Untitled Document

[00:00:00] Has [00:00:05] [Music] [00:00:17] [Music] [00:00:25] any political movement been so [00:00:26] thoroughly discredited as MAGA has over [00:00:29] the past 6 months? months. Ukraine, [00:00:30] Iran, Israel first. An expanded Pentagon [00:00:34] budget topping a trillion dollars [00:00:37] gaslighting about the how the Epstein [00:00:39] list first existed, then it was on Pam [00:00:42] Bondi's desk, then it didn't exist, and [00:00:45] now it was jinned up by the Democrats [00:00:47] like Obama and Biden. Trump has [00:00:49] completely abandoned his entire populist [00:00:53] sales pitch for his reelection, point by [00:00:56] point. Here's him talking about the real [00:00:59] motivation for his presidency at a White [00:01:02] House prayer lunchon for members of the [00:01:04] White House faith office after meeting [00:01:05] with the deputy commander of NATO [00:01:07] earlier today. This is your political [00:01:10] moment of zen while people are still [00:01:12] filtering into the live. [00:01:16] And the alternative is one of two [00:01:18] things. You're going to either get all [00:01:20] these things and make the economy strong [00:01:23] or you're going to literally have [00:01:25] perhaps a depression where you people so [00:01:28] rich, so beautiful, so nice to look at. [00:01:31] We'll be totally busted and let's see [00:01:34] how long your wife stays with you. [00:01:36] You're beautiful. She'll stay with you [00:01:38] for about 3 weeks and she'll say, [00:01:40] "Darling, I can't take it anymore. I [00:01:42] can't take it anymore, darling. I'm [00:01:44] leaving you." [00:01:46] I said to one guy, "He's a very very [00:01:48] unattractive man, but he's he's smart [00:01:52] and he's rich." And I said, "You better [00:01:54] hope we get this thing passed cuz your [00:01:56] wife will be gone within about 2 [00:01:57] minutes." [00:01:59] He he he said, "You're right." [00:02:02] Oh, hilarious. The good old White House [00:02:05] prayer meetings where marriage is not uh [00:02:09] consecrated via vows before God, but how [00:02:12] much money you have. I think that's the [00:02:14] entire administration in a nutshell and [00:02:17] the Biden administration and the [00:02:20] previous Trump administration and the [00:02:22] Obama administration. I mean, I could go [00:02:24] back every administration and you know, [00:02:26] at least they are honest about it. All [00:02:28] right, y'all. So, hello and welcome to [00:02:31] State of Play on Mint Press News. I am [00:02:33] your host, Greg Stoker. And how many [00:02:36] years have we been saying it now? The [00:02:38] Russia Ukraine war is bound to continue [00:02:41] potentially years from now ending in a [00:02:43] frozen conflict with a vast [00:02:45] demilitarized zone spanning from the [00:02:47] Black Sea to what? Kkefe, Bellarus. None [00:02:50] can tell. No crystal balls here. But [00:02:53] Trump's position on the war, including [00:02:55] his campaign assertion that he would end [00:02:57] the war before he even came into office, [00:03:00] has taken a complete reversal over the [00:03:02] past week. And the US Congress in a show [00:03:05] of bipartisan support to keep the war [00:03:07] going is in lock step behind the [00:03:09] president who says that Russia has 50 [00:03:11] days to come to the table or else what [00:03:15] they'll probably get is taco Trump t [00:03:18] always chickens out. But we'll see. [00:03:19] We're playing it ear. We're sorry. We're [00:03:22] playing it by ear dayto day as the news [00:03:24] cycle it continues to get insane. So [00:03:26] we're going to be talking about that. [00:03:28] We're going to be talking about AI the [00:03:30] Gulf States. going to be bringing [00:03:31] Lebanon into this picture because it's [00:03:33] part of the picture. Secondary tariffs, [00:03:36] bunch of insanity about the war in [00:03:37] Ukraine. So, we are here at Mint Press [00:03:41] News, a small independent newsroom with [00:03:43] no corporate sper sponsors. We have been [00:03:47] like demonetized, I think, since forever [00:03:50] on YouTube. Yeah, I think especially [00:03:53] since like the Syrian war kicked off. [00:03:54] But if you're picking up the civil war, [00:03:57] uh but if you're picking up what we're [00:03:59] putting down, we're on Patreon. if you [00:04:00] want to sling us five 10 bucks a month, [00:04:02] I forget what it is. Uh really helps us [00:04:04] keep keep going and we appreciate your [00:04:07] contribution to watchdog journalism. And [00:04:10] if you can't do it because life is [00:04:12] becoming more and more unlivable here in [00:04:15] America, in the west in general, as the [00:04:17] material conditions continue to degrade, [00:04:19] you can just uh like, share, subscribe, [00:04:22] spread the word. We're just glad you are [00:04:25] here and helping us with engagement. [00:04:27] Hope you guys enjoy. So, anyways, I just [00:04:30] want to say that I know the Ukraine war [00:04:32] is not high up on some of y'all's [00:04:33] geopolitical interests and so we're [00:04:37] going to play some B-roll right now so [00:04:38] you guys can have something fun to look [00:04:40] at in case you're watching the audio. [00:04:42] Uh, but it's important as our world uh [00:04:46] grows even more interconnected. What's [00:04:48] happening here is connected to, for [00:04:50] instance, the impending war [00:04:54] um sorry, I had to make the screen [00:04:56] smaller. uh in Lebanon. Yes, Lebanon [00:04:59] remains a colony of the western [00:05:01] financial and political elite uh what [00:05:03] some may call the capitalist class [00:05:05] though through institutions like the [00:05:07] IMF, the World Bank, and is receiving [00:05:09] immense pressure to disarm Hezbollah. [00:05:11] More on that later. Suffice to say that [00:05:14] the US playbook is played out, but the [00:05:17] powers that be will try to exert [00:05:19] economic and military force against any [00:05:21] that oppose them. In this instance, it's [00:05:23] the Russian government. So, what are we [00:05:24] going to do? Threaten sanction? threaten [00:05:26] more weapons to one of our allies. [00:05:28] Honestly, US foreign policy at this [00:05:32] point is like because it's so detached [00:05:34] from reality and it's just getting older [00:05:36] and it's receding and our power is [00:05:38] diminishing. It's like a 40-year-old [00:05:40] man. US foreign policy is really much [00:05:42] like a 40-year-old man who refuses [00:05:45] absolutely refuses to recognize and [00:05:48] acknowledge that he has a receding [00:05:51] hairline. Like that's that's US foreign [00:05:52] policy at this point in my estimation. [00:05:55] So, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham [00:05:58] and Democratic Senator Richard [00:06:00] Blumenthal, [00:06:01] everyone knows who Lindsey Graham is. [00:06:03] I'm sure over the next coming weeks, [00:06:05] everyone's going to know who Richard [00:06:06] Blumenthal is. He is the super neocon [00:06:09] Democratic hawk that's always like [00:06:11] getting on Face the Nation with Lindsey [00:06:13] Graham. other urging quick action by the [00:06:16] US as Russia quote escalates the [00:06:18] offensive in Ukraine including this is I [00:06:20] think CNN reporting including the [00:06:22] passage of a bipartisan bill they've [00:06:24] introduced implementing sanctions on [00:06:27] Moscow this was they started they [00:06:29] introduced the bill last Wednesday that [00:06:32] said they could be the sledgehammer [00:06:34] President Donald Trump needs to end the [00:06:36] conflict again the sledgehammer of [00:06:39] sanctions you know because Russia hasn't [00:06:41] been sanctioned before the legislation [00:06:43] which would allow the president to levy [00:06:44] a 500% tariff on imports from countries [00:06:47] that purchase Russian uranium, gas, and [00:06:50] oil has gained momentum in the Senate as [00:06:53] Trump has signed signaled not signed he [00:06:56] hasn't signed anything signaled that he [00:06:58] will escalate US actions against Russia. [00:07:01] And of course, we could play NATO clips [00:07:03] uh sorry clips from the Oval Office [00:07:04] today, but it's nothing new. Blumenthal, [00:07:06] this is Lindsey Graham speaking. [00:07:08] Blumenthal and I have got 85 co-sponsors [00:07:11] again bipartisan co-sponsors in the [00:07:13] United States Senate for congressional [00:07:16] sanctions with a sledgehammer available [00:07:18] to President Trump to uh go after [00:07:22] Putin's economy and all those countries [00:07:24] who prop up the Putin war machine. This [00:07:27] is where we get into secondary it [00:07:29] sanctions insanity. Graham said on CBS [00:07:31] Face the Nation on Sunday being [00:07:33] yesterday referring to Russian President [00:07:35] Vladimir Putin. Of course, Trump told [00:07:37] reporters late yesterday that we will [00:07:40] see tomorrow and tomorrow's come and [00:07:42] gone. Uh well, it's actually no, it's [00:07:44] the evening, but the but the work day is [00:07:46] over in Washington DC for most people. [00:07:49] when asked whether he would announce [00:07:51] sanctions against Russia, noting he'll [00:07:53] meet on Monday with NATO Secretary [00:07:54] General, I said deputy commander, sorry, [00:07:57] Secretary General Mark Root, and pledged [00:08:00] to send very sophisticated military, [00:08:02] that was a quote, very sophisticated [00:08:04] military to Ukraine. Graham and [00:08:06] Blumenthal, of course, the two uh [00:08:09] co-sponsors of this bill in the Senate, [00:08:10] recently returned from Rome where they [00:08:12] attended a conference with Zalinski uh [00:08:15] focusing on recovery of Ukraine and met [00:08:17] with uh you know other European leaders. [00:08:20] And Blumenthal said the European allies [00:08:22] expressed to lawmakers that any [00:08:23] potential US sanctions would have to be [00:08:26] tough, rigorous to change behavior. [00:08:28] That's the whole point of US sanctions. [00:08:30] If you guys aren't checking, it's either [00:08:32] to change behavior or if they if [00:08:34] behavior within a quote unquote regime [00:08:36] cannot be changed, it's in order to [00:08:38] degrade the material conditions so much [00:08:41] that there's a popular uprising that [00:08:43] could be exploded by Western [00:08:45] intelligence services in order to [00:08:47] implement a new regime friendly [00:08:51] to Western interests. That's what [00:08:53] they're trying to do in Iran. And if [00:08:54] they can't do regime change, they go for [00:08:56] regime collapse. They've been trying to [00:08:59] stoke a uprising within the elites [00:09:03] within the Kremlin. [00:09:05] It says my audio has been muted, but I [00:09:07] guess it hasn't been. Um, was to stoke a [00:09:10] uh a popular or an elite uprising and an [00:09:14] overthrow in the Kremlin by uh by [00:09:17] targeting Russian oligarchs assets, [00:09:19] stealing their yachts, basically [00:09:21] freezing assets all over Europe and [00:09:23] Swift banking system, etc., etc., in [00:09:25] order to cause a palace coup. That's [00:09:28] what they've wanted with Russia since it [00:09:30] started. If you're reading The Economist [00:09:31] and the Atlantic Council in February [00:09:34] like 2022 or whatever, this is what they [00:09:36] they were promising. Palace coup. It's [00:09:38] happening. You know, there's going to be [00:09:39] an elite uprising in the Kremlin. So, [00:09:42] this is nothing new. It's to change [00:09:43] behavior or if you can't change [00:09:44] behavior, regime change. So, uh this is [00:09:47] the same messaging of course that you [00:09:49] got from the Biden administration. In [00:09:51] fact, many actually uh this may actually [00:09:54] be an escalation. You know, with Axia's [00:09:56] news reporting this morning that two [00:09:58] White House sources told them that the [00:10:00] plan would include long range missiles, [00:10:03] not just sanctions, but long range [00:10:04] missiles that could strike deep inside [00:10:07] Russia, a definitive ex uh escalation [00:10:09] and a seismic policy ship for the Trump [00:10:12] administration, who claimed boldly that, [00:10:14] you know, the war in Ukraine would be [00:10:16] over before Trump even got into office. [00:10:21] So, uh, of course, that was never bound [00:10:23] to happen. Um, [00:10:26] here's the one thing to pay attention to [00:10:28] here is that we've been saying all along [00:10:30] about the Trump presidency. It's not [00:10:31] anti-war. It cannot afford to be at this [00:10:34] late stage in the American imperial [00:10:36] project. Whether Democrat, Republican, [00:10:39] unipolarity can only in terms of a [00:10:41] global power hgeimon can only be [00:10:43] maintained through force at this point. [00:10:46] You know, we don't have any soft power [00:10:47] left. you know, after the genocide in [00:10:49] Palestine and the hypocrisy around the [00:10:52] world. Also, the fact that we got rid of [00:10:55] USID, which was one of our distributors [00:10:58] of quote unquote aid and soft power [00:11:00] throughout the global south, no longer [00:11:02] there. We've even defunded Radio Free [00:11:04] Africa and Radio Free Europe and all [00:11:06] that stuff. At this late stage, again, [00:11:08] in the imperial project, it's force [00:11:10] either military or economic, sometimes [00:11:12] both in tandem, like in Ukraine uh and [00:11:16] Israel. We're seeing that on the [00:11:18] regional scale with regards to Iran and [00:11:20] with a more global rival like Russia, [00:11:22] that's what they'll do. Inevitably, it [00:11:24] will not work. Everybody who's watching [00:11:26] this show is savvy enough to know that. [00:11:28] But until then, we are doomed to a [00:11:31] period of increasing self-destructive [00:11:34] violence and ideologically driven [00:11:36] escalation. It's or, you know, or is it [00:11:39] all talk in the latest manu uh [00:11:41] manifestation of taco Trump? Trump [00:11:43] always chickens out. Uh let's check in [00:11:46] with Fox News from yesterday to break [00:11:48] down the Neocon talking points. They [00:11:50] haven't really been updated uh because [00:11:52] no significant uh announcements were [00:11:55] made after the uh meeting with the with [00:11:59] General Rut from NATO uh in the Oval [00:12:01] Office. But let's just check in with the [00:12:03] Neocon talking points because they're [00:12:05] shared by both neocon dems and neocon [00:12:07] conservatives. And then we might look at [00:12:09] some Atlantic Council policy position [00:12:12] papers if you guys are feeling really [00:12:14] lucky and you want to get into that. So, [00:12:15] let me pull this up right now. Wait, [00:12:18] where did it go? Wait, we got that one. [00:12:21] We got [00:12:23] Hang on. [00:12:27] Oh, for some reason it's already [00:12:28] playing. Sorry, guys. I don't know what [00:12:30] the hell's going on today with the with [00:12:32] the stuff. Sorry. [00:12:35] >> We're not happy with Putin. I'm not [00:12:36] happy with Putin. I can tell you that [00:12:38] much. [00:12:38] >> So, this this clip specifically was [00:12:41] taken from last Tuesday [00:12:42] >> right now because he's killing a lot of [00:12:44] people and a lot of them are his [00:12:46] soldiers. His soldiers and their [00:12:49] soldiers mostly. And it's now up to [00:12:51] 7,000 a week. [00:12:54] >> President Trump expressing his [00:12:55] frustrations with Russian President [00:12:57] Vladimir Putin this week. Mr. Trump [00:13:00] reportedly is thinking about giving [00:13:01] Ukraine more aid for the first time [00:13:04] since he took office back in January. It [00:13:06] comes as Russia has ramped up deadly [00:13:08] drone attacks in recent days. For more [00:13:12] on this, let's bring in Dr. Rebecca [00:13:14] Grant, senior fellow at the Lexington [00:13:16] Institute. It does sound, Dr. Grant, [00:13:19] like the president is extremely upset [00:13:21] with Vladimir Putin. All right, real [00:13:24] quick. Every time you hear where [00:13:26] someone's from, you got to make sure you [00:13:28] look it up. Lexington [00:13:30] Institute. So, it's a belt beltway [00:13:34] policy think tank. Um, yeah, the [00:13:38] Lexington in Institute is actually just [00:13:40] a con uh a mega pro-war hawk think tank. [00:13:45] Um, yeah, they write articles like Trump [00:13:48] lit a fire under NATO, but more needs to [00:13:49] be done to contain the Russia China [00:13:52] access. Um [00:13:55] B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B [00:13:55] B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B [00:13:56] B-21 Raider. The Iran war proves we need [00:13:58] more stealth bombers from National [00:14:00] Security Journal. Uh yeah, so this is [00:14:02] kind of what you're getting. More [00:14:03] bombers, more weapons to Ukraine. She's [00:14:06] a senior fellow there. So, let's go. [00:14:09] >> Yes, he is. President Trump hoped to be [00:14:12] at a ceasefire in Ukraine by now, but [00:14:14] instead we see Putin lashing out with [00:14:17] these horrible mass drone and missile [00:14:20] attacks. So what I see, John, is I think [00:14:23] that President Trump, he's fixed NATO. [00:14:25] He's got that going well. And now Trump [00:14:27] is [00:14:27] >> Do you hear that, guys? Trump has fixed [00:14:30] NATO because I guess NATO countries have [00:14:33] uh promised I mean, and this is not [00:14:35] enforceable really, have promised to [00:14:38] make their defense budget 5% of their [00:14:40] GDP by 2030. Uh yeah, good luck. Or [00:14:44] 2035. No, it's 2035. 