Speaker 1: I'm strong, I'm strong, and Jaddy show in Afghanistan. We've
Speaker 1: taken twenty years to lose to goatherds with fertilizer, and
Speaker 1: they're not even waiting until we leave to loot Bagram
Speaker 1: Air Base for basketballs and boom boxes and the world's
Speaker 1: most lavishly funded and entirely useless General staff thinks we
Speaker 1: need more diversity saminars. So that's Mark Stein filling in
Speaker 1: last night on Fox. He's really good and a good writer,
Speaker 1: but he was making his argument was we spend too
Speaker 1: much time in our military worried about a political correctness.
Speaker 1: Now you remember the thing, what was the thing last
Speaker 1: week that General Milly was on critical race theory, but
Speaker 1: whether recommending reading that was a good idea and not
Speaker 1: see I'm I'm leaning toward getting out of Afghanistan and
Speaker 1: have been for about fifteen years. Uh So I'll be
Speaker 1: interested to see what our next guest has to say.
Speaker 1: We always go to mic lines, but we want to
Speaker 1: know this stuff. But this is from the Onion. Somebody
Speaker 1: sent this. This is from the Onion in ten years ago.
Speaker 1: This is on the ten year anniversary being in Afghanistan.
Speaker 1: The Onion headline was and remember The Onion is a
Speaker 1: joke newspaper. The Onion headline was US quietly slips out
Speaker 1: of Afghanistan and dead of night. And there are some
Speaker 1: reports that that's what we did just a couple of
Speaker 1: months ago, leaving the Air Force base and not telling
Speaker 1: anybody and just we're out. Well, let's talk to military
Speaker 1: analyst Mike Lyons, who served with various military organizations in
Speaker 1: both the United States Europe throughout his career. AH. He
Speaker 1: is a student of history, military history in particular, and
Speaker 1: we always enjoy his perspective. Mike, how are you sir? Hey, guys,
Speaker 1: so good to be back with you. We have no
Speaker 1: problem with being corrected on any of our beliefs, assumptions
Speaker 1: or things we know about what's going on anywhere in
Speaker 1: the world. What what is currently happening in Afghanistan? Is
Speaker 1: it a good thing or a bad thing? Well, first
Speaker 1: of all, I do agree we should have been out
Speaker 1: maybe five years ago. I think Donald Trump should have
Speaker 1: made it a priority of his administration when he first
Speaker 1: got elected and just basically gave everybody in the Heisman
Speaker 1: and said this is what we're doing. The military industrial complex,
Speaker 1: though wasn't finished testing equipment wasn't finished the on the
Speaker 1: army still didn't have a mission. What couldn't figure out
Speaker 1: you know, how they're gonna make that happen. Um, I
Speaker 1: think it's I do think it's the right thing. It's
Speaker 1: going to be back to the future that we're gonna
Speaker 1: go back to two thousand and one very quickly, the
Speaker 1: civil war will start. The Taliban now controls something like
Speaker 1: of the land districts in the country already, even just
Speaker 1: giving up the air base. Yeah and so, and you know,
Speaker 1: even the military has gone, the contractor so still being gone.
Speaker 1: You're gonna see Unfortunately, we can't vet any of these
Speaker 1: interpreters that that that plan is going to go out
Speaker 1: the window. So there's gonna be a lot of people
Speaker 1: that trusted us that are gonna end up losing their
Speaker 1: lives when the Taliban takes over here. But again, it
Speaker 1: probably should have happened years ago. To your point, Wow, hey,
Speaker 1: can we uh take a look at that specific subject,
Speaker 1: the vetting of the interpreters. You don't think it's going
Speaker 1: to actually happen, and you don't think their necks are
Speaker 1: going to be saved. No, you know, we're gonna we
Speaker 1: talk a good game about it's all words. I just
Speaker 1: it's just not gonna happen. It's just it's just can't
Speaker 1: logistically up in the amount of people that that's involved with,
Speaker 1: and people are gonna slip through the cracks, so there's
Speaker 1: gonna be reports of that in the future. The question
Speaker 1: is whether or not the Taliban is going to go
Speaker 1: after those folks, and and you know, I think you know,
Speaker 1: us ms, you might be safe. I don't think you're
Speaker 1: going to see a complete sidon situation where we're going
Speaker 1: to you know, escape from helicopter roofs there and whether
Speaker 1: or not they want to go after But it's going
Speaker 1: to happen. And the number we're talking about, it's just
Speaker 1: too big a logistical challenges. More people in that group
Speaker 1: than there are soldiers out of there to try to
Speaker 1: get out of there in the next two months, so
Speaker 1: and their family. So it's just not going to happen.
Speaker 1: And it's an unfortunate thing that we should have planned
Speaker 1: for a long time ago. God I would say so. So, so,
Speaker 1: how do we go into another country and get people
Speaker 1: to help us? If we uh, if we leave these
Speaker 1: interpreters behind to be killed maybe along with their families. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think we're out of country, is that we're going
Speaker 1: to go into and have that situation. I think we
Speaker 1: haven't learned from this one again. I I just don't
Speaker 1: know what else to say here. Um we saw, you know,
Speaker 1: this is Vietnam in some ways over and over, except
Speaker 1: we didn't have a hunter fifty body backs coming back
Speaker 1: every week. Um. We just don't seem to learn our
Speaker 1: mistakes here from these kinds of interacts, and I really
Speaker 1: don't see us doing it. I think in the next
Speaker 1: few years, regardless of administration. Now the question is how
Speaker 1: you know what it's trying to do is trying to
Speaker 1: become more bellicose in the South China Sea. We saw
Speaker 1: the comments by their leader the other day. I mean
Speaker 1: they're talking about, you know, smashing heads and things like that.
Speaker 1: So you know the military is gonna have to kind
Speaker 1: of regroup here and kind of figure out what's the
Speaker 1: army's mission going forward. First of all, I know the
Speaker 1: Navy is going to project power. I just think the days,
Speaker 1: as Dick Cheney I think said about fifteen years ago,
Speaker 1: the days of US occupying countries with the intent of
Speaker 1: trying to deliver democracy and capitalism are just over. Well,
Speaker 1: good before we move on to China and geopolitics in general,
Speaker 1: one more thought on Afghanistan. I was a little surprised that,
Speaker 1: you know, at some point Bidener or Trump or somebody
Speaker 1: just didn't say, look, it's not a war anymore. It's
Speaker 1: a strategically important part of the globe. So we're gonna
Speaker 1: have big old base there, so we're ready to move
Speaker 1: when we need to. Why not that a statement that straightforward?
Speaker 1: Or do you think the geopolitical need isn't that strong? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I think the two reasons. First of all, our messaging
Speaker 1: has been awful when it comes to Afghanistan, and you
Speaker 1: know we're out September eleventh. Looks like we're gonna be
Speaker 1: out here in two weeks for all practical purposes. The
Speaker 1: commander there, Scotty Miller, is someone that knew the mission
Speaker 1: from the beginning, didn't realize it, knew it didn't have
Speaker 1: a timetable. So I think that was the first thing
Speaker 1: that I think. The second reason is because we've just
Speaker 1: built this over the horizon standoff military now where we
Speaker 1: don't feel that we need logistical basis in places like this,
Speaker 1: I think we're gonna be proven wrong. I think that
Speaker 1: that would have been a great idea to keep this
Speaker 1: arabase and keep these kind of lily pads that exist
Speaker 1: either in the ocean or in in certain land masses,
Speaker 1: because we have no friends now in that part of
Speaker 1: the world. We don't have any in Pakistan. We're not
Speaker 1: doing anything obviously in India and a like and Diego
Speaker 1: Garcia is a long long ways away, and we store
Speaker 1: P fifty two is there? I think, I think again,
Speaker 1: you know, we we've we've built this over the horizon
Speaker 1: military with drones, and we were taking the human element
Speaker 1: out of it. And I think that's how we think
Speaker 1: we're going to defend. I think it's going to prove
Speaker 1: to be full harding when it comes to strategic things
Speaker 1: that are going to take place in the future when
Speaker 1: we're gonna need to put people on the ground. But
Speaker 1: in general, is this pivot that Barack Obama talked about
Speaker 1: and kind of started and then Trump kind of continued.
Speaker 1: It's amazing how slow it is. So you think this
Speaker 1: is the right thing to do. We just let's stop
Speaker 1: talking about these sand countries. We produce our own oil now,
Speaker 1: and let's look at the real threat to the future,
Speaker 1: like the next hundred years China. So that just that
Speaker 1: general pivot of our attention you think is a good idea.
Speaker 1: It is, it's overdue, and I think, um, you know,
Speaker 1: the given the century, the question is this is another
Speaker 1: American century or does it become the century of the
Speaker 1: Chinese and some of those countries? And and how what
Speaker 1: Russia's role in that? Um, what's you look at again
Speaker 1: the South China. See, our navy is going to continue
Speaker 1: to project power for some reason, We're now screwing around
Speaker 1: the Black Sea with Russia trying to you know, bring
Speaker 1: up Ukraine too. That's another issue that's come up on
Speaker 1: this week and here. But but really the focus I
Speaker 1: think everybody I talked to the Pentagon. I talked a
Speaker 1: good friend of mine the other day. He's actually back
Speaker 1: at the Armed Services Committee, sent Armed Services Committee back
Speaker 1: in the desk and he's back at the China desk,
Speaker 1: and I'm just glad he's there because he's a smart guy.
Speaker 1: And he says, that's exactly where our focus has got
Speaker 1: to be, at least for the next four years. Build
Speaker 1: up enough military presence there that projects enough power that
Speaker 1: the Chinese don't want to do anything that will upset
Speaker 1: the trade balance. And upset. What will be you know,
Speaker 1: the world economy and that's what's at risk right now.
Speaker 1: Military analyst Mike Lions on the line, Mike, I realized
Speaker 1: you could probably write a seven page book about this question.
Speaker 1: The answer to the question. But uh, comparing contrast China
Speaker 1: and the US in terms of military hardware and also
Speaker 1: in terms of training this actual battle experience. Uh, you
Speaker 1: know what adaptability? How did the two forces compare well?
Speaker 1: So the last two war or the US came prepared?
Speaker 1: I thought, both does aer Storm and then in Afghanistan
Speaker 1: and the run up to in the Rock. And what
Speaker 1: I mean by that is we didn't have what's called
Speaker 1: the Task Force Smith. And that took place in Korea
Speaker 1: during the Korean War when the military was just unprepared.
Speaker 1: After the Second World War, so the military has learned
Speaker 1: it's less than about preparedness and being ready to go
Speaker 1: right away out of the gate. What's the question is
Speaker 1: how much hardware now do we have comparative to the Chinese.
Speaker 1: The Chinese still don't really have this great navy. They
Speaker 1: have one aircraft carry there. They've got they project power
Speaker 1: in some ways, but they have a much larger land force.
Speaker 1: They have much more mass, let's say, and much more equipment,
Speaker 1: and I just don't see us facing off in that
Speaker 1: realm anyway. Um, but I do think the days of
Speaker 1: the U. S. Military being not prepared are over and
Speaker 1: and in some ways, UM, that's always gonna be a
Speaker 1: good thing. And if as long as we fight ferociously
Speaker 1: and fight the way that we're trained to do, I
Speaker 1: think will be okay. Once should something arise, either on
Speaker 1: in Eastern Europe, let's say, the Russians, or either are
Speaker 1: somewhere in China and the South China. See interesting stuff.
Speaker 1: Mike always come away from these conversations wishing we could
Speaker 1: talk all day. But uh, maybe we'll invite you on
Speaker 1: for a podcast for more extended conversations soon. But the guys,
Speaker 1: whatever it takes, I think there's a lot going on
Speaker 1: in the world right now for sir, Amen to that,
Speaker 1: Mike clients, thanks so much for the time. Really interesting.
Speaker 1: America's so called longest war is gonna be just a
Speaker 1: blip in the history books if ever talked about it
Speaker 1: all twenty years. They're all that money, luckily not too
Speaker 1: many lives. But you know, if it's a loved one
Speaker 1: of yours, it's an, of course, a very huge deal.
Speaker 1: But um yeah, and and you know, outside of the
Speaker 1: first couple of years where we broke up the guys
Speaker 1: that attacked New York what what what, it's just amazing
Speaker 1: the momentum of these projects. And Mike what he said
Speaker 1: there at the very beginning, the military industrial complex wanted
Speaker 1: to test some more equipment, right right. You know. The
Speaker 1: really distressing part of it to me is what we've
Speaker 1: brought up a couple of times through the years. The
Speaker 1: messaging to the American people has to be so oversimplified
Speaker 1: to the point of being stupid, that our leaders either
Speaker 1: can't or feel like they can't level with us and say, look,
Speaker 1: you know, it's stop being a war a long time ago. Now,
Speaker 1: we're just trying to pop prop up this government until
Speaker 1: they're strong enough to stand on their own. It's not
Speaker 1: looking great. We're gonna stick with it for another six months.
Speaker 1: If it doesn't work, we're out. We're gonna keep a
Speaker 1: base there because the region is super important. Pakistan is
Speaker 1: a bunch of maniacs with nuclear arms and they're right
Speaker 1: next door, and if we need to jump from there,
Speaker 1: it's a good place to jump from. That that's not
Speaker 1: that complicated. But no, it's our longest war. You know
Speaker 1: it could come on. I don't you know. Plenty of
Speaker 1: you are that's stupid. Not you, not not our audience,
Speaker 1: the American people, But you're not you faults. You're obviously brilliant,
Speaker 1: But to come on it, do we have to dumb
Speaker 1: down our messaging that month. I've been saying this for
Speaker 1: years with Democrats and Republicans. I don't think you're gonna
Speaker 1: take the political hit you're worried about if you get
Speaker 1: out of Afghanistan. If you say what Joe just said,
Speaker 1: I don't think your poll numbers are gonna crash. I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody's gonna run against you on that. Nobody's
Speaker 1: any attention. They're gonna say, Okay, that's interesting. What about
Speaker 1: a homeless or schools or whatever issue they care about.
Speaker 1: Nobody's talking about Afghanistan. Yeah, you're probably right in this case.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say somebody will't run against you and say,
Speaker 1: looking at me, he's cutting and running, But even that
Speaker 1: is so tired at this point. You're right now. I
Speaker 1: agree with you, who right, left or center would react
Speaker 1: to that cutting and running from Afghanistan? And if there
Speaker 1: wasn't the weren't so much blood and treasure involved. It
Speaker 1: just be hilarious, just the stupidity again of the messaging,
Speaker 1: but it's not at all. We had to do a
Speaker 1: podcast with Laura Logan because you know she she went
Speaker 1: to Afghanistan all those years and have her on to
Speaker 1: talk about the high point when they had the most
Speaker 1: miles of roads paved and the most schools opening, all
Speaker 1: that stuff. The high point. This is where it is
Speaker 1: now and versus where it's going to be in a
Speaker 1: year from now. All that just completely wasted. You could
Speaker 1: drive from the airport to Kabul to walk the streets
Speaker 1: and greet the locals. That was a brief period of
Speaker 1: time that we paid a lot of money for. We
Speaker 1: US taxpayers paid a lot of money for and just
Speaker 1: it's over, It's gone.