WEBVTT - Episode 4669: Tony Katz Today Hour 3 - 08/13/26 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:10.320 Why from ball Hartland and the Crossroads of America. 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:14.240 It's Tony Katz today. So the only question is who 0:00:14.240 --> 0:00:18.079 controls the strait? Well, I guess maybe the only question 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:20.360 is are we actually still at war with Iran? 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:21.560 If nothing is happening? 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:26.599 Well, maybe the only question is what is actually happening 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:27.440 to begin with? 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:29.560 Who's doing what? When we're why? 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:32.640 And how can we get at least a straight and 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:36.640 honest answer. Not what I want, not maybe what you want, 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:38.560 and we could possibly be in conflicts. 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:41.919 I love you either way, But what is actually happening? 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:43.280 What is the goal? 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:45.879 What is the objective of the United States, of the 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:49.920 Iranians of the Middle East? And how do we get 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:52.680 what we want? And does that mean somebody else has 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:55.720 to get what they want? Tony Katz, Tony Katz today, 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:58.560 Good to be with you. Stephen Yates joins us right now. 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:01.720 You know his work over there at the Heritage Foundation. 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:06.160 Now his focus is China and China policy and China relations. 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.759 But because of that he has had a lifetime of 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:15.600 understanding world relationships and how this geopolitics works, including from 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:19.720 his time in the George Bush White House with Vice 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:23.040 President Cheney. Let's break it down a little bit, Sir. 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:26.880 I hear from President Trump that we control the Strait 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.920 of ourmus one hundred percent, There's no question about it. 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:31.200 I hear from the. 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:34.280 Iranians or whomever it is speaking for the Iranians that 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:38.000 they control the strait one hundred percent. I have got 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:41.319 very little in terms of tankers going through the strait, 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:44.360 and I have got oil that has been back above 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:47.240 eighty dollars in some places, eighty five dollars a barrel. 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.040 Stephen Yates, who controls what well Tony? 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:55.280 I think we've got a sort of perfect muddle to 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:59.120 a degree, both sides telling the truth, especially from their 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:03.080 point of view. And so the imperfect picture that we 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:08.639 can put together is that there's more shipping traffic transiting 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:11.800 the Strait of Hormouse and oil and natural gas coming 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:15.280 and going from the non Iran destinations than is being 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:19.600 accounted for by private trackers. That's partly due to signals 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:23.160 being turned off on those vessels for security purposes and 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:26.079 being escorted by the US military, and so the US 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:30.520 government sources have higher numbers of the ships coming and going. 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.960 In fact, over the last weekend, talking about at numbers 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:39.920 that pre date the war and those the drop off 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:43.040 that has held for several several months. So on the 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:47.400 one hand, that's true. Militarily, we definitely have control of 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:51.320 the Strait, and we definitely have Iran pinned in. On 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:54.679 the other hand, they are still completely capable of engaging 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:57.960 in economic terrorism. And what I mean by that is 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:01.919 all it takes is one off threats here or there, 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:06.160 occasional attacks here or there, and it completely shapes the 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:10.400 behavior of your adversary. Those adversary could be the insurance 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.280 companies that jack rates so that ships don't want to move. 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:17.919 That adversary could be regional actors that recoil and try 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:21.520 to pressure the administration to engage in concessions and endless 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:26.800 negotiations that by time for recovery. But this is the 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:30.920 textbook definition of terrorism. You use the threat and reality 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:35.400 of occasional force in order to get an outsized political, economic, 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:39.400 or other strategic reaction out of your targets. And that's 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:40.920 what leads to this stalemate. 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:43.880 Let's take a step back in something you said, because 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:46.760 I don't think people understand and I don't claim this 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:51.280 is my area of expertise. We have more tankers that 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:55.720 are going through because they're turning off the trackers walk 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:58.360 me through how that works well. 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:00.800 For though, there are apps that you can go to 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:05.560 on the internet, and there are certainly high priced commercial 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:09.080 services that will give you very very clear data. And 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:12.680 that's when everyone's sort of GPS signal is on, and 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:15.800 then they can sort of like air traffic control, can 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:18.960 see where every flying object is or seafaring object is. 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:22.640 In this case, we're looking at the seafaring objects, and 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:27.040 for both safety and the economics of scale of tracking things, 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.760 they will have signals that you can be able to 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:35.080 detect where these lumbering objects are that go on the sea. 