Title: Is World War 3 Starting?
Show: The Deep Focus Show
Date: 2026-03-31
URL: https://youtu.be/qeREwBGVig8
Duration: 38:00

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[00:03] Hi everybody. I'm John Kiriakou. Welcome back to another Q&A session here on Deep Focus. Love getting the all the questions. Thank you for reaching out. I apologize in advance that we can't get to all of them just because we're we're overwhelmed by them, but we're trying to take a sampling from from across the board. So, I'd like to start with with Dirty d e r r t y Dirty 66. Hey John, first and foremost, I want to say thank you for the things that you've done and continue to do for the American people

[00:34] and for standing up for truth and the rule of law even at great personal cost to yourself. Thank you for that. Knowing what you know now about government agencies and the influence of foreign powers in our government, if you were to wake up tomorrow at 25 years old, would you join a government agency again? Or do you feel that they have gone too far? Are there any organizations, nonprofits, et cetera that you know of that work for the good of the American people and the interests of the US as a whole that you would recommend fellow patriots getting involved with? Thank you very much for

[01:05] your time and hope to see you pardoned soon. Thank you. Those are those are tough questions. You know, and I I gen- I generally always say, "No, I'm a realist. The only way you can change the CIA is to do it from the inside. Blah blah blah." I think I've come around to the point of view that I should have gone to film school. You know, I feel like I feel like

[01:36] I've worked so hard, the people around me have worked so hard, my friends and my former colleagues have worked so hard to ensure the rule of law. And then we, you know, invade Iran. We kidnap Maduro. We threaten to squeeze the life right out of Cuba. There is no rule of law. So, it's disheartening. You also caught me on kind of a bad day. I'm I'm in a

[02:07] bad mood today. Been getting a lot of death threats, which I think I should actually see as a good thing. The message is getting out there. Thanks to you, we are up to 206,000 subscribers. Because of you. And I think that's beginning to frighten some people, some important people who hide behind the anonymity of Google Voice and uh and untraceable VPN emails to uh make

[02:40] threats that they can't carry out. But anyway, yeah, I think maybe I should have gone to film school. With that said, I do believe that these deep state agencies like the CIA, NSA, FBI, DIA, DARPA, I believe they have they are too far gone. I'm not sure that they can be reformed anymore. I think probably that they can't be reformed. And are there any organizations, nonprofits that I know of that work for the good of the American people? That's a tough one. I'm

[03:12] especially close to Code Pink, the the anti-war group. They've been very, very good to me over the years, and I know everybody in Code Pink. They are beautiful people who who have dedicated their lives to stopping war. And and dedicated their lives to support human rights. But, you know, in terms of NGOs like think tanks, for example, um you know, the National Endowment for

[03:43] Democracy, uh the DNC and RNC, international organizations, even my old beloved AFL-CIO. They're all tied to the deep state. And so, who do you trust? I trust Code Pink. Um, I'd have to really give it some very serious thought to be able to tell you who else I trust. Thank you for that. Bull says, "Hi John, massive respect and thank you

[04:14] to you and your work. I have one question. Do you think we are in World War or the beginning of World War I think we're on the precipice of World War III. You know, firing a couple of rockets at Iran is one thing. But but sending ground troops is an entirely different thing. And then it should surprise no one that the Russians are giving the Iranians targeting data, just like we gave the

[04:45] Ukrainians targeting data, just like the Russians gave the North Vietnamese targeting data. This is what superpowers do. If we intend to put boots on the ground um then I think World War III would be something that we ought to be actively worried about. And it looks like we're putting boots on the ground. It's one thing to take Kharg Island. It's one thing to take the Greater and Lesser Tunb Islands

[05:15] and give them back to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It's an entirely different thing to actually launch a land invasion of Iran. I can't imagine anything so stupid so short-sighted so criminally negligent as an actual ground invasion of Iran. These attacks are bad enough. They're crimes against humanity and war crimes. Um and you know, we should take a message from the rest of the world.

