Title: DeProgram Show with Ted Ra
Show: DeProgram Show with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
Date: 2026-03-01
URL: https://youtu.be/BZzv0jvOrIg
Duration: 68:00

---

[00:01] Good morning. You're watching a special edition of the program with Ted Roll and John Kuryaku. It's Sunday, March 1st, 2026. Uh we are normally here Monday through Friday, 9:00 am Eastern time on YouTube and Rumble, but uh and streaming whenever, but obviously with the news out of the out of Iran and the Middle East, um John and I decided we needed to pipe in and uh say our peace and answer questions and uh try to analyze things as best we could. Thanks so much for joining us, John.

[00:32] >> Hey, good to see you, Ted. Glad to be back even on a Sunday. And I want to say too, forgive forgive my my video. I'm in a hotel in Brooklyn. I have only my phone, so I apologize for the quality of my of my picture. >> It's actually looks pretty good, John. >> Oh, good, good, good. Okay. >> And you sound good, too. It's a good connection. >> I'm gonna I'm gonna make this nicer. Okay, there we go. >> Great. All right. So, let me go over some of the Obviously, today's uh we're

[01:03] only going to be talking about Iran, nothing else. uh even though there's plenty else going on in the world. Um basically uh yesterday the big news being that uh Supreme Leader um Ali Kamini was uh who's been leading Iran for nearly 37 years was killed by an Israeli air strike that was guided by the United States. Um that was confirmed by the Iranians. Um, the CIA apparently told Trump before he decided to attack Iran that there was a strong chance that

[01:33] Kamini would probably be replaced by someone who was at least as hardline as he is. Maybe someone from the revolutionary guards. An interim council's been announced. Uh, Ayatollah, a senior cleric named Ayatollah Ali Arafi, sorry for the butchering of the language there, has been announced. We'll talk about that. Uh the New York Times is reporting that basically insiders are saying that the diplomacy never had a chance due to the way that the Trump administration was approaching and talking to the Iranians and it may have just all been misdirection all

[02:04] along. Uh polls show that only 21% of Americans support this war at its very at its inception. I think that's insane. I've never heard of anything like it. Normally 21% is like after you've lost the war and everyone's turned against it and even then it doesn't get that bad. I think more people supported the Vietnam War in 1973 than than 21%. Um Trump is hiding somewhere. We don't know where. The no speeches to the nation. Um and uh no no public no public uh statements. Um

[02:35] oil futures, not surprisingly, are clo are uh are soaring. We'll see what happens when the markets open tomorrow, but we'll know more when the Asian markets open later today um due to the time difference. Uh there's uh and of key members of Congress are pushing for a war powers resolution. Um mo notably Roana Thomas Massie want a public vote. Looks like they're probably going to get one. Um and so this is a unique set of circumstances. Uh the straight of Hormuz um Iran claims has been closed by them.

[03:07] Uh my favorite quote, John, was from their social media feed where they said, you know, we have blocked the straight of Ormuz. Let the orange pig try to unblock it. >> Oh my god. Oh my god. I didn't see that. >> So great. >> I don't mean I don't mean to laugh, but >> Well, you do have to laugh because war does always have like some funny moments like Baghdad Baghdad Bob. Um >> Baghdad Bob. and and there's like and and then there was also this really weird moment yesterday at NBC News,

[03:37] which used to be a news organization. Um they they were interviewing an top Iranian official and uh they said, "How can you justify um hitting these military b the US military bases?" And he's like, "But that's the places that are firing the weapons at us in the war that you started." I mean, literally, there's never there's no more justifiable military action than that. Um, I don't know. Very strange. >> Unbelievable. Well, things are things

[04:08] are bad, Ted. Bad all around. The I I spoke to friends of mine in Kuwait, uh, Gutter, and the United Arab Emirates yesterday. Um, it's funny the I talked to a a guttery the son of a senior guttery official yesterday and he just kind of chuckled and said, "Well, this is life in the Middle East. We live in a dangerous neighborhood." My my friends in Dubai were panicked. Uh, the Burj Alab, the the giant ultralux hotel that

[04:42] shaped like a sail. Um, the Iranians fired or not fired but sent a drone to to blow up on it. The drone was intercepted and hit in the air, but when it exploded, it exploded against the hotel and set the hotel on fire. The fire was put out, but there's significant damage. The Iranians um sent drones to attack the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. They hit it with two drones. Um maybe even more

[05:13] importantly though, Manama airport in Bahrain is unusable. It has to be closed for a while and repaired. Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait has >> interruption, John, about the Bahraini airport. There's reports that the Bahraini local firefighting brigade refused to put out the fire to fight that fire. You know, I would actually believe that because Bahrain is a majority Shia Muslim country just like Iran is Shia Muslim

[05:45] and Bahrain has a Sunni Muslim royal family which can be a problem at times. Heads are going to roll if that's true, but I it doesn't surprise me. So anyway, the the the Iranians, you know, the Iranians can't win this thing, of course, but but they can put up a fight and they can they can, you know, put some hurt out on uh on the Gulf Arab states >> and they could survive, right? I mean, that's what victory looks like for them.

[06:16] Um yeah, I mean, this is a this is a regime that's really built for survival. It's been under siege since 1979. Um the uh you know they they have as we talked about yesterday in the other extra edition that we did yesterday morning um John there was a you know there's there's redundant governmental systems there. Um the they you know these decapitation strikes certainly hit hard. Um the Israelis and the Americans killed a lot of top officials. But you

[06:46] know they have a succession plan. They have number twos number threes ready to step in. They always did. They always knew something like this could happen. Um, I mean, it's I don't see how you overthrow this regime um this way, unless the Iranian people rise up and overthrow it, but I don't see how that happens, >> which we're not seeing. So, I'm seeing I'm seeing video from Iran. You know, on CNN, they'll show you video from Iran.

[07:17] It's like 300 people dancing and waving and whatever, beeping their horns. But then you see video of a million people out in the street self flagagillating and crying and vowing to fight the west to the death. Think of it this way too. A peaceful transition of power from the current regime to some substitute regime is in US interests. Chaos and death is

[07:49] what is in Israel's interests >> and that's what we're more likely to get. >> And that's what we're more we're more likely to get. >> I think Netanyahu is hoping for a civil war. >> I think that's exactly what the plan is. Yes. >> Yeah. Um okay. So let's uh should we go to the questions because there's a lot of in the all that. So, as usual, uh if you're watching live, please put your question at this point uh into the Rumble and the YouTube chat and producer Robbie will uh get will let us know what you have to

[08:21] say and we will answer. And before we before we do the first question, Robbie um Robbie's reading, you know, these these live updates on Telegram and there are reports, we don't know if they're true yet, but there are reports that the USS Abraham Lincoln is under attack, which is exactly what we said we feared last week. If you send enough drones or a hypersonic missile against an aircraft carrier, you can't defend it. So waiting

[08:51] to see how that plays out. >> And okay, well we have some record U. Robbie says he has some housekeeping to do. So let's put him on. >> Yeah, just real quick because it's such a busy day. Uh later today, I do not know when because things are just really hectic right now. Naturally, I will be launching John's official TikTok. Will that happens? I will post a link on his ex account so you'll be able to actually follow the real John Keryaku. Uh John also has a real account on Rumble. If you go to rumble.comcjuryaku

[09:22] official, that is his official channel. His stuff will be going up today, including shorts. And I'll also be working on doing the same thing for your favorite cartoonist, Ted R, at a later time, but it will be this month. Uh last little thing, if you're in the chat, if you're a dick, I will ban you. Don't do it. I You can ask questions. You can be snarky, but if you're an [ __ ] I will bury you. So, don't do it. Thank you, Robbie. Okay. Um, let's do um let's do >> I lost your uh lost your your uh microphone, Ted. >> Oh, really?