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.000 They're weighed down so heavily. I don't even understand the 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:41.280 physics of how they float, much less move, but as 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.880 they go they have signals on. So for security purposes 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.120 of like going stealth, if you're in the air, you 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.839 have all things turned off, and that's dangerous if you 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:53.880 are at risk of bumping into things. But if you're 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:59.000 being escorted by a military force, then you have less 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:03.200 of that safety concern. So those international services are not 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.240 in fact able to track where all of these vessels 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:09.160 are when they are cloaked, or to have their signals 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:12.760 turned off, and so some things are moving. Do I 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:15.680 believe that they are moving at pre war levels? That's 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:18.120 hard to fathom. You think that more of that would 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:20.400 be seen and you would see more of that reflected 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:22.960 in the markets. At the same time, as you noted 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:27.400 the price of oil being in the eighties, that's way 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:30.440 down from the one hundred plus of the panic rates. 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.160 It's not down to sort of the fifty to seventy 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:38.320 range that was sort of pre war, but it's ticklishly 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:42.440 close to that, which tells me some things are moving. 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:47.200 Whether it's the diverted fuels or whether it's the escorted ships. 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:50.360 Some things are moving. So we're not seeing the picture, 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:53.799 which fails the first rule of politics in my book, 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:55.839 which I learned from TV. So it has to be true. 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.920 It's not enough to do good. You have to be 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:01.120 seen doing good. And it's hard for the war everyday 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:05.200 Americans and even market analysts to see the good that's happening. 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:07.240 You know how heavy that statement is, right, because you're 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:11.440 talking perception versus reality. And this is where people who 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:13.080 want to be all Trump all the time and people 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:15.520 who want to be all against Trump all the time 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:18.840 fail in the conversation talking to Stephen Yates to the 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:23.920 Heritage Foundation. Because perception is reality. You're not wrong when 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:26.159 you discuss where the oil prices are. We're not at 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.599 one hundred and ten dollars a barrel, but when you 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:31.359 tell me oil's got to be at seventy five dollars 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:33.400 a barrel in order to be like, hey, look how 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:35.719 oil prices are down. Gas prices are down. Everything's good, 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:37.680 and we're at eighty five dollars a barrel. And we 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:40.760 saw it go up because Iran is saying to the 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:44.159 United States, forget you, We're going to do whatever we want. 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:45.479 That is seen. 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:49.080 That puts the president in a position I view of weakness, 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:52.800 of perceived weakness. Never mind the idea of this back 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:55.400 and forth. We control the straight, No, we control the straight. 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:59.800 But go back again for a moment. You talk about 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:03.200 it in insurance rates, and you talk about escorts. On 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.640 the idea of escorts. This is I think where a 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:08.520 lot of people have been. How is it possible that 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:11.360 we don't have a series of destroyers just lined up 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.200 on both sides of the strait. How have we not 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:16.960 gotten the Saudis and others to line up some forces 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:19.480 on both sides of the strait, and we just make 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:22.280 sure that nothing gets through. We make sure that the 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.560 tankers get through, that the Iranians can't do nothing. They're finished, 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:28.840 they're complete. We do it by force. So when you 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:30.600 talk about escort, this is what. 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:33.840 People are asking, how is this not happening already? 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:39.280 And mass It's a painfully clear and appropriate question for 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:42.480 which I don't have a good answer, because it's exactly 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:46.440 what I would have done months ago, and I think 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.640 we have the capability to do so. I think we 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:53.600 have been clear that our governing ethos is to press 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:56.040 the free riders of the world that you are going 0:07:56.080 --> 0:07:58.000 to have skin in the game. You are going to 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:00.440 put fuel in the tank. You are going to this. 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:03.200 We are helping you, and you are going to pay 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:06.080 for us helping you. And part of that is you're 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:07.960 going to share some of the risk. We're not going 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:10.680 to stand out here as the only targets. You're going 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:13.960 to stand shoulder to shoulder in doing something that ensures 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:17.440 freedom of navigation for you to thrive and your people 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:21.040 to be safe. That is the way I understood that 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:24.680 Trump Great Realignment was meant to be. It's something I 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:29.400 am million percent agree with and strongly support. I think 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:33.160 we have done some of those things, but we aren't 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:36.040 doing enough of those things, and we aren't being seen 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:38.680 doing enough of those things, and that, I think is 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:42.120 the challenge. We have to move in that direction for 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:45.160 this to be sustained. And I think that there is 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.800 a way to not just spin a win, but for 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:51.480 there to be a real transformation that people can be 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:55.679 proud of and can hold and is worth it. But 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.520 we aren't doing enough of what you just said that 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.360 I completely agree with. Things should have been done long ago. 