The Ben Shapiro Show - UNPRECEDENTED: Iran Launches MASSIVE Attack on Israel

00:00:00.000 So, over the weekend, the Islamic Republic of Iran essentially entered war directly with the State of Israel.

00:00:05.000 There's no other way to put that.

00:00:07.000 When you fire 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at another sovereign nation, you are now in a state of war.

00:00:14.000 Now, this has been a long time coming.

00:00:16.000 The fact is that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been using all of its proxy terror groups to attack Israel repeatedly for literally decades at this point.

00:00:24.000 From Hezbollah in the north of Israel, to Hamas in the south of Israel, to now the Houthis in Yemen.

00:00:29.000 They've been using all of their proxy groups because they do not want Israel to take direct action against the Iranian regime itself.

00:00:36.000 They also understand, over in Iran, that the rest of the world is not interested in an Israel-Iran direct war.

00:00:42.000 And herein lies the conundrum for the state of Israel, because after you are attacked with 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles, Typically, you are going to respond in kind to the country that just attacked you this way.

00:00:53.000 We'll get to Israel's response in just a second.

00:00:55.000 First, the actual news was that on Saturday night in Israel, suddenly people started waking up one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning to the sounds of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles being shot down.

00:01:07.000 The video is absolutely astonishing.

00:01:09.000 It was Israeli weaponry, by the way, that was actually taking down missiles that had been fired near the Dome of the Rock.

00:01:16.000 If it were not for Israel's defensive capacity, many holy sites in Islam would have been destroyed because, again, the only defender of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in the Middle East would actually be the state of Israel. 0.81

00:01:26.000 Here is some of the dramatic footage as literally hundreds of drones and cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were shot over the state of Israel on Saturday night.

00:01:34.000 It was about 1.45 a.m.

00:01:36.000 Saturday night in Jerusalem.

00:01:39.000 It's a little different.

00:01:40.000 It's hard for me to assess.

00:01:41.000 There's the sirens now.

00:01:44.000 Guys, are we on air?

00:01:45.000 You can see the incoming cruise missiles and ballistic missiles being shot down by Israel's anti-weaponry.

00:01:55.000 This is directly over the Dome of the Rock.

00:01:56.000 That's the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, the third holiest site in Islam.

00:02:01.000 Again, this is directly over Israel's capital city in Jerusalem.

00:02:05.000 So dramatic footage.

00:02:07.000 In Ashkelon, Israel, which is near the South Israel, looks like a fireworks show.

00:02:12.000 As Iranian drones are shot down over the state of Israel, Ashkelon is a major city in Israel's south on the coast.

00:02:21.000 This sort of footage is shocking.

00:02:23.000 Israel's success right here was even more shocking. 0.94

00:02:25.000 So, in what can only be described as a technological miracle.

00:02:29.000 And if you're a religious person, obviously, when you see the miraculous in real life, you attribute that to the hand of God as well as to the hand of technology.

00:02:37.000 But it can only be described as miraculous that 99% of all ordnance emanating from Iran here was shot down by the Israelis and the UK and the United States. 0.93

00:02:47.000 Here's Clarissa Ward of CNN explaining just how successful the defensive measures were put forward by the State of Israel as well as Jordanian forces.

00:02:55.000 Jordan's revealed preference, by the way, is now for the State of Israel.

00:02:59.000 Revealed preference is when you say that you're for a thing, but what you're actually for is another thing.

00:03:03.000 Jordan has been proclaiming that it's very, very much pro-Hamas and the Palestinians.

00:03:07.000 And then when it comes down to it, they really, really don't like Iran at all.

00:03:11.000 And so they're shooting down incoming ordinance over Jordan, the United States, the UK, even France got involved in shooting down much of this material in an attempt to avoid an escalatory war in the region.

00:03:22.000 Here's Clarissa War explaining the success rate. 1.00

00:03:25.000 President Biden has urged Israel not to escalate further, but one Israeli official telling CNN that they will respond.

00:03:34.000 It's simply a matter of the scale and scope of what that response will be.

00:03:38.000 This after, as you mentioned, 300 Cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, drones fired towards Israel last night.

00:03:46.000 99% of them intercepted.

00:03:49.000 But tellingly, the IDF has said that a number, they won't give the specific number, of ballistic missiles did make impact at the Neva team air force base in southern Israel.

00:04:00.000 That is where those F-35 fighter jets are based.

00:04:06.000 It did very minor damage at the air force base in the south of Israel.

00:04:12.000 Not enough damage to actually stop that base from working.

00:04:14.000 It did no damage to Israel's F-35 fleet.

00:04:17.000 Again, this was not just an Israeli effort.

00:04:19.000 The United States, Britain, Jordan, and France all helped intercept the massive barrage of 0.88

00:04:24.000 drones that Iran fired at Israel overnight on Saturday, according to the Times of Israel.

00:04:29.000 The United States and Israel, of course, have been bracing for an attack for days after Iran said that it would retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike this month on what Tehran claims is a consular building in Syria killing 12 people, including the two senior Iranian generals and the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force.

00:04:42.000 According to the Pentagon, the United States forces intercepted dozens of missiles and drones launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen that were headed toward Israel.

00:04:49.000 Again, this is a testament to the technological superiority of Israel and its allies here. 0.98

00:04:55.000 Israel has a wide variety of defensive measures that it took against these particular incoming... 0.81

00:05:02.000 Missiles and drones.

00:05:04.000 Most of it was actually shot down before it ever reached the state of Israel.

00:05:08.000 Israel has what's called the Arrow 3, which intercepts ballistic missiles and handles longer range and higher altitude interceptions, including exo-atmospheric.

00:05:15.000 In fact, there was some film that was pretty astonishing of Israel using what looks like essentially Reagan-esque Star Wars to shoot down a missile in the higher atmosphere.

00:05:25.000 They have the Arrow 2, which is for endo and exo-atmospheric interception capabilities.

00:05:29.000 They have David's Sling, which is for surface-to-surface missiles.

00:05:31.000 And then, of course, Iron Dome, which is for short-range rockets.

00:05:35.000 We'll get to more on this in a moment.

00:05:36.000 First, using the internet without ExpressVPN.

00:05:38.000 It's like walking your dog in public without securing the dog on a leash.

00:05:40.000 Most of the time, probably fine.

00:05:42.000 Then one time the dog runs into the street, God forbid.

00:05:44.000 Well, it's better to be careful, especially when we're talking about something as simple as using ExpressVPN.

00:05:49.000 Every time you connect to an unencrypted network in cafes, hotels, or airports, your online data is not secure.

00:05:54.000 Any hacker on that same network can gain access to and steal your personal data.

00:05:57.000 What I love about ExpressVPN is how they create a secure encrypted tunnel between your device and the internet to keep your data secure.

00:06:02.000 It also has a built-in password manager to ensure protection goes beyond passwords.

00:06:06.000 You can safely store notes, passwords, and credit card information.

00:06:09.000 ExpressVPN works on all your devices, including your phone, laptop, tablet, even your smart TV.

00:06:14.000 To get protected, fire up the app and click one button.

00:06:16.000 ExpressVPN has changed the game for internet security.

00:06:19.000 If you haven't downloaded the app, you're allowing your data to be targeted.

00:06:22.000 Right now, you'll get an extra three months of ExpressVPN for free at expressvpn.com slash ben.

00:06:27.000 That's expressvpn.com slash ben.

00:06:30.000 Once more, expressvpn.com slash ben.

00:06:32.000 I've been using ExpressVPN myself for years.

00:06:34.000 You should too.

00:06:34.000 Expressvpn.com slash ben.

00:06:36.000 Now Iran, for its part, is saying that they are done, and they are threatening to hit American bases if Washington backs an Israeli counterattack.

