker 2: which is based in Japan, and when the company was
Speaker 2: approached after the attacks, they basically said, this particular model
Speaker 2: of walkie talkie, we haven't made this in a decade.
Speaker 2: We did not make these unless they were very old models.
Speaker 2: But you can get cheap knockoffs on Chinese websites. Still
Speaker 2: a lot of Chinese manufacturers, who obviously have no respect
Speaker 2: for copyright, just make this walkie talkie that we don't
Speaker 2: make anymore, and we still don't know where the has.
Speaker 2: A lot of people bought the walkie talkies. And then
Speaker 2: there's a whole other group of electronics that exploded that
Speaker 2: raised all sorts of questions. There were solar panels that detonated, laptop,
Speaker 2: cell phone, There was a store like a text store
Speaker 2: full of computers and cell phones and all that that exploded,
Speaker 2: and so we don't totally know for sure which of
Speaker 2: the devices in there exploded. So there are a lot
Speaker 2: of unanswered questions, a.
Speaker 1: Lot in The biggest elephant in the room for me
Speaker 1: in terms of questions is how did they manage to
Speaker 1: just get him in the hands of heads BALA members
Speaker 1: and not just the general public. This wasn't like HESBALA
Speaker 1: all walked into their version of the Best Buy or
Speaker 1: collectively you know, went onto Amazon. I mean, this was
Speaker 1: this is a sort of a private order place that
Speaker 1: ultimately inseircuitously worked itself through somebody who put bombs in
Speaker 1: these phones, But it was an order for his Bala.
Speaker 1: Do they have their own account? You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it seems like someone has balla called the
Speaker 2: Budapest pager company and said, we want a mass shipment
Speaker 2: of you know, thousands of pagers. Can you do that
Speaker 2: a bulk shipment? And they said yes. And so the
Speaker 2: question is where where did hes Bola end up contacting
Speaker 2: this company, Why did they choose this company? And what
Speaker 2: who is that company?
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 2: And there's a lot of speculation that that was an
Speaker 2: Israeli you know as intelligence surration, a big company. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but you know, Israel has not confirmed or denied they
Speaker 2: had any involvement in this. There's no no one has
Speaker 2: taken responsibility. But there are very few actors on the
Speaker 2: world stage that have that kind of intelligence ability and
Speaker 2: insultration ability to pull something like this off. So if
Speaker 2: it wasn't Israel, it's a very short list of potential
Speaker 2: people who did this.
Speaker 1: True. Now the justification, of course obviously the ongoing conflict.
Speaker 1: Their terrorist organization internationally labeled as such, they run that
Speaker 1: particular area of the world. It's obviously on Israel's northern border.
Speaker 1: And since israel I guess has got pretty far along
Speaker 1: in its eradication of the Hamas terrasts in Gaza, they
Speaker 1: have now turned their attention to Hisbala. That's the order
Speaker 1: of things presently as you see them Francis.
Speaker 2: Yes, and it's not just that they're going terror group
Speaker 2: by terror groups trying to eliminate them all. There is
Speaker 2: a massive crisis in northern Israel, where there's about.
Speaker 3: Sixty thousand, sixty thousand, five hundred people who have been
Speaker 3: displaced from northern Israel. The Israeli government cannot guarantee their
Speaker 3: security on Israeli land because hes Bola has been bombing
Speaker 3: that territory for months and months.
Speaker 2: So it's not just about getting rid of all of
Speaker 2: Iran's proxies, which Hamas is hes Bala is. It's about
Speaker 2: the fact that there are tens of thousands of Israelis
Speaker 2: who cannot return home in addition to obviously the hostages,
Speaker 2: and so they have to prioritize, you know, who are
Speaker 2: who are they keeping safe and the rest of the country.
Speaker 2: You know, there's obviously a lot of concern with the
Speaker 2: Hoozies and Iraqi Iranian proxies that they are shooting missiles
Speaker 2: Israel's way, but there's a much more imminent danger in
Speaker 2: northern Israel, where the government does not control the land anymore.
Speaker 2: Has Bala controls that land, and that's a huge problem.
Speaker 1: It certainly is in land that was previously held by
Speaker 1: Israel too, if I recall my history.
