WEBVTT - Pentagon Confirms New Strikes on Iranian Targets 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.720 Welcome to today's podcast sponsored by Hillsdale College, All Things 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:06.280 Hillsdale at Hillsdale dot ed or. I encourage you to 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:08.800 take advantage of the many free online courses there, and 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:11.119 of course I'll listen to the Hillsdale Dialogue all of 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:14.040 them at Hugh for Hillsdale dot com or just Google, 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:19.119 Apple iTunes and Hillsdale Worn and gloryin even Grace America. 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:21.759 Back on the East coast. But I'm talking with a 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:24.239 man who might save the West coast, Steve Hilton, who 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.800 could be the next governor of California. Steve Hilton, Welcome. 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:30.560 I was with Pete Wilson on Saturday night and I 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.360 asked him can Steve Hilton win? He said, I pray can. 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:35.479 I think he can, and so we got Pete in 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:38.440 your corner. I want to go check in on the campaign, 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.159 but first I want to tell people Steve Hilton for 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:44.920 Governor Steve Hilton Forgovernor dot com and follow him on 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:47.400 exit Steve Hilton X. What do you think how goes 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:48.000 the campaign? 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.360 Well, we are just about to really get started. Actually, 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:53.720 we've been making some great plans. 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:56.720 I'm not been busy. We've been doing townholes up and 0:00:56.760 --> 0:00:57.320 down the state. 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:00.360 I had a townhole in San Francisco on Friday. In 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:04.760 Oakland on Saturday, we had plenty of Democrats coming out. 0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:07.080 Even Democrats are sick of what's going on. So I'm 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:07.760 feeling good. 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:12.000 But in the words of a fantastic, famous, legendary former 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.640 governor of the great state of California and of course 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.360 a wonderful president of our great nation, you ain't seen 0:01:17.400 --> 0:01:18.039 nothing yet. 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:18.959 Let me put it like that. 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:22.119 In terms of the campaign, we're just about to get 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:26.000 really cranked into top gear and there's a lot planned 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:28.440 and you're going to see something that we haven't seen 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:31.520 in terms of the fight to really put California back 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:32.120 on track. 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:34.720 For at least twenty years in our statem really forward 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:34.920 to it. 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:37.679 People need to contribute to you. They've got to go 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:41.040 to Steve Hiltonfrogovernor dot com and help you fund the campaign. 0:01:41.480 --> 0:01:44.000 But I want to know, can you fight the machine 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:49.360 that collects ballots everywhere legally and then we watch leeds 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:52.680 disappear over seventy two ninety six hours. Do you have 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:53.920 the volunteers you need? 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:57.680 Yeah? That is exactly right, that we're up against this machine. 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:01.440 It's very powerfully funded corruptly funded because it's funded mainly 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:04.320 by the government unions, who of course put the politicians 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:07.400 in office, the Democrat politicians, who then return the favor 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:09.919 with luxury pensions and healthcare and all these. 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:11.320 Favors and policy favors. 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.240 I mean, one of the main drivers of the left 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:17.800 wing insanity in California is the influence of the government unions, 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:22.240 who themselves have been taken over by far left activist groups. 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:25.079 And so that is exactly what we're up against. Yes, 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:26.720 we can build the machine. 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:28.960 And actually the proof of that is what you saw 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:32.880 in the twenty twenty four general election for president, because 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:35.720 the president and his team and his supporters, they put 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:39.919 together a very powerful ground game operation in the seven 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.600 swing states, which is why the president won those states 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:45.440 as well as the popular vote did particularly. 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:46.239 Well in the swing states. 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:48.520 So we know how to do this now on the 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:51.720 Republican side, and we need to do it here in California. 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:54.240 And exactly as you said to you, what they do 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:56.480 is legal. We may not like it, but it's legal. 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:00.040 But they've given themselves all these rual ballot harvesting and 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.520 sending mail in ballots to everyone on the votes roles, 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:07.360 even though the roles themselves are completely full of wrong names, 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:09.600 people who've died or moved out of state. It doesn't matter. 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:11.760 Those are the rules. We have to play by them 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:14.120 and beat them at their own game. And we've got 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:17.120 we've got what we again there, we have plans in 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:21.640 place to build our own ballot harvesting machine so we 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:22.919 can beat them at their own game. 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:24.079 It's very important. 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:27.080 Steve Hilton again, I want to tell people your website, 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.640 Steve Hilton for Governor. And when you go there, on 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:32.360 the toolbar it says get involved. I can't urge you 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:36.040 enough to get involved actually work, and there's a contribution 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:39.600 of course, donate button. I was out there and I 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.560 had a couple of people driving around the biggest issue 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:46.880 that I heard is that young people cannot get a rental, 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:48.320 much less by a house. 