Anti-War Veteran Greg Stoker Joins the Veteran Flotilla to Gaza | Sumoud Flotilla

[00:00:03] [Music] [00:00:24] [Music] [00:00:32] What's up everyone? Manar Adi here. I'm [00:00:35] the founder and director of Mit Press [00:00:38] News and I am joined today by Greg [00:00:41] Stoker for a very impromptu last minute [00:00:45] um live stream. Greg is on on his way to [00:00:49] Gaza on the veteran uh flotillaa [00:00:52] attached to the Sumud Flotilla. He's a [00:00:55] former Army Ranger. He served four [00:00:59] combat deployments to Afghanistan and [00:01:01] now he's an anti-war activist and [00:01:03] organizer and journalist with Mitt [00:01:06] Press. Greg, thank you for being here [00:01:08] today. [00:01:09] >> Glad to be here. We're uh we're just [00:01:11] waiting at a rally point for a couple [00:01:12] other ships. So, nothing to do but yap [00:01:15] into a microphone and answer any [00:01:17] questions you guys might have. [00:01:20] Well, we appreciate you being first of [00:01:22] all on this veteran flotillaa, this [00:01:25] veteran boat that is attached to the [00:01:27] Summud flotilla. And just for some [00:01:30] background, I'm sure a lot of people [00:01:31] already know this context, but the Sumud [00:01:33] Flotilla is the largest maritime mission [00:01:36] to break the siege on Gaza. 55 boats [00:01:40] representing 44 nations. And at this [00:01:43] point, we have witnessed a genocide [00:01:46] being live streamed in 4K. And the world [00:01:50] has [00:01:52] become aware that governments are [00:01:55] failing us. International law has failed [00:01:57] us. The UN has failed us. So, we must [00:02:00] take matters into our own hands. And so, [00:02:04] Greg, this is obviously the largest uh [00:02:06] maritime mission with 55 uh boats. And [00:02:10] so this is a little bit different than [00:02:12] the one boat sailing to Gaza to break [00:02:14] the siege with ba, you know, carrying [00:02:16] baby formula and food. So tell us more [00:02:19] about why this mission is so important. [00:02:23] >> Well, I mean this mission is so [00:02:24] important uh for two reasons. First, [00:02:26] because the final solution is literally [00:02:28] being enacted in Gaza right now. Um and [00:02:31] because the sailing conditions in the [00:02:32] Mediterranean, you can't really sail [00:02:35] after like late September, especially [00:02:37] under sail power, which a lot of these [00:02:38] ships are. So it was like now or never. [00:02:41] And um yeah, it's the scale the scale of [00:02:44] it makes it uh more important. It's the [00:02:46] most visually stunning uh example. It's [00:02:48] the most logistically complex thing that [00:02:51] uh the these flotillas have attempted [00:02:54] yet. And of course again it's the timing [00:02:56] as well. [00:02:59] >> So I I think a lot of people are curious [00:03:01] to know more about the veteran [00:03:04] flatillaa. I mean, this is quite [00:03:05] significant uh to see a boat full of [00:03:08] veterans that you're leading. Uh you [00:03:10] know, these are Americans that have [00:03:12] served in the military before, like [00:03:14] yourself for active duties in uh [00:03:17] Afghanistan. Um tell me more about the [00:03:20] boat and who's with you on this and how [00:03:23] it was organized to join the Samood [00:03:24] Flatilla. [00:03:26] >> Well, I was actually brought on last [00:03:28] minute to be the media lead for this [00:03:30] boat. Uh but because of complications uh [00:03:33] the person who brought me on to it had [00:03:35] to uh drop out and then I became lead [00:03:37] organizer for this boat. Uh we've got [00:03:40] eight veterans uh from different service [00:03:42] branches and different occupations [00:03:44] within the military. Uh and we are doing [00:03:48] this in a parallel action with other [00:03:50] veterans organizations like about face [00:03:52] and veterans for peace who will be doing [00:03:54] direct action operations in the [00:03:57] continental United States when this boat [00:03:59] and other boats from the freedom [00:04:02] flotillaa or the Samuj flotillaa rather [00:04:04] are interdicted by Israeli naval forces. [00:04:07] So basically, we wanted to do this boat [00:04:10] to kind of leverage our status in our [00:04:13] grotesqually militarized society as [00:04:15] veterans because, you know, we are a [00:04:16] protected class of citizens. Um, in [00:04:19] order to do a couple of things, add an [00:04:21] extra degree of security and safety to [00:04:22] the fleet because we are uh a political [00:04:26] bargaining chip, if that makes sense. Uh [00:04:29] and because we wanted to spread an [00:04:31] intersectional message uh with uh our [00:04:35] ship and the media messaging coming out [00:04:37] of it, which is essentially like [00:04:38] whatever our government is willing to do [00:04:41] to Palestinians, they're willing [00:04:43] eventually to do to you. like whatever [00:04:46] violence we do overseas eventually [00:04:50] actually happens pretty quickly comes [00:04:52] back home and is implemented by your own [00:04:54] law enforcement and national security [00:04:56] state on the citizens of the US Empire. [00:05:01] No doubt. And we have, you know, simple [00:05:04] examples. I wouldn't maybe wouldn't call [00:05:06] them simple, but the basic examples of [00:05:08] police brutality um that we see taking [00:05:12] place in our communities here in the [00:05:14] United States, the militarization of [00:05:15] police as well. Um and so I think a lot [00:05:20] of people are also wondering like how is [00:05:22] Israel going to deal with 55 boats this [00:05:26] time? Because you know, as we said, one [00:05:27] boat maybe is more manageable for them. [00:05:30] But now we have this really beautiful [00:05:33] image of 55 boats sailing to Gaza. I [00:05:38] know that you posted that uh Israel's [00:05:40] Ben Gavir has already threatened to [00:05:42] arrest everybody on the boats and to [00:05:44] seize the boats and turn them into [00:05:46] police boats, which I thought that was [00:05:49] really funny. But I mean it's really no [00:05:52] laughing matter. Yeah. Tell us what how [00:05:54] is Israel going to react to 55 boats? [00:05:56] >> Okay. Well, first of all, I mean, it's [00:05:59] not a laughing matter, but I I love my [00:06:01] gallows humor, especially on these kind [00:06:03] of dangerous operations. He should [00:06:05] absolutely seize these boats and turn [00:06:07] them into a naval police force. Okay? [00:06:09] Like, our boat doesn't even have bow [00:06:12] thrusters, so it can't even dock without [00:06:15] assistance. So, they should definitely [00:06:16] turn this into a naval force. You see, [00:06:18] this flotilla was cobbled together at [00:06:20] the last moment. This has been in the [00:06:21] making for like three months, which is [00:06:23] insane. The logistics have been very [00:06:26] difficult obviously uh because we don't [00:06:28] have a military infrastructure or a [00:06:31] government tax base where we can [00:06:33] allocate funds for this. This has been a [00:06:35] grassroots largely grassroots movement [00:06:37] uh you know happening at break neck [00:06:40] speed and right now we're dealing with [00:06:43] you know logistical issues with the [00:06:45] flotillaa um you know getting out of [00:06:47] port was challenging. there was a lot of [00:06:48] bureaucratic warfare happening to make [00:06:50] sure to pressure the Spanish government [00:06:52] and the Barcelona port authorities to [00:06:53] make sure we couldn't launch. Um, and [00:06:57] it's because we're we have to do what [00:06:59] our governments refuse to do without any [00:07:02] infrastructure just you know trying to [00:07:04] our best to make it happen. Um, but [00:07:08] yeah. Okay. So, [00:07:11] I've been like ranting all day, but [00:07:13] basically, [00:07:15] uh, [00:07:16] it's 50 boats, 50 plus boats, and again, [00:07:20] I don't expect all of them to make it [00:07:21] there. The Mediterranean is a [00:07:23] challenging sea at this time of year. [00:07:25] Like, the first night out was really [00:07:27] choppy. People were throwing up over the [00:07:29] side. the the entire um inside cabin was [00:07:33] just like strewn with like pots that [00:07:34] fell out of the secured kitchen cabinets [00:07:36] and it was banging up against the walls. [00:07:39] So, this is going to be like 20 days of [00:07:42] uh you know a challenging crossing [00:07:44] especially since some of these uh boats [00:07:46] are so small. Of course, each boat has [00:07:48] aid. This is a humanitarian aid mission [00:07:50] and