Speaker 2: Correctly, Yes, that's Israeli territory. Those sixty thousand people are
Speaker 2: Israelis and they simply cannot live there because has Bola
Speaker 2: had taken it over.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, I was thinking eleven on generally because
Speaker 1: you know, at some points in global history, I mean Israel,
Speaker 1: if you look back to what the sixty eight war,
Speaker 1: I mean, they took over Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula, they
Speaker 1: had the goal on heights, I mean everything. It looked
Speaker 1: like it was quadruple the size Israel was prior to
Speaker 1: the war erupting, if I remember my wars correctly. But
Speaker 1: in any event, we're still talking about Israel's border against
Speaker 1: obviously a terrorist controlled sections of land. Now, I guess
Speaker 1: this is Iran's proxy war, right, I mean, this is
Speaker 1: Iran funded. The missiles are coming from Iran and they're
Speaker 1: going I presume Iran has directed these activities or is
Speaker 1: it your perception, Francis that these terrorist organizations are on
Speaker 1: their own and operating on their own decision making.
Speaker 2: They are absolutely not operating on their own. This is
Speaker 2: absolutely an Iranian proxy war. And the reason they're relying
Speaker 2: so heavily on these proxies is that the Iranian military
Speaker 2: is not very strong right now. And a big part
Speaker 2: of that was that President Trump a sanctioned Iran very
Speaker 2: heavily and it's oil industry. And number two, he took
Speaker 2: out Cassam Soleimani, who was basically the foreign terrorism chief
Speaker 2: of the Iranian government. He reconducted an airstrike killed him
Speaker 2: in Baghdad. And now you've put off that head. They
Speaker 2: didn't have anyone with the same amount of diplomatic and
Speaker 2: military talent to coordinate the kinds of terror attacks that
Speaker 2: they want to coordinate. So now they have to rely
Speaker 2: on Housi leadership, They have to rely on Hazbaba, they
Speaker 2: have to rely on the popular mobilization forces in Iraq,
Speaker 2: which are now calling themselves the Islamic Resistance in Iraq,
Speaker 2: and they have to rely on Hamath and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Speaker 2: These are all groups that get Iranian money. These are
Speaker 2: all groups whose leadership travels to Tehran regularly to meet
Speaker 2: with Ayatola Komani and with the President. So Iran is
Speaker 2: very clearly involved here, and I don't think that these
Speaker 2: groups are active in a rogue way, because if they
Speaker 2: do something that just squeezes Iron, then the money gets
Speaker 2: cut off and they can't operate at all.
Speaker 1: Well, I suppose then without dealing with Iran, we're I guess,
Speaker 1: I don't know. Iranians are constantly commenting. I saw the
Speaker 1: statement from Masud Peziski, and I guess he's one of their.
Speaker 1: He was at the United Nations General Assembly meeting. He
Speaker 1: was there to speak. He he is speaking. I mean,
Speaker 1: he acknowledges this is basically their proxy war. You know,
Speaker 1: we do not wish to be the cause of instability
Speaker 1: in the Middle East, as his consequences would be irreversible.
Speaker 1: We the Iranians, and so it's almost as if he
Speaker 1: is substituting himself for the Huthis and the Hamas members
Speaker 1: and Hebala admitting that it is Iran behind all of this,
Speaker 1: and I guess his his ultimate goal is, well, it
Speaker 1: must be the eradication of Israel, because but for them
Speaker 1: and their policies relative to Israel, then none of this
Speaker 1: would be happening. I mean, this is what's so frustrating
Speaker 1: to me. So, if we're not dealing directly with the Iranians.
Speaker 1: Israel's free to go after the people who are directly
Speaker 1: attacking its people, the terrorist organizations. I give you October seventh,
Speaker 1: that's them going after them. But there will always be,
Speaker 1: and I think forever, an unlimited number of people who
Speaker 1: hate Israel. It's baked into the equation generation after generation.
Speaker 1: They just need someone to fund it so they can
Speaker 1: organize their terrorist organizations or their guerrilla warfare and continue
Speaker 1: to go after Israel. This is not going to stop
Speaker 1: unless Iran is dealt with. Unless I've seen something wrong.
Speaker 2: No, that is absolutely true. The only thing I would
Speaker 2: add to this is that the other source of seemingly
Speaker 2: unlimited jihanis that are willing to kill to eliminate Israel
Speaker 2: is the UN, the UN Release and Works Aid Agency
Speaker 2: for Palestinians that operates in Gaza. We know that they
Speaker 2: have schools where they teach children to hate Jews, to
Speaker 2: hate Israel, that martyrdom quote unquote is a good thing,
Speaker 2: And so there is a UN agency that's also banking
Speaker 2: and expanding this genocidal hatred. So getting rid of Iran
Speaker 2: would get rid of the vast majority of the problem,
Speaker 2: and by that, by the way. I don't mean, you know,
Speaker 2: bomb or regime change, just cutting off the financial backing
Speaker 2: from Iran.