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:05.320 Talking to Stephen Yates the Heritage Foundation Heritage dot org. 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:09.520 His focus is China policy, but his history is that 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.439 of full geopolitics in the region, whether it be the 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:18.280 Far East or the Middle East. I am somebody who 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.560 believes that we should have taken out the regime. And 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:24.600 when this first took place back in February, you were 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.120 the first person I was texting with. 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.040 You were the person I was reaching out to. I 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:30.360 was preparing for a live. 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:32.720 Event, and I was trying to get data from you 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:36.240 to understand exactly what it was that I was seeing here. 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:39.840 And I certainly believe then that taking out the regime 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.920 is I think job number one. And when I talk 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:45.840 about how the president is viewed here, and I know 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:47.679 that the president does not like to be viewed as 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:49.840 weak at any level in any. 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:52.280 Place, there is a view here that he is. 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.199 Because you can only talk about Iran can't get a 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:59.000 nuclear weapons so much. In the end, you have to 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.880 end the regime that is trying to achieve this goal, 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:04.880 and they may still be working at it if everything's possible. 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:07.840 You know, right now, you can't say they can't have 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.120 a nuclear weapon then leave and all of a sudden 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:15.000 a centrifuge starts spinning up. Legacy is shattered. And this 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.760 brought up a conversation that I had with Leland Vidder 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:22.079 of News Nation about the idea of will the IRGC 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:25.000 the Iranians have the will to hold out and the 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:28.960 United States doesn't have the will. I don't believe that 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:32.480 in Toto, because I haven't seen whether or not the 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:35.360 president will or won't. All I know is he's not 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.480 doing the bombings, but he's still around, and he's still there, 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:41.400 keeping to an extent his powder dry and waiting to 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:45.000 see what happens. Is this a willpower fight? Is this 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:48.000 about political wills? Is this about whether or not the 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.559 president has the stomach for this, whether this. 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:53.600 Is really in his desire in his wheelhouse. 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:58.680 Where do you think the real battle is in terms 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:02.880 of ideology between the GC and where President Trump is well. 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:04.960 I think first there's a caveat for how to even 0:11:05.000 --> 0:11:06.800 talk about this. I think we have to be careful 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:09.160 to fall into the traps of all or nothing kinds 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:12.480 of lenses, because it's just not the way the world is. 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:14.440 It's not the way warfare is, and it's not the 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:19.400 way this mix of forces and pressures and other kinds 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:23.320 of activities is going to play out. The war is 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:28.320 always a bit about will and capability, and sometimes patients 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:31.800 and patients can often be mistaken for weakness. It can 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:35.120 be weakness, it can be appeasement. But it depends on 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:38.840 what the ultimate aim is and are there measurable results 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:42.080 in a reasonable period of time, And what is reasonable 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:45.280 is subjective. That comes down to politics, domestic and international. 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:48.160 So what I mean by all this gobbledegook I just 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:51.400 sort of spewed out here is that the president has 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:54.640 some very powerful things in place that we're not in 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:58.600 place for the decade plus from the Bogus Iran deal 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:02.600 to the present, we have maximum financial pressure in place. 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:06.160 We've gone after bank accounts that matter in very serious, 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:10.199 real and impactful ways. We have a blockade in place 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:13.880 that has having a real and meaningful impact on the 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:19.840 coffers of the theocratic regime in Tehran, and there is 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:23.760 no indication any of that is coming off anytime soon. 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.560 And so that form of maximum pressure is greater than 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:30.760 has ever been applied to this regime in the near 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:35.160 half century of its existence. And there is there resolve 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:39.120 to keep it in place indefinitely if necessary, to starve 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:41.360 the regime of the resources and wait for them to 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:45.000 be cannibalized by their people or among the power centers 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.560 of themselves. That is not the timeline that we were 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:51.240 led to believe at the beginning of this operation. But 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:54.520 it is not appeasement, it is not weakness, it is 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:59.440 not failure. It's just different and longer, and ultimately it 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:03.200 might be what works. It isn't what I would have 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:07.760 chosen in terms of the option set going forward. But 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:11.959 it is not the sort of all or nothing kind 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:14.680 of fork in the road that we instinctively go to 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:17.600 when thinking about these things. There is more than one 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:20.640 way to change this regime. There's more than one timeline 0:13:21.000 --> 0:13:23.000 on which to change this regime. The question is can 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:26.520 we hold allies, can we hold markets, can we hold 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.839 our domestic politics? Do we have the resolve and the 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:32.880 strategy to do those things to allow this longer, more 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:34.160 patient path to work. 