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Over half a million children have died, surpassing the number of children who died in Hiroshima. Despite the difficult choice, we believe the price is justified. Iraq's military threat to its neighbors has significantly decreased, with most of its missiles destroyed. However, Iraq's behavior and intentions must change before our policies can change. We cannot allow the scorpion that bit us once to bite us again. We will continue opposing Iraqi intransigence and insisting on meeting international community standards for as long as necessary.

They want us to leave, and maybe the world would be better off if we did. Our enemies are always finding new ways to harm us, and so are we.

Over the course of 20 years in Afghanistan, the United States armed and equipped the Afghan National Security Forces with congressional approval. However, as the Taliban advanced, many of these forces chose not to fight and instead surrendered their weapons. The specific reports about weapons left behind cannot be verified, but it is important to clarify that the United States did not simply abandon a pile of weapons in Afghanistan. This notion is historically inaccurate.

If you hadn't given us our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks, maybe even less. Actually, I heard from Putin that it would have been over in three days.

If the President orders the end of the war and the withdrawal of American troops, it will take about a year to physically remove them. Leaving behind equipment could shorten the timeline to around 7 months, but it would also mean leaving behind billions of dollars worth of weapons that could be used against future generations.

In the discussion, Speaker 1 argues that Iran’s objective is simply to survive; their strategy is to continue lobbing missiles, launching drones, and striking back as the U.S. approaches within Iran’s vicinity. He contends Iran has maintained command and control, dispersed forces, and possesses a large and enduring supply of missiles and drones, so the minimal victory for Iran is to endure the conflict. When asked what the U.S. should do to win, Speaker 1 criticizes bombastic rhetoric about U.S. superiority and questions the efficacy of regime change through bombing. He suggests that killing the supreme leader backfires by galvanizing the population and Shiites worldwide, noting Iran’s developed succession mechanisms that compensate for leadership losses. He argues that attempts to destroy Iran or disintegrate its society are misguided and that, if the U.S. pushes toward such aims, it may trigger greater confrontation with China and Russia. He also implies mixed signals from U.S. leadership, contrasting expectations under Biden with actual actions, and contemplates a similar pattern under Trump. Speaker 2 adds that President Trump could claim success by neutralizing key figures like the Ayatollah, but suggests that Israel’s preferences are driving U.S. policy, implying limited autonomy for America. He notes the risk of being drawn back into conflict and emphasizes uncertainty about public perception as the war continues. He remarks on the presence of pro-war voices and social media pushback, interpreting it as a sign that the audience may be “over the target.” Speaker 0 seeks a military assessment of the current state: the Iranian capacity, the Israeli position, and American casualty figures. Speaker 1 assesses Israel as internally distressed: internal unrest, exhausted armed forces, and a large exodus of citizens; he predicts Israel faces an ominous future and foresees Israel possibly deteriorating before Iran. He describes Israel’s use of mercenaries and acknowledges substantial damage on both sides, with Netanyahu’s visibility limited. In the broader Persian Gulf, Speaker 1 states that deterrence has failed among regional powers such as the Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The United States is perceived as hampered by a long logistical footprint; uncertainty about missile stocks and intercepts persists, but Speaker 1 asserts that Iran can sustain war for a long time and that bombing alone will not compel Iranian capitulation. He foresees intensified U.S. troop and firepower deployment, including three carrier battle groups over the next two weeks, to replace the current forces. Overall, the conversation centers on Iran’s resilience, the limited likelihood that bombing will force regime change, the risk of broader great-power involvement, and growing weariness and strategic complications for all sides, with Iran poised to endure and possibly prevail in the long term.

A rapid U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is mechanically possible within 3-4 months, entailing a military-style extraction. However, this would leave the Saudis seeking a force to combat the Shia, potentially leading them to fund Al Qaeda-linked Sunni extremists. An early exit could thus intensify the threat from a powerful Sunni extremist group, legitimized by Saudi funding, aiming to retain a foothold in Iraq and counter Iranian expansionism.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of telling the truth about options to end the war. They state that if the order to end the war is given, it will take a year to physically withdraw all American troops. However, if equipment is left behind, it could be done in 7 months. The speaker warns that leaving behind billions of dollars worth of weapons will result in them being used against future generations.

Speaker 0 says: "$100,000,000 lost each year. This mollies, and and that's just going over to kill our troops. You know, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. We need to stop it." Speaker 1 notes Carolyn Hamm mentioned in the meeting that people are responsible for the fraud they committed because they didn't understand the cultural differences. They wonder what Carolyn Hamm means by people having different cultural values, asking if she is saying that some cultures support fraud. They express being sick of this and that nothing is being done about it. They describe themselves as citizens, normal people, inviting others to join them if they're sick of it as well. They insist, "We will not have our money being smuggled in suitcases through the Minneapolis Airport and sent to Somalia. This has to stop, and their people have to be held accountable. And our elected officials have to be held accountable. And people need to go to prison for this because we're just not gonna take it anymore." They state they did not get the answers they were looking for, basically. They conclude Minnesota taxpayers are being taken to the cleaner, for sure.

I will tell the truth about ending the war. If I order the end of the war and withdrawal of American troops, it will take a year to physically remove them. Leaving the equipment behind could shorten it to 7 months, but it would mean leaving behind billions of dollars worth of weapons that could be used against our grandchildren in the future.

'If tomorrow, the order goes out from the I'm president of The United States. I issue an order. End the war today. Begin to withdraw all American troops.' 'It will take a year to get the American troops out.' 'If you leave all the equipment behind, you might be able to do it in seven months.' 'And you leave those billions of dollars of weapons behind, I promise they're gonna be used against your grandchild and mine someday.' 'And you leave those billions of dollars of weapons behind, I promise they're gonna be used against your grandchild and mine someday.'

Russia has relative freedom in Ukraine for drone and missile operations, with good intelligence coverage. Patriot batteries transferred to Ukraine are likely to be detected and destroyed by Russia before installation. Therefore, sending Patriot batteries to Ukraine is a waste of money. At best, it will extend the war by weeks, resulting in more Ukrainian and Russian deaths, but it will not change the outcome of the war.

The speaker emphasizes that to understand the situation, we should consider what Jack Keane is saying. We have one aircraft carrier strike group, plus land-based air power and a lot of air defense missiles on the ground, and a lot of air power there, but there are no ground troops. Don Rumsfeld had about 300,000 total ground troops at his disposal, and we went in on the ground and defeated the regime in about a month. There was a profound amount of air power, much more air power than exists in The Gulf right now, and altogether there was a lot more air power then, yet we still underestimated them. We defeated them militarily in about a month, but then an insurgency rose up afterward because you can’t kill everybody, which is what happened. Jack Keane, Dan Raisin Cain, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—the man Trump has talked about—are highlighted as significant military leaders. The question is how many ground troops does he have available? Nada. And you are talking about destroying the civilian and military leadership the way Don Rumsfeld successfully did. He did...

Speaker 0: The Iranian action has been stated very clearly. If they are attacked at all, they will not exercise restraint as they have in the past. They will respond with whatever they have that can reach targets within range. They will use their ballistic missile arsenal, and they will attack bases where our aircraft are located, where we have radars, where we have air and missile defense. They will look for command and control hubs, presumably in Qatar and other places in The Gulf. They will attack ships if they think they can strike them. They will do enormous damage, obviously, to Israel, which they see as the principal culprit and justifiably so in organizing the entire operation. If it were not for Israel, would any of this happen? I think the answer is certainly not. So we know what the Iranians will do. And how long can they do it? I think that we'll run out of missiles long before they do. So what are we going to do at the beginning? You're gonna have a massive, massive assault in the first twenty four hours. It's going to be unlike anything that we've seen certainly since 1990 or '91 rather. So that's what we're gonna see on our side, and they'll respond as best they can with whatever they have. So I think it's short of a use of a nuclear weapon, everything is on the table, and everything will be used.

As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century.

