Welcome to today's podcast sponsored by Hillsdale College, All Things Hillsdale Hillsdale dot ed or I encourage you to take advantage of the many free online courses there, and of course I'll listen to the Hillsdale dialogues, all of them at Hugh for Hillsdale dot com or just Google, Apple iTunes and Hillsdale and Glory and even Greats America. I'm Hugh Hewett back inside the Belwagh, where I feel most comfortable, especially during a war, where you can doctor people throughout
the day about what's going on. We are winning, we are winning decisively, and we will win decisively. I don't know what the end state looks like in Iran, because we are not seeking regime change so much as we are to destroy again not merely their nuclear power program and their nuclear weapons program, but the missile for us that surrounds it, as well as the military structure that supplies it. And we're well on our way to there.
President Trump gave a long press conference today. What he had to say is a lot more important than what I have to say. Let's go to cutt number one.
When this is over, oil prices are going to go down very very rapidly. So is inflation, so is everything else, but frankly much more important than short term or even long term oil prices. You can't let the most violent, vicious country in the last fifty years have a nuclear weapon because.
The Middle East will be gone.
Israel will go first without question, and they'll certainly take a shot at us before we get our act together and say we got to take him out.
You can't let her on, who's truly a nation of great.
Terror and.
Power. Look what happened in the last two weeks.
They weren't supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them.
He's right, they're a radical, fanatical regime. By the way, oil is down ninety three dollars a barrel now and dropping cut number two.
And a lot of people are saying that he's badly disfigured. They're saying that he lost his leg, the one leg, and he's you know, been hurt very badly. Other people are saying he's dead. Nobody's saying he's one hundred percent healthy, and he hasn't you know, he hasn't spoken because the Ayatola would sit and.
He'd spew hate from a form of a throne. Not as nice as a throne.
I like the English throne much better, but it was it was a fancy chair. But he'd spew hate from his chair. But you see him a lot, right, this one we haven't seen at all, So that could be for a lot of different reasons.
We don't know.
Peter of his dead or cut number three. The President talks about who's getting help to open the strait of horm moves.
Of they want to make a deal. They're talking to our people. I don't know if they say that to you. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. Don't forget.
They are a country that for years I didn't know this until recently. They're country based on disinformation and now they're using information plus AI and that's a terrible situation. That's a terrible situation. They showed all sorts of things happening in the last two weeks that never happened, between the kamikaze boats that don't exist, between blowing up the aircraft carrier, one of the great ships in the world, the Abraham Lincoln on fire. They showed it on fire.
I called it the General, I said, General what's with the Abraham Lincoln. It looks like it's burning down. No, it's not burning down. Not a bullet was ever fired at it, sir.
They know better.
They said, this is my first glimpse of AI and what they've done with it. They showed buildings in Tel Aviv burning to the ground, high rises burning. They showed buildings and Qatar. They showed buildings and Saudi Arabia burning and they weren't burning, they weren't hit.
It was all AI. AI based terrible.
And it is remarkable online Now a lot of the left has fallen for this stuff, but I don't. I talk to people who know what they're talking about, rather than go with the AI. Here's the cut on who's helping us and who is in cut number four.
Have you been speaking with the French President Macum about the coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?
Yeah, I have.
I have spoken to him. He's been on a scale of zero to ten. I'd say he's been an eight. Not perfect, but it's friends. Are you un expect perfect?
Are you confident that friends will help with the reopening of the Strait of Hormus?
Yeah, I've been sure he's gonna I think he's going to help him, and I'll let you know.
I spoke to him yesterday. I don't do a hard.
Selling them because my attitude is.
We don't need anybody.
We're the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the way. We don't need them. But it's interesting. I'm almost doing it in some cases, not because we need them, but because i want to find out how they react, because I've been saying for years that if we ever did need them, they won't be there.
Not all of them, but they won't be there. I was very surprised with the.
United Kingdom because the United Kingdom two weeks ago I said, why don't you send some ships over and he really didn't want to do it.
The United Kingdom is endangering the future of NATO because I'm been a big NATO hawk. I'm a regular conservative and have been since the eighties. Pieter strength big supporter of NATO, and Poland is great. Finland, Sweden their front line stay. Ukraine is shipping their technology from their drone expertise to us. Everything is great, except our oldest allies are not, especially in the United Kingdom. President went on to say this cuttnumber five.
We don't need anybody. We're the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the way.
We don't need them, And.
CUTT number six.
We are aggressively dismantling o rens defense industrial base and ability to rebuild its missiles and drone capability is getting down to close to zero, and we're hammering their capacity to threaten commercials shipping in the Strait of Hormos with more than thirty mine laying ships destroyed. We hit, to the best of our knowledge, all of their mind laying ships.
Now they can put them on other.
Types of ships, I guess, and drop them in. But we don't know that any have even been dropped in. We're not sure that any have been. That's a big negative for them. Of they do, it's a form of suicide.
But we don't know that they have dropped any.
But we've we've hit all thirty of their ships and destroyed them.
They're all at the bottom of the sea.
We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend.
On the Strait far more than ours.
You know, we get less than one percent of our oil from the Strait, and some countries get much more. Japan gets ninety five percent, China gets ninety percent, many of the Europeans get quite quite a bit. South Korea gets thirty five percent. So we want them to come and help us with the Strait.
We have it in very good shape.
The countries, I said, we've already taken care of Iran, but now because of the fact that literally a single terrorist can put something in the water, or shoot something, or shoot a missile, a small missile, and it's fairly close range because it is a tight area, which is one of the reasons they've always used that as a weapon. Ran has always used that as an economic weapon, and it's not going to be able to be used very long.
Numerous countries have told me there on the way. Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some are in summer countries that we've.
Helped for many, many years.
We protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic, and the level of enthusiasm it matters to me. We have some countries where we have forty five thousand soldiers, great soldiers protecting them from harm's way, and we.