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:36.240 And I would only argue that one of the things 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:39.320 that the administration didn't do and should have done was 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:42.840 explained why in much greater detail, made the full on 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:46.040 appeal to America and said let's be in this together. 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.240 But that is a political consideration I agree with, and 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:52.560 I just they didn't do this because the president believes 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:54.480 I'm doing this and everyone's gonna go with me, and 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:55.840 it'll get explained. 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:55.920 As we go. 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.960 And that's just not how this works. But to the 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.599 idea of the political cans. Talking to Stephen Yates to 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:05.800 the Heritage Foundation this story over at Fox News that 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:09.760 you have Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey considering a pact 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:13.640 to work together. Now, I have argued that the one 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:16.720 thing that the president has done is he's rethought Middle 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.640 East policy. He has forced the Middle East to rethink 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:20.680 Middle East policy. 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:22.400 Everything is now different. 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.880 The Abraham Accords a huge part of this and getting 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:27.480 rid of this regime. Getting rid of this Iranian threat 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:31.280 allows the Middle East to have a much more stable future. 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:35.080 But if Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are getting together, 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:38.160 you could argue this is about trade and creating a 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:42.040 world without an Iranian regime, or this is about creating 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:44.360 a new power base to be able to deal with 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:47.120 the fact that the United States might be the hegemonic 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:50.600 power now in the Middle East once the Iranian regime 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:51.360 is gone. 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.520 What is your take on this alleged relationship. 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:56.960 Well, Tony, if you'll allow a shameless plug, I encourage 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.560 people to listen to the latest Nation States with Yates 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:01.960 and talks to about how the map of the Middle 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:04.440 East was rewritten. We go into some of the deeper 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:07.800 things that are behind the question. I think it's an 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:13.600 important question. We get at this, specifically this coalition Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan. 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:16.640 Part of this is the peril of when you empower 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:20.280 intermediaries to operate on your behalf, to try to come 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:24.920 to what might be priest terms, whatever the status quo, 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:28.960 after major military operations are over, and we always have 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:30.920 to be careful. It's one thing to allow the good 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.800 offices to convene conversations that otherwise wouldn't happen. But when 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:39.120 you allow the intermediaries to drag your strategy, then I 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:41.600 think you're putting a little bit of American strategy and 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.880 interests at risk. And I think the administration is pulled 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:48.080 back some from whether it was Oman, Pakistan or others. 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:52.080 But they've been empowered and emboldened in some ways in 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:55.280 recent months in ways they haven't for a long time. 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:57.800 And of course American interests aren't going to be the 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:00.840 same as Saudi Arabian interests, but Saudi has a big 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:04.480 footprint in the Middle East, and we have to continue 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:07.600 to kind of mind that garden, I think a longer 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:11.080 term and it's better than putting our bets on the 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:14.200 theocratic empire coming out of Tehran if that isn't stopped 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.000 in the near future. So there is this mix. I 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:21.160 don't like this alternative out there that they're floating. I 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:25.920 think it is not a happy or friendly signal to Washington, 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:29.160 which has reached out in good faith with all three 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.320 of these governments, yes in the not too distant past, 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:35.560 and has done some strategic things that very much benefit 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:39.200 each of them, and to sort of float this idea 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.920 that they are somehow the condominium that's going to shape 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:44.000 the future of the Middle East that gets away from 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:49.120 the Abraham Accords architecture and reason for being. And so 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.320 I think some work needs to be, you know, to 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:54.040 encourage some of these to put their horses back in 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:56.600 the stable a little bit and let's finish what's right 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:59.720 in front of us. And until that is resolved, then 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.320 there's there's no point in you talking about these things. 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:04.480 And we'd have to pull back on some of the 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:07.320 friendly things we've offered to you if you're proving not 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.480 to be helpful into doing something that matters to the 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:10.240 United States. 