1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: To night. Michael Brown joins me here, the former FEMA director. 2 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:04,560 Speaker 2: Of talk show host Michael Brown. 3 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 3: Brownie, no, Brownie, You're doing a heck of a job. 4 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: The Weekend with Michael Brown, broadcasting Life from Denver, Colorado. 5 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: You've stumbled into the Weeke with Michael Brown, and I'm 6 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: glad you have. Now pick yourself up and let's get 7 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: busy because we've got things to talk about. The text 8 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: lines always open three three, one zero three, use the 9 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 1: keyword micro Michael, go follow me on x at Michael 10 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,160 Speaker 1: Brown USA, and then do me a favor and subscribe 11 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: to the podcast, because, you know, going back to the 12 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: first hour about all the different ways now that people 13 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: can sue media, we put, as I think, as much 14 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: emphasis on our podcasting and streaming like through the iHeart 15 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: app as we do through broadcast. And I appreciate people 16 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,959 Speaker 1: subscribing to and downloading the podcast because quite frankly, well 17 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: that's part of my compensation package. So you know, help 18 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: me help a brother out here a little bit. It 19 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: is really easy to do on whatever app you use 20 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: to listen to podcasts, search for the Situation with Michael Brown. 21 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: That's the name of the Weekday program. The situation with 22 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: Michael Brown that once you hit that subscribe to it, 23 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,919 Speaker 1: leave a five star review that helps us with the algorithm, 24 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: and then that will automatically download all five days of 25 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: the weekday program and the weekend program. Let's go to 26 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: the Middle East for a moment. Hamas really didn't wait 27 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: too long. I think, you know, once you set a 28 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: deadline and they see what we did with the Iranians, 29 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: oh yeah, let's just send some bombers over and just 30 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: you know, blow the crap out of them. It didn't 31 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,759 Speaker 1: take long for Hamas to accede the Trump's twenty point 32 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: gods a peace plan, or I should say at least 33 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: they accept it with conditions. They still got some time 34 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: to get rid of their conditions, but they don't really 35 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: have a choice. And actually the same can be said 36 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: for the Prime Minister of Israel b. Beet in Yahoo, who 37 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: was forced to accept the deal that he didn't really 38 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: want in the first place. But give credit where credit 39 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: is due. Trump boxed in both Netnaho and Hamas. Now, 40 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: for Trump, depending agreement is going to be a big accomplishment, 41 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: probably won't win him a Nobel Peace Prize, but the 42 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: aim is nonetheless noble and it's worth pursuing. And, of course, 43 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: with his usual flair for the dramatic, Trump responded to 44 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: the Hamas offer to release the remaining hostages by declaring 45 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: that quote, I believe they are ready for a lasting piece. 46 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: He went on to say that the bombing of Gaza 47 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 1: must stop immediately, and then added some details that are 48 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: still being worked out. But he at least breathed some 49 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: optimism about the outcome. But we have to understand the 50 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: politics that Netnahu faces in Israel. He presides over a fractious, 51 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 1: almost fractured right wing coalition and ya who and I 52 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: understand why he has been intent on prolonging the war. 53 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: He wants to completely eviscerate a moss Now, I understand 54 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: that goal. I'm not quite sure that's possible. We wanted 55 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: to eviscerate al Qaeda. Now, setting aside for a moment, 56 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: any arguments that you want and can make about the 57 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: mistakes we made and trying to eviscerate al Qaeda? Can 58 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: you ever really do that? Can you ever really eviscerate communism, socialism, Marxism? 59 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: Can you ever really completely alleviate eviscerate terrorism? No? Because 60 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: humans are still humans and cockroaches. Will you know, just 61 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: as cockroaches will survive a nuclear war, terrorists will survive 62 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: their obliteration. They'll pop up somewhere else. So Nednya, who 63 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: is very crafty, may have preferred to continue pounding her moss, 64 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: but his very audacious moves have created the very context 65 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: for Trump's peace plant. Why how what he newter has 66 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: belonged Lebanon? He attacked the Iranians and in the ouster 67 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: of the Assad regime in Syria. By the way, you 68 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: notice that Assad or Assad was the victim of a 69 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: potential poisonous assassination, which I found kind of interesting because 70 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: Assad sought his refuge in Russia, which is known for 71 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: assassinating their political enemies through poison. So Asad, you may 72 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: not be as in friendly territory as what you think 73 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: you are. But anyway, in the ouster of the Assad 74 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: regime in Syria, and you put all of that together 75 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: and you've got a far more propitious moment for an 76 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: actual Middle East peace deal. But the blunt fact is 77 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: that with a horrific attack in October seven, almost two 78 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: years ago to the day coming up this what Tuesday, 79 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: Hamas ended up isolating itself. I firmly believe that Hamas 80 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: believed that it could topple Israel, that it could eliminate 81 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 1: Jews from the phase of the Earth, that it could 82 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 1: wipe Israel off the map. But the reverse has occurred. 83 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,799 Speaker 1: Hamas has now been forced to accept the Gaza agreement. 84 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: Now there's still devils into details, right, They've been forced 85 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: to at least acknowledge right now, a conditional acceptance because 86 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: the air world has largely united against Hamas, And you 87 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 1: got to give Trump credit for that. In particular, Egypt 88 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 1: and Cutter a push for a resolution of the conflict, 89 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:59,280 Speaker 1: and that resolution would preclude Israel from going on from 90 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: Gaza to ax the West Bank, something that Trump made 91 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: very clear in an Oval office. You know how he 92 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: tends to just sit there at the resolute desk and 93 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: there'll be a gaggle reporters come through because he just 94 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: finished signing an executive order or something. And then, unlike 95 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: Joe Biden, who would have to shuffle or fall off 96 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: the stage and leave the room, Trump just sits there. 97 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: Got any questions, anybody got anything? Well, of course they do. 98 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: Their White House reporters. They want to ask you everything. 99 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: They possibly can. And he sits there and he takes 100 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: the questions. But in that questioning it came up of 101 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: whether or not he would allow net and Yahoo to 102 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: occupy or annex the West Bank. And he said no, 103 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: I'm just not I'm not going to allow it to occur. Well, 104 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: I understand why, because the pressure is now on for 105 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,720 Speaker 1: Israel Hamas to reach some sort of an agreement. Now, 106 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: Hamas said that it supports the release of all Israeli prisoners, 107 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 1: both living and dead. And that's according to the exchange formula. 108 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: It was contained in Trump's proposal, provided, they said, And 109 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: I found this interesting, provided the field conditions for the 110 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: exchange are met. And what does that mean? Well, in 111 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter 112 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: into negotiations through the mediators to discuss the details of 113 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: what that means. The key questions are how far Israel 114 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: will withdraw out of or away from the Gaza strip, 115 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: and what role, if any, Hamas would play in a 116 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: future government. Now, personally, I don't think Hamas should play 117 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: any role in a future government none whatsoever. So that 118 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: brings up the issue of who gets to run Gaza 119 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: in the interim. Now, Trump has tapped Tony Blair, the 120 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: former British Prime Minister who really has his own injudicious 121 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: record in the region, to serve as the head of 122 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: this Board of Peace that Trump has announced. Now, not surprisingly, 123 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: Moss is bulking at the prospect of any sort of 124 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: interim government governing body. Of course they are because that 125 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 1: means they're losing control, but it's more than likely to 126 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: have to surrender at this point. Mike Blair worked to 127 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: transform the Gaza Strip into Trump's new riviera. Rumors of 128 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: a manufacturing zone named after he Long Musk that's percolating 129 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: in Washington. In this past February, Trump released an AI 130 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: generated video of him and Musk a voting on the 131 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: beach called Trump Gaza. Well, perhaps the Tony Blair Institute 132 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:38,439 Speaker 1: for Global Change will prove more influential than anybody probably 133 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: previously contemplated. But at least the good news is there's movement. 