00:06:45.000 According to the Times of Israel, top Iranian commanders warned Israel on Sunday the country would face a bigger attack if it retaliates against overnight drone and missile strikes.

00:06:52.000 Adding that Washington has been told not to back any military action from its ally, Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri told state TV, quote, Our response will be much larger than tonight's military action if Israel retaliates against Iran.

00:07:04.000 Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said if the Zionist regime, that'd be Israel, or its supporters demonstrate reckless behavior, they'll receive a decisive and much stronger response.

00:07:13.000 Now, Iran's been trying to play this off as a victory. 0.93

00:07:14.000 On Iranian TV, they've been showing Footage of fires from Chile, pretending that it's actually fires from Israel, they're propagandizing to their own population that this was not, in fact, a humiliating evening for the Iranian forces.

00:07:26.000 Which it was.

00:07:27.000 When you fire off that much ordnance, and nearly all of it gets shot down, and the only person who is severely wounded happens to be an Israeli-Arab girl, seven-year-old girl, who may die because of the Iranian assault, it turns out that that is a signal military failure. 0.63

00:07:42.000 Clearly, a signal military failure.

00:07:44.000 So the question becomes here, what happened?

00:07:46.000 In order to understand what's about to happen going forward, you have to understand how we got here.

00:07:51.000 So the first thing to understand, obviously, is that Iran was in a catch-22.

00:07:55.000 That catch-22 is a catch-22 of its own making.

00:07:57.000 So Iran, the way this whole conflict started on October 7th, is that Iran was deeply afraid that Israel was about to sign a new Abraham Accord with the Saudi government.

00:08:08.000 That was very close.

00:08:08.000 Everyone was openly discussing this.

00:08:10.000 And that would have solidified a Sunni-Israeli pact against Shia aggression in the Middle East. 0.57

00:08:15.000 Iran then would have effectively been boxed in.

00:08:18.000 Because the reality is that an American-backed Sunni-Israeli alliance would be extraordinarily powerful in the region.

00:08:24.000 It would be a massive counterweight to terror groups in Yemen and Hezbollah and Hamas and Iran itself.

00:08:32.000 Iran was feeling quite boxed in.

00:08:34.000 And so Iran activated through This General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who is the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, at least its terror operations in Syria, Lebanon, and via Hamas.

00:08:45.000 They greenlit the October 7th attacks.

00:08:47.000 They killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostage, 133 Israelis still missing, most presumed dead, dozens still held hostage in Hamas terror tunnels.

00:08:56.000 That was specifically designed in order to elicit a military response from Israel that would supposedly put the nascent Sunni-Israeli alliance On hold.

00:09:06.000 That was the entire goal, was to reorient the Middle East. 0.82

00:09:08.000 And the Biden administration, acting as cowards, decided to basically go along with that.

00:09:13.000 Instead of doing what the Biden administration should have done, which is say to Israel, do what you need to do to finish off Hamas. 0.91

00:09:18.000 Take that Iranian pawn off the board. 1.00

00:09:21.000 And then, if you need to make a move against Hezbollah in the north, which has been threatening Israel for years, then do that as well. 0.63

00:09:27.000 Because only strength works in the Middle East. 1.00

00:09:29.000 And the only way you're ever going to get a Saudi-Israeli deal is if the Saudis believe that the Israelis are militarily powerful to rebut all attempts to destroy them and or do significant damage to their civilian base.

00:09:39.000 What the Biden administration should have done in the aftermath of October 7th is given Israel the green light to do what it needed to do with Hamas and Hezbollah.

00:09:45.000 No American troops involved.

00:09:47.000 Continued funding to the Israeli military, which of course means buying from American sources.

00:09:53.000 Move forward and demonstrate strength.

00:09:55.000 Instead, the Biden administration, over time, began to put more and more shackles on the Israeli Defense Force in Israel's attempt to extirpate Hamas and also to counter Hezbollah.

00:10:05.000 And Iran saw the gap.

00:10:07.000 The reason that this latest attack happened is because Iran saw the gap. 0.80

00:10:11.000 Israel took out the general who had greenlit the October 7th attacks.

00:10:16.000 And Iran was faced with this geopolitical prospect.

00:10:20.000 One, the possibility that it would be seen as weak by its own people for not responding to Israel taking out General Mohammad Reza Zahedi in Syria.

00:10:29.000 They can't be seen to look weak in the face of this.

00:10:32.000 And two, they saw an opening with the Biden administration.

00:10:34.000 They saw that because the Biden administration had been putting so much pressure on the Israeli government, they felt maybe there's a gap there that we can exploit.

00:10:41.000 Maybe we can up the ante.

00:10:43.000 Maybe we can demonstrate to the Saudis and to the Israelis that we can flex some muscle and show our power.

00:10:48.000 The problem they had is they weren't sure just how far they could go in attacking Israel without the United States either directly responding or unshackling Israel.

00:10:58.000 That was their catch-22.

00:10:59.000 They needed to do something in response to the killing of General Mohammed Reza Zahedi, who of course was killed in response to October 7th.

00:11:06.000 That's why he's dead.

00:11:08.000 But it couldn't be strong enough that would actually elicit a full-scale military response from Israel, greenlit by the United States.

00:11:16.000 So what did they do?

00:11:18.000 It sounds very much as though the United States was approached via channels by the Iranians.

00:11:23.000 And the Iranians basically said, we're going to do something. 0.98

00:11:26.000 And we just want to make sure that what we do is not enough for you to take the chains off of Israel. 0.96

00:11:31.000 That's what it sounds very much like at this point.

00:11:34.000 According to the Jerusalem Post, in a stunning report, Iran apparently informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday, adding that Washington had then responded to Tehran via Ankara that any action it took had to be within certain limits.

00:11:50.000 You wanna talk about a betrayal of an American ally?

00:11:53.000 That is a betrayal of an American ally.

00:11:54.000 So two things can be true at once.

00:11:56.000 One, the United States can use its military might and billions of dollars in military weaponry in order to shoot down Iranian threats. 0.98

00:12:02.000 Second, the United States apparently, according to this report, actively greenlit a limited attack on its own ally from the Islamic terror regime of Iran.

00:12:15.000 That's what this report is effectively saying.

00:12:19.000 And the reason that Biden would do that is because he knew that Iran had to show its own people that it was going to stand up muscularly against the evil Zionist regime.

00:12:27.000 And at the same time, Biden did not want this escalating into a full-scale Israeli retaliation.

00:12:33.000 And so the happy medium for Joe Biden was a green light and attack that would cost America significant military resources and Israel significant military resources, literally billions of dollars in military resources, allow Iran to get away with a massive We'll get to more on this in just one moment. 0.65

00:13:00.000 First, I need to talk to you about something terrible.

00:13:02.000 Something absolutely terrible.

00:13:04.000 I, of course, am speaking about asparagus.

00:13:07.000 But, you know, that's okay.

00:13:08.000 I don't need asparagus.

00:13:09.000 I make up for my vegetable deficiencies by taking balance of nature fruits and veggies.

00:13:12.000 Balance of nature fruits and veggies are the most convenient way to ensure you get your daily intake of fruits and veggies.

00:13:17.000 Balance of Nature uses an advanced cold vacuum process that encapsulates fruits and vegetables into whole food supplements without sacrificing those natural antioxidants.

00:13:25.000 The capsules are completely void of additives, fillers, extracts, synthetics, pesticides, or added sugar.

00:13:29.000 The only thing in Balance of Nature's fruits and veggies capsules are, you know, the fruits and the veggies.

00:13:33.000 You need nutrients to function at your best every single day.

00:13:36.000 Balance of Nature helps to do just that.

00:13:38.000 Like right now, I'm on the road.

00:13:39.000 Normally, I might get sick, but I've been taking Balance of Nature, so I feel pretty good.