Speaker 1: Which Trump did his administration with great with great effect.
Speaker 1: I mean, Trump sanctioned the hell out of the Iranians
Speaker 1: and it seemed to work to a.
Speaker 2: Large degree, exactly. And that was kind of the brilliance
Speaker 2: of the Trump administration is that previous Republican administrations would
Speaker 2: be a problem like this and solve it with bomb,
Speaker 2: and Trump would always go to the money. Trump would
Speaker 2: be very quick to sanction people. The anecdote I always
Speaker 2: bring up is when the Turkish government arrested Pastor Andrew Brunson.
Speaker 2: He was arrested on charges of proselatizing Christianity and insulting
Speaker 2: the president or something. It was not even clear what
Speaker 2: they arrested him for. Trump sanctioned Turkey to such an
Speaker 2: extent a NATO ally that he basically tanked the Turkish economy,
Speaker 2: and one day and in something like a week, they
Speaker 2: freed Pastor Bunton and then problem solved. So that's that's
Speaker 2: the kind of diplomacy that Trump brought to the table.
Speaker 2: That didn't necessarily you know, he didn't bomb Istanbul. He
Speaker 2: just didn't buy their goods anymore. And with Iran it
Speaker 2: was a very similar attitude of well, they have this
Speaker 2: oil industry that supports everything. And he also sanctioned the
Speaker 2: other arms of Iranian financing, specifically Venezuela. Iran refines oil
Speaker 2: in Venezuela. Iran and Hezbala have very close relations with
Speaker 2: drug traffickers in South America, and Trump sanctioned everybody there.
Speaker 2: He cut off the money to everybody there, and that's
Speaker 2: money that didn't go to Iran. In contrast, the Democrats
Speaker 2: gave Iran pallets of cash, and suddenly we have, you know,
Speaker 2: the popular mobilization forces in Iraq, which did not exist
Speaker 2: before Obama.
Speaker 1: And they're that much closer to getting a bomb. So
Speaker 1: Francis Martel, you can see her tonight. She is going
Speaker 1: to be appearing in Empower You seminar beginning at seven pm.
Speaker 1: Empower Youamerica dot org. This is a virtual class only
Speaker 1: she's not flying into town to be a two twenty
Speaker 1: five Northern Boulevards. So empower you America dot org. Subject matter,
Speaker 1: how might US foreign policy toward Iran change in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five? I guess that assumes that there's a change
Speaker 1: in administration, and it doesn't go with the Harris administration, Francis,
Speaker 1: because I think we're going to get a whole lot
Speaker 1: more of the same thing if we don't elect Trump.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and you know, we're going to talk about both.
Speaker 2: You know what happens. What are the policies on the
Speaker 2: table for Trump and for Harris. And we're going to
Speaker 2: talk about iron kind of in a much bigger picture way,
Speaker 2: not just what is Iran's relationship to its allies in
Speaker 2: the Middle East, but how does Iran leverage alliances in
Speaker 2: places like South America, its alliances with North Korea, It's
Speaker 2: membership in bricks, how does it use this global network
Speaker 2: to empower itself Because a lot of mainstream media refers
Speaker 2: to Iran as kind of this rogue state that's just
Speaker 2: out there on its own trying to do its thing,
Speaker 2: and it's not. It is part of a deep and wealthy,
Speaker 2: global anti American network. So that we're going to dive
Speaker 2: deep into that. I'm really excited to work with the
Speaker 2: empower you folks. They do great work and yeah, hopefully
Speaker 2: it's going to be a good time.
Speaker 1: I'm certain it is and very informative. Marcel. It's always
Speaker 1: a pleasure having in the program. And I might note
Speaker 1: that the Biden Harris foreign policy has led that rogue, independent,
Speaker 1: isolated state Iran into the hands and arms of the Chinese,
Speaker 1: as well as the North Koreans and the everybody else
Speaker 1: who has an interest against the United States. It's one
Speaker 1: of those the enemy of my enemy is my friend
Speaker 1: things and other global leaders look at it the same way. Marcel.
Speaker 1: We look forward to seeing you tonight at power you
Speaker 1: America dot org.
Speaker 2: Log in.
Speaker 1: It's a virtual thing. Just register before seven pm. It's
Speaker 1: easy to do at a power Youoamerica dot org. Have
Speaker 1: a wonderful day of good luck with the speech tonight
Speaker 1: or the discussion tonight. Francis, thanks for being on the program.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for having me on.
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