[05:46] Just today, we're recording this on Monday morning. Earlier this morning, the government of Spain banned overflight clearance for all American military aircraft. The The Spanish won't even even let us fly over Spanish territory on our way to uh to Iran. Good for them. That's the right thing to do. I wouldn't be surprised if if other countries soon follow. Like Ireland, for example. Maybe even

[06:18] Italy. So, yeah, I think we're I think we're at the precipice. It's not too late to turn back, but we're in an exceedingly dangerous time right now. NRF Futures Past says, "Hi John, I'm a huge fan and I would love to meet you one day as you have recently become one of my heroes. Thank you, and I look up to you." Appreciate that very much. I sure hope you get that well-deserved pardon. I have two questions. The first of which is, "What is your opinion about the A-10 Warthog being used against

[06:49] Iranian fast boats in the Strait of Hormuz?" Great question. "Do you think that will make any difference in reopening the strait or is it just theatrics to attempt to show some level of control over the strait? Also, on a less serious note, Star Wars or Star Trek?" Ha, that's an easy one. "Personally, I'm a huge Star Wars nerd, so I'd love to know if you like either one. Again, you are not only my hero, but an American hero, and thank you for your fight to shed light on the truth for the American people. Thank you very, very much for that." Um

[07:19] the A-10 Warthog is one of the most beloved planes that the US has ever produced, and I mean from the Wright brothers onward. The A-10 is easy to handle. It's easy to maneuver, and it is specifically designed for close-in combat. The Air Force was apoplectic when the Pentagon announced that it was going to phase out the A-10 Warthog because everybody loves the Warthog. Everybody.

[07:50] Well, now they're bringing it back. And they're bringing it back because it is effective against Iranian fast boats. You know, the United States historically has had real trouble defending against Iranian fast boats in the Strait of Hormuz. The fast boats are run by the IRGC. And so the people that are that are manning them are highly trained. They're perfectly happy to open fire and they routinely will grab boats or ships that stray into Iranian

[08:22] waters and force them back into port into Iran and hold them until they can, you know, negotiate a release. The A-10 shows that we're we're in the business of killing. And so if anything is going to open the Strait of Hormuz or at least give give the United States the chance to keep the Strait open, it's going to be the A-10 Warthog. I'm not saying that's a good thing. I'm saying that it's the reality that we

[08:53] find ourselves in today. So, Star Wars or Star Trek? I love them both, but definitely Star Trek. In fact, I DVR Star Trek every single day. I got I got the chance to meet William Shatner and God, I just love the thing. Um, I was invited to lunch at at Leonard Nimoy's house. He had just died, but his wife invited me over to lunch. Wonderful lunch. It was just four of us. And um it took all my energy not to talk about

[09:25] Star Trek. She wanted to talk about civil rights, which is great. Mrs. Nimoy. Um but man, I I wish Leonard had been alive. I would love to have, you know, told him live long and prosper. In another life, maybe. Thanks for those questions. Caesar's Ghost, good to hear from you again. Caesar's Ghost says, "Your channel has to be one of the best channels to ever hit YouTube. Hey, thank you. Congrats Congratulations on the rising success." I appreciate it. "I have a question if

[09:56] you have the chance to answer. I know that Stewart Copeland's father yes, was one of the founders of the CIA. Me being a big The Police fan, I'm wondering if the CIA has used bands as a way to get into countries or if any musicians have ever been used as assets?" That is a great question. I I can't answer the last question, have any musicians ever been used as assets? I don't know the answer, but even if I did, that would be one of those sources and methods things that I can't answer. The CIA has just begun declassifying

[10:27] 35, 40, 50-year-old information on the use of authors and writers, not journalists, but authors, um operationally, especially during the Cold War in the fight against the Soviet Union. Doctor Zhivago is the most famous story. It's been extensively reported on and it's fascinating. Um Stewart Copeland's dad Stewart Copeland of The Police, the band The Police from the from the '80s and '90s. Uh Stewart Copeland's dad was a senior

[10:58] intelligence service member of the CIA, somebody who was widely respected and highly accomplished. Um it's funny to me that not only did his son become a musician, but became a great musician and a wildly successful. I uh like I say, I don't know if the CIA has used bands in this way. USIA has used bands, obviously in this way, because they're great propaganda mechanisms, right? If if it's

[11:29] there's an Iron Curtain and and people on the street love American rock and roll, then by God, you send rock bands through USIA, the US Information Agency. Um, we don't do that anymore because we don't have the budget for it. But even in the 90s, when I was stationed in Bahrain, we used to have like top-level jazz musicians, soul singers uh make these worldwide tours or regional tours um just to expose locals to American

[12:01] culture and music, and the propaganda value was astronomical. Before I go on to the next question, uh I want to read an ad from one of our sponsors. The biggest wealth transfer in American history could be coming. The only question is which side of it you'll be on. Here's what's happening. For 90 years, the US government has valued its gold reserves at a price set in 1973 by Richard Nixon. Gold now trades at record highs. The gap between the official number and the real number is

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[13:37] and they'll mail you one. Mizuki says, "Hey John, big fan from Jacksonville, Florida. Two questions. Do you have any predictions on what the outcome will be with the ongoing Ukrainian war? And does the CIA use much air travel of their own or do they typically hitch rides with other branches of the military? Thanks for everything you've done and Godspeed on your pardon and pension." Thank you. Great questions. The Ukraine question is easier to answer. The Ukrainians have lost the war.

[14:07] I mean, that's the consensus among American um Russia scholars. The Ukrainians have lost the war. They're holding on because the United States and the European Union have supplied them with enough weapons and weapon systems in order to hold on, but they're gradually losing more and more territory and that's why the Russians won't engage in peace talks. They don't need to engage in peace talks because they're winning. Of course, it would be to the United States benefit for there to be peace talks and to get

[14:38] this thing done. The bottom line is it appears that the Ukrainians are going to have to concede territory. This is something that many of us said way back when the war first began that the Ukrainians are going to lose Donetsk, Luhansk, they're going to have to they're going to have to concede the Crimea and um and just hope that losses don't get any worse than that. On the on the other side, the Russians are going to have to concede that the Ukrainians are going to get fast-tracked

[15:10] into the European Union. I doubt that Ukraine will become a member of NATO. That's what this war's been about from the beginning, but European Union, yes. And it would just take the stroke of a pen to give Ukraine what's called major non-NATO status. Um Australia's not in NATO. South Korea, Japan are not in NATO, right? And so neither is Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain aren't in NATO. Well, we just treat Ukraine the same

[15:40] way. It's de facto NATO. I think that's what's going to what's going to happen. Does the CIA CIA use much air travel of their own? Well, as I'm sure you imagine um the CIA CIA employees fly tens of millions of air miles a year. The CIA used to have its own jet. I was only on it once. But um they did away with that jet in the 1990s during uh a cost-cutting

[16:13] period during the Clinton administration. When I say did away with it, they gave it to the FBI because the FBI needed it to shuttle prisoners from the you know, 10 most wanted list from point A to point B. And then anytime we needed the jet operationally, we would just call the FBI and say, "Hey, we need the jet." And then they would loan it to us. Otherwise, CIA officers always fly commercial. Unless you're involved in some kind of a joint operation with the military or for example, when I was in Afghanistan

[16:44] rather than fly commercial and risk, you know, you can't fly Camair cuz it goes through Tehran, but we would fly Air India or Pakistan Airways, PIA. It was better just to hitch a ride with Well, the last two rides I hitched in Afghanistan were with the North Dakota Air National Guard and the Missouri Air National National Guard and they would fly us straight to Dubai and then we would just get on a United flight from Dubai. So, yeah, you hitch a ride when you're in a war zone. That's easy enough. Uh but most of the time, 99% of

[17:16] the time, you're going to go commercial. Carlos Sotero says, "Hi John, I'm a big fan of your work and what you stand for." Thank you, Carlos. I truly hope that you get that pardon and your pension. Thank you. You've spoken extensively about Israel as an intelligence threat to the US, but I haven't heard you say much about Cuba in the interviews and clips I've watched. I'm Bolivian and in Latin America, Cuban intelligence is often seen as the most effective service in the region. How is Cuban intelligence regarded inside the CIA? Was it considered especially capable? Any stories that

[17:48] illustrate why it earned that reputation? I'm going to go one farther. Uh Carlos, the Cuban intelligence service is one of the best on the planet. I can tell you that of all the Cubans ever recruited by the CIA, literally every one of them turned out to be a double agent, a double agent working for the Cuban intelligence service. They are brilliant. They're so good at what they do,

[18:19] but we don't hear about them because they are defensive in nature. Their job is to protect Cuba. They're not plotting, you know, invasions of Iran or invasions of Iraq or invasions of Afghanistan or military operations in Somalia or Libya or Syria. They're just focused on protecting Cuba. And they're smart and they're accomplished and they were trained by the KGB

[18:50] and they're just really, really good at what they do. Especially cap- especially capable is the term you used? Absolutely, yes. Jay says, "Hi John, I really enjoy your content and how you explain the deeper political dynamics of the Middle East. You often share great stories about Iraq, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. I'm half Moroccan, so I'm especially interested in Morocco's history and political positioning. Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States. That's absolutely true.

[19:21] And I find it fascinating how the Moroccan monarchy has made maintained strong relationships with US presidents over the years. I'd really love your perspective as an expert. Can you share some lesser-known stories or behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Morocco's politics and its relationships with the US and other Arab countries, especially moments or stories that aren't widely known and really show how Morocco operates between different powers? I feel like Morocco doesn't get talked about enough. So, it would be great to hear you dive into it more in your podcast. Wishing you all the best. Hope you get your pardon.

