Rebel News Podcast - EZRA LEVANT ｜ What does Maryam Monsef's “Taliban brothers” comment teach us about the media？

00:00:00.000 Hello, my Rebels. Today, I'm going to take one more crack of the Mariam Monsef Taliban Brothers video.

00:00:06.460 I mean, we already talked about how absurd it was, but today I want to look at the Globe and Mail

00:00:10.320 and what they said about it, because it was obviously her mess and Trudeau's mess,

00:00:15.240 but now it's the Globe's mess, and I'll explain to you why and what they got wrong.

00:00:20.220 Let me invite you to become a subscriber of what we call Rebel News Plus.

00:00:22.880 I don't know if you know this. I've mentioned it the past few days,

00:00:25.280 but during the duration of the federal election, we are giving away the video version of this podcast,

00:00:31.100 which we normally charge $8 a month for. We're giving it away for free if you just type in the promo code ELECTION.

00:00:37.760 So if you go to rebelnewsplus.com, the promo code ELECTION, you got yourself a free month of video viewing,

00:00:45.000 and it's my hope that you'll like it enough that once the election's over, you'll actually subscribe for $8 a month.

00:00:50.260 So you can do all that at rebelnewsplus.com, and I've got to tell you, the reason it's important

00:00:54.520 is because we don't take any of that Trudeau money like most of the media does.

00:00:58.080 So please consider helping us out that way, and I think you'll get a real kick out of the video side of things.

00:01:03.040 All right, here's today's podcast.

00:01:17.180 Tonight, what is Miriam Monsef's Taliban Brothers comment?

00:01:23.700 And teach us about the media.

00:01:26.560 It's August 26, and this is the Ezra LeVant Show.

00:01:31.200 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?

00:01:34.920 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.

00:01:39.000 The only thing I have to say to the government about why I'm publishing it is because it's my bloody right to do so.

00:01:44.860 Hello, and before I start our monologue about Miriam Monsef and the Globe and Mail,

00:01:55.220 let me just say thanks to you for your amazing generosity for our FightVaccinePassports.com project.

00:02:02.240 When last I checked, we had raised over $125,000 in less than a day.

00:02:08.280 I mean, I'm very excited about that.

00:02:11.380 I mean, it's a terrible situation we're in, but I feel great that you believe in him.

00:02:16.000 Our first client, I think, is perfect.

00:02:18.440 I mean, it's tragic, the situation, but it's perfect legally speaking.

00:02:22.560 What I mean by that is she's such a sympathetic client who did everything right,

00:02:26.540 who said, sure, I'll take Moderna, took it, was devastated by an allergic reaction.

00:02:32.080 Her doctor says there's no way you can take the second jab.

00:02:34.920 So she's not a malingerer.

00:02:36.600 She's not a faker.

00:02:37.460 She's a perfect citizen, a model citizen who cannot take the vaccine,

00:02:44.220 and yet you have the most atrocious, odious government vaccine mandate

00:02:49.560 that basically is going to turn her into a prisoner in her own home.

00:02:53.680 So the facts are so strong, and the law is strong,

00:02:58.440 especially because it's a government ban.

00:03:00.780 I believe that we have a very strong case there,

00:03:03.640 and my goal is to find 20 strong strategic cases.

00:03:08.380 It's not a mass project like we did with Fight the Fines

00:03:11.760 where we literally took everyone,

00:03:13.440 because really fighting a fine is a smaller enterprise

00:03:15.900 than a large constitutional challenge.

00:03:18.840 So thanks for your support.

00:03:20.120 I really feel like we can make a difference in this battle,

00:03:24.680 but I don't want to get my hopes too high,

00:03:27.020 because as our producer Justin said to me just earlier today,

00:03:31.300 has there been a judge in Canada that has done anything meaningful

00:03:34.980 to stop the erosion of our civil liberties?

00:03:38.400 I was watching the movie True Grit the other day,

00:03:40.620 and there was a scene where an outlaw says,

00:03:42.580 someone says, we'll get you a good lawyer.

00:03:44.120 He says, I don't need a good lawyer.

00:03:45.440 I need a good judge.

00:03:47.220 And I think in Canada we need a good judge.

00:03:48.900 All right, that's a little thank you to you,

00:03:52.020 so I really appreciate that.

00:03:53.240 We'll do our best, and I know our lawyers will too.

00:03:56.240 I want to talk to you about something we discussed earlier this week.

00:03:59.160 It was Miriam Monsef's bizarre comment, a scripted comment.

00:04:04.760 Take a look at this.

00:04:05.380 She's reading from notes,

00:04:07.800 calling the Taliban our brothers,

00:04:11.540 the Taliban, which is a terrorist group.

00:04:14.700 Take a look.

00:04:15.100 I want to take this opportunity to speak to our brothers, the Taliban.

00:04:23.440 We call on you to ensure the safe and secure passage of any individual in Afghanistan out of the country.

00:04:32.740 She was reading that from notes, and it came out that she has used that exact same phrase before.

00:04:38.940 So this was not just something that popped into her mind.

00:04:42.320 You know, she doesn't do a lot of her own writing.

00:04:44.060 She's not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

00:04:45.800 So all of her speeches are written by staff,

00:04:48.700 probably in this case by civil servants.

00:04:51.460 So there must have been a bunch of eyes on that.

00:04:53.820 The actual writer, the editor, the press officer,

00:04:58.480 like probably, I don't know, as many as 10 people would have seen that phrase,

00:05:03.120 our brothers, the Taliban.

00:05:05.580 And they all said, yeah, that's their thinking in not only the foreign affairs ministry,

00:05:10.500 but in the ministry of women's and gender equality,

00:05:14.900 the ministry of women and gender equality.

00:05:17.280 That's who Miriam Monsef is.

00:05:19.800 So she said it before, and this is her view.

00:05:24.520 I want to explain why I think it's just so incredible.

00:05:29.640 But I want to do so by showing you the reaction to that video

00:05:34.520 by a senior international correspondent for the Globe and Mail.

00:05:39.660 His name is Mark McKinnon.

00:05:41.120 And a lot of people have mocked this,

00:05:43.680 but really the elite of our media, Mark McKinnon,

00:05:47.180 like it doesn't get a higher height than him.

00:05:49.800 At the newspaper of record, here's what he said.

00:05:52.020 Let me show you his tweet.

00:05:54.260 Dear Canada.

00:05:56.340 I love that.

00:05:57.320 It's very condescending.

00:05:58.460 Dear Canada.

00:05:59.460 I mean, come on, Canada.

00:06:00.820 You're so precious.

00:06:01.900 Let me send you a little update.

00:06:03.360 Dear Canada.

00:06:05.520 Miriam Monsef decided to make a plea directly to the Taliban.

00:06:12.180 Is that what this is?

00:06:13.520 Do unveiled women speaking English at a Canadian press conference?

00:06:17.420 Is that a direct plea to the Taliban?

00:06:21.280 Calling on them to allow safe passage to the airport.

00:06:24.880 Is that who we have negotiating with the Taliban,

00:06:28.640 a women's equality minister based in Canada?

00:06:32.240 We're not having, I don't know,

00:06:33.980 our military or our spy agencies or our diplomats.

00:06:37.200 We're doing it in Canada in English on a,

00:06:41.960 like, just, this is incredible.

00:06:43.340 Let me get through it.

00:06:45.660 Calling on them to allow safe passage to the airport.

00:06:48.620 She's using the language that she,

00:06:51.660 as an Afghan Canadian,

00:06:53.260 feels would be most effective.

00:06:55.600 Can we please do the politics on point scoring later?

00:06:58.380 Dear Canada, you're so naive.

00:07:00.400 I mean, come on.

00:07:01.480 This was sophisticated.

00:07:03.260 Our brothers, that's, that's how you do it.

00:07:06.080 Yeah.

00:07:06.860 No.

00:07:07.400 I mean, there's so many,

00:07:08.360 I don't know how you can jam so many errors in one short tweet.

00:07:12.220 Let's go through some of them.

00:07:14.340 The first one just gets me every time.

00:07:16.320 She's not an Afghan Canadian.

00:07:18.840 And McKinnon's colleague at the Globe and Mail

00:07:21.120 is the one who broke that shocking news.

00:07:23.640 You see, her whole life,

00:07:24.740 she played the Afghan card.

00:07:26.260 I'm a young Afghan woman.

00:07:27.880 Talk to me about Afghanistan.

00:07:29.280 That's, Barack Obama even mentioned her

00:07:32.160 when he came to visit Parliament in Canada.

00:07:34.460 That's her storyline.

00:07:35.940 The whole thing was fake.

00:07:38.800 She was from Iran.

00:07:40.720 She and her whole family lied on their immigration

00:07:43.200 and refugee application

00:07:44.500 because they knew that saying they were Afghans

00:07:47.140 would get them in

00:07:47.760 as opposed to saying that they were Iranian.

00:07:50.320 Here's Bob Fyfe when he began to unravel her lies.

00:07:53.780 So you were born in Afghanistan, correct?

00:07:55.800 I believe I was.

00:07:56.960 So she's not an Afghan Canadian.

00:07:58.480 She's an imposter.

00:07:59.700 It's atrocious to me that she remains in cabinet

00:08:01.720 after having a fraudulent immigration application.

00:08:05.000 Frankly, I don't even know if she should be a citizen.

00:08:06.840 She got here through lying.

00:08:09.300 But the next, and I mentioned this earlier,

00:08:11.120 communicating with the Taliban.