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:14.200 And I do absolutely believe that when we talk about 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:16.000 a deal that has to be made, the deal doesn't 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:17.199 have to be made with a RAN, It has to 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:20.560 be made with Saudi Arabia, Bakra and the UAE that 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:23.119 they are going to be active participants in bringing an 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:26.840 end to this regime and remembering who their friends are, 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:29.159 they got to get some skin in the game. This 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:32.439 is like the United States discussing how NATO nations have 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:35.679 to pay for their own security against the Russians. Stephen 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:39.280 Yates find them at Heritage Dot Oregon, of course, Nation 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.879 States with the Yates. The podcast available on your favorite 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:46.240 podcast platform. Good to see us, sir, we'll talk soon. 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.520 Keep it here. This is Tony Katz today. I thought 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.480 this was some of the best audio of the day. 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:58.320 It's Rocanna, the progressive from California, the congressman who backed 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:03.040 Nazi Graham Platners actual abuser, alleged Graham Platter and. 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:05.439 Now he's coming out to say, you know, I didn't 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:10.240 see the signs. You also endorsed Graham Planter, another left 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:12.040 candidate who flamed out in the end, to say the 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:14.800 least amid scandals. What did you learn from that experience? 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:17.360 I should have listened to my wife. She's almost never 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:19.280 made me do an interview. She said, you make it 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:21.240 clear on the record that I was opposed to you 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:27.960 endorsing him, But on a deeper level, there were signs 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:34.919 of toxicity that other groups had picked up and I 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:36.359 needed to be more sensitive to it. 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:37.600 I said, I got that call wrong. 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:41.160 I made a mistake, and it means being more reflective. 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:42.520 Is that what it means? 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.920 You made a mistake and you learned, and now everything 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:53.679 is fine and dandy. Come now, oh stop it. No 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:59.879 one's buying that this guy was your ideological kin folk, 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:04.040 and you didn't care what he did as long as 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:07.359 you won the Senate and got power. That's the only 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:13.040 thing that mattered. Congressman. Sometimes we get things wrong. I agree, 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.680 and I could be a guy of total grace and say, 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:19.119 you know what, I'm so glad you finally see this 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:20.360 and understand that that's great. 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:23.639 You're late to the party, but I'm glad that you're here. No, no, no, 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:24.000 no no. 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:26.719 The kind of party you wanted to have was super weird. 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:29.080 It was like a degree or two away from a 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:32.479 Sean Diddy Combs freak cough. You and I party different. 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:35.680 My friend and I have no interest in partying with you. 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:36.880 You wanted the bad guy. 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:45.720 That's the story. This is Tony Katz today. What is 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:51.160 the effects of this economy on small business? GDP one 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:54.000 point five percent? But we had doctor Matt Will, the 0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:57.000 economist at the University of Indianapolis, say that number is 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:01.560 very misleading because government's spending was down. In government spending 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:05.520 is part of GDP, It's a false number. The underneath 0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:10.600 is a far far better look. We have inflation that 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:13.960 you look at. It was point one for the month. 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:17.440 My gosh, that's terrific and wonderful, but still three point 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:21.080 four percent overall. That doesn't get us to the target 0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:24.679 rate of the FED. Tony, Kat's good to be with you. 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:28.040 The Small Business Administrator, Kelly Leffler joins. 0:20:27.720 --> 0:20:29.359 Me right now. 0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:33.480 She is actually the administrator of the Small Business Administration. 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:35.520 We need a better name for that. Man, We really 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:36.080 and truly do. 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:39.520 Visiting the Indiana State Fair today with Senator Todd Young, 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:42.240 make sure he holds the umbrella for you, right, He's 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:44.720 got to do that like a marine holding umbrella for 0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:47.560 Barack Obama. He's got to call you wherever you go. Man, 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:49.320 make sure that happens. 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.399 Well, good morning, Tony, and I'll just throw on a 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:55.040 baseball hat. We'll be good to go walking around that fair. 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.240 I mean it's Indianapolis Indians Day. Will we will get 0:20:58.280 --> 0:20:59.960 you one. That is an easy one. 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:00.399 Love that. 0:21:00.920 --> 0:21:01.320 Thank you. 0:21:01.359 --> 0:21:03.480 Just don't tell my brave friends back home. 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:06.600 No, no, we don't tell Atlanta people anything. That's part of 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:11.000 our code here. Let us let us start where we start, 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:12.000 which is. 0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:17.159 How is small business doing in the overall sense in 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:20.560 an economy that has some solid fundamentals A tremendous amount 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:24.080 of AI investing. Things still do move along, but it 0:21:24.240 --> 0:21:26.359 isn't as easy as people want it to be. 0:21:27.840 --> 0:21:31.119 Well, Tony, I am glad you asked, because small business 0:21:31.200 --> 0:21:33.840 is in growth mode, and you mentioned some economic data 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:37.359 at the top, and look, the data does point to 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:40.520 tremendous growth, but I also get to see it on. 0:21:40.440 --> 0:21:41.720 The ground every day. 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:44.879