[19:51] Thank you, buddy. Thanks for that. I want to tell you that there are very few countries in the world that are as beloved at the CIA and at the State Department as Morocco. And it's not just Morocco as a country. It's the Moroccan people. And it's especially the Moroccan leadership. King Mohammed is so highly respected. I would put King Mohammed up there with King Abdullah of uh of Jordan

[20:24] as people who are who are beloved inside the US government for the wisdom of their leadership. You are not kidding when you say that Moroccan kings historically Moroccan kings have had very close relationships with American presidents. Morocco is a country of outsized importance. Uh it's population would have you think, well, you know, it's a smallish country. It's

[20:55] kind of located off on the fringe on the on the northwestern coast of Africa. Makes no difference. Everybody loves the Moroccans. Everybody. Um I had occasion a couple of times to work with the Moroccan uh government and the Moroccan intelligence service. And I'll tell you really all we wanted to do is hurry up and get the work done so we could go out and have dinner together afterwards. Seriously, we all loved each other. They're smart. They operate under the radar. They are

[21:27] poly-linguistic speaking a bunch of different languages whether it's English or Arabic or French or Berber or you name it. Um It was I'm genuinely always my pleasure to work with Morocco. And you know, funny thing is I never went to Morocco until 20 18 was the first time I went to Morocco. And and I went as a tourist. You know, we we've got these direct flights now

[21:57] from Baltimore. They take like 4 hours and you're there. And it's awesome and people are friendly and the food is magnificent and it's exotic if you're an American. You can go to the souk and go shopping. I went from like Casablanca to Rabat to Marrakech. It was just it was magnificent. And I said to to my partner the other day, I said, "Hey, you want to go to Morocco?" I I haven't been to Morocco since 2018. She was like, "I I just went to Morocco 2021. Let's go someplace different.

[22:29] We'll go to Morocco next time." But yeah, man, it's you got a great country there. Really great. Ketab Shah says, "Hi John. Love your content. I've seen all of your podcasts and love hearing your stories." Thank you, buddy. I was wondering if you have ever visited India. Oh, yes. And if so, do you have any stories about it? Recently there has been a very popular movie Dorundar about terrorism within Pakistan. I was just talking to an Indian guy about this last night. Uh and it's in Pakistan's involvement in

[23:00] the attacks in India. Highly suggest watching. I'm told that it's on Netflix. So, we were talking about this yesterday at a at a Baltimore Orioles baseball game, and I said, I'm I'm going to definitely check it out. Also, I was wondering if you have any insights into the Pakistan Balochistan conflict. Oh, I do. Some people are saying Pakistan will split up due to all the conflicts going on in that country and for the Baloch people fighting for their independence, and only the Punjab province will remain to be Pakistan. Wishing you the best of luck on your

[23:30] pardon and expressing my support for Kyriakos Kyriakos president. Joy28, thank you, but no, thank you. Um, thank you for those outstanding questions. First of all, Durandar, if it's as great as my buddy says it is, yeah, I'm going to check it out. I'm going to check it out like in the next day or two. Uh, every time I talk about Pakistan, I get death threats, and I have to tell you, this week has been like a banner week for death threats.

[24:01] I got 72 calls this morning from the same guy saying he's going to spread my brains all over the streets. Anyway, every time I mention Pakistan, the death threats heap on. So, I'm going to be careful here. What I will say is, um, Pakistani supported terrorism in India is well documented. The The Mumbai attacks didn't invent themselves. Somebody had to train those terrorists. Somebody had to arm those terrorists.

[24:31] Somebody had to finance those terrorists. And we all know it was it was Pakistan. So, there's that. This Balochistan situation is very interesting to me. I'll be honest with you, I don't like Balochistan at all. It's dangerous. It's ugly. It's dry, and the food is bad. Like all the things that are important to me. There's this terrorist group called the Balochistan Liberation Army. Their policy is just kill everybody.