Have done a great job, and.
When we want to know, do you have any mind sweepers, Well, would rather not get involved, sir, I said, for you mean, for forty years we're protect you and you don't want to get involved in something that is very minor, very few shots going to be taken because they don't have many shots left.
But they said would rather than not to get involved. I just want the fake.
News media and everybody else to remember that that was said, because when I've been a big critic of all of the protecting of countries, because I know that we'll protect them and if ever needed, if we ever needed help, if they won't be there for us. I've just known that for a long period of time, just like I knew about the Strait that it would be a weapon, which I predicted a long time ago, predicted all of this stuff.
You guys were very generous in that I predicted.
He did predict it. He was right. And this is a great winnowing. It's a great dividing of those who are winners with us and those who are guinness and those who ran away, like the United Kingdom. Now, the United Kingdom has a historically twing government and they've run away, but I listened to Winston Marshall today interviewing in air. Marshall been retired for a few years. The numbers for Great Britain are it's a parade. It's a rose parade
of a military. It's not a real military anymore. But they could send the Dragon or a few other ships, and it took them two weeks to get the Dragon out of Port Cyprus. They're sovereign territory is attacked by Iran and they're not getting involved because the left wing are pacifist. They're run by pacifists. And the United Kingdom is no longer great. It doesn't rule a way much less of the waves, and it's very sad. I'll be right back in America state too. Welcome back in America.
I'm due. You are back inside the Belway in my beloved Virginia, where it's going to have tornadoes tight if their local weather reporter is correct. I'm joined by the former Governor of the Commonwealth, our friend Glenn Younkin, Governor, Good to see you again. Are you sheltered and hunkered for our tornado watch?
I'm not sheltered and hunkered down yet, but I am going to postpone my voting no on this redistricting until tomorrow, so that hopefully the folks can be safe around the voting establishments today. But we're looking out for the weather. I tell everybody please be careful.
I am also I came back early because I want to vote no on this redistricting the initiative. How does it look to you? Gether and tell the rest of the country what the Democrats are doing in Richmond.
Well, the first thing the Democrats are doing in Richmond is trying to take away the vote of millions of Virginians. We had a redistricting referendum in twenty twenty. Two thirds of Virginians voted for an independent redistricting commission.
It passed, and that's what's been used.
And now they are trying to change this constitutional amendment and once again steal votes from people. They're trying to take it from a six' Five Democrat Republican house Of representative team to ten to one and steal four seats. Back and it's just so unfair for three big. Reasons
One virginian's already voted on. This two because we in fact have a governor who is today on record of saying that she thinks that redistricting and jerry mandering is counter to, democracy and she promised everyone last summer that she would not support, it and now she's out supporting. Redistricting and the third part of this is what they have done with these maps is. Insane they're taking Northern virginia and they are pulling it into the rest of the.
State and let me tell, you if you live In Hampton roads and now you're congressional representative comes From, Alexandria or you live in The Shenandoah valley and congressional representative comes From Fairfax, county or you live In, richmond congressional representative is coming From.
ARLINGTON i, mean it's. Nuts and so.
This is this moment for us to stand up As virginians and vote. No the vote is open, Now early voting is on and a run all the way Through april twenty, first and this is a chance for us to keep them from stealing four seats From republicans In.
Congress, now the best ARGUMENT i can make to, people it's a fifty to fifty, state maybe a little bit more blue than a little bit, red but it's. Purple and the fact is we've got some very Senior congress people who have positions of influence within The Republican, party which has a. Majority this is suicidal for the interests of the commonwealth as a just as a good government. Thing democrats should not want this to. Happen they're not getting any money from.
Us, no it.
Is it is insane to think that it's good For virginia To jerry Mannder virginia in this. Way and the bottom line is, now all of a, sudden people who have had real senior folks representing us in all of The Armed services, committees senior folks REPRESENTING us and appropriations, committees are all of a sudden going to be pushed out of all of those all of those, committees and we're going to See virginia.
Hurts But i'm just going to go back for a.
Minute not only is this illegal because they started this process in an illegal way by carrying on a vote to get it started in the middle of the last, election as opposed to before, it but we also recognize that they are alying to. US i Mean Abigail, spamberger the current, governor stood up on the campaign trail last year and said she would not support Redistrict king and, jerrymandering and now she turns around and she is supporting.
It and it's representative of the fact that everything she said on the campaign.
Trail has proven to be.
False she said she was going to stand up for cost of living challenges and. Affordability and the first thing they do is raise everybody's utility bill by putting us back into this regional greenhouse gas, initiative which puts five.
Hundred million dollars on.
Ratepayers they say they want to keep people, safe and they Make virginia sanctuary. State immediately he saw this poor woman, murdered murdered at a bus station by somebody who should have been handed over To. Ice and now finally they're Redistricting. Virginia when she stood up and said that she would
not Redistrict. Virginia this is what you get from them when they promised to keep their, word and they, don't and therefore we cannot trust them with taking over ten to one representation in The commonwealth Of.
Virginia GOVERNOR i.
Also want people to realize that the Standard Glenn youngkin press conference for the last four years was to announce that a new company was coming to the. Commonwealth and you would meet there with THE ceo and you'd get the shovel out and you'd build. Something first announcement Under Governor spanburger Is boeing is leaving For Saint. LOUIS i think that's going to accelerate if they passed their tax. Plan Goodbye. Virginia i've enjoyed being a, citizen But i'm
not sticking around For california. TAXES i left once. Already that's not going to be, unique is, It? Governor, no it's.
Not and it's a real moment of just frustration and anger for me BECAUSE i feel like we Built virginia into the very best state In america to do, business and we were rewarded by having one hundred and fifty seven billion dollars of commitments from companies to expand and grow. Here and now we see companies who are questioning whether
they should have done. That we See boeing pulling out one of their big, divisions and all of a, sudden we're going to See tennessee And North, Carolina South, Carolina, Georgia, Florida, texas these other states winning where we were winning just one year, ago two year, ago three years, ago and it has everything to do with pushing an anti business agenda From, richmond where they raise the cost of doing business In virginia in such a.
Way that people, Say, NOPE i don't want to be. Here i'm going to go someplace.
Else And i'll tell you, Also, hugh What i'm hearing from folks is that people are starting to pack up and.
Move as.
Well AS i travel, around i'm in, airports people come up and, Say, GOVERNOR i loved it when you were, there BUT i can't take it And i'm going to. Leave AND i think that The democrats constantly forget that families choose they want to live based on where their best future is going to, be and businesses choose where they're going to be based on their opportunity to. Thrive virginia had demonstrated during our four years we could do.
Both we grew people and we grew. Businesses and it's going the other direction now.
Now, GOVERNOR i do want to get one question in because you were a friend of the military three or four years In. Richmond you've always been supportive of the. Military we're involved in this compact combat With. Iran i've been playing The president's press. CONFERENCE i think it's going Extraordinarily. WELL i got family in The. Navy they think it's going Extraordinarily, well what do you think of the? Mission what do you think of the need to see it?
Through, yeah we have to see this through to comprehensive.
Victory there's no half measure.
Here and THEREFORE i am so proud of the men and women who serve The American Armed. Forces they are the best in the, world the best it has ever, been and they, will in fact do the duty that needs to be, done which is a comprehensive. Victory iran can never be allowed to have a nuclear, way and they must never have the ability to attack their.
Neighbors they can no longer fund their.
Proxies we have seen already the decimation of their, navy the decimation of their, leadership and our great military has to finish this job in a comprehensive. Way i'm one hundred percent behind, them AND i ask For god's blessing on each and every one of.
Them and a final, question we had a terrorist attack On Old. Dominion you you put a lot of time and effort into preparing our universities and our schools to be. Safe it's, shocking but it's a. Reality. Governor do you think The democrats are up to dealing with this at the state.
LEVEL i don't think they.
ARE i think they firmly believe that people who are Naturalized american citizens who come out and pledge allegiance TO isis should stay in the.
Country AND i.
Firmly believe that someone who is a naturalized citizen who pledges allegiance TO isis and has to go to jail because of it should have their citizenship revoked and they should be deported. Immediately that guy should have never been In. America that guy should have been deported a long time. Ago and the fact that because of soft policies on these kinds of, moments it allows a, murderer a terrorist to stay in The United states and take the life
of a hero At Old Domini. University And i'm gonna tell, you Those rozi students in the classroom are. Heroes AND i just pray for that man's. Family he was a True american hero and it should have never.
Happened.
Governor good to see. You we will be out voting no on the initiative Before april twenty.
Fourth do not.
Wait get out and vote. Tomorrow once the rain. Stops thank, You Governor Glenn. Younkins stay tuned In. America we'll come back In. America I'm Hugh hewittt with my insurer in, Chief Selena. Zito, selena you're very happy with The World Baseball, classic aren't.
YOU i, mean we've got two full pledge insers.
In, there and one who calls himself an honorary jur With Paul.
Skin So i'm feeling all the.
GREATNESS i Want paul bitch the final, game BUT i don't think he, will will, he because that's we. Got we're gonna Play italy Or, venezuela one or the.
OTHER i don't. KNOW i MEAN i want him to. TOO i love. Him that guy's a. Beast he's An Air force he was in The Air Force.
Academy he is so patriotic and he's such a good leader on that, team but they all. Are this has been the most Fun i've had in, baseball And i've gone to Three World series all right.
NOW i read a play for that was a long time. Ago because if it's The, pirates that's a long time all. Right, So Selena Ezra, Kleine New York times Podcaster i've Known ezra for thirty five. Years he was one year ahead of my. DAUGHTER i saw him as the Surfing santa in the seventh grade. Play and he went to The university Of Santa cruz and he got HIS. Bep but you, KNOW i tried very hard not to let. That he was a smart, kid eager, kid want talk politics all the.
Time he's following his. Dream he's done very. Well he started, vox he's at The New York. Times but when it comes to, depth SOMETIMES i, wonder here's the opening of his. PODCAST i will play little bits of it And i'll get your. Comment let's start.
IT i found myself struggling to describe the War President trump has chosen to enter into With, iran the strange lightness with which he seems to have chosen.
This.
Don't leave. You let's stop right. There the strange lightness with which he has seemed to have chosen. This what does that, Mean?
SELENA i don't.
KNOW i don't know what strange lightness, is BUT i would sure love to see him do that podcast sort of as an on this day in seventeen seventy, six because there's a whole lot of strange lightness That George washington And.
Henry knox And Nathaniel green and all of them went through in this.
Time And i'm sure there was AN x there was a, podcasters and there wasn't today's media covering it because they would have given up and.
Their souls would have been crushed by the way it would have been.
Covered Israel putnam would not have done. WELL i, mean as a, client wouldn't have done well With Israel putnam On Bunker hill or in the retreat From New. York here's part two Of Ezra's opening Your.
Home it's very dangerous. Outside bombs will be dropping.
EVERYWHERE i would, say the, worst spiraling out of, control but there's never real pretense in that it was under.
Control all, right, STOP i find.
It selena is the worst spilering out of, control and was there ever any pretense that it was in? CONTROL i, mean these are vapid things to.
Say these are very vapid things to.
Say AND i imagine him in that sort of moody scenery that he's doing there Interviewing Benedict arnold and why his mind changed after he was injured in The battle For, Quebec, RIGHT i mean it gives YOU.
O i'm sorry so.
Earnest i'm very. Earnest though at part number, three let's get more.
Earnest hard to Say trump's plan for the worst failing because it is not clear there was any plan at all.
There this is the one that gets me BECAUSE i know too many people in the. MILITARY i have a son in law and nephew on active. Duty my son just got off of active. Duty everything is a. Plan this is the most. Plan we've been planning this for forty. Years where do people get Off selena talking about stuff like?
This it Is it is astounding to watch, that to be honest with, You and it's almost like a dramatic reading of current, events and it's done with all kinds of atmospheres and different camera. Angles but the lack of depth is coming from what he's, doing and it's really disappointing to see this turned into sort of a staged craft.
Event it's not a political.
Event it's a. War Twelve americans have dying.
Me, yeah, yeah it's a.
War and our military has been extraordinary in this. War and it is such a sharp contrast to what we saw In august twenty seventh of twenty twenty, one and it is what they have achieved should be talked.
About i'm not saying cheered, on but at least.
Talked about with the depths that it, deserves along with all of the sort of capabilities they have with. Technology it's, astounding and yet he's turning it into days of our.
Lives it.
IS i also want to make SURE i touch on someone on the internet got the great idea to Suggest butler was. Staged the attempt to kill the president and the murder Of Corey comparatoy was, staged and you took out after. Them can you believe someone did? That and how far it? Traveled now?
Fast it traveled.
Fast it was cut and paste and used by a lot of people with very very large accounts THAT i don't.
Even know if they're real.
People but that doesn't, matter because it penetrates into the. Psyche the good news is the only ten percent of the entire country Uses, twitter and of that ten, percent about two thirds of it are the only ones that use it, Actively so at least it's not something that penetrates in real life in the way they believe that it.
Does but it. Is it is, crude it's, vulgar it's.
Insulting someone's, husband, father and son died that day right in front of, me AND i.
Saw two men gravely, injured and those bullets went right over my. Head and you, know it's like people don't understand the shell, shocked. Right people just stood there because you can't believe it's.
Real that was what the poster was.
Saying the, posters, well they didn't act like there was an active, shooter and they were it was over too.
Quickly, YEAH i didn't.
Know there was like a handbook that went out and said this is how you behave if there's an active, shooting and if you, don't then you're.
Lying.
Yeah, WELL i want to compliment you for the rapidity with which you responded and the efficacy with which you, responded and the fact that others join you in responding and calling out that. Individual have they?
Apologized, no of course not, no because that will require.
Them to have a.
Soul have they doubled down or they don't?
Have did they double? Down?
Yeah they continue talking about it as if.
They're they had they have moral clarity on.
It.
Clickbait that's all it was was. Clickbait Selena zito good to see you follow her on ex At Zito. Selena everything she writes is available At Selena zito dot. Com i'll be right back In america's state, Time ernit and Grace. America i'm, Here, hewitt back inside The, belway just in time for storms will rock your. Teeth i'm joined by The foundation for The Defensive democracy senior Fellow ben And Ben. Tellablue he's been on. Before he is an expert on
The iran missile program and on all Things Iran. America benam, and welcome. BACK i don't know if you heard The president's press. Conference they've been playing a lot of. It, first your assessment where we stand On monday afternoon in our war With.
Iran, well great to be with you again. Here always a pleasure. LISTEN i think militarily things are looking. Up there's some real questions right now as to what will THE us do in this trait of horror. Moves in, fact the maritime domain is really the area that has the eyes of everyone from markets to moneymakers to. Policymakers that's WHERE i think The president may be looking to get a military wind to begin to be able to push away from the. TABLE i certainly think it's, doable
but nonetheless it's, costly it's. Risky BUT i think the more the regime, escalates the more they kind of use a sort Of damicle's approach to ships entering and exiting The persian golf as they have been just hours, ago checking the insurance and the shipping and the flagging and the registry of all the ships that are coming and. Going that is something that we cannot allow to. Happen we cannot allow the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism to basically have a veto over who gets to use
and cross the straight up horm. Moves so at all, LIKELIHOOD i think things are looking likely to escalate in the next.
WEEK i think you're. Right oil is at ninety four dollars a barrel right, now down From fridays one hundred dollars a barrel AS i think the world oil markets begin to recognize That Saudi arabia has got a pipeline as an. ALTERNATIVE eae, Doesn't kuwait, doesn't but The saudi is Doing they can offset a lot of the oil that doesn't make it through. Straight BUT i also believe That i've heard so many naval Experts i'm as, civilian But i've got family in The, navy family in the.
Fight i've got lots of experts On this has been gamed out for a long. Time. Beat it's not like anyone is surprised That iran is trying.
This, Yeah and in, Fact i'm surprised that the number of experts and policymakers that are trying to hold The trump administration to account here saying that THE us is fundamentally.
UNPREPARED i, mean there may be a criticism to, level given, force posture and time and political risks, involved but given the fact that THE us quite literally did this before in the nineteen, eighties and given that the job of The pentagon is to, plan and given even that The obama administration was able to keep two carriers inside The Persian gulf at times and be able to thwart and push back on the threats to actually close this, strait and that The trump administration in term one dealt with
things like limpet mind attacks as well as later on drone attacks and drone, buzzing this was a surprise to literally. Nobody and given the job of The pentagon being to, PLAY i actually think our men and women in uniform will have quite a few tricks up their sleeve if they're given the time in the space to pull them.
Out, So, BEN i want to play for you a little bit of As. Decline and Now i've Known ezra for almost forty, years maybe thirty five, years because he was in elementary school with my, daughter and SO i know him as the Surfing santa from the seventh grade. Play So i've always tried to get that out of my mind because he's done well for. Himself he very, articulate hasn't ever held a classified, job has never been in national security, work so he kind of make it
up as he goes. Along but today's, podcast well it began this, way play it for benan PLACE.
I found myself struggling to describe the War President trump has chosen to enter into With, iran the strange lightness with which he seems to have chosen.
This stay, sheltered don't leave your. Home it's very dangerous. Outside bombs we'll be dropping every.
WHERE i would say the war's spiraling out of, control but there's never a real pretense in that it was under. CONTROL i find it hard to Say trump's plan for the worst failing because it is not clear there was any plan at.
All all, right let's stop right. There these are. Cliches these are words strung together to Critique Donald, trump and they're all manifestly. FALSE i don't call them a lie BECAUSE i think Probably ezra believes, them but he doesn't know anything about the, military and he doesn't know anything that we've done about. Them what's your commentary On Ezra klein's.
Commentary, well, actually the funny thing about this conflict is that if you have a, rationale you can take your. Rationale it's kind of Like. Obamacare if you like your, provider you can keep your. Provider or allegedly that's what the administration used to say back in the. Day if this is a human rights driven mission for, you well this is a mission against the. Regime if this is counter, proliferation well it's about stopping the world's states cons of
terrorism from getting nuclear. Weapons if it's about defanging and leveling the playing, field well certainly there's an opportunity there against the regimes missile and military. Apparatus and if it's about freedom of navigation, economics well then there's a rationale for you to support what THE us is doing in
the straight up home moves and in The Persian. Gulf so there's multiple, rationales multiple pathways that get you to The president being willing and able to pull the trigger to deal with this urgent national security challenge unlike his.
Predecessors and WHILE i do agree that mores can easily spiral out of, control and that is one of the things that The Islamic republic is playing up and is playing, towards it's the goal of the more responsible power to be able to, escalate not, incrementally but, significantly to show that time is not a weapon on the side of the. Adversary it is on the side of THE us and
it's partners and. Allies and ultimately here the fact That President trump is flexible offers, audiences like audiences in The New York, times more app pathways to an off ramp to exiting the common inflict than actually doubling down and staying within the. Conflict so the lack of a clearly defined end. State if you are a Classic New York times view or a listener and you want, less not more conflict Than Middle, east that should be music to
your ears as far As i'm. Concerned if you're like, me and you have a clear stated end, goal and you want The president to double down and triple down to make sure that we can actually check every single box rather than just one of those military missions THAT i laid. Out, well then you're actually going to be a little bit. Critical So i'm a little bit puzzled by the criticism of the flexible approach The president has taken here by the likes of summ of The New York.
Times i'm not puzzled only because it's what they. Do BUT i want to try now to forget all the idiocy and articulate What John, wooden who you're too younger, member used to call the pyramid of, success and you start at the bottom and you build to the. Top the very bottom of the pyramid of success here is to, me the elimination of any nuclear weapons production. Ability President trump obliterated. It they began to rebuild. It he's obliterated it,
again along with the help Of. ISRAEL i haven't seen much report of what THE b twos have been. HITTING i hope they Hit Pickaxe. Mountain but that is the most important bottom of the. Pyramid nothing else. Matters if that isn't done how do you assess the success on, That, Benham.
Well we have two outstanding questions when it comes to the base of your. Pyramid and you know if this regime, survives and you know if there is even what our office is calling a phase two AT, fdd which is the potential to nest a larger mission against the security
forces following a larger mission to defang this. Regime if that is your goal right, now if you don't properly get rid of all of the nuclear capacity and, capability well then you will have something like a Middle Eastern North korea on your hands as you move closer and
closer to dealing a death blow against this. Regime so the two things that you're looking for in my, view to make sure the pyramid has a, long flat rather than a, narrow pointy base is to make sure that one the fissile, material meaning the four hundred plus a kilograms of sixty percent, uranium is actually not on a running, territory whether that's destroyed or actually confiscated in some special forces mission.
That is A.
Tbd but perhaps equally important is to Destroy Pickaxe, mountain either again with explosive charges inside or potentially something covert and sabotage inside or with air power from the. Outside you, know the regime maybe doubling down and digging a deeper hole in the, ground but they should always Remember Uncle
sam has a bigger. Bomb so the success of the counter proliferation mission against the regime's future nuclear capacity rests in dealing With Pickaxe mountain and getting rid of the fysile. Material thus, far we haven't seen a movement towards that yet because the next layer of the pyramid has been the priority target for the administration and that's been defanging the regime's missile.
Program. Yeah on the second level of the, pyramid it's the destruction of the defense of the nuclear, program and that destruction of the defenses is the missile arsenal about which you are. Expert how do you view part, two step two of the pyramid going because if it, remains it can be expanded and they can defend that enriched, uranium they can defend Piac Matc. Mountain they can do this all again times ten unless we destroy their production.
Capacity, yeah the beating heart Of iran's ballistic missile production was struck during THESE us operations in the past two two and a half, weeks and that is anywhere from three to five, sites but in Particular hojir Shah, rude Sem, Non parchin And. Esfahan these are at least five, facilities the first Three, hojiir Shah rude And parchin that matter greatly to solid propellant, production motor, development, casting and things
needed to actually produce and field ballistic. Missile and ballistic missiles form the backbone of the regime's policy of det by. Punishment so Unlike America, israel The Arab states of The Persian, Gulf iran doesn't have robust air and missile defenses that
can defend. It the way it defends, itself the way defends its, regime the way defends its territory is the threat of, punishment and the main tool of that punishment right now is this arsenal of ballistic missiles about eighty to ninety percent of the fire which has been suppressed by THE. US i, believe, however we are in a position of what political scientists call, equifinality which is many
reasons why the regimes fire is. Suppressed one is the success of the launcher, mission and two is the regime actually holding a few capabilities for survival.
Purposes let him stand. By we're going to come back with part two of our pyramid of success Against iran with benham right after these messages on The Hugh Hewitt, Show.
Welcome back To.
America I'm HUGH Hewittt ben And Ben talablu is with. Me he is from The foundation for The defense Of. Democracy follow at REAL BENMBT x Benemon tier one that we. Discussed we are winning, decisively but we have not yet won a decisive win on tier, two which is the. Missiles and you've named the five. Facilities are we fifty percent of the way? There seventy? Percent how do you judge it FROM afar.
Based on commercially available satellite imagery, imagery you know you could top it off at about eighty plus. Percent, again this is the back of the envelope. Calculation but you need to marry the eighty two of the eighty plus percent with the actual subterranean facilities that house what's left
Of iran's missiles And iran's. Launchers and if you look At iran's geography and you look at where missiles have been fired from, before and you layer on top of that commercially available satellite, imagery you get at least four chains of, bases a, western a, central an, eastern and
a southern. Coastal knowing what we know about known or declared or Revealed iranian subterranean missile, bases many though not, all of which are connected underground to each, other there are anywhere from nineteen to twenty two that need to be. STRUCK i think there is evidence for anywhere from seventeen to twenty that The trump, administration again using commercially available to satellite, imagery has been able to. Strike we cannot guarantee or verify one hundred percent of, those nor CAN
i tell you from this distance how damage they. Are but my logic, is AND i wrote this before the, war rather than defend just against the, missile and rather than target just the, launcher you need to collapse the facility that houses both the launcher and the missiles and take that as a capability off of the playing field and then move towards. Capacity that seems to be in
slow motion what The trump administration is. Doing BUT i will say the bulk of the air, power given how MUCH isr we, have is being used to target those missile, launchers and that's why you see sencom putting out so many videos targeting those launchers which are out of their bases and in different areas than ever.
Before level of the pyramid success is command and. Control but for both their missile and their. Navy those are the two arms of The iranian military that can threaten the international. Community their, navy it's been. SUNK i would say we are almost at one hundred percent success there and the command and control structure for their. Country what do you think about? That you, know this.
Is a state that is not aspiring to be A scandinavian welfare state that can actually provide for the means of its own. People, unfortunately these are guys that are okay being king of the, heap king of the garbage dump it in so many, ways they may make you
burn through the country to get. Them and even if we before the, conflict before The Twelve Day, war even this was a regime that was sliding towards bringing you on into failed state status, anyway and in that, situation given the fact That, kammende who was eighty six before and now is, deceased wasn't guiding every single, missile wasn't choosing every single, target even though he was intimately involved
in broader national security decisions in that. Country it's highly likely you have a, decentralized almost zombie national security deep state choosing their, targets which is why they've thrice fired AT nato Ally, turkey why they've continued to fire At qatar and The omanis in The Persian gulf and even
Targeted Azerbai john. Withrown so you have a zombie state kind of that is, decentralized that doesn't have command and, control which is kind of forcing you to go after all of these units provincially to suppress and defeat.
Them all, Right so the penultimate level of the pyramid success is to degrade the besiege so they cannot massacre tens of thousands of. People, again The israelis have been intent on doing. This there's really no way to make an educated guess about what percentage has been. Destroyed but there are reports of defections and dismay among the. Ranks what do you make of?
That, again you're, right this stuff is largely. Anecdotal but over that would say the past three to five, days these, rallies based on publicly reported, information have been going against law enforcement forces and besiege. Facilities we know that in the past areas where compounds and barracks have been, bombed some of these security forces have put up. Tents then
these rallies have strayed the. Tents we know areas where barracks and compounds have been bombed AND iergc folks went into soccer, stadiums particularly on the, periphery not on the, field and those peripheries of those stadiums have also been. Bombed we also know, that of, course many of these pseudo self established besiege and law enforcement checkpoints to prevent against traffic flows and to kind of monitor the situation
on the street have also been. Bombed and we also know the regime is putting armored personnel carriers under things that give it physical cover to avoid getting, struck things like bridges and, tunnels and these rarely still, withdrones seem
to be able to do. This there's even reports right now That iranian dissidents are using The Iranian apps to be able to communicate externally with Some israelis to provide live, targeting although this report has not been able to be independently, confirmed but it does marry with the, zeitgeist of the bits and starts of, information and of the willingness of Many iranians to be able to benefit from foreign support to disable this apparatus of.
Repression so the very lat at the top is regime change or regime coersion to a different kind of regime that doesn't threaten its. Neighbors might not be a, democracy but it might simply be defanged and new leadership Not mula's not theocratic. Fanaticism how close to that do you think we?
Are, WELL i actually do not believe in the theory of regime. Evolution. Here this is The Middle, east meaning things can get, worse not, better and indeed they. Are and if this regime survives the major rounds of, fighting get ready for A Middle eastern version Of North korea which is more, paranoid more, i more, militarized and more
team on revenge and rebuilding than ever. Before so the success of the defanging mission militarily will necessarily need to be nested into a larger counter regime mission that is.
Political there will be no premature victory lap to be had just because of military successes, alone and that's why it's imperative The trump administration stopped trying to force A venezuela model onto a country who's governing, elite whose military, capacity whose, state whose, society whose opposition looks nothing Like venezuela, TODAY i don't believe you can actually have. That somewhat
softer gentler Is Lama. REPUBLIC i do believe here These lamach republic is going to force you to play to the, edge which is to win and knock out the system, altogether or to risk the collapse and potentially move towards failed state. Status AND i think in that, Dichotomy Uncle sam cannot be. Indifferent it is doing quite well against
the levels of the pyramid that you have. Raised but not one of, THEM i want to, stress not one of, them or yet at a n. Percent some of, them like the missile, one are quite, close and that is an impressive. Achievement but we have to remember this is The Middle. East in The Middle, east you can have many a military, victory but few have had political. Victory and that's why it's imperative to link the way it means it ends.
Here so my last, question is the world better off today than it was sixteen days?
Ago the, world, yes the world in so many. Ways given the fact that The islamarco public is firing more missiles than, before it's threatening the strait of horror moves more than ever. Before it's a measure of how much weaker it is than ever. Before and the weaker and the more defanged this regime is the net positive it will be to its, people to the, region To, america To, israel and to the. World but there is no premature
victory lap to be able to have. YET a weak regime can still be, lethal they can still, rebuild and to provide oxygen to a regime that will be willing to use these weapons more than ever before would be a. Mistake so just because things are trending in the right direction does mean that in a highly volatile and dynamic battlefield, situation we should be taking our eyes and off the prize and our hands off the. Wheel that is WHAT i would caution at.
This, moment well, said a, caution well. Advised benam Ben, talablue thank you for joining me from The foundation for The Defensive, Democracy senior fellow there follow him on Ex ben m b e h n a m actually the real ven M, vt the Real ben M vt and read him at FT. D thank. You i'll be right back In. America stay, Tuned welcome Back. AMERICA a few weeks AGO i had on my Friend Dennis praeger talking about the new book he is authored with my next, Guest Joel. Alprin the new book Is if There Is No.
God it is selling quite. Rapidly, joel how are you? Aware are? You i'm.
Fantasticstic i'm In, omaha and, respectfully it's.
Alperson oh go, ahead, sorry you Know i've got my notes back on The west. Coast. Joel you're In. Omaha that's where you had the original sit down with these kids from which you And dennis wrote this. Book how did you come to be An? Omaha?
Oh my grandparents moved here AND i don't know what brought them here, originally but my parents stayed AND i love the community And i've.
Stayed SO i want to go back over for the people who miss the first interview With, dennis and it's available on my YouTube. Channel if There Is No god came, out oh maybe three weeks. AGO i talked To dennis SO i could drop it on pub, Date page forty. Nine the advice you to offer to every reader live as if you Believe god, exists Why, Joel because.
If you, don't then there's no objective standard from. Morality and people have to realize that if there's no objective standard from, morality everybody gets to make it up as they. Want and in, fact we're living at a time right
now where we're seeing that happen. Increasingly dennis had an op ed that went The New York post recently which talked about the number of people who supported the act Of Luigi, mangioni the murder that he conducted In New York, city and a significant percentage of young people in particular endorsed that.
View once you take objective.
Morality, away and that can only come From, god you've taken the guardrails off of, morality and as a, result anything anybody thinks is good can be, good because who is to say otherwise all you have is conflicting. Opinions you have no. Standards it would be as if you tried to argue math without the laws of mathematics one, PERSON.
I usually did, Math so that's HOW i usually did. Math it didn't work out. Well but when you write, that when you wrote them, forward you talk about convening these kids In. Omaha have you stayed in touch with any of?
Them.
NO i mean some of them are members of my, synagogue BUT i. Haven't, however if this is what you're touching, ON i did do a survey after the weekend was, over and a granted that was over thirty years, ago But i'll tell you about half of the kids weren't very happy with the. Weekend and when you think about, it it makes some sense because they expected to come for a weekend On jewish stuff and have a Kumbah ya. Session AND i didn't intentionally set it up to be a.
Battle that wasn't my. Intention but as you Know dennis very, well if he, disagrees he'll make his disagreement, known and he. Did and for a lot of these, kids it was the first time that they had heard somebody tell them that their most deeply, held passionately held feelings beliefs might have really bad, consequences and they didn't love hearing that very.
Much, Now dennis is guiding precept for the thirty five Years i've known him as clarity before. Agreement so let's make sure we know what we each. Believe then we can see if we can agree on something but kudos to the. Kids page seventy. Five one of them, Asked, dennis why does it have to be biblical, Values why can't it just be human. Values what's the answer to, That, joel, alperson.
Because you're back to what any one person thinks is good is, good and what any one person thinks is bad is. Bad there were, kids AND i think this is noted in the, book, who when questioned if they would Challenge hitler if they Thought hitler was, wrong SAID i think he's, wrong BUT i don't think i'd have the right to say so to. HIM i don't think i'd have the right to negate his. Belief and that's what happens when it's human. Values human values Is latin
for any. Values and, again we're living at a. Time i'm, SORRY.
I, said you're, right any value at all doesn't. Matter if you don't if the human, values the next person can believe in genocide and you can't argue with. Him. JOEL i want to ask about the end of the book because we had the attack on the synagogue In michigan On. FRIDAY i believe Anti semitism is a result of the task for which The jews were. Chosen in the words Of Edward, flannery the Imminent catholic priest and, historian The jews carry the burden Of god and his
moral law in. History did you want that, Job?
Joel there's A talmudic story of The tumult is an extensive commentary on The, torah and not surprisingly because it's part of The jewish, tradition filled with, debates filled with disagreements and back and. Forth but that's one of the things that makes it important and. Vital there's a story that, says because the mountain apparent in The jews, were according to.
The hebrew under the, mountain That god held the mountain over.
Their, heads asking what they wanted to accept their, responsibility and so under those circumstances they, Said yet so even The torah and the time was recognized this was not.
Going to be an easy.
Justice it. Is in, fact the book makes it. Easier if there is No god By Dennis praeger And Joel. Alperson if there is No, god go To amazon and get. It thank, You. Joe you heard me talk a lot about consumer, cellular how you can switch your, carrier save money without the. Sacrifice that's because consumer cellular uses the same towers as major. Carriers make the switch today and get twenty five dollars off At Consumer cellular Dot com Slash.
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to five one five fifty. Five That's hewett to fifty one five five, five or Visit hughewitt dot com right now and click on the blue giving living water banner at the top to provide living water today and thank. You welcome back To. America I'm Hue. Hewett joined By Bethany. Mandel she is the founder of the Mom wars dot substack dot Com she also sent me To Lahav harkov last. Week had a good time With. LHAV i hope you heard, That. BETHANY i did.
Not it didn't make its way to. ME i heard that it, happened BUT i did not read and.
Listen, well thank you for the, recommendation Beth. Andy, FIRST i was listening to The commentary podcast Today i'm with your. Husband seth is a, member and he said that you're all very psyched about The Super mario movie when it comes, out but nothing. Else is that an accurate representation in The mandel.
Household so you are the second person to quote the commentary magazine podcast me in the last fifteen, minutes AND i have not listened to it. YET i do not include myself in The mandel hype Over Super, mario but, YES i think they are all pretty.
Hyped. Well the REASON i bring it up is Because John podhortz laid out some statistics on the decline in movie going from two thousand to twenty twenty to, today and it's a precipitous. Decline Fetching Missus shutt AND i used to do two movies a, week even when we had. Kids we were two movies a. Week, people one hundred is a. Year how many movies a year do you?
SEE i see?
Zero unless yeah zero seth usually, once maybe. Twice but he's bringing all six kids to this next, one and that's.
Going to be over a hundred.
Bucks oh, Yes, Oh i've taken my grandkids to see Terrible disney movies and it is one hundred. Bucks but the point, being are you going because not going because of cost or not going because of? Quality nothing there that interests.
You SO i am a terrible millennial AND i don't really want to sit through two and a half hours WHERE i can't check my. Phone If i'm just being, HONEST i lose.
Attention you're a Jen. Alpha all, right here's A i'm going to switch you to the war. Now Ezra, klein who was the Surfing santa in the seventh grade musical at my daughter's. School So i've Always i've Known ezra, forever But i've known him as a, kid so it's hard for me to take him, seriously even though he's done very well for. Himself here's the opening Of ezra's podcast For The New York. Times.
TODAY i found myself struggling to describe the War President trumps chosen to enter into With, iran the strange lightness with which he seems to have chosen.
This stay, sheltered don't leave your. Home it's very dangerous. Outside bombs will be dropping.
EVERYWHERE i would say the war's spiraling out of, control but there's never a real pretense in that it was under. CONTROL i find it hard to Say trump's plan for the war'st failing because it is not clear there was any.
PLAN i don't like to.
Have bethany it's, defeatist, demoralizing clop trap and as it was a smart, GUY i.
Record that from a bomb.
SHELTER i don't.
Know it's absolutely, absurd but there. Is And Noah rothman gets very exercised about the defeatism demoralization campaign underway and elite, media and it doesn't affect the fact that we're winning, decisively and that's the. Story we are Crushing. Iran why doesn't the left want to say that.
They don't want to give In trump the W but, conversely why Is President trump not out there doing victory laps, left, right up and. Down he's bothered By President trump's. TONE i want to hear more of. IT i want to see The buroll footage of THE b two bomber flying, over AND i want to see, explosions AND i want to see we killed so and so, today we killed so and so last. Week just a reminder on day, one we killed The. Iatola the idea that there's no
plan and that we've achieved nothing is. Ludicrous on its, face it is, ludicrous but it's everywhere on the, left and it marks the first time in my.
Life i'm seventy years. Old i've been through a lot of, wars a lot of, combat some of them, short some of them. Long this is the most decisive opening of any, conflict Including Desert, one where it was over in one hundred. Hours this doesn't have any casualties on the. Ground it has seven to twelve Dead, americans which is. Tragic no
casualties from ground trips as happened In Desert. One So i'm just thinking to, myself these people don't know history or they simply don't care about, Facts AND i think it's probably.
BOTH i think it's, both BUT i think that they're actively rooting against The United states victory Because america winning Is President trump, winning and it reminds me of The Rush limbaugh quote from When Barack obama became president and he, Said i'd love nothing more than for him to succeed because his success Is america's. Success that's what they should be, saying and that's what they should be signaling to the, world is that they're still rooting For. America they're very clearly.
Not they're clearly. Not, now if you were a leftist and you wanted to be, responsible you might say something, like there's no denying that The american military is, awesome that The iranians are only to get Off yosemite sam shooting in every, direction hitting all of our. Allies they've killed a couple of dozen people with thousands of missile and. Drones they're not very good at their command structure, shattered
but they're not dead yet and they might hang. On so we should either keep it, up double it, up or set terms for which are reasonable for them to. Concede but this idea that we're not winning and there was no? Plan did they not know anybody in The, pentagon anyone in the. Military do you not know how planned this?
Is this?
Is this is fourteen pages of.
Targets can you imagine what these people would have been like in nineteen forty. Two, oh like the stamina that they don't make it a.
Month they'd be Learning. Japanese they really surrender, monkeys we would have called. Them AND i think it is a disease AND i don't know how the country recovers from. IT i also, think by the, way if it was a democratic, president they'd be all for, it and they would be saying they would be reporting the. Truth but ezra is the most responsible of the least. Responsible does that make?
Sense, yes absolutely, Does AND i agree with. You but this is that we're on the sixth anniversary OF covid right, now when we're finally delving into now it can be said territory with, like oh maybe school closures were, Bad oh maybe cloth masks were. Stupid we're going to get there with this war in six, years.
You mean six years from, now we will recognize. It it was a strategic and tactical. Success in, fact If cuba, Falls venezuela, falls And iran is, defanged do you Think trump goes down among the greatest wartime? Presidents how does he?
Not how does he? Not, meanwhile In, venezuela they raised The american flag at The American embassy.
Yesterday but that's, symbolic that's. Great you know they HAVEN'T i know they're trying very hard to look not look At cuba In. Venezuela they're trying not hard not to look at How china has lost decisively in the last two. Weeks But beth And, MANDEL i know you will be covering it in The momwords dot substack dot. COM i do want to thank you for love Of. Harkov that was a great interview and we'll talk again next. Week Sahan, mandel thank. You don't go Anywhere. America i'm. Here hewett