1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,760 Speaker 1: I don't know what's going on. I don't quite understand it. 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:09,800 Speaker 1: Um with the whole ISIS thing and troops in the 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: Middle East and should we or shouldn't we and negotiations 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:19,079 Speaker 1: in Afghanistan. Of course, top commander says US will rely 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: on allies to stop ISIS from researching in Syria. Is 6 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: a story in the Washington Examiner today. We had some 7 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: reports in the last week that if we if we 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: pull out, ISIS will be back and strong within six months. 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 1: We had um Liz Slide from the Washington Post on 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: to say that ISIS was down to one square mile. 11 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: I'm having trouble reading this story my clients. Longtime CBS 12 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,599 Speaker 1: News military analyst joins us to discuss the sand countries 13 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: once again, and just I'm gonna throw him a two 14 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: strike curve ball in a bit and talk about Venezuela. 15 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: But Mike joins us. Now, Hello, Mike, how are you, sir? 16 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: It's it's always a pleasure. If ISIS is indeed down 17 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: to one square mile, how are they going to be 18 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: back and strong in six months if we pull out? Yeah, 19 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: a lot of weightlifting and diets. I don't know. I mean, 20 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: the bottom line is it's in it's in so many 21 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: people's interests to prop up an enemy, to have it 22 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: in the Middle East, and to keep propping it up 23 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: because it just you know, it pays bills, It allows 24 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: us to write stories on it, we can allocate military 25 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: resource towards it. But if you look at the reality 26 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: of the situation, um, it's not in America's interest to 27 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: be inside of Syria. You saw the President over the 28 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,959 Speaker 1: weekends say to Margaret Brennan that we're going to stay 29 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: in Iraq because we can keep an eye on Iran 30 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: from there, and and that's what the generals are telling them, 31 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: of course, because that's really what we're doing. But now 32 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: it's it's taken the Iraqi government and throwing it into 33 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: a flux because they're insulted that we're actually doing that 34 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: inside of their country. So I still think the President's 35 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: instinct is right top to bottom about getting troops out 36 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: of these locations. If we don't have any long term 37 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: strategy to be there, and if we're there just to 38 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: be in the middle of things, Um, it's just it's 39 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: just not in the interest of our youth of America 40 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: that we're gonna ask to go give their lives for 41 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: their country. Basically, well, I think you've described it beautifully. 42 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: We're there to be in the middle of things, keep 43 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: an eye on around, keep Iraq from becoming completely an 44 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: Iranian client state and then having a semi occupation of Afghanistan. 45 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: I guess to enforce whatever agreement the Afghan government and 46 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: I'm using quotes there and the Taliban come up with. 47 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,679 Speaker 1: I think that is the strategy, right. My my friend 48 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: Scott Miller was on the fourth Star that commands in Afghanistan. 49 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: He was very sober about the situation there. Um, there's 50 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 1: not a military solution at this point. We're going to 51 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: have to negotiate. Um, it's a generational problem. You know. 52 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: Report came out the other day that we still don't 53 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: have trained enough Afghan pilots. We need a hundred and 54 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: sixty Blackhawk pilots in order for the Afghan military to 55 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: be considered successful. We still can't come up with a 56 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:49,119 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty of them in a country of three 57 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: d and fifty million people. We can't get six hundred 58 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: and sixty of them trained to fly a helicopter. So 59 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: all all of the generational things had happened in Afghanistan 60 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: haven't been fixed in the last twenty years plus. Um, 61 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: negotiate with the Taliban, we'll be out of there. And 62 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 1: if we see you know, guys and videos of guys 63 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: jumped around on monkey bars in a K four sevens, 64 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: will attack them with drones. But but Afghana is going 65 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: to be turned over to the Afghan people. Do you 66 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: think that point of view is going to hold sway? Well, 67 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: I don't know a good question. It's gonna come down to, 68 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: you know, in the past a lot of it. John 69 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: mcain has such an influence when he was the chairman 70 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: of the House House Arm Services Committee, there's no way 71 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:26,799 Speaker 1: he would approve us leaving out of there. And he 72 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: in some cases the Senate and these politicians do have 73 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: more power than the president. Uh. And I think it 74 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: just gets back to whether Lindsay Graham and the folks 75 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: on the on I guess on the House, on the 76 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: Senate Services Committee will do the same thing as Um. 77 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: The guy from Nebraska is the is the new chairman. 78 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: I think he's gonna be well on line with what 79 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: Trump wants to do. And I wouldn't be surprised if 80 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 1: we cut the troops out of there by half at 81 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: least before his reelection or his the re election back 82 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: ISIS was one of the stories out of the the 83 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: Intel chiefs when they reported to Congress last week, and 84 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: the media making a big deal of Trump and disagreement 85 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: with his intel chiefs or doesn't listen or doesn't read 86 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: briefing books and all this different stuff attacking Trump because uh, 87 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: you had people with the uniforms on saying ISIS is 88 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: still a threat and they'll be back and tough. Um, 89 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: so are you saying they just they just take that 90 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 1: point of view because they want to continue the military 91 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: machinery going that direction. Or what is what is the 92 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: inertia of that? Well, it's it's in their best interest 93 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: from a risk perspective, to align themselves with the least 94 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,119 Speaker 1: risk averse position there is, and that is status quo. 95 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,280 Speaker 1: Let's not do anything. Let's keep changing the way we are. 96 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,119 Speaker 1: Things are going fine. But Donald Trump is no different 97 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: than any president in the past that takes intelligence information 98 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: and uses it in the manner that he wants to, 99 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: and in this case, he uses it in an opposite manner. 100 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: You know. He brings up this great relationship we have 101 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: with North Korea. He thinks things are going worse in 102 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: Iran than they are. Um, he is again like the 103 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: last two that have taken this intelligence information and used 104 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: it for whatever benefit he's wanted to do. My client's 105 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: military analysts down the line dropping bombs of plane spoken wisdom. 106 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: You're talking about how UH military and intelligence executives, as 107 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: it were, behave a lot like I don't know, entertainment 108 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: executives or other executives. The smartest thing they do I 109 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: I remember. I'll put it this way. David Letterman will 110 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: once said that UH TV executives jobs is having their 111 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: job at the end of the day. And so what 112 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: you're saying is, if you advocate the status quo and 113 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,239 Speaker 1: it goes poorly, you're at much less risk career wise 114 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: than if you advocate a change. Yeah, exactly. And you 115 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,160 Speaker 1: look at the Army, I still think, you know, I'm 116 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: Army Green through and through, obviously, and I mean my 117 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: son will go into the Navy. I've got to shift 118 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: a little bit of loyalty there in some regards here shortly. 119 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: But the bottom line is the Army struggles for a mission, 120 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 1: and it's struggling. And right now, if we come out 121 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: of the Middle East, like what the president wants to do. 122 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: The armies really going to struggle for our mission. The 123 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: Navy will continue to get funded because the Navy projects 124 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: power in the South, trying to see the Air Force 125 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: gets funded. It's a strategic weapon. But it's the army 126 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,040 Speaker 1: that endorses great hardship in the Middle East as the 127 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 1: army that will have those casualties, and and and from 128 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 1: my perspective, it's just time to come back and reinvent 129 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: the whole process as to what we want our military 130 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: to do. Well, that's interesting, that is tremendous, So a 131 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: a shift, as I mentioned, Is there any role for 132 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: the United States military beginning with providing humanitarian aid and 133 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:35,920 Speaker 1: ending with a land invasion in Venezuela. Well, let's hope 134 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: it's the aid. It's humanitarian aid, and let's hope it's 135 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: in a peaceful transition, because that's such a tinder box 136 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: that could take place. I mean, we're we're really looking 137 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 1: much like the ninety nineties right now. Afghanistan is going 138 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: to return back to the Taliban and power, and you're 139 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,679 Speaker 1: gonna have these Central American revolutions that are taking place. 140 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:54,919 Speaker 1: What could happen there is all function of what the 141 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: army does. If the army decides to turn against the citizens, 142 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 1: you'll have a blood bath in the streets. As that 143 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,839 Speaker 1: military is well funded and is well prepared to do anything. Um, 144 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: if if you can get a transition of power, if 145 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: there's another election, if there's something, then perhaps it'll happen peacefully, 146 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: but we've got to be especially careful. It's a good 147 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: example of reallocating of resources. Maybe that that does become 148 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: the mission for our army. Maybe we do not from 149 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: an occupation perspective, but let's focus towards on our own hemisphere, 150 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: clean up our backyard, and then maybe that's the goal 151 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: for the next ten years. It would be something that 152 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: I think people can get their arms around. Hey, do 153 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: you have or are you going to write a book 154 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: or do you have a blog or anything that we 155 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: can turn people onto because this is really good stuff. Yeah, 156 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: I don't. I'm I'm gonna write a book someday. It's 157 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: called You've got to write a letter, and it's going 158 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: to be about that. Everything I've ever done in my 159 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: life always happened because I wrote a letter to something 160 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: or somebody, and I keep sitting down, I start to 161 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: write it, but then I get But now I've got 162 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: to get something good on TV. That is. Yeah, I'm 163 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: gonna write a bunch of I'm gonna write. You know, 164 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: puberty changes everything that be about my coaching career, you know, 165 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 1: with some little kids. Amen to that. I'm a master 166 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: of the obvious, you know what. And it's funny, Mike, 167 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 1: I've considered writing a book many times, and every time 168 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: I have the same thought. There are plenty of books. 169 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: No one's going to read it. No one's going to 170 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: read it anyway, supply without demand. Uh, Mike Clients, CBS 171 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: News Military Analysts, Mike, fabulous. As always. We can't thank 172 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: you enough. Great guys, Thanks, thanks. Quite interesting. He's a 173 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: lot closer to Rand Paul than he is to all 174 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: of the main street media, who all of a sudden 175 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: is in love with fighting endless wars because Trump's the president. 176 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 1: Yeah but yeah, but he arrives at it through such 177 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: an interesting, uh you know path as a major in 178 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: the Army and an artillery commander and and Operation Desert 179 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: Shield and Desert Storm awarded the Bronze Star, etcetera. He 180 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: knows what he is talking about from that point of view, 181 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: From a soldier's point of view, and he arrives at 182 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: a lot of the same conclusions that you know Rand 183 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: Paul does you know via his row. Yeah, I'm not 184 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: discounting all of my lions experience, which is vast and 185 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:07,839 Speaker 1: all that sort of stuff, But some of it's pretty 186 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: damned obvious, it seems to me, and has been for years. 187 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: Afghanistan's gonna end up in the hand of the Taliban. 188 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: We can't stop that, right in any agreement we forge 189 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: with them will not be worth the goat skin it's 190 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 1: printed on um unless we you know, there are certain 191 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 1: boundaries which will not cannot be crossed, and and we 192 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: are close enough to send something horrific from the sky 193 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: to remind them of that. Some of our hanging around 194 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:37,200 Speaker 1: us keeping on our in Yeah, that's kind of what 195 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,559 Speaker 1: we thought for a long time. And now the Iraqis 196 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,560 Speaker 1: have their japanties in a wad. Sorry to hear that 197 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: we can ship them some good American made panties which 198 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: you're probably made in China.