00:13:42.000 Go to balanceofnature.com, use promo code SHAPIRO to get 35% off your first set of fruits and veggies, and an additional $10 off every additional set you buy.

00:13:51.000 That's balanceofnature.com, promo code SHAPIRO.

00:13:54.000 Go check them out right now.

00:13:55.000 If you, like me, are having a hard time getting to that daily quotient of fruits and veggies, you need to check out Balance of Nature right now.

00:14:00.000 That's balanceofnature.com, promo code SHAPIRO.

00:14:02.000 The Turkish source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, had spoken both to his U.S.

00:14:09.000 and Iranian counterparts in the past week to discuss the planned Iranian operation, adding that Ankara had been made aware of possible developments.

00:14:17.000 Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke directly to Fanon to make clear that escalation in the Middle East was not in anyone's interest.

00:14:23.000 Quote, Iran informed us in advance of what would happen.

00:14:25.000 Possible developments also came up during the meeting with Blinken, and the United States conveyed to Iran that the reaction must be within certain limits.

00:14:33.000 Again, that's insane.

00:14:35.000 That's insane.

00:14:36.000 Can you imagine any recent time in American history where somebody has said that an attack on a sovereign

00:14:44.000 country has to be within certain limits?

00:14:46.000 Actually, I can.

00:14:46.000 You know when that last happened?

00:14:48.000 With Ukraine. 0.94

00:14:49.000 Joe Biden literally said it out loud with regard to Russia attacking Ukraine.

00:14:52.000 He said that if Russia only attacked Ukraine within certain limits, it would be fine with him.

00:14:58.000 And you know what Russia saw that as?

00:14:59.000 A full-scale go-ahead.

00:15:01.000 Iran, in this particular case, did not see it as a full-scale go-ahead, mainly because, in this particular case, Israel is not the inferior military power.

00:15:09.000 Israel actually does have the aerial power to wreck Iran's oil refineries as well as its atomic facilities.

00:15:17.000 So that'll be the question as to what comes next here.

00:15:19.000 But, it appears that the Biden administration effectively brokered this attack.

00:15:24.000 Which of course makes sense.

00:15:25.000 Joe Biden is now playing both sides of the aisle apparently.

00:15:29.000 So just a quick reminder about Joe Biden.

00:15:31.000 And again, this is the only way this makes any sense because I just want to show you the map.

00:15:35.000 Here is the map of the attack that happened on Saturday night.

00:15:39.000 Take a look at this map.

00:15:40.000 And again, this is a signal.

00:15:42.000 It's signal evidence of the efficacy of Israeli defense mechanisms and the amazing power of the American military, as well as our allies in the UK and France.

00:15:51.000 The United States can project power to such an extent that it can shoot down missiles and drones in an area 8,000 miles away.

00:15:58.000 In any case, Take a look at this map.

00:16:01.000 This map shows the distances to Israel from various sites from which ordinance was fired.

00:16:10.000 As you can see, the ordinance was fired directly from Iran.

00:16:13.000 It had to cross airspace in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.

00:16:19.000 It was also fired from Yemen toward Israel, the Houthis.

00:16:22.000 Okay, what you will notice is that there was no massive attack from Hezbollah in the north.

00:16:27.000 Why does that make a difference?

00:16:29.000 If you are Iran, and you are firing directly at Israel, this is a massive lead time. 0.91

00:16:34.000 The fastest ballistic missile technology that you have might be 2,000 miles an hour.

00:16:40.000 Which means that if you're 1,000 miles away in Iran, that's still a half hour warning time.

00:16:45.000 There's literally no warning time for a rocket fired from southern Lebanon into Israel.

00:16:49.000 So, if Iran had wanted to create a mass casualty attack in Israel, A mass casualty attack that would have forced Israel to not only respond directly to Hezbollah and take it off the board, but also to respond directly to Iran. 0.75

00:17:01.000 It would have activated Hezbollah. 0.95

00:17:03.000 It would not have fired directly from Iran.

00:17:06.000 And you can see it directly from the map.

00:17:08.000 The vast majority, virtually all of the ordnance that was fired was from Iran.

00:17:13.000 There were some that was fired from Yemen, which again is very far away, but very little was fired from Iran's number one proxy in the region, which is Hezbollah, not Hamas.

00:17:24.000 So why would that happen?

00:17:26.000 Because again, if they were coordinating with the United States to allow a limited attack on Israel to save face, that would make sense. 0.99

00:17:33.000 Now again, that does not mean that Iran wouldn't have been happy if they'd killed more Jews. 0.97

00:17:36.000 They certainly would have been happy if they killed more Jews and demonstrated more technological capacity. 1.00

00:17:41.000 It is in fact a humiliation for Iran to have all of its ordnance knocked down as much as they are playing up the fact that it appeared in the sky over Israel. 0.81

00:17:51.000 But what Joe Biden is mainly focused on right now is no conflict in the Middle East, even if that means green lighting attack on American allies.

00:17:59.000 So just a flashback to 2020.

00:18:01.000 Joe Biden said that Donald Trump would get America into war with Iran.

00:18:05.000 Now the United States is actually having to use its material to shoot down actual ordnance from Iran. 0.94

00:18:09.000 That is because Joe Biden is a weakling. 1.00

00:18:11.000 It is because his foreign policy on the Middle East is idiotic. 1.00

00:18:14.000 The only thing that works in the Middle East is a perception of actual force. 0.99

00:18:19.000 You know what would have happened if Donald Trump had been president and Iran had approached and said, by the way, we want to issue a limited attack on your ally, Israel, so what do we greenlight?

00:18:29.000 You know what Donald Trump would have said? 1.00

00:18:30.000 He would have said, what I'll greenlight is I will kick your ass if you do that. 1.00

00:18:35.000 That's what Donald Trump would have said. 1.00

00:18:37.000 He certainly would not have tacitly, according to the Jerusalem Post and multiple other reports, winked and nodded.

00:18:45.000 At a 170 drone attack on a sovereign nation, including another, again, 120 ballistic missiles and some 30 to 60 cruise missiles.

00:18:59.000 But here is Joe Biden suggesting that Trump was going to get us into war in the Middle East.

00:19:02.000 Again, it's Joe Biden who's doing it.

00:19:05.000 A president who says he wants to end endless wars in the Middle East is bringing us dangerously close to starting a brand new one.

00:19:12.000 Donald Trump's short-sighted, America-first dogmatism has come home to roost.

00:19:18.000 President Trump has no strategy here, it seems to me.

00:19:21.000 He has no endgame.

00:19:23.000 And here's the hardest truth of all.

00:19:25.000 His constant mistakes and poor decision-making have left us, the United States, with a severely limited slate of options.

00:19:34.000 We are alone now.

00:19:36.000 We're alone and we'll have to bear the cost of Donald Trump's folly.

00:19:40.000 He should stop tweeting. 0.95

00:19:42.000 What a joke he is.

00:19:43.000 So he doesn't box us in with these threats that, such that only options left for Iran are increasingly damaging strikes and counter-strikes. 0.69

00:19:54.000 Okay, that is literally what Joe Biden has done.

00:19:56.000 Joe Biden has done all of those things because he is a weakling on foreign policy and when it comes to foreign policy, foreign policy is a fifth, it's a fifth grade Mr. President, what is your message to Iran in this moment?

00:20:07.000 to call the rules. Trump knew that Joe Biden is a weakling and so he doesn't.

00:20:11.000 It was just last week, in fact, that Joe Biden said don't to Iran. He keeps saying don't to

00:20:15.000 people and then they just do. You may have noticed that.

00:20:18.000 Here is Joe Biden late last week.

00:20:20.000 What is your message to Iran in this moment? Don't.

00:20:28.000 Okay, he can keep saying don't.

00:20:33.000 He also had suggested don't to Hezbollah attacking Israel.

