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How goes the war in Iran? · The Hugh Hewitt Show: Highly Concentrated

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Speaker 1: Welcome to today's podcast sponsored by Hillsdale College, All Things
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Speaker 1: He he at broadcasting today from the campus at Colorado
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Speaker 1: Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado. Sort of a return to
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Speaker 1: home from me. I taught here ten years ago when
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Speaker 1: the late Senator Bill Armstrong requited me to the campus,
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Speaker 1: and she had lots of old friends, lots of old
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Speaker 1: students who are not so young anymore. I'll talk with
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Speaker 1: a few of them to the program, but first let's
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Speaker 1: begin with updates on the war. President Trump spoke this
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Speaker 1: morning with podcaster Jake Paul cut number one this country.
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Speaker 2: I mean, we did this excursion.
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Speaker 3: We had to do it. Wipe out evil.
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Speaker 2: Sometimes you have evil, and for forty seven years they've
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Speaker 2: been killing people, you know, in the.
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Speaker 3: Most violent way.
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Speaker 2: The roadside bombs all over the place was ninety five
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Speaker 2: percent of them are from Iran and Salomoni that was
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Speaker 2: the one which took him out. We did a lot
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Speaker 2: of things to beat two bombers and all of this
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Speaker 2: whole thing that we're doing now is people have waited
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Speaker 2: for forty seven years for it to happen, so we
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Speaker 2: have to do it right. But our military has been unbelieved.
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Speaker 3: He's so right.
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Speaker 1: We are winning decisively. We have not yet achieved a
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Speaker 1: decisive win. We have to stay the course. I think
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Speaker 1: the President is intent on doing that to reduce the
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Speaker 1: military capability of Iran to threaten its neighbors, destroy their
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Speaker 1: nuclear weaponry program, destroy their ability to protect and restart again.
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Speaker 3: And we are doing that.
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Speaker 1: Moreover, the USSS Tripoli, which is a Marine Corps Expeditionary
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Speaker 1: Unit MEU, is now en route to the Gulf. That
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Speaker 1: means marines. That's like the worst news that Iran could
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Speaker 1: have received. If the Marines are coming. Let me now
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Speaker 1: go to General Kine with the worst news today because
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Speaker 1: we woke up to learn we'd suffered more American serviceman
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Speaker 1: casualties this morning. Here is showing of the Joint Chiefs
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Speaker 1: Kane talking about the crash of the Casey one thirty
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Speaker 1: five this morning.
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Speaker 3: In Iraq, Cuttnomber eleven.
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Speaker 4: Before I start with an update, I also want to
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Speaker 4: address the tragic loss of our Case one thirty five
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Speaker 4: refueling aircraft yesterday. The incident occurred over friendly territory in
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Speaker 4: western Iraq while the crew was on a combat mission,
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Speaker 4: and again was not the result as Senkam has said,
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Speaker 4: was not the result of hostile or friendly fire. We're
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Speaker 4: still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation,
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Speaker 4: as Sencom announced this morning. For airmen have been recovered
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Speaker 4: and the Air Force and US Central Command will provide
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Speaker 4: updates as information becomes available. Please keep these brave airmen,
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Speaker 4: their families, friends, and units in your thoughts in the
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Speaker 4: coming hours and days. Our service members make an incredible
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Speaker 4: sacrifice to go forward and do the things that the
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Speaker 4: nation asks of them. It's a reminder of the true
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Speaker 4: cost of the day medication and commitment of the Joint Force.
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Speaker 1: At at Breakfast I spoke at this morning at Colorado
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Speaker 1: Christian University, we had a young student. His father is
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Speaker 1: deployed an airman officer in the Niti's Air Force in
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Speaker 1: the Middle East, and her brothers at the Air Force Academy.
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Speaker 1: Less than one percent of America's families popularate one hundred
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Speaker 1: percent of our military, and our debt to them is
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Speaker 1: never ending. So, as the General said, to keep them
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Speaker 1: in your prayers, family and the deceased. He also gave
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Speaker 1: us an update on what has been accomplished in the
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Speaker 1: first thirteen days of the World Cut number ten, General came.
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Speaker 4: In just the first thirteen days of this operation, our
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Speaker 4: artillery forces have made history. They fired the first precision
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Speaker 4: strike missiles ever used in combat, reaching deep into enemy territory.
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Speaker 4: They've used army attackers to sink multiple ships, including a submarine.
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Speaker 4: And they've done all of this with the precision and
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Speaker 4: determination that comes from relentless training and trust in each
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Speaker 4: other and in their weapons.
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Speaker 3: Now.
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Speaker 1: Secretary also made a pledge this morning about the Strait
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Speaker 1: of Horror moves CUT number four.
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Speaker 5: I want to emphasize what the Chairman said about that
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Speaker 5: the only thing prohibiting transit in the Straits right now
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Speaker 5: is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open for transit.
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Speaker 3: Should Iran not do that? Now?
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Speaker 5: There's a reason why we chose as one of our
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Speaker 5: primary objectives destroy the navy. We understood the ability to
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Speaker 5: interdict shipping is something Iran has done for forty years.
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Speaker 5: It's key terrain. They've used it as leverage. The world
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Speaker 5: is seeing what they'll do to fight back in that context,
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Speaker 5: and so we've heard them talk about taking various measures,
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Speaker 5: and we're planning for all of them. So we have
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Speaker 5: a plan for every option here. We're working with our
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Speaker 5: inneragency partners, and that's not a straight we're going to
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Speaker 5: allow to remain contested or with a lack of flow
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Speaker 5: of commercial goods.
