The Iran Dilemma

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That is a complex question. I'm Since November twelfth, twenty twenty four. I have been paralyzed from the shoulders down, so that goes a long way in answering your question. On the other hand, I am thinking as creatively as ever, and I am able to speak, which every doctor who's commented on it, and none of them have been religious as called a miracle.

Stop right there. I'm not giving away the story. You have to wait till next week. You can order Dennis's right now. It's available in bookstores on Monday, but you can pre order it so it's delivered by then. It's called If there Is No God? The battleover who Defines Good and Evil. It is written with the assistance of

Now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we're doing. And if they join us, that'll be great. If they don't join us, that'll be great too, but it'll be a very different path. They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region, and they must make a deal. Or if that doesn't happen, I maybe can understand if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, But.

Bad things will happen. If it doesn't, bad things for Iran. There's a lot of reporting out of Israel today about the order of battle plans, and you never know. But the Israeli media does have amazing sources within the IDF and the government, and it appears as though the missiles are the number one target. Try and take them out immediately and preemptively. The Ford is not yet there. It is reported to be headed to the coast of Israel

By the way, We're supposed to do.

Something in writing soon, but they're down to ten days now. And with President Trump, when he gets impatient, he gets impatient and the blow will fall, and it looks like it's going to be many blows over many days. I'll talk with Senator Cotton about that. He also said cut number two. I want to play it.

Again, guitar countries. Nobody could have signed. You would have had that threat. Nobody could have had. You couldn't have peace in the Middle East. So now we may have to take it a step further, or we may not. Maybe we're gonna make a deal you're gonna be finding out over the next probably ten days.

Ten days, ten days. Don't count on it, Iran, make a deal or get dealt with. Also today the President heaps some praise on his secretary of State. That was kind of funny as well. Cut number five.

Marco does it with the velvet love, but it's a kill.

The result is the same.

They do it very differently, And Marco, you really did yourself proud two days ago in Munich, In fact, so proud that I almost terminated his employee because they were saying, we why can't Trump do this? I do, but I say it differently. But Marco, don't do any better than you did.

Police you think, because if you can't.

Be legit funny, that was legit funny. I got asked on the Fox News today. I thought I've covered just about everything in my life. I've never been asked about British Royalty before, but I did my homework. This was with John Roberts earlier this afternoon. Cut number eight.

And let's forget Hugh Hewitt, Foxy's contributed, our host of the Huge Show. So with these charges, the allegation, the investigation not about sex. It's about whether or not he gave confidential government documents to Jeffrey Epstein. But as Jillian and I were talking about just a second ago, this is kind of like popping al capone for taxibit.

Well good after in John.

Misconduct in public office is the charge that's a common law crime in Great Britain, meaning it goes back centuries. In fact, it goes back to before the United States was founded, before the Colony of Virginia existed, and it's pretty expansive. It can cover all sorts of actions by a public official wrongfully carrying out their public duties, and there are lots of cases about this. It can be

So wait till you get to the sword cases.

It goes all the way back to sixteen hundred people fighting in the wrong places with swords.

So it's a wild kind of a charge, right, but.

It's one that was spoorted out moments ago. Could land him in prisoned for an awfully long time if he were to be convicted. Analysts are portraying this as a huge blow to the British nation and maybe an even bigger one to the monarchy, some people going so far as to say that this could be the beginning of the end for the monarchy.

What do you think?

I don't.

I don't agree with that, John, because I think it's such an integral part of the United Kingdom and everyone else that recognizes Charles as their sovereign.

And head of state. We've had abdications.

We even go back to Charles the First who lost his head to Cromwell and gang. So There have been lots of crises in the long and tortured history of the British monarch, but England without a king is really kind of unthinkable. Charles has got nothing to do with this. Charles the third, I'm glad that Elizabeth the second is around is not around to say this Mecca. That's deeply embarrassing to everyone in the royal family.

But it's a pillar of the.

United Kingdom and those who think it's going to bring down the monarchy have been expecting the monarchy to end for about a thousand years.

Not going to happen, you know.

Democrats were pushing so hard to get these Epstein files released, thinking that they were going to fall hardest on Donald Trump. While the president is mentioned a number of times in various documents, there's nothing to suggest that he was guilty of any wrongdoing. Meantime, Democrats are falling by the wayside, including Catherine Rummler, who was the lead councilor for Goldman Sachs.

What's the end game here?

Did Democrats shoot themselves full of holes by pushing so hard for the document's release?

I think they did. John.

The blast radius is so large in getting larger, and it seems to be taking so many more Democrats down. By the way, it's exonerated Donald Trump. It's absolutely completely exonerated Donald Trump. He's got nothing to do with the misdeeds of Jeffrey Epstein. But a lot of people who were palsy wellsey with Jeffrey Epstein, even though they weren't involved with the horrific crimes that he committed.

They're too close for comfort.

Right now, the head of the Olympic Committee in LA is being asked to step down by everyone who lives in LA in every adjacent zip code, because they don't want to be associated with Jeffrey Epstein in any sort of way. Everyone knows he's a sordid, horrible, evil man, and so, as I said, the blast radius is large. The only thing that's going to get this off the front pages is when President and Trump begins the attack

It's just going to go on and on and on.

It's real quick. You so sure that the President's going to attack hern.

I believe he is.

I think one does not assemble that kind of ar mod of that kind of firepower and then not use it. If he did that, it would be a shadow on his presidency and on his legacy. There is only one way out for the capitulate, give up everything, their missiles, the uranium. They might even have to leave the country, or they're going to be as many holes around the Iatolas bunker as there are around the Friends of Jeffrey Epstein.

Chip.

I was just thinking of my Josh Holly Eric Schmidt. Right now, Steve Cox is the attorney general in Alaska. I've had so many great friends, David Yosta in Ohio. AG's in the states matter a lot. Some people, though, would say, why change mause representatives. We are a major player for to be attorney general? Why is that?

Well, Hugh, great to be on the show, And you're right, we are great friends. And look that give and take in those disagreements sharpen us and make us better.

And I appreciate them. And you're right.

Attorneys general have a great presence in Congress, in the Senate former attorneys general who have gone that direction. But the reason I'm going in the other directions because look after four terms, which I will serve out this year in my fourth term, you know, I think I've made a big difference, had a big impact, tried to change the town. And look, but I'm one four hundred and thirty fifth of one half of one third right, and

Yeah.

First time I met Senator Cruz was at Alliance Defending Freedom dinner at which former President Jeff W. Bush was the guest of honor. I was blown away by the guys. You know, just complete grasp of everything constitutional? Does this argument? Does the debate for Texas depend upon knowing what you're talking about? Because you'll win those debates. We might not always agree, but you're always prepped. Do they actually know anything like what you know your opponents?

I mean, respectfully and as humbly as I can say it.