00:20:36.000 Hezbollah has been continuously firing rockets into Israel, which means 60,000 Israelis are not living in their homes in Northern Israel. 0.95

00:20:43.000 Meanwhile, the Biden administration, which is a continuation of Obama, this is Obama part three, Ben Rhodes, the idiot foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama, whose foreign policy experience involved sitting and writing crap short stories in an apartment in Brooklyn. 0.85

00:20:56.000 Ben Rhodes was effectively defending Iran over the weekend. 0.82

00:21:01.000 Whether this is part of a multi-pronged attack that's really focused at trying to hit Israel and try to potentially take Israeli life, potentially hit Israeli military targets, or whether it's a kind of more symbolic effort.

00:21:15.000 uh... to to scare israel or did just demonstrate that they're doing something

00:21:18.000 in response i think as has been discussed here

00:21:22.000 of the rain is feel the need to respond they believe their sovereign territory

00:21:26.000 was hit that embassy in syria

00:21:28.000 uh... to them and uh... you know that is sovereign iranian territory

00:21:32.000 and so they wanted attack in some way sovereign israeli territory

00:21:36.000 the question is whether they uh... are really aiming to escalate in a big way using

00:21:42.000 multiple capabilities They did have their guy.

00:21:45.000 Their guy literally organized the October 7th attack in Greenland.

00:21:49.000 saying, well, you know, Iran was justified. 0.97

00:21:51.000 They did have their guy.

00:21:51.000 Their guy literally organized the October 7th attack in Greenland.

00:21:55.000 That's why he was killed.

00:21:56.000 The Ben Rhodes and the Obama administration.

00:22:00.000 We'll get to more on this in just a moment.

00:22:01.000 First, finding that perfect sleep aid can feel like uncovering a hidden treasure.

00:22:05.000 Whether you're struggling with occasional insomnia or battling chronic sleep disturbances, the right sleep aid can make all the difference in the world, which is why you need to check out Beam's Dream Powder.

00:22:14.000 Beam is not just your run-of-the-mill sleep aid.

00:22:15.000 It's a concoction carefully crafted to help you slip into the sweet embrace of rest without the grogginess that often accompanies other sleep remedies.

00:22:21.000 Beam Dream Powder contains a powerful, all-natural blend of reishi, l-theanine, Apigenin and melatonin to help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed.

00:22:30.000 Our producers love it.

00:22:31.000 Producer Savvy has been using it.

00:22:32.000 It helps her get a great night's sleep, even with the new baby at home.

00:22:35.000 Today, my listeners get a special discount on Beam's Dream Powder.

00:22:39.000 They're best-selling hot cocoa for sleep with no added sugar.

00:22:41.000 Beam has delicious flavors like cinnamon and cocoa, chocolate, peanut butter, and mint chip.

00:22:44.000 Better sleep has never tasted better.

00:22:46.000 Just mix some Beam Dream into hot water or milk, stir or froth, enjoy before bedtime.

00:22:50.000 Don't waste another night battling the bedtime blues.

00:22:52.000 Go and get Beam today.

00:22:53.000 Your weary self will thank you.

00:22:54.000 If you want to try Beam's best-selling dream powder, take advantage of 40% off for a limited time when you go to shopbeam.com slash Ben.

00:23:01.000 Use code Ben at checkout.

00:23:02.000 That's shopbeam.com slash Ben with my promo code Ben for up to 40% off your order.

00:23:07.000 Meanwhile, John Kirby continues to play both sides.

00:23:10.000 Again, this is about the Biden administration playing both sides.

00:23:13.000 It turns out that if you show an intransigent face to Iran, it boxes them in.

00:23:17.000 And when you simultaneously unfreeze tens of billions of dollars to Iran, Allowing them to use that money for ballistic missile technology, then fire an American ally, and it turns out that America now is paying to knock down those ballistic missiles. 0.99

00:23:30.000 It turns out you're a weakling and a coward. 0.99

00:23:32.000 Here is John Kirby. 1.00

00:23:33.000 He says that Joe Biden told Israel it's an incredible military achievement.

00:23:37.000 By the way, the Biden administration then promptly leaked to Barak Ravid, who is their stenographer over at Axios, that they had told Israel they shouldn't retaliate in any way, shape, or form to a massive military attack on Israel.

00:23:48.000 Here's John Kirby, the national security spokesperson.

00:23:53.000 The purpose of the call was to check in with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the end of the operations.

00:23:58.000 Not everything had finished getting into Israel in terms of the drones were still on the way, but we felt like we were near the end.

00:24:06.000 The President wanted to congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu for an incredible military achievement.

00:24:11.000 The Prime Minister was very grateful for the support that President Biden offered and demonstrated in supporting Israel.

00:24:18.000 And the President made it clear.

00:24:19.000 That the self-defense of Israel is something we take seriously, and we will continue to take that seriously.

00:24:26.000 Well, they'll take it seriously, except when Israel actually has to defend itself by taking on, say, Hamas, when you'll rip into them for an error involving a truck convoy. 0.68

00:24:35.000 Or when you suggest that if Israel goes up against Hezbollah, which is currently aiming 200,000 rockets at Israel, including 50,000 that have targeting capability, then you'll really get on Israel's case. 0.86

00:24:45.000 Meanwhile, John Kirby says they'll continue to provide Israel counsel.

00:24:48.000 I'm sure that's what Israel needs at this point.

00:24:51.000 Do you trust his judgment in deciding how to respond to these attacks?

00:24:56.000 He's the prime minister of Israel.

00:24:57.000 He's the elected leader of their government.

00:25:00.000 We're going to continue to work with him, advise him, provide counsel and perspective, as well as make clear he knows, and I think he does certainly from last night, that the United States will continue to help them defend themselves.

00:25:13.000 Meanwhile, Senator Chris Coons, who's of course on the left of the Democratic Party, he's out there saying that the big thing is to tell Israel to take a breath.

00:25:19.000 Israel really needs to be convinced to take a breath. 0.97

00:25:20.000 Again, I've never seen something like this in all my life, where an American ally takes 300 incoming high-tech pieces of ordinance from a sovereign state, and the main focus is on how do we, the United States, tell our ally that they need to back off.

00:25:36.000 In response to that, let's just be clear about something.

00:25:38.000 If Mexico decided tomorrow that they were going to fire 170 drones across the border to attack American sites, and we shot all of them down, Mexico City would not be occupied by the Mexican government tomorrow morning.

00:25:51.000 There is no sovereign state on planet Earth That should be told by America that it cannot defend itself against a state that just fired 120 ballistic missiles at it.

00:26:00.000 That's insane.

00:26:01.000 But that's exactly the position of the Biden administration.

00:26:03.000 And not only that, the position of the Biden administration apparently was to green light the attack, at least softly in the first place.

00:26:09.000 Here's Chris Coons from Delaware.

00:26:12.000 I think we should take a breath and analyze what the consequences might be of an attack back on Iran by Israel or of any other escalation.

00:26:22.000 So I understand that there are those who think that's the only way for us to restore deterrence.

00:26:27.000 I think the most important deterrent action that Congress can take, and this is what former Secretary Mike Pompeo is calling for, this is what Republican leader Mitch McConnell is calling for, is for Speaker Johnson to not take days or weeks to try and come up with some other package, but to pass the supplemental tomorrow.

00:26:48.000 So we'll get to the aid package in a second because it does appear that that is going to probably be pushed forward in some form or fashion over the course of the next week.

00:26:56.000 The reality is that that should have been negotiated weeks ago.

00:26:59.000 Which is, you know, there are lots of questions to be asked about how much aid, the accountability for the aid, what aid is necessary, whether should we give it as a loan or not a loan.

00:27:08.000 But the reality is that the complete dysfunction of Congress has in fact been a problem.

00:27:11.000 However, the point here with the Biden administration is that the real reason they're doing all of this is because they're afraid of losing the election in 2024.