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Speaker 6: So we're aware of that.
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Speaker 5: We're laser focused on our military objectives, but also want
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Speaker 5: to make sure our partners across this government understand we're
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Speaker 5: working with you to make sure that energy flows, and
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Speaker 5: that is.
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Speaker 1: The best news of all energy is following guys. Goyles
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Speaker 1: up around one hundred dollars a barrel in three weeks.
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Speaker 1: I'll bet she's back to sixty. I could be wrong.
5:09
Speaker 1: Now I'm gonna switch and talk with my friend Brittany Vessily.
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Speaker 1: Brittany was the first graduating.
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Speaker 3: What year did you graduate, Brittany twelve, twenty.
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Speaker 1: Twelve, so she was here before I was here. Brittany,
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Speaker 1: what's your job currently?
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Speaker 7: I'm currently the executive director of the Caleder Catholic Conference,
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Speaker 7: the United Voice of the Catholic Bishops of Colorado.
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Speaker 1: Now, the reason I like having Brittany on is that
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Speaker 1: Archbishop Chepew, who first brought me to dinner Denver decades ago,
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Speaker 1: is now the retired Archbishop of Philadelphia. Poured a lot
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Speaker 1: of resources into ecumenical outreach. He was a good friend
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Speaker 1: of Colorado Christian University. You were not yourself a Catholic
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Speaker 1: when you were at CCU, and it's a very welcoming place.
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Speaker 1: Everybody comes here.
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Speaker 7: Correct, Yes, And it was the first time I was
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Speaker 7: introduced to Jesus was at CCU. So I dead of
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Speaker 7: gratitude to my time at CCU and really where I
5:57
Speaker 7: started falling in love with theology.
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Speaker 3: Now you are all so.
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Speaker 1: My co religions is a Catholic and you've got four
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Speaker 1: kids outside steering in, Yes, and they should come in
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Speaker 1: and run them on.
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Speaker 3: How do you know my booking.
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Speaker 7: Producer, Daniel Hitchin is a good friend of mine. I
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Speaker 7: used to babysit her kids when I was in DC
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Speaker 7: working at the Heritage Foundation.
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Speaker 1: So what did you do for Heritage after you left
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Speaker 1: Colorado Christian University?
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Speaker 7: I worked in the Domestic Policy Department in Education. But
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Speaker 7: I was also there during Doma and Berga fell, so
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Speaker 7: I touched the religious liberty angles as well.
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Speaker 3: Oh my goodness.
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Speaker 1: Okay, So what are you doing for the bishops in
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Speaker 1: Colorado and how is the work of the church going
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Speaker 1: in the centennial state?
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Speaker 3: Sure?
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Speaker 7: So, I'm the chief Policy director of the four Bishops
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Speaker 7: of Colorado, representing the three dioceses at the Colorido Capital
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Speaker 7: and in other areas of government affairs. I do primarily
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Speaker 7: lobbing from January through May. In Colorado. It seems like
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Speaker 7: there is a bad bill every week right now, whether
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Speaker 7: it's a tax on religious liberty referencing the Calor Anti
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Speaker 7: Discrimination Act. We've been having huge fights on life the
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Speaker 7: last four years. So every week it seems to be
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Speaker 7: another issue pertaining to life, religious liberty in the family
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Speaker 7: that we're having to deal with. Tennial state.
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Speaker 1: Are you making progress because it's sort of not a
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Speaker 1: super majority anymore, but it's a blue state and it's
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Speaker 1: all blue.
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Speaker 3: Who are your go tos? Who are your stalwarts?
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Speaker 7: Well, we did make a deal this week that killed
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Speaker 7: Senate Bill ninety seven, which would have decriminalized prostitution in
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Speaker 7: the state. Of Colorado and that would have meant more
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Speaker 7: human trafficking, more prostitution, and then also more abortion. So
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Speaker 7: that's a bill that the Senate sponsor, henrich Sen, who
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Speaker 7: is a Catholic and I called him out on Twitter
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Speaker 7: for being a Catholic and supporting this bill, said he
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Speaker 7: will bring back in the near future. But that is
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Speaker 7: just one effort. We have a very progressive majority in
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Speaker 7: bolth chambers. They're not a super majority, but it's still
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Speaker 7: very difficult to get a lot of work done. So
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Speaker 7: it's very important to get more voices like ours and
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Speaker 7: the Capitol.
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Speaker 1: I joked with my breakfast and lunch audience today that
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Speaker 1: the first exits from California all came to Colorado and
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Speaker 1: turned to red state blue, but they brought the policies
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Speaker 1: with them. The second wave went to Florida and they
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Speaker 1: did not bring the policy with who had to fight
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Speaker 1: it back and clad back. How do you think that
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Speaker 1: battle is going at the state level. We have American
8:02
Speaker 1: Legislative Exchange Council is a great sponsor of ours.
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Speaker 3: How is it doing in Colorado? Are they going to
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Speaker 3: move up the rankings.
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Speaker 7: It's very interesting because you have infighting in the majority parties.