No.

I mean, Look, I've been in the trenches. I've been in the fights. I've been in constitutional issues. I was a Senate Judiciary lawyer. I'm the former first Assistant Attorney General, former federal prosecutor. I'm the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution. I've worked for Ted Cruz. Look, I've been neck deep in this stuff. And I think, look, Hugh, I viewed this through a bit of a spiritual lens. You know, I think you know this that I went

We do so.

So you know, look, those subsidient fights are sometimes hard to bring out for the electorate to hear them. You know, things get distilled to sound bites and ads. But people know me, they know who I am. They know I'm an independent voice. I'm ninety nine percent in line with the President and support the President's agenda and Speaker Johnson.

But when I disagree, I do it. I'm independent.

I follow the Constitution, I follow the truth wherever it may lead, and if I think I need to stand up on that, I'll do it, even if it raises some political pressure.

I really don't think Texas can do better for an attorney general than chip Roy. And we're on right now in every major market in Texas. And I get down there enough to and I teach con law and chip Roy knows his stuff. Now I want to talk to you about the Islamification of Texas, because I read stories about the ship.

And I can't even believe it.

But then responsible people say no, it's actually that's against the establishment clause, and Texas is bound by the establishment clause.

What is going on?

Well, well, look, we've got a host of things that are happening. I mean, first of all, you and I would agree. I'm not going to put words in your mouth, but I know you all have to know your belief the Constitution mine too, that the First Amendment is sacker sanct and we've got to be very careful to ensure that we're not saying anything about what any individual can believe. Correct your right to your religious expression and so forth.

Terrorists. Yep.

Yeah, and they're the unindicted co conspirator from that that's affiliated with CARE. All of these things are resulting in things that you're now seeing with this epic city right this compound, this four hunderd acres that they try to say, oh, don't worry, it's fine, it's open to anybody, We're not gonna have Sharia. But when you start looking at it, that's not true. That's why the AG is going after them on their deceptive trade practices and other things. We've

Yeah, Chip Roy.

When I first read about that, I thought to myself, where is the United States Attorney because that's got to violate the Federal fair housing hack. Is the a USA or the USA is on your side down there?

Yeah?

I believe so, and it'd be fair. I haven't had a direct conversation with the US attorney in that district up there. Funny enough, when I was a federal prosecutor, I lived in McKenny, worked in Plano, worked in Sherman. I was right up the road there from where this is occurring. You know where epic city is. So we need to have that conversation. But I'm certainly alerted. The Department of Justice is looking into this. I know Harmeat Dylan is looking into this. I know that they're all

Well, let's close with the specifics. When can people early vote? When is the primary? And probably going to be a runoff, you might get fifty percent plus one. It's possible you're that popular, that you're that qualified. But when are people voting early? When did they vote in the primary, and when would a runoff be?

Yeah?

Thanks, So the early voting started this past Tuesday. It runs through this week end at the next week through next Friday. The actual primary date is March third. You know Chiproy dot com. You can follow me chip Roy t x chi p r o i X on.

X slash Twitter.

If we have a runoff, it'll be in late May. I think it's May twenty sixth or seventh, but anyway, late May. We do want to try to win it outright, I want to save the money. If we go to a runoff, look, we'll go. We'll win it. You know, if there is a runoff, it'll probably be against a guy named mas Middleton who's running a lot of negative ads on MELL. We'll push back with all due respect. He's never been in a courtroom, he's never been a prosecutor, he's never run the AG's office, he's never run a

Yeah, and first thing first, you got to win.

And we need chip Roy as the attorney general in tech because we need great attorney generals, so defend the constitution and know the constitution. That's chip Roy. Good to talk to you, Congressman. Keep coming back. If you don't get the fifty percent plus one, we'll talk again after the runoff. But chiproy dot com is where you go to find out more about my friend from Texas who's going to be a fantastic attorney general for the lone star State. Stay tuned in America.

I'm Huglyck.

Welcome back America. I'm hue you a time for the insur report. We missed Selena Zito last week. You can follow Selena on ex at Zito. Selena read all of her work at Selenazito dot com. Selena, we only have six minutes and I want to cover two stories with you. One is about The Derek from Oil City, Pennsylvania. I know about Oil City because I read Daniel Jurgen's book on John D. Rockefeller and mister Flagler, so tell us about closing the Derek, but also missing the story between

Yeah.

Absolutely, so.

The Derek is one of the oldest newspapers in the country. Or it was very important in covering the oil boom, which happened in Oil City, Pennsylvania and also Pitthol City in Titusville. This is where Drake's oil was discovered. It was the first place where oil was pumped. And this was significant because before that moment you couldn't oil couldn't be produced to light buildings, to light homes, to light streets.

Birth of.

Standard oil, and there was really incredible investigations going on at that time with the local reporters, and every morning there would be a wire story that came out of the day that every newspaper in the world carriage because except the oil price every.

Morning it's a great column and it's a wonderful sendoff to institution. But the times they are changing for media, and they are changing to people like Selena covering stories that nobody else does, including the crazy people tracking ice across the country. Apparently they're coming to Pittsburgh. Selena tell us about that.

Yeah, so they have.

These protests are you know, seemingly people think, oh they're organic because I saw a local person there. They're not really organic. But you know, one of the responsibilities as a journalist that they learned very long ago was always

One of the groups mentioned in your column is the Sunrise Foundation, with which my audience is very familiar, but there's also the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Wallace Global Fund. I am mostly concerned about people from abroad, not those three, but people i'm abroad pumping money into the United States, including that crazy Swiss billionaire.

Do we think he's got anything to do with this stuff?

We don't know. It's very hidden.

However, that doesn't mean it's not the case, and they've done a really good job of hiding their tracks. Unfortunately, I mean unfortunately for them. It usually comes up either through arrogance or through someone leaking the information but I suspect we will find out quit soon.

Now the Pittsburgh protests, do you expect they're going to be like the Minneapolis protests? The occasion for tragedy a ridiculous A number of outsiders and a lot of national media that the same thing going to happen again.

There was a lot of outsiders there. There are a lot of troublemakers there. There are also just regular people who that's what the side of the ideological curve they are on. So far, they have not they have not gotten out of hand. However, even they get concerned, the locals get concerned that people will infiltrate their protests. They've been pretty pedestrian. There hasn't been anything crazy that's happened.

Has Governor Shapiro or Senator Fetterman said anything to the protesters about not interfering with law enforcement?

No, No, betterman has.

Betterman has been pretty striding about about not interfering and if people are legal, they should follow the law.

You know, there's a big opportunity here for Josh Shapiro, as a former attorney general, not to side with anyone, but just to say the law must be observed. If he does that, I know we'll read about it first in a Selena Zito column. Follow her again on next at Zito Selena, or go get sign up for all of her work at every newspaper in America. It appears at Selenazito dot com. Thank you, Sulline. I'll be right back in America. Stay too, working back of America. I'm you, Hewett.