00:27:16.000 There are two things that they are aiming for in terms of their foreign policy.

00:27:20.000 One is please the disgusting pro-Hamas contingents in Dearborn, Michigan.

00:27:25.000 And that is a very real contingent.

00:27:27.000 And the second is that they want to avoid a broader war.

00:27:30.000 But they think that the way to avoid a broader war is to force America's allies into conciliation as opposed to intimidating America's enemies into obeisance.

00:27:39.000 Those are the two possibilities.

00:27:40.000 Trump always opted for number two, which is if you screw with the United States or our allies, then we will intimidate you.

00:27:47.000 We will stop you.

00:27:48.000 And you know what? 0.97

00:27:48.000 It made for a pretty damned safe world under Donald Trump. 0.97

00:27:52.000 Joe Biden's idea has been, feed the alligator and maybe it will be nice to you, eventually. 0.96

00:27:57.000 You know who understands this better than anybody, shockingly, is John Fetterman.

00:28:00.000 Here is John Fetterman over the weekend, the senator from Pennsylvania, who says it's astonishing that the United States is not standing more firmly with Israel.

00:28:07.000 I think it really demonstrates how it's astonishing that we are not standing firmly with Israel and there should never be any kinds of conditions on all that.

00:28:17.000 When a nation can launch hundreds of drones towards Israel, I'm not going to be talking about conditions.

00:28:24.000 Ever.

00:28:26.000 And second, I think that also was Iran had to have some fireworks after Israel smoked that Iranian general. 0.86

00:28:34.000 And I am here for that.

00:28:37.000 And I think it's just a matter of theater part of it as well, too.

00:28:41.000 And finally, it demonstrates how unstable things are and why we need to lean in and stand with Israel.

00:28:48.000 Man, John Fetterman, wow.

00:28:50.000 I've never been more shocked by a politician in my life than the senator from Pennsylvania.

00:28:54.000 We'll get back to this in a moment.

00:28:55.000 First, if you're a hard-working entrepreneur, you're trying to build that empire from the ground up, you know how valuable your time is.

00:29:00.000 Trust me, I get it.

00:29:01.000 You don't have the time to manage every aspect of your business.

00:29:03.000 They tell you about an aspect of your business that's going to take up a lot of your time, and that would be HR, unless you get Bambi.

00:29:08.000 With Bambi, you're not just getting an HR manager, you're getting a dedicated partner who's available by phone, email, and real-time chat.

00:29:14.000 They'll handle crucial tasks like employee onboarding, terminations, and performance reviews.

00:29:17.000 With Bambi's HR Autopilot feature, you can streamline essential HR practices like employee training and feedback procedures, freeing up your time for what really matters to your business.

00:29:26.000 All of Bambi's HR managers are based in the United States and can support the nuances across all 50 states.

00:29:31.000 HR managers can easily cost $80,000 annually, but Bambi starts at just $99 bucks monthly.

00:29:36.000 So, if you're ready to unleash your business' full potential, don't wait another minute.

00:29:39.000 Call Bambi HR today. 0.55

00:29:41.000 Schedule your free consultation by visiting Bambi.com right now.

00:29:44.000 Type Ben Shapiro under podcast when you sign up.

00:29:46.000 Spell B-A-M-B-E-E dot com.

00:29:49.000 Bambi dot com.

00:29:50.000 Type in Ben Shapiro to get started.

00:29:52.000 HR can up your time and your money.

00:29:53.000 That's why you should check out Bambi. 0.99

00:29:54.000 Go check him out right now.

00:29:55.000 Bambi dot com.

00:29:57.000 Meanwhile, Donald Trump was speaking out over the weekend as well.

00:30:02.000 Before going any further, I want to say God bless the people of Israel.

00:30:03.000 directly saying that this never would have happened if he were president, which of course

00:30:07.000 is true.

00:30:08.000 And then he pointed out that Joe Biden is in fact showing tremendous weakness.

00:30:12.000 Here he was at a rally in Pennsylvania.

00:30:25.000 This would not happen.

00:30:26.000 The weakness that we've shown, it's unbelievable, and it would not have happened if we were in office.

00:30:32.000 You know that.

00:30:33.000 They know that.

00:30:34.000 Everybody knows that.

00:30:37.000 He is obviously exactly correct about this.

00:30:39.000 Senator Marco Rubio, he points out that Joe Biden leaked his conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu to the press, in which he told Netanyahu to stand down and back away.

00:30:47.000 He says the only reason to do that is please your pro-Hamas base.

00:30:49.000 There is a second reason, which is to signal to Iran that the United States is holding Israel's chain. 0.53

00:30:55.000 Here is Marco Rubio.

00:30:57.000 I think we go from that to the other extreme, which is Joe Biden telling Netanyahu, take the win, don't do anything.

00:31:03.000 And then his people leaking it to the media, leaking it to the press.

00:31:07.000 And what it sets up is they know that Israel is going to respond.

00:31:10.000 They know this for a fact.

00:31:11.000 So why would the White House leak it?

00:31:13.000 There's only one reason they leak that.

00:31:14.000 And that is that so when Israel does respond, the White House can say, we told them not to do it, and at least somehow, in some way, appease these so-called peace activists, by the way, these so-called ceasefire now people, who were out yesterday cheering the launch of hundreds of rockets and drones and missiles against Israel.

00:31:30.000 People that are out there cheering military attacks of this scale and scope are not peace activists.

00:31:35.000 These are anti-Semites, anti-Israel, pro-terrorist elements out there.

00:31:40.000 Rubio, of course, is exactly right about all of this.

00:31:42.000 Okay, so where does this leave Israel right now?

00:31:45.000 So, Israel has suggested that they're going to exact a price when the time is right. 0.72

00:31:51.000 So, first of all, a few things to understand about Israel's response here.

00:31:54.000 What is amazing is the media and the Biden administration have been so focused on painting the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, as some sort of wild-eyed extremist, desperate for conflict, that they are completely misreading the room.

00:32:06.000 Netanyahu, according to virtually every Israeli, right, left, and center, is at best an incrementalist.

00:32:12.000 The big rap on Bibi is that Bibi didn't do enough to stop Hezbollah from gaining 200,000 missiles.

00:32:17.000 The big rap on Bibi is that Bibi did not do enough to hamper the rise of Hamas.

00:32:22.000 The big rap on Bibi is that he has been talking about taking out the Iranian nuclear facilities for legitimately decades and has not done it.

00:32:28.000 The rap on Bibi, in other words, is that he moves too slow and he is too incremental.

00:32:32.000 And yet the United States and the media keep saying, well, I hope Israel has restraint because that wild-eyed crazy person, Bibi Netanyahu, is going to get Israel into a regional war. 0.72

00:32:39.000 Okay, that's not true.

00:32:41.000 That is certainly not Piers Morgan's suggestion.

00:32:42.000 He says, Israel must show restraint.

00:32:44.000 I fear Netanyahu won't.

00:32:45.000 I have a question.

00:32:46.000 Why?

00:32:47.000 What sort of restraint, exactly?

00:32:49.000 I mean, Israel does have nuclear weapons.

00:32:51.000 They're not going to nuke Tehran.

00:32:53.000 Israel does have the military capacity to seriously degrade Iranian nuclear capacity itself, the oil refineries over in Iran.

00:33:02.000 Unlikely they do that as well.

00:33:04.000 Again, this kind of bizarre notion that you call for restraint on the state that was just attacked by an Islamic terror state is totally insane to me and immoral at a deep root level.

00:33:17.000 Zinov Telly Bennett, who's the former prime minister of Israel, he put out a tweet thread explaining what he thinks is the situation.

00:33:22.000 Here's what he said.

00:33:23.000 He said, contrary to what pundits are saying, this wasn't designed merely as bells and whistles with no damage.

