WEBVTT - Representative: Massachusetts Seth Moulton Talks Middle East Policy

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<v Speaker 1>And as we consider what has happened domestically in just

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<v Speaker 1>the last few days, not just the hurricane, but also

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<v Speaker 1>the dock worker strike, that has not been all the

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<v Speaker 1>news cycle has brought us. As this campaign enters its

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<v Speaker 1>final five weeks. Also news from the Middle East. As

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<v Speaker 1>Ran yesterday launched one hundred and eighty missiles at Israel.

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<v Speaker 1>Those were largely intercepted. But this is something that was

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<v Speaker 1>talked about on the debate stage last night. It was

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<v Speaker 1>the very first question that was fielded by Walls in

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<v Speaker 1>Vance and this is sum of what Senator Advance had

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<v Speaker 1>to say.

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<v Speaker 2>Iran, which launched this attack, has received over one hundred

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<v Speaker 2>billion dollars in unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration.

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<v Speaker 3>What do they use that money for?

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<v Speaker 2>They use it to buy weapons that they're now launching

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<v Speaker 2>against our allies and god forbid, potentially launching against the

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<v Speaker 2>United States as well. Donald Trump recognized that for people

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<v Speaker 2>to fear the United States, you needed peace through strength.

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<v Speaker 3>They needed to.

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<v Speaker 2>Recognize that if they got out of line, the United

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<v Speaker 2>States global leadership would put stability and peace back in

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<v Speaker 2>the world.

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<v Speaker 1>So for more on what's happening in the Middle East,

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<v Speaker 1>and the paul surrounding it. We turned now to Democratic

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<v Speaker 1>Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who is of course a

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<v Speaker 1>veteran and a member of the House on Armed Services Committee. Congressman,

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<v Speaker 1>thank you so much for being with us. We heard

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<v Speaker 1>that kind of notion not just from Jdvans, but many

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<v Speaker 1>Republicans yesterday as the attack was on going in in

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<v Speaker 1>its aftermath, a suggestion that it could have been a

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<v Speaker 1>result of this administration being too soft on Iran. Is

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<v Speaker 1>there any validity in that?

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<v Speaker 4>No, I mean, let's just go back in time a

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<v Speaker 4>minute to the Trump administration and understand what their policy did.

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<v Speaker 4>They pulled out of the nuclear agreement, which not only

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<v Speaker 4>kept Iran over a year away from a bomb, but

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<v Speaker 4>gave us very tight surveillance on exactly what they were doing.

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<v Speaker 4>So even if you're someone who just believes that we

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<v Speaker 4>ultimately need to strike them militarily, we had the intelligence

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<v Speaker 4>back then to know exactly where to hit them.

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<v Speaker 3>But Trump pulled out of that deal.

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<v Speaker 4>As a result, Iran accelerated its nuclear program so that

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<v Speaker 4>now they're within just a few weeks of producing a bomb,

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<v Speaker 4>and Trump replaced that program that deal with what he

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<v Speaker 4>called a maximum pressure campaign, and his Secretary of Defense

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<v Speaker 4>testified before our committee on the Hill. He said there

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<v Speaker 4>were three goals of the maximum pressure campaign. One to

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<v Speaker 4>keep them away from building a nuclear weapon, Two to

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<v Speaker 4>force them to the negotiating table to get a better deal,

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<v Speaker 4>in three to reduce their support for other militias in

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<v Speaker 4>the region. On all three counts, Trump's plan failed miserably

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<v Speaker 4>because they're way closer to making a bomb, they were

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<v Speaker 4>pushed further away from the negotiating table, and we've seen

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<v Speaker 4>the effects of their support.

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<v Speaker 3>For militias in the region.

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<v Speaker 4>So the reality is that our Iran policy is in

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<v Speaker 4>tatters because of Donald Trump, not because of the Biden

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<v Speaker 4>Harris administration.

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<v Speaker 5>Well, I wonder, Congressman, and welcome back, what you think

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<v Speaker 5>Israel's next move should be. They're promising a significant response

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<v Speaker 5>to what happened yesterday, and I just wonder your thoughts here,

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<v Speaker 5>as a combat veteran marine, what would be considered proportionate,

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<v Speaker 5>what would be appropriate? I know that the Biden administration

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<v Speaker 5>is trying to contain this, but should Israel not strike

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<v Speaker 5>at Iran's nuclear program?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, Joe, Proportionate and appropriate are really important questions here,

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<v Speaker 4>Not just for Israel, but for the United States, because

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<v Speaker 4>let's be clear, we do not want to get drawn

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<v Speaker 4>into a war in the Middle East with Americans fighting

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<v Speaker 4>and dying and taking our eye off the ball in

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<v Speaker 4>the Pacific where our number one national security threat, something

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<v Speaker 4>that Democrats and Republicans agree on is with China's threat

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<v Speaker 4>to Taiwan. So how do we achieve that while also

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<v Speaker 4>sending Iran a very strong message that they can't just

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<v Speaker 4>shoot one hundred and eighty ballistic missiles at Israel, a

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<v Speaker 4>close ally of ours, with impunity. So there has to

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<v Speaker 4>be a response, but it has to be a response

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<v Speaker 4>calibrated correctly to send a very strong, definitive message to

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<v Speaker 4>Iran but also not start a w war that involves

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<v Speaker 4>the United States.

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<v Speaker 3>I remember back to decisions.

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<v Speaker 4>We made in Iraq where when we first by marine

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<v Speaker 4>unit first showed up in Naja, a town that had

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<v Speaker 4>been controlled by the army. The army had this uneasy

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<v Speaker 4>truce with the militants that allowed them free reign in

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<v Speaker 4>parts of the city. We thought that was totally unacceptable,

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<v Speaker 4>so we initially made a huge show of force with

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<v Speaker 4>our patrols right into places the army refused to go

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<v Speaker 4>in part to draw out the militants, to make them

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<v Speaker 4>attack us so that when so that then we could respond,

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<v Speaker 4>have a fair fight, and ultimately finish them off. That's

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<v Speaker 4>an example of where we wanted to provoke a response.

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<v Speaker 4>In many ways, this is kind of the opposite. You

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<v Speaker 4>want to send a very clear message to Iran, but

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<v Speaker 4>ultimately it's a message of deterrence, not something that provokes

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<v Speaker 4>a wider war that's not in Israel's interests nor in

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<v Speaker 4>the interests of the United States.

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<v Speaker 1>President Biden was asked as he was boarding the plane

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<v Speaker 1>bound for South Carolina today Congressman if he would support

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<v Speaker 1>an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. He answered no, Is

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<v Speaker 1>that because it is too great of a provocation.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, that's the question, really, and we have intelligence estimates

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<v Speaker 4>that can try to get at this. What would Iran's

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<v Speaker 4>response be if we tried to take out their nuclear facilities? Actually,

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<v Speaker 4>the most important question that we have to ask is

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<v Speaker 4>how quickly would they reconstitute their nuclear capabilities and would

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<v Speaker 4>they then just go right to producing a bomb?

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<v Speaker 3>Whereas up until now.

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<v Speaker 4>Even though they're very close they have the weapons material

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<v Speaker 4>to produce a bomb, they haven't actually built a nuclear weapon.

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<v Speaker 4>That's a really important question because I get the fact

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<v Speaker 4>that it sounds like a great opportunity here, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>just bomb their nuclear program into oblivion. But what happens

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<v Speaker 4>next really matters. And if what happens next is that

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<v Speaker 4>they very quickly reconstitute their program but actually then have

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<v Speaker 4>live nuclear weapons because they say, Okay, we learned our lesson,

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<v Speaker 4>we're not going to let this happen again, then we've

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<v Speaker 4>actually taken a step backwards. And that's why the President

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<v Speaker 4>is being very careful about advising Israel on whether or

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<v Speaker 4>not to target their nuclear program as opposed to all

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<v Speaker 4>sorts of other targets like the ballistic missile program that

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<v Speaker 4>was actually used against Israel.

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<v Speaker 5>For this response, Congress, when we had a recent conversation

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<v Speaker 5>with you about stolen valor and some of the criticisms

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<v Speaker 5>accusations against Tim Walls misrepresenting some of his military service record,

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<v Speaker 5>I expected this was going to come up in the

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<v Speaker 5>debate last night. These are charges that JD. Vance has

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<v Speaker 5>repeatedly leveled against Tim Walls, and we never went there.

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<v Speaker 5>And I just wonder what your thought was, if that

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<v Speaker 5>might be what we call progress at this current moment

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<v Speaker 5>in American politics.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I'm an optimist, Joe, and I'd like to say

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<v Speaker 4>that's progress because the debate last night, if there's one

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<v Speaker 4>thing you can say about it, it was actually quite respectful,

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<v Speaker 4>and that's the kind of political dialogue that we should

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<v Speaker 4>see in the United States of America. Now, there were

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<v Speaker 4>a lot of things that jd Vance said that were

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<v Speaker 4>simply untrue. I'd love to get not only too respectful,

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<v Speaker 4>but too truthful when.

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<v Speaker 3>We have a debate.

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<v Speaker 4>But the fact that they didn't just attack each other's

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<v Speaker 4>service was certainly heartening to I think many of US

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<v Speaker 4>veterans who were watching last night.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I think a lot of us were surprised by

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<v Speaker 1>the true political conversation, substantive policy conversation that these two

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to be having. But there was not just a

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<v Speaker 1>military service thing that was avoided on the stage, and

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<v Speaker 1>maybe that is to the benefit of the American people,

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<v Speaker 1>but other subjects as well, like the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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<v Speaker 1>There wasn't even a direct question asked about policy when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to China, though the candidates did work that

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<v Speaker 1>into some of their answers about other subjects. As we

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<v Speaker 1>have these foreign policy conversations surrounding the Middle East. Was

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<v Speaker 1>there something missing last night, Congressman, did the American people

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<v Speaker 1>need to hear from, say jd Vance what his views

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<v Speaker 1>were on Ukraine.

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<v Speaker 4>Look, I think there's a lot missing because even though

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<v Speaker 4>political presidential elections are almost always focused primarily on domestic issues,

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<v Speaker 4>that's usually how presidents win elections. This is an incredibly

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<v Speaker 4>dangerous time for us in the world. And we've got

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<v Speaker 4>this conflagration in the Middle East that could explode all

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<v Speaker 4>overnight into an all out war drawing in the United States.

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<v Speaker 4>A Siezing Ping could choose to invade Taiwan any day,

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<v Speaker 4>which would literally start World War three. I mean, we're

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<v Speaker 4>talking about war games that predict this goes nuclear. So

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<v Speaker 4>everybody in the world would be affected by a war

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<v Speaker 4>in the Pacific. And of course, we have an ongoing

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<v Speaker 4>conflict in Ukraine that's absolutely devastating, not only to the

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<v Speaker 4>Ukrainian people, but to economies around the world and to

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<v Speaker 4>you know, it's a real threat to the future of NATO.

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<v Speaker 4>Donald Trump is on Putin's side with Ukraine, Let's not

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<v Speaker 4>mince words. He is on Russia's side in their war

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<v Speaker 4>of aggression. He refused to even say in his own

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<v Speaker 4>debate whether he wanted Ukraine to win. I mean, this

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<v Speaker 4>is unbelievable, and yes, jd Vance should have been asked

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<v Speaker 4>to answer that question and explain this horrendous, really traitorous

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<v Speaker 4>policy that he and his boss have when it comes

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<v Speaker 4>to the war in Ukraine and the threat that it

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<v Speaker 4>poses to all of Europe. So that's a very important

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<v Speaker 4>topic and I sure wish we got into it last night.

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<v Speaker 5>Indeed, a couple of other things I wish we'd heard

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<v Speaker 5>more about. Congressman.

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<v Speaker 3>It's good to see you.

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<v Speaker 5>Thanks for helping us understand and distill what we saw

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<v Speaker 5>and heard last evening. Seth Moulton, the Democrat from Massachusetts,

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<v Speaker 5>beaming and loud and clear in the city of Boston

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<v Speaker 5>on ninety two nine FM our new signal in Boston