10 years. Uh good [00:14:46] luck. They're already having a massive [00:14:48] material crisis. Uh but yeah, I I guess [00:14:51] we're we're stripping social welfare [00:14:53] programs across the global north in [00:14:56] order to pay for stuff like ICE and [00:14:58] increase military spending, not just in [00:15:00] the United States, but in Europe as [00:15:02] well. [00:15:02] >> He's ready to play hard ball with [00:15:04] Russia. And Trump has a lot of options. [00:15:07] And if I were Putin, I would watch out. [00:15:09] >> Well, what what new options? There's [00:15:12] literally no new option. What? You're [00:15:14] going to send them the same [ __ ] you've [00:15:15] been sending them for two year for like [00:15:17] the past few years? You're going to [00:15:19] sanction him more. This is where we get [00:15:21] to secondary sanctions because it's the [00:15:23] dumbest idea. But yeah, what what is [00:15:25] this lady saying? What more are they [00:15:27] going to do aside from putting US boots [00:15:29] on the ground? And if we can't, we're [00:15:30] not going to put them on the ground in [00:15:32] Iran or like southern Lebanon, there's [00:15:34] to fight Hezbollah, there's no way in [00:15:36] hell we're sending people to Ukraine. [00:15:38] >> What are some of those options? I mean, [00:15:39] we could put more sanctions on on their [00:15:43] oil production, but that brings its own [00:15:45] set of problems, doesn't it? [00:15:47] Yes, it does. And so I think the number [00:15:49] one requirement here is air defense. [00:15:53] Without a strong air defense over [00:15:55] Ukraine, the negotiating position [00:15:57] collapses. So I think that when [00:15:59] President Trump talks about this next [00:16:00] week, we will hear more about providing [00:16:02] air defenses probably both through the [00:16:04] US and through NATO partners. I love [00:16:07] that this conversation about air [00:16:09] defenses because we don't even have [00:16:12] enough for like our own bases in the [00:16:14] Middle East, not to mention Israel. Like [00:16:17] we [00:16:19] My god. Yeah. I mean, look guys, this is [00:16:22] this is the Lexington Institute. It's [00:16:24] all propaganda made to genup consent for [00:16:26] war. Then we're going to look at the [00:16:27] Atlantic Council. It's all propaganda. [00:16:28] This is why we actually don't call it [00:16:30] the military-industrial complex. We call [00:16:32] it the militaryindustrial [00:16:34] media academic complex. So the media is [00:16:38] like CNN, Fox News that genens up [00:16:40] consent for war. But the academic aspect [00:16:43] is not just college campuses written by [00:16:46] like hawk uh professors in academia, but [00:16:50] it's also think tanks. Think tanks are [00:16:52] an integral part of the [00:16:54] military-industrial complex. So yes, [00:16:56] more more weapons of Ukraine, make make [00:16:59] your corporate masters even richer. [00:17:01] >> On the sanctions, that bill that Lindsey [00:17:03] Graham talks about is ready to go. It's [00:17:05] a 500% tariff on some of Russia's [00:17:09] biggest customers and it is moving its [00:17:12] way along. So Trump has quite a lot up [00:17:15] his sleeve at this point to deal with a [00:17:17] recalcitrant and Putin who just has a [00:17:20] taste for war. [00:17:22] >> Yeah. Yeah. Putin has a taste for war, [00:17:24] but you know, we're doing a genocide and [00:17:27] bombing Iran, and you know, we're the [00:17:31] only country that's bombed as many [00:17:32] countries as we have. But yes, it's it's [00:17:34] totally not our hawkishness either. We [00:17:36] can blame it all on Putin. I'm not [00:17:38] saying you have to be a fan of Putin. [00:17:40] I'm not. But this is so propagandized [00:17:43] and detached from reality, it's insane. [00:17:45] And then we're going to talk about why [00:17:47] uh this is completely driven by ideology [00:17:49] and is not written uh not based out of [00:17:51] of anything factual. Obviously, it's [00:17:54] not. Uh but let's just play this out [00:17:56] because there's a lot of points I want [00:17:58] to make that she's bringing up. The she [00:18:00] she believes that the key to winning [00:18:02] this war or getting closer to a [00:18:05] negotiated settlement is by winning the [00:18:07] air war with more def like with more [00:18:11] missiles, with more air defense [00:18:12] artillery. They just launched almost 800 [00:18:15] drones this weekend, Russia or last [00:18:18] week. You know, we don't have the air [00:18:20] defenses to deal with that. So, but [00:18:21] okay. Okay. Lady Rebecca Grant, Dr. [00:18:24] Rebecca Grant from the Lexi Lexington [00:18:27] Institute. Let's see what else you're [00:18:28] cooking. [00:18:28] >> The Ukrainians have just done an [00:18:30] incredible job in fighting off uh the [00:18:33] attacks of this much bigger and and [00:18:35] better funded ally. I think of the [00:18:37] attacks on those bombers. We're gonna [00:18:39] we're going to look uh look at a a live [00:18:42] map uh later on and we can see how, you [00:18:44] know, they're they're losing quite a bit [00:18:46] of ground. [00:18:46] >> The drone attacks on the Russian bombers [00:18:48] that were more than a a thousand miles [00:18:51] away from the Ukrainian border a few [00:18:53] weeks ago. But um [00:18:57] the the is is there more that the [00:18:59] president could or should do? I'm [00:19:01] talking about President Trump now. Could [00:19:03] or should do uh to help the Ukrainians [00:19:05] out? See, if you look at the questioning [00:19:08] and and I just wanted to harp on this [00:19:09] for a second because it's very telling [00:19:11] about how all this works. He said these [00:19:13] are like pre-planned. They have pre-ins [00:19:15] like uh very rarely do I go on a [00:19:18] platform where I have to do pre-in [00:19:19] because I'm I'm usually not on big ones [00:19:21] like Fox or CNN or NBC. Uh I mean for [00:19:24] Alazer or Democracy Now, you'll do like [00:19:26] pre-in. But all of this was covered in [00:19:29] the pre-in. He's like, "What kind of [00:19:31] questions are you going to ask? How well [00:19:33] it wasn't him, it was his producer." and [00:19:36] they kind of orchestrated it, the tempo [00:19:38] of the conversation, and now they're the [00:19:40] part where she's like, "This is what [00:19:41] Trump should do. It's going to be more [00:19:43] hawkish than what he's already said he [00:19:45] was going to do Monday, that being [00:19:47] today." [00:19:49] >> Well, there is always more. I think the [00:19:51] tactical situation is Ukraine is holding [00:19:54] Russia pretty well on the ground. The [00:19:58] real pressure is these mass drone [00:20:00] attacks, which are so much bigger than [00:20:02] anything that we've seen. They're going [00:20:04] against civilian targets. It's typically [00:20:06] a bunch of Iranian made drones, some [00:20:08] decoy. [00:20:09] >> Okay. Yeah. Roping in Iran, you know, [00:20:11] this is why they're they're starting to [00:20:13] call. So this new form of messaging [00:20:15] that's starting to coales right now is [00:20:18] they're building another axis, you know, [00:20:20] you know, the access from World War II. [00:20:22] And then George Bush brought up the the [00:20:25] axis of evil like Saddam, North Korea, [00:20:28] the Taliban, al-Qaeda brought in Libya, [00:20:32] you know, at the uh well, Obama brought [00:20:34] in Libya. [00:20:36] So now they're they're talking, and this [00:20:38] is interesting, they're talking about a [00:20:39] Russia, China, Iran, and North Korean [00:20:42] access now. So it's the same old [00:20:44] regurgitated global war on terror [00:20:45] propaganda, but they're really pushing [00:20:48] this. And if you've been and and I [00:20:49] follow uh Chadam House uh the Atlantic [00:20:52] Council, Brookings Institute [00:20:55] um they have been putting out an [00:20:57] absolute think tank policy blitz right [00:21:00] now and this is all part of it [00:21:02] >> and then 10 or 20 really difficult [00:21:04] either hypersonic or cruise or ballistic [00:21:07] missiles scattered in there and that is [00:21:09] directly to pressure the NATO allies who [00:21:12] are providing air defenses. So, I'd [00:21:14] really like to see President Trump [00:21:15] greenlight another draw down to provide [00:21:17] Patriot missiles. More of the Norwegian [00:21:19] US Nayams. They've got a 94% success [00:21:22] rate. And hey, you know, the European [00:21:24] partners and others are doing really [00:21:26] well. Australia has sent its wedge tail [00:21:28] plane there to help track aerial [00:21:30] threats. [00:21:31] >> Oh my god, guys. They sent the wedge [00:21:33] tail plane. This is really going to turn [00:21:35] stuff around. All right. Now, we've gone [00:21:37] through the we've gone through the [00:21:38] talking points. Now, let's uh uh let's [00:21:41] actually talk about what's going on [00:21:42] here. So an issue here is that the [00:21:44] western hawks refuse to incorporate into [00:21:47] their plans at least superficially or in [00:21:49] terms of like analysis is that Russia [00:21:52] views the war in Ukraine and NATO [00:21:55] expansionism as an existential threat a [00:21:58] threat to their existence. And you might [00:22:00] not like it or understand the Russian [00:22:02] position but the reality here is that [00:22:04] there's nothing we can really do to [00:22:06] change it. We are locked in this forever [00:22:08] war. You know, rhetoric pushed by the [00:22:12] military-industrial think tanks that all [00:22:14] Ukraine needs is a silver bullet. Wedge [00:22:18] tales from from Australia, right? One [00:22:21] more weapon systems to win the Ukraine [00:22:24] air war. one more round of sanctions. [00:22:26] Now, secondary sanctions of countries [00:22:29] that trade with Russia and it will break [00:22:32] the Russian economy and they will be [00:22:33] forced through economic reasons to [00:22:35] abandon the war and adopt a softer [00:22:37] softer negotiating position. So, what is [00:22:41] the definition of insanity? Again, the [00:22:43] Russian position was laid out in June of [00:22:44] last year. Russia demands for ending the [00:22:47] war in Ukraine include territorial [00:22:49] concessions, Ukrainian neutrality, and [00:22:52] restrictions on its military [00:22:54] capabilities. You know, specifically, [00:22:56] Russian demands Russia demands the [00:22:59] seeding of Ukrainian territory, [00:23:01] including regions that are technically [00:23:03] not fully under its control, and Kiev's [00:23:06] agreement not to pursue NATO membership. [00:23:09] Whether you think those terms are crazy [00:23:11] or not, they're not going to budge on [00:23:14] them most likely. Um, you know, and they [00:23:17] also