00:33:27.000 When you shoot 350 flying objects, time to hit Israel at the same moment, when you use three fundamentally different weapon types, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and UAVs, you are looking to penetrate Israel's defenses and kill Israelis. 0.70

00:33:37.000 The U.S.

00:33:37.000 administration is telling us, this is a victory.

00:33:39.000 You've already won by thwarting the missiles.

00:33:41.000 No need for further action.

00:33:42.000 No, it is not a victory.

00:33:43.000 Yes, it's a remarkable success of Israel's air defense systems, but it's not a victory.

00:33:47.000 When a bully tries to hit you 350 times and only succeeds at seven, you have not won.

00:33:51.000 You don't win wars just by intercepting your enemy's hits, nor do you deter it.

00:33:55.000 Your enemy will just try harder with more and better weapons the next time.

00:33:57.000 How do you deter?

00:33:58.000 By exacting a deeply painful price.

00:34:00.000 Third, it is incorrect to say nobody got hurt.

00:34:02.000 There's a seven-year-old Israeli Arab girl called Amina El-Hassouni fighting for her life.

00:34:07.000 That is who Khamenei hit.

00:34:09.000 The Islamic Republic of Iran made a big mistake for the past 30 years. 0.89

00:34:11.000 It's been wreaking havoc on the region through its proxies. 0.99

00:34:14.000 A terror octopus whose head is in Tehran.

00:34:16.000 Its tentacles are in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Gaza.

00:34:19.000 How convenient.

00:34:20.000 The mullahs send to others to conduct horrendous terror attacks and die for them other people's blood. 1.00

00:34:24.000 Israel's strategic mistake for the past 30 years was to play along this strategy. 0.72

00:34:27.000 We always fought the octopus's arms, but hardly ever exacted a price from the Iranian head. 1.00

00:34:31.000 This should change now.

00:34:33.000 Hezbollah or Hamas should to rocket at Israel.

00:34:34.000 Tehran should pay the price.

00:34:36.000 The enemy is the Iranian regime, not the wonderful Iranian people. 0.97

00:34:40.000 Israel is fighting everybody's war in Gaza, Lebanon, Tehran.

00:34:43.000 We're considered the small Satan by radical Islam.

00:34:45.000 America is the big one. 0.91

00:34:45.000 I'll be clear. 0.91

00:34:46.000 If these crazy fanatic Islamic terrorists get away with murder by hiding among civilians, this method will be adopted by terrorists worldwide. 1.00

00:34:52.000 We're not asking anyone to fight for us. 0.98

00:34:53.000 We'll do the job.

00:34:54.000 But we do expect our allies to have our back, especially when it's tough and now it's tough.

00:34:57.000 Be on the right side.

00:34:58.000 Help us defeat these horrible and savage regimes.

00:35:00.000 That is Naftali Bennett speaking on Twitter.

00:35:03.000 Okay, so in just one second, we'll get to the actual options that Israel has on the table.

00:35:08.000 First, it's been two years of fighting the left and building the future with great products.

00:35:12.000 We are only getting better.

00:35:15.000 Let me show you.

00:35:16.000 This right here.

00:35:17.000 The Jeremy's second generation razors.

00:35:19.000 They are here.

00:35:20.000 Same mission, better razors.

00:35:21.000 You'll immediately notice the totally reconstructed ergonomic handle.

00:35:25.000 For superior durability and improved coated stainless steel blades that last longer plus, enjoy more flexibility for a close shave without nicks or cuts.

00:35:32.000 For those who meticulously craft their masculine look, introducing Jeremy's new Precision 5 razor.

00:35:36.000 Completely transformed with the Precision trimmer, enhanced with comfort thanks to the improved lubrication strip.

00:35:41.000 Experience an exceptionally smooth and close shave with added durability to withstand those accidental drops.

00:35:46.000 Okay, meanwhile, so what exactly will Israel do right here?

00:35:49.000 Meet the brand new Sprint 3 with open blade geometry for a swift clean shave, allowing

00:35:52.000 you to get back to your manly pursuits in no time.

00:35:54.000 The razors are not made in China, they are made right.

00:35:56.000 Progress that is not progressive.

00:35:58.000 Head on over to jeremyrasers.com and upgrade to your new second generation razor today.

00:36:02.000 Okay, meanwhile, so what exactly will Israel do right here?

00:36:06.000 Well, Benny Gant, who is the minister who is largely perceived as the most popular person

00:36:13.000 If an Israeli election were held today, he'd probably be the prime minister.

00:36:16.000 He's a member of Israel's war cabinet.

00:36:18.000 He put out a statement suggesting that Israel would not, in fact, respond directly to Iran immediately.

00:36:22.000 He said, facing Iran, we will build a regional coalition and may Iran pay the price in a 1.00

00:36:26.000 manner and time that is correct for us.

00:36:29.000 He called the results over the weekend a strategic achievement, which Israel must leverage for

00:36:33.000 its national security.

00:36:34.000 He said this event is not over.

00:36:36.000 The strategic alliance and alignment of regional cooperation must be strengthened specifically now.

00:36:40.000 So what does he mean by that?

00:36:41.000 Okay, so Israel basically has three options in retaliation for what Iran just did, which is effectively declare war directly on the state of Israel with an attack directly on the state of Israel from Iranian territory.

00:36:51.000 So one.

00:36:52.000 Israel could, in fact, deliver a devastating blow to Iran directly.

00:36:56.000 Israel's been preparing for that for 20 years.

00:36:57.000 They have F-35s, they have F-16s, they have F-15s.

00:37:00.000 Israel could theoretically fire missiles directly at Iran.

00:37:04.000 Israel could target the oil refineries, devastating Iran's economy.

00:37:09.000 Israel could do serious damage to the Natanz nuclear base over in Iran.

00:37:13.000 Even if Israel did not have the bunker busters necessary to completely destroy those nuclear facilities, Israel could do enough damage to the surrounding areas that the nuclear facilities would not be reachable or usable for the foreseeable future. 0.58

00:37:26.000 Israel could do all of that.

00:37:27.000 That's option number one.

00:37:29.000 Option number two is that Israel could turn north and strike the actual most serious military threat it currently faces, which is Hezbollah. 0.80

00:37:35.000 Hamas is no longer the chief military offensive threat that Israel faces.

00:37:39.000 Hezbollah is. 0.87

00:37:40.000 As I mentioned a thousand times on the show already, Hezbollah, which is an Iranian-backed terror group, which has tens of thousands of troops in Israel's north on the southern border of Lebanon, has some 200,000 rockets pointed at Israel.

00:37:51.000 50,000 of those have smart technology capable of hitting serious targets in Tel Aviv, in Haifa.

00:37:57.000 It could theoretically kill tens of thousands of Israelis.

00:37:59.000 So Israel could take this opportunity and say, listen, we are no longer going to Pay homage to the Iranian threat. 0.84

00:38:06.000 We understand that you guys were trying to do something symbolic by sending stuff directly from Iranian territory, but the real military threat that you're holding over our heads here is Hezbollah. 0.83

00:38:12.000 And we're going to preemptively knock out Hezbollah. 1.00

00:38:15.000 So they could theoretically do that.

00:38:17.000 And then finally, they could do neither of those two things.

00:38:20.000 They could hold on both of those things because Joe Biden is weak-kneed and doesn't want them to do those things.

00:38:25.000 Israel could say, listen, Right now, the rest of the world is realizing the Iranian threat. 0.99

00:38:31.000 Hamas is, in fact, a terror proxy of Iran.

00:38:35.000 We need to finish off what we're doing in the Gaza Strip.

00:38:37.000 That's what Israel could say.

00:38:39.000 That seems to me the most likely scenario here.

00:38:42.000 There's one major city left to go in the Gaza Strip that is currently holding four brigades of Hamas fighters.

00:38:49.000 That's not going to end whatever terror threat exists in Gaza, but it is going to establish effective military control over the entirety of the Gaza Strip once Israel takes Rafah. 0.53

00:38:58.000 The United States has been whining about an accidental strike on an aid convoy that was obviously accidental by every available piece of evidence.

00:39:09.000 In fact, as we talked about last week, when it comes to that World Central Kitchen convoy, not only was it accidental, Israel saw actual armed fighters on top of the World Central Kitchen convoy and then went under an overpass of some sort.

00:39:21.000 A bunch of trucks came out.

00:39:22.000 Israel tried to call the World Central Kitchen drivers directly.

00:39:25.000 No pickup.

00:39:25.000 They tried to call the World Central Kitchen directly, like the actual major headquarters.

00:39:30.000 The major headquarters tried to call the drivers.

00:39:31.000 No pickup.

00:39:32.000 Israel then had drones that were only heat signatures.

00:39:36.000 In terms of their viewpoints, they couldn't even see the paint on top of the trucks.

00:39:39.000 And then they struck the trucks.

00:39:40.000 So in any case, obviously an accident.

00:39:42.000 What Israel could do right now is they could say, listen, the best policy here is just finish what we are doing.

00:39:47.000 And then when we finish what we're doing, we'll turn to the Saudis and we'll say, listen, you can see what Iran is doing. 0.88

00:39:53.000 You can see the true threat regionally here is Iran. 0.96

00:39:56.000 And we are back to the pre-October 7th geopolitics that Iran wanted to avoid in the first place.

00:40:02.000 If Israel finishes off Hamas and then Israel swivels and makes an Abraham Accord deal with the Saudis, Iran will have completely lost whatever it was attempting to gain on October 7th. 0.86

00:40:12.000 I think that's the most likely scenario, by the way.

00:40:14.000 I think that Israel always intended on going into Rafah. 0.53

00:40:17.000 I think Israel always was intending on finishing off the conflict because as even Benny Gantz and members of the left in the cabinet have said, you don't put out 80% of a house fire, you finish it off.

00:40:28.000 And I think then Israel will swivel and try to broker a deal with the Saudi Arabian regime in order to establish that Sunni-Israeli alliance that Iran had so desperately attempted to forestall with the October 7th attacks in the first place. 0.58

00:40:41.000 And all Joe Biden has to do is shut the hell up.

00:40:44.000 That's all he has to do.

00:40:46.000 All Joe Biden has to do is recognize the reality.

00:40:49.000 Hamas is an Iranian-backed terror group.

00:40:51.000 When you force Israel to not do things to protect itself, even in the most immediate sense, while Hamas is rejecting hostage deals, by the way, Iran is currently rejecting hostage deals.

00:41:03.000 They literally did this over the weekend.

00:41:05.000 On Saturday, they rejected the latest attempt to exchange hundreds of terrorists in favor of hostages.

00:41:14.000 Claiming that Israel should completely pull out of the Gaza Strip, which of course is not going to happen.

00:41:20.000 The only further step that Israel could take here, and they should take it right now, while the iron is hot, while the rest of the world sees what Iran is and what its proxies are, Israel should finish off its business in Rafah, finish the war, move to low-level cleanup operations and counterinsurgency operations in the Gaza Strip, and then turn and make a deal with the Saudis to box in the Iranians. 0.95

00:41:40.000 I have a feeling that's exactly what Israel is going to do. 0.99

00:41:43.000 The reason being, if Israel is unwilling to take a serious swipe at the Iranian regime by completely destroying its oil refineries and its nuclear facilities, if Israel is not willing to do that, a pinpoint hit-the-camel-in-the-ass attack is not going to serve Israel any purpose. 0.66

00:41:57.000 It does nothing.

00:41:58.000 All it does is tick off Joe Biden and the White House.

00:42:02.000 If Israel is unwilling to go to full-scale war with Hezbollah and finish it off right now because they're afraid that Joe Biden will not provide the support necessary for that militarily, not in terms of direct American strikes, but in terms of the sort of offensive aid necessary for Israel to finish off Hezbollah in the north, then there's no point in doing it.

00:42:19.000 In other words, go big or go home.

00:42:21.000 And the last aspect of go big for Israel is finish off the Gaza Strip, solidify that position militarily, and then turn to the north with presumably some foreign aid. 0.79

00:42:32.000 So this, of course, the latest attack on Israel underscores the fact that the United States does in fact have a significant geopolitical interest in granting Israel the capacity to militarily defend itself, and yes, to vitiate threats from abroad.

00:42:49.000 That is a good thing for the United States.

00:42:51.000 Because American allies that are turned weak force the United States to stand in directly.

00:42:56.000 That's actually the history of American foreign policy in the post-World War II era.

00:42:59.000 It turns out that when America's allies are strong and can defend themselves, the United States is less required to do things.

00:43:04.000 When American allies are weak and cannot defend themselves, the United States is forced to provide things like a nuclear umbrella in Europe.

00:43:10.000 The reason that happened is because the United States in 1956 during the Suez Canal crisis

00:43:14.000 took the opposite side from America's own allies, thus undermining their credibility

00:43:19.000 on the world stage.

00:43:20.000 And that in turn forced the United States to take more of a leading role in Europe.

00:43:23.000 So if you don't like America taking leading roles, what you need to do is strengthen American

00:43:26.000 allies to the extent that they can defend themselves.

00:43:29.000 And this, of course, is precisely what various Republicans were saying over the weekend.

00:43:34.000 So for example, Steve Scalise, who's the House majority whip, he put out a tweet suggesting

00:43:39.000 that it was time to pass.

00:43:40.000 He said, in light of Iran's unjustified attack on Israel, the House will move from its previously announced legislative schedule next week to instead consider legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable.

00:43:50.000 The House of Representatives stands strongly with Israel.

00:43:52.000 There must be consequences for this unprovoked attack.

00:43:54.000 More details on the legislative items to be considered will be forthcoming.

00:43:58.000 Lindsey Graham is saying the same thing.

00:43:59.000 So the question becomes, what exactly that foreign aid looks like?

00:44:03.000 Because obviously, the question about foreign aid at this point is whether it's a giant foreign aid bill that also includes Ukraine, whether it's an Israel standalone bill, or anything else.

00:44:14.000 And that's going to be the calculation for the House this week.

00:44:16.000 Are they looking for Israel for aid alone, or are they looking for aid for Israel with regard to Ukraine?

00:44:22.000 We'll get to more on this in a moment.

00:44:23.000 First, the people of Israel are once again under attack.

00:44:26.000 Over the weekend, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a wave of suicide drones followed by ballistic and cruise missiles at Israel.

00:44:32.000 The situation in northern Israel has been tense for months.

00:44:34.000 Tens of thousands of people are now living in their homes thanks to Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists operating out of Lebanon.

00:44:40.000 Now the situation is coming to a head.

00:44:41.000 Israel needs your prayers and your support now more than ever.

00:44:44.000 The entry of Iran into the war is a serious development. 0.97

00:44:46.000 It means Israel could be fighting with Hamas terrorists in the south, Iran back to Hezbollah in the north, and Iran itself, which has military capabilities beyond either Hamas or Hezbollah.

00:44:54.000 The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has been responding to Israel's emergency needs during the war by supplying protective gear for first responders, emergency supply kits, bomb shelters, reinforced ambulances, and other critical needs in northern Israel.

00:45:06.000 They're on the ground right now, preparing to protect civilian populations

00:45:09.000 with mobile bomb shelters, food, and other basic necessities.

00:45:11.000 Please, I urge you, give as generously as you can.

00:45:14.000 Israel needs our help.

00:45:15.000 To give to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, visit benforthefellowship.org.

00:45:19.000 Again, that's benforthefellowship.org.

00:45:22.000 God bless and thank you, benforthefellowship.org.

00:45:25.000 According to Politico, Speaker Johnson is vowing to take up aid to Israel

00:45:28.000 following the drone attacks and renewed bipartisan pressure.

00:45:31.000 The question is what he's going to do about Ukraine.

00:45:33.000 In an interview on Fox News' Sunday Morning with Maria Bartiromo, Johnson said he wants to move forward with Israel aid bills this week.

00:45:40.000 When asked about Ukraine, Johnson did not say when it would be taken up or whether it would, in fact, be tied to Israel funding.

00:45:46.000 One of the possibilities is a Donald Trump-approved idea that there would, in fact, be Ukraine funding, but it would be done as a loan.

00:45:52.000 He said that Trump has introduced the loan-lease concept, which is a really important one, which I think has a lot of consensus, as well as the other ideas, the Repo Act, which is the seizing of corrupt Russian oligarchs to help pay for this resistance.

00:46:04.000 The drone attacks mark a dramatic escalation, and of course, you have seen a wide variety of Republicans now come out and say that it's unclear exactly what's going to happen.

00:46:12.000 Are they going to bring up the Senate-passed bill to move with expediency?

00:46:16.000 Are they going to bring up an Israel-only aid bill to move forward?

00:46:20.000 Not clear at this point exactly what gets pushed forward at this point.

00:46:26.000 Suffice it to say that if they pass forward even the Senate-passed bill right now, it would pass in the House.

00:46:31.000 It would in fact get passed in the House.

00:46:33.000 And we should point out at this point as well that when it comes to the Ukrainian aid, one of the questions that, again, I cannot get an answer to from even people who I generally like in the Republican caucus, when they say that they don't want to give any aid to Ukraine, does that mean that you are okay with Russia just walking into Kiev?

00:46:53.000 Because that is the predictable result if you give no aid.

00:46:55.000 Again, you want to argue about whether it's a loan or whether it's not a loan, that's fine.

00:46:58.000 You want to argue about the amount, that's fine too.

00:46:59.000 You want to talk about actual anti-corruption facilities?

00:47:04.000 That makes sense as well.

00:47:05.000 But this bizarre notion that it's in the United States' interest to provide so little aid to Ukraine that Russia simply walks into Kiev and takes the rest of Ukraine?

00:47:14.000 I don't understand that at all.

00:47:16.000 Quizzed about that over the weekend was Senator J.D.

00:47:18.000 Vance.

00:47:19.000 Vance, of course, is one of the more isolationist members of Congress.

00:47:22.000 And he was asked repeatedly by Jake Tapper, are you willing to basically allow Ukraine to just be overrun by Russia?

00:47:28.000 And Vance simply wouldn't answer the question.

00:47:31.000 My solution to the problem is to rebuild our own country.

00:47:34.000 The reason that we're in this position, Jake, is because we're stretched way too thin.

00:47:38.000 We're stretched way too thin in the number of weapons systems that we need, that Ukraine needs, that Taiwan needs, that Israel needs, and we can't do all of these things at once.

00:47:47.000 So when you're stretched too thin, you've got to focus and you've got to rebuild your own country.

00:47:52.000 Let's take just one of those weapon systems that we're talking about.

00:47:56.000 155mm artillery shells.

00:47:57.000 The Russians currently have a 5 to 1 advantage over the Ukrainians.

00:48:02.000 The Israelis will need this stuff.

00:48:03.000 The Taiwanese need this stuff.

00:48:05.000 And of course, America needs this stuff.

00:48:07.000 Can we possibly fight all of those conflicts at once?

00:48:10.000 No.

00:48:10.000 The math just doesn't make sense.

00:48:14.000 Okay, so I'm confused.

00:48:15.000 He's literally arguing that Ukraine is outgunned, so we should cut off aid to Ukraine.

00:48:21.000 Jake Tapper asked him no less than three times if he'd be comfortable with Russia taking Ukraine, and he just misdirected the answer.

00:48:26.000 He just swiveled, and again, I like JD Vance.

00:48:28.000 I've had him on the show before.

00:48:30.000 But when you're talking about foreign aid sufficient to allow our allies to withstand predations from American enemies, and yes, Russia is an enemy of the United States.

00:48:38.000 They do not have America's best interests at heart.

00:48:40.000 They're not an allied nation to the United States in any way, shape, or form.

00:48:43.000 It turns out that is a bad foreign policy.

00:48:46.000 That is very bad.

00:48:46.000 So I think very likely this week some form of aid gets passed in the aftermath of all this.

00:48:50.000 I think very likely that Israel goes into Rafah and finishes off what is happening in the Gaza Strip and then swivels and makes a deal with Iran. 0.85

00:48:57.000 And you end up with a Trump-like foreign policy promoted in spite of the Biden administration, which has a significantly higher body count that would have been necessary if Joe Biden were not a foreign policy coward.

00:49:08.000 Okay, meanwhile, The Donald Trump trial begins today in New York City on the Hush Money trial.

00:49:15.000 According to Politico, former President Trump's criminal trial in New York begins on Monday with an immediate and fundamental challenge, selecting a jury that can fairly judge one of the most famous and polarizing figures alive.

00:49:26.000 Now, the reason that, of course, Democrats are very much focused on this particular trial is because they have to do something to really harm Trump's candidacy.

00:49:34.000 According to a brand new poll from the New York Times, many more Americans fondly remember the Trump years than remember the Biden years.

00:49:44.000 Well over 60% of Americans believe that Donald Trump's handling of the economy was good.

00:49:51.000 Almost 50% of Americans believe that Donald Trump left the country better off than he took it.

00:49:58.000 More than 50% believe today that they liked his handling of law and order.

00:50:05.000 Again, these are numbers that are significantly better than Joe Biden's.

00:50:09.000 The question asked by the New York Times, do you generally remember the years that this candidate was president?

00:50:13.000 Is mostly good years for America, mostly bad years for America, or not really good or bad?

00:50:18.000 46% of Americans say that Joe Biden's years have been mostly bad for America.

00:50:22.000 Another 27% say not really good or bad.

00:50:25.000 Only 25% say mostly good for America.

00:50:27.000 For Donald Trump, 42% say mostly good for America.

00:50:31.000 Only 33% say mostly bad for America, which means that Donald Trump has a pretty easy candidacy if all he does is just stand there and point at Joe Biden, which is why, again, they are focusing in like a laser beam on this criminal trial in New York.

00:50:45.000 According to the Wall Street Journal, The case of People vs. Trump is itself a mixed bag, with the lowest stakes of the four prosecutions he faces.

00:50:51.000 Trump would have no mandatory prison time if convicted.

00:50:54.000 Despite the salacious backstory, the case at its core is about documents, whether Trump falsified business and financial records accounting for hush money.

00:51:01.000 The political fallout could theoretically be severe.

00:51:05.000 Some voters show that they would change their votes, but it could also be met with a shrug. 0.99

00:51:09.000 And this particular case is incredibly stupid and it does look as though it is a political prosecution of all the cases against Trump. 0.98

00:51:15.000 This is the one that most looks like a political prosecution at this point. 0.99

00:51:20.000 So, media are going to focus a lot on this trial.

00:51:22.000 I'm not sure that that is going to work.

00:51:24.000 Because again, the world seems to be in flames thanks to Joe Biden's absolutely awful presidency.

00:51:30.000 Okay, in just a moment.

00:51:32.000 We'll be joined by Charlie Spearing.

00:51:33.000 He's the author of Amateur Hour.

00:51:35.000 Kamala Harris in the White House.

00:51:36.000 If you're not a member, become a member.

00:51:37.000 Use code Shapiro.

00:51:38.000 Check out for two months free on all annual plans.

The Ben Shapiro Show - April 15, 2024

UNPRECEDENTED: Iran Launches MASSIVE Attack on Israel

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript