WEBVTT 1 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:33.240 Welcome to mid Rats with sal from Commander Salamander and 2 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.399 the Eagle One from Eagle Speak at Seer Shore your 3 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:39.280 home for a discussion of national security issues and all 4 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:44.479 things maritime. And welcome board everybody to this special Hammer 5 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:48.679 time edition of mid Rats. Of course, there's nothing else 6 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:51.600 we can talk about today if because of Operation Midnight 7 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:55.240 Hammer that went down over this weekend, and we'll dive 8 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:57.200 into that right off the start. But I just wanted 9 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:00.039 to send out an invitation for those that are with 10 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:02.439 us live. If you'd like to, you can find the 11 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:04.439 chat room. We've already got quite a few people in 12 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:07.079 their chat and a way if you have some observations 13 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:09.040 you would like to share during the course of the show. 14 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:13.599 Are some questions you would like for address to Mark 15 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:15.959 or I, or just a topic you'd like for us 16 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:17.959 to address, put it there, we'll see it and if 17 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:19.719 we can, we will try to fold it into the 18 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:23.200 conversation and I'll do my usual alter call. If you 19 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:28.120 don't already, you can go over to iTunes, speaker, Spotify, 20 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:30.680 wherever you get your podcasts, go look for mid Rats, 21 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:33.959 find us and subscribe. Won't cost you a penny, and 22 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:36.439 that way will be available to you at a time 23 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:38.840 better to your convenience if you don't honor us with 24 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:44.239 your live listen. So Mark, first of all, good afternoon. 25 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:45.760 Great to be with you again. 26 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:49.079 Hey Sel, good to be here, and on a historic 27 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:50.640 weekend it is. 28 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:54.599 And one thing I wanted to touch on is you're 29 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:55.879 a couple of years older than I am. I think 30 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:59.599 it'd be safe to define you as a middle cohort 31 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.959 baby boomer. Generation wise, I'm an early cohort gen X, 32 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:11.120 and since I was in middle school, I was just 33 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.439 starting to understand the world around me. But you know, 34 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:17.080 you were a grown man at the time of the 35 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:20.840 Iranian Revolution and the taking of the American hostages for 36 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:24.280 you know, four hundred and forty four days, and ever 37 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:27.360 since then my adult entire adult life and then some 38 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:33.400 there's been a whole series of occasions. You know, you 39 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:36.240 can start with the bombing of the Marine barracks in 40 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:45.280 eighty three. Thousands of Americans have been killed, maimed, mutilated, 41 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:50.639 left to be widows and widowers, children without parents to 42 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:55.199 grow up because of the terror sponsored by Iran. And 43 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:59.080 they've taken every opportunity to humiliate us. Play Lucy to 44 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:02.439 our Charlie Brown with the football a few times, and 45 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.400 when I saw the news, my two sides of my 46 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:09.039 brain kicked off. The first part was the emotional side, 47 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.800 going yes, Operation pream Mantus was not enough for me. 48 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:17.639 It's time to give a little bit to the Iranians, 49 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:20.759 and it was. It was good to see. It was 50 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:24.560 also excellent to see because all of our airmen who 51 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:27.639 went feet dry came home. We didn't lose a plane, 52 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.159 we didn't lose in the airman. Nobody got shot down, 53 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:33.840 no pow is none of that foolishness. And then there's 54 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:36.800 a logical side of the brain because another thing we've 55 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.919 been dealing with. It really became a big conversation point 56 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:43.719 I believe in the Clinton era in the midnight has 57 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.439 been Iran's desire to get a nuclear weapon, and knowing 58 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.479 what the bad faith actor they've been on the on 59 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:53.759 the world stage, they could not be allowed to get 60 00:03:54.159 --> 00:04:00.840 a nuclear weapon. It reached a crisis in the Oba administration. 61 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:03.680 The Israelis have done a few things to slow them down, 62 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:05.879 but it reached the point that they had just gotten 63 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:08.919 too close. But it was a hard nut to crack. 64 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.479 Iran's a huge nation on paper, at least until a 65 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:17.720 week or so ago. They had a substantial military force 66 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.399 not to take away their ballistic missiles and the killings 67 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:25.879 that it's been doing all up and down Israel the 68 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:29.040 last few days. But it was going to be a 69 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:31.680 hard nut to crack, and they had hard in their facilities. 