I didn't realize that there was sewage on.

The banks of the Potomac as far as you can see. Stay away from the river, Eliana.

Oh, don't worry you. You can actually see it out my back window here, not the not the Pooh, but the Toomac. And I'm on the Virginia side of the river. So I think we're okay.

I just wouldn't even go over the mem Bridge right now. I wouldn't want to have the ODI first experience, Ellianna. I listen every day to commentary, and you folks are working very hard not to obsess on Iran. But I obsess on Iran every day. So I'm going to make you obsess on Iran with me. How do you read the tea leaves today?

You know you I heard the President put a ten day time frame on this and say, well, we'll know in the next ten days whether there will be military action or whether these negotiations work out. I have to say I don't put too much stock in this. As you recall, the president put a two week timeframe on negotiations and about forty eight hours later we had Operation

Now, I want people to listen very closely to the president of the boarded peace because he doesn't say after ten days or so, and he doesn't say it's going to be ten days. Here's what he says, cut number.

Two guitar countries. Nobody could have signed. You would have had that threat. Nobody could have had You couldn't had peace in the Middle East. So now we may have to take it a step further, or we may not. Maybe we're going to make a deal with You're going to be you're gonna be finding out over the next probably ten days.

So Aliana, he didn't say it's going to be ten days before you find out.

He said, we're going to find out over the next ten days. That could be now, could be now.

And Hugh, key to Trump's strategy and his approach to world affairs is the preservation of the element of surprise, and that is what you heard. He said, We'll see how things play out. We may do something, we may not, preserving optionality for himself. And the president likes to keep both the news media and his adversaries on their toes and prepared to be whacked upside the head.

So Eleiana, I'm going to ask Seth Mandel this later, because Seth has an opinion of the vice president which I don't share, that he's an isolationist.

Do you think he is? And on what is that opinion based If you do, you know.

Hugh, I'm not sure we know fully what's in the vice president's heart. I think right now we see him out there supporting the president's policies, which is his job as vice president, and he's been a pretty capable defender of Trump's We saw that, particularly on the campaign trail, and we see it when he tangles with the news media. Now,

Yeah, I've been interviewing him his book came out, and then when he ran for Senate a number of times I moderated to debate. He has just never struck me as an isolationist or a so called restrainer. But he's got this rap, right, I mean, you hear the rap all the time. This reputation for being from the restrainer wing, that is sort of overblown in my view. But if I can be corrected by all me, what's the best case that he's a restrainer, I don't know of any sure.

I think the case for that is that he's got close friends and allies in that wing, including Tucker Carlson. You know, he's a close friend and not only that, but instrumental to his political rise and both in this White House. You see it on the president too. Win Folks in that wing of the party, you know, step in it. The Vice president and the President are reluctant to criticize, you know, they don't criticize people who like

Ellianna quick exit question. I think it will be a multi candidate primary. I think they'll be at least three others besides the Vice president. What do you think?

I totally agree with you.

I think it's going to be quite a big field as the battle to define post trump Ism and to succeed President Trump plays out, and likewise on the Democratic side, I think it's going to be quite a big field. One thing I will say, Hugh, and I think we saw this in Munich with AOC and Gretchen Whitmer being pressed on world affairs and stumbling quite visibly and embarrassingly. I do think the democratic field, though it's vaunted and puffed up by the by the legacy media, is quite overrated.

Oh do you remember You're not old enough, but you might remember your dad's copy of commentary defining devanc down by Patrick moynihan. Of course, the last week is defining competence down. But they had to define it down for Whitmer and Gavin and especially for AOC. Josh Holmes on this show said, AOC, you would think she would know about Spanish horses. Her last name is Cortes. After all,

Go back on with you now, Senator I don't.

Know if you're glad to tell me.

You remember the Gang of Eight that gets brief when big things are about to happen. Are you allowed to tell me if you've been brief yet?

Now, Hugh, you know we're not session this week, so all of Congress is scattered all across the country, somewhere around the world. I'm here in Arkansas. I just look to Ourccount and Judge Association, not being a secure font near a secure phone. I've just been enjoying the time

Senta.

I'll come back to that, but I want to ask you about the campaign we're on. In Little Rock, we cover a lot of the state. Is anyone running against you this time? Or are you getting another Ali Ali in Free No?

No, Hugh, that's pretty rare to see, right, Yeah, I've got a couple opponents of my primary, a couple of Democrats vying for the general election. So the election is just about ten days away now on March third. Early voting it is underway. So if you're in the natural you haven't voted yet, please out and vote somehow in the next few days.

I concurring that please go and do that.

I just had Chip roy Ono is running in Texas and they also have early voting. Now I'm not up to day on the calendar. Let's turn to a ron. Let me play for you what the President had to say on his flight down to Georgia last hour. Senator Cotton, can we play that Harley Day on.

A lot sad things will happen, you know a lot.

Yes, it's really what will that. I'm not going to talk you about that.

You're just look cool to get their fifth in US mel expos.

We're gonna make a deal, or we're gonna get a deal one way or the other.

Starting to wait out there.

I'm not going to talk to you about that, but we're either going to get a deal or it's going to be unfortunate for them, then.

A deadline firm field.

I would think that would be enough time.

Ten to fifteen days pretty much maximum.

So pretty much maximum, But he doesn't say it's going to be ten or fifteen days. Senator Cotton, you're a pretty expert listening to and translating the president.

What's he saying, well, Hughes, what he's been saying for more than a decade now is that we cannot tolerate a nuclear run. For that matter, we can't tolerate a nuclear run that is armed with thousands of ballistic missiles that can target not just our troops in the region, but also our friends in the region and much of

Sata, you know that dictators can capitulate Kadothee capitulated on his WMD nukes chemical scots in two thousand and three, two thousand and four. Is that what it would take for us to hold off from attacking them?

Yes, you that there are clear models. As I've said for more than a decade, if Iran could come in from the cold and uh turn the page uh Wmark Cadoppi and Libya is maybe the best example of that. Again, repressive dictator who had the blood of lots of Americans.

On his hands.

In two thousand and three, he was scared straight and he threw the doors open, and he told America, come in, take everything, take my nuclear research, my biological and chemical research, and weapons. I don't want to be next. And over the next eight years he became in essence of day facto ally and fill Barack Obama foolishly overthrew them and opened up what's been the chaotic civil war ever since and kind of uncorked the rest of Africa, creating migration crises.

Senator, yesterday the mender nick of ms now Ben Rhoades posted that we're on the brink of war and there's been no debate, no talk, no resolution in Congress. First of all, I assume everybody in Congress is talking about Iran to each other. And I also assume the AUMF from two thousand and one is adequate to the day. But I also assume the president's inherent Article two power is adequate to the day.

What do you think, Well, yeah, I mean I think the president, as commander in chief, has the authority, all the authority he needs in the Constitution to take military action to safeguard this country. It's rich that the Obama crew would be talking about military action with any need debate or vote in Congress. That's exactly what Barack Obama did in twenty eleven when he toppled Umar Kadaffi. The

Now, I also recall that during Team Obama era, they did not follow They entered into a treaty with Iran, a bad treaty, a bad deal. You wrote a letter to the Iranian government time, it's not a treaty because they didn't submit it to US. I believe the same would apply to President Trump if they entered into a deal with US. You ought to go to the Senate, right.

You know. I made two simple observations in that letter, along with forty six other Republican senators. One, if you don't have a treaty with the United States, you don't have much because it can just be reversed by the next president. And to remember, the United States Senate has staggered six year terms, So what's Barack Obama left to say? The Senate would be there much longer if the President

Now, mister Rhodes wrote, I want to quote it to no legal basis and no debate in Congress about what could be a major war, with no clear sense of what the objective is or what comes next. Let's focus on the second part. I think that's incorrect. My clear objective is getting the Ietolos away from power, transitioning to any government that isn't theocratically crazy, and as millennial ambitions to end the world. What's your end objective for Iran, Senator Cotton, I.

Think that puts it well. As the President said, of course, it will will be a better place if the regime was changed in Iran. That doesn't mean that America is going to do so militarily, or do so with a hundred thousand troops. But who can doubt that the world would be a better place, to include Iran itself, if you didn't have craze theocratic dictators oppressing their own people and radiating violence, chaos, and revolution across Iran's borders.

A Senator, do you have any idea who might be the transitional leadership? The Crown Prince has been on this program since last week talked, but he's an expat He's been an exile for forty seven years.

I'm not sure.

Do you think there are other forces within the regime that could step forward as did in Venezuela. Former allies of Maduro stepped forward as soon as the guy was gone.

Well, I'll put it this way. I would suspect, given human nature, that there's more than a few senior leaders in Tehran who look at what happened to Duro and look at what's happened in that country since then, who are thinking themselves. I'd like Elci Rodriguez's deal, not Nicholas's Maduro's deal.

Yeah, yea question, Senator.

In terms of.

The costs of this operation, it's extraordinary to forward stage this number of people. And I just saw a picture of the number of tankers we've got at the Sofia airport in Bulgaria.

England United Kingdom will not let.

Us use their bases, but Bulgaria is letting us use their basis. Does that call for some kind of rethinking about who's our friend and who isn't.

Well, Hugh, I haven't seen that reports. I don't want to comment on it, but if any one of our allies is closing their airspace or closing off their bases, let's just say I think it calls for a direct and frank phone call from the president. If not a direct and frank post on his social media accounts.

Well, I hope we get that too. I cheated one more question. Do we need a supplemental for defense? Given the amount of expenditure that's going into this forward push.

We're very vulmid you, especially if approporations are delayed again. You know, we've spent a large amount. That's a large amount in the department last summer during or in the Working Family Tax Cut Act, and we just increased in the last yearday and your appropriation spending a little bit. It still needs more, though to be determined, whether that's in a short term supplemental or in the typical appropriations process.

Center.

Tom Cotton, thank you for joining us from the campaign trailer in Arkansas. I always appreciate it, and I'll talk to you again next week. Don't go anywhere in America. I'm coming right back with Vic Mattis of the Washington Free Beacon, and we've got more President Trump talking at the Institute or at the boarded Piece today and what he had to say, as well as Vice President Vance. So there's a lot more ahead. Don't go anywhere. Stay tuned to the Salem News Channel if you've missed anything.

My eye on the web.

Welcome back America, little free bird for you, Vic Madis.

Do you know why I'm playing that?

You're thinking of the Super Bowl commercial for No blud Wiser or No Now.

I'm playing a prominent role in the Olympics today, but I'm not doing any spoilers. Okay, I think I heard something. I'm setting the table. I'm setting the table, Vic Madison. I'm mad at you, I know.

Do you know why I do?

Because I was talking about bad football teams and for some insane, crazy reason that I cannot explain, I have no excuse you. I said the Cleveland Browns. We were talking about bad teams playing overseas because we're trying to marry Catherine, and I were trying to explain about how to gin up excitement beyond our borders for American football.

And for some reason, I said.

Cleveland, and I know I should have known better. As soon as I said it, I thought he was going to hear this, and I know I should have said the Jets.

I did hear that. But that's not the reason.

That's why I always ask an open ended questions. That's because people interrogate themselves and they fall and I feel like Peter Falk right now, it's Colombo. That's not the reason I didn't mind me about the Browns. The reason is from the latest episode of Getting Hammered.

Okay, no, I don't remember.

Why you're mad. Okay, go ahead, you take that.

On Fat Tuesday, and you talked extensively about Chinese food and how great it is and Peking gourmet and how he does that duck. You went on forever about what you'd like to eat at Chinese restaurant, and then it drops on ash Wednesday.

Vic Maddis, I know.

It's unfair for the rest.

Of us who have to fast and that fast thing involves you know, it's it's a very peculiar thing, Hugh, as you know as a fellow Catholic, because it's like, you know, two small meals that don't equal the larger meal, but if your larger meal happens to be a Chinese buffet, you could pretty much eat anything you want. So that was unfair for most of us because all we're doing is thinking about food the one day we feel like we can't have it.

So which you guilty is charged You talked about it on Tuesday, so you could run out to your local Chinese deli and grab as much kung pow whatever that you wanted, and then the rest of us are heard on Wednesday. Now I want to go to doppelganger. You were talking about being mistaken in front of people. I didn't recognize the name of the person with the blockhead that you don't like being compared to.

Yes, who is that?

Yes?

That is the professional golf for kJ CHOI.

He's a very good golfer, so that we actually don't have in common. But when my good friend pointed that out, you know, the first thing I think.

Is do we all look the same?

And then I went to check him out and I said, my goodness, the skeletal structure his head size is eerily, eerily similar. And I said, okay, that was fair, all right?

So I came up with for Mary Catherine Audrey Hepburn, and I think it's a very good match.

And I've gott an agreement from people.

But I have two doppel gangers, at least i've been accused of to. One is the former lieutenant governor of Missouri. And if you're watching on the Salem News channel, here's Peter Kinder.

What do you think, vic, Yeah, that looks like a twit of yours.

Definitely then perhaps older.

At the two thousand and seven American League Championship game, I'm there with my brother Rob ganarian Patrick Wilson, and a fan stumbles by and says you you you're Stephen King And this is what Stephen King looks like.

And I was not happy.

No.

I mean maybe they were thinking about your writing somehow that they just thought, you know, there's a lot about the creativity that flows through you. You know, there's some similarity just in the eyes.

But that's about.

It, all right, Let's go to the key issue of the day, the Pootomac. I have been following this from Afar, like, really, Afar, I'm glad I left DC last week.

Where can you smell it? Well, this is the thing.

This happened in late January, just before the big storm was to happen, So that is not an excuse for why there hadn't been better coverage, at least on the local level. But then when that happened, all anybody wanted to talk about was the snow Creek. And somehow it's like we almost wanted to convince ourself that it was.

So cold that the sewage spell would just be frozen in place.

That is not true at all.

It comes out of the pipes and it's just spilling on top of the surface of what normally would be the water.

So it was even worse.

I mean, you've seen the video and footage of this now with the toilet paper. It's absolutely disgusting. We are down here, we don't smell it yet. This isn't the summertime. We just got an email from Arlington County assuring us our drinking water is safe because it comes from a source further upstream.

They say that said.

Everybody around us is saying do not go into the water. Now, that's impossible. Right now, I look out my office window and the Potomac was still largely frozen. But you oftentimes see in the late spring, well into the summer and fall, people love to go kayaking, people love to do all sorts of water sports. And even before the spill, Hue, we were told, you know, don't fall in the water, and definitely don't, you know, consume any of the water.

So you know, accountability is needed. Have you ever read Steven Johnson's The Map? By chance? I have no.

The Ghost Map is about the eighteen fifty one cholera epidemic in London. And the cholera epidemic began when there was a mixture of human waste with well water in London and it spread throughout the city through the pipes. So I'm not buying Arlington, don't. Are they sure there is no way for that Cholera travels by human waste? I mean, why is that lot London?

Yeah, Well, the good thing is that even if they're wrong about it, I'm pretty sure they'll still all have their jobs because, as you know, you know, there's no account But it's all Democrats here, I mean, and they keep on getting re elected year after year.

There's no other alternative. I wish there were.

And you're talking about what happened up in cabbage On, that's up in Maryland and so I mean, yeah, there's the DC Water Authority that's involved. The EPA of course now should be obviously has to be involved. And Leezelden is only now getting into it, but this is a very serious spelling and.

His first month on the job.

He had the Pacific Palisades with all the burned up batteries that had to be disposed of. Now a year in he gets to Pootomac and I don't know that he signed up for a job that meant clearing up all this bleep, but he did. That's his job now, right, it's inner jurisdiction on it's federal.

Yeah, that's right, And I'm pretty sure that reporters will be definitely on him for that. Where the reporters were earlier is a good question. Again, we talk about the need for better metro reporting. There are some local sources obviously that we're doing a good job, but a lot of it is, you know, I mean, there doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency. Certainly when this first

Mean all over it, but I mean covering it closely, very quickly. Kudos on the Free Beacon review by the latest atheist to try and get on the atheist train. I thought the review was one of the most devastating I've ever read who wrote that, the guy.

From the Ethics and Public Policy.

Yeah, that is Carl Truman, a Protestant theologian. But it was my good friend and you know him as well, George Wigel, who said, you got to get.

Carl to review this book. It's going to be something else. And he did not disappoint when you torture book right down to the blurbs. I mean he even took down the blurbs. That's a thorough construction of a book.

Always good to talk to.

Vic Madison, guitar coutries. Nobody could have signed you would have had that threat. Nobody could have had. You couldn't had peace in the Middle East. So now we may have to take it a step further, or we may maybe we're gonna make a deal. You're gonna be finding out over the next probably ten days.

Probably ten days, Josh Crosser joined Vanitor in chief of Jewish Insider. How do you interpret probably ten days, Josh.

Well, I have the same analysis that we've been talking about for the last several weeks, which is that Trump would like to make a good deal with getting Iran to give up its ballistic missiles, not continue building its nuclear facilities and preventing all of its rogue activities in the Middle East. Iran has not the diplomatic meetings in Geneva, but nowhere, Iran has not put anything on the table.

I don't think he wants to. I think he preferred diplomacy.

But given Iranian and transigence, we may actually see the propect of military now.

Now, Josh, I've got the Wall Street Journal story in front of me on the desktop. Trump Way's initial limited strike to force Iran into a nuclear deal it begins. President Trump is weighing an initial military strike on Iran to force it to meet his demands for a nuclear deal, a first step that would be designed to pressure Tehran to an agreement, but fall short of a full scale

It is and it's I was amused earlier in the week when there was an initial readout from an unnamed US official of the talks with the Iranians in Geneva that that they seem to go well and it turned out they were a disaster. That the Iranians didn't agreet anything. So I always am cautious about leaping to any great conclusions based on one unnamed source, especially in this White House, there's a lot of different views on foreign policy, so I think that's extra significant in this case.

But look, I do think given and you've you've laid it out on.

The show so with such detail, Q, But the scope of the build up over the last month in the in the Middle East, in the Gulf, suggesting you know this is that Trump is not playing around and he is very committed to at least the option of military strike.

Again, Josh, again having I'm not crediting this report, but let's assume for the sake of argument that there's.

Some truth to it.

It would be a very bad idea to do a limited strike and give Iron the opportunity to let go with a fuseilot, as opposed to a debilitating major first strike to take out all their missile capacity that we could. I mean, I'm not a general, I have never served in the military. I read spy thrillers and I talked to generals, but that just seemed to me to be a really bad choice.

What do you think, Well, I.

Think perhaps the worst option would be that you kind of have this symbolic pin prick that's staged, go back to the parkeating table, and hope to get anything.

More out of there.

I don't when I say stage, I don't mean that it's it's not you know that they they're asking for this. But you know the fact is that there's a lot of symbolic, you know, activity that that may not do much at all to degrade or Adian military capabilities, do very little to really the message about the US being serious. So yeah, I mean, I do think the worry is that Trump doesn't want to go to war and he's trying to figure out, you know, a way out, and

Well, again, I question whether or not he's just not doing the strategic confusion dance again, but I do think a pinprick or a symbolic strike is the worst idea I've seen because of what Hamani has said and as generals have said, which is massive retaliation for any kind of strike. That means Israel gets every ballistic missile they can get off in round one, doesn't it.

Yeah, well, that's certainly could could be the case.

And I think if this.

Is not something you don't play with the military for symbolic strikes. You go and have a mission, whether it's to take out you know, nuclear facilities as we do in the Twelve Day War, whether it's to you know, get rid of some of their ballistic missiles that they've been building up and getting from other other road countries, whether it's to you know, attack the IRGC because they've

Personnel in the in the Gulf.

But you know, I think that's that's that's the big There's a lot of there's some Look, Trump has been good, as you said to you, about kind of being being coy about his intentions.

Sometimes that's a good thing.

But I do think that the clarity and in the mission and what the goal is. It would be helpful to, at least from the American.

Public's point of view, well, we might get that in the State of the Union. We also might get an announcement during the State of the Union that the bombing of Iran is underway. With this president, you can't tell. I'm curious how you read the Israeli leaks, which are not quite big, you know, six feet from the shelter, but getting there.

Yeah, well, we had a report in Yesterday's Jewish Insider that they don't expect an imminage military strike this weekend the Israelis, So you know that that was one sense about the timetable. Look Prime Minister notting Now who made a very short visit to DC to meet with President Trump. They didn't have any press briefings after. They didn't talk to to the to the press or do do the traditional kind of Trump comment uh after Trump, you know, conversations with the media after.

The after the meeting.

So, I mean, I think that means they must have had some very.

Serious talks about, you know, gaming out what would happen if the US does that does indeed strike I ran And then there's reporting that you know Israelis would also be involved in such a military action.

There's a reporting.

Whatever you want to read, you can go and find and read actually somewhere because nobody knows nothing except Donald Trump and maybe Prime Minister and Josh cross Our follow him on actual Josh cross Hower follow me in the next segment of Today is you would give a show stay tuned, Good Morning Glory and even grash America. I'm h it is Thursday. It is ragning like Madden California.

What do you think, Well, let's take the objectives first.

You and I anticipated you asking about Ben Rhoads, and so I went and printed off page five of the National Security Strategy. You know, if this goes on much longer, I'm going to end up reading all of page five at one point or another, because I read part of it after the Venezuelan operation. Here it is, by the way, and you notice the bold part, you know, which our audience can't read yet, I'll read it to you.

That's about the Middle East.

It says we want to prevent an adversarial power from dominating the Middle East. It's oil and gas supplies and the choke points through which they pass while avoiding the forever wars that bogged us down in that region at great costs.

So what is the adversarial power?

Who is it that wants to dominate the Middle East shove their version of sharia law down everybody's throat to include most especially the Gulf States, and has threatened to and would love to shut down the choke points for oil and gas in the Middle East.

Who is that?

You?

It's Iran, right, And so what we're doing is preventing that adversarial power, you know, from doing that. And the operational goals, I think they're pretty clear. The president is going for a big win, which is what he does. And a big win would be somebody wearing a military app in Iran, either now or after an attack, deciding that they'd like to survive and maybe keep some of the loot they've stolen from the country, so they push home any aside and decide to play ball with us.

That would be a very big win.

But at minimum, if that doesn't happen, because the Mullas are not going to make a deal. And if you don't think Donald Trump knows that, you don't know Donald Trump, he does not miss the obvious in a negotiation.

So okay, let me be hoping.

An hour ago, the Wall Street Journal posted a story Trump weighs initial limited strike to force Iran into a nuclear deal. It then reads, in the first two grabs, President Trump is weighing an initial limited military strike on Iran to force it to meet his demands for a nuclear deal, a first step that would be designed to pressure Tehran into an agreement, but fall short of a

I think it's highly unlikely.

I think when he hits, when we hit, and I think we're going to end up doing it, because I think the Molas are going to stay in control and they're not going to do this deal. Although there's a chance, I mean, Neil Ferguson thinks. On Dan Senor's show, he indicated he thought there was a chance, and he had some pretty good arguments for it.

No, I think we're going to hit him much harder than that.

It is not only possible, but likely that we will reserve some targets as secondary deterrence. And you've talked about carc Island. I mean, but we can hit them very hard while still retaining targets that will secondarily deter them.

And as I.

Said, I think the goal is either to get a deal now that's not likely, to get a deal with new leadership after a strike that's much more likely to have the protesters come out again because they're encouraged by after a strike, because they're encouraged, and because the regime is weakened further, and overthrow the regime.

That's possible. And if we don't get.

Any of that, the minimum we're going to get out of this is destroying their ballistic missile arsenal, which means they will have lost two of their three tools of power. They've lost the nuclear program and they've lost the ballistic missiles. And because they're economies in the tank because of our sanctions, they can't support the proxies anymore. So we're going to get The odds are very high. We're going to get a solid win out of this. The question is how

Well again, developers are deal people and they know what they're doing on deals. Let me talk to you about the deal with the United Kingdom. Harley, if you would put up for our viewers on the Salem News Channel and for Senator Talleng. This is a picture of Sofia International Airport in Bulgaria with a half dozen KC one thirty five's parked on the ramp last night. Now, Sofia's in Bulgaria, which was on the wrong team during the

Well, I have a well.

You know how that sat with the and so do I Look, i have a soft spot for the Brits, and I'm hopeful. I think they're they're they're going through a lot of internal turmoil. I hope they get to the right place in the next couple of years. But this is an example of exactly what our people have been complaining about. I mean, first the President, then Vance, then then the Speaker Johnson in his own way before

Going to let us use their air fields.

This is exactly why we're complaining about them as allies.

They need to hold up their end.

They have to hold up their end. They hadn't been.

This is the demnimous I mean just overflight right, that doesn't cost them anything. It's our bases. They are a NATO ally. I don't understand it. I'm hoping the reports are wrong, but they are many. I want to circle back and conclude where we began. The Obama Bros, the Pod Bros, the kiddies who surrounded President Obama with Unicorn and bubbles thinking during his eight years, why are they so upset that Iran is teetering on the brink of collapse.

Well, because they had a foreign policy that was crazy for the Middle East. Their policy was to try and stabilize the Middle East around a partnership with iron which was crazy. I mean that there was no way that the Islamic Republic, while it was controlled by the Molas, was ever going to try to do anything other than dominate the region. And it's choke points to the detriment of the United States. Oh and you I want to address Rhodes's claimed that there has been no debate and

Correct, we flew out.

If I recall twenty five thousand sorties, including seven thousand against Libyan forces, We're not going to have an eight month bombing campaign here.

No authorization from Congress, well within the president, nothing for the county.

As a matter of fact, you the House voted against authorizing and it was a bipartisan vote. Now that did not pass the Senate. So I mean there was there was considerable Congressional opposition there, but the president had the authority under the counts under his Article to authority, and he did it. And so does Trump here. I mean, if Congress wants to weigh in, it'll happen when there's a supplemental and you talked about that with Tom Cotton.

That it's always the purse strings. Congress always has. You remember the Nicaragua controversy with Reagan, they cut off the money to the conscious.

They can do this again. But I'm going to.

And and and with with after Nixon had gone. But on Vietnam as a practical matter, you that's where this tension works itself out to between Article one and Article two. If the military commitment is so sustained that the president has to go to Congress for more money for it, that's where Congress weighs in, and if it disapproves, it does not provide the money and the military operation stops well.

Instead.

Senator Jim Tallon from the Board of the Reagan Institute for Peace through Strength next week, page six of the National Security Strategy. Thank you, Senator Talent. I'll be right back with Seth Mandel. Stay to in America.

Welcome back in America. I'm Hugh Hewitt.

Seth Mandel joins me, senior writer for commentary magazine. Seth, I want to read to you the beginning of his story from the wires this afternoon. The United Kingdom has refused to grant US forces permission to use British military bases for potential strikes against Iran. The Times of London reported on Thursday. The decision is heightened tensions with Washington,

What do you think?

I think it's a bluff.

I think it's a way of saying whether they you know, somebody told a reporter that they haven't yet granted that permission, and you know that's something that when things are in place and ready to.

Be moved there and ready to go.

That they'll get I just don't think that Britain is going to stand in the way of what is essentially meant to help free the Iranian people from there from the government that is mowing them down in the streets.

I mean, the Europeans all.

Talk about human rights and caring about human rights and civilians and all that, and this this is this in Iran is nothing but civilians. That's the only people dying are civilians. The only people fighting are the regime.

Uh.

And so this is just an easy one if you if you believe anything, if these guys believe anything that they say, they can't they can't plausibly stand in the way of of what Trump is trying to do.

If they do, in fact denyse of our basis, what is the consequence of that.

That's really up to the administration. I don't know.

I mean, the administration will uh, you know, tends to use tariffs and things like that as as as punishment.

But I don't. I don't really.

It's just hard for me to believe that diplomatically, Britain would be the reason that these uh, these innocent protesters rising up for democracy in Iran would be left at the mercy of their killers. So I just don't. I don't think it's really going to be necessary.

But I don't know.

It's a good question about the what the you know, retaliatory measures would be.

Don't right, Let me show you a picture of the Sofia airfield in Bulgaria, where a half dozen of our biggest cargo ships are located. You know, I was a kid in the Reagan White House forty years ago. The idea that we would be able to use the Bulgarian airplanes air A reports but not the United Kingdom is astonishing to me. That was the age of Thatcher. I just can't believe it. Not if they want NATO to SURVIVEE.

Yeah, no, I That's why I say I don't. I don't believe it either.

I just you know, there's been a lot of talk about the Transatlantic Alliance and whether Trump puts that in danger. But you know, when when Iran lobbied a couple hundred missiles and drones at Israel.

The British were there.

To mobilize and try to protect the skies, and so were the Jordanians. By the way, So these coalitions that Trump puts together involve Americans, Europeans, and Arab states, and I just don't see I mean, I can see why Arab states would want to not be obviously playing front and set of roles in this with Iran, like I can understand why the Saudis are trying to sort of walk a tightrope here. But in the end, this either

Now, Seth Mandeu.

The Wall Street Journal published sixty five minutes ago a story by Alexander Ward Good reporter Trump weighs initial limited strike to force Iran into a nuclear deal, and Alexander cited sources familiar with the situation, and it says he's kind of hit them with a small strike to force them to the table on a big deal. I think that's inane. I think that would give Iran the opportunity to launch a massive first strike on Israel and our bases.

I don't believe it. Do you believe it?

No?

But I also think that Trump and the Israelis are preparing for for any scenario. You know, Trump has been probably more hawkish with regard to Hesbola in South Lebanon than the Israelis have been. In recent months, there have been several credible reports that he's been kind of pushing the Israelis to make sure that Hesbela doesn't stick its

And some capabilities.

But he's been telling the Israelis don't don't let the weeds overgo the garden. And the Israelis, I think, have been more hesitant than that to strike because they don't want another war in Lebanon. They don't to open up another front or be the ones to open up another front. But I think that this has been Trump's way of saying, let's and the whole adminstruation that's saying, let's take care of every contingency. Don't give the Iranians a chance to

Something like that. I mean, I think he's really got them tied up.

I hope you're right, but I think the one way to forfeit any advantage that has been built up is to give them a chance to go first. And Israel does not have a history of that. Last question, Cheth, I haven't heard commentary this morning, but yesterday you seem to be persuaded that the vice president is a restrainer, Neil isolationist.

I am not. What do you base that.

On, Well, I base it on the speech that he gave where he enunciated this most clearly was a last year. The year before, he gave a speech where he talked about The speech is mostly remembered for the fact that Vance explained why he's a supporter of Israel and why Israel is a good ally.

That's usually where you hear the relevance of.

The speech, because it was one of the few times that you know, Vans made clear that yes, you know, we think Israel is an ally and you know, and they're valuable and they provide us. But in that speech was he he had laid out the idea that there really can't be that weak nations are far you know, that they take more than they get, and that you know,

Ukraine and others.

So I think he tends to, you know, not want to feel like he's carrying anybody along. And that's what makes me you know, gives me the impression that he's more of a restrainer than otherwise.

I think.

It, but I will and I'm glad you have something specific in mind, because I think there's there's a lot of mythology around Vance that is never evident.

Its out to me in.

Dozens of interviews with him over a dozen years. Seth Mandel can be followed at Seth Mandel and you can hear them every single day on the commentary podcast, which I recommend strongly.

To you and stay tuned.

Dan Rundy from CSI as his next still talking about it Ron, You're on.

The New Dealership.

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Looking back in America as war looms.

I thought I would talk to an expert on post war issues. Daniel Rundy is a senior advisor at the Center for Security, Strategic and International Studies CSIS in Washington, DC. Also the author of The American Imperative, which I think it's imperative for Americans to read on the brink of war. Daniel, First, your assessment of what the President had to say today and running up to today, is war inevitable?

I mean, obviously President Trump has been trying to establish that we have peace. He's been trying to have negotiations. But if our counterparts are not willing to participate in negotiations in a serious way, we're looking at some sort of a conflict.

So Whyett is reporting today that there's a coordinated plan to destroy all the missiles, to do damage to the command and control structures throughout Iran. It sounds like regime collapse to me? Is that how you would guess it looks to you?

Yeah, I would call it something like regime collapse. This is not regime change by invasion. Rather, it's deterrence. It's nuclear rollback. It's creating conditions for Iranian led change while avoiding a regional war. I think it's really important for your listeners to understand of the prize that we're talking about.

A freedom uprising.

There's been clearly a lot of people very very unhappy with the regime. You have all these young people who are very unhappy. What's happened to the young people's outrageous. President Trump has talked about this, But I think in some ways the best day after scenario, you is a boring day after scenario. Fighting stops fast ports, open oil flows, power and water stays on. Proxies like Hezbollah or Harmas are restrained, and Iran looks for an off ramp and

Dan, do you think that that would mean that the Idolahamini and the senior molocracy would have to be out of the picture because they're fanatics. I don't think they can see a way to actually sitting down and repairing their country with the world. Do you think they are reasonable in any way?

No, I mean, these are crazy people. I mean, as you know.

And one of the things I want to say is, thank you you for what you've done with your radio show about consistently talking about Iran. As you know, I'm a listener, but I think you've been really it's been important to educate the American people and listeners worldwide about what an evil regime this is. Ending this regime and ending the nature of this regime would be a really great thing for the world.

So my hope is is there's a small.

Probability that they could They could say, oh, we're going to stop doing this, We're going to go on the bat, we're going to stop being bad guys. But it's really hard to get these folks to change their strikes stripes. So I think ultimately it's about defanging them, and it's about hoping to pave the way for the Iranians to bring about a different kind of a government on their own.

Let's finish this segment and talk next segment about what is most likely, in my view, a period of chaos followed by the emergence of a quote strong man, someone to bring authority to the streets, monopoly of violence, all that sort of stuff. What is the But it's not an iotola, it's not a fanatic, it's not a theocrat. If we get to that, what's the best case scenario for ran thereafter? And we can take a couple of minutes here and then eight minutes after the break.

Okay, I would say a couple of things. One is, you could have some kind of regime fracturing. That's a fancy term for the folks that have been running the country split up and say I'd rather cut a deal with the Americans than rather die or you know, or have something really bad happen. So you could have some part of the military force a coup that's possible. And then so you could have something along those lines. There's obviously been talk about having the Shaw comeback.

I think that may be more.

Of a hope within the diaspora community, people outside of Iran who hope to see that. There have been protests and calling for his name. There's been graffiti calling for his name. I mean, obviously that would be a wonderful phenomenal thing where he served as some sort of transitional figure. But it's more likely that you have the regime breaks up and a piece.

Of it says we're going to have a palace.

Coup and we're going to take over and we're going to negotiate with with the United States and our allies.

When we come back from break, we're going to talk about the many, many problems that Ron faces no matter who is running it.

Dan.

The first time I went to a Dan seminar at CSIS, it was about rebuilding shattered economies, and they're probably an economy and the developed world economy as shattered as Ron's is nor one with as much wealth to put to the service of the people who are on if they actually want to go about it. We'll talk about the steps that ought to be followed in the aftermath of the conflict, which we hope, as Dan Rundy said, is short sharp and over with no loss of life to

Pushing the show out.

Wouldn't it be great to be talking on the radio and television when they pushed out the CIA tool or stated in America.

Welcome back to America.

I'm Hugh Hewitt, joined by Daniel Rundy. Daniel is a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in DC. Not place to go for smart people at CSIS. He's the author of a fabulous book, The American Imperative. Dan as I said before the break, I went up to CSIS wants to hear you talk about international banking and how lending facilities operate with countries. What is the best way for the world of support a free people of Iran with a shattered economy and infrastructure.

So in an ideal world, the day after is a boring day and things are still functioning. The day after there's some sort of a peaceful, bloodless palace coup and there's some sort of a military strongman comes in that it was associated with the regime and wants to negotiate with us.

That would be, in my view, the best outcome, and it's.

Not impossible, but it's something that we have to work towards. So whatever happens in an ideal scenario where you have a boring day after, you have to think about stabilization along with diplomacy. So we have to think about making sure we're protecting the US force and our allies. We have to make sure that they understand that if they mess with us, then really bad things will happen, and then we need to announce a stabilization plan. They have

So they're going to have to look.

At things like making sure that they have enough money in the till you Also, they spend a lot of money on their army, and they also spend money on their nukes, and they spend money on their proxies.

If they got out of the proxy.

Business and got out of the nuke business and cut back on their defense, a lot of that money over time could be allocated towards things like water, which is something I want to talk about as well as other infrastructure projects.

But also if they were out of the proxy.

Business and now the nuke business, the risk premium of investing in Iran or in the neighborhood would go down.

You.

I mean, that's actually even more important than the money that.

If people felt like, Okay, well this is actually a safer place. Imagine an Iran that was as peaceful as say Turkey, or in Iran that was as stable as a place like I don't know, Saudi Arabia, or as stable as UAE, and as investor friendly as UAE.

And you know this, you because you spent a lot of time in Los Angeles.

There's some incredible people of Iranian descent who live all the states and.

Unbelievable.

Let's go to water, water water right now in the district of Columbia. I heard on Fox News this morning, John Roberts referred to it as the pooh Tomic because of the massive sewage spill. All of a sudden, people in the h in the del Marva area are realizing clean water is not a given.

Do they have enough water in Iran? When you say water, water, water.

People might snooze off, but it's actually the number one thing you need in a country.

So Prime Minister net and Yahoo did a video to the Iranian people with a glass of water.

I don't know if you saw this here. No, this is maybe six or six or.

Nine months ago, and actually maybe something for your listeners to take a look at, because he understood how important this was. So it's him sitting at a table with a clean glass of water. Because as you know you, because you've you and your your listeners, or you have a smart listening audience, they know that Israel has really done phenomenal things with water management. They've made the desert

Ye, they've underinvested in it.

Like I said, if you have a choice between financing a proxy or financing nuclear weapons or water, they've said, I'll finance the proxies and the nuclear weapons over the water, and now they're paying for it. One of the regimes leaders has even openly talked about Tehran people leaving Tehran and moving to other cities because there's not enough water

They have all sorts of.

Opportunities, but they have to get a handle on this water issue so that it would be absolutely one of the first things.

We no longer have USA idea, and I'm one of the people that it's happy that we don't. But who takes the lead for the United States in the post? We didn't give much shot to this when we invaded Iraq and as a result it was a mess. Who ought to be in charge of our relations with Iran? The President can't do everything and Secretary Rubio has got ninety five jobs. Who takes the lead?

Well, ultimately we're going to have to have it. Certainly shouldn't be the Department of Defense over time, And as I said, I don't think we want to be in the regime like taking over and having a CPA like we had in Iraq. I don't think that's what they're

Troops on the ground.

I do not imagine center we're going to put troops on the ground, and I could see us channeling and we want to manage the oil revenues so that they're not spending it on proxies and nukes and rather spending it on things like water and electricity, and then helping to change the behavior of the regime so that all these fabulous Iranians in the diaspora come back and rebuild the country, invest in the country, and then others could come in alongside it.

There's a series of institutions.

Of course, the IMF and the World Bank, your listeners have heard of it, but there's a series of other institutions that are less well known that over time could be very involved in the reconstruction of Iran.

One is something called the.

EBRD, which has operations in Turkey operations in the Caucasuits.

You don't get to use an acronym without telling it's what.

It's starting for.

Dan.

Sorry, I shouldn't do that. I know I've been on your show before.

Now you owe me a chocolate Sunday, and I know you're very particular about it.

Replace what's it stands up?

The European The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The ebr D was a regional development bank set up after the after the fall of the Soviet Union. So they're they're a.

Partner, all right, Dan Rundy, keep coming back. Follow him on x at Dan Rundy d a n r U n d E. He's a senior advisor at the Centervisi Tech Union National Studies.

Thank you, Jane, I'll be right now.