WEBVTT 1 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:33.240 In a world of deceit, telling the truth is a 2 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:37.880 revolutionary act. It's the David Knight Show. 3 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:47.960 As a clock strikes thirteen, it's Tuesday, the third of 4 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.679 March of Our Lord, twenty twenty six. Well, we had 5 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:56.759 a very interesting revelation yesterday from Marco Rubio. Why now, 6 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:00.600 Why now did we attack Iran? As a Trump has said, 7 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:02.719 you know, for forty some odd years, I've been shouting 8 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:06.719 death to America, So why do we do it now? Well, 9 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.280 we're going to tell you the very interesting reason, and 10 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:13.000 it's something that unfortunately a lot of us have been 11 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:17.400 talking about for quite some time. We have Warpete saying 12 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:22.560 he is a recovering Neocon. I think he fell off 13 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.239 the wagon. That was ever the truth. We're going to 14 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:31.200 have Charlie Kirk and his comments about Lindsey Graham and 15 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:37.359 the neocons and the failures both pragmatic and philosophical. But folks, 16 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:40.599 the real failure is moral, and we're going to talk 17 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:46.000 about how their war plans have already gone sideways. Yes, Trump, Taco, 18 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:51.680 he isn't checkening out, but he always changes orders, he 19 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:57.280 always changes objectives. Is that chaos and not able to 20 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:01.000 steer a course? That is really the concern here as 21 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:09.680 we look at the commander and thief, we'll be right back. Well, 22 00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:13.840 Pete Hegseth says that this war in Iran is not Iraq, 23 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:18.960 but he can't say what it is. And he scolds 24 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.240 the press for saying, how dare you ask what our 25 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.520 objectives are? Right? I mean, don't you know that we're 26 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:26.560 supposed to be the rulers of the world, and that's 27 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:30.280 all you need to know? By right we are the 28 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:36.400 exceptional power. We can project power. And he made some 29 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:40.479 vague dimensions about how Iran should not be allowed to 30 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:46.639 project power. Well, the Pentagon has named this operation Epic Fury, 31 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:52.919 and heg Seth doesn't really have any objectives except to 32 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:58.719 say lethality. Let me just say killing everybody is not 33 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:02.560 an objective. Telling everybody is not legal. It's not moral. 34 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:07.319 But that's all that Pete Heseth can come up with. Lethality. 35 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:11.919 They even have this thing about lethality maxing, which goes 36 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:16.199 back to a lot of the slaying on some of 37 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:19.639 the discussion boards and stuff. It's people who are doing 38 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:24.879 crazy stuff to their body men to affect their jaw, 39 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:27.319 to get the square jaw. Whatever they think that it's 40 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:30.560 all about looks. Quite frankly, I think it is an 41 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:34.400 appropriate way for the Pentagon to describe itself because it 42 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:38.879 is all about looks, isn't it. It's all about cosmetic surgery. 43 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:45.280 Forget surgical strikes. It's about cosmetic surgery, about image projecting 44 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:50.919 an image not necessarily power. Well, the question when we 45 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:56.360 look at whether or not he is a recovered neocon, 46 00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:02.879 I guess we can always question warpete is going to 47 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:07.479 become repeat. 48 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:08.800 I've been a recovery neo kon for six years now. 49 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:14.240 Like the foolishness with which we ricochet around the world 50 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.759 intervening think it was in our best interests when really 51 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:19.759 we just overturned the table and created something worse in 52 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:24.199 almost every single scenario has led to almost I mean, 53 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:26.879 the hubris of the Pentagon is that they want to 54 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.199 now tell other countries how to do counterincertaincy based on 55 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:31.720 what we did in Iraq and Afghanistan? 56 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:33.879 Are you kidding me? 57 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:36.920 So you really have learned nothing? 58 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:40.959 That's right. I think you really have learned nothing either. 59 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:44.240 By the way, while we're on the topic of what 60 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:47.240 should US policy be and should we ever have a president, 61 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.839 it makes a case for war, you know, like, hey, 62 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:54.839 they attacked us, let's stop this threat of violence that's 63 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:57.160 killing our own people. No, we are the ones who 64 00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:00.879 are doing that. We are the aggressor are the hitlers 65 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.240 in all of this. Charlie Kirk got it right before 66 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:04.720 he died. 67 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:09.160 On one side is the Lindsay Graham John Bolton types 68 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:13.079 where they are actively calling for regime change. Here is 69 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:16.680 Lindsay Graham. This is just lunacy. It says nothing new 70 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:19.199 in nuclear weapons at this point. This is now that 71 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:24.240 we want to go all in and take out the regime. 72 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:28.360 It's time for us to close the chapter on the 73 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:32.680 Iranian Ayatola and his henchmen and start a new chapter 74 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:35.639 in the Middle East. And that sounds good, doesn't it. 75 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:38.560 But what have we learned When it comes to wars, 76 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:41.560 and especially wars in the Middle East, what you draw 77 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:48.360 up on a whiteboard rarely happens what you think theoretically 78 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:53.920 is going to occur. There might be unintended and unforeseen consequences, 79 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:58.279 especially when you're talking about a country two and a 80 00:05:58.360 --> 00:05:59.959 half times the size of Texas. 81 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:02.759 Yes, it has ninety. 82 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:05.519 Million people and was an ancient and Greek great power 83 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:10.720 with well over a dozen ethnic groups. You have underground Christians, 84 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:14.040 you don't really have many Jews left in Persia, but 85 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:16.920 also you have secular younger Persians. Who's going to run 86 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:20.399 the country exactly, Lindsay Graham, this sounds like Hillary Rodham 87 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:24.839 Clinton in Libya. So I'm pointing to the first extreme 88 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:28.920 right now, the neo conservative extreme. We must go take 89 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:30.480 off the head of the snake right now. 90 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:34.240 Be all in President Trump and helping Israel eliminate the 91 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:37.800 nuclear threat. If we need to provide bombs to Israel, 92 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:40.560 provide bombs, if we need to fly planes with Israel, 93 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:44.279 do joint operations. But here's the bigger question. Wouldn't the 94 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.079 world be better off if the Iototals went away and 95 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.360 replaced by something better? Wouldn't Iran be better off? It's 96 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:52.959 time to close the chapter on the Iran and iotot 97 00:06:53.079 --> 00:06:56.519 and his henchman. Let's close that chapter soon and start 98 00:06:56.519 --> 00:06:58.839 a new chapter in the Mideast, one of tolerance to 99 00:06:58.920 --> 00:06:59.560 hope in peace. 100 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:04.800 Okay, that sounds good, but that's pathologically insane. I'm sorry 101 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:07.360 it is. How do you know it's going to be better? 102 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:08.079 Yeah? 103 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:11.199 The Ayatola is awful, but maybe he's one of the 104 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:13.519 few guys that can keep that country together and not 105 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:18.240 have a ninety million person civil war. Lindsey Graham is 106 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.920 so consistently out of his mind it's hard to even comprehend. 107 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.839 Regime change is not like changing the head coach at 108 00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:28.120 the Chicago Bears. It's not how it works. It's not 109 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:33.560 like a clean transfer typically in the Mid East. It's 110 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:37.120 very messy, creates a quagmire, and then there is civil war. 111 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:39.519 Yeah. 112 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:42.759 Well, their well defined plans went away right at the 113 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:44.920 very beginning. The very first thing they did was the 114 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.600 decapitation strike. When all the leaders are meeting and Trump 115 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:51.959 told Jonathan Carl he said, yeah, we had three or 116 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.720 four candidates that we wanted to replace the Ayatola. We 117 00:07:56.839 --> 00:08:01.360 killed them all. That's how this stuff goes. They don't 118 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.160 have a plan. Then the gang that can't shoot today, 119 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:05.959 they don't know what they're doing. And of course we 120 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:07.800 got to get the Ietol out of there because he's 121 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:11.160 a horrible guy, and he is. It's kind of interesting 122 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:14.279 all of the things that people are talking about in 123 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:17.120 terms of what the Ietola did. He's got his secret police, 124 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:21.439 he arrests, tortures, kills, dissidence, on and on and on. 125 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:25.480 One of the longest authoritarian leaders that the world has 126 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.680 had longest surviving. I looked at it and it's like, 127 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.600 you know, the Shaw did all of those things. Our guy, 128 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:38.960 the Shaw was there for another year longer than Comane was, 129 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:44.279 and the Shaw is the one who basically paved the 130 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:48.360 way for Comane to take over. There's a lot of 131 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:51.240 things here that are really working against themselves. One of 132 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:56.840 the things in terms of when you look at the 133 00:08:56.840 --> 00:08:59.039 the motivation of people to fight a war and don't 134 00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:04.759 underestimate them, I think that counts a great deal, especially 135 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:10.240 an asymmetric warfare. Motivation is a big part of the equation. 136 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:13.799 And they want to talk about how they did this 137 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:18.080 precision surgical strike and we can pinpoint accuracy, we can 138 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:20.879 do this and that and earthing. And at the same time, 139 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:23.720 how do you explain then, these two schools that were killed, 140 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:26.600 where they killed one hundred and fifty or one hundred 141 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:31.360 and sixty something kids girls in one school alone, about 142 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:34.279 another fifty or sixty in the other school, how do 143 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:38.399 you explain that At the same time, you're boasting about 144 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:41.159 the accuracy of your weapons and your targeting, and you're planning, 145 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:43.639 and of course what Scott Ritter was saying yesterday I 146 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:47.039 played that clip for you. He was involved in targeting 147 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:49.840 when he was in the military, and he said he 148 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:53.039 is haunted by the fact that they got bad intel 149 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:59.080 and they targeted this bomb shelter and killed so many civilians, 150 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:02.759 a lot of them chillildren. And so his take on 151 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:06.159 it was, this is just kind of a quota system. 152 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:10.080 You know, the Trump administration comes in in the Pentagon 153 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:13.559 and we got to have X number of strikes, so 154 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:16.279 give us targets. And he said, these guys are just 155 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:21.000 going through grabbing targets, sloppily grabbing targets. That's what this 156 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:23.759 is about. And I think people are going to see 157 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:26.559 they talk about blowback. That's one of the very first 158 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:29.600 places it begins. First of all, have their decapitation strike. 159 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:31.559 They not only kill the I TOOLLA, but they kill 160 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.679 the people they think they can work with. Secondly, they 161 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:40.159 brag about their precision strike while they kill two schools 162 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:44.679 full of children. And so this is not a rock 163 00:10:44.759 --> 00:10:49.919 This is not endless, said heg Seth. He said, all 164 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:52.080 you people talking about mission creep, but it's not mission creep. 165 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:56.919 I guess it's just creeps on a mission right committee 166 00:10:56.919 --> 00:10:59.720 to re elect the president. Sounds like going back to 167 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:02.679 Nick and dan Kane had laid out the mission and 168 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:07.000 operational terms protect US forces prevent Iran from projecting power 169 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:10.320 beyond its borders, and disrupt and destroy its ability to 170 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:14.159 sustain combat operations. Well, dan Kine had some other things 171 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:18.240 to say, and I reported that before the strike went 172 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:22.879 out dan Kane and it was widely leaked, apparently by 173 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:26.519 jd Vance, who would like to become president. He sees 174 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:32.120 his chances evaporating with this war. He point out that 175 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:35.720 dan Kaine said, you know, we're short on AMMO and 176 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:41.120 we're short on allies. That's a big deal. And so 177 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:43.759 there was a lot of reluctance there in the Pentagon 178 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:47.240 from the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And 179 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:50.679 yet Trump does it anyway, I want to talk about 180 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:53.480 why he did it here in a moment so emphasize 181 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:55.960 the US as setting the terms of this war from 182 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:01.080 start to finish. Are we really are we really know 183 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:04.600 what are the legal basis for these combat operations? And 184 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:06.759 are we setting the terms for it? Are we in 185 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:10.519 control or is there a tail that's winging the dog. 186 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:16.360 That's basically what Rubio said in a meeting with some 187 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:20.039 congressional leaders that they call the Gang of Eight, destroying 188 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:25.639 missile stockpiles and we're degrading naval capacity. These are measurable tasks. Well, 189 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:29.919 we're also we're not just destroying the stockpiles of ammunition 190 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:34.440 of the Iranians. We're destroying our own stockpiles, leaving us 191 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:38.240 vulnerable as we're trying to provoke a war with China 192 00:12:38.360 --> 00:12:42.960 as well. Ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. 193 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:45.559 It is a strategic objective, but it can't be secured 194 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:50.960 by air power. A durable nuclear outcome would require verification, monitoring, 195 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:56.320 and an inspection framework that's capable of confirming compliance over time. 196 00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:58.279 You're going to have somebody on the ground to do that. 197 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:03.799 When the Secretary promises quote no stupid rules of engagement 198 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:08.600 and rejects the constraints associated with prior conflicts, he signals 199 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:12.320 a posture that is centered on unilateral force. This is 200 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:16.720 why I say he only talks about killing people. That's 201 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:23.159 his only plan lethality. And when he despises rules of engagement, 202 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:29.600 that's why Warpete despises international rules of war, why he 203 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:34.039 despises the Geneva Convention, why he despises the Pentagon's rules 204 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:37.279 that have been there. You know, things like we don't 205 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:43.360 kill people who are shipwrecked. There's so many of these 206 00:13:43.399 --> 00:13:46.720 things that they're doing. Of course, in the Caribbean. A 207 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:52.279 Daily Call reporter Reagan Reese asked Trump, I said the 208 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:56.039 US would leave when all the objectives are complete, and 209 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:02.360 then asked Trump directly, well, what are those objectsives? Or Pete, 210 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:05.759 how dare you ask the president what his objectives are? 211 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:08.919 You're not realizing that you're talking to a king here, 212 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:16.440 and of course his objectives always change that Taco tex 213 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:20.840 Seth replied, Iran projects power in a way that we 214 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:26.360 can't tolerate. Let's think about that. US and Israel have armies, 215 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:30.120 US and Israel have planes and missiles, US and Israel 216 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:33.879 have nuclear weapons. None of that can be tolerated by Iran. 217 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.159 We project power. As a matter of fact, that seems 218 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:38.799 to be the only thing that we're concerned about is 219 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:43.320 projecting power. Iran can't project that. But if you're going 220 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:46.919 to stop that, here's this double standard that we've got here. 221 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:50.960 If you're going to stop them projecting power, is that 222 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:54.399 not an open ended mission? Well, yes it is. Preventing 223 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:58.720 Iran from projecting powers not a narrowly defined condition. Projecting 224 00:14:58.759 --> 00:15:03.759 power can include support for proxy militias, weapons transfers, cyber operations, 225 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:09.720 missile tests, maritime activity, political influence to aligned groups. This 226 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:12.919 is what we do. We do all of these things, 227 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:15.200 but they better not do that. They don't have a 228 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:18.080 right to exist. They don't have a right to protect 229 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:22.840 themselves from us, even if we attack them. If suppressing 230 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:28.200 power projection becomes the organizing principle, the mission's boundaries become 231 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:32.960 inherently movable. Any remaining influence can be treated as justification 232 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:37.320 for continued action. These are these same people who tell 233 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:39.519 us we're not getting into a quagmar, We're not going 234 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:43.159 to do an endless war. And yet if your goal, 235 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:45.879 the only goals we can kind of suss out of 236 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:50.159 these people is to stop them from projecting power, that 237 00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:55.639 is an endless conflict, punitive strikes without occupation, and precisely 238 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:59.240 what the Iraq Lexin was supposed to teach. Degrade the 239 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:03.320 capability and the costs and leave before the insurgency starts. 240 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:10.039 Excess explicit rejection of nation building isn't evasion, it's a doctrine. 241 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:15.039 The problem isn't that the strategy is incoherent. The problem 242 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:19.039 is that projecting power as a terminal objective has no 243 00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:23.440 natural stopping point. It expands to meet whatever resistance it encounters. 244 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:27.240 Kind of like the war on terror, right, it's a 245 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:32.679 war on a tactic. It's not even a well defined 246 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:35.639 first And of course the terrorists were being trained and 247 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:38.639 funded by the US government as well al Qaeda, the 248 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:42.519 mouje Hidin before them, then al Qaeda. Then isis who 249 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.919 actually ran air cover for this guy who had this 250 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:50.679 long rap sheet. I guess you could say his resume 251 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:53.879 of being in every one of these terrorist groups. We 252 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:58.559 helped to install him as leader in Syria and destabilize 253 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:04.400 that area. We go, we leave chaos and death. The 254 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:08.599 doctrine has precedent. The precedent is not encouraging the nineteen 255 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:11.119 eighty six tripley strikes, which is what Kirk was saying, 256 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:14.799 and this sounds like Elary Clinton right. Nineteen eighty six 257 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:18.000 tripley strikes were declared a success within forty eight hours 258 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.039 and a failure within a decade. Hegseth has also said 259 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.799 the US will fight to win. Winning presumes that something 260 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:30.400 can be identified and measured If the desire to avoid 261 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:33.960 nation building produces a strategy defined almost entirely by punitive 262 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:39.240 force without a clearly articulated political settlement, then success becomes 263 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:45.160 synonymous with contained degradation rather than a stable, verifiable outcome. 264 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:49.599 And of course they will let us know when they 265 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.440 have won. They will let us know. They're not going 266 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.759 to define what the mission is. They'll let us know 267 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:58.440 when the mission has been accomplished, just like George W. 268 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:00.799 Bush did on the deck of the air can remember 269 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:08.160 that mission accomplished, one lie after the other, Hexa said Monday. 270 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:11.400 I think one of those fallacies for a long time 271 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:17.319 is that this Department, Department of Defense, or presidents or 272 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:20.559 others should tell the American people and our enemies, by 273 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:24.720 the way, here's exactly what we'll do. Here's exactly how 274 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:28.160 long we'll go, here's how far we'll go, Here's what 275 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:31.880 we're willing to do. And not do that is foolishness, 276 00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:37.720 he says, Well, is it foolishness to define what you 277 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:42.000 were fighting for why you're fighting. I guess the people 278 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.039 who fought World War II were fools, right, right right. 279 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:47.400 The US government went through a great deal of trouble 280 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:51.519 with the Frank Capra series of films Why We Fight. 281 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:56.440 Everybody knew why they were fighting. They were fighting because 282 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:00.559 they were attacked, right, and other countries were attacked Hitler 283 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:04.400 the same way that we do it now. You know 284 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:06.680 the preemptive strike from Japan. Hey, we got to attack 285 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:10.119 them because they've put these crippling sanctions on us or whatever. 286 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:13.880 So we knew why we fought in World War Two 287 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.359 and we knew what the objective was. We don't have 288 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:22.160 that kind of clarity anymore because the people who are 289 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:25.279 leading our government and our armed forces don't have that 290 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:32.400 kind of clarity themselves. That is foolishness of the worst kind. 291 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:37.920 All warpete wants is lethality killing. That is his objective. 292 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:41.119 That's the only thing you're going to get out of 293 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:46.079 this sky. When the objective is undefined, allies cannot calibrate 294 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:49.039 their own risk. So it makes it more difficult to 295 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:53.319 get allies right. You're asking me to buy into something 296 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:57.519 that you don't have a defined objective to achieve. Here, 297 00:19:57.799 --> 00:20:01.279 what's that all about? And that's what we're doing, and 298 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.599 that's why we're in the situation that we're in public 299 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:08.559 fatigue with an open ended war is well defined, establishing 300 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:14.079 explicit boundaries to keep the campaign from expanding. Addresses strategy, 301 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:20.000 do you have one, As I said Trump, from the 302 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:24.079 very beginning, from the very first strike, things went in 303 00:20:24.119 --> 00:20:30.519 a different direction. Trump told Jonathan carl in an interview that 304 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.039 he had successors in mind after the strikes in Iran, 305 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:38.400 but they were all killed. And so it goes when 306 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:41.599 you are going to be the policeman of the world, 307 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:46.880 right And he said the attack was so successful that 308 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:49.559 it knocked out most of the candidates. Trump told me, 309 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:52.079 it's not going to be anybody that we were thinking 310 00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:56.759 of because we killed them all. And so first striking, 311 00:20:56.880 --> 00:21:00.759 how stunningly successful the president believes this military has been. 312 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:03.240 He actually told me, nobody else in the world could 313 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:09.359 have done this. It's not geopolitics, folks, it's ego politics. 314 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:15.200 It's not three D chess as a fool's Errand anyway, 315 00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:17.759 he said, the attack was so successful and knocked out 316 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:24.039 most our candidates. So how is that successful? Successful in 317 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:27.799 a way that only somebody who has bankrupted a half 318 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:32.680 dozen casinos, who is that stupid could think that it's successful. 319 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:36.839 You had a plan, did you, well? Trump completely ignored 320 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:40.039 White House reporters On Sunday night, he decided that he 321 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:44.839 would point to and hang around statues of Jefferson and 322 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:48.279 Franklin that he recently put in the Rose Garden area. 323 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.079 I got to say, that is as close as you'll 324 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:56.400 ever get to Jefferson and Franklin. He rejects that colartion 325 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.920 of independence, he rejects the Constitution, he rejects their politics, 326 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:04.279 their philosophy, their actions, but he embraces the statue. I 327 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:08.039 get to say, going back to the late nineties, I 328 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:10.000 told the family, I said, I don't ever want to 329 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:12.839 go to Washington again. I don't have to. I said, 330 00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:18.000 this place is nothing but a cemetery of liberty. You 331 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:19.920 can look around it and you can see the statues 332 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:23.599 of Jefferson and Franklin, other people who appreciate and understood 333 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:27.559 liberty and gave it to others. As I've always said, 334 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:30.400 liberty is one thing you can't have unless you give 335 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:32.519 it to others. They were wise enough to understand that. 336 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.240 But I look around and it's a it's a mausoleum, 337 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:42.240 is a cemetery of monuments to great men that we 338 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:46.400 don't have anything like them anymore. I mean, the picture 339 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:51.279 of this orange pig standing next to statue of Jefferson 340 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:54.279 makes me want to throw up. You're not even of 341 00:22:54.319 --> 00:23:00.240 the same country. Get out of here. It's like Ven 342 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:03.240 Miller talking about we we we when he talks about 343 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.279 America and the founding of America. His parents came here 344 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:08.680 as refugees during World War Two. He didn't do anything 345 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:11.839 to build this country. He's destroying it. He's anesthetical to 346 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:14.599 everything this country is about. Steven Miller is one of 347 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:18.240 the most anti American, un American immigrants we've ever had. 348 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:21.440 I'd take a million Mexicans if we could get rid 349 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:30.079 of Steven Miller, ten million, unbelievable on welfare. Just get 350 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:34.160 rid of this guy. Unbelievable. So he hangs around the 351 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:37.559 statues of the non interventionist hopefully something will rub off 352 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:41.359 on him. I don't know. Trump skipped out on answering 353 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:44.680 questions from the press the day after he had done 354 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:48.559 this as strike. We were shouting questions, what's your message 355 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:50.799 for the families of the service members who were killed? 356 00:23:51.319 --> 00:23:53.319 How long are we going to be in this conflict? 357 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:56.880 He doesn't talk about any of that. As a matter 358 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:04.119 of fact, there is a reporter host. I guess Joey Jones, 359 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:07.279 who's on Fox News. I don't know who this guy is, 360 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:10.680 but he told Maga he said it's okay to ask 361 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:15.200 questions about troops killed in Iran. Americans, he said, demand 362 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:20.119 answers when our blood is shed. You know, I don't 363 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:25.759 think he was talking to ordinary rank and file people, right, 364 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:31.400 Maga whatever. I think he was talking to his employers 365 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:34.039 at Fox News, saying it's okay if I ask questions 366 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:40.279 of the King Trump, because Americans know it's okay we 367 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:44.880 do question authority. He's talking to himself, He's talking to 368 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:47.759 his bosses at Fox when he says that he saw 369 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:52.440 combat and both Iran and Iraq and Afghanistan. He lost 370 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:56.519 both legs above the knee, and he suffered severe damage 371 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:59.720 to his arm and wrists. He urged viewers on Sunday 372 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:03.079 tonight lose sight of the ultimate sacrifice those soldiers made. 373 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:06.640 A day earlier, he said, it's incumbent upon me to 374 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:09.480 stop for a moment. I understand that there's a that 375 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:13.359 three people killed is a small number. Well, it's getting 376 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:16.000 bigger all the time. We're now, as of last night, 377 00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:20.200 we were up to six, he said. But three lives lost. 378 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:24.839 Three Americans killed in action for what. He didn't say 379 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:29.359 that right, Three Americans killed in actions, hundreds if not 380 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:34.440 thousands of lives affected, he said, really millions for every 381 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:39.160 American out there that understands what that is like, Well, 382 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:42.720 I agree, and I think that is important, But I 383 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:47.039 also don't think that only American lives matter. You know, 384 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:51.359 three Americans were killed, We had what maybe two hundred 385 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:56.160 school children between the ages of seven and thirteen, young girls. 386 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:59.839 They don't matter because they're Iranian. They don't matter because 387 00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:02.440 the Iotola was their leader. They didn't have anything to 388 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:04.920 do with the Iatola being in power. Who knows if 389 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:07.319 they even liked him or their parents even liked this guy. 390 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:10.160 That's like saying it's okay to kill Americans because of 391 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:14.680 Donald Trump. I despise that man. You're gonna say that 392 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:17.599 gives Iranians a license to kill me and my family. 393 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:22.440 Come on, let's get real about that. That's what war is. 394 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.559 We're going to kill these people in this other country 395 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:28.960 because we don't like their leader. How about we have 396 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.920 trial by combat. I'd like to see if Trump could 397 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.000 take on this guy, who was in his early eighties, 398 00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:39.200 I don't know, got some new health concerns with Trump 399 00:26:39.640 --> 00:26:44.279 as some things are showing upon his neck. It's and 400 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:46.680 I'm not laughing at the health condition. It howppens to 401 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:49.519