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:48.880 Exactly. 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:50.920 What's a governor able to do about that? 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:52.600 Well, we can. 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:56.480 We can reduce the insane regulations, most of them driven 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:02.040 by climate extremism, that stand in the way of actually 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:06.320 building the housing that we need. There's also and even 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:09.640 they tax it as well, so you've got housing being 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:13.440 built at a ridiculously slow pace. Even we've already got 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:16.480 the highest. They keep going on about density. You've got 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:19.159 to have apartment buildings in suburban areas. That's the only 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:20.719 form of development that they want. 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:21.599 That's ridiculous. 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:25.280 We've got barely seven percent of our land is developed 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.320 in California. You've got plenty of space to build the 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:30.680 single family homes, and one of the key plank of 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:35.279 my policy is starter homes for young families. Specifically, on rent, 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:39.080 you've got rent controls that have gone far to the 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:44.120 extreme protecting so called rent, so called protections for renters, 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.920 have meant that properties are taken off the market. Our 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.640 estimate is that right now in California you've got a 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:51.800 million and a halt. This is from public data, if 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:54.119 you add up the cities. They publish this data about 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:57.919 a million and a half empty properties in California that 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:00.640 many of which could be rented. He didn't have these 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:05.080 ridiculous rent controls and punishment for landlords. 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:07.560 I mean, it's all stacked against landlords. 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:10.680 So that's a really some of those not all, Some 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:13.400 of those regulations we can deal with from the state 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.520 through the housing and community development agents, which of course 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:18.960 there's the governor you control, and that's the answer to 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.719 many of the changes we need to make. The governor 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:24.320 runs the executive branch, as Pete Wilson. 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:25.680 Knows, because he did this very well. 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:28.240 And I've got part members of his team, including one 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:32.120 of his top legal advisors, helping me figure out exactly 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:35.840 how we can make real change happen through the executive branch, 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:41.039 even if we still have a supermajority Democrat controlled legislature. 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:44.320 Steve Hilton, you're running against secretary of COVID. How the 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:47.440 herbis Sera and I say secretary of COVID because he 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:49.599 was in charge of COVID when they closed the beaches 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:53.919 in California and did other insane things. Now, Javierbisara is 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:56.320 never going to win the spelling Bee. He's a zero. 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:58.760 I know that. I've interviewed him. I'm sure you know 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:01.560 that he'll never read to debate you, I would guess. 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:05.240 But is anyone covering the fact he was the secretary 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:05.760 of COVID. 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:09.120 Well, we're going to make sure that that's out there, 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:11.119 and that's part of the campaign that we're putting together 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:13.760 because this is I mean, I would go so far 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:15.599 as to say this is this is someone who's unfit 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:18.480 for public office based on his record in that job, 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:22.359 not just in relation to COVID, but and the ridiculous 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:24.839 rules he put in place masking two year olds and 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:31.760 so on, but actually his terrible role in the disappearance 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:35.400 of thousands and thousands of migrant children that you're in 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:36.840 his care and. 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.479 We're going to get into that very in the campaign. 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:41.680 On top of that, you've got the fact that his 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:45.320 own colleagues in the Biden administration thought he was completely 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:49.839 useless and ineffective. Susan Rice, who was obviously former National 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.120 security advisor for Obama and the head of domestic policy 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:56.000 for Biden, described Besserah quote as an idiot. And there's 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:57.640 other things she said that I couldn't even say on 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:02.200 the air. He's totally useless and incompetent. He's failed in 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:03.440 every job he's done. 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:04.839 He's been a career. 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:07.080 Politician for thirty six years, part. 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:08.320 Of the machine in California. 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:11.000 On top of that, in a state where actually a 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:15.000 majority of Californians, according to every poll, think that the 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:18.000 state is going in the wrong direction and needs change, 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:21.960 he explicitly is running as the status quote candidate. The 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:25.120 other couple of weeks ago, he was asked on CNN. 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:29.320 Confronted with all the problems facing California, what would you change? 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:31.040 What would you have done differently? 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:33.920 He couldn't think of a single policy that he would 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.400 have done differently. He's saying nothing's going to change when 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:37.720 a majority want change. 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:40.440 He's a really, really terrible candidate. 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:42.520 And then on top of that, he's up to his 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:45.880 neck in this corruption scandal where he've got federal indictments 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:49.320 of his former chief of staff in bed with Gavin 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:52.400 Newsom's former chief of staff, all in a scheme that 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.960 was concocted, in my view, by Bissarah so that he 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:56.600 could get. 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:58.520 His guy with him in Washington, DC. 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:02.400 You're going to have sentence on that coming up during 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:06.040 the campaign the first August the sixth, then on September seventeenth. 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:10.040 So there's so much that people don't yet know about 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.080 Bassera that we're going to make sure they find. 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:15.640 Outut So again to the audience, Steve Hilton for governor 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.320 fo or Steve Hilton for Governor to both be a 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.600 volunteer and to contribute. Last question, Seeve, take your time 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:24.120 with this one. You'll talk to me a lot. And 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:27.800 I'm on in San Francisco, La Fresno Medesto anybody you want, 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:31.040 San Diego. But does the rest of a California media 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.520 pay attention to this? Are they actually covering Javier Bisara 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:36.880 is an empty suit? I would say that, except it's 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:41.520 an insult to empty suits. Everybody knows that. Does anyone 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:42.080 cover it? 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:48.160 Yeah, I would say looking at it objectively, we're getting 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:51.640 more coverage than any Republican candidate in at least twenty 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:56.000 years because we're putting together a real campaign with a 0:08:56.040 --> 0:09:00.800 positive agenda for change under two headings califfordable, which is 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.280 really the top issue for so many people. Three dollar 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:06.559 gas cut, utility bills in half, your first one hundred 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:10.000 and fifty grand tax free, starter homes for young families, 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:12.880 And Califuture so that kids don't feel they have to. 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:14.800 Leave California to have that dream. 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:17.520 So we've got to do better in our education system, 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:19.880 make sure every kid reads by third grade. We're going 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.200 to have skills training in the classroom, help people start 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:25.840 and run businesses, get rid of the bloat in the government. 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:30.000 There's a positive agenda, practical positive things that we're going 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:30.240 to do. 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.640 Plus holding Baserah accountable. 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.640 The energy that we're bringing to this campaign is like 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:39.400 nothing that people have seen. And just yesterdays in Sacramento 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:44.720 local TV there we are getting some interest here because actually, honestly, 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:47.480 everybody knows that we need change. 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.480 We can't go on like this. And so while people may. 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.800 Look at the race and say it's California, it's no 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:56.120 chance for a Republican and so on, we do have 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:57.840 a chance. I'm not saying it's going to be easy. 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:00.679 It's a not pill battle, but we are really ready 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:03.160 to fight it. And as you say, anyone that wants 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:07.400 to come join our army, we are very very excited 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.040 about that. Steve Hilton for Governor dot com. 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:11.800 Good to talk to, Steve Hilton. I'll make it at 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.280 least and monthly hit and hopefully as we get closer, 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:16.360 a weekly yet, thank you so much for joining us, 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:18.880 and good luck to see campaign trail. I can't even 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:22.359 imagine what would happen in California if we had earthquakes 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:25.480 like Venezuela had. Speaking of which, by the way, many 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:27.120 of you are stepping up for our food for the 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:30.319 four sponsored campaign. The banner is at the top of 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:34.160 Hugh Hewitt dot com. Help Venezuela eight five five three 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:37.679 five nine forty six, seventy three, eight five five three 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:41.680 five nine forty six seventy three, eight five five three 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:44.679 five nine forty six seventy three, or go to Hugh 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:47.719 Hewett dot com. Hit the banner at the top, contribute 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:50.280 what you can, ravaging about one hundred dollars a contribution. 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:53.520 That's great. They're rushing supplies there. But just think about 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:57.920 California with a big earthquake. We cannot have Javierbicera running 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:05.480 the state. We need Steve Hilton. Please stay tuned. Welcome back, America. 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:08.800 I'm too to it. Eli Lake is a correspondent with 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:11.920 the Free Press. He's also the host of the Breaking 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:16.760 History podcast. The Breaking History Podcast is a fabulous podcast. 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:19.240 I encourage all of you to go and get it, 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:21.560 download it, put it on your like and subscribe. The 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:25.440 most recent one on the DSA was a revelation to me. 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:28.920 But I want to talk to Eli about iron E. Eli, welcome. 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:31.240 I do want to let you know Supremacy, the game 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:33.959 has promised, is not available at a link at your website. 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:34.600 What am I going to do? 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:37.720 I want to I want to play Supremacy. 