the mission is not to like relieve [00:07:52] the people of Gaza with this act, but to [00:07:54] establish a humanitarian corridor where [00:07:57] future boats with more aid than our [00:08:00] ships can carry would be established. [00:08:02] That's ideally what was going hopefully [00:08:05] would happen is what's going to happen. [00:08:06] But in terms of Israeli naval [00:08:08] interdiction, if it is 55 boats and [00:08:11] assuming 55 boats make it, and assume 55 [00:08:14] boats make it at the same time, which is [00:08:16] tricky even for professional like naval [00:08:18] forces and merchant marines. Uh so we'll [00:08:21] see how that turns out. We'll probably [00:08:22] have to adjust every day in an ongoing [00:08:24] dynamic environment. But Israel's Navy [00:08:28] is like the 50th largest in the world. [00:08:29] They only have 60 vessels in their [00:08:31] entire navy. 60. It's pretty tiny. Five [00:08:34] of those are submarines. [00:08:36] A few of those are going to be posted in [00:08:38] the Persian Gulf trying to do like [00:08:39] signal intelligence collection against [00:08:41] Iran and other uh people in the region [00:08:44] or other organizations in the region. Uh [00:08:47] they have seven missile cruisers and [00:08:49] then 45 patrol boats. Uh some of they [00:08:52] have an entire patrol uh detachment [00:08:54] based out of the port of in the Red Sea. [00:08:57] So those won't even be involved in the [00:08:58] mission. So yeah, it's kind of [00:09:01] unprecedented both in the coalition's [00:09:04] history and in the Israeli naval uh [00:09:07] navy's history to kind of come come to [00:09:10] grips with this type of operation. So [00:09:12] Israel is very much a rogue actor. We [00:09:14] are uh currently developing threat [00:09:16] assessments as information new [00:09:18] information presents itself and um we're [00:09:21] going to go ahead with the operation. [00:09:25] Yeah, it sounds like there's going to be [00:09:26] a lot of challenges to get into Gaza. [00:09:29] You know, Israel has been starving Gaza, [00:09:32] not now just during the genocide, but [00:09:34] for decades uh preventing very basic [00:09:37] things from entering Gaza like crayons [00:09:40] um and humanitarian supplies and has [00:09:42] been very limited in allowing medical uh [00:09:46] personnel and also um journalists from [00:09:49] entering Gaza. So, Israel [00:09:53] will do whatever it, you know, wants to [00:09:56] do and whatever it takes to try to [00:09:57] prevent this from uh succeeding, which [00:10:01] is very unfortunate. Um, we saw from the [00:10:04] last flatillaa, Israel seized the all of [00:10:06] the members of the ship, arrested them, [00:10:09] sent people back home, um even abused [00:10:12] some of the uh flotillaa members. And [00:10:15] so, um, you guys so far have dealt with [00:10:17] some, uh, rainy conditions and as you [00:10:20] said, some boats have already had to [00:10:22] turn back from the sea conditions. Um, [00:10:26] but you've also been dealing with [00:10:28] Israeli drones um, above you. Can you [00:10:31] talk about that? [00:10:33] >> Okay, so first of all, that's not [00:10:35] confirmed. Um, actually, you know, I can [00:10:39] actually since I have admin uh [00:10:41] privileges on the stream, I actually [00:10:43] have a video of the drones that were [00:10:44] overhead. They buzzed my ship in a very [00:10:48] uh close orbit. So, hang on. And I know [00:10:51] this is a live, but I'm going to pull it [00:10:53] up real quick. [00:10:55] Um, I think it was this one. Sorry, [00:10:56] guys. [00:10:58] Um, [00:11:00] yeah. So, I'm actually not completely [00:11:02] convinced that those were Israeli drones [00:11:04] yet. I think they could have been part [00:11:06] of the Spanish Coast Guard seeing a [00:11:08] bunch of rag tag ships um sailing in the [00:11:11] same direction. They may have thought it [00:11:12] was like something to do with migration [00:11:14] or illegal migration. So, they put eyes [00:11:17] on it. Uh once they determined what it [00:11:19] was, uh they they peeled off within like [00:11:22] 30 minutes. However, when it comes to [00:11:25] drones, [00:11:27] uh what we definitely expect going [00:11:29] forward is after we've kind of passed [00:11:31] the port of Tunis to actually have [00:11:34] Israel or Israeli affiliated drones [00:11:37] above the formation at all times kind of [00:11:40] as uh an intimidation technique. So, [00:11:43] what we're going to see because the [00:11:44] bureaucratic warfare uh didn't work uh [00:11:47] to stop us from being able to launch [00:11:49] from Spanish ports, only Barcelona. Uh [00:11:52] now we're going to see psychological [00:11:54] operations. So right now we're in a [00:11:55] phase where they're see gonna see if the [00:11:59] flotella itself will just fail on its [00:12:01] own and implode because they really do [00:12:04] not want to deal with this problem right [00:12:06] now. They're not in a good PR position [00:12:08] right now. They kind of boxed in [00:12:10] rhetorically and have nowhere to go. [00:12:12] Most people, especially major outlets [00:12:14] all across across the global north, are [00:12:16] now saying finally, hey, it's genocide. [00:12:19] It's forced enforced famine. Um, and you [00:12:23] know, we're what we're doing is actually [00:12:26] uh under the cruise rule right protected [00:12:29] under international law. And of course, [00:12:31] I don't think that really exists [00:12:32] anymore, but they can't pretend to [00:12:35] uphold or follow the law and interdict [00:12:37] these vessels. We are a civilian [00:12:39] mission. We have no weapons, only [00:12:42] humanitarian aid. Yes, it's a small [00:12:44] amount for a lot of ships because we [00:12:47] don't have a lot of funds to access to [00:12:49] make this thing happen. Uh but we're [00:12:51] going to try anyways. Uh so if they [00:12:54] interdict us, yes, it's a breach of [00:12:56] international maritime law. They're [00:12:57] going to try. Um but in the meantime, if [00:13:01] this doesn't collapse, and it won't. So [00:13:03] they're going to have to deal with it. [00:13:04] So as we make the crossing across the [00:13:06] central and into the eastern [00:13:08] Mediterranean, we're going to be dealing [00:13:09] with a lot of psychological operations. [00:13:11] It's already started, as you can see. um [00:13:14] their attack dog who has been convicted, [00:13:16] the only person convicted of terrorism [00:13:19] in in this conversation, Idomar [00:13:21] Bengavir, he said, "Yes, we're all going [00:13:24] to be put into terror prisons for [00:13:26] long-term detention in order to um deter [00:13:30] any other activists or humanitarians [00:13:32] from attempting something like this ever [00:13:34] again. And of course, turn these into [00:13:36] police boats." Obviously, Bengavir [00:13:38] spouts a whole lot of nonsense and it's [00:13:40] not yet an Israeli government position, [00:13:43] but we expect that it will be if this uh [00:13:46] coalition continues, which it will. So, [00:13:49] not just threats of long-term detention [00:13:52] or violence. Um, we think that, or at [00:13:54] least I think that we might see stuff [00:13:58] that happens in Gaza to journalists [00:14:01] where, you know, some intelligence [00:14:03] officer will call a journalist's cell [00:14:05] phone and engage with them and try to [00:14:08] like intimidate them. We might also see [00:14:10] doxing of human rights activists. [00:14:12] Personally for me, jokes's on them [00:14:14] because they already doxed the last [00:14:16] four, my social, my address, and my [00:14:17] driver's license. So, that's been an [00:14:19] ongoing identity problem since that [00:14:21] happened last year. Uh, so they'll [00:14:23] probably do that kind of stuff and then [00:14:25] all the way from drones to like actually [00:14:28] having a a naval warship like one of [00:14:31] their missile cruisers escort us towards [00:14:34] Palestine. So every day you'd be looking [00:14:36] at the horizon looking at an Israeli [00:14:38] warship hurling abuse at you over the [00:14:41] loudspeaker. You know, we're kind of [00:14:42] like preparing ourselves for this kind [00:14:44] of psychological warfare going forward [00:14:46] because they want to like divide and [00:14:47] conquer and make this whole thing [00:14:48] implode. Scare people once one boat [00:14:50] pulls off. They're hoping other boats [00:14:52] might pull off. Um, but I don't think [00:14:54] that's going to happen. [00:14:57] >> Well, and what have you heard from the [00:14:58] actual US military? I mean, you'd think [00:15:00] that they would be concerned and want to [00:15:03] protect this veteran flotillaa. Of [00:15:05] course, there's 55 boats, but you'd [00:15:07] think that they would have made a [00:15:09] statement of some sort to protect and [00:15:12] stand with the veterans that are [00:15:13] opposing this genocide who are carrying [00:15:15] humanitarian aid heading to Gaza. You'd [00:15:18] think? Well, you would think, but you [00:15:20] know, as a veteran activist, I've [00:15:22] learned that um if you don't tow the [00:15:24] party line, you kind of like lose your [00:15:27] veteran status socially. You know, um [00:15:30] you know, you're accused of stolen [00:15:32] valor. Uh you're you're called mentally [00:15:35] ill and it's very sad because you have [00:15:37] so much PTSD that you know, you forgot [00:15:39] what you stood for. Um you know, just [00:15:42] things like that to discredit discredit [00:15:44] you. I don't expect a statement from the [00:15:47] US military [00:15:49] at all even if we're detained. I don't [00:15:51] think it's going to happen because they [00:15:52] don't it's eight veterans but there are [00:15:54] parallel actions planned and this is [00:15:56] what's cool about the flotilla and this [00:15:58] is how you can get involved in it if you [00:15:59] want to. Uh so personally for the [00:16:01] veteran vote once we get interdicted if [00:16:03] we get interdicted which I suspect we [00:16:05] will um veterans for peace and about [00:16:08] face and other independent veterans [00:16:10] organizations are going to do [00:16:11] independent direct actions when that [00:16:13] happens because we want to say like this [00:16:15] is a transnational struggle. So like yes [00:16:18] we're doing it in Palestine but also [00:16:21] we're also fighting for the same thing [00:16:23] in the continental United States as well [00:16:25] and that will be happening with other [00:16:27] boats and other delegations from 44 [00:16:29] other countries. So it's actually quite [00:16:31] an impressive and large effort um that [00:16:33] we're engaged in. [00:16:36] >> Absolutely. It's it's it's quite large [00:16:38] and uh I think a lot of people on the [00:16:40] other side who have felt like you know a [00:16:43] bit hopeless watching this genocide in [00:16:45] 4K on their smartphones, they feel [00:16:48] inspired that hey look at these uh [00:16:51] people that have taken it upon [00:16:52] themselves to carry the aid directly to [00:16:55] Gaza. I mean at this point the [00:16:56] governments have failed us. [00:16:58] International law has failed us. The UN [00:17:00] has failed us. And so at this point, [00:17:04] people have to realize that we have to [00:17:06] take matters into our own hands. I mean, [00:17:08] we literally have to lock our arms [00:17:11] together and either sail there in a mass [00:17:14] mobilization like you guys are doing or [00:17:17] march to Gaza. Of course, we're seeing [00:17:20] countries like Egypt crack down on all [00:17:23] sort of like organizing and activism to [00:17:25] prevent that. But imagine if all of the [00:17:28] people around the world who you know who [00:17:32] who who wanted to help Gaz whose uh who [00:17:36] who who wanted to take a stand locked [00:17:38] arms and just literally marched to Gaza. [00:17:40] I mean that's how uh much of the British [00:17:43] were taken down inside of India during [00:17:45] their occupation. It's like people just [00:17:47] standing together. [00:17:49] >> Yeah. I will say that the the sea route [00:17:52] is a lot easier. I mean, naval [00:17:53] operations are more complex than land [00:17:55] operations, but there is international [00:17:57] maritime law. You're not actually [00:17:58] crossing through other count's borders, [00:18:00] so they can't really put their own [00:18:01] security forces on you, which is one of [00:18:03] the reasons why the march to Gaza was [00:18:05] such a mess. Um, but I think the real [00:18:07] messaging that we want to do with the [00:18:09] vet boat is to be like, you know what, [00:18:11] you would want that to happen. You would [00:18:12] think that people would witness the [00:18:15] annihilation of another group of people [00:18:19] live streamed and be like, "Okay, I need [00:18:21] to stop being at brunch right