134 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: At least there is movement, and it may for it may. 135 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: It may foretell that a Moss really has recognized that 136 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: Trump means what he says, and that's probably because of 137 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:02,679 Speaker 1: the elimination of Hesbalah and the bombing of the Iranians 138 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: you see. Actions have consequences. I'll be right back. It's 139 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: a weekend with Michael Brown. Glad to have you with me. 140 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,559 Speaker 1: I just looked at my ex account. I want to 141 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: say hi to soccer Collies. That's interesting. These are new 142 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: followers on x Dog soccer games. That'd be interesting watch 143 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: a bunch of collies play soccer. Although the picture doesn't 144 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: look like a soccer, I mean, doesn't look like a soccer, 145 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: doesn't look like a collie. Kevin, where's Kevin from? Doesn't say, 146 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: Katie Hawk? Are you in Iowan? I don't know Kevin, 147 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: and then Aaron. Aaron followed, She's from Stillwater, Minnesota, not Oklahoma. 148 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to the excicunt. We'll have some fun. Let's go 149 00:09:55,520 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: from Israel to Venezuela. Trump has the entire world in 150 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: a good turmoil. I don't think it's a bad turmoil. 151 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: It's a good turmoil. Oh it's fraught with danger, don't 152 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: get me wrong. It's absolutely fraught with danger. But I 153 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 1: like the fact that you know, once again, we Americans 154 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: have I think Americans have smoke too much marijuana because 155 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: we got really severe short term memory loss. It's only 156 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: been see Novembercember January, Tebuy March, April, May, June, July, August, September. 157 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 1: It's been ten months coming on, well, I guess maybe 158 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:39,200 Speaker 1: ten months today since the election. Do you remember do 159 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: you remember prior to November four of twenty twenty four, 160 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: what the world was like. Do you remember how Biden 161 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,440 Speaker 1: would wander off at some D Day event and the 162 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,719 Speaker 1: Prime minister they lead, you know, Maloney'd have to go 163 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 1: grab Grandpa and bringing back to watch the troops, or 164 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 1: you'd fall off the stage or trip over the sand bags, 165 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 1: or you know, have to have to have the note 166 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: cards to read from, would never take questions, wouldn't seem 167 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: for days and and now. Oh and we were told that, well, 168 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: you know, Biden has brought respect back to the United States. 169 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: The world respects US now. And I always laughed at that, 170 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: because having traveled the world with President Bush, I pretty 171 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: much understand what world leaders think and how they think 172 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 1: and how they perceive us. I've heard them talk about it, 173 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:35,559 Speaker 1: and they did not respect Biden. They still respected the 174 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,680 Speaker 1: United States. I sincerely believe that. But they did not 175 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: respect Biden because world leaders respect power, they respect our 176 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: ability one to protect them and to kind of keep 177 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: the world, kind of safe for democracy, kind of safe 178 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: for other countries to go about their lives, and to 179 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: keep our enemies, the Chinese Communist Party, the Commedies in Russia, 180 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:11,840 Speaker 1: and the Commoniess in Venezuela, for example, at Bay and 181 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:15,959 Speaker 1: they do respect that. They may not like Trump. There 182 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: may be things that Trump says or does that offends them, 183 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 1: but they know that we are still the most powerful 184 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:27,199 Speaker 1: nation on the face of the earth. Our size, our population. 185 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 1: I know, we don't have a billion people like China does, 186 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: but we have three hundred and fifty million Americans give 187 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: or take, and we have three hundred and fifty million 188 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,839 Speaker 1: give or take private arms. And we have an army 189 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:48,520 Speaker 1: led by civilian leaders who would do everything to first 190 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: and foremost protect, preserve and defend the constitution, and protect 191 00:12:55,760 --> 00:13:00,120 Speaker 1: you and me against the tyrannical government if ever necessary. 192 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:05,679 Speaker 1: In other words, they would disobey an illegal or unconstitutional 193 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: order and would take our side over a tyrannical government 194 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: trying to impose tyranny upon us. We have vast natural resources, 195 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: we have a mostly mostly free market economy, and that 196 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: still makes us the dominant nation on this planet. Do 197 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:27,680 Speaker 1: we have problems don't get me wrong. We have serious 198 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: problems and we have serious threats. This access between China 199 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: and India really concerns me. So while all of that 200 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:49,840 Speaker 1: is true, Trump, nonetheless, despite his sometimes bragadcio, sometimes the 201 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 1: trolling that he does that is like hilarious yet really 202 00:13:53,720 --> 00:14:01,440 Speaker 1: not very presidential. Nonetheless, it's entertaining and everybody on their toes. 203 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 1: For example, when when you read a headline, did you 204 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 1: did you see the most recent cigarette speedboat get blown 205 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: up in the Caribbean. As I told some friends as 206 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 1: I was walking the dogs this morning, think about those 207 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: guys on that boat. So I assuming they left Caracas 208 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: or wherever they left in Venezuela. They've probably heard the 209 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: story that the previous boats we've had, what five or 210 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 1: six of them, now they've heard the story. Word gets around. 211 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: Hey remember one and Pedro that left last week? They 212 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 1: never came back. Yeah, and they didn't and they didn't 213 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 1: turn and become the illegal aliens to the United States. 214 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: They disappeared in the middle of the Caribbean. That word 215 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: gets around. So when a new boat takes off, all 216 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,120 Speaker 1: I can think is somebody's plenty a gun at the 217 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: four or five Narco terrasts that are on that cigarette 218 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: or speedboat as they head off into the Caribbean looking 219 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: for some landing somewhere on the Gulf shores, only to 220 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: be kaboom blown out of the water. It's got to 221 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 1: be a little frightening to be a drug dealer with 222 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: Trump and office. So when the headline screen Narco Wars 223 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: and all these pundits on television and radio wag their 224 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 1: fingers about fentanyl, I think it's real easy. The easy 225 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: way to think about it is to reduce Trump's venezuela 226 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 1: policy to just drugs. That's the shorthand. But it's also incomplete, 227 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,240 Speaker 1: and in fact, it may not only be incomplete, it 228 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 1: might actually be a red herring. Drugs do matter, Don't 229 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 1: get me wrong. Drugs matter. And the effort is to 230 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: some degree about exactly that. It's the perfect combination. Yes, 231 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: we have a fentanyl problem, we have a drug problem. 232 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: And while we've closed the borders, isn't it interesting that 233 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 1: we're not really talking about the cartails coming across the 234 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: border anymore. Now they're using these cigarette boats to come 235 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,880 Speaker 1: try speeding across the Caribbean, still trying to get their 236 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 1: product into this country, and they're predominantly coming from Venezuela. 237 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: And immigration matters. So drugs matter, immigration matters. It all matters. 238 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 1: But guess what else matters? We forget because we're historically 239 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 1: ignorant in this country that Venezuela was at one time 240 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: one of the richest nations on Earth. It was the 241 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:37,960 Speaker 1: powerhouse of South America. Why because of their oil and gas. 242 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: They're hydro carbons, and now Venezuelan hydro carbons matter even 243 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 1: more in a world where OPEK has been deliberately constraining 244 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: supply to keep oil prices high. I know I keep 245 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 1: hearing about how gasoline prices are down. Well I'm telling 246 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,080 Speaker 1: you my neck of the woods, they are not. In fact, 247 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: they've creeped up a little bit. We're certainly not back 248 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: to pre pandemic levels. I haven't paid two dollars a 249 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: gallon for premium gas in I don't know, four years 250 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: or so. But deploying the war on drugs as some 251 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,679 Speaker 1: sort of justification, I think it's probably smart politics. Why 252 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: because it communicates a moral urgency that resonates with all 253 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: of us, because the drug crisis is real. But it 254 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: also offers a legal slash rhetorical peg overseas, because when 255 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 1: you designate the cartels as terrorist proxies, that authorizes actual 256 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:41,120 Speaker 1: kinetic warlike steps under our counter terrorism authorities. But policy 257 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: is simply not an argument. It's an incentive structure. Let 258 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 1: me explain what an incentive structure is. Next. So we 259 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:59,640 Speaker 1: came with Michael Brown tonight. Michael Brown joins me here. 260 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 2: FEMA director of talk show host Michael Brown. 261 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,440 Speaker 3: Brownie, no, Brownie, You're doing a heck of a job 262 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:06,359 Speaker 3: the Weekend with Michael Brown. 263 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:08,560 Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Weekend with Michael Brown. Glad to 264 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:10,399 Speaker 1: have you with me. I appreciate you tuning in text 265 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: lines open as always number three three one zero three, 266 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: keyword Mike or Michael. Follow me on X at Michael 267 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: Brown USA. You can join the soccer collegues. I just 268 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 1: looked at that new follower. Apparently it's a bunch of 269 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: collies playing soccer ball and the humans are the are 270 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: tending to go. I gotta go watch that sometime. Back 271 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,879 Speaker 1: to Caracas, back to Venezuela. When you think about what 272 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 1: Trump's doing in Caracas, it's actually built around a set 273 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: of incentives. Now that may seem odd, considering that we're 274 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 1: blowing drug boats out of the water. But if you're 275 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:53,640 Speaker 1: driving those boats or those are your drugs and that's 276 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: being lost into the ocean, then yeah, you might have 277 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,880 Speaker 1: an incentive to figure out, hmmm, how can I possibly 278 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: keep doing business or can I find some other way? 279 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,439 Speaker 1: Or if you're Nicholas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, you 280 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 1: may be looking at what we've done with Hamas, what 281 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:13,120 Speaker 1: we've done with the Iranians, what we've done all over 282 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: the world, and you may be thinking to yourself, uh oh, 283 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: huh oh. And it's not just crokets, it's all the 284 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:29,160 Speaker 1: other Latin American countries that are also watching, including Argentina, 285 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: because we're doing some financial things with Argentina that I 286 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 1: think are mostly good. I think there's a couple of 287 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 1: downside risks to it, but we're doing some credit debt 288 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,840 Speaker 1: swaps with Argentina to kind of stabilize the peso down there, 289 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: which I think is a good thing because Malay is 290 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,439 Speaker 1: really Javey. Malay is just an amazing politician, and I 291 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:55,680 Speaker 1: want to see him succeed. Back to Venezuela. The incentives 292 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: that Trump is doing are designed to minimize the chance 293 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: of an expensive occupation because Trump does not want to 294 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 1: engage himself directly in regime change, while still this is 295 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: the way his mind work fascinates me. And yes, it's Trump, 296 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:22,200 Speaker 1: but it's also Marco Rubio, it's his National Security team 297 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:26,200 Speaker 1: and for that matter, the CI and everybody else that 298 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: works around him. It's the Trump Cabinet in general. So 299 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: they want to get the attention of Caracas, get the 300 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: attention of our regional partners in the area, and it's 301 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:44,360 Speaker 1: designed to minimize the chance of this country, the United States, 302 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: ever actually occupying Venezuela, while still getting out of them 303 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:54,120 Speaker 1: tangible leverage maybe for regime change, but not regime change 304 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:57,119 Speaker 1: where we have boots on the ground, but also maybe 305 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: for a really good deal for us. Think about it 306 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: this way, it's coercion without conquest. You apply pressure across 307 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: multiple economic vectors, economic silos until the cost of the 308 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: same continued behavior exceeds the benefit. Pretty straightforward imposed costs 309 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: that exceed the benefit of what you're doing. So what 310 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:31,160 Speaker 1: let's think about Trump himself. He hates regime change, well, 311 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: at least in the classic sense of let's go invade 312 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: Afghanistan or Iraq and try to, you know, topple Sodom 313 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,920 Speaker 1: Hussein or top of the Taliban in Afghanistan. He hates 314 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: that the America First Agenda is truly transactional by design. 315 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 1: F you're open into national nation building campaigns and more 316 00:21:55,160 --> 00:22:01,119 Speaker 1: calibrated use of force and diplomatic pressure, there is cover 317 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:06,439 Speaker 1: both legally and politically. That's the structure of how I 318 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: think this entire form policy apparatus is thinking. So for 319 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:16,200 Speaker 1: all the neocons who assume he secretly dreams of invading 320 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: a country, I think they're just engaged in projection, and 321 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: they're trying to engage in a projection onto an administration 322 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:30,360 Speaker 1: that in practice is really stingy about long ground wars. 323 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 1: You don't need evidence, just look at recent history. But 324 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 1: then think about this. Immigration is leverage. Policy signals link 325 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: security operations, the deportation and immigration enforcement. So in these 326 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,879 Speaker 1: recent move moves, the naval deployments and the strikes on 327 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 1: those drug trafficking vessels have been accompanied by rhetoric and 328 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: soundbites out of the White House and out of the 329 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: foreign policy establishment, and at times include explicit linkage to 330 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 1: our deportation policies. Military pressure then functions as bargaining power 331 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:20,920 Speaker 1: in a really broader domestic political market. Then recognize this, 332 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:28,000 Speaker 1: Venezuela's about oil. That's it. It's the only way that 333 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: Nicholas Maduro in that communist regime survives. That South American 334 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: country has long been known as it's an OPEC state, 335 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,440 Speaker 1: it's a hydrocarbon state, it's an oil and gas country. 336 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: And for good reason. Do you know that during World 337 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: War Two, crude oil from Venezuela was absolutely indispensable to 338 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:55,440 Speaker 1: the Allies. It fueled our ships, our planes, entire campaigns 339 00:23:55,440 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: across the Atlantic from Venezuela. That's why it is indeed 340 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 1: one of the wealthiest nations in the world. You look 341 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: at it today, we trade virtually nothing with Caracas. That's 342 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: one hundred and eighty degrees from World War Two. Yet 343 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 1: Venezuela still holds the largest proven reserves in the entire world. 344 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,120 Speaker 1: So if we could bring all of those reserves back 345 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: into the US market and then modernize those reserves, the 346 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: output of oil and gas from Venezuela alone could rival 347 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,040 Speaker 1: all of the OPEC producers. And what will that do? 348 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,359 Speaker 1: That alters the balance of supply, That puts the supply 349 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:44,959 Speaker 1: of that crude oil under our auspices, under our control. Now, 350 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:48,439 Speaker 1: if you fixate on the crude oil loone that misses 351 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: the resources that also matter in twenty first century geopolitics, 352 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: and that's all the critical minerals that we always talk about, 353 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:02,680 Speaker 1: the minerals that feed evse bies, telecommunications, our computers, everything. 354 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,640 Speaker 1: That's why Beijing has such an interest in Venezuela. It's 355 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: not sentimental. It's a modern scramble for resources. So the 356 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 1: Trump slash Washington slash form policy establishment calculus has an 357 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: industrial logic as well as a geopolitical one. Deny our 358 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: adversaries China in particular, secure access, protect supply chains, leave 359 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: a neighboring state structurally unable to become a reliant client 360 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,600 Speaker 1: of a rival power. Don't let them become subservient to 361 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:45,880 Speaker 1: China now. Unlike Ukraine, because I know people are thinking, 362 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:53,359 Speaker 1: well what about Ukraine, Michael, Venezuela's resource resources wealth doesn't 363 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: need to be inflated. It's obvious, it's vast, and it's 364 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 1: in plain sight. Unlike Iran, despite Maduro's theatrical boasts of 365 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,880 Speaker 1: millions of militiamen, they really don't have any military at all. 366 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,440 Speaker 1: Unlike Taiwan, we don't need to engage in the complexity 367 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:19,160 Speaker 1: of semiconductors. Venezuela's importance is tangible. It's rooted in immigration, drugs, 368 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: oil and gas, and minerals, And unlike the myth of 369 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: a population united in anti americanism, I think that Venezuelan's 370 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,920 Speaker 1: resentment of Washington's way overstated. You know that Nicholas Maduro 371 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,479 Speaker 1: stole the last I mean literally stole the last election. 372 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:43,440 Speaker 1: They voted in a presidential candidate that was pro American, 373 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:46,840 Speaker 1: pro democracy, wanted to return to free markets, would have 374 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 1: been a fantastic ally of the United States. But the 375 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:58,920 Speaker 1: hatred of Maduro runs deeper than any ambivalents about this country. 376 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,239 Speaker 1: So when you and you look back about you look 377 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:07,680 Speaker 1: at Venezuela. From that point of view, the narco terrorism 378 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 1: angle is a good tool. It's a really good tool 379 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:16,680 Speaker 1: declaring those networks as terrorists. That reconfigures the legal playbook. 380 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: It widens our authorities, It allows us to use military assets. 381 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:26,400 Speaker 1: It legitimizes our strikes that might be harder to justify. 382 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: It would be hard to justify just you know, blowing 383 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: a boat out of the water because oh it's a 384 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: drug dealer. No, these are narco terrorists that are trying to, 385 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:43,679 Speaker 1: through the use of drugs, terrorize this country. And then 386 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:47,879 Speaker 1: you put all that together. It performs a diplomatic service. 387 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:54,359 Speaker 1: It makes the pressure that we're putting on Venezuela acceptable 388 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:58,160 Speaker 1: to all of our allies, our partner partners, who would 389 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: absolutely be opposed to any sort of campaign that involved 390 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 1: actual regime change, like boots on the ground or bombing caraccas, 391 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: or even a covert operation to assassinate Maduro. Apply the 392 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 1: pain and never promise occupation. A full scale invasion. The 393 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:24,200 Speaker 1: prolonged occupation, of course, is going to be catastrophic politically, logistically, 394 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 1: and it would play right into the hands of the 395 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: communists that control Venezuela today. So if you can replace 396 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,440 Speaker 1: Maduro through direct warfare, how do you change his cost 397 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 1: benefit calculation? You may continued rule more expensive, more dangerous, 398 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: less useful. You target his revenue streams, You hinder his patronage, 399 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: You sap his ability to reward his subordinates and his 400 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 1: partners and allies in the region and across the globe 401 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: in China. You increase the political price of belligerence becomes 402 00:28:55,160 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 1: very logical. The critics, though, are reading the intentions and 403 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 1: they don't see the incentives and they make incorrect assumptions. 404 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 1: I think what's going on with Venezuela right now is 405 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:18,080 Speaker 1: utterly brilliant, short term and long term. I'll explain next. 406 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,600 Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Weekend with Michael Brown. We're talking 407 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 1: about what's really behind these naval maneuvers, military maneuvers in 408 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 1: the Caribbean and the attacks on the narco terrorists as 409 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 1: they try to bring drugs in the United States. And 410 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: it really is about sure regime chain, but not in 411 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: the tradition, in the traditional way as we've watched it 412 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 1: in other countries around the world. Trump's all opposed to that. 413 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: And then Trump also sees the advantage of returning Venezuela 414 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 1: to the position it was back during World War II 415 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: and even beyond World War Two, back in the fieldfties 416 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,520 Speaker 1: and the sixties, and when it was a thriving tourist 417 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: place and it was a place that was an ally 418 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: of us. But you know, because of our neglect and 419 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:13,080 Speaker 1: our failure to recognize the regime change going on internally 420 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 1: in the country, we let it go down the crapper. 421 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 1: So now he's targeting the cartels inside Venezuela. According to 422 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 1: Fox News. 423 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:24,440 Speaker 2: As the US ramps up its military presidence on the 424 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:29,440 Speaker 2: doorstep of deadly narco cartels, sending in ten thirty five 425 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:32,040 Speaker 2: fighter jets to Puerto Rico last week, adding to the 426 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 2: seven US warships and nuclear powered submarine in the Southern Caribbean. 427 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:41,720 Speaker 2: Former acting DA administrator Derek Walt Mults will join us now. Derek, 428 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:43,760 Speaker 2: thank you very much for being here. What do you 429 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 2: see President Trumpet his administration doing next year. 430 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 3: Well, let's let's go back in time, Sandra, like people 431 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 3: forget that President mcduo exported the monster, the TDA monster 432 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 3: as we call them. They're all over the country cause 433 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,040 Speaker 3: it havoc. That's number one. For the last twenty years, 434 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 3: the venezuel and corrupt regime has formed very strong alliances 435 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 3: with the major drug cartels in Columbia, the FARK, the 436 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 3: Eln they're all terrorists. In February, the President declared them terrorists. 437 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 3: And I think that's what the American public have to understand. 438 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,360 Speaker 3: We are treating them now as terrorists. They're going to 439 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 3: feel the pain, they're going to feel accountability. It's about time. 440 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:30,320 Speaker 3: Bill Milusion, thank you for all the unbelievable reporting the 441 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 3: last four years on the border. Well, now that's gone 442 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 3: because President Trump and this administration is going to hold 443 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 3: these criminals accountable. He's going to put Americans first. That's 444 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,280 Speaker 3: exactly what was voted for in November. So we're very appreciative. 445 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:48,680 Speaker 3: What we think is going to happen is more and 446 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,479 Speaker 3: more attacks on these vessels. I'm sure hoping there's going 447 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 3: to be some attacks on the drones. When I was 448 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 3: in Texas, for example, they were talking about nine thousand 449 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,840 Speaker 3: drones had come into the un US airspace, and some 450 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 3: of these drones, as you see on TV, they drop 451 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:07,959 Speaker 3: C four explosives. So we have to go after the drones. 452 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,480 Speaker 3: I hope we go after the command and control the 453 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 3: poisonous labs in Mexico, in Venezuela, all over the place. 454 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 3: We have to stop the death and destruction of our 455 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:19,000 Speaker 3: communities and our families. 456 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:22,080 Speaker 2: Derek, I think when a lot of Americans think about 457 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,600 Speaker 2: drug smuggling, they're picturing coming in through our land border, right, 458 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 2: cars coming through ports of entries, people backpacking it across 459 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 2: the border. 460 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: That sort of a thing. What's going on out there 461 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:31,960 Speaker 1: in the Caribbean. 462 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:35,400 Speaker 3: Why is Trump making the Caribbean such a such an 463 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 3: area to enforce on So Bill, good question. 