see limitations on Ukraine armed [00:23:19] forces and weapons system, effectively [00:23:21] aiming to demilitarize and neutralize [00:23:23] Ukraine. And why would they within the [00:23:26] context of great power politics where [00:23:28] there are no good guys back down from [00:23:30] that position? What Ukraine really needs [00:23:32] is more manpower, right? Uh, I mean, [00:23:34] they need a lot of other things, but [00:23:36] like that's one of the their weakest [00:23:37] points right now. They're having to [00:23:38] recruit, and this has been happening [00:23:40] since last year, like 40 year old, 50-y [00:23:42] old men into like line infantry units [00:23:44] because all the young men are dead or [00:23:46] have fled the country so they didn't get [00:23:48] drafted in the war. This reminds me of [00:23:50] like that what was the the war in [00:23:52] Paraguay where they lost an entire [00:23:54] generation. I I'm mind blanking on it [00:23:56] right now, but this is kind of like what [00:23:57] we like an existential generational doom [00:24:00] that has befallen um them. So, uh, we [00:24:03] can't give them more men, more air [00:24:05] defense and artillery munitions, which [00:24:07] we don't have. And so, all we can do is [00:24:09] go back to the Trump playbook of [00:24:11] threatening now secondary sanctions. And [00:24:13] we can get some B-roll going. Uh, which [00:24:15] are penalties imposed by one country, [00:24:17] the sanctioning country, on individuals [00:24:20] or entities in other countries, third [00:24:22] parties, who engage in transactions with [00:24:24] a country or entity already under [00:24:26] primary sanctions. So, if India trades [00:24:29] with Russia, he's proposing sanctioning [00:24:31] India. And we're going to talk about why [00:24:32] that's stupid. Essentially, they target [00:24:34] those who help sanctioned entities evade [00:24:38] or undermine primary sanctions, [00:24:41] secondary sanctions. This is really [00:24:43] stupid because Russia's biggest trading [00:24:45] partners are China, the Netherlands, [00:24:48] Germany, Turkey, and Bellarus. No one [00:24:51] really cares about Barus, but the other [00:24:52] countries are big, big deal. According [00:24:54] to world's top exports, uh, China is the [00:24:57] largest, followed by the Netherlands, [00:24:58] and then Germany. Turkey and Barus are [00:25:00] also significant partners and India has [00:25:02] had strategic relationships with with [00:25:05] Russia since the cold war and don't [00:25:07] really want to spend a lot of time [00:25:08] dwelling on this but it's indicative [00:25:10] that the Trump Trump and his foreign [00:25:12] policy team doesn't know what it's [00:25:14] doing. We've already proven unwilling to [00:25:17] sanction China as much as he threatened [00:25:19] due to many reasons including the shock [00:25:21] to global markets which the US relies on [00:25:24] for the health of its own economy. One [00:25:26] of the reasons the 12-day war with Iran, [00:25:28] for instance, was negotiated was because [00:25:31] the Iranians were threatening to mine [00:25:32] the straight of Hormuz and shock the oil [00:25:34] market. Of course, there's other [00:25:35] reasons. Israel was getting hammered. Uh [00:25:37] they're uh running out of their [00:25:39] strategic deterrence, which was their [00:25:40] integrated air defense artillery system, [00:25:43] but that was one consideration. So, [00:25:45] sanctioned Germany. [00:25:47] Germany the bedrock of NATO's future [00:25:49] industrial base now that EU countries [00:25:51] have agreed to ramp up dispense spending [00:25:53] to 5% GDP by 2035 like what sanction the [00:25:57] Netherlands a crucial diplomatic ally [00:26:00] Turkey hugely important or sorry Turkey [00:26:03] hugely important for the US plan for a [00:26:05] quote new Middle East sanction India for [00:26:08] buying Russian products potentially [00:26:10] alienating one of our greatest regional [00:26:12] allies against China the bottom line is [00:26:15] Russia has cultivated strong trade ties [00:26:18] with countries like China, India, [00:26:20] Turkey, and Brazil who are not [00:26:22] participating in Western sanctions. And [00:26:25] we knew this was going to happen. You [00:26:27] know, uh let let's look at Marco Rubio [00:26:30] talking about why this, you know, why [00:26:33] sanctions don't really matter anymore. [00:26:35] Marco Rubio being our Secretary of State [00:26:38] and uh I think this was from last year. [00:26:42] Wait, I'm not really sure. I'm going to [00:26:43] have to fact check this, but uh yes, [00:26:45] this is him talking specifically about [00:26:48] why sanctions aren't going to work and [00:26:49] why this is absolutely stupid. And Marco [00:26:52] Ruby is not a dumb guy. He's actually [00:26:53] really smart. He's just a sociopath who [00:26:56] will do anything for access to political [00:26:58] power. So, even our Secretary of State [00:27:00] knows this isn't going to work, but [00:27:01] we're going to do it anyways cuz why [00:27:03] not? [00:27:05] Hang on. Wait, there we go. Brazil in [00:27:08] our hemisphere, largest country in the [00:27:10] Western Hemisphere, south of us, cut a [00:27:12] trade deal with China. [00:27:13] >> Okay, so that must have been from last [00:27:15] month or in May. [00:27:16] >> Western Hemisphere, south of us, cut a [00:27:18] trade deal with China. They're going to [00:27:20] from now on do trade in their own [00:27:21] currencies. Get right around the dollar. [00:27:23] They're creating a a secondary economy [00:27:26] in the world totally independent of the [00:27:28] United States. We won't have to talk [00:27:29] about sanctions in five years because [00:27:31] there'll be so many countries [00:27:33] transacting in currencies other than the [00:27:34] dollar that that we won't have the [00:27:36] ability to sanction them. [00:27:39] >> That's that was a funny part at the end. [00:27:41] But that's right, guys. Uh they know it [00:27:44] like everybody knows it. But this is all [00:27:46] again propaganda the war. And you know, [00:27:50] some people just can't come to terms [00:27:51] again like a 40-year-old man with a [00:27:53] receding hairline that things ain't like [00:27:56] they used to be back in the '9s, bro. [00:27:59] Like, you you can start taking hair [00:28:00] pills, like come to terms with it, start [00:28:03] getting new haircuts, or you can just [00:28:05] keep denying that you have a receding [00:28:06] hairline and keep doubling down on [00:28:08] things that don't work. So [00:28:11] yeah, the bottom line is Russia has [00:28:14] cultivated these strong trade ties with [00:28:16] countries like China, India, Turkey, [00:28:18] Brazil who are not participating in [00:28:20] Western sanctions. We did an episode, I [00:28:23] guess at least on my own platform, [00:28:24] Colonial Outcast last week talking about [00:28:26] how India is really the weak link in in [00:28:29] the bricks because it's full of like its [00:28:31] own contradictions. And while it will [00:28:33] trade in local currencies, it's never [00:28:35] going to ddollarize, but that's beyond [00:28:36] like the scope, at least as things stand [00:28:38] now with the Modi government. Um, but [00:28:41] that's beyond the scope of this [00:28:42] conversation. So, Russia utilizes [00:28:44] established international procurement [00:28:47] networks, kind of like Iran does to [00:28:48] evade sanctions and a shadow fleet of [00:28:51] tankers to circumvent oil price caps and [00:28:54] sanctions on its energy exports. It [00:28:56] utilizes basically like complex supply [00:28:58] chains and has developed sophisticated [00:29:00] methods to move goods and money through [00:29:03] convolated networks again to avoid [00:29:05] sanctions. And the problem is that some [00:29:08] something these hawk think tank people [00:29:10] will never tell the American public when [00:29:11] they get on to Fox News or CNN to push [00:29:13] their propaganda is that the Russian [00:29:15] economy while taking hits has proven to [00:29:17] be incredibly resilient in a way that [00:29:19] you know the Iran Iranian economy does. [00:29:21] And of course, both Russia and Iran want [00:29:24] sanctions relief and a better [00:29:26] relationship with the United States, but [00:29:27] they're not going to do it, you know, in [00:29:29] the face of like existential threats to [00:29:31] their sovereignty. And even though like [00:29:32] Iran, it's taken hits again, adjusting [00:29:34] to sanctions by finding new partners and [00:29:36] routes for trade like with Brazil has [00:29:39] transitioned [00:29:40] uh has been helpful. And also Russia has [00:29:43] transitioned to a full war economy [00:29:46] relying on domestic production and [00:29:48] imports from countries not participating [00:29:50] in sanctions. Remember when the US used [00:29:53] to have domestic production? Those were [00:29:55] the times. Uh besides there's an absurd [00:29:58] amount of enforcement challenges uh [00:30:00] secondary sanctions. Some countries lack [00:30:02] the resources or political will to [00:30:05] enforce secondary sanctions effectively [00:30:08] and there can be inconsistencies in [00:30:10] enforcement e efforts. You know broad [00:30:12] secondary sanctions can harm economies [00:30:15] of allied countries create instability [00:30:17] leading to reluctance to fully implement [00:30:20] them anyways and without global [00:30:22] coordination in implementing and [00:30:24] enforcing sanctions there will be plenty [00:30:26] of loopholes for evasions. So, of [00:30:28] course, Trump's not going to do the 500% [00:30:31] tariffs on Russia and our allies who are [00:30:35] also trading with Russia for their [00:30:36] energy security. It's just not going to [00:30:38] do it. I mean, even if they were, [00:30:40] there's no way to enforce them. You [00:30:41] know, uh this is all stupid and it won't [00:30:44] work, but it's not necessarily supposed [00:30:46] to for some people in the political [00:30:48] spectrum. If Trump is able to get NATO [00:30:50] countries to pay, well, that's a big win [00:30:52] for the Mick. Uh but in terms of [00:30:55] defeating Russia on the battlefield and [00:30:56] reestablishing NATO deterrence, well [00:30:59] that ship has really sunk to the bottom [00:31:02] of the Black Sea. If anything, putting [00:31:04] aside the monstrous casualties sustained [00:31:07] in the war, which Russia can whether the [00:31:10] better, sorry, uh which Russia can [00:31:12] weather better, that's just about [00:31:16] uh anybody. Sorry, that was kind of [00:31:18] syntactically confusing. Uh, putting [00:31:20] aside the monstrous casualties sustained [00:31:22] in the war, which Russia can weather, [00:31:26] it's a Monday, weather better than just [00:31:29] about any other uh country in the world. [00:31:33] Uh, it has also transformed and [00:31:35] professionalized its military over the [00:31:37] past three years. Right? If you recall [00:31:39] during the initial invasion of Ukraine, [00:31:42] um, the Russian army was a bit of a [00:31:43] mess. They had stalled armored divisions [00:31:46] uh pushing south from Bellarus that [00:31:49] literally ran out of gas due to terrible [00:31:51] logistical planning. They had no [00:31:53] experienced officer core and virtually [00:31:55] no non-commissioned officer core, which [00:31:57] is why Ukrainian snipers were exing out [00:31:59] generals left and right during the [00:32:01] opening days of the war. These things [00:32:02] aren't issues anymore. We could speak [00:32:05] for hours about how this engineered war [00:32:07] in Ukraine had had the worst possible [00:32:09] blowback from the American perspective, [00:32:11] but I don't want to belabor the point. [00:32:13] One of the the stupid things that [00:32:15] happened from our perspective is that we [00:32:17] forced the Russians to become a more [00:32:18] professional military and they have uh [00:32:22] so let's just look at the battlefield [00:32:23] via open-source live updated map from [00:32:26] the Institute of the Study of War. All [00:32:31] right, stand by guys. Pulling it up [00:32:33] right here. My god, is it having trouble [00:32:35] loading? That's annoying. All right, [00:32:38] share screen coming up. [00:32:41] coming up. [00:32:46] So this is where it stands right now. So [00:32:47] this is again uh assess control of the [00:32:50] terrain in Ukraine as of July 13th, [00:32:53] 2025. This is updated every uh 24 hours [00:32:57] and the Institute for the Study of War [00:32:59] and Critical Threats. Not my favorite [00:33:01] stuff, but uh you know, it's it's some [00:33:04] of the better open source stuff we can [00:33:06] get right now. So, zooming out if my [00:33:09] computer actually has enough memory to [00:33:11] load anything. This is really annoying. [00:33:13] Um, but this is where things stand right [00:33:15] now. You know, uh, Crimea and Donesk [00:33:18] where, [00:33:20] uh, prewar [00:33:22] uh, Russian de facto territories. And [00:33:25] now, uh, we have the disintegration of [00:33:28] the reservoir here. And if you look at [00:33:31] these [00:33:33] um [00:33:34] the dotted lines here um along um in [00:33:39] front of the solid line th those are [00:33:41] Russian assessed Russian control [00:33:43] advances. Now if you zoom in over past [00:33:46] 24 hours you've got you know see this [00:33:48] solid uh red color here and if you go [00:33:52] along the line you're going to see more [00:33:53] and more of these. These are territorial [00:33:56] gains within the past 24 hours. And if [00:33:59] you look at this map daily, you'll see [00:34:02] that it is a slow grinding advance along [00:34:07] the front. And there's basically no way [00:34:09] to stop that from happening. Uh Russia [00:34:12] doesn't have the same uh manpower [00:34:14] shortages. They have a bigger industrial [00:34:16] base. We don't even have enough 155 [00:34:19] artillery shells and uh Patriot battery [00:34:22] air defense artillery for our own [00:34:24] deterrents. you know, we we saw Jake [00:34:26] Sullivan say that we stopped aid to [00:34:28] Ukraine because we we couldn't go into [00:34:32] our own stockpiles. So, um yeah, it's [00:34:36] it's a grind. It's what we call a [00:34:38] grinding advance and there's absolutely [00:34:40] nothing to do we can do to stop it. And [00:34:42] what I mean by we is West NATO. Um, and [00:34:46] instead of pushing for [00:34:49] I I guess the thought was that when [00:34:52] Trump came into office, he had this like [00:34:54] massive pull with President Putin, you [00:34:57] know, just based off force of [00:34:58] personality. [00:35:00] Turns out that, you know, Putin got to [00:35:02] where he is because he's a certain type [00:35:03] of person who really doesn't give a damn [00:35:06] about any of that. And he's going to [00:35:09] work in his own best interest. And that [00:35:10] is to just keep a grinding advance going [00:35:13] because they can keep feeding men into [00:35:14] the machine. And if the West isn't going [00:35:16] to make any concessions, then they'll [00:35:17] just keep the war going, gain more [00:35:19] territory and more diplomatic [00:35:20] concessions. Um, yeah. So there's not a [00:35:24] lot of political pressure right now uh [00:35:26] on the Ukrainians from the Trump [00:35:28] administration to come to some sort of [00:35:30] adversarial negotiation. All right. Um [00:35:33] so that's where things stand. Don't [00:35:35] really it doesn't really it doesn't [00:35:37] really matter what your feelings about [00:35:38] Trump or Putin or Zalinsky are. Those [00:35:41] are the that is the reality on the [00:35:45] ground. Okay. So [00:35:48] now let's talk about the complete [00:35:51] detachment from reality that we're going [00:35:54] to start seeing over the next few months [00:35:56] as uh people try to do a 180 about all [00:36:00] these Trump policy positions. you know, [00:36:01] from the Epstein files, you know, no [00:36:04] longer existing to being jinned up by [00:36:06] Barack Obama to think tanks and like [00:36:08] intelligence cutouts like the Atlantic [00:36:10] Council who are completely misreading [00:36:13] intentionally so what has happened over [00:36:16] the past couple months. So, this one is [00:36:19] an interesting case study. This is by [00:36:21] Frederick Kemp. He is the chair of the [00:36:24] Atlantic Council. This was from three [00:36:26] days ago. Um, and it is inherently [00:36:31] problematic because it reads, "Turning [00:36:33] on Putin would fit Trump's trend of [00:36:35] secondterm wins, baby." Yeah, getting [00:36:39] back into the R uh Ukraine Russia war is [00:36:41] going to be a win. It may seem [00:36:43] counterintuitive. That's how it opens [00:36:45] up, cuz it faking is. After years of [00:36:47] speculation over US President Donald [00:36:48] Trump's sympathies for Russian [00:36:50] president, uh, the logic of Trump 2.0 [00:36:52] suggests that a tightening of US screws [00:36:54] on Russia would make perfect sense. Um, [00:36:56] in a second term, Trump has defied his [00:36:58] critics with several major international [00:37:01] wins, and he's relaged the results. His [00:37:04] green light for the June 22nd US strikes [00:37:07] on Iranian nuclear related targets [00:37:10] was a stunning interpretation of what [00:37:12] defines America [00:37:15] first. All right. So, within the [00:37:17] framework of the Atlantic Council CEO, [00:37:20] uh, [00:37:22] he's calling bombing Iran a stunning [00:37:25] interpretation of American first. Cool. [00:37:28] At the NATO summit in the HEG, [00:37:31] days later, he pivoted from years of [00:37:33] lambasting European partners to securing [00:37:35] a historic agreement to lift uh, defense [00:37:38] and de uh, defense related spending to [00:37:40] 5% of gross domestic product while [00:37:43] reaffirming shared security guarantees. [00:37:45] Remember how he platformed on being [00:37:47] anti-NATO and how we need to get out of [00:37:49] NATO? Turns out he's fine staying within [00:37:52] NATO as long as they pay more. Yeah. [00:37:56] Just complete heightened min uh [00:37:57] militarization across the North American [00:37:59] and European continents. But both Iran [00:38:01] and NATO moves are legacy defining peace [00:38:05] through strength actions. I'm wondering [00:38:07] exactly what Trump has done in his [00:38:09] presidency yet to uh promote peace [00:38:12] through strength where you're looking [00:38:13] more and more increasingly like a paper [00:38:15] tiger. I guess we're going to start [00:38:16] sending more stuff to Ukraine to [00:38:18] accomplish what the next link in this [00:38:20] potential chain of positive disruption [00:38:22] should be Russia. There are signs Trump [00:38:24] is steering in that direction. It wasn't [00:38:25] too long ago that Trump praised Putin's [00:38:27] peacemaking intentions, his