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:40.160 I'll work on that, and I am sorry to hear 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:42.760 that it is not available on the link. I will 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:43.679 figure that out. 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:46.080 Sorry, you played it yet. It sounds too good to 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.200 be true. Sounds like diplomacy, which I peeked out on. 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:54.200 They when we were when we got the ad and everything. 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:55.600 I gave it a try. But I have to get 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.040 back into it. Okay, But you know I have a 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.920 five year old. Oh you're not going to play again 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.200 this week. Yeah, you're not going to play again for 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:07.280 thirteen years. Eli, serious stuff. 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:09.520 I want to begin with what the President and I 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:12.959 talked about yesterday, Pickaxe Mountain. There are very few people 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:17.520 I listened to on IRAN. You're one of them. Mark Dubowitz, 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:22.839 Rich Goldberg, Benham and Dave Albright, all of you are 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.080 worried about Pickax. Do you think we can destroy it? 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:28.320 Well? 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.720 Yes, I mean well we don't know the details. Perhaps 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:34.800 that you know the bunker Busters will not necessarily go 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:37.679 is and penetrate into it. But the one thing I 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:42.640 would say is that if you look at what Benjamin 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:46.800 Nenyahu said a few months back, as the hostilities were 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:49.320 kind of winding down in the first round of this 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:54.079 current of the current war, he did say that at 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:59.320 this point there were no facilities with active enrichment capabilities 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:03.680 in Iran. So what that tells me is that Pickax 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:08.160 Mountain is, you know, potentially this sort of secret you know, 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:10.400 on another layer where they would be doing but it's 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:14.240 not very far along. At least it doesn't have It 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:18.480 doesn't have what four Doau and Isfahan and the other 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:21.360 kind of big facilities that were taken out in midnine 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:25.080 Hammer and Epic Fury. So at this point, as far 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.320 as I know, the Iranians do not have the ability 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:28.600 to enrich any uranium. 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:32.200 Well, that would be a great relief. I would still 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:37.000 worry that if they had sacreded centrifuge lines down there, 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:41.120 they could take whatever they had left of their three 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:44.280 point six percent or twenty percent or sixty percent in 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:46.680 enrich uranium and then start running it through the cascades 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:49.920 and break out pretty quickly. Do you think that's something 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:51.360 to lose sleep about at night? 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:54.760 I don't want to. 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.120 I don't want to be like Panglos and Candide, But 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:03.439 in my view, the damage to the program is pretty significant. 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.280 And that's one of the reasons why Trump and Nen 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:09.880 Yahuu in Israel and America deserves so much credit. It 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:13.000 is something to worry about down the line. But I 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:18.079 just think that between the scientists they've lost and the 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:23.640 facilities to create to forge the actual advanced centrifuges, to 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:28.840 the centrifuge cascades themselves, to the fact that the nuclear dust, 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:31.640 as Trump calls it, is still kind of buried beneath 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.360 the facilities that were taken out, I just think it's 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:39.480 going to be very difficult for Iran to be able 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:41.960 to get to the point where it was thirteen months ago, 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:45.480 where they were on the verge of a kind of 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.360 breakout where they were able to produce enough enrich uranium 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:52.200 for dozens of nuclear weapons. So I just think that 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:54.840 in some ways we have to look at this more holistically. 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.200 It's important to try to take that out as well. 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:03.240 But right now I'm more focused on trying to deprive 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:06.480 the Iranians of the ability to control straight up hor 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:10.480 moves and to think about ways of exploiting what I 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:12.600 think are inevitably fissures within the regime. 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:15.360 I'm going to come back to that about one more 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:19.320 nuclear question. My bad yesterday talking to the President. When 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:21.720 you've got fifteen minutes and you can stretch it to eighteen, 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:27.040 it sometimes move too fast, he said, And he said, Hugh, 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:29.960 I know, making news is great, but he said one 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:32.760 thing I should have stopped on. If they have a nuke, 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.280 they will use it. Now I just blew past that 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:37.560 because I've heard him say that before. If in fact 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.600 that's true, that changes everything. Do you believe it to 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.320 be true. 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:49.280 I don't know that they would definitely use it. I 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:51.560 think that even if they didn't use it, they would 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:55.280 that would provide a nuclear umbrella to their network of 0:15:55.600 --> 0:16:00.160 terrorist militias throughout the Middle East. So you know, it's 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:01.840 bad if they use it. It's bad if they don't 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:06.320 use it. But certainly they're former Iranian leaders like Ali 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:10.440 Robson Johnny As, former president who nearly became the Supreme 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:13.120 leader after Hamani died, who said that it will only 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:16.520 take a couple of weapons to destroy Israel. And I 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:19.120 think he was saying that he was being serious at 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.120 the time. So I don't think you could rule it out. 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:25.240 But I'm just either way, it's it's a disaster. 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.960 Okay, Play doctor Strange love with me, like the late 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.800 Herman Khan used to do. If they would have used 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:34.120 a nuclear weapon or even any kind of have a 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:38.080 WMD if David Albright's speculated they might be building a 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:41.400 fentanyl distributing machine or something like that. If they used 0:16:41.400 --> 0:16:43.920 a WMD on Israel, what would Israel do? 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:49.360 Well, that's why it has a nuclear deterrin Israelis themselves 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:51.480 are not I guess it's Rael government officials are allowed 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.240 to say that, but it's the world's worst kept secret 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:58.200 of the Middle East, worst kept secret. And the specifically 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:00.240 the Israeli doctrine is that they would not be the 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:04.600 first country to introduce what they call their strategic arsenal 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.040 in the Middle East, so that what that means is 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:08.120 that it's purely. 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:08.960 Kind of retaliatory. 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:11.960 So if there was a if there was a nuke 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:14.760 that was fired at Israel, then I'm sure the Israelis 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:18.600 have plenty of plenty of contingency plans to make sure 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:21.080 that they would get off some nukes at Iran. 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:27.040 Do you think Americans understand what is colloquially called twelver theology, 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:31.520 which is the radical radical Shia branch of Islam. Do 0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:32.520 you think we understand it? 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:34.920 No, I'll go one further. 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:37.080 I don't think a lot of our foreign policy establishment 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:39.600 understands twelve for Islam shea Islam. 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:40.399 I don't think. 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.679 I think the problem is is that even though I 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:48.639 credit Trump enormously for doing something that none of his 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:50.960 predecessors were willing to do, which is to use force 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:53.600 against the regime, which started in his first term by 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:57.719 taking out Cosm Zolmani, the fact that he was so 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:00.760 quick and he believed that, I mean, how could they 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:04.840 possibly want to continue fighting us. We've just taken out 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:08.280 their leadership and most of their military industrial base, and 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:10.440 you know which which is true. 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:11.720 If Iran was a rational actor. 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:15.840 So that tells me that that even he maybe doesn't 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:17.760 quite understand or maybe he's getting it now that he 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:22.040 calls the Iranian regime crazy, because that is the better 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:23.800 I mean, that is a kind of a base and 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.760 colloquial way of saying it, but that is exactly you know, 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:31.000 they're reflect They were reflecting a certain you know, fanatic ideology. 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:34.440 And by the way, we should make very clear this 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:38.560 is a minority interpretation of Shia Islam with any ron 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:43.480 itself and certainly within greater Shia Islam. The current Grand 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:47.760 Iatola for Shia Islam Iatola Aliistani is not a twelve 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:49.000 or she doesn't he. 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:49.880 Doesn't believe in that. 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.600 And you know, you you really comes from a very 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:57.840 different kind of theological branch of the religion. So in 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:02.960 that respect, you know, Hominia is this anomaly inside. 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:04.639 I mean, there are other twelve h Islam. 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:08.000 You know, his mentor at the time, you know, as 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:10.520 a younger man, was also of this view. But like 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:14.080 the idea that this ideology has taken over the entire 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:17.399 state of Iran is again as a blip if you 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:22.840 know Iranian history. So I just but I would stress 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:24.600 that I think no, not enough people in the West 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:26.119 understand what we're up against. 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:27.960 The other time, I'm going to talk with Eli during 0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:29.600 the break. He's going to be back on the other side. 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.239 Don't go anywhere, America. I'm Hugh Hewing. I'm back with 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.560 Eli Lake Eli. I listened to every commentary podcast and 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:39.160 so I hear you on with John bod Hortz, A Greenwalld, 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:42.760 Seth Mandel, sometimes, Matt Contenelly, sometimes Eliana Johnson. It's a 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:46.760 great podcast. I'm a little frustrated in that no one 0:19:46.840 --> 0:19:50.439 seems to give credit to the vice president for maybe 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:53.440 doing what he's told to do. In other words, you're 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:57.200 the vice president if you're supposed to play the role 0:19:57.280 --> 0:20:02.840 of optimist and maybe even pangloss. Then you play that role. 0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:05.840 Does it not occur to anyone that he's just doing 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:06.359 a job? 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:13.480 Well, yeah, but maybe maybe so. 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:16.880 I do think that there was a bit of an overaction, 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:20.080 me included when we first read the memorandum of understanding, 0:20:20.080 --> 0:20:24.679 because the terms were so awful, and you know, his 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:27.639