464 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 1: You know. 465 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,200 Speaker 3: So the cartels they're trying to make you know, billions 466 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:44,880 Speaker 3: of dollars since they can't make it on human trafficking, 467 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 3: now they're trying to make up for the money loss. 468 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,200 Speaker 3: So they're now transport more than ever cocaine all over 469 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:54,800 Speaker 3: the world, not just into America, but they're using the 470 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 3: record amounts of cocaine production in South America to their advantage. 471 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:02,840 Speaker 3: So they're taking advantage of the addiction to cocaine around 472 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,480 Speaker 3: the world. So President Trump and the Department of War, 473 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,560 Speaker 3: thank god, they're involved. Now they are going to be 474 00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 3: looking at these smugglers as they're trying to get drugs 475 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:15,720 Speaker 3: not only into the US, but to move it around 476 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 3: the world. Because at the end of the day, Bill, 477 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 3: it's about making money for the cartels and these corrupt 478 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 3: regime members in Venezuela. They want to maximize the profits, 479 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 3: they want to limit their risk. But the game changer 480 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,680 Speaker 3: is the hundreds of thousands, if not over a million, 481 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,920 Speaker 3: American citizens that they've destroyed, they've killed people. Just have 482 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 3: to understand one thing, There's never been a terrorist organization 483 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,200 Speaker 3: in the history of this country that has killed all 484 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 3: these Americans. So Thank you, President Trump, Vice President Vance, 485 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:49,760 Speaker 3: Secretary of War, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, thank you 486 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 3: so much for what you're doing. 487 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:56,960 Speaker 1: And they are doing exactly what should be done. Trump's 488 00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:04,880 Speaker 1: policy well the legal cun domestic political salience, asymmetric pressure, 489 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:10,439 Speaker 1: and an appreciation for resources into one blunt instrument. Now, 490 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:14,560 Speaker 1: the risks are real. You could have an escalation through miscalculation. 491 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:18,040 Speaker 1: You have the entanglement of law enforcement and low intensity 492 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 1: military force, and you always had the moral hazard of 493 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:29,520 Speaker 1: starting to normalize extra territorial strikes. But proceeding with prudence 494 00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 1: and not cowardice has huge outweighing potential trust the plan, 495 00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:41,200 Speaker 1: as Trump fans like to say, And what you may 496 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:47,520 Speaker 1: see is you suddenly have a regime change. Where all 497 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:50,200 Speaker 1: we did was blow drug boats out of the water, 498 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:54,800 Speaker 1: We took away their resources. We start to isolate China, 499 00:34:54,840 --> 00:35:01,080 Speaker 1: we start to isolate Maduro, and suddenly you start getting 500 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:06,560 Speaker 1: regime change. Internally, that tells the entire world, as we've 501 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: already said, hey, we're back and we're not going to 502 00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:12,640 Speaker 1: put up with this anymore. I thought this is what 503 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:15,880 Speaker 1: we voted for. I thought we voted for. We wanted 504 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:18,840 Speaker 1: America to come back. We wanted to stand our ground. 505 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:21,640 Speaker 1: We weren't going to be run over, walked over, stepped 506 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: on anymore. And yes there is risk to that, but 507 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:31,680 Speaker 1: the benefits are absolutely overwhelming because it maintains the American 508 00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:35,080 Speaker 1: world order. It keeps China and all of our enemies 509 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:37,600 Speaker 1: at bay and unnoticed that. Look, we're not playing around 510 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:46,160 Speaker 1: anymore at all. We're willing to ye wield American power, 511 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:50,279 Speaker 1: maybe not necessarily, you know, bombing a country and occupying 512 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,760 Speaker 1: a country, but using our military power, using our economic strength. 513 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:59,040 Speaker 1: And think about all of those calculations going on all 514 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:02,480 Speaker 1: the time. You've got all the Arab countries in the 515 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:07,320 Speaker 1: OLPEC countries, all the oil producing nations who are stifling 516 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,600 Speaker 1: production to keep oil prices high. Trump's trying to bring 517 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:13,279 Speaker 1: oil prices down. He's trying to expand the amount of 518 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:15,880 Speaker 1: energy that we have available to not just us, but 519 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:20,640 Speaker 1: to all the international markets. And now he's simply going 520 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:23,760 Speaker 1: into Venezuela, where I should say him to the Caribbean 521 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:27,719 Speaker 1: and saying this is our next move. I think it's 522 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:30,120 Speaker 1: really good. It says to the Chinese communist partying, to 523 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:33,320 Speaker 1: the Russians, we may not come after you directly, but 524 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,239 Speaker 1: we know what you're after, and we know the game 525 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,319 Speaker 1: you're playing, and we can play that game better than 526 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,719 Speaker 1: you can, he said. We came with Michael Brown text 527 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:43,600 Speaker 1: lines open, follow me on X at Michael Brown USA, 528 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,319 Speaker 1: Stay tuned, will be right back.