smarts, and [00:38:29] his strength. Um and then of course he [00:38:32] disavowed all that. I mean, you I'm not [00:38:34] going to go and read the whole article. [00:38:36] Um, a very little risk. It it concludes [00:38:40] turning the screws on Putin would [00:38:42] provide Trump further wins at low cost. [00:38:45] Low cost for who? We're going to be [00:38:47] sending almost like $500 billion dollars [00:38:49] to this conflict before this thing gets [00:38:51] checked. He could silence those who [00:38:53] continue to argue that some todder [00:38:55] relationship with Russia explains his [00:38:56] reluctance to punish Putin. He would [00:38:58] further assert US global primacy. what [00:39:02] uh adding the reassertion of deterrence [00:39:04] in Europe to that in the Middle East. [00:39:07] And if bringing peace is motivating [00:39:08] Trump, he's only going to get there, [00:39:10] providing Ukraine more leverage for any [00:39:13] coming negotiations. [00:39:15] Pulling that off will take staying power [00:39:17] and consistency that will make his [00:39:18] second term accomplishment so far look [00:39:20] like a warm-up act. There's plenty of [00:39:22] reasons for skepticism. However, those [00:39:24] who doubt Trump has it in him haven't [00:39:26] been paying attention to Iran [00:39:29] or NATO. So one of the reasons think [00:39:31] tanks exist and one of the overriding [00:39:34] philosophies behind them is that all [00:39:36] these politicians [00:39:39] cannot [00:39:41] and all these policy and decision makers [00:39:42] and military commanders cannot afford to [00:39:45] be subject matter experts on every [00:39:47] regional conflict or every part of the [00:39:48] world. That's why they write these [00:39:50] policy papers and they're giving [00:39:51] gravitas and funding and you know people [00:39:54] think because they're a think tank that [00:39:56] means they're smart but they're pushing [00:39:57] policy agendas. And this article from [00:40:01] the head of the Atlantic Council was [00:40:03] aimed directly at Trump and his [00:40:05] officials within the Trump [00:40:07] administration. If you remember from [00:40:09] early on in his first term in the tw in [00:40:12] 2016, he would not read he would not [00:40:15] read intel briefs. All right. The CIA [00:40:19] and the ODNI, the Office of Director of [00:40:21] National Intelligence, creates a morning [00:40:22] briefing for the president with [00:40:24] intelligence developments from around [00:40:26] the world that president is supposed to [00:40:28] be briefed on every day. And sometimes [00:40:31] it's spoken word, sometimes it's read. [00:40:34] But there was an expose that came out, I [00:40:35] think it was in the New York Times, um, [00:40:38] that the only way that they could get [00:40:39] him to listen to the intel brief or read [00:40:43] the damn thing was to insert his name in [00:40:46] a flattering way every two goddamn [00:40:49] sentences. And this this is what this [00:40:52] Atlantic Council policy paper reads [00:40:54] like. There's actually no policy advice [00:40:58] at all. Let's just [00:41:00] keep funding the war [00:41:03] because like there's no strategy behind [00:41:06] it. There there's there's nothing. It's [00:41:09] just this was just a puff piece to [00:41:12] flatter Trump. And you know, he's [00:41:13] notorious. Well, you know, insiders are [00:41:15] talking about like the last person who [00:41:17] gets his ear is what he's going to act [00:41:19] off of, right? So, that's kind of what [00:41:22] we're looking at. Yeah. Someone says, [00:41:25] "Hey, Greg, [00:41:27] not everybody reads." [00:41:30] Um, yeah. So, anyways, [00:41:34] that's kind of what we're looking at. [00:41:35] Uh, this was a puff piece and there's a [00:41:37] lot of people pushing him to war and, [00:41:39] you know, he thought people thought he [00:41:41] would be able to resist that. I saw [00:41:42] somewhere up in the comments that like [00:41:44] Scott Ritter and other people were [00:41:45] bloiating about how Trump was going to [00:41:47] bring about peace. The reason they say [00:41:50] things like that and they may be have [00:41:52] been right and gained a lot of [00:41:53] credibility over discussing the war in [00:41:55] Ukraine and how it was a lost cause and [00:41:57] yes we all agree on that uh potentially [00:42:00] for different p purposes. The reason [00:42:03] they thought that Trump was going to be [00:42:04] an anti-war candidate and turn this [00:42:06] whole thing around is because they don't [00:42:09] understand our economic and political [00:42:11] system. [00:42:12] They don't. It's a bipartisan issue. You [00:42:15] know, I'm just going to leave it at [00:42:16] that. There's a reason every US [00:42:19] president is an imperialist. Every US [00:42:22] president expands the funding for the [00:42:24] war state and they expand the funding [00:42:26] for the police state which are the same [00:42:28] state. It's all about hegemonic control. [00:42:31] And as our diplomatic and soft power and [00:42:33] economic power recede over the globe, [00:42:36] all the masks are coming off. All the [00:42:38] furniture on stage is being taken away. [00:42:41] and all you'll have is the iron wall [00:42:44] behind the curtain of force. That's it. [00:42:48] That's what he doesn't have control over [00:42:50] it. He's part of the system. If he wants [00:42:52] to maintain his own access to political [00:42:54] power and viability within the [00:42:56] constructs of the donor class and the [00:42:59] professional managerial class and the [00:43:01] oligarchic billionaires who require [00:43:03] chaos around the world, he's got to play [00:43:06] ball. And of course, he's going to play [00:43:07] ball. He's one of them. Like people [00:43:10] thought he was a populist. He's a [00:43:11] billionaire. He's a real estate mogul. [00:43:14] It's not even a real job. So, [00:43:17] uh [00:43:19] yeah. Uh [00:43:22] yeah, someone says it's because they [00:43:24] don't have a Marxist Lenist [00:43:26] understanding of empire. I mean, that's [00:43:28] true. There are other ways to come to [00:43:30] this same conclusion, but that's one [00:43:31] hell of a way to do it. So yeah, they [00:43:33] they basically they don't have a [00:43:35] critique or any sort of material [00:43:37] analysis of what capitalism entails, [00:43:40] which is imperialism, which is ends in [00:43:42] colonialism, the highest stage. So [00:43:46] yep, that's what we're looking at. And I [00:43:48] don't know why people are so like [00:43:49] shocked. But the thing is, again, [00:43:53] uh sorry, I thought I froze for a [00:43:54] second. The thing is, again, this is [00:43:56] Biden's policy. You know, if Obama was [00:43:59] in office, this would be Obama's policy. [00:44:01] This would have been Trump's policy if [00:44:02] Putin had invaded during Trump's [00:44:04] presidency. Uh, nothing's going to [00:44:06] change. We're just going to keep funding [00:44:08] the forever wars because again guys, and [00:44:11] I know everybody knows this, the [00:44:14] objective of American wars, especially [00:44:17] like in the postw World War II era, we [00:44:20] could probably argue after like Korea [00:44:22] with some like limited contingency [00:44:23] operations like in Somalia or like the [00:44:26] Balkans uh during Clinton's presidency [00:44:29] is or like Panama, [00:44:31] you know, or you know, overthrowing [00:44:33] Norgas like limited operations, but like [00:44:35] wars [00:44:37] They're not meant to achieve necessarily [00:44:39] our stated strategic goals. The US isn't [00:44:41] meant to like win them. It wins when [00:44:45] they last for as long as possible and [00:44:47] wash as much money out of the public [00:44:49] sector and into the private. So in this [00:44:51] in this instance, [00:44:54] Ukraine is going great. And let's talk [00:44:57] about future investments in Ukraine [00:44:59] within the context of, you know, the US [00:45:03] empire. Here's a great one also from the [00:45:06] Atlantic Council. This was from [00:45:07] yesterday. Ukraine can benefit from [00:45:10] growing tech ties between the Gulf [00:45:12] States and the US. Now, before we get [00:45:15] into this one, remember Ukraine is among [00:45:19] other things a capitalist project. Of [00:45:22] course, you know, reconstruction is [00:45:24] going to be very magnanimously taken [00:45:26] care of by Black Rockck. Uh and then [00:45:29] most of Ukraine is going to end up being [00:45:31] indebted to foreign landlords. Uh, but [00:45:34] this is also an open air weapons test, [00:45:37] not just for military readiness in a f [00:45:41] future conflict between the United [00:45:42] States and China over the state of [00:45:44] Taiwan. That's at least where they're [00:45:45] thinking the flash point's going to [00:45:47] happen, but it's also um the [00:45:50] military-industrial complex wants to get [00:45:51] in there and get all these sweet [00:45:53] research grants for like better AI [00:45:55] targeting programs, anti- drone warfare, [00:45:58] stuff like this. So Ukraine has always [00:46:00] been an open air weapons test for the [00:46:03] Pentagon and associated defense [00:46:06] contractors. So the recent conflict [00:46:09] between Israel and and Iran has shaken [00:46:11] the Middle East security assumptions [00:46:13] obviously and set the stage for new [00:46:15] strategic alignments across the region. [00:46:17] Amid escalating threats and shifting [00:46:19] power dynamics, the United States and [00:46:21] Gulf nations comprador Gulf nations have [00:46:23] moved swiftly to fortify a different [00:46:25] kind of alliance. one anchored not in [00:46:28] oil prices or arm sales but in [00:46:30] cooperation to develop and implement [00:46:32] cuttingedge technologies. And one of the [00:46:34] big concerns recently has been Iran, [00:46:36] sorry, excuse me, Saudi Arabia um going [00:46:41] uh over to more of a bricks like east [00:46:44] allied uh policy stance and you know to [00:46:48] come away from like a failing western [00:46:50] imperium like they're basically playing [00:46:52] both sides of the fence like they always [00:46:53] do. Um, but one of the ways that the [00:46:56] Trump administration and the tech sector [00:46:58] in general sought to bring Saudi back [00:47:01] into the fold because like we weren't [00:47:02] going to give them like nuclear weapons [00:47:04] or anything, but we wanted to sweeten [00:47:05] the deal by investing in AI [00:47:08] infrastructure to rival China and their [00:47:11] digital Silk Road through Iran and [00:47:13] stuff. So, uh, yeah, it's too late in [00:47:15] the game to do that. It's kind of like [00:47:16] there's too late in the game for the [00:47:17] IMAT corridor to compete with uh China's [00:47:20] Belt and Road initiative, but they're [00:47:22] going to try and Ukraine is going to be [00:47:24] a big part of that because Ukraine is [00:47:25] where a lot of this AI is tested. So [00:47:27] this emerging Gulf, US Gulf tech [00:47:30] partnership really is not only a [00:47:32] response to regional instability, but [00:47:34] it's also a platform for global [00:47:35] influence, right? They're trying to make [00:47:37] it a platform for global influence. for [00:47:38] Ukraine. It basically presents a [00:47:41] strategically exciting opportunity to [00:47:43] deepen engagement with both Washington [00:47:45] and Gulf nations while also advancing [00:47:47] the country's own recovery and [00:47:49] integration into established [00:47:51] international innovation networks. And [00:47:53] behind all of this, what they're trying [00:47:56] to do, as I said, they're bringing up [00:47:58] the rhetoric about this whole access of [00:48:01] resist access of evil. You know, not [00:48:03] just the access of resistance with Iran, [00:48:05] but access of anti-West sentiment from [00:48:08] like Russia, the a China, Russia, Iran, [00:48:12] North Korea access. So they're [00:48:14] definitely like if you read between the [00:48:16] lines of all these position papers like [00:48:17] all of these hawk tanks definitely [00:48:20] envision [00:48:22] what's happening right now to be like [00:48:24] the prelude or the opening phases of a [00:48:27] third world war where you have the [00:48:29] Russia China Iran access uh axis uh with [00:48:33] you know the US comprador Gulf states um [00:48:38] push for a new Abraham Accords the [00:48:40] Middle East that figures into the play [00:48:42] basically [00:48:43] cultivating as many allies as possible [00:48:45] in order to isolate the access. And [00:48:48] that's kind of like what we're looking [00:48:49] at if you're reading between the lines. [00:48:50] So cool. Um, [00:48:53] someone just said, "Can we just rename [00:48:55] the Holy Land F Palunteer failed hell?" [00:48:59] Oh man, we didn't even get into Lebanon. [00:49:01] I'm sorry, guys. Like it it's all [00:49:05] there's a lot of stuff to unpack here. I [00:49:07] did want to spend time on the Russia [00:49:09] Ukraine thing because it's seen as a [00:49:11] pivotal flash point for this East West [00:49:14] war. Like that's that's kind of what [00:49:16] we're seeing. And of course, US [00:49:17] impunity, sanctions, the uh the push to [00:49:21] isolate Russia and China and Iran [00:49:24] separately from each other. uh you know [00:49:26] after Gaddafi got well we all know how [00:49:30] he ended in Libya after trying to [00:49:32] ddollarize and you know the ongoing [00:49:35] genocide in Palestine and you know the [00:49:37] the isolation of Lebanon and the [00:49:39] leveraging of the IMF and World Bank to [00:49:41] control the Lebanese government as a [00:49:42] form of neocolonialism in order to uh [00:49:45] normalize with Israel and defang [00:49:48] Hezbollah has kind of made everybody go [00:49:50] like huh maybe dd dollararization is the [00:49:53] play maybe we should form an [00:49:55] against western hegemony and [00:49:57] unipolarity. And of course, this is not [00:49:59] going to manifest overnight, but again, [00:50:02] we are the receding hairline of empire. [00:50:06] So, uh, yeah, it's not really going to [00:50:08] work out for them, but they're and we [00:50:10] didn't have enough time to go go into [00:50:12] this, but, um, yeah, they're they're [00:50:15] trying to form this like multilateral [00:50:17] alliance between all these western [00:50:19] interests to combat, you know, not just [00:50:21] bricks, but specifically, [00:50:24] of course, brick because bricks is like [00:50:26] full of its own contradictions as I [00:50:28] alluded to earlier like just like look [00:50:30] at India's position in bricks completely [00:50:33] antagonistic towards China and [00:50:35] increasingly fascist ethnostate uh w [00:50:38] with massive uh you know ties to Israel [00:50:42] and its defense industry. It's always uh [00:50:45] maintained strategic uh and uh autonomy [00:50:47] was what they called it between the US [00:50:50] and the USSR and China during the cold [00:50:52] war where they'd buy Russian arms and [00:50:54] exports but also develop a free market [00:50:56] economy with the west. uh it's full of [00:50:59] its own contradictions, but like so [00:51:00] they're not really [00:51:03] what their defense focus is on is on [00:51:05] this quote unquote axis. So from a fifth [00:51:08] generation warfare perspective where [00:51:10] warfare exists mostly within like [00:51:12] economic and cyerspaces and digital uh [00:51:15] warfare like information operations and [00:51:17] misinformation. You could make an e [00:51:20] argument that we already are in World [00:51:22] War II and it might be a cold war for [00:51:24] some people, but it's definitely not a [00:51:25] cold war for people in Iran, Ukraine, [00:51:28] Russia, Lebanon, Syria, [00:51:32] Gaza, Palestine, [00:51:34] and let's not even get into Africa right [00:51:36] now because there's a lot of stuff [00:51:38] happening with Africam as well and the [00:51:41] buildup of arms around Taiwan. So, I [00:51:44] guess that's where we're gonna end and [00:51:46] I'm going to look at some uh some [00:51:47] questions real quick. Uh but yeah, this [00:51:51] was an expansive topic. I just wanted to [00:51:53] highlight the absurdity of the US [00:51:55] position. And you know, they you guys [00:51:58] remember that they were supposed to um [00:52:00] refocus on the American continent. Like [00:52:04] one of Trump's uh big uh campaign [00:52:07] promises was we're going to restore the [00:52:10] Monroe Doctrine 2.0. The Monroe doctrine [00:52:13] being after the war of 1812 where uh the [00:52:16] British reinvaded the United States. Uh [00:52:19] President Monroe basically signal to all [00:52:22] the European powers, the French, the [00:52:23] Spanish, that inter any any that the the [00:52:27] United States had complete dominion over [00:52:30] the Western Hemisphere and that any [00:52:32] interference in that would be seen as an [00:52:34] act of war. So, we thought we were going [00:52:36] to see a re-engagement and focus solely [00:52:37] on the Western Hemisphere in a drawing [00:52:40] down of global entanglements. But that's [00:52:44] you only believe that if you can't do, [00:52:46] you know, any sort of like, you know, [00:52:49] material analysis of our overriding [00:52:51] economic system, which other [00:52:52] commentators who may be right, who may [00:52:54] have been right about the war in Ukraine [00:52:56] were wrong about thinking that Donald [00:52:58] Trump, an imperial president, would be [00:53:00] any different. [00:53:02] No, they're all from the same class. [00:53:05] They support each other. You know, [00:53:07] that's why that's why there are no [00:53:09] Epstein files because uh you know, both [00:53:11] Democrats, Republicans, Fortune 500 [00:53:14] people, and oligarchs may or may not be [00:53:17] on them. And you know what? They are [00:53:19] really good, these guys, at expressing [00:53:23] class solidarity better than any because [00:53:25] they know it's good for them. And so, [00:53:27] this is good for them. So, [00:53:30] let's look at some stuff. Jazia says, [00:53:32] "Someone told me they're trying to make [00:53:34] a billionaires party." And I'm like, [00:53:36] "Don't they have both the Dems and the [00:53:38] Republicans already?" Damn, that's a [00:53:42] zinger. Well, actually, no, because they [00:53:43] they've got the corporatists um as well. [00:53:47] The Democrats are more like the Fortune [00:53:49] 500 white collar people that only have [00:53:51] like 300 million in recognizable assets. [00:53:55] Pretty much pores. uh pretty much [00:53:58] workingass individuals. Uh they they're [00:54:01] still like generally most mostly like [00:54:03] east coast liberal elites, but when it [00:54:05] when push comes to shove, they all know [00:54:07] what side they're the the bread is [00:54:09] buttered on. But so they do have culture [00:54:11] war issues and and