[09:52] >> Can't hear you. >> You can't hear me? I hear you. >> Can't hear you. Robbie, can you hear Ted? >> I hear you. >> Then maybe it's me. >> Try jumping out real quick, John. Then jumping back in. Sometimes phones will act crazy. Okay. So, let's see what happens here. Um, so all right. So, yeah, Robbie, um, any news? Any more news on the Abraham

[10:23] Lincoln? No. >> Uh, nothing new from what I shared just before we went live. >> Okay, we're waiting for John to pipe back in here. Uh, okay. There he is. All right, John. Do you hear us? >> There we go. That That works. Okay. >> Okay. Good. Cool. Cool. All right, Robbie. Thank you for that. Um, all right. So, shall we do a ready for some questions? >> Yes, sir. >> All right. Hello, heroes. Thank you. Do you think any of the Arab countries that were struck will actually strike back or

[10:54] will they count on the US and Israel to do this for them? I'm wondering uh the cultural dynamics playing into this decision like losing face, appearing weak, or being peaceful during Ramadan. The Ramadan thing is interesting to me, too. Yeah, this is a big sin for this to be launched during Ramadan. >> Um, my UAE contacts told me yesterday that um, they sent their ships out of port not to fight, but just to protect them. Uh, we have not seen retaliation uh, from the Arab states yet. And my

[11:26] guess is we probably won't. that they're gonna let the US and Israel do their thing with some British air cover and that's gonna be it. >> I agree with that completely. Uh Donkey Man, do we think that war will last more than a month? I think it will. >> Yeah, you know, that's a great question. Donald Trump said yesterday it's only going to last a couple of days. He lives in a fantasy world if he thinks this is going to last a couple of days. Um, I wouldn't be surprised if there are active US and Israeli hostilities for

[11:59] weeks, but yeah, I could see this lasting for a month. Sure. >> I mean, especially if um the Iranians bloody the Israelis or our noses in some way that we can't fathom, right? They get a missile gets through and I don't know, blows up something that Israel or we care about a lot and it and then there's a domest there's, you know, a domestic concern that we can't just let it go. That's right. >> Okay. Um, let's uh, is Iran actually causing damage anywhere? Even with the numerous missiles fired, it doesn't seem

[12:30] to do much. Is Iran hoping for an off-ramp hope still? Oh, I'm sure they're hoping for an off-ramp. The Israelis killed practically everybody. It's not just the Ayatollah, his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. It's it's the entire Iranian military leadership was wiped out yesterday. Yeah. So the second and third string guys. >> Yeah. >> Um Yeah. No. I mean, so but is Iran actually causing any damage anywhere is the question.

[13:01] >> Oh, not that I've seen. I mean, sure. Yeah. I mean, they they fired rockets at Jebel Ali, the uh the the free port in Dubai. They they have they've damaged Manama and Kuwait airports. Uh they fired a rocket at the Saudi oil fields that was intercepted. A couple of hotels were were damaged in Dubai. >> Yeah. One rocket landed in Abu Dhabi. There's some damage, but absolutely nothing like what's being inflicted on

[13:32] Iran. >> No, no, no question. It's definitely a one-way street there when it comes to that. Um but all they have to do is survive. Um, Diva Divvia, do we think hitting Dubai hard would be beneficial for Iran right now because of all the American interests right now? >> Uh, I think no. And I'll tell you why. Because that's where Iran does its business. Iran I mean Dubai is chock full of Iranian businessmen and that's Iran's outlet to the Western world. That's how Iran evades sanctions by

[14:03] having businesses in Dubai. So, I think no, hitting Dubai is not going to help Iran at all. >> John, during um during the uh Iraq war, Bush and Cheney, especially the latter, kept saying, "Oh, we're going to have cheap oil because of this." Um turned out it went exactly the opposite way. Um I I think I see a replay here. I think the real damage is going to be economic. I mean, high oil prices means high everything prices. This is a president who's trying to fight inflation more than anything else, right? I mean, that's the real risk to him. That's

[14:34] right. That's exactly right. And it's not like Venezuelan oil is a panacea. It's not. It's filthy. It's heavy. You have to inject it with massive amounts of chemicals to clean it up just to make it into home heating oil. So, Venezuela is not going to be the answer to our prayers. Oil prices are going to go up. >> Uh, Sassan, we get such great questions. Um, thank you. You guys are great. Um, what do you think is the impact of the death of Kami on the uh future of the regime in Iran? As an Iranian, I'm

[15:05] worried yet another extremist is chosen and the cycle continues on and on. Love the show. That I think is exactly what's going to happen. >> Absolutely 100% agree. That is exactly what's going to happen. You know, and the thing too is that I think that in the west we seriously overestimated Ayatollah Kamay's authority. Mhm. >> Certainly he was the final word on on religious issues. Certainly. But you can take him out and have literally nothing change. >> It's like if you killed the pope.

[15:37] >> Yes. Exactly. Exactly. >> No. >> No. That's wonderful. I'm gonna I'm going to repeat that. >> Uh M. Uh oh. Uh let's see. Reload. Um please reload. What are you doing? Okay. Good morning, gentlemen. the sneaky part of my brain wondered how much of a beating Iran will suffer be before finally unleashing their hypersonic missiles. I think they proved during their probing strike on Iron Dome that letting Israel and the US burn through their limited arms supply that patience is the best practice. Yeah. I mean, you

[16:07] learned that when you have 7,000 years of continuous culture, right? Also, why does the American government always imagine that killing a leader will end a war? >> I know, right? >> Ted, you mentioned the time frame Germany fought beyond Hitler. If Trump was killed today, nothing about our country's day-to-day would change. And somehow and somehow we expect other countries to be different. >> It's it's it's a childish mentality. >> The New York Times just issued a push notification saying that the Iranian foreign minister says that a new Supreme Leader will be chosen in the next day or

[16:38] two. So there it is right there. Nothing changes. It you can take out the Pope and there's just going to be another pope. >> Yeah. If you and I were in the Iranian leadership or any leadership that was besieged like this, we would say, "Oh, we have to project continuity uh in order to maintain domestic control. I mean, they don't like the fact that there have been protests and even if it is just 300 people, you know, going they don't like that. That's 300 too many." Um, you know, regimes radicalize under in times of war. That's >> Yes, they do.