[25:04] Everybody in a uniform. Kill every Pakistani cop. Kill every Pakistani ISI officer. Go out in the streets and kill people who support the cops and the ISI. And then you go out later and you kill people who remind you of the people who you killed earlier. That's not a policy. You're just going to get destroyed. So, I don't think that this is going to result in the breakup of Pakistan. I think what's going to happen is is the Pakistani central government is going to get tired of people killing their cops and killing their soldiers

[25:36] and killing their ISI officers and we're going to see a major military move in Balochistan. And where are the Balochis going to run? They're going to run to Iran? They're going to run to southern Afghanistan? Best of luck. Let me know how that works out. So, no, I think we're going to get to the point soon where heads are going to roll. And I mean that they're literally going to roll. It's not going to be a a pretty sight. And thank you for your lovely comments. Want to take another short break and and give you an ad from our our second

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[32:54] single day. Um there are too many favorite dishes to talk about. I I I made this orzo dish the other day. You know, I've had my I have my grandmother's recipes on 3x5 cards. Hundreds and hundreds of them. I'm going to actually publish them privately and give a book to my brother, a book to my sister, a book to my each of my kids and my nephews and nieces just so that they have it. But um I made this orzo dish with uh with stewed tomatoes and my

[33:25] grandmother's tomato sauce, but you also add oregano, a lot of of oregano. Which is cool because I had actually picked the wild oregano in a vacant lot across the street from my house in Athens. When I was living in Athens, I noticed an old man in this vacant lot across the house and I thought, "Oh, this is surveillance." I pull a gun and I go out there and I'm like, "Who the are you and what do you want?" And he's like, "What are you talking

[33:57] about? I live three doors down and there's wild asparagus growing here and I'm just picking it to make an omelet for breakfast." And I was like, "Oh, oh, I'm sorry." I put it back in my holster. I said, "I'm sorry. I'm from the American Embassy and I'm afraid of the 17 November." I said, "I'm really sorry." He's like, "No, no, it's okay. Relax." He said, "I'm afraid of 17 November, too. You know, they kill everybody." But anyway, I said, "What are you doing? You're looking for asparagus?" He said, "Yeah, there's wild asparagus

[34:27] growing all over this vacant lot." Big corner lot directly across the street from my house. I lived on a corner lot. And so he showed me the the asparagus. So I picked some asparagus. And then he says to me, "If you don't know, this is oregano. It's wild oregano." I went back for days and picked oregano. So I filled a jar like this big. That oregano lasted me for 25 years. I picked that oregano 26 years ago now and I used the last of it a year ago.

[34:58] It was so strong and perfect and aromatic and delicious and wonderful that you only needed a little of it. And so I'm proud of my Greek cooking. I'm especially proud of my sister's Greek cooking. My mom, unfortunately, is is no longer with us. Neither is my aunt. Certainly neither is my grandmother, but they they taught us well. They did a great job. Ty Higgins Tattoo says, "Much love from Nashville. Thank you. I love Nashville.

[35:30] Hope you get your pardon soon. Thank you. I'm curious what you can recommend for language learning." Oh, I love this question. I don't have access to the CIA language program, but I've managed to learn conversational Spanish and some Chinese as well. That's awesome. And now I'm interested in Arabic. What resources can you recommend for the average guy to boost his language learning skills? PS, if you ever come to Nashville, I'll give you a free tattoo. Thank you. I know Greek Orthodox aren't big into tattoos, but it's worth a shot. Tell you the truth, I want to get one right here on my arm

[36:01] written in ancient Greek that says "Know thyself." Thank you for that. This is such a great question and such an important question. There are so many wonderful programs and apps out there right now. You know, back in the day computer language programs terrible. But then Rosetta Stone came up around um 15 years ago and it was really good. And then Duolingo

[36:33] bettered Rosetta Stone. I've used both. Both are absolutely excellent. I think Duolingo is probably a little bit better in terms of pace. But I'll tell you what, man, if you were able to learn conversational Spanish and and some Chinese, that tells me that you have a facility for languages and you will be able to pick up Arabic. It's hard. But I'll tell you the same thing my my wonderful Arabic teacher, Ibrahim Abdallah, uh he told us.

[37:04] He said there are 10 cases to every um verb. If you can learn 30 verbs and understand the 10 cases, you're going to speak Arabic. Just 30 verbs and 10 forms, you're going to speak Arabic. I would recommend also, if you feel like you need some one-on-one to learn Arabic, and you might, think of the local community college. They charge practically nothing.

[37:36] They use locals to teach the classes. And there's nothing better in terms of learning a language than conversing with someone who's native in the language. I I wish you the best of luck with this because I think this is very important and I think you're really seriously doing the right thing. So, folks, that's all we have time for today. I want to thank you again. Thank you. Thank you for subscribing, for commenting, for liking, for sharing, for

[38:06] talking about this podcast, and for telling your friends and family about it. We've grown by leaps and bounds and it's only because of you. So, until next time, I'm John Kiriakou and this is Deep Focus. >> Mhm.