Mario: Let's start with Venezuela. Do you think this is a strategy by Trump? Larry: I saw something similar back in 1988. The CIA was involved with trying to provoke Manuel Noriega into taking some action, so we could say we had to respond to set the stage for a military invasion, which I believe that in 2018, Donald Trump signed a finding authorizing a covert CIA action to get rid of Maduro. That attempt failed. And now the objective is to get control of the oil. That's the number one priority, with an eye toward the risk of a renewed Iran conflict and the prospect of shutdown of the Persian Gulf, and the need to have an alternative supplier. Ukraine defeating Russia was the plan, and Russia’s military is now around 1,500,000. Mario: What’s your initial reaction to Venezuela? I talked to John Kuriaki who said to read naval movements to gauge what the military plans. The buildup on the coast of Venezuela is significant. They’ve got 14, 12 warships, including the Gerald Ford. Do you think they are bluffing or this is a Trump strategy? Larry: It could be a bluff. I saw something similar in 1988. I was in the Central America branch, and the CIA’s analytical thrust was to provoke Noriega into taking action to justify a response and invasion. That happened in 1988. But that time there were US bases in Panama; Quarry Heights was full. Southern Command was there. Now Southern Command has moved to Miami, just near Southcom. Another issue: within the military, the concept of supported and supporting commands means the special operations command (SOCOM) would normally be the supporting commander, but here Southern Command would be subordinate to SOCOM, which is problematic because SOCOM cannot fight a conventional war. Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, and others are light infantry for raids, not mass warfare. So launching shells or sending ground forces won’t solve Venezuela; terrain is rugged and favors ambushes. If US troops ashore, body bags would likely exceed those from Iraq and Afghanistan. Venezuelans will fight, and insurgents from Brazil and Colombia could join. Decapitation strikes against Maduro could provoke an insurgency that the US would struggle to pacify. Mario: Could we see a decapitation strike like Israel against Hezbollah and Iran? Larry: Decapitating Maduro would still leave loyalists and other actors with weapons; an insurgency could erupt, and the US would be unable to pacify it. The real objective here is unclear. The State Department’s INL/INSCR programs have long documented Venezuela as a transit point for drugs; Trump claimed fentanyl is the issue, but most cocaine also goes to Europe. The 2018 Trump era mentioned the Trendy Aragua as a pretext to justify covert actions; I believe Trump signed a finding authorizing a CIA operation to remove Maduro, leading to Guaidó, but that failed. The broader agenda appears to be regaining oil influence and countering Russia, China, and Iran’s influence in Venezuela. Mario: Elaborate the agenda and strategy behind these strikes on boats out of Venezuela and Trump’s public acknowledgement of a CIA covert operation. What’s the strategy and intention? Larry: The objective is to restore oil control in Venezuela and reduce adversary influence. Maduro once aligned with the CIA, and Chavez/Maduro have maintained cordial relations with Moscow and Beijing. The US aims to curtail BRICS and reduce Venezuelan ties to Russia, China, and Iran, potentially moving Venezuela away from the dollar-based system. The theory that this is a message to Putin circulates, but if that were the aim, it’s a poor strategy given the broader geopolitical dynamics in Syria, Iran, and the Palestinian-Israeli arena. The US previously overpromised in the Red Sea and failed to secure freedom of navigation, signaling limited military capacity for large-scale campaigns. The objective of any Venezuela action must be concrete, otherwise it risks entanglement in an insurgency. Mario: Turning to general foreign policy under Trump. What about the national security strategy? Europe’s criticisms, and Trump’s approach to Ukraine—Witkoff and Kushner meeting Putin? Larry: The 2025 national security strategy signals change, but these documents are not blueprints; they’re guidelines. Europe is being asked to step up, while the US distances itself, arguing Europe’s resources and industrial capacity have diminished while Russia and China shift. Europe’s censorship and defense spending are under scrutiny. The US–UK intelligence relationship still lingers, but overall the West’s ability to project force is questioned. Russia and China’s relationship is deep and mutually reinforcing; the Rand Corporation’s earlier ideas that Ukraine would defeat Russia to force Moscow to join the West have not materialized. Ukraine’s fight has forced Russia to mobilize and shift front lines; casualty counts are contested, but Russia’s front has expanded with a larger force and higher attrition. Mario: What about Ukraine negotiations and Putin’s terms? Larry: Putin’s terms (as stated on 06/14/2024) are: Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk permanently part of Russia; Ukraine must withdraw forces from those territories before negotiations begin. An election must be held in Ukraine with a legitimately elected president, potentially replacing Zelenskyy, and Russia would then talk to Ukraine. Russia’s stance treats these territories as non-negotiable; freezing lines is not acceptable to Russia. If negotiations fail, Russia is likely to maintain control over large parts of Donbas and southern Ukraine, potentially extending into Kharkiv and Odessa. Western military support is insufficient in scale to match Russia’s production; Russia’s oil revenue remains a significant portion of GDP, and the global south is pivoting toward BRICS, with Modi’s meeting signaling stronger ties with Russia and China. The strategic trend is a shift away from Western dominance toward a multipolar order. Mario: Larry, appreciate your time. Larry: Pleasure as always, Mario.

The speaker asserts that the opposing side has lost essential military and leadership capabilities: “They've lost their navy. They've lost their air force. They have no anti aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar. Their leaders are gone.” The speaker then suggests a harsh consequence of intervening, indicating that “we could do a lot worse than one another.” The statement further contends that certain actions could be left undone or could be accomplished quickly, noting that “We're leaving certain things that if we take them out or we could take them out by this afternoon, in fact, within an hour,” implying that such measures would be decisive. The speaker concludes with the assessment that, as a result, “they literally would never be able to build that country back.” The overall message emphasizes the rapidity and completeness with which the opponent’s military and leadership structures could be dismantled, and the enduring impossibility of rebuilding the country once those elements are removed.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of telling the truth to the American people about the options for ending the war. They state that if the President were to issue an order to end the war and withdraw all American troops, it would take approximately a year to physically remove them. However, if the equipment is left behind, it could potentially be done in 7 months. The speaker warns that leaving behind billions of dollars worth of weapons would likely result in their future use against future generations.

To end the war, it would take a year to withdraw all American troops, or 7 months if equipment is left behind. Leaving weapons behind risks them being used against future generations.

- Trump has been presenting optimistic updates about negotiations with Iran, despite Iran denying them, and there is a belief that Monday morning actions are an attempt to manipulate markets, keep oil prices low, and keep the stock market high. - If a weekend land invasion of Iran occurs, many military experts suspect US troops would have to land or parachute in, which would change gold demand and pricing dynamics. - Speaker 1 explains that a true war outcome would require ground troops to take control of territory, not just air strikes or bombs. He notes Trump promised no troops on the ground, but argues that regime change would be impossible without occupying the country, leading to higher American casualties and families affected. - He warns that sending troops would mean they would have to stay in Iran, creating a prolonged conflict akin to Iraq or Afghanistan, with no clear exit strategy and ongoing political and strategic problems. - He suggests that Trump could alternatively declare victory and withdraw, claiming the destruction of Iran’s military capabilities (no navy, no air force, no nuclear program) as a complete victory and greatest military achievement. - The discussion then notes that the Strait of Hormuz was open before the war, implying strategic stakes and continued vulnerability. - Speaker 0 points out that Iran has pledged not to allow US occupation and would fight back, describing Iran as a country of 90 million with rugged terrain and highly motivated, religiously committed people who could be willing to die for their country. - They acknowledge the assumption that Iranians are uniformly supportive of a US liberation, labeling that notion as crazy. - They conclude that there could be even greater anti-American sentiment in Iran now than a month ago, recognizing that the population’s reaction to war may be hostile despite US actions.

The United States has been sending hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defense, with no end in sight, and with no security. Do you want to keep this going for another five years? Two thousand people, or more, are being killed every single week.

The US has about 750 military bases in 80 countries, representing imperialism. Bases are launch pads for war, costing trillions and causing deaths. Closing bases is easy and has been done before. The US must rethink its global role and military force use for peace and security. Translation: The United States has many military bases worldwide, reflecting imperialism. These bases are used for war, costing trillions and resulting in deaths. Closing bases is feasible and has been done in the past. The US needs to reconsider its global role and military actions for peace and security.

We are staying in our country and staying strong. From the beginning of the war, we've been alone, and we are thankful. But you haven't been alone. Through this president, we gave you three hundred and fifty billion dollars in military equipment. You men are brave, but you had to use our military.

10 days after 9/11, a general informed me that we were going to war with Iraq. When I asked why, he didn't have a clear answer but mentioned that our military was capable of taking down governments. Weeks later, while we were bombing Afghanistan, I asked if we were still going to war with Iraq. To my surprise, he showed me a memo from the secretary of defense's office outlining a plan to take out 7 countries in 5 years. The countries listed were Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran.