Full Comment - Trump’s Iran attack is also aimed at China

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00:01:00.000 On the morning of February 28th, 2026, American and Israeli fighter jets

00:01:10.000 took to the skies over Iran and began delivering bombs and missile strikes.

00:01:14.000 At the same time, the American 5th Fleet began shooting missiles from ships stationed in the Persian Gulf.

00:01:20.000 And when most of us were sleeping, Donald Trump released a video on his true social account announcing

00:01:26.000 Operation Epic Fury.

00:01:28.000 A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran.

00:01:37.000 Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. 1.00

00:01:51.000 Trump's eight minute address denounced the leadership of the Islamic Republic in Iran.

00:01:55.000 He called on members of the Iranian military to surrender, to lay down their weapons or, alternatively, to help the people topple the regime.

00:02:03.000 He told the Iranian people that help was arriving and that in time they should rise up and take back their country from the oppressive government that's been in power since 1979.

00:02:13.000 Hello and welcome to the Full Comment Podcast.

00:02:16.000 I'm Brian Lilly.

00:02:17.000 We were supposed to bring you an episode about what could happen in Iran.

00:02:21.000 Two great interviews were recorded last Friday with Jonathan Panikoff, a security expert, former intelligence officer for the U.S. government,

00:02:28.000 and currently director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council.

00:02:33.000 We also spoke to John Bolton, the former American ambassador to the United Nations and Donald Trump's national security advisor from 2018 to 2019.

00:02:42.000 Well, of course, hours after those interviews were recorded, the bombing started.

00:02:47.000 Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, was killed along with many others in positions of senior leadership.

00:02:53.000 So, a new podcast episode had to be created.

00:02:56.000 Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to speak with Canada's former ambassador to Israel, Vivian Berkovich, from her home in Israel as Iran was still carrying out their retaliatory attacks. 0.72

00:03:06.000 I spoke with former Israeli spokesman, Ilan Levy, to freelance journalist Adam Ziva, both of them in Tel Aviv, and with Canada's former chief of defense staff Rick Hillier.

00:03:16.000 This is going to be a different type of episode, but you will hear from each of these individuals as we explore what happened, what it means, and what comes next.

00:03:26.000 The position on the developments in the Middle East remains clear.

00:03:30.000 The Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East. 0.99

00:03:36.000 It has one of the world's worst human rights records and must never be allowed to obtain or develop nuclear weapons.

00:03:44.000 Prime Minister Mark Carney's quick and strong support for Donald Trump and the attacks on Iran was surprising.

00:03:49.000 He rightly pointed out, what many other world leaders would as well, that Iran could not be allowed to get a nuclear weapon.

00:03:56.000 The Iranian regime and their supporters in the West have long claimed that Iran's nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes only.

00:04:04.000 I put that claim to Jonathan Panikoff and asked if he believed it.

00:04:08.000 No, I certainly don't. Look, the problem with Iran's nuclear weapon is multiple. 0.81

00:04:15.000 Number one, we've seen what a hostile actor they are, not only to Israel, but even to Gulf allies, 0.98

00:04:23.000 when they don't like how the Gulf is acting, how it's coordinating with the US, with the UK, with Israel.

00:04:31.000 And so I think that becomes something that can't be undone.

00:04:35.000 Once Iran has a nuclear weapon, turning back the time on that becomes very, very difficult. 0.86

00:04:41.000 And with a regime like this that is fundamentally ideological, that is theocratic more than anything,

00:04:48.000 I think that is something that we all should recognize.

00:04:51.000 You're not going to have the same controls like the US has, frankly,

00:04:55.000 or the Brits have in terms of what it means to launch a nuclear weapon.

00:04:59.000 There's an ideological aspect to this that is fundamentally religious and how the regime exists that is incredibly dangerous.

00:05:07.000 And it's why it's always been viewed in Israel as a potential existential threat.

00:05:12.000 But there's also a second part to this, which is the idea that Iran getting a nuclear weapon is somehow going to make, you know,

00:05:19.000 the region more balanced is really a falsity that you hear propagated a lot by the regime, but also by others who've been influenced by it.

00:05:28.000 It will not only make the region much less stable, but it's going to lead to proliferation.

00:05:33.000 The Saudis have already been clear. If the Iranians get a nuclear weapon, the Saudis also are going to get a nuclear weapon. 0.70

00:05:41.000 If the Saudis get a nuclear weapon, I would be very surprised if you do not see other countries, including Turkey, for instance, get a nuclear weapon. 0.86

00:05:49.000 I think the last thing we need in the Middle East is more states with nuclear weapons.

00:05:54.000 I think we need to be, frankly, trying to diminish any other states from wanting them.

00:06:00.000 In Panikov's view, President Trump was acting to stop Iran from developing their nuclear capabilities further.

00:06:06.000 He also had made a promise to the Iranian people that he would help them, and that kind of backed him into a corner.

00:06:12.000 But to Panikov, there's also another reason he had to act, sending the right message to countries like China and Russia.

00:06:20.000 Then your only alternative right now is probably to strike, because if he's back down, it's not just a message to Iran.

00:06:26.000 It's a message being sent, frankly, to China that the U.S. is actually not going to keep its word and its commitment.

00:06:33.000 And so, by the way, most of East Asia is open for the Chinese to advance in the way they want to.

00:06:38.000 It's a message sent to Russia that, look, in the end, Ukraine and the deal is going to it's obviously hard to come by.

00:06:46.000 But Ukraine is also available to push maybe even more.

00:06:51.000 And so are potential other allies.

00:06:53.000 The U.S. won't be there.

00:06:55.000 And of course, it's a message to the Iranian regime that they can kill thousands, if not 10,000, maybe more people of their own are slaughtered on the street. 0.69

00:07:06.000 And there really is not going to be a repercussion, despite the U.S. saying they would.

00:07:11.000 That becomes very difficult for U.S. global leadership.

00:07:14.000 It would be akin to Barack Obama's red line in Syria.

00:07:20.000 And I mean, that was violated repeatedly.

00:07:23.000 And I think that cost President Obama an awful lot of credibility on the world stage.

00:07:30.000 I think that's absolutely right.

00:07:31.000 Look, that red line in the middle of the second term, you know, I think you'll get some people who say, well, a lot of the chemical weapons were removed.

00:07:40.000 They were sent to Russia.

00:07:41.000 But the reality was we actually have found out, unsurprisingly, I think to a lot of us, that no, Assad held on to some of the chemical weapons.

00:07:50.000 No, he kept violating secretly.

00:07:53.000 No, that President Obama's decision not to strike when we U.S. had jets on the tarmac ready to go, probably didn't create greater U.S. leverage or frankly, a safer and more peaceful world.

00:08:07.000 All of us, I think, would prefer diplomacy.

00:08:09.000 All of us would like to see diplomatic and peaceful solutions.

00:08:12.000 But there are times that military force is necessary.

00:08:16.000 And if you're going to commit to using military force, at least implicitly, as President Trump has and as President Obama did back in the mid teens and not follow through, then that might not be necessarily the wrong decision in the moment.

00:08:32.000 But it tends to have lasting and usually negative implications for U.S. global leadership around the world.

00:08:38.000 Now, last June, the Americans had struck at the end of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.

00:08:43.000 They dropped bunker buster bombs on Fordow nuclear facility and claimed victory.

00:08:48.000 So why then were they going back at Iran now? 0.82

00:08:51.000 Is this just political or did they not fully destroy the nuclear program last June?

00:08:56.000 That's a question I put to Ambassador John Bolton.

00:08:58.000 Well, I think the question of the bunker busters depends on what the target is.

00:09:02.000 I think in the times where some of the bunker busters were dropped, that was not very deeply buried and not nearly as hardened as some other facilities.

00:09:12.000 And I suspect that the damage to the enrichment chambers that we know about because IAEA inspectors went in there back in days gone by.

00:09:22.000 So we had a pretty good idea of what they were, and the Israelis had kept tabs on it.

00:09:27.000 So I think there the damage was pretty great.

00:09:29.000 What happened at Fordow, which is the Iranian facility buried under a mountain, the bunker busters performed better than anybody could have expected. 0.96

00:09:39.000 They didn't have to penetrate solid rock to get down to where the enrichment equipment was.

00:09:46.000 They went down the air shafts.

00:09:49.000 Now, they may have been a little bit bigger than the air shafts, but it obviously makes a huge difference in their ability to penetrate if most of what they face in front of them is just more air.

00:10:00.000 So being able to drop a bomb that big and have it go down several air shafts is a great credit to the Pentagon.

00:10:08.000 And I believe it could be at Fordow that that is a target that you could say was obliterated.

00:10:14.000 Now, Trump claims the whole program was obliterated.

00:10:17.000 That's flatly not true.

00:10:18.000 But I do think that those attacks, combined with what the Israelis had already done, really did constitute a significant setback for Iran.

00:10:29.000 We've seen the reaction from Iran since the attacks began, striking out at their neighbors, the Arab Gulf states.

00:10:35.000 They've hit the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, even a couple of missiles aimed at Cyprus.

00:10:41.000 Ambassador Bolton says that despite the Gulf states not participating in the strikes on Iran or allowing Americans to even use their bases or airspace,

00:10:50.000 these countries still support this attack and the desire to change the leadership in Tehran.

00:10:56.000 Well, I think I think as a general proposition, the oil producing Gulf Arab states would like to see the threat to their livelihood that Iran and or instability in the region poses. 0.98

00:11:09.000 Back before the Shah fell in 1979, all they did was compete in the sale of oil on price. 0.94

00:11:16.000 And of course, that was the time of the Arab oil embargo and the formation of OPEC.

00:11:21.000 So those were happy days for them.

00:11:24.000 They are as much threatened by the regime in Tehran as Israel is.

00:11:28.000 And that has helped explain the tectonic shift in the geopolitics of the region that's produced formal diplomatic recognition of Israel by the United Arab Emirates, by Bahrain, by Morocco.

00:11:42.000 Jordan and Egypt had previously signed peace agreements.

00:11:45.000 I think the region is is more closely aligned on the nature of the Iranian threat than politics in the U.S. and much of the NATO alliance.

00:11:56.000 So so this is something that although they won't shout about it, it's it's something that it very much in the interest of the Gulf Arab states to have this storm cloud around them removed. 0.95

00:12:09.000 One of the questions I put to Ambassador Bolton is why this regime in Tehran has survived for so long when so many people have been describing it as weak.

00:12:17.000 They largely have a monopoly on force with some notable exceptions.

00:12:22.000 And, you know, is the past couple of months have demonstrated they're willing to machine gun their own people in the streets of their cities.

00:12:29.000 I think that's really a sign of desperation on their part.

00:12:34.000 But it also shows the opposition, which is very widespread.

00:12:38.000 These demonstrations were taking place in all 31 of Iran's provinces is evidence of just how weak the regime is.

00:12:47.000 But what you need is is to have the regime fragment at the top and to have people who command forces in the regular military and even in the Revolutionary Guard begin to think the life expectancy of the regime is getting short and they want to end up on the right side of history.

00:13:04.000 Not not a noble motivation, but self-interest can can help out the opposition in many ways, which is why if you if you if you target the instruments of Iranian state power that can threaten us, Israel, the Arab states, and also threaten their own people, degrade those assets, I think you can expand the instability that already exists.

00:13:28.000 So a lot my first target list would be Revolutionary Guard headquarters and bases and facilities of the Siji headquarters, the ballistic missile programs and and the Iranian Navy, just for good measure, because that does pose a threat to the Gulf. 0.95

00:13:45.000 Arabs are deployed forces in the region and has the capability to mine the Strait of Hormuz, which would not be good for the global price of oil. 0.99

00:13:54.000 So that would be my first target list.

00:13:56.000 And and as people in Iran saw during the 12 day war last year and and really concluded, I think, very broadly at that point, the regime could not protect its most important assets, the nuclear program and the ballistic missile program.

00:14:12.000 And it's a pretty easy, logical job, as the people made to say, if they can't protect their most important assets, they can't protect themselves.

00:14:21.000 And once you draw that conclusion, the one that follows that is their days are numbered.

00:14:28.000 And I think that's really right.

00:14:29.000 But but but due to their monopoly on force, you say there needs to be a splintering with the the military, the IRGC, et cetera.

00:14:39.000 Right.

00:14:40.000 I think that's the that's the way that would happen.

00:14:42.000 Now, the one part of the population that is armed is the Kurdish population.

00:14:46.000 And it is part of the very large ethnic population in Iran that's very dissatisfied. 0.78

00:14:54.000 Now, depends on whose senses you believe.

00:14:57.000 But Persians only constitute 50 or 60 percent of the total population.

00:15:03.000 The Zeris, Kurds, Arabs, Balukis, others are something like 40 to 50 percent of the population.

00:15:11.000 So it's a it's the kind of thing that once once the regime begins to crumble at the top, it could crumble quickly.

00:15:19.000 We've heard stories, for example, in these demonstrations and earlier demonstrations back when the women of Iran went out to protest the murder of Masi Amini, the young Kurdish woman three years or so ago who refused to wear the hijab,

00:15:35.000 who challenged the really the legitimacy of the Ayatollahs themselves, that in local police stations and in towns and villages and small cities, the police were on the side of the demonstrators.

00:15:47.000 I think that if if they if they saw that the outside world knew and understood how strongly they felt against the regime and provided some tangible assistance, military and other, that that that would it would give them more of a sense that this is really doable.

00:16:06.500 Now, a real question is how far Donald Trump will go here when he sent troops into Venezuela to arrest Nicolas Maduro.

00:16:13.640 Maduro was widely expected that he would try to change that regime, but he didn't.

00:16:18.360 Ambassador Bolton calls that a mistake he hopes isn't repeated here.

00:16:22.440 Well, I would just take Venezuela as a quick aside.

00:16:25.040 I think it was wonderful that we captured Maduro, but I think we stopped too soon.

00:16:29.420 The people this is not really remember the Maduro regime.

00:16:32.800 It was the Hugo Chavez Maduro regime.

00:16:35.960 Everybody else who's left in at the top of the government in Caracas, starting with acting president Delce Rodriguez,

00:16:42.000 is just as much of a Chavista as Maduro ever was.

00:16:47.220 And I'm very afraid that by kicking the opposition to the side, Edmundo Gonzalez, who, by the account of International Observers, won 70 percent of the vote against Maduro in 2024,

00:16:58.840 and Maria Karina Machado, the leader of the opposition, you know, that delegitimizes them. 1.00

00:17:07.460 And they're really the basis on which I think overthrowing Maduro was a legitimate thing for the United States to do.

00:17:14.660 In Venezuela, I would have argued there was an alternative in the wings.

00:17:19.860 Right.

00:17:20.100 That's what I'm saying.

00:17:21.180 And I'm not sure there is in Iran.

00:17:22.640 Well, let me finish the point, because the idea that Trump might make a deal where somebody of the current regime, Iran, is left in charge will produce no change, in my view,

00:17:36.380 and therefore will not be worthwhile undertaking, just as I think he made a mistake in Venezuela.

00:17:42.460 The odds are that the successor regime in Iran would be very temporary, and it could consist of officers of the regular military.

00:17:56.160 There's not just the Revolutionary Guard.

00:17:58.100 There's the regular military.

00:17:59.740 It's not filled with people who wanted to be the protector of the revolution.

00:18:04.000 And I'm not saying they're Jeffersonian Democrats, but I am saying they're people who could keep order in the country,

00:18:14.020 but with a sophisticated and educated population at the top, which you have,

00:18:19.040 and with hundreds of thousands of emigres and exiles in Europe, in Canada, in the United States,

00:18:26.160 I think this is a country that has a real future in front of it.

00:18:30.460 You have to take each one on its own facts.

00:18:34.440 And here people say, but you could, in general, on regime change, people say, well, you could get a worse government.

00:18:40.080 I will tell you, in Iran, it is hard to imagine a worse government than the Revolutionary Guards and the Ayatollahs.

00:18:46.420 And I think that's what the people believe.

00:18:48.380 Now, what that also says is that Trump should have been consulting very closely with the opposition

00:18:55.940 so that we don't have to tell them exactly what we're going to do, but we have to know when the right moment to act is.

00:19:02.920 We did that in 2018 and 19 when we were trying to overthrow Maduro for the first time

00:19:09.100 and really followed the opposition's lead.

00:19:11.700 It didn't turn out to be successful, but we worked closely with the opposition.

00:19:15.960 I hope that's what the Trump White House is doing.

00:19:18.620 I was glad to see them, during the demonstrations, provide, according to press reports, 6,000 Starlink terminals

00:19:27.540 to allow them to communicate better inside Iran and with their supporters outside.

00:19:33.860 I hope we're doing more of that to help the opposition inside Iran get more structure and leadership.

00:19:39.420 John Bolton wasn't the only former ambassador I was speaking with about Iran over the weekend.

00:19:43.960 And Vivian Berkovich was Canada's ambassador to Israel from 2014 through 2016.

00:19:49.720 She currently splits her time between Toronto and a community in Israel's Negev Desert.

00:19:54.180 Still deeply connected with people in diplomatic and intelligence circles,

00:19:58.620 she told me that the threats coming from Iran went far beyond the nuclear issue and far beyond Israel.

00:20:04.020 And quite frankly, she says, Europeans should be worried.

00:20:07.760 There are so many complex interests, both American, European, and Canadian,

00:20:17.200 that are interfacing here with respect to Iran.

00:20:21.600 The nuclear issue is one.

00:20:24.480 A very significant issue is the ballistic missile range.

00:20:28.660 There is intelligence, we know this, that since June,

00:20:32.220 because Iran had this setback on the nuclear side,

00:20:34.900 they've thrown all of their resources into enhancing ballistic missile production

00:20:41.220 in terms of quantity and in terms of range.

00:20:46.700 And so those ballistic missiles, if I'm looking at the maps correctly,

00:20:50.860 could hit significant parts of Europe.

00:20:53.080 We're talking about being able to hit all of Italy,

00:20:58.180 the south of France, perhaps into Switzerland.

00:21:01.440 That has to have the Europeans nervous.

00:21:06.400 One would think, and I think some of them are nervous.

00:21:08.860 But not only have they developed a much broader,

00:21:14.140 much greater range for their ballistic missiles,

00:21:16.880 and they're pretty accurate.

00:21:18.940 They're not as accurate as they could be, but they'll improve.

00:21:23.240 They're also, they've been bragging about developing the capability

00:21:26.460 in the short term of having the ability to hit the United States.

00:21:30.780 So that's a pretty serious threat, whether it's true or not.

00:21:34.720 The other thing that my understanding is that there's significant intelligence

00:21:38.820 to support is that the Iranians also have the ability

00:21:42.660 to put warheads on these ballistic missiles

00:21:46.580 that carry biological, chemical weapons, and possibly...

00:21:52.460 And eventually, if not already, nuclear.

00:21:55.400 Exactly. I was going to say, dirty bomb nuke.

00:21:57.880 So those, that capability pertains directly to Israel

00:22:04.740 and somewhat to Europe.

00:22:06.880 Lots of information so far and more to come.

00:22:09.420 A quick break and then a discussion with General Rick Hillier,

00:22:13.060 Adam Zivo, and Ilan Levy.

00:22:14.800 There were so many missed opportunities to catch this

00:22:20.320 before the devastating thing happened.

00:22:23.600 A third of them we found literally in the phone book.

00:22:27.100 These people were not afraid.

00:22:29.340 They knew that nobody was effectively hunting them.

00:22:31.960 They knew they had escaped justice,

00:22:33.980 that they were going to die in their beds.

00:22:36.400 When I give talks at law schools,

00:22:37.480 it's that the charter ultimately is empowering a minority,

00:22:40.220 and it's empowering a minority that's a guild across the country,

00:22:42.680 and it's a fairly elite guild, and the guild is lawyers.

00:22:45.220 Families who were split by referendum

00:22:48.000 and brothers and sisters who never talked to each other

00:22:51.760 for years after the referendum

00:22:53.220 because they were so angry at each other

00:22:55.220 because of their emotions on both sides.

00:22:58.000 The reason he was assassinated

00:22:59.400 was not because he was trying to put a satellite into space,

00:23:02.800 but because the gun that he was creating

00:23:07.100 had other applications that made him and the gun

00:23:11.420 very dangerous.

00:23:12.920 It's finally here.

00:23:14.620 A new season of Canada Did What?

00:23:16.880 Host media podcast that revisits

00:23:18.640 the big Canadian political events

00:23:20.620 you might think you remember

00:23:22.260 and tells you the real story you never knew.

00:23:25.420 I'm Tristan Hopper.

00:23:26.740 The voices you just heard

00:23:28.280 are from our brand new season two.

00:23:30.560 We will unpack some of the pivotal moments

00:23:32.680 that helped define our country,

00:23:34.360 often without a vote,

00:23:35.380 usually without a plan,

00:23:37.060 and sometimes without anyone admitting

00:23:39.060 what they've done.

00:23:41.060 We'll find out how Canada became

00:23:42.600 a welcoming paradise

00:23:43.860 for untold numbers of Nazi war criminals

00:23:46.780 after the Second World War.

00:23:48.440 We let them build monuments

00:23:49.880 to their wartime exploits

00:23:51.220 and even ended up honoring a Nazi fighter

00:23:53.460 in the House of Commons.

00:23:55.280 And I'm sorry to say

00:23:56.300 that none of that happened by accident.

00:23:58.820 We'll bring you the little-known story

00:24:00.640 of a troubled Canadian rocket scientist

00:24:02.700 who turned to a sinister life

00:24:04.420 of selling giant guns

00:24:06.340 to terrible people.

00:24:08.120 And if that sounds like a spy novel,

00:24:09.920 it ends like one too.

00:24:11.500 You'll hear the behind-the-scenes story

00:24:12.920 of Quebec's attempted secession from Canada

00:24:15.300 and how very close we came

00:24:17.520 to a political crisis

00:24:18.560 that would have made Brexit

00:24:20.160 look like a picnic.

00:24:21.700 You'll hear about how

00:24:22.880 the much-celebrated

00:24:24.020 Charter of Rights and Freedoms

00:24:25.580 turned into something

00:24:26.560 its creators never wanted

00:24:28.360 and how many of the most

00:24:29.760 extravagant warnings

00:24:30.900 about the document

00:24:31.920 were all quickly proven true.

00:24:34.560 And you'll even hear

00:24:35.720 about how authorities

00:24:36.740 bungled multiple chances

00:24:38.180 to stop the deadliest terrorist attack

00:24:40.200 in our country's history

00:24:41.140 and then proceeded to pretend

00:24:43.020 it never happened.

00:24:44.640 These aren't dusty history lessons.

00:24:46.920 They're stories about power,

00:24:48.300 ambition, madness,

00:24:49.420 and the things about Canada

00:24:50.520 that a lot of people

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00:24:53.500 But not you!

00:24:54.920 You won't want to miss an episode.

00:24:56.840 Subscribe to make sure

00:24:57.880 you get all of Season 2

00:24:59.300 starting March 2026

00:25:00.820 anywhere you get your podcasts.

00:25:07.980 Those are some of the sounds

00:25:09.480 of Iranian-Canadians

00:25:10.900 cheering on the strikes

00:25:11.840 by the U.S. and Israel

00:25:13.420 in the Toronto area.

00:25:14.760 Around the world,

00:25:15.580 you see the Iranian diaspora

00:25:17.420 cheering on the actions

00:25:18.820 of Donald Trump

00:25:19.520 and Benjamin Netanyahu,

00:25:21.560 even as protesters

00:25:22.760 from the left denounce them.

00:25:24.760 General Rick Hillier

00:25:25.780 was Canada's chief

00:25:26.960 of defense staff

00:25:27.680 from 2005 until 2008.

00:25:30.120 Prior to that,

00:25:30.780 he was the military leader

00:25:31.980 for NATO's

00:25:32.720 International Stabilization Force

00:25:34.480 in Afghanistan.

00:25:35.800 He's a smart man

00:25:36.620 who's very familiar

00:25:37.640 with how wars are fought,

00:25:39.000 how the American military operates,

00:25:41.020 and how actions

00:25:41.920 can have consequences.

00:25:43.680 During our discussion,

00:25:45.120 Hillier went where others haven't.

00:25:47.060 He connected the strikes on Iran

00:25:49.120 with America's real nemesis

00:25:51.120 in the world, China.

00:25:52.300 But here's what I would also say.

00:25:54.420 If you change the government

00:25:56.060 in Iran,

00:25:57.700 if you get in place

00:25:58.820 a more balanced

00:26:00.520 and, dare I say it,

00:26:01.980 potentially a democratic government

00:26:04.000 that we're going to help

00:26:04.700 the people live a better life,

00:26:06.280 the oil supply to China

00:26:08.320 changes dramatically now

00:26:10.220 with Venezuela being out

00:26:11.460 of the picture

00:26:11.880 and really dictated to

00:26:13.060 by the United States of America,

00:26:14.500 with Iran who supplies a lot

00:26:16.380 to China being possibly

00:26:18.600 and most likely taken out

00:26:20.080 of the picture for doing that.

00:26:21.040 All of a sudden,

00:26:21.880 China's sources of energy 0.54

00:26:23.480 change dramatically

00:26:24.660 and that's going to constrain

00:26:26.380 their desire or appetite

00:26:28.560 to invade Taiwan

00:26:29.840 and do something

00:26:30.720 in the South China Sea.

00:26:32.700 You were speaking my language,

00:26:34.080 General Rick.

00:26:35.680 It's just too many people

00:26:37.180 that don't understand

00:26:38.080 that China is central 0.87

00:26:38.980 to all of these

00:26:39.880 disparate stories,

00:26:41.880 that this is part

00:26:43.620 of a larger picture.

00:26:45.440 And China has been getting

00:26:46.740 cheap oil

00:26:47.340 from both Venezuela and Iran.

00:26:49.060 and that has helped

00:26:51.640 fuel their economic growth,

00:26:53.240 but also their military aspirations.

00:26:56.620 And Iran selling oil

00:26:58.720 cheap or not to China

00:27:00.300 gives them the money

00:27:01.360 to prolong the terror campaign

00:27:04.120 in Gaza with Hamas,

00:27:05.900 in Lebanon with Hezbollah,

00:27:07.680 in Yemen with the Houthis, 0.59

00:27:09.340 with ISIS inside of Iraq,

00:27:11.800 and of course,

00:27:12.400 with disparate horrible forces

00:27:15.140 inside of Syria itself.

00:27:16.680 The Middle East,

00:27:17.740 the region won't change

00:27:18.940 with the same regime in Tehran.

00:27:21.460 When that goes,

00:27:22.440 that will be a wonderful thing

00:27:23.740 and give an opportunity there

00:27:24.960 that's dramatic.

00:27:25.960 But yes,

00:27:26.500 it will constrain China.

00:27:28.820 China won't have the easy, 0.62

00:27:31.380 cheap energy source

00:27:32.440 that you referred to.

00:27:34.060 Again,

00:27:34.640 with Venezuela

00:27:35.160 and now Iran

00:27:35.980 perhaps being taken

00:27:36.740 out of the picture,

00:27:37.860 they're going to have to look

00:27:38.780 at things very differently

00:27:39.820 and that will constrain

00:27:41.400 their appetite 1.00

00:27:41.920 to do anything idiotic 1.00

00:27:43.560 in the South China Sea 0.99

00:27:44.560 towards Taiwan.

00:27:45.320 So let me ask you this

00:27:48.000 because you have

00:27:49.140 briefed prime ministers,

00:27:52.640 both Prime Minister Paul Martin

00:27:53.900 who appointed you to CDS,

00:27:55.640 Prime Minister Stephen Harper

00:27:56.780 who you served under

00:27:58.160 for a longer period of time.

00:28:00.260 When you go in

00:28:01.200 and you're presenting

00:28:02.040 these options

00:28:02.860 and you described it,

00:28:04.060 General Cain

00:28:04.760 and the others

00:28:05.640 would present options,

00:28:07.040 the risk and the reward,

00:28:09.100 the potential downfalls,

00:28:11.040 the upside.

00:28:11.640 Do you get into

00:28:13.520 the potential

00:28:14.600 political aspects of this

00:28:16.580 as you're doing it?

00:28:18.020 I mean,

00:28:18.280 because a military action

00:28:20.600 can have a very political impact

00:28:22.840 and you doing A

00:28:25.060 means the other country

00:28:26.140 can't do B

00:28:26.880 or may be dissuaded

00:28:28.880 from doing B.

00:28:30.380 You know,

00:28:30.820 what type of analysis,

00:28:34.640 what type of advice

00:28:35.980 would you have given

00:28:37.380 to prime ministers,

00:28:38.160 would they be giving

00:28:39.040 to presidents?

00:28:40.160 Is it just strictly military

00:28:41.680 or is there a geopolitical

00:28:44.780 aspect to this as well?

00:28:47.100 I don't think

00:28:47.960 there's any such thing

00:28:48.840 as strictly military anymore.

00:28:50.780 There is a geopolitical

00:28:52.000 aspect to it.

00:28:52.660 And I recall

00:28:53.180 just a simple little example

00:28:54.740 when we were in Afghanistan.

00:28:57.060 I was the chief

00:28:57.900 of defense staff.

00:28:58.720 I was there with

00:28:59.360 Prime Minister Harper

00:29:00.300 and you talked about

00:29:00.920 giving advice

00:29:01.620 to a prime minister.

00:29:02.660 We talked about

00:29:03.220 the military situation,

00:29:04.480 Prime Minister Harper and I.

00:29:06.180 We were in Kandahar

00:29:07.240 talking about

00:29:07.740 what the challenges were

00:29:08.680 and he was heading

00:29:09.280 to Kabul

00:29:09.800 to talk with

00:29:10.980 President Karzai

00:29:11.760 and I said,

00:29:12.380 you know,

00:29:12.540 Prime Minister,

00:29:13.060 when you talk

00:29:13.520 to the president,

00:29:14.740 you know,

00:29:15.060 I knew President Karzai

00:29:16.940 very well,

00:29:17.560 spoke to him

00:29:17.980 about all the issues

00:29:19.100 including this issue

00:29:20.160 I want to talk

00:29:20.840 to Prime Minister Harper

00:29:21.780 about and said,

00:29:22.320 look,

00:29:23.020 you know,

00:29:23.280 the Minister of Defense

00:29:24.280 is simply not doing

00:29:25.180 his job.

00:29:26.080 We are not building

00:29:27.120 the armed forces

00:29:27.840 that we are going

00:29:28.620 to need to be able

00:29:29.540 to leave the defense

00:29:31.060 and security of Afghanistan

00:29:32.260 and the stability

00:29:33.260 of this country

00:29:34.120 in their hands

00:29:35.020 and that Minister of Defense

00:29:36.140 needs to change,

00:29:37.000 he needs to go

00:29:37.660 and we need to have

00:29:38.900 a leader in there

00:29:39.660 who can actually

00:29:40.240 get things done

00:29:41.140 and, you know,

00:29:42.620 yes,

00:29:43.020 reduce that corruption

00:29:43.880 and a variety

00:29:44.440 of other things

00:29:45.180 and that certainly

00:29:46.260 was not my purview

00:29:47.180 to talk about

00:29:47.840 who were the ministers

00:29:48.820 in the government

00:29:49.380 of Afghanistan.

00:29:50.400 At the same time,

00:29:51.740 the lives of our boys

00:29:52.880 and girls

00:29:53.360 and our treasure

00:29:54.780 was supporting

00:29:56.960 the president

00:29:57.760 and the government

00:29:58.660 of Afghanistan

00:29:59.400 and Afghans

00:30:00.300 and I wanted

00:30:00.840 to get maximum effect

00:30:01.900 and I felt I had

00:30:03.140 to make that advice clear

00:30:04.220 and I did.

00:30:05.080 I think General Cain

00:30:05.980 would have talked

00:30:06.580 to the geopolitical

00:30:07.420 piece of it

00:30:07.900 without question.

00:30:08.760 You simply have

00:30:09.540 to remember

00:30:10.100 your lanes though

00:30:11.180 and you can step

00:30:12.380 outside them

00:30:13.100 but there's no such thing

00:30:14.120 as just pure

00:30:15.020 military advice. 0.64

00:30:16.380 You drop one bomb 0.99

00:30:19.120 over Tehran 0.75

00:30:20.140 and all of a sudden

00:30:20.980 you change everything.

00:30:22.200 You change the relationship

00:30:23.420 from Iran to Lebanon

00:30:24.680 and Hezbollah

00:30:25.720 as I mentioned earlier

00:30:26.720 and you change

00:30:27.880 the relationship

00:30:28.680 in the Gulf

00:30:29.600 when Iran

00:30:30.860 then turns around

00:30:31.660 and attacks

00:30:32.180 what is it

00:30:32.640 six other countries

00:30:33.760 who were not

00:30:34.920 part of the attack

00:30:35.820 and immediately

00:30:36.380 creates six

00:30:37.440 co-belligerents 1.00

00:30:38.340 who are now ready

00:30:39.660 to support the US

00:30:40.600 and Israel

00:30:41.200 in an even greater way

00:30:42.800 than they did before

00:30:43.580 so yeah

00:30:44.140 you have to walk

00:30:44.900 through those kinds

00:30:45.700 of things.

00:30:46.400 On Sunday morning

00:30:47.020 the second day

00:30:47.740 of the offensive

00:30:48.320 against Iran 0.78

00:30:49.020 I caught up

00:30:49.520 with Adam Zeebo.

00:30:50.560 Adam is a columnist

00:30:51.620 for the National Post.

00:30:52.900 He's reporting

00:30:53.940 on the war

00:30:54.600 for the News Forum

00:30:55.420 television station.

00:30:56.840 In part of our conversation

00:30:57.880 he laid out

00:30:58.700 why he thinks Iran

00:30:59.940 may be striking out

00:31:00.920 so many of its neighbors

00:31:02.180 in the Gulf states

00:31:03.000 and using that

00:31:04.180 as a way to try

00:31:04.980 and pressure

00:31:05.540 the United States

00:31:06.500 to back off.

00:31:07.740 We also talked about

00:31:08.680 the political dynamics

00:31:09.720 of these attacks

00:31:10.540 within the American

00:31:11.940 political world.

00:31:13.000 Many of the Gulf states

00:31:14.300 fear Iran.

00:31:15.740 They fear 0.59

00:31:16.400 the radical Islamism 0.61

00:31:18.460 of the Mullahs. 0.68

00:31:19.280 They fear

00:31:19.920 the Shiite sects.

00:31:22.420 You know

00:31:22.540 these monarchies

00:31:23.960 are usually Sunnis.

00:31:25.660 They don't want revolution

00:31:26.980 within their own states.

00:31:28.700 And so they want

00:31:29.800 Iran contained. 0.94

00:31:31.780 And so

00:31:32.360 since the late 2010s

00:31:34.220 there's been

00:31:35.100 a quiet

00:31:36.460 but growing

00:31:37.440 alliance

00:31:38.120 between Israel

00:31:38.940 and its neighbors

00:31:39.680 to contain Iran. 0.92

00:31:40.980 And that was epitomized

00:31:42.140 by the Abraham Accords

00:31:43.480 which normalized

00:31:44.580 relations between Israel

00:31:46.020 and several Arab states.

00:31:48.040 And in fact

00:31:48.800 Saudi Arabia

00:31:50.220 was on the cusp

00:31:51.300 of normalizing

00:31:52.440 its relationship

00:31:53.260 with Israel

00:31:53.940 in late 2023

00:31:55.640 potentially early 2024

00:31:57.260 which is why

00:31:58.620 some people hypothesize

00:32:00.180 October 7th happened

00:32:01.780 that essentially

00:32:02.400 Iran wanted to 1.00

00:32:03.840 to stop that

00:32:06.400 from happening.

00:32:06.880 Right?

00:32:07.880 So we know

00:32:08.600 that Iran is 0.95

00:32:09.360 aware of the fact

00:32:10.760 that these states

00:32:11.420 are not necessarily

00:32:12.260 friendly

00:32:12.820 but it would have 0.99

00:32:14.580 been stupid 1.00

00:32:15.180 for Tehran 1.00

00:32:16.600 to attack

00:32:17.080 these states earlier

00:32:17.860 because that would

00:32:19.600 of course

00:32:20.000 push these states

00:32:21.040 into Israel's arms.

00:32:24.500 This reconciliation

00:32:26.320 between Israel

00:32:27.200 and its neighbors

00:32:27.740 has been mostly

00:32:28.580 elite driven.

00:32:30.060 Right?

00:32:30.200 You have monarchs

00:32:31.660 and autocrats

00:32:32.640 who don't want

00:32:33.580 revolution

00:32:34.100 but there is

00:32:35.860 more

00:32:36.480 there's a risk

00:32:37.060 of there being

00:32:37.640 broader popular support

00:32:39.140 for working with Israel

00:32:40.460 when citizens

00:32:42.060 of these states

00:32:42.760 see Iranian drones

00:32:43.840 landing

00:32:44.320 in their shopping

00:32:45.480 marts

00:32:45.900 sorry

00:32:46.460 shopping malls

00:32:47.280 in their airports

00:32:48.300 in their

00:32:49.560 you know

00:32:50.160 glittering

00:32:51.160 skyscrapers

00:32:52.400 and so

00:32:53.520 a hotel in Dubai

00:32:54.640 was hit.

00:32:55.900 Yes

00:32:56.120 seven star hotel

00:32:57.000 the one of the most

00:32:57.560 luxurious hotels

00:32:58.800 in the world

00:32:59.100 the Burj Khalifa

00:33:00.160 was almost hit.

00:33:01.160 Right?

00:33:02.620 So

00:33:03.100 when Iran

00:33:04.740 has you know

00:33:05.500 when we see

00:33:06.340 that Iran 0.91

00:33:06.640 has made this choice

00:33:07.520 to attack these states

00:33:08.620 we see

00:33:09.640 that there is

00:33:10.680 a there's a

00:33:11.440 short term gain here.

00:33:12.400 Right?

00:33:12.700 So

00:33:12.860 it is

00:33:13.600 generally hypothesized

00:33:15.440 that the rationale

00:33:16.460 is that

00:33:17.820 Israel

00:33:19.040 is very

00:33:19.800 hard

00:33:20.780 to

00:33:21.260 I guess

00:33:22.920 like

00:33:23.080 harass.

00:33:24.260 The Israelis 0.92

00:33:24.700 are well prepared 0.79

00:33:25.400 they can shoot down

00:33:26.700 missiles

00:33:27.040 they have all these

00:33:28.460 shelters

00:33:28.920 they're resilient

00:33:30.200 but

00:33:31.160 Dubai

00:33:31.940 never expected

00:33:33.640 this really

00:33:34.220 and so

00:33:35.240 I think

00:33:36.440 that Iran 0.91

00:33:37.400 is planning

00:33:38.580 on applying

00:33:39.640 pressure to the

00:33:40.480 Gulf states

00:33:40.920 so that the Gulf states

00:33:41.960 go back to Israel 1.00

00:33:43.100 and to the United States

00:33:44.560 and say

00:33:44.840 wait guys

00:33:45.500 we are suffering

00:33:46.360 way too much here

00:33:47.100 we need to tone this down

00:33:48.240 and we need to de-escalate

00:33:49.340 and get to negotiations

00:33:50.380 and

00:33:51.540 if that play works

00:33:52.700 for Iran

00:33:53.220 okay

00:33:53.740 the mullahs will live 1.00

00:33:54.720 to see another day

00:33:55.560 their regime

00:33:56.120 will survive

00:33:56.600 in the short term

00:33:57.360 but this will only

00:33:58.640 consolidate

00:33:59.380 the anti-Iranian

00:34:00.700 alliance

00:34:01.360 in the Middle East

00:34:02.280 and I think

00:34:03.120 that that will

00:34:03.860 be ultimately

00:34:05.020 the final nail

00:34:05.780 in the coffin

00:34:06.340 for this regime

00:34:07.100 but

00:34:07.860 we're seeing

00:34:08.820 Iran

00:34:09.300 basically

00:34:09.660 burning

00:34:10.480 its last

00:34:11.620 options here

00:34:12.480 to stay afloat

00:34:13.660 you know

00:34:15.380 listening to

00:34:16.380 American

00:34:17.820 military officials

00:34:19.060 you know

00:34:19.760 retired generals

00:34:20.940 on TV

00:34:21.920 etc

00:34:22.260 talking about

00:34:23.420 what to expect

00:34:24.180 they've been saying

00:34:25.320 days

00:34:26.220 potentially weeks

00:34:27.340 of this operation

00:34:28.640 going on

00:34:29.180 that this would not be

00:34:30.140 the way it was

00:34:31.800 in June

00:34:32.460 where the US

00:34:33.020 went in with

00:34:33.680 one attack

00:34:34.420 and then left

00:34:35.260 that this will be

00:34:36.180 sustained

00:34:36.760 for multiple days

00:34:39.060 so

00:34:40.460 what you just

00:34:42.020 laid out there

00:34:42.700 with Iran

00:34:43.580 trying to

00:34:44.980 provoke

00:34:47.380 the Gulf Arab

00:34:48.880 neighbors

00:34:49.460 into

00:34:51.040 pressuring the US

00:34:52.660 pressuring Israel 0.90

00:34:53.660 for

00:34:54.160 peace talks

00:34:56.040 that makes

00:34:56.880 a lot of sense

00:34:57.740 yeah

00:34:59.020 it does

00:34:59.760 I think

00:35:02.100 the Iranian

00:35:02.680 regime

00:35:03.480 sorry

00:35:03.860 the Islamic regime

00:35:04.840 sees this as an

00:35:05.620 existential threat

00:35:06.480 right

00:35:06.760 this is not

00:35:07.440 just

00:35:07.940 a small

00:35:09.400 operation

00:35:10.000 it seems

00:35:10.740 as if

00:35:11.000 Trump

00:35:11.240 really wants

00:35:11.820 to make

00:35:12.160 sure

00:35:12.340 that he

00:35:12.680 makes

00:35:13.020 a difference

00:35:13.340 here

00:35:13.600 of course

00:35:14.960 with the

00:35:15.240 midterms

00:35:15.680 coming up

00:35:16.500 he needs

00:35:17.220 to show

00:35:17.800 his voters

00:35:18.800 he needs

00:35:19.160 to show

00:35:19.420 Americans

00:35:19.800 in general

00:35:20.300 that he

00:35:20.640 is strong

00:35:21.260 and that

00:35:21.520 he's

00:35:21.680 delivered

00:35:21.940 victories

00:35:22.460 I think

00:35:24.260 that

00:35:24.700 his victory

00:35:25.740 last summer

00:35:27.140 was marred

00:35:28.240 by the fact

00:35:28.980 that the

00:35:29.740 destruction

00:35:30.480 of Iran's 0.76

00:35:32.540 nuclear program

00:35:33.380 was much

00:35:35.000 less significant

00:35:35.820 than it

00:35:36.240 initially

00:35:36.600 seemed

00:35:37.080 right

00:35:37.440 so

00:35:37.960 then

00:35:38.120 people

00:35:38.340 might

00:35:38.560 ask

00:35:38.820 well

00:35:39.000 was it

00:35:39.420 wise

00:35:39.920 for the

00:35:40.220 United

00:35:40.400 States

00:35:40.620 to get

00:35:40.860 involved

00:35:41.300 if they

00:35:41.900 didn't

00:35:42.140 achieve

00:35:42.480 their

00:35:42.660 goals

00:35:43.120 so

00:35:43.840 I

00:35:44.440 would

00:35:44.600 imagine

00:35:45.040 that

00:35:45.320 if I

00:35:45.560 was a

00:35:45.880 Republican

00:35:46.180 strategist

00:35:46.920 I

00:35:47.360 would

00:35:47.500 want

00:35:47.720 to

00:35:47.820 make

00:35:48.000 sure

00:35:48.300 that

00:35:48.500 there

00:35:48.640 are

00:35:48.740 lasting

00:35:49.240 effects

00:35:49.860 otherwise

00:35:50.480 people

00:35:50.840 will

00:35:51.040 say

00:35:51.200 that

00:35:51.360 this

00:35:51.520 is

00:35:51.640 a

00:35:51.760 waste

00:35:51.940 of

00:35:52.100 money

00:35:52.380 now

00:35:53.040 we

00:35:53.280 can't

00:35:53.620 forget

00:35:54.260 that

00:35:54.600 about

00:35:54.840 I

00:35:55.220 think

00:35:55.360 80%

00:35:56.000 of

00:35:56.300 Americans

00:35:56.720 don't

00:35:57.080 want

00:35:57.320 to

00:35:57.440 intervene

00:35:58.360 in

00:35:58.580 Iran

00:36:05.820 and

00:36:07.560 you

00:36:07.680 don't

00:36:08.000 do

00:36:08.220 something

00:36:08.520 like

00:36:08.800 this

00:36:09.120 which

00:36:09.340 is

00:36:09.480 unpopular

00:36:10.100 unless

00:36:10.820 you

00:36:11.060 want

00:36:11.260 to

00:36:11.380 see

00:36:11.620 some

00:36:12.140 brilliant

00:36:12.680 results

00:36:13.180 that

00:36:13.380 will

00:36:13.580 retroactively

00:36:14.460 win

00:36:14.880 people

00:36:15.240 over

00:36:15.580 the

00:36:16.900 isolationist

00:36:17.840 tendency

00:36:18.420 within

00:36:18.740 the

00:36:18.940 United

00:36:19.200 States

00:36:19.620 is

00:36:19.980 strong

00:36:20.380 and

00:36:21.880 it

00:36:22.280 is

00:36:22.680 definitely

00:36:23.260 not

00:36:23.620 contained

00:36:24.000 to

00:36:24.200 Democrats

00:36:24.680 now

00:36:24.980 it's

00:36:25.580 a

00:36:25.760 strong

00:36:26.260 isolationist

00:36:28.140 element

00:36:28.500 within

00:36:28.940 MAGA

00:36:29.280 in fact

00:36:29.980 I would

00:36:30.280 say

00:36:30.540 perhaps

00:36:31.140 the

00:36:31.300 majority

00:36:31.620 of

00:36:31.800 MAGA

00:36:32.000 so

00:36:32.260 I was

00:36:32.800 just

00:36:32.940 pulling

00:36:33.200 up

00:36:33.360 real

00:36:33.540 clear

00:36:33.780 politics

00:36:34.300 to

00:36:34.700 see if

00:36:35.280 they've

00:36:35.480 got

00:36:35.680 the

00:36:35.980 polling

00:36:37.260 on

00:36:37.500 this

00:36:37.620 but

00:36:37.780 you're

00:36:37.960 right

00:36:38.180 it is

00:36:38.660 incredibly

00:36:39.520 unpopular

00:36:40.080 and if

00:36:40.920 it drags

00:36:41.380 on

00:36:41.640 when the

00:36:43.080 generals

00:36:43.380 are talking

00:36:43.820 about

00:36:44.100 weeks

00:36:44.460 but if

00:36:44.720 it does

00:36:45.020 drag

00:36:45.260 on

00:36:45.460 for

00:36:45.660 months

00:36:46.040 of

00:36:46.220 military

00:36:46.720 operations

00:36:47.440 costing

00:36:48.520 treasure

00:36:49.060 costing

00:36:49.500 lives

00:36:49.960 this

00:36:50.520 will

00:36:50.720 hurt

00:36:50.980 Trump

00:36:51.380 in

00:36:51.680 the

00:36:51.780 midterm

00:36:52.140 if

00:36:52.460 it

00:36:52.720 is

00:36:53.100 a

00:36:53.580 two

00:36:53.780 week

00:36:53.980 war

00:36:54.280 that

00:36:55.220 results

00:36:55.780 in

00:36:56.240 the

00:36:57.620 Islamic

00:36:58.280 Republic

00:36:58.800 falling

00:36:59.280 and a

00:36:59.760 new

00:36:59.980 free

00:37:00.320 Iran

00:37:00.760 emerging

00:37:01.740 well

00:37:02.780 I think

00:37:03.380 it would

00:37:03.560 be

00:37:03.820 a

00:37:04.240 very

00:37:04.480 different

00:37:04.780 scenario

00:37:05.260 as it

00:37:06.320 plays out

00:37:06.900 in

00:37:07.040 US

00:37:07.680 domestic

00:37:08.080 politics

00:37:08.660 so I

00:37:10.340 mean

00:37:10.560 once again

00:37:11.460 this is a

00:37:12.100 huge gamble

00:37:12.900 because this

00:37:13.520 could either

00:37:13.960 become a

00:37:14.740 quagmire

00:37:15.300 that

00:37:16.140 cost Trump

00:37:17.440 a lot of

00:37:18.000 political

00:37:18.220 capital

00:37:18.640 or it could

00:37:19.920 be an

00:37:20.160 amazing

00:37:20.400 victory

00:37:20.800 right

00:37:21.120 regime

00:37:21.540 change in

00:37:21.980 Iran

00:37:22.220 is something

00:37:22.640 that

00:37:22.840 Americans

00:37:23.280 have dreamed

00:37:23.860 of

00:37:24.120 or at least

00:37:24.440 some

00:37:24.620 Americans

00:37:25.000 have dreamed

00:37:25.380 of for

00:37:25.700 decades

00:37:26.120 and

00:37:27.120 you know

00:37:27.640 what

00:37:27.860 greater

00:37:28.700 way

00:37:29.080 to show

00:37:29.580 that

00:37:29.820 Trump

00:37:30.160 is a

00:37:30.580 powerful

00:37:31.000 leader

00:37:31.380 who can

00:37:32.200 protect

00:37:32.600 the United

00:37:32.920 States

00:37:33.360 than for

00:37:34.040 him to

00:37:34.340 topple

00:37:34.700 one of

00:37:35.100 the United

00:37:35.400 States

00:37:35.600 main

00:37:35.880 adversaries

00:37:36.460 but I

00:37:38.580 think that

00:37:39.260 it's the

00:37:39.780 gamble

00:37:40.080 that he's

00:37:40.380 willing to

00:37:40.800 take

00:37:41.060 because right

00:37:41.680 now

00:37:42.140 he's flailing

00:37:43.940 in many

00:37:44.520 other policy

00:37:45.360 areas

00:37:45.760 you know

00:37:46.000 immigration

00:37:46.460 sure

00:37:46.900 there's some

00:37:47.300 popular

00:37:47.640 he's a bit

00:37:48.280 popular

00:37:48.620 there

00:37:48.920 but he's

00:37:50.080 made some

00:37:50.420 missteps

00:37:50.920 the economy

00:37:52.420 is not doing

00:37:53.220 as well as

00:37:53.740 it could

00:37:54.060 be

00:37:54.480 Trump is

00:37:55.320 deeply

00:37:55.580 unpopular

00:37:56.280 right now

00:37:57.060 there are

00:37:58.360 questions about

00:37:59.040 whether or not

00:37:59.540 there will be

00:37:59.840 a blue wave

00:38:00.700 so if

00:38:01.660 there's a

00:38:01.960 time for

00:38:02.360 him to

00:38:02.700 make such

00:38:03.060 a gamble

00:38:03.480 the time

00:38:04.000 is now

00:38:04.540 especially

00:38:05.720 after what

00:38:06.580 happened in

00:38:07.060 Venezuela

00:38:07.460 we saw

00:38:08.720 that the

00:38:09.000 Americans

00:38:09.380 were able

00:38:09.880 to very

00:38:10.540 easily

00:38:11.060 take out

00:38:12.620 Maduro

00:38:12.980 that made

00:38:14.020 the United

00:38:14.300 States look

00:38:14.720 strong

00:38:15.240 and of

00:38:16.360 course

00:38:16.580 with the

00:38:17.080 Iranian

00:38:17.380 protests

00:38:18.000 he has

00:38:18.900 the moral

00:38:19.860 case for

00:38:20.420 intervening

00:38:21.040 which might

00:38:21.680 not be

00:38:22.160 as salient

00:38:23.520 let's say

00:38:24.040 in six

00:38:24.680 months

00:38:24.980 or a

00:38:25.300 year

00:38:25.520 or two

00:38:25.840 years

00:38:26.220 right

00:38:26.700 so all

00:38:27.180 the factors

00:38:27.580 have aligned

00:38:27.940 here to

00:38:28.200 make this

00:38:28.500 gamble

00:38:28.880 the right

00:38:29.700 gamble

00:38:30.000 for this

00:38:30.360 time

00:38:30.740 but it's

00:38:31.520 unclear

00:38:31.860 whether the

00:38:32.320 gamble

00:38:32.560 will pay

00:38:32.920 off

00:38:33.100 politically

00:38:33.380 for him

00:38:33.920 how is

00:38:35.360 the Israeli

00:38:36.140 population

00:38:36.940 reacting

00:38:37.640 to this

00:38:38.220 you know

00:38:39.660 I know

00:38:40.200 that at

00:38:40.800 times

00:38:41.260 Benjamin

00:38:43.160 Netanyahu

00:38:43.740 and his

00:38:44.160 government

00:38:44.540 have been

00:38:45.600 deeply

00:38:46.380 unpopular

00:38:47.000 I haven't

00:38:47.660 looked at

00:38:48.040 recent polling

00:38:48.880 in Israel

00:38:49.900 he's been

00:38:50.960 allowed to

00:38:51.560 stay in

00:38:51.880 power

00:38:52.240 no elections

00:38:52.960 due to

00:38:53.800 the fight

00:38:55.760 against Hamas

00:38:56.540 which is now

00:38:57.060 largely over

00:38:58.020 how are

00:38:59.520 Israelis

00:38:59.940 reacting

00:39:00.460 to

00:39:01.020 Iran

00:39:02.060 how is

00:39:02.460 it

00:39:02.560 impacting

00:39:03.160 domestic

00:39:03.640 politics

00:39:04.340 in Tel Aviv

00:39:06.100 and surrounding

00:39:06.720 areas

00:39:07.160 so

00:39:08.460 Netanyahu

00:39:09.640 is very

00:39:10.520 unpopular

00:39:11.100 amongst many

00:39:11.760 Israelis

00:39:12.260 although he

00:39:13.300 does still

00:39:13.680 retain a 0.91

00:39:14.380 big base

00:39:14.840 of support

00:39:15.440 much of

00:39:16.820 the anger

00:39:17.540 towards him

00:39:18.080 has been

00:39:18.480 through

00:39:18.720 centralization

00:39:19.380 of power

00:39:19.920 his attempts

00:39:20.620 to impose

00:39:21.340 judicial

00:39:21.720 reforms

00:39:22.380 and of

00:39:23.280 course

00:39:23.560 the way

00:39:23.880 that he

00:39:24.220 prosecuted

00:39:24.920 the war

00:39:25.340 in Gaza

00:39:25.780 with many

00:39:26.340 Israelis

00:39:27.240 thinking

00:39:27.640 that he

00:39:28.240 prolonged

00:39:28.640 the war

00:39:29.000 unnecessarily

00:39:29.780 and went

00:39:30.280 too far

00:39:30.840 however

00:39:31.660 when it

00:39:32.180 comes to

00:39:32.580 Iran

00:39:33.040 I've seen

00:39:34.080 Israelis

00:39:34.840 basically

00:39:35.960 unite in

00:39:36.540 support of

00:39:37.020 him

00:39:37.220 so

00:39:37.920 in the

00:39:38.920 12 day

00:39:39.380 war

00:39:39.700 I didn't

00:39:40.220 hear any

00:39:40.620 criticism

00:39:41.060 of him

00:39:41.520 every

00:39:41.960 Israeli

00:39:42.520 who I

00:39:42.760 spoke

00:39:42.960 with

00:39:43.120 at that

00:39:43.460 time

00:39:43.860 believed

00:39:44.740 that it

00:39:45.160 was

00:39:45.320 necessary

00:39:45.980 to fight

00:39:46.440 Iran

00:39:46.760 because

00:39:47.040 they

00:39:47.340 believed

00:39:47.660 that Iran 0.91

00:39:48.120 would

00:39:48.300 eventually

00:39:48.620 try to

00:39:48.980 eradicate 1.00

00:39:49.440 Israel

00:39:49.820 so

00:39:50.720 this

00:39:51.120 conflict

00:39:51.560 was

00:39:51.940 inevitable

00:39:52.580 to

00:39:52.920 them

00:39:53.300 and I'm

00:39:54.160 seeing

00:39:54.480 that sentiment

00:39:55.040 again

00:39:55.520 now

00:39:56.100 so

00:39:56.720 I've

00:39:57.160 interviewed

00:39:57.540 a fairly

00:39:58.360 large

00:39:58.640 number

00:39:58.880 of

00:39:59.020 Israelis

00:39:59.360 since

00:39:59.880 the war

00:40:00.140 began

00:40:00.500 you know

00:40:01.580 I go

00:40:01.780 around

00:40:02.000 with my

00:40:02.280 camera

00:40:02.580 and I'm

00:40:03.260 putting my

00:40:03.760 microphone

00:40:04.080 in people's

00:40:04.420 faces

00:40:04.680 and not a

00:40:06.160 single person

00:40:06.780 has expressed

00:40:08.300 any frustration

00:40:09.440 with this war

00:40:10.260 they say

00:40:10.940 that look

00:40:11.380 many people

00:40:12.540 could die

00:40:13.320 many Israelis 0.59

00:40:14.400 could die

00:40:14.840 but this is

00:40:15.860 a necessary

00:40:16.660 cost

00:40:17.420 to topple

00:40:18.460 this

00:40:18.900 fascistic

00:40:19.940 fundamentalist 1.00

00:40:21.420 evil 0.71

00:40:22.000 regime

00:40:22.620 and

00:40:23.780 they're

00:40:24.380 willing

00:40:24.720 to pay

00:40:25.140 that

00:40:25.380 price

00:40:25.920 to

00:40:26.600 live

00:40:27.200 in

00:40:27.340 a

00:40:27.440 better

00:40:27.600 world

00:40:28.060 and

00:40:28.660 finally

00:40:29.120 Elan

00:40:29.700 Levy

00:40:29.940 we've

00:40:30.480 spoken

00:40:30.760 to

00:40:30.980 Levy

00:40:31.240 before

00:40:31.640 about

00:40:31.980 the war

00:40:32.380 between

00:40:32.740 Israel

00:40:33.220 and Amas

00:40:33.880 after

00:40:34.460 several

00:40:34.820 hours

00:40:35.240 of being

00:40:35.580 holed up

00:40:36.100 in a

00:40:36.360 bomb

00:40:36.600 shelter

00:40:36.900 on

00:40:37.200 Saturday

00:40:37.620 as he

00:40:38.040 was

00:40:38.180 avoiding

00:40:38.580 Iranian

00:40:39.140 missiles

00:40:39.580 we spoke

00:40:40.520 about

00:40:40.760 the broad

00:40:41.220 support

00:40:41.640 for this

00:40:42.280 offensive

00:40:42.620 inside

00:40:43.220 Israel

00:40:43.620 and the

00:40:44.460 surprise

00:40:44.820 we both

00:40:45.240 had

00:40:45.500 at

00:40:45.700 Mark

00:40:46.000 Carney's

00:40:46.380 support

00:40:46.940 Now in

00:40:48.440 Israel

00:40:48.840 there is

00:40:49.500 pretty much

00:40:50.160 wall-to-wall

00:40:51.000 consensus

00:40:51.780 about the

00:40:52.780 importance

00:40:53.280 of this

00:40:54.580 mission

00:40:55.000 to eliminate

00:40:55.960 this

00:40:56.540 existential

00:40:57.180 threat

00:40:57.660 from

00:40:57.980 Iran

00:40:58.360 the

00:40:59.020 leader

00:40:59.380 of the

00:40:59.760 opposition

00:41:00.300 Yair Lapid

00:41:01.240 is giving

00:41:02.080 interviews

00:41:02.600 to the

00:41:02.980 international

00:41:03.400 media

00:41:03.820 backing

00:41:04.540 the

00:41:04.760 operation

00:41:05.320 Naftali

00:41:06.160 Bennett

00:41:06.480 who is

00:41:06.900 the

00:41:07.140 former

00:41:07.640 prime

00:41:07.940 minister

00:41:08.300 number

00:41:09.020 one

00:41:09.340 challenger

00:41:09.820 to

00:41:10.040 Netanyahu

00:41:10.560 is also

00:41:11.360 giving

00:41:11.660 interviews

00:41:12.120 in the

00:41:12.420 international

00:41:12.840 media

00:41:13.240 defending

00:41:14.000 this

00:41:14.340 mission

00:41:14.680 because

00:41:15.480 Israel

00:41:16.160 cannot

00:41:16.620 afford

00:41:17.200 for the

00:41:17.620 Iranian

00:41:18.040 regime

00:41:18.560 to race

00:41:19.160 towards

00:41:19.560 nuclear

00:41:19.920 weapons

00:41:20.320 to build

00:41:21.260 ballistic

00:41:21.880 missiles

00:41:22.420 that it

00:41:22.760 can continue

00:41:23.320 to rain

00:41:23.780 on our

00:41:24.200 cities

00:41:24.580 Israel

00:41:25.300 is saying

00:41:25.960 this time

00:41:26.820 it has

00:41:27.540 to end

00:41:28.140 and by the

00:41:28.760 way

00:41:29.000 according to

00:41:29.800 recent reports

00:41:30.580 it looks

00:41:31.380 quite likely

00:41:32.040 that the

00:41:32.520 leader of

00:41:33.340 the

00:41:33.680 Iranian

00:41:34.260 regime

00:41:34.780 Ayatollah

00:41:35.740 Ali Khamenei

00:41:36.400 was in

00:41:37.320 fact killed

00:41:38.160 in an

00:41:38.960 Israeli

00:41:39.360 airstrike

00:41:40.040 this morning

00:41:40.640 and Israel

00:41:41.520 hopes

00:41:41.980 together with

00:41:42.700 the US

00:41:43.080 that this

00:41:43.860 is going

00:41:44.260 to give

00:41:44.780 an opportunity

00:41:45.340 to the

00:41:45.780 Iranian

00:41:46.100 people

00:41:46.460 to rise

00:41:46.960 up

00:41:47.220 and claim

00:41:48.080 their

00:41:48.500 future

00:41:49.080 and it

00:41:50.200 means that

00:41:50.520 even

00:41:50.860 governments

00:41:51.600 that are

00:41:53.000 not fully

00:41:53.820 backing

00:41:54.340 these

00:41:55.420 strikes

00:41:55.840 and I

00:41:56.580 notice

00:41:57.380 actually a

00:41:58.140 very good

00:41:59.180 response

00:41:59.760 from the

00:42:00.620 Canadian

00:42:01.060 prime

00:42:01.460 minister

00:42:01.800 just like

00:42:02.780 the Australian

00:42:03.300 prime

00:42:03.660 minister

00:42:03.980 backing

00:42:04.800 the

00:42:05.500 American

00:42:06.360 strikes

00:42:07.060 why they

00:42:07.900 couldn't

00:42:08.100 say the

00:42:08.380 strikes by

00:42:08.940 the US

00:42:09.860 and Israel

00:42:10.540 I don't

00:42:10.880 know

00:42:11.120 that's their

00:42:11.540 own domestic

00:42:12.000 politics

00:42:12.400 we can

00:42:12.740 talk about

00:42:13.180 that

00:42:13.440 but even

00:42:14.340 the countries

00:42:14.840 like Britain

00:42:15.520 and France

00:42:16.060 that are

00:42:16.320 really

00:42:16.540 sitting on

00:42:17.000 the fence

00:42:17.440 in a

00:42:17.980 manner

00:42:18.160 that is

00:42:18.580 really

00:42:19.000 quite

00:42:19.320 spineless

00:42:19.960 and craven

00:42:20.660 emphasize the

00:42:21.980 threat that the

00:42:22.660 Iranian regime

00:42:23.700 poses to regional

00:42:24.780 stability

00:42:25.500 the way they've

00:42:26.520 sown chaos

00:42:27.320 and terrorism

00:42:28.020 throughout the

00:42:28.600 region

00:42:28.880 and I think

00:42:29.600 quietly

00:42:30.460 behind closed

00:42:31.940 doors

00:42:32.200 they're quite

00:42:32.800 happy someone

00:42:33.340 is doing

00:42:33.680 something about

00:42:34.240 it

00:42:34.440 well

00:42:35.780 I'll read

00:42:37.460 a couple

00:42:37.780 of quotes

00:42:38.560 from Mark

00:42:39.100 Carney's

00:42:39.480 statement

00:42:39.660 in a

00:42:39.960 moment

00:42:40.220 I would

00:42:40.860 just say

00:42:41.160 this about

00:42:41.580 Britain

00:42:41.860 and France

00:42:42.540 when France

00:42:44.140 is stronger

00:42:45.020 in their

00:42:45.740 statement

00:42:46.860 on defending

00:42:48.200 democracy

00:42:49.100 than Britain 0.76

00:42:49.720 then Britain

00:42:50.300 has a real

00:42:50.760 problem

00:42:51.380 you know

00:42:52.680 we all know

00:42:53.960 the jokes

00:42:54.320 about France

00:42:54.920 that everyone

00:42:55.440 in Britain

00:42:55.840 will make

00:42:56.320 on a daily

00:42:56.820 basis

00:42:57.360 and yet

00:42:59.640 Emmanuel Macron

00:43:00.680 is stronger

00:43:01.560 than Keir Starmer

00:43:02.520 in his

00:43:03.900 reply

00:43:04.600 to what

00:43:06.440 Israel

00:43:06.960 and the

00:43:07.460 United States

00:43:07.980 are doing

00:43:08.280 now

00:43:08.500 Mark Carney

00:43:09.620 did make

00:43:10.140 one quick

00:43:10.620 mention

00:43:10.980 of Israel

00:43:12.440 within his

00:43:13.240 statement

00:43:13.540 he said

00:43:14.000 Canada

00:43:14.400 reaffirms

00:43:15.040 Israel's 0.75

00:43:15.620 right to

00:43:16.000 defend itself

00:43:16.680 and ensure

00:43:17.180 the security

00:43:17.720 of its

00:43:18.140 people

00:43:18.520 as

00:43:19.620 Canada's

00:43:20.700 former

00:43:20.980 ambassador

00:43:21.520 to Israel

00:43:22.080 Vivian

00:43:22.660 Berkovich

00:43:23.460 said to me

00:43:24.360 in an

00:43:24.620 earlier

00:43:24.900 interview

00:43:25.420 why does

00:43:26.560 that even

00:43:26.960 have to be

00:43:27.480 said

00:43:27.820 it shouldn't

00:43:28.380 have to

00:43:28.660 be said

00:43:29.080 and she

00:43:29.620 agreed

00:43:29.900 with you

00:43:30.240 that you

00:43:30.760 know

00:43:30.840 there should

00:43:31.180 be some

00:43:31.580 mention

00:43:31.860 of the

00:43:32.180 fact

00:43:32.380 that this

00:43:32.740 is the

00:43:32.980 Americans

00:43:33.360 and Israel

00:43:35.120 doing this

00:43:35.720 together

00:43:36.180 but these

00:43:37.680 are the

00:43:38.020 points

00:43:38.400 that made

00:43:39.160 me say

00:43:39.740 okay

00:43:40.780 I'll give

00:43:41.460 him credit

00:43:42.000 because we

00:43:42.480 would not

00:43:42.860 have gotten

00:43:43.780 this from

00:43:44.280 Justin Trudeau

00:43:45.000 I don't

00:43:45.500 think

00:43:45.840 and you

00:43:46.460 and I

00:43:46.700 have talked

00:43:47.500 in the

00:43:47.800 past

00:43:48.160 about

00:43:48.660 Justin

00:43:49.920 Trudeau

00:43:50.400 and the

00:43:50.760 way that

00:43:51.120 people in

00:43:51.540 the Middle

00:43:51.780 East

00:43:51.920 would roll

00:43:53.200 their eyes

00:43:53.820 at Canada

00:43:54.460 when he

00:43:55.400 was our

00:43:55.760 leader

00:43:55.980 but Prime

00:43:56.660 Minister

00:43:56.940 Carney

00:43:57.280 said

00:43:57.680 Canada

00:43:58.700 and our

00:43:59.260 international

00:43:59.900 partners

00:44:00.380 have

00:44:00.600 consistently

00:44:01.180 called

00:44:01.560 upon

00:44:01.820 the

00:44:02.000 Iranian

00:44:02.360 regime

00:44:02.860 to end

00:44:03.640 its

00:44:03.840 nuclear

00:44:04.180 program

00:44:04.640 including

00:44:05.220 at the

00:44:05.920 2025

00:44:06.540 G7

00:44:07.380 leader

00:44:07.660 summit

00:44:08.000 in

00:44:08.220 Kananaskis

00:44:08.960 and

00:44:09.580 and with

00:44:09.920 the

00:44:10.060 United

00:44:10.340 Nations

00:44:10.760 reimposition

00:44:11.520 of

00:44:11.900 sanctions

00:44:12.480 in

00:44:12.800 September

00:44:13.160 skipping

00:44:13.520 down

00:44:13.820 a couple

00:44:14.120 of

00:44:14.260 paragraphs

00:44:14.740 goes on

00:44:15.780 to say

00:44:16.100 Canada

00:44:16.480 supports

00:44:17.000 the

00:44:17.220 United

00:44:17.640 States

00:44:18.120 acting

00:44:18.580 to

00:44:18.820 prevent

00:44:19.160 Iran

00:44:19.540 from

00:44:19.800 obtaining

00:44:20.320 a

00:44:20.660 nuclear

00:44:21.000 weapon

00:44:21.420 and to

00:44:22.180 prevent

00:44:22.500 its

00:44:22.760 regime

00:44:23.120 from

00:44:23.360 further

00:44:23.720 threatening

00:44:24.180 international

00:44:24.820 peace

00:44:25.180 and security

00:44:25.720 Ilan I know

00:44:27.640 that you

00:44:28.000 understand

00:44:28.680 the dynamic

00:44:29.840 between

00:44:30.320 Washington

00:44:30.960 and Ottawa

00:44:31.820 at the

00:44:32.860 moment

00:44:33.260 and how

00:44:34.020 Canadians

00:44:34.940 are

00:44:35.500 elbows

00:44:35.980 up

00:44:36.400 and

00:44:36.860 hating

00:44:37.620 on

00:44:37.900 Americans

00:44:38.420 for

00:44:39.400 Prime

00:44:39.800 Minister

00:44:40.020 Carney

00:44:40.340 to

00:44:40.540 say

00:44:40.740 that

00:44:41.080 did

00:44:41.600 take

00:44:41.860 some

00:44:42.060 gumption

00:44:42.480 I would

00:44:43.060 say

00:44:43.340 and so

00:44:43.680 I'll give

00:44:43.940 him

00:44:44.060 credit

00:44:44.380 for that

00:44:44.820 we can

00:44:46.580 quibble

00:44:46.940 about

00:44:47.180 does it

00:44:47.460 go far

00:44:47.900 enough

00:44:48.200 but it's

00:44:49.000 further

00:44:49.260 than

00:44:49.520 the

00:44:49.840 previous

00:44:50.160 guy

00:44:50.400 would

00:44:50.580 have

00:44:50.680 gone

00:44:50.960 yeah

00:44:52.600 the

00:44:52.780 statement

00:44:53.220 from

00:44:53.440 the

00:44:53.560 Canadian

00:44:53.860 Prime

00:44:54.140 Minister

00:44:54.380 definitely

00:44:54.900 took

00:44:55.340 gumption

00:44:55.800 considering

00:44:56.480 the

00:44:56.960 domestic

00:44:57.460 pressure

00:44:57.900 on

00:44:58.140 the

00:44:58.320 streets

00:44:58.680 you

00:44:58.920 have

00:44:59.140 a

00:44:59.700 very

00:45:00.000 large

00:45:00.460 movement

00:45:01.080 in

00:45:02.120 Canada

00:45:02.460 that is

00:45:02.820 sympathetic

00:45:03.180 to the

00:45:03.780 Iranian

00:45:04.140 regime

00:45:04.680 and

00:45:05.080 to

00:45:05.300 the

00:45:05.520 proxy

00:45:05.840 forces

00:45:06.200 that

00:45:06.400 have

00:45:06.480 been

00:45:06.560 waging

00:45:06.880 war

00:45:07.240 across

00:45:07.980 the

00:45:08.180 Middle 0.95

00:45:08.340 East

00:45:08.620 and

00:45:08.860 frankly

00:45:09.420 would

00:45:09.640 rather

00:45:09.920 the

00:45:10.200 Iranian

00:45:10.560 regime

00:45:10.880 we've

00:45:11.980 allowed

00:45:12.200 so many

00:45:12.560 members

00:45:12.880 of the

00:45:13.220 IRGC

00:45:14.460 into

00:45:14.820 the

00:45:15.040 country

00:45:15.420 there's

00:45:15.900 far

00:45:16.100 more

00:45:16.340 members

00:45:16.700 of

00:45:16.880 the

00:45:17.000 Iranian

00:45:17.300 diaspora

00:45:18.100 but

00:45:19.000 you know

00:45:20.080 right

00:45:20.700 which is

00:45:21.240 absolutely

00:45:21.860 appalling

00:45:22.420 and still

00:45:23.900 that

00:45:24.100 statement

00:45:24.460 took

00:45:24.780 gumption

00:45:25.260 that

00:45:25.480 Britain

00:45:25.780 didn't

00:45:26.160 have

00:45:26.500 because

00:45:26.900 I mean

00:45:27.440 I have

00:45:27.800 Keir

00:45:28.080 Starmer's

00:45:28.520 statement

00:45:28.780 in front

00:45:29.220 of me

00:45:29.540 despite

00:45:30.300 calling

00:45:30.740 the

00:45:30.920 regime

00:45:31.380 abhorrent

00:45:32.240 talking

00:45:32.580 about

00:45:32.840 the

00:45:33.060 murder

00:45:33.380 of

00:45:33.620 thousands

00:45:34.000 of

00:45:34.240 dissidents

00:45:34.640 the

00:45:35.060 direct

00:45:35.580 threat

00:45:35.920 that

00:45:36.100 it

00:45:36.220 poses

00:45:36.520 on

00:45:36.700 the

00:45:36.840 UK

00:45:37.260 where

00:45:38.280 Keir

00:45:38.520 Starmer

00:45:38.820 says

00:45:39.160 Iran

00:45:39.500 has

00:45:39.680 been

00:45:39.840 behind

00:45:40.220 more

00:45:40.560 than

00:45:40.740 20

00:45:41.560 potentially

00:45:42.360 lethal

00:45:42.940 attacks

00:45:43.440 on

00:45:43.700 the

00:45:43.840 UK

00:45:44.040 soil

00:45:44.440 in

00:45:45.040 the

00:45:45.200 last

00:45:45.560 year

00:45:46.100 and

00:45:47.340 that

00:45:47.520 the

00:45:47.720 UK's

00:45:48.220 primary

00:45:48.700 mission

00:45:49.060 is

00:45:49.220 making

00:45:49.440 sure

00:45:49.720 that

00:45:49.880 the

00:45:50.060 Iranian

00:45:50.480 regime

00:45:51.060 is

00:45:51.840 never

00:45:52.240 allowed

00:45:52.740 to

00:45:53.200 develop

00:45:54.000 a

00:45:54.220 nuclear

00:45:54.480 weapon

00:45:54.840 it

00:45:55.620 was

00:45:55.740 most

00:45:56.000 important

00:45:56.380 for

00:45:56.620 Keir

00:45:56.820 Starmer

00:45:57.160 to

00:45:57.580 point

00:45:57.940 out

00:45:58.140 that

00:45:58.300 he

00:45:58.440 was

00:45:58.760 sitting

00:45:59.600 this

00:45:59.880 out

00:46:00.180 and

00:46:00.640 didn't

00:46:00.940 really

00:46:01.220 have

00:46:01.440 a

00:46:01.580 position

00:46:01.960 on

00:46:02.320 the

00:46:02.580 American

00:46:03.240 strikes

00:46:03.640 even

00:46:03.880 though

00:46:04.040 it's

00:46:04.220 clear

00:46:04.480 that

00:46:04.800 diplomacy

00:46:05.520 had

00:46:06.220 completely

00:46:06.700 failed

00:46:07.200 to

00:46:07.440 bring

00:46:07.780 Iran

00:46:08.200 to

00:46:08.400 heal

00:46:08.580 and

00:46:08.720 it

00:46:08.800 was

00:46:08.960 still

00:46:09.340 exercising

00:46:11.000 aggression

00:46:11.460 across

00:46:11.760 the

00:46:11.920 region

00:46:12.160 and

00:46:12.560 you

00:46:12.680 know

00:46:12.800 I

00:46:13.020 hope

00:46:13.260 it

00:46:13.460 is

00:46:13.620 obvious

00:46:14.020 to

00:46:14.600 everyone

00:46:15.300 now

00:46:15.700 the

00:46:17.280 extent

00:46:17.960 of the

00:46:18.380 threat

00:46:18.820 that

00:46:19.160 the

00:46:19.360 Iranian

00:46:19.740 regime

00:46:20.200 poses

00:46:20.580 the

00:46:20.760 whole

00:46:20.920 Middle 0.95

00:46:21.160 East

00:46:21.420 because

00:46:21.680 the

00:46:21.840 Iranian

00:46:22.140 regime

00:46:22.540 is

00:46:22.700 out

00:46:22.980 of

00:46:23.120 control

00:46:27.580 missile

00:46:28.160 hit

00:46:29.500 a

00:46:29.940 missile

00:46:30.240 or

00:46:30.420 a

00:46:30.560 drone

00:46:30.860 hit

00:46:31.400 a 0.79

00:46:31.920 hotel

00:46:32.660 in

00:46:33.080 Dubai

00:46:33.600 hit

00:46:33.940 a

00:46:34.160 high

00:46:34.380 rise

00:46:34.740 in

00:46:35.180 Bahrain

00:46:36.280 Jordan

00:46:37.200 rebuffing

00:46:37.880 about

00:46:38.140 50

00:46:38.660 drone

00:46:39.040 and

00:46:39.200 missile

00:46:39.560 attacks

00:46:40.280 Saudi

00:46:41.000 Arabia

00:46:41.520 condemning

00:46:42.100 Iran

00:46:42.480 for an

00:46:42.820 attempted

00:46:43.200 attack

00:46:43.680 on

00:46:44.000 Riyadh

00:46:44.580 a

00:46:45.020 drone

00:46:45.360 that

00:46:45.580 hit

00:46:45.800 Kuwait

00:46:46.280 International

00:46:46.940 Airport

00:46:47.500 the

00:46:47.780 Iranian

00:46:48.260 regime

00:46:48.860 is

00:46:49.940 completely

00:46:50.400 out

00:46:50.760 of

00:46:50.920 control

00:46:51.360 and

00:46:51.920 is

00:46:52.080 lashing

00:46:52.540 out

00:46:52.900 across

00:46:53.440 against

00:46:54.380 other

00:46:54.760 parties

00:46:55.180 in

00:46:55.420 the

00:46:55.540 region

00:46:55.800 that

00:46:56.220 you'll

00:46:56.380 see

00:46:56.560 are

00:46:56.920 not

00:46:57.240 condemning

00:46:57.820 the

00:46:58.000 United

00:46:58.320 States

00:46:58.680 they're

00:46:59.160 definitely

00:46:59.540 not

00:46:59.840 condemning

00:47:00.260 Israel

00:47:00.580 I think

00:47:01.160 this is

00:47:01.480 a day

00:47:01.780 that

00:47:01.920 they've

00:47:02.120 been

00:47:02.220 waiting

00:47:02.540 for

00:47:02.940 a

00:47:04.480 very

00:47:04.640 long

00:47:04.820 time

00:47:05.040 indeed

00:47:05.380 As I

00:47:06.060 wrote

00:47:06.380 in my

00:47:06.720 column

00:47:07.060 over the

00:47:07.420 weekend

00:47:07.760 for

00:47:08.040 the

00:47:08.200 Toronto

00:47:08.500 Sun

00:47:08.860 the

00:47:09.040 whole

00:47:09.300 world

00:47:09.720 should

00:47:09.960 be

00:47:10.140 celebrating

00:47:10.620 the

00:47:10.860 demise

00:47:11.240 of

00:47:11.520 Iran's 0.89

00:47:12.280 Ayatollah

00:47:12.760 Khamenei

00:47:13.240 a man

00:47:13.920 responsible

00:47:14.420 for so

00:47:14.980 much

00:47:15.220 misery

00:47:15.800 in that

00:47:16.240 country

00:47:16.600 and

00:47:17.160 atrocities

00:47:17.740 around

00:47:18.120 the

00:47:18.280 world

00:47:18.560 the

00:47:19.120 situation

00:47:19.640 in

00:47:20.060 the

00:47:20.180 Middle 0.95

00:47:20.340 East

00:47:20.540 is

00:47:20.720 fluid

00:47:21.000 a lot

00:47:21.340 can

00:47:21.520 change

00:47:21.820 in

00:47:21.980 any

00:47:22.400 moment

00:47:22.680 what

00:47:23.220 we

00:47:23.400 can

00:47:23.820 and

00:47:24.180 should

00:47:24.480 hope

00:47:24.700 for

00:47:25.000 is

00:47:25.280 a

00:47:25.440 quick

00:47:25.680 end

00:47:25.860 to

00:47:25.960 the

00:47:26.060 fighting

00:47:26.320 but

00:47:26.900 also

00:47:27.220 an

00:47:27.420 end

00:47:27.560 to

00:47:27.680 the

00:47:27.800 Iranian

00:47:28.160 regime

00:47:28.640 and

00:47:28.900 the

00:47:29.040 emergence

00:47:29.380 of

00:47:29.640 a

00:47:29.800 free

00:47:30.140 peaceful

00:47:30.900 and

00:47:31.400 hopefully

00:47:31.820 democratic

00:47:32.940 Iran

00:47:33.320 full

00:47:34.300 comment

00:47:34.640 is

00:47:34.860 a

00:47:35.020 post

00:47:35.260 media

00:47:35.520 podcast

00:47:36.040 my

00:47:36.260 name

00:47:36.400 is

00:47:36.500 Brian

00:47:36.800 Lillie

00:47:37.120 your

00:47:37.280 host

00:47:37.580 this

00:47:38.120 episode

00:47:38.640 was

00:47:38.920 produced

00:47:39.180 by

00:47:39.440 Andre

00:47:39.720 Pru

00:47:40.020 theme

00:47:40.540 music

00:47:40.840 by

00:47:41.080 Bryce

00:47:41.400 Hall

00:47:41.620 Kevin

00:47:42.120 Libin

00:47:42.420 is

00:47:42.760 the

00:47:42.920 executive

00:47:43.300 producer

00:47:43.760 make

00:47:44.480 sure

00:47:44.640 that

00:47:44.800 you

00:47:44.920 hit

00:47:45.060 the

00:47:45.200 subscribe

00:47:45.560 button

00:47:45.980 leave

00:47:46.220 us

00:47:46.360 comment

00:47:46.760 or

00:47:47.100 review

00:47:47.880 and

00:47:48.180 share

00:47:48.500 this

00:47:48.780 on

00:47:49.100 social

00:47:49.420 media

00:47:49.720 thanks

00:47:50.360 for

00:47:50.520 listening

00:47:50.780 until

00:47:51.180 next

00:47:51.460 time

00:47:51.700 I'm

00:47:52.120 Brian

00:47:52.360 Lillie

00:47:52.680 there

00:47:57.880 were

00:47:58.020 so

00:47:58.340 many

00:47:58.660 missed

00:47:58.980 opportunities

00:47:59.660 to

00:48:00.000 catch

00:48:00.340 this

00:48:00.740 before

00:48:01.560 the

00:48:02.200 devastating

00:48:02.800 thing

00:48:03.120 happened

00:48:03.660 a

00:48:04.140 third

00:48:04.440 of

00:48:04.660 them

00:48:04.940 we

00:48:05.320 found

00:48:05.680 literally

00:48:06.080 in

00:48:06.320 the

00:48:06.440 phone

00:48:06.660 book

00:48:06.940 these

00:48:07.720 people

00:48:08.060 were

00:48:08.260 not

00:48:08.500 afraid

00:48:08.920 they

00:48:09.880 knew

00:48:10.080 that

00:48:10.340 nobody

00:48:10.680 was

00:48:10.920 effectively

00:48:11.480 hunting

00:48:11.960 them

00:48:12.260 they

00:48:12.520 knew

00:48:12.780 they

00:48:13.000 had

00:48:13.160 escaped

00:48:13.560 justice

00:48:14.200 that

00:48:15.100 they

00:48:15.280 were

00:48:15.420 going

00:48:15.560 to 0.99

00:48:15.680 die 0.99

00:48:15.940 in 0.51

00:48:16.100 their

00:48:16.260 beds

00:48:16.720 when

00:48:16.920 I

00:48:17.020 give

00:48:17.120 talks

00:48:17.360 at

00:48:17.460 law

00:48:17.600 schools

00:48:17.820 is

00:48:17.980 that

00:48:18.080 the

00:48:18.200 charter

00:48:18.420 ultimately

00:48:18.840 is

00:48:19.180 empowering

00:48:19.980 a

00:48:20.160 minority

00:48:20.480 and

00:48:20.720 it's

00:48:20.840 empowering

00:48:21.200 a

00:48:21.380 minority

00:48:21.620 that's

00:48:21.900 a

00:48:22.000 guild

00:48:22.200 across

00:48:22.660 the

00:48:22.820 country

00:48:23.120 and

00:48:23.820 it's

00:48:23.980 a

00:48:24.060 fairly

00:48:32.200 for

00:48:32.380 years

00:48:32.720 after

00:48:33.060 because

00:48:34.180 they

00:48:34.400 were

00:48:34.540 so

00:48:34.720 angry

00:48:35.000 at

00:48:35.200 each

00:48:35.400 other

00:48:35.660 because

00:48:36.240 of

00:48:36.440 the

00:48:37.160 emotions

00:48:37.560 on

00:48:37.800 both

00:48:38.000 sides

00:48:38.320 the

00:48:38.520 reason

00:48:38.800 he

00:48:39.000 was

00:48:39.180 assassinated

00:48:39.840 was

00:48:40.100 not

00:48:40.340 because

00:48:40.840 he

00:48:41.060 was

00:48:41.280 trying

00:48:41.520 to

00:48:41.660 put

00:48:41.820 a

00:48:41.960 satellite

00:48:42.260 into

00:48:42.660 space

00:48:43.120 but

00:48:43.380 because

00:48:44.100 the

00:48:45.480 gun

00:48:46.140 that

00:48:46.380 he

00:48:46.540 was

00:48:46.840 creating

00:48:47.540 had

00:48:48.100 other

00:48:48.500 applications

00:48:49.180 that

00:48:49.600 made

00:48:50.020 him

00:48:50.900 and

00:48:51.300 the

00:48:51.500 gun

00:48:51.840 very

00:48:52.480 dangerous

00:48:53.040 it's

00:48:53.900 finally

00:48:54.220 here

00:48:54.620 a

00:48:55.160 new

00:48:55.360 season

00:48:55.760 of

00:48:56.000 Canada

00:48:56.320 did

00:48:56.620 what

00:48:56.940 host

00:48:57.620 media

00:48:57.880 podcast

00:48:58.260 that

00:48:58.620 revisits

00:48:59.040 the

00:48:59.440 big

00:48:59.780 Canadian

00:49:00.220 political

00:49:02.200 you

00:49:02.340 remember

00:49:02.700 and

00:49:03.400 tells

00:49:03.620 you

00:49:03.760 the

00:49:03.920 real

00:49:04.140 story

00:49:04.540 you

00:49:04.720 never

00:49:04.960 knew

00:49:05.220 I'm

00:49:06.320 Tristan

00:49:06.640 Hopper

00:49:06.980 the

00:49:07.420 voices

00:49:07.800 you

00:49:08.120 just

00:49:08.400 heard

00:49:08.700 are

00:49:08.940 from

00:49:09.140 our

00:49:09.300 brand

00:49:09.600 new

00:49:09.860 season

00:49:10.240 two

00:49:10.620 we

00:49:11.240 will

00:49:11.400 unpack

00:49:11.840 some

00:49:12.100 of

00:49:12.240 the

00:49:12.380 pivotal

00:49:12.700 moments

00:49:13.120 that

00:49:13.300 helped

00:49:13.500 define

00:49:13.880 our

00:49:14.060 country

00:49:14.440 often

00:49:15.180 without

00:49:15.440 a

00:49:15.580 vote

00:49:15.840 usually

00:49:16.360 without

00:49:16.640 a

00:49:16.800 plan

00:49:17.100 and

00:49:17.580 sometimes

00:49:18.180 without

00:49:18.500 anyone

00:49:18.960 admitting

00:49:19.500 what

00:49:19.980 they've

00:49:20.260 done

00:49:20.500 we'll

00:49:21.780 find out

00:49:22.180 how

00:49:22.320 Canada

00:49:22.640 became

00:49:23.040 a

00:49:23.300 welcoming

00:49:23.700 paradise

00:49:24.380 for

00:49:24.900 untold

00:49:25.580 numbers

00:49:25.960 of

00:49:26.160 Nazi

00:49:26.520 war 1.00

00:49:26.840 criminals

00:49:27.200 after

00:49:27.540 the

00:49:27.740 second

00:49:27.960 world

00:49:28.240 war

00:49:28.540 we

00:49:29.200 let

00:49:29.380 them

00:49:29.540 build

00:49:29.800 monuments

00:49:30.340 to

00:49:30.520 their

00:49:30.680 wartime

00:49:31.160 exploits

00:49:31.640 and

00:49:31.780 even

00:49:32.020 ended

00:49:32.300 up

00:49:32.500 honoring

00:49:32.800 a

00:49:33.080 Nazi

00:49:33.400 fighter

00:49:33.900 in

00:49:34.480 the

00:49:34.580 house

00:49:34.760 of

00:49:34.900 commons

00:49:35.360 and

00:49:35.960 I'm

00:49:36.080 sorry

00:49:36.340 to say

00:49:36.740 that

00:49:36.960 none

00:49:37.280 of that

00:49:37.580 happened

00:49:37.960 by

00:49:38.260 accident

00:49:38.760 we'll

00:49:39.760 bring

00:49:39.980 you

00:49:40.100 the

00:49:40.260 little

00:49:40.480 known

00:49:40.740 story

00:49:41.080 of

00:49:41.260 a

00:49:41.400 troubled

00:49:41.800 Canadian

00:49:42.300 rocket

00:49:42.660 scientist

00:49:43.140 who

00:49:43.380 turned

00:49:43.680 to

00:49:43.860 a

00:49:44.100 sinister

00:49:44.480 life

00:49:44.840 of

00:49:45.360 selling

00:49:45.700 giant

00:49:46.320 guns

00:49:46.820 to

00:49:47.160 terrible

00:49:47.500 people 0.65

00:49:47.880 and

00:49:48.720 if

00:49:48.840 that

00:49:49.000 sounds

00:49:49.280 like

00:49:49.440 a

00:49:49.540 spy

00:49:49.760 novel

00:49:50.060 it

00:49:50.540 ends

00:49:50.800 like

00:49:51.040 one

00:49:51.240 too

00:49:51.500 you'll

00:49:52.140 hear

00:49:52.260 the

00:49:52.380 behind

00:49:52.600 the

00:49:52.780 scenes

00:49:52.940 story

00:49:53.340 of

00:49:53.580 Quebec's 0.75

00:49:53.980 attempted

00:49:54.480 secession

00:49:55.080 from

00:49:55.400 Canada

00:49:55.740 and

00:49:56.380 how

00:49:56.620 very

00:49:57.020 close

00:49:57.440 we

00:49:57.660 came

00:49:57.960 to

00:49:58.120 a

00:49:58.280 political

00:49:58.560 crisis

00:49:58.980 that

00:49:59.560 would

00:49:59.700 have

00:49:59.820 made

00:50:00.040 Brexit

00:50:00.600 look

00:50:01.300 like

00:50:01.460 a

00:50:01.580 picnic

00:50:01.840 you'll

00:50:02.580 hear

00:50:02.820 about

00:50:03.080 how

00:50:03.320 the

00:50:03.500 much

00:50:03.860 celebrated

00:50:04.400 Charter

00:50:04.940 of

00:50:05.140 Rights

00:50:05.380 and

00:50:05.580 Freedoms

00:50:06.020 turned

00:50:06.340 into

00:50:06.600 something

00:50:06.980 its

00:50:07.300 creators

00:50:07.820 never

00:50:08.400 wanted

00:50:08.820 and

00:50:09.320 how

00:50:09.460 many

00:50:09.700 of

00:50:09.860 the

00:50:09.960 most

00:50:10.180 extravagant

00:50:11.000 warnings

00:50:11.340 about

00:50:11.760 the

00:50:11.960 document

00:50:12.360 were

00:50:13.020 all

00:50:13.260 quickly

00:50:13.640 proven

00:50:14.040 true

00:50:20.540 back

00:50:20.660 in

00:50:20.760 our

00:50:20.880 country's

00:50:21.260 history

00:50:21.560 and

00:50:22.200 then

00:50:22.360 proceeded

00:50:22.800 to

00:50:23.040 pretend

00:50:23.460 it

00:50:23.940 never

00:50:24.180 happened

00:50:24.580 these

00:50:25.560 aren't

00:50:25.940 dusty

00:50:26.380 history

00:50:26.800 lessons

00:50:27.220 they're

00:50:27.500 stories

00:50:27.880 about

00:50:28.140 power

00:50:28.540 ambition

00:50:29.120 madness

00:50:29.660 and the

00:50:30.080 things

00:50:30.360 about

00:50:30.620 Canada

00:50:30.940 that

00:50:31.540 a lot

00:50:32.100 of

00:50:32.320 people

00:50:32.580 would

00:50:32.820 rather

00:50:33.100 ignore

00:50:33.500 but

00:50:34.140 not

00:50:34.380 you

00:50:34.740 you

00:50:35.720 won't

00:50:36.100 want

00:50:36.280 to

00:50:36.380 miss

00:50:36.540 an

00:50:36.660 episode

00:50:36.980 subscribe

00:50:37.520 to

00:50:37.920 make

00:50:38.100 sure

00:50:38.320 you

00:50:38.540 get

00:50:38.720 all

00:50:39.080 of

00:50:39.220 season

00:50:39.460 two

00:50:39.720 starting

00:50:40.120 March

00:50:40.460 2026

00:50:41.280 anywhere

00:50:42.060 you

00:50:42.320 get

00:50:42.500 your

00:50:42.640 podcasts

Full Comment - March 02, 2026

Trump’s Iran attack is also aimed at China

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Summary

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