stuff, but they still [00:54:13] want no capital gains tax, foreign wars, [00:54:17] etc., etc. Uh, one thing that I I do [00:54:20] think that a lot of the professional [00:54:21] managerial class doesn't like is a lot [00:54:24] of this chaos run by the Trump [00:54:26] administration because they like these [00:54:28] long-term trade deals that take a long [00:54:31] time to see a return on investment and [00:54:33] like infrastructure projects that chaos [00:54:36] isn't good for. Um, so there's always [00:54:39] like factions and infighting within the [00:54:42] upper echelons, but at the end of the [00:54:45] day, they sit on the same boards and [00:54:47] they know what's good for each other. [00:54:48] So, they're going to eventually tow the [00:54:50] line when it comes down to it. Even if [00:54:51] they don't like Trump, they find him [00:54:53] odious and they hate how he does [00:54:55] business, they will [00:54:57] tow the line in order to maintain uh [00:55:00] access to their privilege, wealth, and [00:55:02] access to political power. So yeah, [00:55:04] there are differences but nope there [00:55:06] they all protect their own interests and [00:55:08] at the end of the day they will express [00:55:11] class solidarity. So [00:55:16] yes, US uni party they don't live under [00:55:18] democracy, they live under capitalism. [00:55:19] It's not a monolith. There are factions [00:55:21] but again they know where their bread is [00:55:23] buttered. Um [00:55:26] the billionaires want nothing but civil [00:55:28] war and I'm sure the Americans will [00:55:29] comply. [00:55:31] Yeah, I mean I'm cool with the civil war [00:55:33] as long as it's like class wars be like [00:55:35] ICE and the rest of us. ICE, the [00:55:37] billionaires, the corporatists, and like [00:55:39] everybody else. I, you know, worst [00:55:42] things could happen. So, [00:55:46] uh, casualties say, "I think Gaza proved [00:55:48] liberals will sacrifice the liberty of [00:55:50] others for their own safety, whereas [00:55:52] leftists will sacrifice." Yeah. Yeah. [00:55:54] We're about to find out, aren't we? You [00:55:57] know, I think the most frustrating thing [00:55:59] about the Epstein files [00:56:02] is that all of the sudden Democrats care [00:56:05] about it. It's just like when Trump [00:56:08] bombed Iran, they didn't care that he [00:56:10] bombed Iran because they're ideologues, [00:56:12] too, and political reactionaries, too. [00:56:14] They just said like, you know, you need [00:56:16] to go through the Senate. You need to go [00:56:18] through the proper channels first. It's [00:56:20] like, if this was Star Wars, they'd be [00:56:22] like, Emperor Palpatine, you can [00:56:24] absolutely build a genocidal death [00:56:26] machine. and call it the Death Star. But [00:56:27] make sure you consult the Senate first. [00:56:31] Yeah. All they I mean that's why they [00:56:32] always side with the fascists, the uh [00:56:34] the liberals because in the end they [00:56:37] exist under the current economic system [00:56:40] and political system. They benefited [00:56:41] from it materially and they will sacrifi [00:56:44] they will sacrifice their quote unquote [00:56:47] principles which they don't have any. Uh [00:56:49] but they will do whatever they need to [00:56:51] do in order to maintain their privilege, [00:56:54] wealth, and access to political power. [00:56:56] So, [00:57:00] okay. Scott Ritter got on GG yesterday. [00:57:03] Endorsement of it. Gh. Oh, Scott Ritter [00:57:05] was on George Galloway. [00:57:08] George doesn't really challenge anybody. [00:57:10] I've been on his show like three times [00:57:11] and I've I've had some hot takes. He [00:57:13] actually challenged me when I said that [00:57:15] Trump [00:57:17] was a a war candidate. [00:57:20] And I was like, "Okay, well, we'll see." [00:57:21] And now we see. Okay. It's also because [00:57:24] George can't do any sort of doesn't want [00:57:27] to do any sort of uh analysis of the [00:57:30] overwriting system, even though I do [00:57:32] like a lot of his takes. But yeah, [00:57:36] um the West lost all legitimacy in the [00:57:39] the last decade or two. Too many [00:57:42] Hillaries laughing madly. I assume [00:57:44] that's a reference to Gafi. Um, [00:57:47] excellent. Agreed. So, class war has to [00:57:52] be global. This is why we have to stand [00:57:54] in like transnational solidarity with [00:57:56] all these things. Like, you can't just [00:57:58] be a oneisssue person. Like, [00:58:02] um, that that's what was so frustrating [00:58:05] when Harris was on the on the campaign [00:58:07] trail. Like, everyone who was talking [00:58:09] about Gaza You know, they didn't want to [00:58:12] hear it and they're like, "You I can't [00:58:14] afford to be a single issue voter." I [00:58:16] was like, "Motherfucker." [00:58:18] I don't know if I could say I Oh, [00:58:19] whoops. Beep. I was like, "Listen, [00:58:22] person, intelligent, gentle person." Um, [00:58:26] this is a single issue. It's always been [00:58:28] a single issue. It is a single issue. I [00:58:30] know you might have to expand your [00:58:32] knowledge base and stuff, but this is [00:58:34] all a single issue vote. There's no [00:58:37] distance between the war state, the [00:58:38] police state, the carceral state, the [00:58:40] national security state, and any [00:58:42] iniquities we do overseas always [00:58:44] rebounds back onto us. So [00:58:49] someone said calling Larry says, "I'm [00:58:51] one issue. Gaza." [00:58:54] Yeah. I mean, Gaza is the greatest [00:58:55] expression of our imperial power and [00:58:58] what we're willing to do for it. Because [00:59:00] again, whatever we are willing to do to [00:59:02] Palestinians, [00:59:03] we are inevitably willing to do to [00:59:06] American citizens. Um, [00:59:09] Richard Blumenthal, oh, he's stolen [00:59:12] Valor, huh? I'll have to look into that. [00:59:14] Richard Blumenthal is one of the [00:59:15] co-sponsors of the tax Russia 500%. So, [00:59:21] yeah. Anyways, guys, I think we're at [00:59:23] the end of the time. I just wanted to [00:59:24] get into this. I can't believe this is [00:59:26] still a discussion. um they're going to [00:59:29] double down on everything they said. [00:59:31] It's not going to work. But again, I I [00:59:34] really want to drive this home that the [00:59:37] purpose of imperial war at this phase of [00:59:40] the United States Empire is not [00:59:41] necessarily to win the war. So, [00:59:45] here we go. What to watch going forward. [00:59:47] Trump said he would be imposing very [00:59:49] severe tariffs if there's no deal with [00:59:51] Russia in about 50 days. Okay, he'll [00:59:54] back down. And I think I just wanted to [00:59:57] address this story because it's really [00:59:59] going to be a non-story. It's not going [01:00:00] to change the facts on the ground. All [01:00:02] it does is solidify that Trump has gone [01:00:06] back on every single one of his campaign [01:00:08] promises just like every president does [01:00:13] because they all have the same masters [01:00:14] and they support the same system. So [01:00:17] that is a breaking news story, but the [01:00:20] negotiations are over. I'm not sure the [01:00:23] Iran negotiations are going to restart [01:00:25] anytime soon. And if they do restart [01:00:27] anytime soon, Iran will engage in them [01:00:30] in good faith just because they want to [01:00:34] demonstrate to the world that they are a [01:00:35] rational actor who won't go back on [01:00:37] their word. Even though the US has used [01:00:40] and uses diplomacy continually as a form [01:00:44] of misdirection and a political [01:00:45] assassination, just like the Russians, [01:00:48] um I'm not sure they don't they don't [01:00:50] seem to be willing to entertain anything [01:00:54] um less than their original ceasefire [01:00:57] demands, which I enumerated. The biggest [01:00:59] part of that is Ukraine not joining NATO [01:01:02] and them not giving any sort of [01:01:05] territorial concessions. and there's [01:01:07] nothing we can do to leverage them into [01:01:09] a different negotiating positions and [01:01:11] sending more air defense artillery [01:01:13] systems ain't gonna cut it. So, uh, [01:01:16] sorry we didn't get to go to Lebanon. I [01:01:18] don't like to plug my own stuff on this, [01:01:20] but we will be doing [01:01:22] a episode on Ukraine and Lebanon and [01:01:25] what shenanigans the US, the Gulf [01:01:27] States, and Turkey are playing there [01:01:29] tomorrow on my own personal platform at [01:01:32] Colonial Outcast. So guys, thanks so [01:01:34] much for listening. This has been [01:01:36] negotiations are over. The mask is now [01:01:38] off. There's no there's no reason to [01:01:41] pretend like they're anything else. You [01:01:43] know, they're protecting their own [01:01:44] interests and they're going to keep [01:01:45] fighting the wars and saying that the [01:01:48] Epstein files don't exist because this [01:01:51] is where we're at on the receding [01:01:54] hairline of the US Empire. Yeah. Free [01:01:57] Palestine [01:01:58] and screw ICE. and we will see you [01:02:03] Thursday cuz we are now doing State of [01:02:05] Play twice a week. So, something crazy [01:02:08] will happen and I'll see you uh next [01:02:11] Thursday at 5:00 PM Eastern Standard [01:02:13] Time. Thanks y'all for watching and have [01:02:16] a good Monday night. It's going to be a [01:02:18] hell of a week. Cheers y'all.