[17:09] >> You know, that's just sort of history. Um, you know, hypersonic missiles, but we got, you know, Are do they exist? Are they real? >> Oh, yeah. They're real. The Russians have them. The Chinese have them. The Iranians have them. >> The Iranians have them. That's what I mean. Iranians have them exist. >> So So they're So they're they're so the Iranians keep are, you know, using their usual FID language um as as they do to say like today is going to be we're going to unleash our doomsday scenario. Okay. Maybe. But >> yeah. No, but the the danger of

[17:40] hypersonic missiles is they'll go three or four times the speed of sound. So you're you're dealing with a missile going 2500 miles an hour. You can't defend against a missile going 2500 miles an hour. And so maybe you can get it into, you know, the Knesset building or you can get it into the side of the USS Abraham Lincoln or something like that. And then, you know, the West is going to have to deal with it. They don't have a lot of them. They only have a couple of them, but you know, we'll see if they find them. >> It's like the Afghan mujaheden in the

[18:12] 80s, right? They didn't have that many stingers. They had to make count. >> That's right. And they did. >> Um, hello gentlemen, big fan. Wondering if you think Iran's sleeper cells, if they have, will be activated and if they will be activated in the UK. In addition, what will China's likely response be? John, where do you get those lovely sweaters like you wore on Diary of a CEO from? Let's dispose of the sleeper cells. Um they're probably they don't exist, right? >> Um I don't think they exist in the US, Canada, >> maybe.

[18:42] >> Probably the UK probably, but they certainly exist in places like Pakistan, India, Indonesia. Yeah, they're out there. They're out there. Um and thank you for that. I I get these sweaters at at Macy's. >> Oh, really? I thought you brought them back from Greece or something. Uh okay. China's response. Well, we already China is doing what they always do. Um, they're trying to be the adults in the room. They keep saying like, "You guys stop respect Iran's sovereignty. Just stop." But that I think it's going to be

[19:12] that's going to be about it. >> Ted, there was a headline on The Onion a couple of weeks ago that was funny because it was so true. And the headline was China content to sit back and watch US destroy itself. >> And that's what we're going to see here. >> No doubt. Um, how much leverage Jasper wants to know, does this give countries like Russia and China to pursue their military goals such as in Taiwan? I I'm not convinced that that that Ti China wants to invade Taiwan. Uh, >> no, I don't think so. If China wanted to

[19:43] invade Taiwan, they would have done it two days ago. >> Yeah, that time >> I I am I'm you and I, Ted, we're in the minority of people who who believe that China is not interested in invading Taiwan. Yeah, we >> and the Russians are very happy to see us distracted in fighting the Iranians so they can focus on the Ukrainians and not have the American monkey on their backs. >> Yeah. No, I mean this this definitely look uh you know when the cat's away it's always a good time and we're the cat. Um uh Matt, I can remember Bob Bear

[20:14] writing ex extensively about the Iranian threat, specifically the ability to covertly retaliate against the West and shut down the straight of Hormuz. Any thoughts? It's been years since I read his book, Memories Fazy, but >> no, that that that memory is correct. That's exactly what Bob Bear wrote about. And uh and he was correct then. When he wrote that book 25 years ago, he's correct today. Um the Iranians can shut the straight of Hormuz. If I were the Iranian leader, I would shut the straight of Hormuz. um they're not going

[20:46] to they're not going to win a sustained bombing campaign, but over the long term, you know, they live there. It's their neighborhood and they can inflict real economic harm on the West. >> Um Ted and John, thank Declan Brady. I love the show. Welcome your unbiased opinions and analysis. Why do you think Iran is attacking its neighbors? Surely as the agrieved party, Iran needs all the support it can get. And how does hitting Dubai and Kuwaiti airports help their cause? Hope your comes through John. >> It's because there are there are two US

[21:17] military bases in Kuwait. The headquarters of the American fifth fleet is in Bahrain. The world's largest US air force base is in gutter. Two US Army bases are in um the Emirates. Uh there are multiple US military both army and air force bases in Saudi Arabia. So there's no love of Iran in these countries. Well, exactly. I'm glad you you said that there. I mean, I think I think that's the final calculus, John.

[21:47] These aren't their friends. They're not going to get they're not going to become friends. These are not any none of these targeted countries are going to help the Iranians in any way, shape, or form. They're not even going to tweet on their behalf. >> Absolutely not. >> Uh, as someone who served in the Ma Navy, Amy, Andy wants to know, this is very concerning for me. Do you think we'll need to put boots on the ground for this locally? That right there is the $64,000 question. >> So everybody at the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department, and all the talking heads from Capitol Hill

[22:19] say that there will be no boots on the ground. That would be the death nail for the United States if we were if we had to put boots on the ground and fight a country of 92 million people. You know, I'm going to reiterate what you said yesterday, Ted, and that is that the US and Israel have to win. The Iranians just have to survive, and that is much, much easier than winning. >> Yeah. Yeah. And they have the home field advantage, right? Like, like, let's not forget that. Uh, Gonk, thanks for the

[22:50] thanks for the fiverr. I'm intimidated. John looks pissed. Rightfully so. >> I am, actually. I'm pissed about this. >> World War totally unnecessary war of war of choice. Oh, it I mean it's one of the most boneheaded and we have a lot of boneheaded wars. Um all of our wars are boneheaded for the most part. Um World War II not off the table. I'd say never. Things can always spin out of control. >> Yeah. >> Um accident member for a month. Thank you so much. Um is the only probable

[23:20] reason Turkey hasn't been hit because of NATO. If they're hit, it will trigger Article 5. >> That's a good question, too. Um, that is that it could be it could be that the Iranians, you know, have more important things to worry about right now than Turkey, but sure that could be it. And and don't don't forget Azarbaian, right? There are Israeli there is an

[23:51] Israeli base in Azarbaijan. The Israelis have drones prepositioned there. the Azarbaianis are or the Azeris are very close to Turkey. So I wouldn't at all be surprised to see this expand to Azerbaian. Not at all. >> Who's actually driving 10 Australian dollars from aluminus? Thank you very much. Um >> thank you. >> Who's actually driving Iran policy in this administration? Is there a coherent inter agency process or are with I can

[24:22] answer that significant autonomy outside of normal national security council channels? >> That's a great question. It's a it's quite an important question. In a normal situation, there are two bodies called the principal committee and the deputies committee. The principal committee is chaired by the president and it includes the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the national security adviser, the um chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the director of the CIA. The deputies committee is the number twos

[24:52] for all those people. It's chaired by the vice president. Um normally this policy would be coming out of the the National Security Council. In this odd scenario that we're in right now, Marco Rubio is both Secretary of State and National Security Adviser. And so this is Marco Rubio's policy. We we learned from the the this leak from the White House last week that JD Vance was opposed to an attack on Iran.

[25:22] Tulsi Gabbard was opposed to an attack on Iran. And the chairman of the joints came out and said that he was opposed to an attack on Iran. Who does that leave? Marco Rubio. >> That's it. Marco Rubio is running this policy. >> Yeah. And BB Netanyahu. Um >> BB Netanyahu. Yeah. >> There's um a report coming out of Jerusalem, John, that uh Israel is claiming that um a Iranian strike killed nine Israelis and injured 28. Just >> so so right before we started um we

[25:55] started broadcasting, Robbie told us that there were reports of an Iranian hypersonic missile that had impacted a bunker. Perhaps that's it. >> Gotcha. Um let's uh Archangel, thanks for the 499. How much do you guys think this war will distract from the Epstein stuff? >> Yeah, >> completely. >> A lot. >> We're not talking. Although I don't think the EP people who care about Epstein are going to forget and they're well aware. >> That's right. >> Um >> that's right. >> Thanks for doing that. >> But you know what though? One of the

[26:26] things that this may do is distract people from demanding that Pam Bondi release the remaining 2.7 to three million pages of documents. >> That would be nice. Um Isaac, thanks for the $5. The US consulate was attacked in Pakistan yesterday. Yes, >> I'm glad that came up. In response to the attacks on Iran, have we started a war with the Muslim world? Well, that's what we did last time. >> Yeah, the answer is probably yes. Yeah, we that is that's exactly what we did last time. We killed two million Muslims

[26:57] from, you know, 2001 to 2020. >> John, are we going to be >> is this going to I mean, many Arab countries have a huge division between the politics of their street, as they say it, and this, in other words, their citizens and the policies of their governments. Um, how much will this could could a schism like blow up someone's government? Um, and where where would you think they would be? >> Honestly, >> if if I were, you know, the leader of Bahrain, I would be genuinely worried

[27:29] today. If I were the Pakistani government, I would be genuinely worried today. If I were >> always be worried. >> Yeah. But even an Indian leader, I would be worried about what my population in Kashmir would be doing right now. >> Yeah, they're up. They're already there's massive protests in Kashmir because it's >> Yeah, massive. And the Saudis, the Saudi royal family, they've got to be on the verge of cracking down in the eastern province, which is almost entirely Shia Muslim. >> Um,

[27:59] >> yeah, there there's a real risk today. >> I'm glad you brought up the Saudis. So it turns out there's heavy reporting I know you've seen that uh the crown prince um uh Ben Salman is uh he he was a key adviser to Trump on all this and his his council to Trump which obviously Trump accepted was that a you the US should and Israel should attack and b there would never be a better time than this um than now um

[28:29] >> yeah you know the conventional wisdom was that this is all Netanyahu all day long and it turns out it wasn't >> and and I think that that might be what pushed Trump over the edge to make the decision to actually attack that you know you know that every time Netanyahu flies to Washington he's going to say please attack Iran please attack Iran please attack Iran it's an entirely different thing for the Israelis and the Saudis to be on the same sheet of paper

[28:59] I think that's what convinced Trump to do Got it. Uh Eskiny, thanks for thank you for subscribing to deprogrammed uh 499 from uh keep it real. Since the war is very unpopular to most Americans, uh one, by the way, my my sub question would be like, will it stay unpopular? I would say you're going to see a bounce the rally around the flag effect, but starting at 21% is pretty bleak. Do you think the do you think Israel will lose support from the US and rely on India more?

[29:31] You know, I think that's the Trump plan and I think that was the plan from the first Trump administration. You remember the the love fest that Trump and Modi had in Texas when Modi came to the United States to address um Indian-Americans living in Texas? It was a love fest and they had to have it in a stadium to hold 50,000 people. So, I I think that Trump and and I should add this started with Bill Clinton. This is not Donald Trump's idea, but I think that the idea is to improve

[30:01] ties to India to make relations between the US and India as close as possible so that we have an ally on that side of Iran and we have a strong and populous ally that can sort of offset some of the bad juju that we have in the Middle East. Um, uh, Kitty von Meow, why do you think Germany took in Netanyahu? Although there's mixed reports about where where Netanyahu really is, but there there were several reports that he went to Germany that I

[30:35] >> Oh, looks like we lost Ted. Um, yeah, you know, Netanyahu, every time the Israelis want to bomb somebody, Netanyahu runs away. So, the most of the reports are that he's in Germany. I heard a report this morning saying that he's in Cyprus, which of course is that much closer to Israel. Um, and we're getting reports now that the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi has been hit, as well as an Emirati oil platform uh in the Persian Gulf. We're going to see a lot more of this, Ted. A lot more

[31:07] of these uh these individual strikes, targeted strikes. You know, let's compare this to let's compare this to say the 1990991 Gulf War >> where you just like carpet bomb and just just open the the bomb bays and let bombs drop. This is a very smart conflict. The targeting is Oh, we are John. We are no long we don't have you anymore.

[31:38] Um, while we wait for him to come back, I'm just going to just kind of share a little bit of the information that I am getting right now. It looks like the John is right. The Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi was hit. Uh, also the Navy base there has been hit. It is currently burning. Uh, there are some oil platforms have been hit and I'm seeing reports that two ships trying to run the streets of Hormuz have been hit. So Iran's not playing. >> Look around and find out.

[32:10] >> I have not seen on these days. >> I've not seen anything new about the Abraham Lincoln. So that could be a rumor. It could be real. I have no idea. I'm seeing reports that Scott Ritter says that the Lincoln was hit for whatever that's worth. I don't know where he's getting that from. If it's true, it could just be. Trust me, bro. Couldn't tell you. >> All right. Thanks, Robbie. >> Um, >> yeah, we're gonna see a lot more of this, Ted. a lot more. >> How do you I mean, John, how do you how do it, you know, a lot of things about

[32:40] this blow my mind, but what Oh my god, we just lost Robbie. I'll ask >> I mean Yeah, Robbie's here. We just lost John. John's coming kind of come back. Um h how do you deal This is a good question for you anyway, Robbie. >> Sure. >> What do you make of the fact that Donald Trump There's John. >> Sorry. I don't know why. As soon as Robbie got out, it threw me out again. >> Oh, sorry about that. This is for both of you guys. Anyway, uh why isn't Donald Trump talking to the American people? I mean, we're at war. >> Caesar doesn't have to speak to the

[33:10] American people. That's why >> I I I I think I'm going to take a slightly different attack. Um this is a security measure. Uh I'm I'm going to use kind of a strong word here. The president is in hiding. That's what this is. Just like George W. Bush for security reasons went into hiding on 911. Just in case all hell breaks loose, the chances are very, very low. But just in case all hell breaks loose, better to protect the president now and have him come out later. I think >> I got to say I I strongly politically

[33:41] disagree with that. Just um strategically >> politically. I do too. Yeah, agreed. >> It's a [ __ ] move. And like you're the president of the [ __ ] United States. I mean, you know, we we read history. Remember, we we know that like generals used to go into battle with on at the front at the front, right? Um, now they hide now they hide at home in in you know in their bunkers. What I mean to me on 911 it was a very bad look for George W. Bush to be nowhere to be found. >> People are still talking about it 25 years later. >> I don't know why Trump repeated that

[34:12] mistake. I mean he studied what all of Bush's mistakes. That's that was key to his rise to power. >> Here's where I disagree. For whatever it's worth. When Trump started this war, he did not bother ex making the case to the American people. He didn't address us. He didn't go on TV. He didn't send out as much as a tweet. He is arrogant to the extreme and he thinks that he can do whatever he wants. He does not care. I think it's peak ego and that's why I mean seriously if if if

[34:43] you are the imperator, why do you care about what the pleb thinks? You don't. I could be dead wrong. Y'all could be right. That's that's a signal I'm getting. >> Robbie, I'm going to keep you on to talk about this. I mean, look, we got to talk about the War Powers Act, right? So, War Powers Act passed after the at the end of the Vietnam War. It was Congress's attempt to reassert their war powers that they had abandoned to numerous presidents over the 200 years. Um, and basically it requires the uh president when he has a sustained commitment of

[35:15] troops to go to Congress and get congressional approval, right? Not a declaration of war. Um it's war powers act has been kind of like a problematic you know kind of rule law ever since but um looks are we going to get a vote here? I mean it looks like we are going to get a vote and if we do how's it going to go? >> You want me to answer >> either one? Both. >> Okay. I think that uh I think that there are going to be war powers votes. Uh we saw this morning on CNN reporting that

[35:45] uh Mike Johnson is going to sort of be forced to allowing a vote um on the War Powers Act uh in the House. But my guess is that Democrats are all going to vote yes because they're just as big warongers as the Republicans are. >> Yeah, I agree. I mean, they're all paid by the same people. >> Yeah. >> I mean, if if if you're a fat pig and you're going to the trough, are you really going to go walk away from that? No, we have the cheapest horish government that money can buy.

[36:16] >> Yeah. Yeah, we do. Thanks, Robbie. >> Yeah, we do. >> Um, >> we do. >> More uh499 from Perez. Thank you so much. How ironic to rage a war based on nukes and take out the leader who withheld a religious ruling against nukes. >> Exactly right. You know, a a dear friend of mine said yesterday that the next Iranian Grand Ayatollah or or Supreme Leader is just going to issue a new Fatwa, revoking the old Fatwa and calling for a nuclear uh uh weapons program.

[36:47] >> Yeah, it's of course they will. I mean, you know, you and I have been talking about this for a long time. Um okay. Uh thanks for the 10 Australian dollars. What's the current Israeli assessment? Does Netanyahu's government actually want a US invasion or do they prefer Iran weakened with the regime intact as a perpetual justification for their own military posture? >> You know, you know my answer to that. >> Oh yeah. Yeah. No, I think what the Israelis want in Iran is what the Israelis got in Libya. Chaos. They want

[37:19] chaos. They want a civil war and they want as many dead Iranians as they possibly can get. Yeah, agreed with that. Uh, let's see. Could we Pittsburgh wants to know, could we get more Sunday morning shows besides emergency broadcasts? >> You know, a a good friend of mine called me uh day before yesterday and he says, "Buddy." He says, "I'm going to tell you something because I love you. You haven't been in church in a year and you should be ashamed of yourself. I want to

[37:50] see you Sunday morning." I said, "Okay, I I promise I'll be there. I'll be there." >> Yeah. It makes me I don't know about Sunday morning shows. >> Yeah. I mean, as it is, we're John and I both work very hard. We have multiple jobs and multiple gigs and >> we do. >> You know, we have to recharge. You know, we Americans work too hard as it is. Um I don't know. Maybe. I mean, I guess there would be a world in which anything's possible. Maybe we take Monday off like restaurant workers or something, right? Barbers.

[38:21] >> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Um why big question. Why is the US Israel's [ __ ] If you could summarize, I would be grateful. That's a it's a big good question. I mean, we know it is. >> Yeah. Because the the United States does anything and everything the Israelis tell it to do even when it's not in US interests to do so. >> Yeah. Um Yeah. So, I mean, why though is the question. >> And the the why is because of money and politics. That's really what this comes

[38:51] down to. You know, Citizens United made it even worse. So, Miriam Adlesen could donate $150 million to the RNC super PAC and Apac can just spend people out of office by challenging them in primaries when they do the slightest thing that the Israelis don't like. >> Israel is there's also other things, right? Israel is a is a tech hub and the United States feels like um you know that that alliance with the intel that we get from you know from Israel is

[39:23] considered valuable but also we're the uh the Israel the Israelis lobby they're spectacularly effective bullies. Uh they smear everybody like you criticize Israel you you know you're slimed as an anti-semite. Um that's been their shtick forever and up until very recently it still worked. It's finally the, you know, the spell is broken, but I mean, there's more to it than that, but what do you think, John? >> Yeah, I think that's it. And and I think I think this may be what breaks the

[39:54] spell. If the Israelis suck us into a a war, a longer term war, rather than just a few days of bombing, we're in trouble, and we're going to have to seriously as a country reassess this relationship. What do we get out of this relationship? I understand exactly what the Israelis get, but what do we get out of this relationship? >> By the way, producer Trent is reminding uh me to mention to everybody who's on YouTube that if you go to membership and you become a tier 2 member, you will be

[40:26] thanked by us in the closing credits um of each and every show. So, please go ahead and do that. He's in the middle of updating that list. I just wanted to remind you of that. Um, will the uh, Bucktown crazy wants to know, will the US need to escort commerce ships through the straight of Hormuz? >> Well, that's what Ronald Reagan did in the 1980s when the Iranians threatened to close the straight of Hormuz. He sent the US Navy there to escort each and every oil tanker through the straight. I

[40:59] remember I remember being on a on a boat in the Persian Gulf and seeing the the SS Bridton. The Bridgton was famous in the 80s because the Iranians attacked it and set it ablaze. It it was the biggest oil tanker in the world at the time. It ended up being towed into port and repaired. It took a couple of years to repair it. But um we may be headed into the same scenario where there's going to have to be a long-term heavy US naval presence in the Gulf just to escort uh

[41:29] ships through the straight of Hormuz. >> Um which of course could set us up for being targeted. Then, you know, that's it sets up it's a trigger for escalation. Do we think this situation will destroy the UAE's reputation and cause a mass exodus as soon as the airport reopens? >> No. >> It's the Vegas. It's the Vegas of uh it's the Vegas of the Middle East. You know, >> honest to God, it's like paradise there. >> They need it. They need it. >> Um do you think Israel will be happy

[41:59] with the US attacks on Iran so far? Do you think they'll hold back moving forward? Thank you for all you do. >> Uh yes and no. I think they are happy because so much of the leadership has been taken out. And you know, another thing too, the Israelis killed more than 100 school girls in an attack on a on a school in southern uh Iran. And people talked about it for a couple of hours and then just said, "Meh, no big deal. It's a very big deal when you deliberately target a school and murder

[42:30] a hundred children. That's a very big deal. But I think that they're thrilled with the killing of Ayatollah Kamayi and his entire family. His daughter, his son-in-law, his grandson, they were all killed in this attack. I think the Israelis are thrilled with that. I think the Israelis are very proud that um they were able to take out literally the entire Iranian military leadership. And uh Ted, I I just missed that. Is the French embassy under attack? Is that what that said? >> Um yeah, that's what Robbiey's saying.

[43:01] The French base in Abu Dhabi has been hit. Uh base, military base, not embassy. >> I see. >> Um good segue from Matthew. Why didn't Iran plan better? I I had this question, too. Why not have the senior commander safe inside bunkers, which yesterday I wrongly assumed would have been the case? Same with the Ayatollah. Are the Iranian military that incompetent? >> No. The Ayatollah elected to not go to a bunker because he said if there are no bunkers for the Iranian people that he will not go into a bunker. And to use

[43:34] the the language from the Iranian uh media today, um it said that uh that that Ayatollah Kamayi drank from the nectar of martyrdom and entered into heaven. >> I'm glad that you brought that up, John, because like I talked I corresponded with an Afghan friend. She's Shia and uh and she said, "You guys don't understand like for Shia what happened to Kamaya is a win. >> Every every Shia wants to be martyed like this. We did them a favor." Yeah. It's like thank you, you know, like it's

[44:06] like winning a It's like winning a Nobel Prize. >> That's right. Go straight to heaven. If when you're martyed, you go directly to heaven without having to stop anywhere. >> Mark's asking, um, there was reported progress on a deal just before the strikes happened. Do you think the USIsraeli intent was always to nuke a deal in favor of regime? That was the Israeli intent, 1 million%. >> Yes. And I think the and I think the Americans didn't know how to negotiate like the New York Times report said, right? Like they basically kept changing their demands. They were confusing as

[44:37] hell. They had they were asking for stuff the Iranians they knew the Iranians couldn't agree to. This this I think the Israelis were pulling the strings here the entire time. >> Agree completely. I can't even add anything to that. >> Um uh why wouldn't Iran make an an incursion into Iraq? maybe take an oil well or two would force the US to put boots on the ground and play to Iran's strength, especially since killing Kami would motivate rural Iranians. And I think there's a lot there, right? Like

[45:08] um I Iran does have influence in Iraq. We know that and you know they have allied militias there. And they also, you know, we should talk about like how there has been a, you know, in Iran there were some se reports, credible supports of celebration, bigger supports of mourning, but you know, obviously it's like, well, what do the Iranians think about all this? Well, it depends who you ask, right? I mean, it's a it's a diverse country of over 90 million people. But, um, you know, my take when I was in Iran was that the people in the

[45:39] cities hate the government. They're basically liberal. They don't they don't want to, you know, they don't want to wear the chador. They don't want to uh you know, they they want to go drinking and and and have a good time and go to and and do be westerners. Um and then in the rural areas, it's very different. It's it's different. It's more conservative and that's where the that's the base of the government support. >> I think that's exactly right. >> I mean, it's the same divide that most countries have, right? Rural are >> including including the United States. >> Totally. Um so, um yeah. So why would

[46:12] they I mean I don't think Iran's in any position to launch a ground incursion into Iraq, but >> no. And Iraq is a friendly country. Iran and Iraq have very close relations. They're they're both Shia Muslim governments >> and so there's no Iranian benefit. >> That's why Salmani was over in Iraq when he was killed. >> That's right. >> Um I think it does make I mean you know one of the takeaways here is let's say you're like North Korea and the US says hey we want to talk. Why would you believe anything we have to say? I mean, we don't negotiate in good faith.

[46:42] >> No, we don't. >> Um, good morning to both of us. John, unrelated, would like to know which of your book would you suggest to read overall when it comes to the CIA? And which of your books would you say would you suggest reading first? >> Um, if if you can find one, I would say first read um The Reluctant Spy, my first book. And and I'm gonna I I think I can reclaim the rights to that book and publish a new edition. I'm I'm looking into it now. Um, if you want to

[47:13] learn more about CIA tactics, my second book, uh, doing time like a spy and and the second edition just came out, so it's out there. >> The Sha of Iran was impotent, says a anonymous commentator. This Raza Palavi is not his real son. I don't know. It looks like him. >> It looks just like him. >> This is not a This is not a Ronin Pharaoh situation. >> No. Um, and he's just as [ __ ] dumb, too. >> Yes. And then there's that. >> So, I mean, by the way, I mean, what I

[47:44] mean, isn't it [ __ ] embarrassing to see so many like my carto fellow cartoonists on the right and journalists saying like, "Oh, you know, we're going to reinstall the shaft. Let's make Iran Persia again." And >> it's like, it's just I mean, he's the he's Akmed Chalabi all over again. >> Yeah, he is. except not as intelligent. >> How embarrassing. >> Um, not relevant to recent events, but I was curious if you two had a reading list of several books you found eliminating to reach your great understanding of modern foreign policy

[48:15] and history. >> Oh, wow. You know, early on the the one I started with was uh The Rise and Fall of the CIA. M >> uh it was written in the 1980s and um and it was my first real like deep >> introduction to CIA uh covert action operations and covert operational failures. Um from the creation of the CIA until Iran Contra. If you can find it, I'd say start with

[48:46] that. And anything that Timothy Weiner writes, >> you're going to want to check it out. Uh, I'm I'm a huge fan of Robert Fisk's The Great War between civilizations, um, as like sort of a one-stop shopping for people who want to know about Western policy in the Middle East. Um, anyway, um, not well verssed to these things. Gabby says, "What are the chances that Iran or another country actually attacks American soil?" >> Very zero. >> Very small. >> Yeah. >> Very, very small. Um, okay. So, more

[49:18] questions. Uh um wait, hold on. I'm I'm trying to bring this up. Okay, John, have you read Carl Young? Toby wants to know. And thanks for the three Australian dollars. Yeah, I have read Carl Young because I very briefly dated a a girl who was a Yungian and um yeah, learned a lot. Not sure I agreed with everything, but yeah, interesting stuff. And I'll tell you what, it's good for dinner conversation.

[49:52] >> Uh managing next next dinner we have. I will I will uh hold you to that, John. Uh managing things. Thanks for the 10 bucks. Is there any line that the BBI Israeli government could cross that would cause the US government to stop the blank checks? I'd say going nuclear. >> Yeah, I agree with that. You took the words right out of my mouth. >> Uh let's uh let's see what if Thanks for the uh Nasir. Thanks for the 499. I wish George Carlin were were still alive. Boy, would he have a field day now. Alive anyway.

[50:23] >> So true. >> Um, Jacob, thanks for the 999. Is it likely, John, that the CIA's paramilitary is on the ground in Iran already? >> That's a great question. >> That's a great question. I would say probably not. Now, granted, my my information is dated, but to have the CIA paramilitary on the ground to carry out targeted killings, the president would have to um assert that a person is uh a what's called a

[50:55] clear and present danger to the United States, to an American installation, um and to or to an American person. And I I don't think we're there. >> Okay. Um, thank you very much to both Sean B and Kangorski for becoming uh members. Um, let's see. Uh, Papadupos, thanks for the six. Hey John, do you think Greece might get attacked as well? And if they do, do you think they have

[51:25] enough military strength to handle it? >> You know what? A friend of mine in the US military mentioned this to me yesterday. He said, "We really need to be worried about Suda Bay in Cree. Uh there's an enormous American naval presence there. Um it's where it's where the USS Gerald Ford is, you know, just offshore because it's the nearest major port that can accommodate a US aircraft carrier. So the answer is yes. I think we should be a little worried about this. >> Um al and uh another comment um thanks

[51:57] for the five Australian dollars from aluminus. Uh but why? How does Israel benefit from absolute chaos like in Libya and Iraq? What's the end goal? How can this lead to lasting security for them? You know what? I don't think it can lead to lasting security. I think this is the fallacy in in Israeli policy. The Israeli view is if there's chaos, they won't have the wherewithal to work on a bomb. And if they don't have the wherewithal to work on a bomb,

[52:27] then Israel is going to be safe for another month or 6 months or one year or whatever it is. And so if you just keep the region in a state of chaos, you can protect yourself with nuclear weapons and those other states because they're in chaos can't develop a a legitimate weapon again to use against you. It's a short-term view, not a long-term view. Yeah, I think I think one fallacy especially when people on the left are

[52:57] analyzing like western and US and Israeli policy is that we kind of assume that the actions are based on some kind of logic that is even right for the people who are perpetrating it. Um it may be that they're engaged in something that's self-destructive and they're just making a mistake. You know, I mean the march of folly, right? I mean and I think I mean I think that's what is going on. I mean, you and I have talked about I mean, why on earth would Israel have wanted to overthrow Assad and have

[53:29] an ISIS regime right on their [ __ ] border? That doesn't seem good for Israeli internal security, but yet they did it. >> The the Syrian government yesterday endorsed announced its support for the USIsraeli attack on Iran. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. >> That's so crazy. This is a guy who was this guy was uh you know in al Qaeda. >> Yeah. Yeah. He was the number two in ISIS. >> That's crazy. Yeah. I mean I look I

[54:00] think I think what's you know the look the thing is um Stratfor who are not always right but they're right about some things. Uh they say that the U that US foreign policy is based on disruption of possibly emerging regional superpowers. Right. Just just keep everyone else off guard. that's your thing. You [ __ ] them up. You throw a push a stick into their their bicycle spokes. The Israelis are just the same thing on acid. That that's what this is about. They're just trying to, you know, instead of just like the Chinese approach is very different. The Chinese

[54:30] approach is like we can all make money together. Um, you know, let's just peace is war is bad, peace is more profitable, peace is smarter. But that's not the USIsraeli model. >> Agreed. Um, let's see. Uh, why, uh, uh, Joe Readingen wants to know, "Why are there still British base bra bases, sorry, braces in Cyprus? Will there be added pressure to remove them now? Get your Brits out." >> I sure hope so. Hey, Robbie is telling

[55:03] us that SenCom is announcing that three American soldiers have been killed >> in some kind of an attack. >> Let's see. Um, yeah, I'm seeing this. Uh, they're not there's not really any details here. Um, several other people also several other soldiers were injured. >> Does it say where? >> Um, in action is all it says. We're withhold. They're withholding additional information including their identities

[55:35] until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified. >> Oh boy. Yeah, >> it was inevitable. >> It was inevitable. Um, yeah, people keep asking about the sleeper cells. I got we got to reiterate, there's probably no sleeper cells. Um, >> no. And if they are, they're in places that don't have very many Americans. The the when I think of Iranian sleeper cells, I think of Pakistan because when I was living in Pakistan, there absolutely were Iranian sleeper cells

[56:07] and they were doing bad [ __ ] Um, otaku, thanks for the 10 bucks. Um, do we think Huckabe is another individual who became an interloper after being in Israel for so long and sees himself as an Israeli more than as an American? Oh, I think before he got to Israel, he saw himself as more Israeli than American. This guy's This guy is actually dangerous to US foreign policy. He needs to be removed. Anybody who would fet the traitor Jonathan Pard in the American embassy like some kind

[56:38] of [ __ ] hero needs to be removed from office. He's doing damage to our country. Uh couldn't agree more. Um and and by the way, um thanks managing things for the dollar. Outside of Israel, which regimes in the Middle East are happy with the removal of the Sha/Islamic Republic? Well, that's different. Um let's say say the Islamic Republic. >> Yeah, the Islamic Republic. Uh every one of the Gulf countries,

[57:08] >> every single one of them, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Gutter, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Thrilled >> from way >> I'm sorry. Let me finish real quickly. You can add to that. Jordan, Egypt, and apparently now Syria. >> Weird. Uh way I see it, thanks for the generous two $10 donations. Much appreciated. >> Thank you. >> Um let's see. Oh, and um Jay, support from Utah. You guys heard about the former Iranian president being confirmed to be dead, right? That's Akmad.

[57:38] >> Yeah, they killed Ahmedad yesterday. >> Uh inexplicably. And apparently they wiped out his entire family as well. >> And there was another Who was the other one that they attacked? >> They said he was a reformer. That's not true. >> Whoa. Who was the the other the other uh former president that they attacked? >> That's it. Ahmed. >> It was just Ahmed Nad. Okay. Um, if the intelligence Illuminous Katar, thanks for the five Australian dollars. If the intern intelligence community thinks that the current

[58:09] administration is making Iran decisions based outside of the US national interest assessments, why aren't they trying to solve that, John? >> Well, it's because at the end of the day, these agencies and departments have to do what the president tells them to do. And if this is the president's policy, they are compelled to carry out the president's policy. Keep in mind, my favorite quote from former Egyptian president uh Gamala Abdaser, the thing

[58:40] about you Americans is you never make clear-cut stupid decisions. You only make complicated stupid decisions, which makes us wonder if there is something to them which we are missing. >> That's so [ __ ] awesome. That's so great. And the US Army is now announcing that it sank an American ship. I'm sorry, an Armenia uh an Iranian ship. Forgive me. The US Army is saying that it sank an Iranian ship. >> Well, Trump had threatened at the beginning of this war uh a couple of days ago that he was going to destroy