70 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.920 And regardless of what happens down the road, we are 71 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:40.759 not going to war. We have conducted what in previous 72 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:44.120 generations and hopefully present and future generations will see as 73 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:49.879 a punitive expedition. And we've done two things. One, you 74 00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:53.600 never really eliminate somebody who desires to get nuclear weapons 75 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:58.480 nuclear weapons because you can't classify nineteen forties era mathematics 76 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:02.319 and physics. Can adjust their supply, you can break their stuff, 77 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:04.240 you can delay it, push it to the right, and 78 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:09.600 hopefully different circumstances will approach the world. So we've bought 79 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:14.920 everybody some time, if nothing else, and we have by 80 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:19.360 weakening the Iranian regime, we've also opened the door if 81 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:22.399 the Iranian people decide that they would like a different 82 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:25.639 system of government, they have probably a better opportunity now 83 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:27.720 than they've had in a long time. I thought it's 84 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.680 been very smart of what Israel has done and what 85 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:35.600 we did is we just targeted the nuclear facilities. Iran 86 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:40.519 has mostly targeted the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, not the straight 87 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:45.560 stick Iranian military. So it's you know, things might prop 88 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.399 up in the future, but something I believe had to 89 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:51.680 be done. The window of opportunity opened for us to 90 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:55.399 do it, and the ground was prepared well by Israel. 91 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:59.000 We stepped in it and did what had to be done. 92 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:04.079 And tip my hat to everybody involved in the program 93 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:06.720 because we'll find out more details in the in the 94 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:10.240 months and the years ahead. But what a what a 95 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:13.000 very well run program. No other country on the nation 96 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:14.480 on the planet could do it. 97 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:19.279 Yeah, and I probably make some other country nervous. Yeah, 98 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:24.120 I mean a punity of expedition, I tweeted earlier, texted Iran. 99 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:26.480 You know, we get in, we blow it up, we 100 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.279 get out, and if they don't understand the message, we 101 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:30.959 go back and do it again. I mean, it is 102 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.439 not any more complicated than that. That's what a punitive 103 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:38.079 expedition is. And now we're seeing the Iranian government. You know, 104 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:40.879 we're gonna have some kind of retribution. There is, as 105 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:44.639 many people have noted, chance that there are sleeper cells 106 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:47.759 in the in this country kind of do something or 107 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:51.480 some of the crazies who are you know, always around, 108 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:53.560 we're going to do something and claim that this is 109 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:58.079 their motivation. We you know, we'd look at the threat 110 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:01.240 of closing the strait of our moves. Uh. You know, 111 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.240 I've also suggested that we, you know, want to pay it. 112 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:06.920 I'm sure we're paying close attention to where the Iranian 113 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:12.000 mind laying capable submarines are and you know that that 114 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:14.920 is one of the ways you can cause problems. But 115 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:17.079 on the other hand, they can't do too much because 116 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:21.160 they've got their own tankers and their their one ally 117 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:22.000 if you want to call it. 118 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:22.160 That. 119 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:25.879 China is needs the oil that they ship out, and 120 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:27.639 the Iranians aren't going to get a lot of money 121 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:30.199 if they close the entire strait of our moves for 122 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:33.720 any extended period of time. So you know that the 123 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:36.399 data there's also a threat to any troops we have 124 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:42.800 in in Syria and and other Jordan other places like 125 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:47.959 that that are nearby that I think President Trump warned 126 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:50.720 the Iranians that that would not be a good idea 127 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:54.079 to go after those folks, So, you know, it is it. 128 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.079 It's an interesting time. A successful mission as far as 129 00:07:57.079 --> 00:08:00.360 we know. I hate to be too cynical about this, 130 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.079 but over the years you get to the point where 131 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:03.920 you go, you know, yeah, we we did put the 132 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:06.000 penetrators in the ground where they were supposed to be. 133 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.920 The extent of the damages is as yet unknown and 134 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:15.079 maybe never really be known from until unless the Iranians 135 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:18.680 going to show that we missed somehow. Oh no, here's 136 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:22.480 here's our room full of eccentricis just you didn't get them, 137 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:27.480 so it would be amazingly silly on their part. But yeah, 138 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:29.439 we're you know, I think we're This is one of 139 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:32.600 those things that anybody was alive in nineteen seventy nine 140 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:35.360 and said it enough about what was going on when 141 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:42.360 the passage were taken, and the the effort to get 142 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:47.120 them out, the attempt to extract them, that crazy plan 143 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:50.759 for the for the desert that went awry and we 144 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:55.519 lost people there. We've lost people any number of times 145 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:58.120 to the activities that the Iranians have been behind. They 146 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:03.879 support as Bolo, the support hamas they support the Huthi's, 147 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:07.600 They support a number of other entities that are not 148 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:12.039 interested in our well being and or trying to get 149 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:16.360 you know, their their goal their whole stick them for 150 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:19.720 the for the Mullahs is that they're they want to 151 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:22.120 get rid of Israel. They believe in some kind of 152 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:26.159 armageddonish world that will end in there with them becoming 153 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:30.480 triumphant and going off to to achieve great things as 154 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:34.120 the as the prophet is as prophesized. 155 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:39.639 I think he made a really good point about deception. 156 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:44.200 I believe it was the Sector or the Chairman General 157 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:46.120 Kine one of the two who made a comment about 158 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:49.240 and other people have done some great little visuals and 159 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:52.159 graphics that there was a deception campaign on our part 160 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:55.519 ahead of the strike to help surprise them. There is 161 00:09:55.559 --> 00:09:57.320 a non zero champ. We're not the only people that 162 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:00.919 can do deceptions. That there was some that we had 163 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:06.840 bad information or were successfully deceived, and we dropped our 164 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:15.080 fourteen penetrators in the wrong spot and didn't make anything 165 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:17.120 move that needed to be moved, and they can go, hey, 166 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:20.440 we still have it here. That's always a chance. But 167 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:26.279 you know, if you are paralyzed by possibilities, then you 168 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:30.759 never do anything. And you you know, you know, war 169 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:32.879 or conflict, it's a dark room. You really don't know 170 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:35.399 what's in there until you step into it. But you 171 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:38.360 make the best best decision you can, knowing that you 172 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:42.879 have imperfect information, and hope that the imperfection decimal point 173 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:46.440 is in the right spot. And you mentioned about the 174 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:48.799 straight of hor moves and the mining. One thing that 175 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:51.879 popped into my head when you said that. And there 176 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:54.000 are a couple of sources that have put out this figure. 177 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:55.919 It may or may not be correct, but it sounds right. 178 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:00.440 The People's Republic of China gets forty five scent of 179 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:03.399 the oil it imports through the streets of horror moves. 180 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:07.240 And I could very well see Chairman she gets on 181 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:12.960 the horn to to his sources and Iran and go eight. 182 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:14.840 You do what you need to do with Israel in 183 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:18.159 the US, but don't don't you stop the oil going 184 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:20.399 through the streets or horn moves. I got enough problems 185 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:22.960 with my economy now, I don't need another oil shock 186 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:25.360 on my hands. Don't even think about it. That bad 187 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:29.600 communication is probably taking place. We'll see. Would I Ran 188 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:34.919 be angry enough to do that? I don't know. There's 189 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:38.480 such thing as an impotent rage. They've been humiliated not 190 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:41.159 just by the little Satan Israel, but by the big Satan, 191 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:45.879 the USA, So how can they strike out. That's one way. 192 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:50.519 The other way is they've got been generally reported I 193 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:53.759 have no reason to doubt it. They supposedly have terror 194 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.320 cells located all over the place. They could make the 195 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.200 decision that we have to we have to strike back 196 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:01.879 in any way possible. And this is one of the 197 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:06.840 unfortunate things that I've already seen some really political people 198 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:11.399 engage in where they said, Okay, if the Iranians attack 199 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:13.919 any Americans, this is all the fault because of this, 200 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:16.919 Like Iranians have been attacking us for a long time. 201 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:20.759 And if you establish we can't do anything against Iran 202 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:23.080 because they'll activate one of their terror cells we've let 203 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:27.039 exist inside of our own lifelines, then again, you're going 204 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:29.639 to be paralyzed by fear. And you can't survive on 205 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:33.919 this planet by being paralyzed by fear. So that's another 206 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:37.519 way they could find a way to lash out, and 207 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:41.120 we everybody should be prepared for that in a variety 208 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:43.759 of ways. I think there's and I've been guilty of 209 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:48.159 this a little bit myself because I grew up with 210 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:52.039 the with the kids of Iranian refugees. A lot of 211 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:55.679 them were doctors or people in medical school over here. 212 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:58.000 Who you know, their parents got on the phone and said, 213 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:01.240 don't come back. They're not true. People who've been been 214 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:04.000 to the US recently very well. And so they stayed here, 215 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:08.960 married Americans, you know, kept their kids here, and I 216 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:15.120 grew up with them. That's that that has some caution 217 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:19.960 in my mind, but we can't and people, I think 218 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:22.720 we've actually talked about this before on the show. One 219 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:27.879 of the largest Iranian cities in the US is Los Angeles. 220 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:33.279 It's well into six figures first and second generation Americans 221 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:36.799 of Iranian extraction who lived there. But they're they're they're 222 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.919 not a danger to anybody. They're great Americans, very great, 223 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:43.639 great professionals, great neighbors. They're not the ones you worry about. 224 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:47.120 What you have to worry about are those military aged 225 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:50.440 males that were sneaking across the Mexican border for the 226 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:57.240 last few years, undocumented, untracked, unlocated. That's what you have 227 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:00.279 to worry about. But you know, that's one of those things. 228 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:05.399 It's a bridge. We can cross it. Because one tar 229 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:11.200 cell doing a terrorist attack is a tragedy. Iran having 230 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:14.879 a nuclear weapon is existential to quite a few people, 231 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.559 So it's one of the risks. I think you just 232 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:18.240 have to take. 233 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:22.120 Yeah, I think it's barely been interesting because the Russians 234 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:25.840 have come in and announced that that there are plenty 235 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:27.919 of other countries that would be one way to provide 236 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:30.559 Iran with a nuclear weapon. 237 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:32.639 It was a med thatdev or somebody. 238 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:36.960 Yeah, and the UH and the uh these well calling 239 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.159 the Secretary of Foreign Minister from Iran is is now 240 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.120 meeting with the Russians. Uh. You know it's one of 241 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:46.200 those things, where is that just to make sure that 242 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:49.960 people think that there's still a threat there and and uh, 243 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:53.200 you know, kind of keep the the West from doing anything. 244 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:56.600 Like you know, I don't think we have any intention 245 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:59.759 of invading Iran. That would be we have talked about 246 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:02.000 him a for It is a really tough nut to crack. 247 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:07.440 But the Russians, they they you know, they don't mind 248 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:09.840 maybe the straight of hor Moose closing because they've got 249 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:12.799 their own oil to push and you know, things are 250 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.320 going not quite as well as they should for their 251 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:18.960 under the sanctions. And we could really crack down on 252 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:23.519 on net if we got serious about it. But yeah, 253 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:28.559 I know, there's there's a lot of words flying around 254 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:30.480 that make you wonder what you know what is real 255 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:34.399 and what is just posturing. You know, Iranians, you're our 256 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:39.279 friends or Russian Iranian coalition which kind of exists, you know, 257 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.919 one of these acts of evil things. You know that 258 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:46.200 that's something we don't really reneed. We'd like to. As 259 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:49.960 you said, I don't think we after our mistakes in 260 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:55.000 the nineteen fifties when we help the the elected government 261 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:59.519 of Iran out of power, well, you know that caused 262 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:03.240 a lot of sore feelings, which allowed Commanding to come 263 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:07.399 in as the in seventy nine as the new leader 264 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:12.120 of the Islamic Republic of Iran. So we don't really 265 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.639 want to be involved in and another. We're happy to 266 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:19.440 support a change of administration in Iram, but I don't 267 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:21.600 think we want to be the cause or the driving 268 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:22.519 force behind it. 269 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:28.240 Yeah, there's all sorts of little interesting operational details that 270 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:31.799 have come out of this as well. I actually had 271 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:37.360 for those who haven't engaged in arguments with AI like chat, GBT, 272 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:39.960 KROC or some of the other ones. It's actually kind 273 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:43.159 of interesting because these large language models are only as 274 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:46.759 good as the data sources they get to. And I 275 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:50.200 had a fun back and forth with them when I 276 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:53.279 was doing some of the show prep and I was like, well, 277 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:55.120 I need to catch up on the B two. So 278 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:57.440 I went in and looked at the B two and 279 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:03.159 it said that they have a bomb capacity of twenty 280 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:06.160 thousand pounds, and I went, well, wait a minute, Oh, 281 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:09.559 I mean forty thousand pounds. So wait, that can't be 282 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:17.400 right because the penetrator has thirty thousand weighs thirty thousand 283 00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:20.759 pounds and they were supposed to carry two of them, 284 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:22.880 so that's you know, even I can do that math 285 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:25.440 three times two to six, so it's got to be 286 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:29.680 more than that. And so I went in and they said, 287 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:34.720 are you sure that it's forty thousand pound bomb capacity 288 00:17:35.319 --> 00:17:37.519 on the B two when they were carrying too, And 289 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:40.279 it came back and said, no, you're right. So one 290 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:42.119 thing that we have found out that the and again 291 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:44.160 this isn't be the first. That's why it's important and 292 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.799 we say it on a regular basis in opensource dot 293 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:50.400 dot dot because what has actually done and in the 294 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:54.160 real world is often very different, and in aircraft it 295 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:56.160 can be. There's a couple of ways that you can 296 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:58.599 take off in excess of your advertised load. If you 297 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.400 do a couple of things. But so we now know 298 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.880 that actually it can take off with sixty thousand pounds 299 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:09.559 of ordinance by carrying two of the GBU fifty sevens. 300 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:12.680 And that had me go, what do we have planned 301 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:16.839 for the B twenty one raider that's coming online? Because 302 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:20.400 I remembered reading a while ago somebody was talking about 303 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:25.759 the raider had a lower capacity to carry bombs because 304 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:28.559 some of the design compromises with the B two derived 305 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:31.799 from a lot of these old bomber guys and they 306 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:34.039 were designing the B two, said no, this needs to 307 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:36.839 be able to have a higher carrying capacity than what 308 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:39.279 you're designing for it, so they had to change some 309 00:18:39.319 --> 00:18:44.039 of the configuration of the B two to meet that requirement. Well, supposedly, 310 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:51.440 the B twenty one has an advertised twenty thousand pound 311 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:54.839 bomb load, which wouldn't be able to carry one GBU 312 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.599 fifty seven. But as we've learned, so let's just say 313 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:00.559 they can upscale it just like they did with the 314 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:03.200 B two, so that would carry one GBU forty seven. 315 00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:06.519 I think we've seen, especially with the deeply buried things 316 00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:10.240 have to do too. So for the folks that North 317 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:12.440 were grum and maybe they could if they don't already, 318 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:16.359 you know, a stretched version of the B twenty one, 319 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:20.319 the B twenty one Bravo that had a larger carrying capacity. 320 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:22.519 Maybe that's something they can build in the twenty forties. 321 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:25.920 But I thought that was an interesting detail because people 322 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:31.079 forget we have less than twenty flable B twos, and 323 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.079 of that percentage, there's always going to be a certain 324 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:37.039 percentage of them that are in maintenance. And we had 325 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:42.160 seven of them strike, which they had seven table From 326 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.799 what we've been told, they had seven takeoff, seven land. 327 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:47.640 They probably planned the mission being able to do it 328 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:50.599 with one or two less if you had mechanical problems. 329 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:53.519 But they made it all the way from Missouri across 330 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:57.119 the Atlantic and back. They had some decoys. I think 331 00:19:57.160 --> 00:20:00.519 it was three that went west, So seven times is ten. 332 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:05.640 So you know, how many other fully mission capable B 333 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:07.359 twos do we have left when we had ten in 334 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:09.759 the air. I don't know. Maybe they sent some partially 335 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:12.880 mission capable ones with the decoy unit going west, But 336 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:16.799 that's an interesting detail. And with building the B twenty one, 337 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:21.039 maybe we should build more than we think we need to. 338 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.759 But that's something we can talk about down the road. 339 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.480 As we actually started getting production going. 340 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:30.039 Yeah, I get boggled. I've been boggled about things since 341 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:33.279 I've learned that the old f or Phantom could carry 342 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:39.359 more and bombs than my dad's be seventeen could World 343 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:44.559 War Two. So you know, these these numbers are astonishing 344 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.759 to me that these aircraft, no matter how large, the eric, 345 00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:51.240 can carry that much in the way of wait, I'm here. 346 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:55.559 You know the old has has the size of the 347 00:20:55.559 --> 00:21:00.200 weapons have shrunk except for these massive penetrators which here 348 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:04.240 that it's interesting. We you know, we you have to 349 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:06.480 design to the to the I guess the biggest you 350 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:10.440 could carry, and I assume that without knowing for sure 351 00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:12.759 that a lot of One of the tricks aviators have 352 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.359 used in the past is if if, if what you're 353 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:19.640 carrying is beyond your theoretical capacity, you go light on 354 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:24.759 the fuel at the at the takeoff, immediately refuel after 355 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:27.480 getting airborne, and then it's and it's not that big 356 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:30.000 a deal after that once you're actually in the air. 357 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:33.400 Why the good Lord gives you lots of lots of 358 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:35.920 runway And yeah. 359 00:21:35.799 --> 00:21:39.640 The kid's talking, we're talking, we're talking air Force exactly. 360 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:42.440 If it's not twelve thousand or fourteen thousand feet, it's 361 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:43.559 not it's not a runway. 362 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:46.039 They get the entire Midwest prairie to take off. They 363 00:21:46.119 --> 00:21:49.319 got plenty of runway. But it reminds me, you know, 364 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:51.680 as a kid, I just digested all those books on 365 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:54.400 World War Two and you have those pictures of the 366 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:57.400 tall Boy bomb that the British Lancasters carried that they 367 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:01.920 use to attack the turpets. Wow, that's big bomb. Well again, 368 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:05.200 when you look at the GBU fifty seven, the massive 369 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:09.720 ordnance penetrator, the mop you got mopped all right, it's 370 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:13.079 twenty feet long and change, I mean over over six 371 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:17.480 meters for you Europeans and Canadians, yet thirty inches wide 372 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:22.400 point eight meters wide. I mean that's huge, huge weapon, 373 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:26.200 which to penetrate as far as Open Source has it penetrated, 374 00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:30.400 it would have to be. But that's just that makes 375 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:34.039 that's bigger than the Doctor strangeloved nukes that we saw 376 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:36.759 slim Pickens riding down to his glory. 377 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:40.799 Yeah, it's uh, you know, and we mustn't forget too 378 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:43.880 that this the B twos did a big part of 379 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:46.319 the job, but there were one hundred and twenty five 380 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.160 aircraft involved. Yeah, so that means one hundred and eighteen 381 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.960 that weren't B twos and I you know, just judging 382 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:56.519 by the the you know that somebody had to do 383 00:22:56.680 --> 00:23:01.880 if there was any suppression of the air defense systems, 384 00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:05.160 somebody had to do that. And I think, I don't 385 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:07.079 remember what the Air Force has gotten those things, but 386 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:11.200 I think the mate that's a Navy mission lately. You know, 387 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:15.319 the sub the SSGN out there fired a grunch of 388 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:18.200 tea lambs. I don't know what the destroyers did, but 389 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:20.319 I know that someone was standing by off the coast 390 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:24.759 of Israel too for their anti missile defense stuff. So 391 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:27.240 you know, this is a this is a big operation 392 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:33.559 and carried out really smoothly as far as we know. So, 393 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:37.000 but we wes and forget all these other folks were involved. 394 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:41.119 I'm glad you mentioned that because it is I mean, 395 00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:43.240 the details will come out and will be fascinating, and 396 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:45.160 some of the stuff that we've been told now probably 397 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:47.559 isn't accurate, but you only can run with what you got. 398 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:53.680 But apparently it makes sense as a joint ie Air Force, 399 00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:58.720 Navy and combined as in US Israel operation where the 400 00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:03.480 Israelis really toted the remaining part of the Iranian Integrated 401 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:07.039