00:08:13.740 I mean, we know that she wasn't.

00:08:15.760 She was communicating to Canadian voters.

00:08:17.560 I don't think the Taliban would really pay attention

00:08:21.080 to any woman, let alone an unveiled woman

00:08:24.620 speaking English in Canada.

00:08:26.240 But the fact that the Globe and Mail,

00:08:28.860 their senior international correspondent,

00:08:30.900 says that was going on,

00:08:32.700 what does that say about his sophistication?

00:08:35.660 Does he really think the Taliban over there in Kabul

00:08:40.380 are scrolling on Twitter, in English, in Canada,

00:08:45.920 seeing what the Minister of Women and Gender Equality

00:08:48.120 has to say to them and gives that any weight?

00:08:51.780 Does Mark McKinnon, who the Globe and Mail relies on

00:08:55.260 for their foreign policy guidance,

00:08:57.880 does he really believe that?

00:08:59.140 I think he does.

00:09:01.160 She's using that language that she thinks is most effective.

00:09:04.920 Yeah, it's not culturally effective.

00:09:06.480 It's not culturally appropriate.

00:09:07.560 And we know that.

00:09:08.540 Because an actual Afghan refugee woman

00:09:12.140 named Zahra Sultani said at great length

00:09:15.440 in an explanatory column in the Toronto Sun,

00:09:17.640 there is no context whatsoever

00:09:19.100 that you would call a murderous terrorist group

00:09:21.380 our brothers.

00:09:22.360 None at all.

00:09:22.940 Here's her column in the Toronto Sun.

00:09:24.620 I don't know why Mark McKinnon won't respect

00:09:26.660 an actual Afghan refugee.

00:09:28.000 I think his liberal partisanship is shining through.

00:09:31.960 There's a bigger issue, though,

00:09:33.660 and that is feminism on the world stage.

00:09:37.220 Justin Trudeau went to the World Economic Forum,

00:09:39.380 which is the biggest meaning of billionaires

00:09:41.860 and investors and industrialists.

00:09:43.560 It's very politically correct.

00:09:44.460 Lots of globalists say there's a lot of things wrong with it.

00:09:46.460 But it really is a chance to talk about your country.

00:09:49.540 And Justin Trudeau went there,

00:09:51.600 and what he wanted to talk about

00:09:53.640 was not our energy resources,

00:09:55.620 not our economic plans or trade deals,

00:09:58.000 he wanted to talk about feminism.

00:10:02.060 Remember this?

00:10:02.620 I'm incredibly proud to have a partner in my wife, Sophie,

00:10:06.180 who is extremely committed to women and girls' issues.

00:10:09.220 But she took me aside a few months ago and said,

00:10:12.040 OK, it's great that you're engaged

00:10:14.420 and modelling to your daughter,

00:10:16.340 that you want her in power and everything,

00:10:17.900 but you need to take as much effort

00:10:20.320 to talk to your sons,

00:10:22.360 my eight-year-old boy and my two-year-old,

00:10:24.160 so a little young still,

00:10:25.240 about how he treats women

00:10:26.900 and how he is going to be growing up

00:10:29.620 to be a feminist just like Dad.

00:10:31.460 And by the way,

00:10:32.100 we shouldn't be afraid of the word feminist.

00:10:34.220 Men and women should use it

00:10:35.740 to describe themselves anytime they want.

00:10:38.860 Obviously, that's fake.

00:10:40.760 The thing about male feminists

00:10:42.400 is the louder they talk about feminism,

00:10:44.960 the more, I think, the pattern shows

00:10:47.680 they're trying to hide other things.

00:10:49.680 I mean, Gian Gomeschi of the CBC,

00:10:53.280 who was revealed to be sexually harassing,

00:10:57.040 sexually assaulting countless women,

00:10:59.780 he was a gender studies grad in college.

00:11:03.400 Now, obviously, it was partly

00:11:04.680 because he'd be the only guy

00:11:05.760 in a room full of women,

00:11:06.800 but it was also to head off criticism

00:11:08.420 that he's sexist.

00:11:09.660 I can't be sexist.

00:11:10.780 I'm a feminist.

00:11:11.600 I take gender studies.

00:11:13.140 Think of the worst sexist

00:11:14.660 and even rapist in the world.

00:11:16.400 Think of Harvey Weinstein from Hollywood.

00:11:18.620 He was the biggest feminist you can find,

00:11:20.920 and he was raping and imposing himself

00:11:23.440 on women and even children in Hollywood

00:11:26.780 to let them be in his movies.

00:11:29.580 He was atrocious.

00:11:30.980 Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton himself,

00:11:34.200 the feminist icon, serial sexual harasser,

00:11:37.740 incredibly accused of rape.

00:11:40.140 When you see a male feminist

00:11:41.980 who won't shut up about male feminism,

00:11:44.360 it's a preemptive strike

00:11:46.660 at people looking too carefully

00:11:48.480 about their own background.

00:11:49.520 And indeed, one case came out

00:11:51.420 when Trudeau sexually assaulted

00:11:53.940 a young woman named Rose Knight

00:11:55.140 in Creston, B.C.

00:11:56.460 But, of course, he just said

00:11:58.180 she experienced it differently.

00:11:59.400 Remember?

00:11:59.720 I was fairly confident,

00:12:03.140 I was very confident,

00:12:04.080 that I hadn't acted in a way

00:12:05.740 that I felt was in any way inappropriate.

00:12:08.780 But, like I said,

00:12:09.660 part of the lesson

00:12:10.580 that we all have to learn through this

00:12:12.640 is respecting that the same interactions

00:12:17.200 can be felt very differently

00:12:21.260 by different people going through them,

00:12:23.680 and we have to respect that.

00:12:25.380 I apologize in the moment.

00:12:30.140 I certainly feel that if...

00:12:34.840 Again, I don't want to speak for her.

00:12:37.540 I don't want to presume how she feels now.

00:12:40.760 I haven't reached out to her.

00:12:42.060 No one on my team has reached out to her,

00:12:44.160 and we don't think that would be appropriate at all.

00:12:45.920 So I'm responsible for my side of the interaction,

00:12:51.580 which certainly, as I said,

00:12:53.320 I don't feel was in any way untoward.

00:12:56.480 But at the same time,

00:12:58.680 this lesson that we are learning in,

00:13:00.980 and I'll be blunt about it,

00:13:02.560 often a man experiences an interaction

00:13:05.100 as being benign or not inappropriate,

00:13:09.320 and a woman, particularly in a professional context,

00:13:12.440 can experience it differently,

00:13:13.620 and we have to respect that.

00:13:15.160 So I'm telling you what you already know

00:13:16.400 about male feminists.

00:13:17.380 It's fake.

00:13:18.560 But the thing is,

00:13:19.560 Trudeau said our whole foreign policy

00:13:21.920 was about feminism.

00:13:23.580 It was our economy.

00:13:24.820 Everything was going to be a gender analysis.

00:13:27.260 Even pipeline projects would be submitted,

00:13:29.700 subjected to a gender analysis.

00:13:31.480 And Afghanistan was his keynote feminist project.

00:13:36.660 He was going to pour endless amounts of money

00:13:39.460 into women and girls

00:13:41.320 and sexual freedom in Afghanistan.

00:13:43.860 It was proof that he was as woke as he said he was.

00:13:47.920 And here you have the most misogynist,

00:13:50.340 violent terrorist group in the world,

00:13:52.280 the Taliban,

00:13:53.420 who hours after taking Kabul

00:13:56.280 were forcing women back into veils,

00:13:59.040 painting over any ads that showed unveiled women.

00:14:02.140 This was a shocking moment

00:14:03.780 for his alleged worldview of feminism.

00:14:06.280 And he sends out his women's minister.

00:14:09.540 And the first thing she said

00:14:11.200 is not a condemnation of them,

00:14:13.440 but to call them her brothers.

00:14:15.780 Don't you see my point?

00:14:17.380 It's a fake minister

00:14:19.180 who's a fake feminist

00:14:21.700 in a fake feminist department,

00:14:24.760 a fake foreign policy,

00:14:27.460 and a fake newspaper

00:14:28.800 in the form of the Global Mail

00:14:29.780 that doesn't know any of these things.

00:14:31.160 And that, to me,

00:14:33.100 is in some ways

00:14:34.120 the most interesting part.

00:14:35.340 We know that Justin Trudeau is a fake.

00:14:38.640 But the Global Mail

00:14:39.720 is supposed to be on guard.

00:14:41.000 They're supposed to be a watchdog.

00:14:42.360 They say they're in the newspaper of record,

00:14:44.140 and Mark McKinnon is supposedly

00:14:45.580 their global affairs expert

00:14:47.100 who has spent time in the Middle East.

00:14:48.600 And he got every fact here wrong.

00:14:52.100 And we're supposed to take their word

00:14:54.220 for anything?

00:14:56.320 I find that incredible

00:14:57.380 how easily fooled he was.

00:14:59.860 Was it fooled,

00:15:00.780 or was he fooling himself

00:15:01.680 in service of the Liberal Party,

00:15:03.440 which is a major...

00:15:04.600 Of course, the Trudeau government

00:15:05.940 gives major amounts of bailout money

00:15:07.700 to the Global Mail.

00:15:09.360 We'll talk more about these issues

00:15:10.740 with Ben Weingarten next,

00:15:12.340 but let me point out

00:15:13.100 that Justin Trudeau,

00:15:14.600 while Kabul is under disasters,

00:15:16.400 while women's rights

00:15:18.620 are being set back

00:15:19.820 1,400 years in that place.

00:15:23.000 Trudeau's silent.

00:15:24.240 He doesn't have time

00:15:24.960 for any of that stuff.

00:15:26.340 He chose an early election.

00:15:28.080 That's what's important to him.

00:15:29.600 Stay with us.

00:15:30.300 Our interview with Ben is next.

00:15:43.060 Both the Democrats

00:15:44.020 and the Republicans

00:15:45.080 have said for many years

00:15:46.360 that it is their goal

00:15:47.460 to withdraw from Afghanistan,

00:15:49.760 a war that is now

00:15:50.740 at the 20-year mark,

00:15:53.440 by some measures,

00:15:54.180 the longest war

00:15:54.840 in American history.

00:15:57.000 Donald Trump received flack

00:15:59.460 from negotiating with the Taliban

00:16:01.240 as he negotiated

00:16:02.300 with North Korea's tyrant,

00:16:04.500 but he was careful

00:16:06.460 in those negotiations.

00:16:08.040 If the Taliban

00:16:08.940 were to attack Americans,

00:16:10.320 he would call off

00:16:11.660 the negotiations

00:16:12.640 and drop the Moab,

00:16:15.320 mother of all bombs,

00:16:16.900 on them

00:16:17.460 to show that

00:16:18.520 while he was negotiating

00:16:19.860 an exit,

00:16:20.380 it was to be done

00:16:21.040 on his terms.

00:16:22.740 Joseph Biden

00:16:23.320 took over as president,

00:16:25.240 changed the rollout,

00:16:26.820 the withdrawal deadline

00:16:27.860 to September 11th,

00:16:29.960 a terrible day

00:16:30.980 for the United States,

00:16:32.200 a day that you wouldn't think

00:16:33.740 would be commemorated

00:16:34.780 as the day America

00:16:35.820 would leave Afghanistan.

00:16:37.240 But the haste

00:16:38.920 and the lack of planning

00:16:40.380 and the mismanagement

00:16:41.400 of that exit

00:16:42.380 has been nothing short

00:16:43.600 of disastrous.

00:16:45.100 If you recall

00:16:45.960 the exit from Saigon

00:16:47.660 when America fled

00:16:49.080 South Vietnam,

00:16:50.880 the images of people

00:16:52.300 desperate to get

00:16:53.180 into the helicopters

00:16:53.980 on the roof of the embassy

00:16:55.060 have come to be

00:16:57.140 a symbol

00:16:58.100 of American defeat

00:16:59.460 and overstretch

00:17:00.980 and, frankly,

00:17:02.120 bad planning.

00:17:03.360 Well, the images

00:17:04.380 out of Afghanistan

00:17:05.580 these past weeks

00:17:06.500 have been far, far worse.

00:17:08.740 Giving up

00:17:09.400 the Bagram Air Base

00:17:10.780 to force everyone,

00:17:12.200 civilian and military alike,

00:17:13.620 citizen and Afghan ally alike,

00:17:15.760 to go to the

00:17:16.660 Kabul International Airport

00:17:18.220 surrounded by a ring

00:17:19.960 of Taliban

00:17:20.700 has been a disaster.

00:17:23.160 And then on top

00:17:23.840 of those disasters today,

00:17:25.660 car bombs,

00:17:26.640 killing at least

00:17:27.660 11 Americans,

00:17:29.320 Marines mainly,

00:17:30.320 an absolute disaster.

00:17:32.060 And last I saw,

00:17:33.260 President Joe Biden

00:17:34.220 did not intend

00:17:35.360 to make any

00:17:36.100 public appearance,

00:17:37.800 any press conference

00:17:38.800 or any speech.

00:17:40.360 Joining us now

00:17:40.980 with the latest,

00:17:42.020 and we're recording this

00:17:43.000 in the mid-afternoon,

00:17:44.000 this story may change

00:17:45.200 in the hours ahead,

00:17:46.560 is our friend

00:17:47.080 Ben Weingarten,

00:17:47.960 senior contributor

00:17:48.720 at thefederalist

00:17:49.540 and newsweek.com.

00:17:50.940 Ben, welcome to the program.

00:17:52.180 Have I more or less

00:17:53.640 accurately summarized

00:17:55.720 what's been going on

00:17:57.160 in Afghanistan,

00:17:57.960 not just today,

00:17:58.700 but in recent weeks?

00:17:59.700 I think you've captured

00:18:02.380 the disgrace,

00:18:04.240 the cataclysm

00:18:05.280 that we've seen

00:18:06.540 unfolding

00:18:07.060 before our very eyes.

00:18:09.160 And I think

00:18:09.640 ultimately

00:18:11.140 what in the immediate term

00:18:12.760 this all comes down to

00:18:14.160 is utter incompetence.

00:18:16.960 I would put it this way.

00:18:17.900 If you wanted to endanger

00:18:19.300 the maximum number

00:18:21.060 of American lives

00:18:21.980 on the ground

00:18:22.560 in Afghanistan

00:18:23.200 and then slap Americans

00:18:24.640 in the face

00:18:25.600 by making it clear

00:18:26.760 that you have a plan

00:18:27.600 to evacuate Afghans,

00:18:30.080 some percentage of whom

00:18:31.280 assisted in our efforts there

00:18:32.960 with no plan

00:18:34.140 to evacuate Americans

00:18:35.360 after leaving behind

00:18:37.040 hundreds of millions,

00:18:38.360 if not billions,

00:18:39.240 of worth

00:18:39.900 of taxpayer-dollar-funded

00:18:41.780 weaponry

00:18:42.820 and equipment,

00:18:44.140 leaving that air base,

00:18:45.460 essentially evacuating

00:18:46.280 the military

00:18:46.780 before you evacuate civilians,

00:18:48.820 you couldn't have done this

00:18:50.320 in a more disastrous,

00:18:52.380 dangerous,

00:18:53.180 and disgraceful way.

00:18:55.080 And our adversaries

00:18:56.580 clearly neither fear

00:18:58.140 nor respect us.

00:18:59.680 Fundamental difference

00:19:00.560 at the end of the day

00:19:01.200 between Trump and Biden

00:19:02.660 is that,

00:19:03.180 to your point,

00:19:04.280 our adversaries knew

00:19:05.980 that Donald Trump

00:19:07.300 would go in

00:19:07.900 and decapitate them

00:19:09.300 if they dared

00:19:10.620 threaten Americans

00:19:11.560 in any one of these

00:19:12.900 sorts of circumstances.

00:19:14.480 And he could point

00:19:15.220 to real proof,

00:19:16.080 real deterrent proof

00:19:17.100 in the way

00:19:18.220 of the assassination

00:19:19.080 of Qasem Soleimani,

00:19:20.740 in the crushing

00:19:21.760 of ISIS

00:19:22.760 with maximum speed.

00:19:24.700 now that deterrent

00:19:26.400 is completely gone.

00:19:28.260 And what you're seeing

00:19:29.060 is an absolutely

00:19:30.180 outrageous

00:19:31.060 and disastrous decision

00:19:32.360 which completely dishonors

00:19:34.180 the lives

00:19:35.100 of the fallen

00:19:35.800 in Afghanistan,

00:19:37.900 the hundreds

00:19:38.600 of millions

00:19:39.000 of Americans

00:19:39.640 who have been

00:19:40.120 supporting this mission

00:19:41.360 in effect

00:19:42.560 for two decades,

00:19:43.860 and then the fallen

00:19:44.620 on 9-11.

00:19:45.560 And I couldn't be

00:19:46.220 more angry about it,

00:19:47.840 livid about it,

00:19:48.920 personally.

00:19:49.560 I don't know how

00:19:50.060 you couldn't be

00:19:50.640 viscerally impacted

00:19:51.680 by this.

00:19:52.300 If you were around

00:19:53.200 on September 11th,

00:19:54.040 and even if you weren't,

00:19:55.280 to have witnessed

00:19:55.680 this being

00:19:56.580 the legacy

00:19:57.400 20 years on.

00:19:58.780 Yeah.

00:19:59.320 Of course,

00:20:00.100 Canada did not

00:20:01.020 participate

00:20:01.460 in the Iraq War,

00:20:03.240 but Canada did have

00:20:04.860 an outsized force

00:20:07.000 for our small country

00:20:07.900 in Afghanistan

00:20:09.100 patrolling

00:20:09.620 some of the hardest places,

00:20:11.300 and 158 Canadians

00:20:12.860 were killed

00:20:13.400 in service

00:20:14.080 in Afghanistan.

00:20:15.520 Stephen Harper

00:20:16.120 brought the troops

00:20:17.140 home from Afghanistan

00:20:18.200 in 2014,

00:20:19.940 but the sacrifice

00:20:21.000 of blood and treasure

00:20:22.000 made by Canadians

00:20:22.980 remains,

00:20:24.360 and to see

00:20:25.700 some of the,

00:20:26.860 to see the place names

00:20:28.340 that we've learned

00:20:29.220 fall to the Taliban,

00:20:31.460 but now they're not

00:20:32.080 riding horses

00:20:32.820 with muskets.

00:20:33.700 Now they have

00:20:34.940 first-rate American

00:20:36.140 military equipment,

00:20:37.460 including aircraft,

00:20:39.820 including helicopters,

00:20:41.900 including sophisticated

00:20:43.100 weapon systems.

00:20:45.660 I saw that Donald Trump

00:20:47.420 told Hugh Hewitt

00:20:48.600 that one of the things

00:20:49.900 the generals said

00:20:51.500 is it was cheaper

00:20:53.240 to leave the American

00:20:54.800 equipment in Afghanistan

00:20:55.820 to take it home.

00:20:57.400 I'm sure that's true,

00:20:58.900 but how on earth?

00:21:01.800 I mean,

00:21:02.520 even I know

00:21:03.960 that's dumb,

00:21:04.720 Ben,

00:21:04.880 and I'm not a soldier.

00:21:07.900 And you also know

00:21:09.040 that you wouldn't leave,

00:21:09.800 you wouldn't leave

00:21:10.620 Bagram behind

00:21:11.640 before you evacuated

00:21:12.880 every single one

00:21:13.880 of your citizens

00:21:14.780 and your allies

00:21:15.980 and partners as well.

00:21:18.080 There's the level

00:21:19.580 of the disgrace

00:21:20.780 that was the trillions

00:21:22.800 of dollars spent

00:21:23.660 and thousands of lives

00:21:25.160 sacrificed

00:21:26.480 on an ever-shifting mission,

00:21:29.440 which started out

00:21:30.660 as a reasonable one

00:21:32.120 and a prudent one,

00:21:33.540 a logical one,

00:21:34.880 which was pursue

00:21:36.460 those responsible

00:21:37.980 for attacking us

00:21:40.520 on 9-11,

00:21:42.100 wherever they are,

00:21:43.180 and hold those accountable

00:21:44.720 who are harboring them

00:21:46.000 as well

00:21:46.880 and use crippling force

00:21:48.340 as fast as possible.

00:21:50.160 That's a reasonable response.

00:21:53.280 That's a narrow,

00:21:54.520 national interest-oriented mission.

00:21:56.680 The mission was not

00:21:57.580 to bring gender studies

00:21:58.700 to Kabul University.

00:22:00.480 And the fact that

00:22:01.200 trillions of dollars

00:22:02.220 were spent

00:22:02.660 and thousands of lives

00:22:03.780 were lost,

00:22:04.760 including, of course,

00:22:05.680 bribing the worst kinds

00:22:07.060 of warlords,

00:22:08.220 turning the other way

00:22:09.260 on all manner

00:22:10.120 of, frankly,

00:22:10.960 barbaric

00:22:11.600 and stomach-turning practices

00:22:13.160 which we said,

00:22:14.820 essentially,

00:22:15.200 we can't talk about

00:22:16.180 out of political correctness.

00:22:18.820 And now,

00:22:19.520 when you see

00:22:20.160 the national security apparatus

00:22:21.700 in America

00:22:22.360 firmly focused

00:22:23.720 on white rage

00:22:24.980 and wokeism

00:22:26.020 and claiming

00:22:26.620 that patriotic Americans

00:22:28.620 potentially posed

00:22:29.480 a real threat,

00:22:30.140 you know,

00:22:30.300 there was just

00:22:30.640 a terror bulletin

00:22:31.560 put out by the Department

00:22:32.640 of Homeland Security.

00:22:33.780 And if you look

00:22:34.320 at the ranking

00:22:35.320 of threats

00:22:36.000 going towards 9-11,

00:22:37.520 the first thing

00:22:38.200 they talked about

00:22:38.800 was anti-government,

00:22:40.420 domestic violent extremists,

00:22:41.860 including those

00:22:42.560 who are going

00:22:43.200 to try to exploit

00:22:44.120 potential coronavirus

00:22:46.020 lockdowns

00:22:46.980 and other policies

00:22:47.780 and use that

00:22:49.100 as justification

00:22:49.660 for attacking.

00:22:50.560 And then,

00:22:50.900 number two,

00:22:51.460 we're jihadists.

00:22:52.520 It's just an absolute

00:22:53.860 disgrace

00:22:54.520 and an outrage.

00:22:56.520 And on one level,

00:22:57.400 there's the incompetence

00:22:58.680 involved with this withdrawal,

00:23:01.100 really a surrender,

00:23:02.460 effectively,

00:23:03.000 by President Biden

00:23:03.700 and a surrender

00:23:04.300 with thousands

00:23:04.960 of Americans

00:23:05.580 behind enemy lines

00:23:06.640 and others,

00:23:07.400 of course,

00:23:08.100 as well.

00:23:08.540 And then you have

00:23:09.680 the corruption

00:23:10.900 and the asinine

00:23:12.000 mission itself,

00:23:13.160 of which no postmortem

00:23:14.500 has been done,

00:23:15.220 but for which heads,

00:23:16.400 every single head

00:23:17.180 involved at a senior level

00:23:18.540 ought to roll,

00:23:20.040 which is why

00:23:20.560 were we trying

00:23:21.100 to turn Afghanistan

00:23:21.980 into Switzerland

00:23:22.740 in the first place?

00:23:23.640 And really,

00:23:24.320 this should be

00:23:24.740 the death knell

00:23:25.500 for the America

00:23:26.300 last Wilsonian

00:23:27.840 progressive project

00:23:29.300 of trying to turn

00:23:30.400 Sharia primitive bastions

00:23:32.180 into Western

00:23:34.600 Jeffersonian democracies,

00:23:36.820 and also just

00:23:38.080 the rank corruption

00:23:39.380 involved

00:23:40.340 in the billions

00:23:41.040 of dollars wasted

00:23:42.240 trying to bribe warlords.

00:23:44.340 Just on every single level,

00:23:45.620 it's a catastrophe.

00:23:47.240 And I just,

00:23:48.340 I can't even contain myself.

00:23:49.580 I'm seething with it

00:23:50.460 in particular

00:23:51.220 because, again,

00:23:52.060 I look at this

00:23:52.860 all in context of

00:23:53.740 this was originally

00:23:54.880 a response to 9-11

00:23:56.640 and we have so dishonored,

00:23:58.900 this president in particular

00:24:00.180 has so dishonored,

00:24:01.380 and others as well,

00:24:02.660 the lives of those lost.

00:24:04.740 You know,

00:24:05.140 you make me recall

00:24:06.400 that when

00:24:06.940 the Falkland Islands

00:24:08.960 were seized

00:24:10.240 by Argentina,

00:24:12.820 the defense minister

00:24:14.040 of the day,

00:24:14.440 I'm going from memory

00:24:15.120 here, Ben,

00:24:16.060 the British defense minister

00:24:17.960 resigned,

00:24:19.260 saying,

00:24:19.660 I ought to have known,

00:24:21.060 I didn't,

00:24:22.460 this disaster is on me.

00:24:24.740 And you don't see

00:24:26.360 that kind of

00:24:27.260 responsible government

00:24:28.600 often, you know.

00:24:29.500 I mean,

00:24:30.040 and you could,

00:24:31.440 you could understand

00:24:32.580 why perhaps

00:24:33.320 he was caught off guard

00:24:34.480 leaving a country

00:24:37.020 that you have

00:24:37.560 controlled for 20 years

00:24:38.920 is not something

00:24:40.060 that ought to happen

00:24:41.020 to catch you off guard.

00:24:42.480 You've had total control

00:24:43.480 of the country

00:24:44.300 for 20 years,

00:24:45.160 you've had

00:24:45.580 Trump's negotiated plan

00:24:47.380 and then your own

00:24:47.920 negotiated plan,

00:24:48.720 so there is no excuse

00:24:50.560 that perhaps

00:24:51.220 the defense minister

00:24:52.140 of the UK

00:24:52.560 had some 40-odd

00:24:54.360 years ago.

00:24:56.120 General Milley

00:24:57.080 and some of the other

00:24:57.780 generals,

00:24:58.200 you mentioned white rage,

00:24:59.440 they're assigning readings

00:25:01.460 in critical race theory.

00:25:02.600 I see General Milley's

00:25:04.160 latest project

00:25:06.320 is to mandate

00:25:07.820 COVID vaccines

00:25:09.460 for all the young men

00:25:10.400 in the military,

00:25:11.000 even though young men

00:25:11.620 are,

00:25:13.300 the virus does not

00:25:14.380 hassle them in any way.

00:25:15.940 He's so busy

00:25:16.940 on these other projects

00:25:18.460 that he hasn't done

00:25:19.680 the one thing

00:25:20.180 he sort of meant to do,

00:25:21.560 not a drop of compunction

00:25:23.260 from anyone

00:25:23.960 of the permanent,

00:25:26.840 well,

00:25:27.120 what Eisenhower called

00:25:28.100 the military-industrial complex,

00:25:30.200 not a shred

00:25:31.700 of responsibility,

00:25:33.720 accountability,

00:25:34.840 no recognition

00:25:35.960 that they screwed up

00:25:37.780 or,

00:25:38.400 you know,

00:25:39.240 let alone

00:25:39.820 done something

00:25:40.760 like the British

00:25:41.340 defense minister

00:25:42.120 and resigned.

00:25:44.040 Yeah,

00:25:44.660 and in every single respect,

00:25:46.320 this is a repudiation

00:25:47.720 of their policy.

00:25:49.800 To those who said,

00:25:50.860 well,

00:25:51.220 you know,

00:25:51.480 we need to stay

00:25:52.260 in Afghanistan

00:25:53.880 in effect

00:25:54.800 in perpetuity,

00:25:55.800 to your point,

00:25:56.680 after 20 years

00:25:57.880 and 300,000

00:25:59.460 plus troops

00:26:00.460 trained

00:26:00.860 and a purported

00:26:01.800 government

00:26:02.200 stood up,

00:26:03.060 if it fell

00:26:03.980 within days

00:26:05.160 to the tribal

00:26:06.500 Sharia-based

00:26:07.640 Taliban jihadist group,

00:26:10.300 then what the hell

00:26:11.060 were we doing

00:26:11.760 for those 20 years?

00:26:13.120 And that's why I say

00:26:14.040 I really feel

00:26:15.480 so deeply

00:26:16.560 for,

00:26:17.620 again,

00:26:17.900 the families

00:26:18.560 of those who lost

00:26:19.280 their loved ones

00:26:19.800 on 9-11

00:26:20.260 and those who lost

00:26:21.080 their lives

00:26:21.440 on 9-11

00:26:21.880 and then the troops

00:26:22.800 who were put

00:26:23.860 into this position

00:26:24.760 of essentially

00:26:25.400 being armed

00:26:26.820 social workers

00:26:27.880 and trying

00:26:29.260 to engage

00:26:30.020 in a woke,

00:26:31.720 politically correct

00:26:32.680 nation-building

00:26:33.820 project there

00:26:34.640 and for nothing,

00:26:35.800 for ultimately

00:26:37.000 our enemies

00:26:38.460 taking right back over.

00:26:40.280 So,

00:26:40.560 again,

00:26:41.020 to those who would say,

00:26:41.860 well,

00:26:42.300 we needed to stay

00:26:43.080 in perpetuity,

00:26:44.300 if it fell

00:26:45.240 within days,

00:26:46.420 how could you

00:26:47.120 possibly justify

00:26:48.040 what you were doing there?

00:26:49.660 At the same time,

00:26:51.540 withdrawing was right.

00:26:53.600 The way in which

00:26:54.540 we withdrew

00:26:55.160 was the absolute

00:26:56.020 most disastrous

00:26:56.820 way possible.

00:26:57.680 So,

00:26:57.840 it's compounding

00:26:58.620 one error

00:26:59.640 with another

00:27:00.280 cataclysmic error

00:27:01.420 and now we are

00:27:02.500 going to see,

00:27:03.400 I believe,

00:27:04.520 disastrously,

00:27:06.080 arguably the greatest

00:27:06.880 hostage crisis

00:27:07.720 in American history.

00:27:09.260 Yeah.

00:27:09.660 Well,

00:27:09.900 and that's the thing.

00:27:10.540 I mean,

00:27:11.040 it's not just Afghans

00:27:13.120 who worked with America.

00:27:15.080 I mean,

00:27:15.180 I pointed out

00:27:16.180 the other day,

00:27:16.640 the average age

00:27:17.680 in Afghanistan

00:27:18.880 is younger than 20.

00:27:20.800 So,

00:27:21.240 half of Afghans

00:27:22.220 have lived

00:27:22.560 their entire lives

00:27:23.740 under some sort

00:27:25.080 of American

00:27:25.880 or NATO governance

00:27:27.060 and quite a few

00:27:28.700 of them

00:27:28.960 would have,

00:27:29.740 you know,

00:27:30.200 enjoyed it

00:27:30.840 or at least

00:27:31.300 enjoyed the economic

00:27:32.580 prosperity that came

00:27:34.180 from it,

00:27:34.640 if not the cultural

00:27:36.280 attempts to transform

00:27:37.220 the country.

00:27:37.940 But there must have

00:27:38.740 been in that country

00:27:39.640 thousands of local

00:27:41.880 people who genuinely

00:27:42.980 assisted America

00:27:44.040 in meaningful ways.

00:27:44.900 But put aside that,

00:27:46.120 all the American

00:27:47.060 contractors,

00:27:48.140 all the American

00:27:48.680 NGOs,

00:27:49.240 like that's,

00:27:50.480 I think,

00:27:50.620 what you're talking

00:27:51.160 about mainly

00:27:51.760 is the American

00:27:52.860 military

00:27:53.560 is,

00:27:55.500 you know,

00:27:55.920 left the Bagram Air Base,

00:27:57.400 is getting out

00:27:58.300 quickly on a deadline.

00:28:00.400 Not every American

00:28:01.780 is out of that country

00:28:03.160 and the keys

00:28:04.260 have been handed

00:28:04.800 over to the Taliban.

00:28:05.760 That's what's,

00:28:06.300 that's what's incredible.

00:28:07.460 I mean,

00:28:07.780 what's the estimate

00:28:08.480 on the number

00:28:09.020 of actual American nationals?

00:28:10.880 I'm not talking

00:28:11.600 about friendly Afghans,

00:28:13.540 but Americans.

00:28:14.940 How many Americans

00:28:15.660 do you think

00:28:16.260 are left in Afghanistan?

00:28:17.220 I've read reported

00:28:19.720 numbers of over

00:28:20.800 10,000,

00:28:21.900 15,000,

00:28:22.880 et cetera.

00:28:23.340 And the administration,

00:28:24.300 of course,

00:28:24.640 talks about how many

00:28:25.800 thousands of people

00:28:26.600 have been evacuated,

00:28:27.520 but it never does

00:28:28.220 the breakdown by country.

00:28:29.420 And it has not given

00:28:30.480 an honest and forthright

00:28:31.540 answer as to how

00:28:32.720 many Americans are there.

00:28:33.880 And that leads

00:28:34.380 to the question,

00:28:35.220 do they not know

00:28:36.200 or do they not want

00:28:37.340 us to know?

00:28:38.660 And by the way,

00:28:39.880 you know,

00:28:40.260 just to go back,

00:28:41.220 you discussed,

00:28:42.320 for example,

00:28:43.300 the weaponry

00:28:44.220 and the technology,

00:28:45.300 et cetera,

00:28:45.520 that was left behind.

00:28:46.300 We also left behind

00:28:47.380 substantial troves

00:28:48.380 of intelligence

00:28:49.120 and technology,

00:28:50.060 biometric information

00:28:51.780 on individuals,

00:28:52.780 which in the Taliban's hands

00:28:54.200 or in various jihadist groups

00:28:56.060 that are likely

00:28:56.580 to overrun the country

00:28:57.640 now's hands,

00:28:58.540 that will be used

00:28:59.280 to target Americans

00:29:00.300 and our allies

00:29:01.320 and partners.

00:29:02.060 So in every single respect,

00:29:04.200 it's a disaster.

00:29:05.100 But yeah,

00:29:05.340 my first starting point

00:29:06.380 is in a situation like this,

00:29:07.940 if you are a commander-in-chief,

00:29:09.500 your first job,

00:29:10.380 your first job

00:29:11.200 for any elected official

00:29:12.480 in any country

00:29:13.560 is to defend

00:29:14.420 the life and limb

00:29:15.140 of your citizens.

00:29:16.640 And that did not seem

00:29:17.560 to be the first priority

00:29:19.060 of the administration

00:29:19.900 from the start

00:29:20.900 of this unfolding disaster.

00:29:22.800 And I've said it before,

00:29:24.440 impeachment and removal

00:29:26.080 itself is almost

00:29:27.240 too lenient

00:29:28.280 a remedy

00:29:29.100 for what's transpired here.

00:29:31.020 There needs to be

00:29:32.020 a rolling of the heads

00:29:33.220 across the board

00:29:34.040 at the senior levels

00:29:34.840 of pretty much

00:29:35.360 every agency

00:29:36.260 involved with this cataclysm.

00:29:38.560 And then there needs

00:29:39.300 to be a real

00:29:40.300 post-mortem investigation

00:29:41.800 into the myriad ways

00:29:43.380 this went wrong.

00:29:44.060 And by the way,

00:29:44.960 Segar,

00:29:46.000 the Special Inspector General

00:29:47.720 for Afghanistan Reconstruction,

00:29:49.700 has been putting out

00:29:50.300 reports on the disaster

00:29:51.460 that is Afghanistan

00:29:52.640 for years.

00:29:54.280 But to your point,

00:29:55.440 no one has paid

00:29:56.220 a price for it.

00:29:57.000 And if no one

00:29:57.840 pays a price for it,

00:29:59.000 then we are bound

00:29:59.820 to have infinitely worse

00:30:01.300 cataclysms down the road.

00:30:02.880 I thought one of the most

00:30:04.160 interesting moments

00:30:05.760 was when the Taliban

00:30:08.100 said,

00:30:09.240 hey, Americans,

00:30:09.940 you are done

00:30:11.520 on August 31st.

00:30:13.000 That is your deadline.

00:30:15.140 And Biden

00:30:16.500 agreed to it.

00:30:17.740 The CIA boss

00:30:18.840 went over there,

00:30:20.160 met and agreed to it.

00:30:21.260 And I just,

00:30:22.040 I think back

00:30:22.780 to the last president,

00:30:24.660 Donald Trump,

00:30:25.220 who was criticized

00:30:25.800 for his brash tweets.

00:30:27.040 By the way,

00:30:28.020 I think his brash tweets

00:30:29.240 had a tremendous effect

00:30:30.240 in terms of foreign policy.

00:30:32.000 First of all,

00:30:32.380 they scared

00:30:33.140 foreign leaders

00:30:34.360 because they realized

00:30:35.600 that he was,

00:30:36.960 that Trump,

00:30:38.340 if he got on the wrong

00:30:39.260 side of Trump,

00:30:40.240 he would do things.

00:30:41.460 He wasn't just a creature

00:30:42.620 of a, you know,

00:30:43.580 slow, bureaucratic,

00:30:45.060 deep state.

00:30:46.600 Second of all,

00:30:47.220 he just cut through

00:30:47.860 the diplomatic talk

00:30:49.320 and just said things

00:30:50.400 that I think,

00:30:51.320 I think he was effective

00:30:53.620 actually on Twitter,

00:30:54.480 even though it upset

00:30:55.340 the sensibilities

00:30:56.040 of some folks.

00:30:57.240 But I just try and think,

00:30:59.400 if Donald Trump

00:31:00.500 had some terrorist leader,

00:31:02.480 because the Taliban

00:31:03.160 is still on the official

00:31:04.300 list of terrorist groups,

00:31:06.180 both in the United States

00:31:07.200 and Canada and other countries,

00:31:09.100 if the head of the Taliban

00:31:10.440 had given an order

00:31:12.220 to Donald Trump,

00:31:14.780 even if Trump agreed to it,

00:31:16.720 just the optics

00:31:17.760 of him taking an order

00:31:19.560 from the Taliban

00:31:20.440 would have made him

00:31:21.700 reject that.

00:31:23.080 I mean,

00:31:23.280 Trump was sort of funny

00:31:24.160 in that I would describe

00:31:26.280 his approach

00:31:26.920 as tit for tat.

00:31:28.160 If you were friendly

00:31:29.020 towards him,

00:31:29.720 he would be gushing

00:31:30.680 towards you.

00:31:32.180 He was almost

00:31:32.680 an asymmetrical tit for tat.

00:31:34.520 You say something

00:31:35.260 friendly to him,

00:31:36.240 he loves you.

00:31:37.020 He loves you.

00:31:37.780 Great guy.

00:31:38.620 But you do anything

00:31:39.700 negative to him

00:31:40.600 and he comes out

00:31:41.920 brawling at you.

00:31:44.280 And believe it or not,

00:31:45.020 that worked because

00:31:45.500 at least there was

00:31:46.620 a formula that you

00:31:48.140 could follow to know

00:31:49.080 how to get along.

00:31:50.280 Some Taliban thug says,

00:31:52.360 Trump,

00:31:52.800 you're out of here

00:31:53.360 on AUG 31.

00:31:54.960 Trump,

00:31:55.440 just to prove

00:31:56.160 he's the top dog,

00:31:57.640 would smash a bunch

00:31:58.680 of stuff.

00:31:59.360 But Biden said,

00:32:00.540 oh, okay,

00:32:01.340 that's fine by me.

00:32:02.920 Have I missed it?

00:32:03.960 Is that deadline

00:32:04.860 still on?

00:32:05.940 Is the Taliban

00:32:06.560 calling the shots?

00:32:09.080 In effect,

00:32:10.160 that's certainly

00:32:10.680 the optics.

00:32:11.640 And President Biden

00:32:12.720 has given no indication

00:32:13.920 to suggest otherwise.

00:32:15.740 And to your point,

00:32:16.900 the Taliban would never

00:32:17.760 issue an order

00:32:18.560 to President Trump,

00:32:20.320 de facto or du jour.

00:32:22.740 It would never happen

00:32:23.760 because they knew

00:32:24.480 who the top dog was.

00:32:25.820 And this is in a region

00:32:26.680 of the world

00:32:27.280 and among a culture

00:32:28.700 where the strong

00:32:30.280 course rules.

00:32:31.640 That is the rule there.

00:32:33.000 It's more like this.

00:32:33.840 It's the state of nature,

00:32:36.040 essentially.

00:32:37.260 And to your point,

00:32:38.560 and I interviewed

00:32:39.440 President Trump

00:32:40.240 a couple months ago

00:32:41.120 in connection with a book

00:32:42.180 I'm working on

00:32:42.880 on U.S.-China policy.

00:32:44.000 And he talked about

00:32:45.120 his interactions

00:32:46.200 with foreign leaders,

00:32:47.940 adversaries,

00:32:48.800 and allies.

00:32:49.860 And the clear sense

00:32:51.160 that I got

00:32:51.780 walking away from that

00:32:52.920 is he rattled

00:32:54.900 other leaders

00:32:55.700 because he spoke

00:32:56.740 in non-diplomatic ease

00:32:58.560 and he was blunt

00:32:59.380 and straightforward.

00:33:01.220 He was unpredictable

00:33:02.100 as a consequence

00:33:03.060 of both the rhetoric

00:33:03.960 and the actions

00:33:05.160 that were considered.

00:33:06.800 And again,

00:33:07.140 the proof was into putting

00:33:08.140 in the way of posing

00:33:09.180 a credible deterrent.

00:33:10.720 Donald Trump

00:33:11.120 didn't want to use force

00:33:12.380 unless he absolutely had to.

00:33:14.500 But if he felt

00:33:15.240 that he absolutely had to,

00:33:16.920 he would use

00:33:17.580 overwhelming force

00:33:18.860 as swiftly as possible

00:33:20.140 to send a message,

00:33:21.500 you better not mess

00:33:22.260 with America.

00:33:22.900 And that is

00:33:23.620 the peace through strength

00:33:25.080 what I would call

00:33:25.980 sort of a Gene Kirkpatrick-ian

00:33:28.240 foreign policy,

00:33:29.460 which does not mean

00:33:30.800 nation-building

00:33:31.680 and occupying countries

00:33:33.360 in perpetuity,

00:33:34.660 but rather being so strong

00:33:36.580 and showing such a willingness

00:33:37.840 to use overwhelming force

00:33:39.560 swiftly and indiscriminately

00:33:42.060 if you felt threatened,

00:33:43.900 that that deterrent alone

00:33:45.140 would prevent you

00:33:46.140 from having to engage

00:33:47.440 in missions

00:33:48.300 that ultimately

00:33:49.080 would lead to mission creep

00:33:50.400 and would sap you

00:33:51.660 of your morale,

00:33:53.160 blood,

00:33:53.560 and treasure as a nation.

00:33:55.200 And we are seeing

00:33:55.720 the exact opposite now.

00:33:57.280 It's not only

00:33:57.820 the exact opposite

00:33:58.740 in the way of

00:33:59.780 an America-last

00:34:01.140 type of foreign policy

00:34:02.740 that essentially

00:34:03.480 is affirmative action

00:34:05.000 for our worst adversaries,

00:34:06.640 but it's even worse

00:34:07.720 because it's complete weakness.

00:34:09.520 It's the emperor

00:34:10.300 has no clothes,

00:34:11.400 a paper tiger

00:34:12.300 sort of power,

00:34:14.180 and that means

00:34:15.160 danger for freedom

00:34:16.340 in America

00:34:17.020 and everywhere in the world.

00:34:18.840 Well, I'm excited to hear

00:34:20.140 you have a new book

00:34:20.780 coming out,

00:34:21.360 and the fact that

00:34:21.880 you interviewed

00:34:22.400 the former President Trump

00:34:23.440 is very interesting to me.

00:34:25.040 Let me ask you,

00:34:26.660 I've started to see

00:34:28.460 some journalists

00:34:30.120 in what I call

00:34:31.320 the media party,

00:34:32.500 the pro-Democrat,

00:34:35.640 soft left,

00:34:36.960 mainstream media,

00:34:38.100 who heretofore

00:34:39.900 have been almost cheerleaders.

00:34:42.460 I've started to see

00:34:43.400 some of them

00:34:44.020 in the face of

00:34:44.940 this appalling

00:34:46.080 Afghan exit

00:34:47.140 be critical

00:34:48.980 and ask questions

00:34:51.600 that I would almost say

00:34:52.560 is accountability journalism.

00:34:53.760 Certainly not in the

00:34:54.680 attack dog way

00:34:55.600 that they treated

00:34:56.580 Trump every day,

00:34:57.380 but I am seeing cracks

00:34:58.400 in the unity

00:34:59.040 in the media party.

00:35:02.000 What do you say

00:35:02.900 about that?

00:35:03.480 Do you think

00:35:04.240 that the American

00:35:06.500 media

00:35:07.240 has been

00:35:08.720 more accurate

00:35:10.300 and more fair

00:35:11.020 and more balanced

00:35:11.920 in its coverage of Biden?

00:35:13.220 Or do you think

00:35:13.960 I'm just looking

00:35:14.980 for examples of that

00:35:16.080 and generally

00:35:16.680 they're whitewashing

00:35:17.980 the disaster here?

00:35:18.840 How would you rate

00:35:19.460 the media

00:35:20.080 these past few weeks?

00:35:22.780 I think,

00:35:24.120 well,

00:35:24.580 I don't really want

00:35:25.380 to speculate

00:35:25.940 as to what

00:35:27.700 the intent

00:35:29.580 is behind it.

00:35:31.060 I think it's

00:35:31.920 very clear

00:35:32.980 that the media

00:35:33.640 has asked

00:35:34.120 more pointed questions

00:35:35.220 than they've ever

00:35:35.860 asked the president,

00:35:36.720 particularly while

00:35:37.340 he was hermetically

00:35:38.680 sealed as a candidate

00:35:39.660 and then I guess

00:35:40.460 in the first six-month

00:35:41.420 honeymoon period

00:35:42.860 of sorts.

00:35:44.180 He and those

00:35:44.880 around him

00:35:45.520 have been called

00:35:45.980 to the mat

00:35:46.420 for essentially

00:35:47.080 being absent

00:35:48.200 during the middle

00:35:49.120 of a crisis

00:35:49.680 where he was

00:35:50.600 on vacation

00:35:51.100 and Jen Psaki

00:35:52.480 was on vacation

00:35:53.180 and others

00:35:53.800 as this calamity

00:35:55.440 was unfolding

00:35:56.660 and then,

00:35:57.240 yes,

00:35:57.420 they have been

00:35:57.880 asked pointed questions

00:35:59.020 about Americans

00:35:59.840 being left behind

00:36:00.840 and how were you

00:36:01.780 not prepared for this

00:36:02.900 and how was the

00:36:03.860 intelligence so wrong

00:36:04.820 or how did the military

00:36:05.780 get their assessment

00:36:06.960 so wrong

00:36:07.440 as to how quickly

00:36:08.080 the country might fall

00:36:09.160 to the Taliban

00:36:10.140 and it's almost

00:36:11.320 cringeworthy,

00:36:12.560 of course,

00:36:12.900 when they go back

00:36:13.640 and they point to

00:36:14.440 the president

00:36:15.240 talking about

00:36:15.780 almost explicitly

00:36:16.720 we're not going

00:36:17.580 to have a Saigon

00:36:18.240 moment here,

00:36:18.900 we're not going

00:36:19.300 to have people

00:36:19.660 leaving on helicopters

00:36:20.720 and the like

00:36:21.940 and the administration

00:36:23.000 simply can't defend

00:36:24.320 what's happening

00:36:24.960 and the media

00:36:25.940 which generally speaking

00:36:27.260 the corporate media

00:36:28.160 serves as the

00:36:29.320 communications arm

00:36:30.280 I would argue

00:36:30.960 for the ruling

00:36:32.540 class writ large

00:36:33.820 and this administration

00:36:34.680 or this president

00:36:35.340 who I've argued

00:36:36.220 is sort of an avatar

00:36:37.000 for the ruling class,

00:36:38.780 even they can't

00:36:39.720 defend it

00:36:40.380 on the merits.

00:36:42.080 Now, again,

00:36:42.540 what is their intent?

00:36:43.680 I don't want to speculate

00:36:44.380 too much

00:36:45.000 except to say

00:36:45.640 that I think they know

00:36:46.680 this is a political disaster.

00:36:48.640 I mean,

00:36:48.800 they should ask

00:36:49.460 these questions

00:36:50.040 on the merits

00:36:50.700 as journalists

00:36:51.600 holding the powerful

00:36:52.740 to account

00:36:53.480 which they so rarely do

00:36:55.040 so I guess

00:36:55.700 we should acknowledge

00:36:56.380 that and appreciate

00:36:57.300 that for once

00:36:58.160 the media is acting

00:36:58.960 like real journalists.

00:37:01.180 That said,

00:37:02.660 is it rooted

00:37:03.560 in actually the merits

00:37:05.520 or is it rooted

00:37:06.320 in the fact that

00:37:07.260 they know this

00:37:08.220 is a political disaster

00:37:09.300 and they need

00:37:10.740 to act this way

00:37:11.500 because there's

00:37:12.100 an unfolding

00:37:12.660 political calamity

00:37:14.000 potentially in 2022

00:37:15.240 and beyond?

00:37:16.760 Is it that the call

00:37:17.800 has gone out

00:37:18.600 that they ought to turn

00:37:20.220 on President Biden

00:37:21.080 and this will allow

00:37:22.100 for his quick exit

00:37:23.200 a year in or less

00:37:25.520 and that you can justify

00:37:26.540 essentially shunting

00:37:27.800 President Biden aside

00:37:29.600 now that he serves

00:37:30.460 his useful purpose

00:37:31.540 of knocking off

00:37:33.060 President Trump?

00:37:34.920 Who knows?

00:37:36.020 But all I can say

00:37:37.420 is yes,

00:37:37.900 the media is acting

00:37:38.720 like real journalists

00:37:39.820 to an extent

00:37:40.560 and it's heartening

00:37:42.120 to see

00:37:42.640 although I have my doubts

00:37:44.140 about how genuine it is.

00:37:46.200 You know,

00:37:46.900 you've been very generous

00:37:47.700 with your time.

00:37:48.340 I just have,

00:37:48.920 yeah,

00:37:49.100 I have five questions

00:37:50.120 written down here

00:37:50.680 but I'm just going

00:37:51.200 to choose one.

00:37:52.660 Often in a political crisis

00:37:54.860 the boss says,

00:37:57.060 well,

00:37:57.560 I have to offer up

00:37:58.780 a scapegoat

00:37:59.460 of some size.

00:38:00.440 It could be

00:38:01.100 a top general.

00:38:02.400 There would be

00:38:02.780 some justice there.

00:38:03.920 It could be

00:38:04.680 a top aide.

00:38:05.600 You know,

00:38:08.140 who would the scapegoat be?

00:38:10.500 And if it's not

00:38:12.100 someone to put the blame on,

00:38:14.920 is it Biden himself?

00:38:16.480 And that's,

00:38:16.880 I think,

00:38:17.020 what you're suggesting.

00:38:18.860 Would he be the scapegoat

00:38:20.820 that the party

00:38:21.520 would really choose

00:38:23.080 to get rid of him?

00:38:24.480 He's obviously got

00:38:25.260 some cognitive challenges.

00:38:26.640 He's obviously

00:38:27.180 weak and not sharp.

00:38:29.040 Put Kamala Harris

00:38:30.200 in there.

00:38:31.080 Give her a couple

00:38:32.040 of years to get

00:38:33.000 her sea legs

00:38:34.420 and run her next time

00:38:36.240 because I think

00:38:36.800 Biden's getting worse

00:38:37.660 as the months go by.

00:38:38.740 I guess the question is,

00:38:39.800 does Joe Biden

00:38:40.900 choose a scapegoat first

00:38:42.860 or does he become

00:38:44.860 the scapegoat?

00:38:45.560 What do you think?

00:38:47.680 Good question.

00:38:48.600 I suspect that

00:38:49.360 another head role

00:38:50.400 is before

00:38:51.100 President Biden's

00:38:52.360 head role

00:38:53.120 is,

00:38:53.440 but that said,

00:38:54.680 I do think

00:38:55.620 reading between

00:38:56.380 the tea leaves

00:38:56.960 that the writing

00:38:57.480 probably is on the wall

00:38:58.880 and it's a question

00:38:59.480 of when,

00:39:00.080 not if,

00:39:01.100 for his presidency.

00:39:02.000 And we've talked

00:39:02.680 about this before.

00:39:03.620 I think it's always

00:39:04.340 been the plan

00:39:04.860 probably for him

00:39:05.720 not to go through

00:39:06.700 this full term.

00:39:08.600 And I think

00:39:08.940 it's very clear

00:39:09.520 he does not seem fit

00:39:10.700 to get through

00:39:11.720 this first term

00:39:12.760 or this first year,

00:39:13.860 frankly,

00:39:14.300 on the basis

00:39:14.860 of this disaster,

00:39:15.900 in my opinion.

00:39:17.160 That said,

00:39:18.200 I think that the writing

00:39:19.140 has sort of been

00:39:19.620 on the wall

00:39:20.240 in the near term

00:39:21.180 for maybe the chairman

00:39:22.140 of the Joint Chiefs

00:39:22.860 of Staff.

00:39:23.640 I've seen rumblings

00:39:24.820 about the Secretary

00:39:25.480 of Defense,

00:39:26.180 but it seems like

00:39:26.720 he's trying to

00:39:27.680 take precautions

00:39:28.800 potentially in his rhetoric

00:39:30.300 and what's being put out

00:39:31.360 to protect himself

00:39:32.900 in this disaster.

00:39:34.740 So we'll have to see.

00:39:35.860 If I was a betting man,

00:39:36.700 I'd probably bet

00:39:37.480 on the chairman

00:39:37.980 of the Joint Chiefs

00:39:38.660 of Staff

00:39:39.020 as the first head

00:39:39.800 to roll.

00:39:41.060 But that's to be determined

00:39:42.580 and we'll see

00:39:43.220 how awful things get

00:39:44.660 in the near term,

00:39:45.480 unfortunately.

00:39:46.380 And that's why

00:39:47.160 I really set

00:39:47.920 the politics aside

00:39:49.040 in this.

00:39:49.540 This is a disaster

00:39:50.940 for the country

00:39:51.540 and it doesn't matter

00:39:52.380 your political stripes.

00:39:53.980 And ultimately,

00:39:54.560 again,

00:39:54.900 I think it's a disaster

00:39:55.940 for the world

00:39:56.940 because if there's

00:39:58.220 the appearance

00:39:58.700 or in actuality

00:39:59.760 that America

00:40:01.160 is in chaos,

00:40:02.260 it's weak,

00:40:03.040 it's not respected,

00:40:04.240 it doesn't show

00:40:05.620 the deterrent strength

00:40:07.280 that it ought to,

00:40:08.980 then evil worldwide

00:40:10.900 will be on the march.

00:40:11.920 And unfortunately,

00:40:12.740 I felt that

00:40:13.920 that was the case

00:40:14.800 in the way

00:40:15.140 this administration

00:40:15.780 would respond

00:40:16.560 just in the way

00:40:17.340 or the reaction

00:40:18.340 that would exist

00:40:18.940 just on the basis

00:40:20.360 of the administration

00:40:21.280 bending over backwards

00:40:22.440 to get back

00:40:23.160 into an Iran deal

00:40:24.100 and appeasing Iran.

00:40:25.160 And of course,

00:40:25.960 the China ties

00:40:26.740 of this administration

00:40:27.540 and the weakness

00:40:28.140 that President Biden

00:40:28.960 and those around him

00:40:29.780 have shown

00:40:30.420 throughout their careers.

00:40:31.800 I think that was

00:40:32.540 self-evident

00:40:33.180 from the start

00:40:34.080 and now you're just

00:40:35.020 seeing a microcosm

00:40:36.300 of the disaster

00:40:37.400 and the fact

00:40:38.140 that our adversaries

00:40:38.900 neither fear

00:40:39.400 nor respect us

00:40:40.180 and that's bad

00:40:40.920 for every freedom-loving

00:40:41.840 person on the earth.

00:40:43.260 It's terribly depressing,

00:40:44.980 Ben,

00:40:45.080 whenever we talk

00:40:45.740 I get so depressed

00:40:46.880 but it's because

00:40:47.540 you're spitting

00:40:47.980 straight facts

00:40:48.680 and we have to hear it.

00:40:49.980 I want to close

00:40:50.720 by telling our viewers,

00:40:51.940 most of whom are Canadians,

00:40:53.580 that although

00:40:54.040 we've been talking

00:40:54.900 about this

00:40:55.320 in the American content,

00:40:56.220 context

00:40:56.940 and that makes sense

00:40:57.720 for all the reasons above,

00:40:59.360 I should remind you

00:41:00.300 that on the day

00:41:01.480 Kandahar fell,

00:41:02.980 sorry, pardon me,

00:41:03.800 Kabul fell,

00:41:04.600 the Afghan capital,

00:41:06.360 the day it fell,

00:41:08.140 instead of meeting

00:41:09.060 with his top aides

00:41:10.420 and military advisors

00:41:11.840 and foreign affairs

00:41:13.360 and diplomats,

00:41:14.320 instead of focusing

00:41:15.120 on getting the Canadians

00:41:16.140 out of Kabul,

00:41:18.240 Justin Trudeau

00:41:18.840 walked over

00:41:19.600 to the Governor General's house

00:41:21.100 and asked her

00:41:22.300 to call an election.

00:41:24.080 On the day

00:41:24.900 of the crisis,

00:41:26.100 Trudeau said,

00:41:26.740 no,

00:41:27.600 I want to have an,

00:41:29.180 I want to choose

00:41:30.060 to have an election,

00:41:31.260 a discretionary choice,

00:41:33.120 just two years

00:41:33.800 into my term.

00:41:34.620 I want to let you know

00:41:35.220 that's what Canada did.

00:41:36.900 Ben Weingarten,

00:41:37.520 great to see you again.

00:41:38.380 Thanks for all your time

00:41:39.080 and all your smarts.

00:41:40.400 Hope to talk to you again soon.

00:41:42.620 Thanks so much

00:41:43.000 for having me.

00:41:43.440 Really appreciate it.

00:41:44.360 All right,

00:41:44.700 there you have it.

00:41:45.160 Ben is the senior contributor

00:41:46.920 at The Federalist

00:41:48.100 and for Newsweek.com.

00:41:49.560 Stay with us.

00:41:50.080 More ahead.

00:42:01.800 Hey,

00:42:02.260 welcome back.

00:42:02.880 I appreciate your support

00:42:04.040 for our fight

00:42:05.840 VaccinePassports.com.

00:42:07.880 Some comments

00:42:08.620 about that show

00:42:09.400 last night.

00:42:09.860 J-Mart writes,

00:42:11.400 yes,

00:42:11.760 well done Rebel News

00:42:12.700 for standing up

00:42:13.380 for the rights

00:42:13.720 of all Canadians.

00:42:14.740 Thank you.

00:42:15.680 Well,

00:42:15.860 yeah,

00:42:16.060 you know what?

00:42:16.480 I remember

00:42:17.300 it wasn't long ago.

00:42:18.200 I mean,

00:42:18.340 I'm not that old.

00:42:19.620 I remember

00:42:20.200 when liberals said

00:42:21.120 they were the party

00:42:21.820 or the Charter of Rights.

00:42:22.820 They were the party

00:42:23.360 for human rights.

00:42:24.100 What about minority rights?

00:42:25.560 What about disabled rights?

00:42:27.040 What about conscientious objectives?

00:42:29.060 That was the liberal thing

00:42:30.400 and the bad guys

00:42:31.460 were conservatives.

00:42:33.400 You know,

00:42:33.900 you may be a minority.

00:42:36.700 You may be an unpopular minority,

00:42:38.440 but you have rights.

00:42:40.220 And forcing people

00:42:41.340 to undergo

00:42:42.160 a medical procedure,

00:42:43.920 an injection

00:42:44.480 that they do not

00:42:45.260 consent to freely

00:42:46.360 and putting extreme pressure

00:42:48.020 on them,

00:42:48.700 you'll lose your job

00:42:49.700 if you don't do it.

00:42:50.520 You won't be able

00:42:51.580 to finish your university degree

00:42:52.940 if you don't do it.

00:42:53.520 That's atrocious

00:42:54.260 and it's unethical.

00:42:55.540 Don't liberals get that?

00:42:57.860 Matthias writes,

00:42:59.480 donated

00:43:00.020 and will continue

00:43:00.780 to do so as necessary.

00:43:01.900 Well,

00:43:02.080 thank you very much.

00:43:02.820 I'm amazed

00:43:03.300 by the generosity

00:43:04.760 of the donations.

00:43:05.340 Of course,

00:43:05.860 you will get

00:43:06.600 a charitable tax receipt

00:43:07.820 for that,

00:43:08.260 which I'm very glad about.

00:43:09.340 That's the Democracy Fund,

00:43:10.760 which,

00:43:11.100 as you know,

00:43:11.420 is an arm's length charity

00:43:12.500 registered by

00:43:13.640 the Canada Revenue Agency

00:43:15.300 and their mandate

00:43:16.080 is civil liberties litigation

00:43:18.100 and civil liberties education.

00:43:20.640 So they will be paying

00:43:22.020 the lawyers directly.

00:43:23.100 Your donations go straight.

00:43:24.120 The Democracy Fund

00:43:24.880 doesn't even come

00:43:25.940 to Rebel News.

00:43:27.060 And you will get

00:43:28.220 that tax receipt.

00:43:29.020 So the larger your donation,

00:43:31.080 the larger your tax savings.

00:43:33.700 It's slightly different

00:43:34.760 province by province

00:43:35.800 and whatever your tax rate is.

00:43:37.260 But I would encourage you

00:43:39.020 to think,

00:43:39.480 look,

00:43:39.620 if you have some room

00:43:41.440 in your budget,

00:43:45.920 if you make a donation

00:43:47.180 to this

00:43:48.520 fightvaccinepassports.com,

00:43:50.840 a portion of that

00:43:51.980 will come out of your taxes

00:43:53.580 that you don't have

00:43:54.360 to pay to Trudeau instead.

00:43:55.900 I like to think of it

00:43:56.880 that way.

00:43:57.600 Give it to

00:43:58.080 fightvaccinepassports.com

00:43:59.840 instead of to Trudeau.

00:44:01.420 That's a better use

00:44:02.100 of your money.

00:44:02.960 Thank you for those

00:44:03.840 who have donated

00:44:04.700 and keep your eyes peeled.

00:44:06.560 I was talking

00:44:07.480 to the lawyers this morning.

00:44:08.360 I think we will have

00:44:09.600 a second client

00:44:11.380 as soon as today

00:44:12.880 or tomorrow.

00:44:13.600 I don't want to get

00:44:14.140 ahead of things.

00:44:14.940 I'm always bugging

00:44:15.720 our lawyers.

00:44:16.320 I'm calling them

00:44:16.840 probably four times a day

00:44:18.180 because I just can't tell you

00:44:19.600 how urgent this is.

00:44:20.680 So anyways,

00:44:21.140 thank you for your support

00:44:22.580 and I'll keep you posted

00:44:23.380 on how it goes.

00:44:24.080 That's our show for today.

00:44:25.720 Until tomorrow,

00:44:26.600 on behalf of all of us

00:44:27.440 here at Rebel World,

00:44:28.640 headquarters to you at home,

00:44:29.700 good night.

00:44:30.600 Keep fighting for freedom.

00:44:38.360 All right.

00:44:40.880 Here we go.

00:44:41.380 Take care.

00:44:41.920 All right.

00:44:42.600 Here we go.

00:44:43.400 Bye.

00:44:43.740 To the next.

00:44:44.560 We'll be right back.

00:44:45.120 Time to third.

00:44:45.640 Bye.

00:44:46.240 Bye.

00:44:46.480 Bye.

00:44:47.140 Bye.

00:44:47.460 Bye.

00:44:48.220 Bye.

00:44:48.720 Bye.

00:44:49.220 Bye.

00:44:49.460 Bye.

00:44:50.820 Bye.

00:44:54.600 Bye.

00:44:56.700 Bye.

00:44:58.980 Bye.

00:45:00.060 Bye.

00:45:00.220 Bye.

00:45:00.760 Bye.

00:45:01.380 Bye.

00:45:02.960 Bye.

00:45:03.460 Bye.

00:45:03.500 Bye.

00:45:03.620 Bye.

00:45:04.240 Bye.

00:45:04.660 Bye.

00:45:05.280 Bye.

00:45:05.660 Bye.

00:45:06.740 Bye.

Rebel News Podcast - August 27, 2021

EZRA LEVANT ｜ What does Maryam Monsef's “Taliban brothers” comment teach us about the media？

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