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Speaker 7: You have the very progressive and the more establishment Democrats
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Speaker 7: fighting with each other, and you also have the GOP
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Speaker 7: that's been fighting with those who are just fed up
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Speaker 7: with the status quo and those who are trying to
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Speaker 7: make concessions to get along. So you have both chambers
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Speaker 7: having internal caucus divisions while also dealing with some very
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Speaker 7: heinous policy. In the state of Colorado.
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Speaker 3: Is Governor Polist running for president.
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Speaker 7: He's going to try, so that's another thing that we're
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Speaker 7: looking at for twenty twenty eight. Right now, Governor pols
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Speaker 7: is a lame duck and he didn't want to see
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Speaker 7: certain bills be passed. Another bill that was introduced that
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Speaker 7: he hopefully will intervene on is HB twelve ninety two,
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Speaker 7: which would go after the scholarship granting organizations in the
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Speaker 7: state based on HR one, including KADA. So Colors Anti
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Speaker 7: Discrimination Act is called KADA. It now includes sexual orientation,
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Speaker 7: gender identity, and gender expression as protected classes the Non
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Speaker 7: Discrimination Code, and that would affect all faith based schools
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Speaker 7: in the state of Colorado.
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Speaker 1: Well, that's unconstitutional, So we'll have a well, arch bishopric
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Speaker 1: Quilla or his successor bring the lawsuit that needs to
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Speaker 1: be brought.
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Speaker 7: We're already in lawsuits on this, so the Universal pre
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Speaker 7: K program. We have two lawsuits going on with the
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Speaker 7: Beckett Funds. It also had to do with Katta and
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Speaker 7: we also, as you mentioned, we have our Specipicquilla has
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Speaker 7: been a tremendous advocate on life and religious liberty. Bishop
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Speaker 7: Golka just last month was announced as his successor and
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Speaker 7: he will be installed on March twenty fifth at the
9:30
Speaker 7: Nasair Western Stock Show Arena.
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Speaker 3: Actually three in.
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Speaker 1: A row for Denver, three great bishops and if O
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Speaker 1: Archbishop chip Ugh is listening, you've left it in good hands. Brittany,
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Speaker 1: thank you for joining me saying a good word about
9:41
Speaker 1: Colorado Christian University.
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Speaker 3: Thank you.
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Speaker 1: I want to remind everyone we are in lent, and
9:45
Speaker 1: during Lent, not just at CCU, but across all of
9:48
Speaker 1: the Salem stations. I asked people remember food for the Poor.
9:51
Speaker 1: There's a banner at the top of Hughewitt dot com.
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Speaker 1: You can go there and make your donation if you're
9:57
Speaker 1: moved by some of the testimonies I have today. Okay,
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10:20
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10:34
Speaker 1: you do, though, thank you in advance for your generosity.
10:37
Speaker 1: I'll be right back with Eli Lake for an update
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Speaker 1: on the war right after.
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Speaker 3: That Welcome Back in America.
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Speaker 1: I'm playing the Marine Corps him because the USS Tripoli
10:48
Speaker 1: is being dispatched from Japan with a MEW a Marine
10:52
Speaker 1: Expeditionary Unit. That means five thousand marines assorted warships as
10:56
Speaker 1: well as the Big Deck. What does that mean? I
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Speaker 1: turned to Eli the Free Press host of Breaking History
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Speaker 1: podcasts as well. Eli, that's a late addition to the
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Speaker 1: four structure around Iran. What do you think at Port Thames?
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Speaker 3: I think it could be one of two things.
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Speaker 8: It could be exactly what you need to seize carg Island,
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Speaker 8: which is the central point in which Iran ships and
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Speaker 8: refines most of the oil that exports, which would give
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Speaker 8: America and Donald Trump a stranglehold over the Iranian economy
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Speaker 8: and significant leverage in a similar kind of relationship it
11:32
Speaker 8: has right now with the Venezuelan regime. Or it could
11:36
Speaker 8: be preparing for a daring mission to try to get
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Speaker 8: those suitcases or not suitcases, but the kilograms of enriched
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Speaker 8: uranium buried underneath the facilities in Isfahan and Fordoh.
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Speaker 1: You know what the Marines are known for is amphibious assault.
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Speaker 1: They break open the door, Eli, And I wasn't thinking
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Speaker 1: about so much. I was thinking about the area across
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Speaker 1: from cars Island, which may make it vulnerable to hypersonics
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Speaker 1: and the short rain missiles sweeping kind of motion. And
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Speaker 1: you know, the Iranians really don't want to mess with
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Speaker 1: the Marines, do they?
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Speaker 3: No, they do not, No one should. They're the best. Yeah,
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Speaker 3: no better favorite, by the way, whne about the Marines? Yeah?
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Speaker 8: My favorite line about the Marines, I think came from
12:25
Speaker 8: an HBO series about the Iraq War, in which someone
12:29
Speaker 8: explains every few years, America just unleashes this wild attack
12:33
Speaker 8: dog on its enemies, and that's the Marine Corps. And
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Speaker 8: that's kind of how I feel about it.
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Speaker 1: You're right, I remember that's also from the Second Golf War,
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Speaker 1: the March to Baghdad. A marine was interviewed, what is
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Speaker 1: your job to beat the army to Baghdad?
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Speaker 3: Sir? Their answer, I'll never forget that.
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Speaker 8: Yeah, But I would say this that it also sort
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Speaker 8: of shows that, you know, I mean, the President Trump
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Speaker 8: is quoted, maybe fragments of quotes, you know, every other
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Speaker 8: day saying maybe we've accomplished most of our mission and
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Speaker 8: maybe it's trying to like, you know, wrap it up
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Speaker 8: and everything like that. This suggests that the war is
13:09
Speaker 8: not yet over, and that's important in terms of the
13:12
Speaker 8: perceptions of the enemy in this case.
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Speaker 1: Now, I want to talk about media narratives. The one
13:17
Speaker 1: that's driving me crazy now is that the war must
13:19
Speaker 1: be over before the president sits down with General Secretary
13:22
Speaker 1: g You know, that wasn't actually Nixon's approach with Mao.
13:26
Speaker 1: He went and saw Maw when the Vietnam War was underway.
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Speaker 1: And so I'm just thinking, where do these narratives come from?
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Speaker 1: Eli They're invented by people with agendas. How do they
13:35
Speaker 1: get past editors.
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Speaker 8: Well, you know, first of all, we are in a
13:42
Speaker 8: twenty four hour news environment, and there is a need
13:45
Speaker 8: for pundits and analysts and columnists and reporters to say
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Speaker 8: something anything in order to kind of fill the dead error.
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Speaker 8: And it's hard dealing with uncertainty. So that's the charitable explanation.
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Speaker 8: But I think there's also just a sense of, you know,
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Speaker 8: half the country despises you know, Trump with the power
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Speaker 8: of a thousand burning suns, and if it's his war,
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Speaker 8: then they're against it, and that's all they really need
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Speaker 8: to know. I think, I'm I don't think we're out
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Speaker 8: of the woods by any stretch, and you could see
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Speaker 8: it ending a couple of ways. But even if more
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Speaker 8: I mean I would I think you and I would
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Speaker 8: both love to see, you know, a new revolution and
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Speaker 8: a transition to a much more decent and better government
14:25
Speaker 8: for the Iranians. But if that doesn't happen, that seems
14:29
Speaker 8: maybe at this point to be less likely, and that
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Speaker 8: a remnant of the regime of much more weakened is surviving,
14:36
Speaker 8: whatever the status of their supreme leader, which we still
14:39
Speaker 8: haven't seen evidence that he's you know, all there other
14:43
Speaker 8: than this written statement, but we haven't seen him on video.
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Speaker 8: A weakened Iran, without the without a nuclear program, without missiles,
14:52
Speaker 8: without the ability to terrorize.
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Speaker 3: The region.
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Speaker 8: Is a victory, even if it might be considered at
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Speaker 8: a partial victory, because you still leave these you know,
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Speaker 8: these vicious thugs in place. But if they're weakened and
15:07
Speaker 8: they're significantly set back, that's a good outcome. And it
15:11
Speaker 8: doesn't preclude the prospect that after a couple of months
15:16
Speaker 8: and financial hardship, that you could see that color revolution.
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Speaker 8: And it also doesn't preclude the idea that much like Lebanon,
15:25
Speaker 8: the Israelis reserve the right to go in and take
15:28
Speaker 8: care of problems before they start. So I don't necessarily
15:32
Speaker 8: think an end of the war with the regime in
15:35
Speaker 8: place means that the regime has won or sticks around forever.
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Speaker 1: John potter Artz always accuses me of being the optimist optimist,
15:42
Speaker 1: but I'm fairly optimistic about how this is going. I
15:44
Speaker 1: think we are winning decisively, but we have not yet
15:47
Speaker 1: achieved a decisive win. But we can get there. And
15:50
Speaker 1: I would recommend to everyone a podcast called The Goodfellows,
15:54
Speaker 1: which comes out of the Hoover Institution, Neil Ferguson, John Cochrane,
15:59
Speaker 1: HR Master General McMaster and yesterday they had the right
16:03
Speaker 1: Honorable Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. And at one point
16:07
Speaker 1: Neil suggested maybe it wasn't going so well and that
16:10
Speaker 1: the Iranians had the whole card. And boy did doctor
16:13
Speaker 1: Rice come out of her share symbolically and remind him
16:17
Speaker 1: about this regime from nineteen She just rattled off seven
16:23
Speaker 1: the hostage crisis, the Babirute bombing, the Cobar towers, the
16:29
Speaker 1: Marines dead, soldier sailor's Erman marine.
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Speaker 3: Dead in Iran.
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Speaker 1: She's ready for bear, and she is not ready to
16:35
Speaker 1: say we're on a clock. I don't think we're on
16:37
Speaker 1: a clocky lit.
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Speaker 8: I think I mean, listen, the answer is with Trump.
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Speaker 8: That's the bottom line. Okay, so it's what Trump decides.
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Speaker 8: But so far Trump's been you know, he said a
16:49
Speaker 8: lot of things, but I think he's kind of stuck
16:51
Speaker 8: with the sort of larger mission at this point. And
16:56
Speaker 8: you know, we'll see, but I don't think. I don't
16:59
Speaker 8: think it's necessarily over yet. But at the same time,
17:03
Speaker 8: even if it was to wrap up in the next
17:04
Speaker 8: few days, there's been some pretty decisive blows that have
17:07
Speaker 8: been dealt. I still think there's more that has to
17:09
Speaker 8: be done, and we'll find out more kind of in
17:11
Speaker 8: the aftermath, but I would not.
17:14
Speaker 3: Call this a win.
17:15
Speaker 8: And I'm amazed at some of the people, you know,
17:18
Speaker 8: professors who sort of do this stuff for a living
17:22
Speaker 8: and study Iran, are telling us that, you know, Iran
17:25
Speaker 8: is in this great position, it's an oil hedgemon. Now nonsense.
17:30
Speaker 8: I think that we'll find the straits of her moves.
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Speaker 8: Will take some work, but I think these I think
17:34
Speaker 8: the US and Israel will be able.
17:36
Speaker 3: To handle it.
17:37
Speaker 1: Well, that's what it comes down to. I don't think
17:39
Speaker 1: we've won. I think we are decisively winning, but I
17:41
Speaker 1: don't think we are anything remotely.
17:44
Speaker 3: The world is a.
17:44
Speaker 1: Much better place today than it was fourteen months ago.
17:47
Speaker 1: It is a much better place today than it was
17:49
Speaker 1: fourteen days ago, and in another fourteen days it could
17:52
Speaker 1: be even better because of Cuban. And I did want
17:54
Speaker 1: to get your comment on the extraordinary announcement by the
17:58
Speaker 1: dictator in Cuba last What do you think is.
18:01
Speaker 3: Going on there?
18:03
Speaker 8: I hope that we are seeing the beginning of the
18:05
Speaker 8: end of that awful regime and something much better. That's
18:09
Speaker 8: the I mean of those of us who kind of
18:12
Speaker 8: I wasn't around for the original Cuban revolution, but this
18:15
Speaker 8: is unfinished business now going back, you know, more than
18:19
Speaker 8: sixty years. So if there is a prospect to get
18:23
Speaker 8: something more decent for Cuba, I mean, I think that's
18:27
Speaker 8: another another feather in Trump's cap at this point. And
18:31
Speaker 8: I think at a certain point, I would imagine that
18:35
Speaker 8: you can argue that there's been things that Trump has
18:37
Speaker 8: done that and I certainly would say I certainly disagree
18:40
Speaker 8: with it, are going to be not great for his legacy,
18:42
Speaker 8: but you have to account for Venezuela, Cuba and figures
18:45
Speaker 8: crossed Iran.
18:47
Speaker 3: That's enormous.
18:48
Speaker 8: I think that's that's that's a kind of foreign policy
18:50
Speaker 8: legacy that we associate with the greats, whether it's you know, Truman, Fdr. Reagan,
18:56
Speaker 8: and Trump at least in that regard, will have a
18:58
Speaker 8: chance to sort of be in that categ.
19:00
Speaker 1: And I don't think he's going to allow himself to
19:03
Speaker 1: be called the loser on Iran.
19:05
Speaker 3: I just don't think that's in the cards. I agree.
19:07
Speaker 1: Eli Lake can be followed on x at Eli Lake
19:10
Speaker 1: Breaking History Podcast as his podcast from the Free Press.
19:13
Speaker 1: He's a contributor to the Free Press. He's a welcome
19:16
Speaker 1: guest here anytime. Thank you, Eli. I'll be right back
19:19
Speaker 1: from Colorado Christian University. I'm jew Hewitt Broadcast and today
19:22
Speaker 1: on the campus at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado,
19:26
Speaker 1: where I'll be giving a talk tonight dedicated to the
19:30
Speaker 1: role of Christian institutions and battling anti Semitism.
19:33
Speaker 3: Long scheduled.
19:35
Speaker 1: Did not intend for it to follow an attack on
19:37
Speaker 1: a synagogue in West Bloomfield yesterday, or four terrorist attacks
19:41
Speaker 1: in fourteen days, But it's timely talk about all that
19:44
Speaker 1: and more. Ben Dominich joins me Fox News contributor extraordinaire
19:48
Speaker 1: now the head of commentary over at The Daily Wire
19:51
Speaker 1: as well. Ben, how are you and how do you
19:53
Speaker 1: like the new gig at the Daily Wire.
19:55
Speaker 6: Well, I'll tell you, Hugh, I was just on a
19:59
Speaker 6: conversation including our friends Andrew Claven, Michael Noles and then
20:03
Speaker 6: Shapiro or Shapiro and Noles who were absolutely yelling at
20:06
Speaker 6: each other. So it was it's been a test of fire,
20:10
Speaker 6: let's put it that way. It's a fun time. It's
20:12
Speaker 6: an interesting time to join a new publication, and we've
20:15
Speaker 6: got some great writers over there, and thank you for
20:18
Speaker 6: recommending it. Josh Holly particularly has a good piece today
20:21
Speaker 6: on the abortion situation across the country. I hope people
20:25
Speaker 6: will check it out.
20:26
Speaker 1: If people aren't yelling at each other in a newsroom,
20:29
Speaker 1: they're not doing their job, and so I thank you
20:32
Speaker 1: went into the right place. More questions, Yeah, four questions
20:37
Speaker 1: for two segments here. Your assessment of how the war
20:40
Speaker 1: is going, Your assessment of how America is doing during
20:43
Speaker 1: the war, Your assessment of the American media during the war,
20:47
Speaker 1: and then the political perils and pluses for Donald Trump.
20:51
Speaker 1: Let's start with your assessment of the war.
20:54
Speaker 6: I think the war is actually going pretty much as
20:57
Speaker 6: you would expect it to in the sense that except
21:00
Speaker 6: that it's actually moved. And this is something that the
21:02
Speaker 6: President's correct about saying, it's actually moved a lot faster
21:05
Speaker 6: than I think a lot of people might have expected,
21:07
Speaker 6: perhaps not under this military that has been planning this
21:10
Speaker 6: and wargaming this for so long, and given our close
21:13
Speaker 6: relationship with Israel, the effectiveness of those early attacks, if anything,
21:17
Speaker 6: was much more than you might have expected. At the
21:20
Speaker 6: same time, I think that with the expectations built in
21:24
Speaker 6: the simple fact that the American people and we can
21:27
Speaker 6: get into this had even higher expectations, perhaps expectations that
21:32
Speaker 6: were not realistic, given the fact that almost every military
21:36
Speaker 6: conflict that the President has participated in or gotten into
21:39
Speaker 6: was over in the matter of days. And that's something
21:41
Speaker 6: that is this is not going to entail. It is
21:44
Speaker 6: going to be weeks potentially.
21:46
Speaker 1: Must the USS Triple A just a part of Japan
21:49
Speaker 1: with an NEU Marine Exhibitionary Unit other warships along with
21:53
Speaker 1: the Triple A?
21:54
Speaker 3: What does that signal to you?
21:55
Speaker 6: Ben To me, it signals the fact that this was
21:58
Speaker 6: always going to require potential ground presence, especially when it
22:02
Speaker 6: comes to some of the different steps that need to
22:04
Speaker 6: be taken. At the same time, I don't think that
22:07
Speaker 6: the President intends to have any kind of large footprint.
22:10
Speaker 6: There's anything we've learned about this president that he is
22:12
Speaker 6: a visceral reaction to the deaths of American soldiers. He
22:16
Speaker 6: hates it, He absolutely affors it. And so for people
22:19
Speaker 6: who are saying that he is somehow engaged or in
22:22
Speaker 6: the beginnings of the Forever War or some type of
22:25
Speaker 6: long term land conflict, I just do not think that
22:28
Speaker 6: there is any evidence to support that whatsoever. That is
22:30
Speaker 6: not the way this president thinks or works. In fact,
22:33
Speaker 6: I think he wants to avoid that. At the same time,
22:35
Speaker 6: as you know, there are reasons why regime change wars,
22:39
Speaker 6: or even wars of this nature cannot fully be conducted
22:42
Speaker 6: by air power.
22:44
Speaker 1: Yesterday I listened to doctor Rice Connolly's The Rice on
22:47
Speaker 1: the Goodfellow's podcast with General McMaster, Nile Ferguson, John Cocklan.
22:51
Speaker 1: It's a fabulous podcast, but she really brushed back Neil
22:58
Speaker 1: Ferguson when he suggested that may maybe the Iranians have
23:01
Speaker 1: the upper hand.
23:02
Speaker 3: I don't think they have the upper hand at all.
23:06
Speaker 6: I think that I realized that sometimes Neil says, and
23:10
Speaker 6: Neil's friend, and I'm sure he's a friend of yours
23:12
Speaker 6: as well, he sometimes says things to be provocative. I
23:16
Speaker 6: don't know if he was saying that to be provocative,
23:17
Speaker 6: but I don't think you can advance that argument on
23:19
Speaker 6: any basis. By the way, there are so many arguments
23:22
Speaker 6: being advanced, and you were answer those four questions. There's
23:25
Speaker 6: so many arguments being advanced by the American media that
23:28
Speaker 6: have no factual relevance, no relationship with the truth whatsoever.
23:33
Speaker 6: I mean, this ridiculous idea that mining the straits of
23:37
Speaker 6: Hormuz or shutting it down was something that the American
23:40
Speaker 6: military never considered. Have you seen this one? Have you seen?
23:44
Speaker 6: I mean, that is ludicrous, That is I mean, sorry,
23:48
Speaker 6: this is this is basic war gaming. What do you
23:50
Speaker 6: think these people do in the Pentagon? What do you
23:53
Speaker 6: think that the people do at SAMCOM when they are
23:55
Speaker 6: planning these types of things. Of course they assume that's
23:57
Speaker 6: going to happen. They know what's going to happen, and
23:59
Speaker 6: I think put the assumptions built in to so many
24:02
Speaker 6: of these journalists. You know, you saw this actually just
24:05
Speaker 6: as a sideline. You saw this this week with the
24:07
Speaker 6: commentary from Paul Mgala, who is somebody who is actually
24:10
Speaker 6: pretty respected in Democrats circles. So I don't won't know
24:14
Speaker 6: why at this point, you know, going on air and
24:16
Speaker 6: saying Scott Jennings that you know, he believed that Pete
24:20
Speaker 6: Hegsith was personally needing these millions of dollars worth of
24:23
Speaker 6: lobster tales and the idea that Democrats have become so
24:28
Speaker 6: divorced as if they don't know anyone in the American military.
24:31
Speaker 6: But they wouldn't understand what was going on there. It's
24:34
Speaker 6: it's just lappable on a certain level. Get I mean,
24:37
Speaker 6: Mary Catherine posted this, and so I'm not going to
24:39
Speaker 6: steal with that credit or get a friend in the military. Please, yep,
24:43
Speaker 6: begging of you.
24:45
Speaker 1: I agree with that now. Ben Doctor Rice in this
24:49
Speaker 1: podcast pointed out to people that in the two thousand
24:53
Speaker 1: and three invasion of Iraq, oil went to one hundred
24:56
Speaker 1: and forty three dollars a barrel. We're at one hundred
24:59
Speaker 1: dollars a barrel and maybe a little bit lower today.
25:02
Speaker 1: I expect that the American people, for regime damage or
25:07
Speaker 1: change in Iran, will put up with a bucket gallon
25:10
Speaker 1: higher gas for a few months. I really don't think
25:13
Speaker 1: that will destroy the November elections, But the American media
25:17
Speaker 1: intend to use this to destroy, and by that I
25:21
Speaker 1: mean legacy media. I'm amazed at their narratives. My favorite one,
25:26
Speaker 1: which is crept In, is that Trump is going to
25:28
Speaker 1: wrap the war up by the time you sit down
25:30
Speaker 1: with Jijinping.
25:31
Speaker 3: That that's not a whole clop, right, that comes from nowhere?
25:35
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, well, I will What I will say
25:38
Speaker 6: is this the speculative idea that the Chinese would like
25:42
Speaker 6: to insert themselves into this situation as a potential interlocutor.
25:47
Speaker 6: That is something that I think is real in the
25:50
Speaker 6: sense that they will attempt to do it. The idea
25:52
Speaker 6: that Donald Trump would accept that, I think is laughable.
25:55
Speaker 6: You would have to be in such dire straits with
25:57
Speaker 6: the way the war is going that you know, he
25:59
Speaker 6: would have to be desperate to do something like that,
26:01
Speaker 6: and also he would be completely judged as having failed
26:04
Speaker 6: if something like that happens, because you know, you presume
26:07
Speaker 6: that something like that allows a rump regime to continue,
26:10
Speaker 6: allows for a major Chinese military presence, perhaps permanently in
26:14
Speaker 6: the strait. I mean, that's not something that is a win.
26:18
Speaker 6: I don't think that there's any way you would accept that.
26:19
Speaker 6: But look, I assume that the Chinese will try to
26:21
Speaker 6: do something like that because it's in their nature. And
26:24
Speaker 6: one more thing, by the way, about the gas price conversation,
26:28
Speaker 6: I think one of the things that's happening here, Republicans
26:31
Speaker 6: need to understand how much better they need to defend
26:34
Speaker 6: these decisions that the president is making, and how much
26:37
Speaker 6: more benefit of the doubt they need to give him
26:39
Speaker 6: about this. They're nervous about their elections, They're nervous about
26:43
Speaker 6: keeping their jobs. They're worried about the price of the
26:45
Speaker 6: probe being something that dooms them in November. Now, I
26:48
Speaker 6: don't know about you, Hugh, but I think President actually
26:51
Speaker 6: has kind of written that off that he believes this
26:54
Speaker 6: is worth doing, regardless of whether it means Republicans lose
26:57
Speaker 6: the House or not. I think that he is of
26:59
Speaker 6: that much mindset. You can take issue with that if
27:02
Speaker 6: you're a member of the House Republicans, but I think
27:04
Speaker 6: they should be out there defending this and saying, look,
27:06
Speaker 6: this has been America's policy, you know, going back, you know,
27:10
Speaker 6: as long as most of them have been alive. We
27:12
Speaker 6: need to pursue it at a moment when Iran is
27:14
Speaker 6: at its weakest and we need to prevent We've already
27:17
Speaker 6: prevented their ability to throw out the kind of ballistic
27:20
Speaker 6: missile threat that they know that they have always held
27:23
Speaker 6: over the Gulf region. We've destroyed their navy. We are
27:28
Speaker 6: going iotola one iotola after another. In terms of our process,
27:32
Speaker 6: I think the President needs to be given the benefit
27:34
Speaker 6: of the doubt, given his success in foreign policy and
27:37
Speaker 6: a lot of these Republicans on the hill, particularly on
27:40
Speaker 6: the outside. I think they need to, you know, find
27:42
Speaker 6: their testicular fortitude when it comes to making any arguments
27:45
Speaker 6: about this.
27:46
Speaker 1: They have to make an argument about the last fourteen
27:49
Speaker 1: months been the change in the position of America in
27:53
Speaker 1: fourteen months with the capitation of the Maduro regime. Cuba
27:57
Speaker 1: is about to come in from the cold after sixty
27:59
Speaker 1: year and Iran is that is on its knees. I
28:02
Speaker 1: don't know if it'll fall over yet. Might take a
28:05
Speaker 1: year or two after the kinetic phase is done, but
28:08
Speaker 1: it might yet fall over. He's changed America's position in
28:12
Speaker 1: the world for the better by a lot in fourteen months.
28:16
Speaker 6: Absolutely, And I think that the truth is that many
28:19
Speaker 6: of the things that he has done are things that
28:22
Speaker 6: the foreign policy establishment right and left like. I mean,
28:25
Speaker 6: this is not just Democrats we're talking about when we
28:27
Speaker 6: talk about this. They have assumed that a lot of
28:30
Speaker 6: these things were impossible, were impossible to achieve. He has
28:34
Speaker 6: proven them wrong. And I think there's resentment in that,
28:36
Speaker 6: and I think that there is a there is a
28:38
Speaker 6: cohort among them that would really like to see him
28:41
Speaker 6: fail in this, even though, by the way, there are
28:43
Speaker 6: also people who advocated for getting rid of the Iranian
28:46
Speaker 6: regime in different ways over the years, with the exception
28:49
Speaker 6: of course, of the pod Save Iran Bros. Who are
28:51
Speaker 6: you know? It's still somehow still around after being wrong
28:55
Speaker 6: about everything related to Iran exit.
28:57
Speaker 1: To the break, Ben, I do not believe anybody but
29:01
Speaker 1: Trump would have done this. This was the last chance,
29:04
Speaker 1: and I think he's taken it. Do you agree with that?
29:07
Speaker 6: I agree? And I also think it speaks to what
29:10
Speaker 6: a president can do when he knows he's not running
29:13
Speaker 6: for reelections. Yes, he has a legacy on his line,
29:17
Speaker 6: but he also has the ability to do things and
29:19
Speaker 6: pull the trigger on choices that he knows he is
29:22
Speaker 6: going to have to live with legacy wise regarding regardless
29:25
Speaker 6: of how things turn out. But he understands that another president,
29:29
Speaker 6: you know, potentially at Jad Evans or someone like that
29:31
Speaker 6: who comes after him, may not be in a position
29:33
Speaker 6: to do it. He understood the time was right, and
29:36
Speaker 6: to have the bravery and the courage to do it,
29:37
Speaker 6: I think is impressive.
29:40
Speaker 3: Don't go anywhere, America.
29:41
Speaker 1: I'm going to talk with Ben during the break player
29:43
Speaker 1: on the podcast and over on my YouTube channel as well.
29:46
Speaker 1: Stay ten is a Salem News Channel. I'll be right
29:48
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31:04
Speaker 3: I'm back with.
31:05
Speaker 1: Ben Dominich now, and Ben, I want to talk pure
31:07
Speaker 1: politics and President Trump.
31:09
Speaker 3: A war is not.
31:10
Speaker 1: About politics ever, but politics always follows the war. I
31:14
Speaker 1: think he has only upside if he sees it through,
31:17
Speaker 1: and only downside if he quits too soon. How do
31:20
Speaker 1: you assess the situation.
31:23
Speaker 6: I think his situation at this point is that he
31:26
Speaker 6: is still the bullish on the chances of achieving their aims.
31:30
Speaker 6: I don't know if that's going to be the case
31:32
Speaker 6: in two weeks. I don't know if the people who
31:34
Speaker 6: are surrounding him, who, by the way, are also working
31:37
Speaker 6: with I believe people outside the administration. I mean I
31:40
Speaker 6: don't believe this. I know that are essentially trying to
31:43
Speaker 6: work the refs inside of it to advance the argument that, hey,
31:48
Speaker 6: you know, you're putting everything at risk. You don't you
31:50
Speaker 6: shouldn't go that far down this road, and you know,
31:53
Speaker 6: look and look at the prices of the pump, and
31:55
Speaker 6: look at all these things they're going to lose all well, look,
31:57
Speaker 6: I actually think that the Republicans and the especially the
32:01
Speaker 6: Republicans who are most supportive of President Trump, overwhelmingly support
32:04
Speaker 6: this war. And I think that the thing that we
32:06
Speaker 6: are seeing going forward is that the politics of this
32:09
Speaker 6: is entirely dependent on success. Meaning if he backs out
32:13
Speaker 6: too early, there is going to be a penalty for that.
32:16
Speaker 6: People will point to it as being a mistake.
32:20
Speaker 3: This is the key thing.
32:21
Speaker 1: If he quits early because of internal pressure or the
32:25
Speaker 1: price of gas, or because too many casualties are absorbed
32:28
Speaker 1: and we're already into a dozen and it's terrible, it's
32:31
Speaker 1: a horrible cost to bear. But if he quits too early,
32:34
Speaker 1: it will haunt him through history. And if he wins,
32:38
Speaker 1: it will solidify his place in history. If he wins
32:42
Speaker 1: along with Cuba and Venezuela, it's an extraordinary presidency, maybe
32:46
Speaker 1: in the most significant since Reagan's.
32:48
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think you are not exaggerating in that vein
32:51
Speaker 6: at all. And look at the other aspect of this
32:53
Speaker 6: that we should keep in mind is I think that
32:57
Speaker 6: only someone in his position could have made made this
33:00
Speaker 6: kind of decision without without having the type of palms
33:04
Speaker 6: that other presidents might have about the risk of their legacy.
33:07
Speaker 6: Why risk it? Why go down this road? Why try
33:10
Speaker 6: this unless you had faith in the fact that the
33:13
Speaker 6: American military and our work with the Israelis can achieve
33:16
Speaker 6: this end. And so I think you have to stick
33:18
Speaker 6: it through. You cannot just you succumb to the ideas
33:22
Speaker 6: being pushed by some, including some people who I think
33:25
Speaker 6: woul be lost count as friends or at least as
33:27
Speaker 6: colleagues within this industry, that there needs to be some
33:31
Speaker 6: kind of oh, slow down, slow down, go to Congress,
33:34
Speaker 6: slow down, you know, try to you know, do some
33:36
Speaker 6: other speech to try to get people on your side.
33:39
Speaker 6: Slow down, no, press ahead and win. That is the
33:42
Speaker 6: only way that you will be judged on this, and
33:44
Speaker 6: he understands winning.
33:47
Speaker 1: Ben Dominich as always a pleasure. Go and read him
33:49
Speaker 1: over at the Daily Wire, look at his new commentary section,
33:52
Speaker 1: and hear him again next Friday. If we are lucky
33:55
Speaker 1: right here on the Uuit Show, follo him on x
33:57
Speaker 1: AS while at the Dominiic stay tuned