[59:11] the Iranian Navy. >> Yeah, there's not much to the Iranian Navy. They've got a sub or two. They've got a couple of ships. It's not going to be >> got a lot of patrol boats. >> Lot of patrol boats. and they're mostly IRGC >> uh ZC carianis thanks for the 29 um and uh donation much appreciated um yeah so um John uh we are we're in we're an hour in I can keep going but it's what do you think >> let's answer our questions

[59:43] >> okay let's answer our questions indeed um okay so uh um complicated stupid action is so great. Uh, thanks for the 999 from Keep It Real. Have you heard the conspiracy about how Israeli tourists burned down part of Patagonia's forest, Argentina? And before the fires occurred, the president of Argentina changed the law allowing foreigners to buy land in Argentina. I new to New to me. I hadn't

[1:00:14] heard that. >> Yeah, don't know. And now AP is reporting that three service members killed and five seriously wounded. >> But not where or how. >> No, not where? >> Weird. Okay. Um uh can you Oh, this is good. Trevor House, can you guys simply explain why you are so against the attack? Do you agree that Iran is extremely dangerous

[1:00:44] when left alone in a perfect world? What do you think America's stance should be on Iran? I'm really glad for this question. John, why don't you take it? >> Uh, Iran posed no threat to the United States. None. None. It had no nuclear weapon. It had no nuclear weapons program. That was confirmed twice by the CIA and by the International Atomic Energy Agency >> and don't and didn't want one >> and didn't want one. and there was a fatwa against developing one. And even

[1:01:16] if they had one, they didn't have a delivery system to to deliver it. So, um you know, why are we doing Israel's dirty work for it? If the Israelis wanted to attack Iran, then go ahead, attack Iran, but why did we have to do it? Why are Americans dying in the name of Israeli foreign policy? >> Would you agree with the assumption that Iran was quote unquote dangerous? I mean the the brief against Iran has been that it's a promoter of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hzbollah and the Houthis in

[1:01:47] Yemen and that they basically are an exporter and destabilizing force throughout the Middle East. Do you agree with that? >> Um no I believe that terrorism is in the eye of the beholder. There are I mean Hezbala certainly is a terrorist group or has been a terrorist group in the past. It blew up the American embassy twice. It blew up the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, killed hundreds and hundreds of Americans, including several of my CIA colleagues

[1:02:18] decades ago. It is now a legitimate political entity in in uh Lebanon. It's a major parliamentary force. Um, with the exception of targeting civilians on October 7th, I think that that Hamas was created to liberate the Palestinian people from Israeli oppression. And so often times terrorism is in the eye of the beholder. I would say that that the Iranians were responding

[1:02:50] with their support for these groups to what they saw as Israeli terrorism against Palestinians and more broadly against Iran. >> Yeah. Let's not forget, right? Like when the re I mean let's take go back in the way back when machine to 1979 um they overthrow the repressive sha of Iran whose son they'd like to now install who was presiding over a despotic tyrannical regime with a torture regime that is crazy under this

[1:03:22] horrible Sabak organization. Um 1980 uh Iran uh Iraq supported and armed and financed and encouraged by the United States attacks Iran. They end up having to fight this brutal war that we never paid attention to or even covered in the American media. The Iran Iraq war from 1980 to 1986 if memory serves >> 80 88 89 something like that. And then when and then like out of all that we

[1:03:54] basically um you know the the Iranians basically never got a start. We imposed these hor these brutal sanctions against their economy for the entire time. I mean they've been on defense. I mean I mean I think the brief in favor of Iran is that they're also like a regionally po um nonuno unopolar force in that region. Right. It's kind of like US and Israeli dominance would be complete if not for Iran. Um Iran is the counterwe

[1:04:26] counterbalance. I would argue that counterbalances are useful and more stabilizing than having um you know he hegemonic control by one power in a region. I mean, so I mean, but like you, John, I mean, it's basically it's like who who the Iranians want to have govern them is not our [ __ ] business because we're not. It's their [ __ ] country. If they want to overthrow it, they can. If they want, they have in the past. They know how. >> And uh we c and if even if we want to, we can't get the new government that we

[1:04:57] want. We'll just end up breaking things, which is what we're doing. Um we are bad at this. I mean, point to one example of the United States, you know, you bombing a country into regime change and having it work out well. Um, it's killing people for no end. What destroying infrastructure towards no end, >> we could we could have had a peaceful economic and diplomatic relationship with these people decades ago. If we wanted it, all we had to do is pick up the phone. >> That's it. That's true. That's true.

[1:05:30] So yeah, that that's it's all right. Sorry, I get a little bit heated here. Um, okay. Um, uh, John Swiss J says, John says that Iran has a couple of hypersonic missiles, but open source intel and other intelligence assessments is that they have a few thousand. >> Oh, if that's true, I stand corrected. It was my understanding that they had about a half a dozen that they got from the Russians. Darkness is saying questioning me. Iran

[1:06:02] is useful and stabilizing. I mean, it's not a bad it's not a good thing to have one. Look at what the whole 1991, you know, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the US and the world became a unipolar environment for a while until the Chinese and the Russians got their [ __ ] together. Um, it was not a good place. I mean, you know, we drove the car and we drove it into a ditch repeatedly. I don't know. That's my take. Um,

[1:06:32] you know, it's but again, basically, it's not our business. Um, Illuminous Cat, thanks for the five. Um, Israel isn't a monolith. It's allowed to have a propaganda. It's been allowed to have a propaganda and lobby network in the West, to say the least. Does the West benefit from uh absolute chaos in the Middle East? >> Absolutely not. >> Absolutely not. We benefit from stability in the Middle East. >> 100%. Couldn't agree more. Um, okay. Let

[1:07:05] me see like what qu um people, I just want to say, can we just all get along? Can we just get along? Can we stop taking making it horrible for the older people and the kids? Of course, we all know that Rodney King quote. It's pretty funny, though. It shouldn't be funny, but you know, you have to sort of ruthfully laugh. Um, thank you very much Martin C. Hugh to joining deprogrammed. Um, and I think we are basically at the end

[1:07:37] of our questions. Um, I'm really >> good >> sorry for all the people whose questions we didn't get to. Um, please bear with us. There were more listeners and viewers than we're used to. Um, and so >> but thanks for joining us. >> Definitely very much so. So, we are here on Drogram. If you're, you know, some of you are new to the show, we do this every Monday through Friday at 9:00 am Eastern time and uh we try to answer as many questions as possible. We're a fastmoving show. We appreciate your uh

[1:08:10] your likes, your follows, your subscribes, and of course your donations. Um please uh tune in tomorrow, Monday, 9:00 am Eastern time. John, have a good remaining time in New York >> and hope everything goes well and we will >> great >> talk to you guys later. Bye >> bye everybody.
