1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: We're ruling with common sense. You know, whether you're a 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,119 Speaker 1: conservative or liberal, or as they like to say, progressive. 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: They don't like the word liberal anymore. Progressive I think 4 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: it's a beautiful word too. That's why I call him liberal. 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: It's too nice a word. I don't know how you 6 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: can be progressive when you're turning the country backwards. 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 2: You're listening to the forty seven Morning Update with Ben ferguson. 8 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 3: Good Friday morning. So nice to have you with us 9 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 3: on the forty seven Morning Update. And here are the 10 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 3: big stories we're talking about today. First up, classified report 11 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 3: is now out suggesting that Iran's nuclear program still intact, 12 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,520 Speaker 3: was likely well all faulty info and where to come from, 13 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 3: directly from the Iranian government. Yet the media went with it. Well, 14 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 3: the DoD chief Pete Headseth, he's coming out and having 15 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 3: a lot to say about the media telling this story 16 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 3: that is Iranian propaganda. Also, a former Biden official has 17 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 3: now come out on TV saying that Iran's nuclear program 18 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 3: was in fact set back significantly, again, the complete opposite 19 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 3: of what the media has been trying to sell you on. 20 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 3: We have the receipts and we'll play it for you. 21 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 3: It's the forty seven Morning Update, and it starts right now. 22 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 2: Story number one. 23 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 3: In a scathing report, the CIA director John Radcliffe ripping 24 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 3: Democrats during a closed door briefing of senators on Thursday 25 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 3: by comparing President Donald Trump's successful airstrikes eliminating Iran's nuclear 26 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 3: program to former President Barack Obama's failures with his rand 27 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 3: nuclear deal. A source in the room saying that Radcliffe 28 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 3: and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Secretary's 29 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 3: Defense Pete Headseth had all the senators there for a 30 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 3: closed door briefing on Thursday. They said that the Democratic 31 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 3: senators repeatedly pressed them about the effectiveness of the strike, 32 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 3: pushing for more proof than they had been offered on 33 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 3: the matter. In response, Radcliffe told them, per the source 34 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 3: president in the room, the way he knows how effective 35 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 3: they were was how quickly they folded to Trump versus 36 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 3: how long they dragged out negotiations with Obama. You know 37 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 3: how you know the strikes were devastatingly effective, Radcliffe told 38 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 3: the Senate Democrats and the briefing, per one source quote, 39 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:21,079 Speaker 3: Iran has been fighting Israel for decades. They strung along 40 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 3: the Obama administration for twenty months while negotiating the JCPOA, 41 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 3: but Trump made them accept the ceasefire with their mortal 42 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 3: enemy in twenty minutes. Radcliffe wasn't done there. He also 43 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 3: said during the briefing that the contents of a statement 44 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 3: he previously released publicly in which he said the CIA 45 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,359 Speaker 3: can confirm that Aaran' nuclear program had been severely damaged 46 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 3: by the strikes Trump ordered last weekend, saying quote, this 47 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 3: includes new intelligence now from an historically reliable and accurate 48 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 3: source and method, that several ki Iranian nuclear facilities were 49 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 3: destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course 50 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 3: of years. Now, Radcliffe was obviously speaking to the centers 51 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 3: in a private room, but that didn't stop the DoD 52 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 3: Secretary Pete Hedgseth from telling the world exactly what happened 53 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 3: in these attacks and just how wrong the media actually was. 54 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 3: Take a listen to his statement at the Pentagon, specifically 55 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 3: speaking to the media that's been lawing about the effectiveness 56 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 3: of the attack. 57 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:28,919 Speaker 4: Some of the assessments that have been provided, because whether 58 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 4: it's fake news, CNN, MSNBC, or The New York Times, 59 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 4: there's been fawning coverage of a preliminary assessment. I've had 60 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 4: a chance to read it. Every outlet has breathlessly reported 61 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 4: on a preliminary assessment from DIA. I'm looking at it 62 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 4: right now. Again, it was preliminary, a day and a 63 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 4: half after the actual strike. When it admits itself in 64 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 4: writing that it requires weeks to accumulate the necessary data 65 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 4: to make such an assessments preliminary, it points out that 66 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 4: it's not been coordinated with the intelligence community at all. 67 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 4: There's low confidence in this particular reports, it says in 68 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 4: the report. There are gaps in the information. It says 69 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 4: in the report. Multiple lynchpin assumptions are what this assessment 70 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 4: a lynchpin assumption? You know what that is. It means 71 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 4: your entire premiss is predicated on a lynch pin. If 72 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 4: you're wrong, everything else is wrong. And yet still this 73 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 4: report acknowledges it's likely severe damage. Again, this is preliminary, 74 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 4: but leaked because someone had an agenda to try to 75 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 4: muddy the waters and make it look like this historic 76 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 4: strike I wasn't successful. I'm gonna get to the chairman 77 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 4: in a moment, because he's going to lay out the 78 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 4: particulars for you based on his professional military experience. But 79 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 4: here's what other folks are saying. THEDIA that put that 80 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 4: report out says that this is a preliminary low confidence 81 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 4: report and will continue to be refined as additional intelligence 82 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 4: becomes available. How about the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission. The 83 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 4: devastating US strikes on Fourdeaux destroyed the site's critical infrastructure 84 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 4: and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. Have any of these 85 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 4: quotes made their way into The New York Times, The 86 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 4: Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN any of these quotes? How about 87 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 4: this one? This is a new one from the UN, 88 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:08,600 Speaker 4: the United Nations. No friend in the United States or 89 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 4: certainly Israel. Often. Here's the head of the UN Atomic 90 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 4: Energy Agency this morning, Raphael Grossi. US and Israeli strikes 91 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 4: caused enormous damage to Iran's nuclear sites. Don't take my 92 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 4: word for it. How about the IDF's chief of staff. 93 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 4: I can say here that the assessment is that we 94 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 4: significantly damage the nuclear program, setting it back by years. 95 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 4: I repeat years. The Iranian foreign minister, the spokesman, our 96 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 4: nuclear instrations have been badly damaged, that's for sure. I'm 97 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 4: sure that's an understatement. John Radcliffe, the director of the CIA, 98 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 4: putting out a statement just last night. CIA can confirm 99 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,719 Speaker 4: that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran's nuclear program 100 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 4: has been severely damaged by recent targeted strikes. This includes 101 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 4: new intelligence from a historically reliable, very different than preliminary 102 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 4: assessment with low confidence. He's saying, historically reliable and accurate 103 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 4: source of method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were 104 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 4: destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course 105 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:17,279 Speaker 4: of years. CIA continues to collect additional reliably sourced information 106 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 4: to keep appropriate decision makers fully informed. How about DNA 107 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,040 Speaker 4: Telsea Gabbard yesterday, she writes, and I quote new intelligence 108 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 4: confirms what POTUS has stated numerous times. Iran's nuclear facilities 109 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 4: have been destroyed. Institute for Science and International Security President 110 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:40,840 Speaker 4: David Albright Overall Israel and US attacks have effectively destroyed 111 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 4: un Iran's centrifuge enrichment program time and time again. I 112 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 4: can go down the list those that understand, those that see, 113 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 4: those that do proper assessments recognize that what the United 114 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 4: States military did was historic. 115 00:06:57,720 --> 00:06:59,919 Speaker 3: Isn't it nice to know that President Donald Trump has 116 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 3: put people like Pete headset in positions of power to 117 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 3: call out the liars and the leakers and the media 118 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 3: when they try to pull these bs shenanigans lying about 119 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 3: what's happening in reality, especially when it comes to foreign 120 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 3: policy and the issue of our national security. Now, story 121 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 3: number two, there is a new classified report that is 122 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 3: suggesting that Iran's nuclear program, still intact, likely relied on 123 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 3: faulty info Iranian propaganda from Iranian sources. This is when 124 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 3: the media decided to run with the story, knowing that 125 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 3: their propaganda was literally coming from Iran. The top secret 126 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 3: Defense intelligence agency known as the DIA assessment that claimed 127 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 3: Iran's nuclear sites suffered only moderate damage likely relied on 128 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 3: faulty information from deceitful Iranian sources that according to several 129 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 3: former US intelligence officers, one of whom described the documents 130 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 3: as so unreal you can wipe your aas with it. 131 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 3: The classified DIA report ignite a media firestorm in the 132 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 3: days after President Donald Trump authorized those precision strikes on 133 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 3: Iran's top three nuclear sites. The findings, of course, werein 134 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 3: the league to CNN and The New York Times, which 135 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 3: you heard about a moment ago. Then they presented them 136 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 3: as facts as bombshell evidence that the US bombing run 137 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 3: only set back Tehran's nuclear ambitions by you know, a 138 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 3: couple of months. The US intelligence community deemed that initial 139 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 3: assessment with quote low confidence a fact. CNN purposely admitted 140 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,959 Speaker 3: from its original story and based it solely on satellite 141 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 3: imagery and interceptic communications known as signal intelligence from Iranian officials. Again, 142 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 3: think about this. You have the Iranian government putting out 143 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 3: propaganda and media companies in this country putting it out 144 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 3: there as fact. Shortly after the assessment leaked, Axios reported 145 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 3: that communications intercepted by Israel suggested that Iran's military officials 146 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:15,199 Speaker 3: have been giving false situation reports to the country's political leadership, 147 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 3: downplaying the extent of the damage. Such communications likely made 148 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 3: their way into the da report. According to three former 149 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 3: US intelligence operatives, including a current US official and other 150 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:32,199 Speaker 3: veteran national security insiders, who spoke to the Washington Free 151 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:34,959 Speaker 3: Beacon both on and off the record, some of them 152 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 3: referred to the DIA as the discount intelligence agency. It's 153 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 3: basically messaging by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, messaging by Tehran. 154 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 3: That is what a former intelligence officer with the US 155 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 3: Central Command who operated in the Middle East for nearly 156 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 3: thirty years, said, In fact, CNN actually had to report 157 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 3: on this, and here's what it sounded like when a 158 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,679 Speaker 3: former Biden of official had this to say about Iran's 159 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 3: nuclear program. 160 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 5: Usteine, a longtime diplomat who served as President Biden's senior 161 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 5: advisor for Energy and Investment. And I think one question 162 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 5: that regular people will have, you know, listening to what 163 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 5: came out of that briefing today on Capitol Hill from 164 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 5: Republicans from Democrats, is what should they take away when 165 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 5: there is such a divide between the politicians over what 166 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,439 Speaker 5: is the fate of Iran's nuclear capacity and where that 167 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 5: stands tonight? What do you think? 168 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 6: Well, first, Kaitlin, it's good to be with you. Look, 169 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 6: I think the most important thing is to separate out 170 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 6: what's politics and what is happening on the ground over 171 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 6: the last year a year and a quarter. Last April, 172 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 6: Iran launched a missile attack against Israel, which was one 173 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 6: hundred ballistic missiles company by two hundred or so UAVs. 174 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 6: The United States military coordinated a response and defeated that attack. 175 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 6: But that was really the first time that Iran and 176 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 6: used its own territory to attack Israel. They did it 177 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 6: again in October, and again the United States supported Israel 178 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 6: and with regional partners as well as European countries to 179 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 6: defeat it. And now since then, Iran has lost most 180 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 6: of its deterrence power. They had three things going for them. 181 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 6: They had proxies meaning terrorist organizations in Lebanon, in Syria 182 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 6: and Iraq and Yemen that supported them. The second was 183 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 6: the missiles, and the third was the thread of a 184 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 6: nuclear weaponization. Of their nuclear capabilities, most of their proxies 185 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,839 Speaker 6: are either weakened to the point they can't respond or 186 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 6: are choosing now to distance themselves from Iran. Their missile 187 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 6: capability has been proven to be less effective because of 188 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 6: the United States ability to defend the region, and now 189 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:45,199 Speaker 6: their nuclear capability is likely at least set back. Now 190 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 6: the whole idea of obliterated or destroyed. These are political 191 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 6: terms that are not really relevant, and I would urge 192 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 6: Americans not to really pay attention to those words. What 193 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 6: we do know, we know that as a result of 194 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 6: the both the Israeli the American strikes, the nuclear program 195 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 6: was set back significantly. How much we don't really know. 196 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:08,199 Speaker 6: Most Israeli military analysts and generals that I've spoken to 197 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,559 Speaker 6: over the last twenty four to forty eight hours. I 198 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 6: think this has gone from a six month's breakout to 199 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,480 Speaker 6: timeframe to two years, so an eighteen month or two 200 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 6: year delay in their program. But here's the thing. They 201 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 6: have also lost other capabilities. They've lost their command and control, 202 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 6: they've lost military leaders, they've lost scientists, and they lost 203 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 6: their conversion so they're clearly weakened. And lastly, Israel has 204 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 6: proven that they have an intelligence caivability inside Iran that 205 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 6: if they tried to reconstitute we'll we the United States, Israel, 206 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 6: other European allies will know about it. 207 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 3: Yet again, more proof of the propaganda coming from the 208 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 3: media trying to convince you that somehow one of the 209 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 3: most successful missions in modern military history was a failure, 210 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 3: all because Donald Trump is the one that's said to 211 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 3: do it. 212 00:12:57,240 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update 213 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 2: with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever 214 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 2: you're listening to this podcast right now and for more 215 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 2: in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast 216 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 2: and we will see you back here tomorrow.