I'm Bill Cunningham, the Great American. Of course, we'll continue to follow the events happening New Orleans and also indirectly
in Las Vegas. Joanan, you and on ows Lieutenant General Richard Newton, retired Lieutenant General Richard Newton has spent about thirty four years and the military now retired Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and General Newton, welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show and General when these stories broke, As a great American, I like to think that the American military is the best and the brightest at times that may lose its way with some of their ideas about DEI, etc.
But nonetheless, many of us were somewhat shocked that the two persons involved in these acts of terror, one in New Orleans and one in Las Vegas, might have been related somehow. They were both served at Fort Bragg, probably with hundreds of thousands of others at the same time. But nonetheless, as a retired military leader, I've read your resume. I'm honored to have you on the phone with me,
Lieutenant General Richard Newton. But what came to your mind is these two events reporting this has taken place and both have a military connection.
Well, thank you, Bill, It's good to be with you. Unfortunately under these circumstances. But nonetheless, the bottom line is the forces of Islamic radicalism have not gone away. This evil act of terrorism, both in New Orleans and also in Las Vegas. These are acts of evil done by terrorists. In my book, regarding specifically the fact that their associated with military, certainly the terrorists in New Orleans had served eight years on acting dut the United States Army in
five years in reserve. Shows the reach that you know, ISIS and others can have. You know, we have sixteen million veterans living in the U States and that's quite a large cohort. But I would say it's not just a military cohort that could be targets of influenced by ISIS, but other parts of the United States. And it just goes to show that ISIS have, you know, had somewhat been put in a weakened state under President Trump during
his administration. Now that they're trying to fight back and to have influence not only in Europe as we saw, but also in the United States. It's unfortunate, but we'll get to the bottom of it. But you know, the American people. Again, we have to realize that we are a target, that we are hated by these fundamentalist groups and organizations, and that the fact is is that we can't take our freedom for granted at all.
Well, the thing is, when I watched the media coverage, often it is said that the liberal media want to make a connection between terrorism and the US military, and
that's somehow the wrong things are being taught. Or secondly that on one hand, they might be bloodthirsty warriors wanting to kill and Maine because they've served in the military, and the military comes in the media, something happens bad with a cop or with a deputy sheriff or somebody in the military, their status is put front and center. But you point out there's a thirteen or so million American veterans that have nothing to do with any of this.
Probably the most.
Peaceful, god fearing, law abiding citizens that have ever lived are veterans from the US military, and you're one of them.
You wouldn't even think about such things.
So there is there an argument available that whether it was Fort Hood with I recall the guy's name was Major Hassan, who was an Army major that murdered thirteen American soldiers and injured about thirty others.
That when those in the media draw.
A connection between the US military more or less giving birth to terrorists, what is your reaction, Well, it's interesting you.
Bring out Major Hassan, by the way, who's on death row at Fort Leavenworth as we speak. I was the UH, one of the We had assembled a team on the morning of November fifth, two thousand and nine, or out of the afternoon in a high level investigative team UH. And I was part of that to the first couple of days of the Fort Hood investigation. UH. And what we discovered through FBI investigation, a separate Department of Defense investigation.
Congress also was that there's this this concept and it's hard to get our minds wrapped around this bill because these are maniacs. These are people who who spurn hate and so and not just attributed to you know, a veteran population or any part of the American population. These are these are what I would call one offs of anyone around the world. Frankly. But what we discovered was
that there's this what I call a linear radicalization. It's like you go from events connected to events connected to events, then you get this, uh, these terrorist acts. In the case of Major Hassan but who was an army major, but he was really a psychiatrist. He was a part of the Army Medical Court. He had some personal issues which led to things that and let's talk about perhaps
the terrorists in New Orleans. Jobbern it was one where he was going through divorces, he had failed marriages, he had failed relationships with his with his daughters, he was high in debt, and then that led to an event whereby he had this armic religious intensification that was intensified steeped to what I'm making presumptions here, but I'm just
going through what I think could be a process. So his Islamic beliefs are intensified, which then lead to a path of even more radicalization, which leads to the fact that he's going to go out and chill and name and he I believe he had every intent bill at three point thirty five in the morning on you know, just to it wasn't you know, twenty four hours or so ago was also be killed on spot there New Orleans. And so that's what we're going to find out. Again.
The bottom line is that these radical Isami terrorists. They want to do harm to the American people. They want to do harm to everything we stand for. And while i'mount of roll he let me take one more point,
if I may. The FBI Director Christopher Ray testified before the House of Representative in open form back in April that he is not seen in his thirty plus years in law enforcement and the FBI a condition where there is threats to the United States from our the safety of the American people as well as our national security that he has seen at that moment, and that obviously
has come true. Today. You've got October seventh, most hateous attack and on twenty twenty three against against Israel, which has spurned off a lot of you know, terrorist and activity and so forth. You also have a very poor order that has ensued for the last several years, uh Princeville in Arizona and Texas, which allows for literally, uh, you know, bad people to do bad things coming in
the back door of the United States. That's why I would advocate for and I would buy President Trump, that we have to stay offensive against you know, radical terrorist groups such as ISIS in northern Syria. We've got a base of operations there. We've been operating every between nine hundred and two thousand people. We need to go offensive against these radical uh these radical terrorist groups so that their terrorism and their reach in the United States doesn't doesn't come on shore.
Lieutenant General Richard Newton retired. You bring up problems and Jabbar, the New Orleans mass murderer, had marital had women problems. He was in debt, and he turned toward a branch of Islam that said, the resolution of your difficulty is to go out and kill the infidel in large numbers.
And I would anticipate them.
Major Hasan, who was a psychiatrist, thought that he was doing the Lord's work when he's shot in cold blood thirteen proud American soldiers. And I would imagine when we get the final information out of Las Vegas, it'll be the same that somehow there's a branch of Islam that says the way to solve your difficulties is to murder innocent men, women and children. I've never left a Roman Catholic mass and said, you know what, damn, I want to go kill somebody. It happens in the Islamic world
many times. On a late Friday that large numbers come out shouting, arguing and screaming about killing the Infidel, which is their path towards their version of heaven. And the head of the snake is Iran. You spent You're an Air Force lieutenant general retired, and the head of the snake is Iran, and the Iranian people need to be
freed from its leadership. Have you ever encountered in the last since nineteen seventy nine, what forty five years, forty six years ago, that Iran is in a more vulnerable position than it is today and now's the time to strike.
I agree from a standpoint of the vulnerability of Iran, I believe that certainly we all lot get a gratitude frankly to Prime Minister and in Yahoo and what he had done leading Israel in terms of that Heinus, they're nine to eleven, if you will, was on October seventh to twenty twenty three when Hamas did that attack, and then a day later Hezemlah starts ringing down missiles and artillery shells and cruise missiles and drones against Israel, and
then a couple of days later you've got the housies. Now are tract me holding the Red Sea. Well, twelve percent of global commerce shipping goes through hostage to freelance of communication of shipping and so forth. And you're right, Iran has been the source of the largest export of terrorism buill has been the nation state of revolutionary Iran,
and we're starting to see that. But nonetheless, I believe they are now on their heels and it's time that we, you know, focus and continue to support Prime Minister Ninyahu. Let them finish the job with Hamas and gothwel and finish the job at Hezelo in Lebanon, but also take a very close eye towards how we're going to deal with They're wrong. They cannot get any closer in their close bill to the development and therefore an ability to employ a nuclear weapon. I don't think we're going to
see that happen on the Trump administration. There's three things as I segue into President Trump and how he sees things from a national security standpoint. First number one, strategic clarity. He's going to call out who the adversary is, who the enemy is. In my book, it's it's the leading culprit here is China. That's another conversation for another day,
but includes Russia, North Korea, and certainly Iran. Secondly, he's going to make sure that other allies of ours and friends and allies of ours that they will also add towards their defense, that it's not just the United States always picking up the tab. I'm very pro for alliances, but I think it's others that others, especially NATO in other countries that also need to pair more of a
fair share. But the third point is it's key under President Trump and his new national security team will focus on, is peace through strengths. The only thing in the adversary understands, in this case in Iran in order to deter them from either are expanding their nuclear weapons capabilities or employing weapons of mass destruction is you need both capability, which we have, but you need will will, especially at the
political level. That's what's been lacking recently. And so that's the only thing A Putin understands, the only thing that Chi understands in China, that's the only thing I Toil understands in Iran. And so you're going to see that come January twentieth, that peace through strength and whether or not it leads to us having to decimate a run in terms of not there against their people. We have nothing against their people. It's against their nuclear weapons ambitions
that will be determined. It's all up to your run. They want to back off, they have an opportunity to do so, but we're gonna have President Trump and others are not going to allow for them to have a nuclear weapon if that happens. If they get a nuclear weapon, it turns the Midies upside down and is a great, great threat to US national security.
Is there any down in your mind?
Lieutenant General Richard Newton retired that if Iran receives a nuclear weapon, given the opportunity to set it off in Israel, they would do it.
Absolutely, they would do it. Once they get hands on their capabilities, they will. But what you've got the chalcot us has changed a little bit. When Prime Minderson went after them a second time after they rained icy in their kind of OBUSI missiles and cruise missiles and drones against Israel in the end of October, he went after their uh, their air defense capabilities. He went up near
where their nuclear weapons production sites are. He didn't go after the nuclear weapons production sites, but he may send the Ietola, and the regime messages that he can use his air power and he can go downtown Iran wherever he wants to go. And since he's taken out their defense system, they're really they have very little protection right now,
and they know that. So I believe that they're to tred at this point, but for some reason they feel compelled to start and to really now develop the means to deliver a nuclear weapon. That's a whole new Tacus, and I believe you're going to see the United States leading the effort. I would advise the President to lead the effort to not let that happen and take out those nuclear weapons capabilities.
Because Israel says never again. About a year and a half ago, I spent about two weeks in Israel and went through the Holocaust Museum. You see these young men and women Israeli IDF soldiers marching around with their weapons, and I felt safe. And the slogan of the Holocaust Museum was never again. And if Israel believes, which I think all of us do, that Iran would set off a nuclear war to kill as many as possible, including themselves, because it is a culture of death, not a culture
of life. The way to get to heaven is to kill the infidel in large numbers. And as Infidels have been killed to the tune of some two hundred thousand in the past twenty five years at the hands of Islamic terror, but ninety two percent or other Muslims killed in Islamic terror, it is somewhat unusual to have Americans or the Europeans killed. Mainly the Islamic terrors kill other Muslims by ninety two percent. But nonetheless, we can't live under the gun, and there's nothing in the US military
that causes someone to become radicalized. Over the weekend, I saw some reporting that maybe some of the teaching that you have done or generals have done, gives birth the radical Islamist in the military.
That is a ridiculous charge. What do you say about that?
I say that is absolutely first, unfathomable for anybody to think that. Secondly, I have the greatest trust in our men and women in unform. We have two point one million men and women unform, active duty, Guard, Reserve, and so forth. They are extremely well led, they're well equipped.
We've got to modernize our force. But today we have several hundreds of thousands of men and women serving overseas and Harm's way, all volunteers, all raise the right hand like I did, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I would close on this point. Number one, I would make sure our American people and some of our listeners right now understand that this is still the greatest nation in
the world. Secondly, we are the beacon of hope. We are the beacon of light of freedom of all nations around the world. They're all going to be looking to the United States and how do we deal with this homegrown domestic terrorism that perhaps has been influenced strongly influenced by isis how we're going to deal with that In New Orleans and subsequently likely in Las Vegas, they're going to be look to how we deal with that and how we're defending ourselves is going to have to start
at the border starting on January twentieth. And my last point is that the fact is is that it's still you know, we're gonna call it's one hundred United States, and that's that's from a diplomatic standpoint, that's economically and financial, and that's with Mordack, and we are the sole superpower, but we're the superpower that understands how to support and defend freedom. We're the beacon for freedom for the rest
of the free world. And I believe that is a charge that we have, and it's something that we realize that freedom isn't free. I would wish that we didn't frankly, didn't even have to have a military, but we do. The Enny gets a vote here, and so I believe that's where we're gonna believe. This is where the United States has got to lead, and we can no longer lead from the rear. We've got to lead from the front. Build.
Oh, you're a great American. Lieutenant General Richard Newton retired to US Air Force thirty four years assistant Vice chief of Staff, and you're with News Nation at this point in Sean Compton and of course Danny Jansen and Lieutenant General Richard Newton, thank you for coming on the Bill Cunningham Show, and with your permission, will do it again. Thank you, General, Bill, Best to you, God blessed America.
Let's continue with more the line becomes available five one, three, seven, four, nine, seven thousand. Bill Cunningham Live, at the home of the Bengals news radio seven hundred WULW.
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