now and [00:18:23] get involved." But unfortunately, and I [00:18:26] don't necessarily blame people too much [00:18:28] for this because it was done [00:18:29] intentionally to them as kids, like the [00:18:31] propaganda from post 911 world, um the [00:18:35] normalization of war in the Middle East [00:18:37] or West Asia over the global the 20 [00:18:41] years of the global war on terror. A lot [00:18:43] of people think like, yeah, it's [00:18:44] horrible. It's horrible, but like I [00:18:46] can't do anything about it. This is what [00:18:49] always happens over there. And yeah, I [00:18:51] don't want money going to Israel, but [00:18:52] what can I do about it? Um, so I think [00:18:56] one of the things that we want to [00:18:57] accomplish and leverage our backgrounds [00:19:00] is to basically send a message of [00:19:04] intersectionality. You know, because [00:19:06] let's face it, when it comes to the pro [00:19:08] Palestine movement, there's just not [00:19:10] enough of us. There's just not enough [00:19:12] people. There's really not. So bringing [00:19:14] in people from other movements, ICE [00:19:16] abolition, prisons, uh [00:19:19] environmentalists, and kind of [00:19:21] explaining to them or like people on the [00:19:23] anti- athoritarian right who maybe have [00:19:25] some disagreeable politics, but they [00:19:27] want this to end uh can all be bring [00:19:30] brought in under a big tent that the [00:19:33] Democratic party cannot accommodate [00:19:35] because they are completely complicit in [00:19:37] this as well. So yeah, this is a [00:19:39] grassroots grassroots movement trying to [00:19:42] craft internationally an independent [00:19:45] grassroots movement from governments [00:19:47] that are completely incompetent, inept [00:19:50] or unwilling to put a stop to this [00:19:52] insanity. [00:19:54] >> And finally, Greg, I want to uh I want [00:19:57] people to hear more from you as somebody [00:19:59] who has uh served in Afghanistan several [00:20:02] times. Um, how is it that you uh went [00:20:06] from an active duty member soldier to [00:20:09] now somebody who is an anti-war [00:20:11] activist? I mean, now you're boarding [00:20:14] one of the largest maritime missions on [00:20:17] a veteran boat to break the siege on [00:20:19] Gaza. How did this journey happen for [00:20:22] those who don't know? [00:20:24] >> Oh, man. Well, I did four combat [00:20:26] deployments in a special operations [00:20:28] unit. I witnessed firsthand Obama's [00:20:31] drone strike policy and I can say [00:20:33] categorically that didn't have the [00:20:35] intelligence to be dropping the people [00:20:37] we were and there was also something [00:20:39] really reminiscent advice that we were [00:20:41] doing like there was not necessarily a [00:20:43] spoken quota but you were expected to go [00:20:45] out and hit high value targets Taliban [00:20:47] Hakani subcommanders al-Qaeda operatives [00:20:51] but we really didn't have the [00:20:52] intelligence to be do conducting as many [00:20:55] operations as we were so they were just [00:20:57] like all right well if you don't have [00:20:58] any solid intelligence hit can't hit [00:21:00] known targets, hit likely targets or [00:21:02] suspected targets. So, we uh spent a lot [00:21:06] of time hitting [00:21:08] just completely unaffiliated homes, [00:21:11] compounds, scaring the absolute living [00:21:14] daylights out of people. And it was [00:21:16] embarrassing. It was bad. And I got out, [00:21:20] did one one contract, four deployments, [00:21:23] and I went to Columbia University and [00:21:25] started learning about like colonialism [00:21:28] and imperialism and all the isms that [00:21:32] constitute our basically very very sick [00:21:37] society that we live in in the United [00:21:39] States currently. And I don't want to [00:21:41] live in it anymore, you know, because [00:21:44] wherever you go, we are still the [00:21:45] unipoly unipolar empire. We're [00:21:48] declining, but everywhere you go, most [00:21:51] most of the world, you know, the shadow [00:21:54] of the US empire falls over it. And this [00:21:57] is where I was born. I live here. Well, [00:22:00] I'm not currently there right now, but I [00:22:02] don't know. It's it's where I live. And [00:22:04] I [00:22:05] just feel like I can't not do anything [00:22:08] or just be at brunch while an entire [00:22:10] people are annihilated because that's [00:22:11] how it works. Whatever the government is [00:22:13] willing to do to Palestinians, they're [00:22:15] willing to do to you. just slowly [00:22:16] working its way up from the most [00:22:19] marginalized groups to white people who [00:22:22] have the wrong political beliefs. And [00:22:24] that's not exactly a world I feel [00:22:26] comfortable living in. So yeah. [00:22:30] >> Yeah. Well, and you know, we applaud you [00:22:32] obviously for taking this moral stance [00:22:34] against uh this genocide and all US [00:22:37] wars. And I think one of the most common [00:22:39] things that we've been hearing since [00:22:41] this genocide happened is, you know, uh [00:22:45] that Israel must be held accountable. [00:22:47] But I think people forget that Israel is [00:22:51] a proxy state of the US empire. It would [00:22:54] not exist. it would not be able to get [00:22:56] away with this genocide, with this [00:22:58] starvation campaign without the backing, [00:23:02] arming and funding um and thumbs up [00:23:05] thumbs uping from US politicians here [00:23:08] from the US empire. The same thing in [00:23:10] Yemen. You know, Yemen right now, [00:23:12] there's 23 million people starving and [00:23:16] Saudi Arabia would not have been able to [00:23:19] enforce an illegal international [00:23:21] blockade on Yemen for over the, you [00:23:23] know, for the past decade without the [00:23:26] backing of the United States, without [00:23:28] the arms from the United States, without [00:23:30] uh the United States, you know, US [00:23:32] military jets, you know, refueling Saudi [00:23:35] jets midair to drop those bombs on Yemen [00:23:39] schools and hospitals. hospitals and [00:23:42] grain silos. So what Israel is doing, [00:23:46] what all of these wars have done is just [00:23:48] really rep they are representation of [00:23:51] the US empire. [00:23:54] >> Yeah. Yeah. In other words, I like to [00:23:55] say that Israel is an extension of the [00:23:57] US empire to destabilize the region and [00:24:00] wage adventurous wars in order to carve [00:24:02] up West Asia into vassal states that [00:24:05] will allow Western capitalists to [00:24:08] exploit their people and resources. And [00:24:11] it's kind of confusing for some people [00:24:13] because Israel, unlike any other colony [00:24:15] in colonial history which I studied, has [00:24:18] an like an unprecedented amount of [00:24:21] influence on over our government. But [00:24:22] it's not the the system that determines [00:24:24] it. You know, without that support, [00:24:27] Israel would not exist. [00:24:30] >> And that's exactly the lens in which [00:24:32] Mitt Press provides all of its [00:24:34] journalism and investigations. [00:24:36] This is modern-day colonialism. It is a [00:24:39] divide and conquer tactic. The end [00:24:43] agenda or the agenda is to break up [00:24:46] these states like we are seeing now. [00:24:49] um what we have Syria. Yeah, I was going [00:24:51] to say Syria is like the perfect example [00:24:53] of [00:24:54] >> um where this agenda is taking place. [00:24:56] But anyways, um [00:24:59] >> we thank you and we applaud you, Greg, [00:25:01] for taking this moral stance and for [00:25:03] this, you know, for your courage and we [00:25:06] will be watching not just the veteran [00:25:08] boat, but also all of the boats that are [00:25:10] heading towards Gaza. and we're excited [00:25:13] to see um what will come out of this, [00:25:15] but we're also um you know, we're going [00:25:17] to be watching the way Israel uh reacts [00:25:20] to this maritime um attempt to break the [00:25:25] siege. [00:25:26] >> Yeah. And I'll just advise everybody [00:25:28] >> Yeah. Yeah. I just want to advise [00:25:29] everybody that a lot of these boats are [00:25:32] under sail. We're only going to be doing [00:25:33] four or five knots a day. So, it's going [00:25:36] to take a minute. So, this will be an [00:25:37] ongoing story that I will continue to [00:25:40] cover from here. [00:25:44] >> Okay, Greg, we'll keep we'll we'll keep [00:25:45] watching and best of luck to you and [00:25:47] your team. [00:25:48] >> All right, talk later. See y'all. Bye [00:25:51] bye.