00:00:04.440Welcome, it is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.
00:00:07.960Hope you had a fabulous Easter weekend with your family.
00:00:11.680It was a Easter miracle, Senator, as we have now gotten back that second pilot that was missing 48 hours in hell in Iran behind enemy lines.
00:00:21.280I hope they make a movie out of this one, sir.
00:02:50.320There was something from Sephora, something from Brandy Melville.
00:02:54.440um a you got bougie eggs in your house i don't know it was look i've got a a 15 and about to be
00:03:01.660an 18 year old daughter and and i will admit heidi was in charge of picking what was on the post-its
00:03:06.520uh but but they were pretty excited to get them and there were other ones that just had
00:03:10.980uh squishy little rubber duckies yeah yeah so so it was fun we had we had a great easter that's
00:03:18.740But we did not have as amazing an Easter as an airman who was shot down over Iran.
00:03:25.760And I got to say, look, this is, you're right, this will be a movie unless Hollywood, well, I mean, Hollywood does suck, but hopefully they don't suck this bad because this is a movie screaming to be written.
00:06:12.940One of them was grabbed pretty quickly.
00:06:14.980There was a fight to get him as well, a firefight to get him.
00:06:19.020But they couldn't get the second guy quickly.
00:06:23.180And that is when the CIA went to work, which is the part of the story which is just truly incredible.
00:06:28.760They started putting out misinformation inside of Iran, claiming that America had actually gotten him.
00:06:36.040But we were having to, in essence, take him out by land on foot so that it would drive the soldiers in the RGC and these and these other warlords, et cetera, that were looking for these militias that are looking for him in the wrong direction.
00:06:47.820And they they probably saved his life more than likely.
00:06:52.860Undoubtedly. Here, let's take a minute and go through the tick tock that The Wall Street Journal put out Sunday evening.
00:06:58.760For nearly two days, injured and alone, a U.S. aviator hid in a remote mountain crevice
00:07:04.080as Iranian forces and militias closed in on him with helicopters and drones.
00:07:10.320God is good, the Air Force colonel had radioed once he reached an elevated ridge,
00:07:15.100a message that was initially met with suspicion in Washington as a possible Iranian trap
00:07:20.000as officials scrambled to verify he was still alive.
00:07:24.160Early Sunday, he heard the heavier roar of U.S. aircraft and a barrage of fire as U.S. commandos reached him 200 miles deep inside Iran.
00:07:35.300As they whisked him to safety, they blew up aircraft stranded on the ground rather than risk sophisticated military equipment falling into Iranian hands, leaving behind a final explosion and a plume of smoke.
00:07:49.180The rescue mission that U.S. officials said unfolded in the craggy gorges of southwestern Iran was the kind of operation that military commanders both planned for and dread.
00:08:01.540A downed American airman in enemy territory, hostile forces converging and early attempts faltering under fire.
00:08:09.860The aviator, who hasn't yet been identified, had been one of two crew flying in an F-15E Strike Eagle with the aircraft call sign Dude 44.
00:08:22.660Dude 44 is great. Dude 44 is a badass. I'm sure we're going to learn more about him.
00:08:58.680We have to get him, Trump said, according to the White House Press Secretary, Caroline Leavitt.
00:09:03.540The effort to recover the officer set off a sprawling, high-risk rescue mission involving some 100 special operation forces,
00:09:15.540dozens of U.S. warplanes and helicopters, and a last-minute Central Intelligence Agency deception campaign to buy more time, the official said.
00:09:25.320quote when airmen go down you can't get them in very tough countries like in Vietnam Trump told
00:09:32.720the Wall Street Journal on Sunday morning he was able to climb climb up as wounded as he was
00:09:39.600he was able to climb into a crevice the president continued saying the airmen could hear the U.S.
00:09:46.000forces looking for him a lot of great things happened troops led by central command brought
00:09:53.280a devastating array of firepower to keep its enemy at bay. Four B-1 bombers, part of a larger
00:10:00.340air armada, dropped nearly 102,000-pound satellite-guided bombs, according to two U.S.
00:10:10.260officials. MQ-9 Reaper drones also struck suspected fighters as they approached within kilometers
00:10:17.760of the aviators hiding site the search for an american airman stranded behind enemy lines
00:10:24.040jolted the u.s making what had been an abstract air war feel visceral beyond the grady footage
00:10:31.400of explosions released by the white house in triumphant interviews and posts trump and some
00:10:37.560of his allies have been calling the successful operation an easter miracle i hate when reporters
00:10:43.800are snarky trump and his allies are calling it an easter miracle we go in and rescue an airman
00:10:48.500behind enemy lines we can celebrate that that is extraordinary um and now the journal does note
00:10:58.540the most famous rescue operation that the u.s has previously attempted in iran
00:11:05.480aimed at freeing 53 u.s embassy staff hostages nearly 46 years ago had failed dramatically
00:11:13.640after a series of mishaps punctuated by a fiery crash at a desert stagy area what a contrast go
00:11:21.760back to jimmy carter yeah we've got our hostages that that the beginning of this this islamic
00:11:27.440revolution is taking take an american hostage in the embassy jimmy carter sends in a rescue
00:11:33.960mission and it crashes no opposing fire crashes in the desert and and and that that was one of
00:11:41.880the pivotal pivotal acts that ended the jimmy carter presidency yeah this is night and day
00:11:48.960and i gotta say our military the capacity of the american military is second to none
00:11:54.600and every enemy of america is watching this and and every ally of america is watching this and
00:12:00.540they're all shaking their heads in marvel by the way it's it's so interesting to see what the
00:12:04.500president did as i was talking to a buddy of mine in the military early this morning he said to me
00:12:09.460He's like, Benny's like, you need to understand what President Trump did that other presidents have not done.
00:12:14.680He basically said, do whatever it takes.
00:12:18.540Use whatever military might you need to use.
00:12:21.760However many people you need to send to go and find our boy because we don't leave someone behind.
00:12:28.160He said, we're talking still team six hundreds of special operations personnel.
00:12:33.880Armed drones flying constantly overwatch over his location, strike aircraft engaging, intelligence assets tracking every movement on the ground.
00:12:46.520He described it as a controlled battlefield inside Iran that the U.S. set up with no notice for a scenario that they knew could happen.
00:12:57.360But he said this was a controlled, again, his words, a controlled battlefield inside of Iran.
00:13:03.800And then he said, not only that, the U.S. intelligence went to work immediately.
00:13:09.040He said the CIA spreading false information, suggesting the pilot had already been recovered, saved his life, he believes.
00:13:17.060And he said, not only that, the Iranian forces, we know it worked.
00:13:21.640It wasn't like they tried and didn't work because they said the Iranian forces reacted to the misinformation and they moved literally in the wrong direction.
00:13:30.400That is what happens when you have a true leader in the White House who says, hey, we will do whatever it takes to get back our boy.
00:13:36.780I think that's part of the story that people need to understand is when you have a leader like Donald Trump that says to the military leadership, do your job and do it well, do whatever it takes.
00:13:47.100You just described those bombers overhead. You've got the CIA misinformation working.
00:13:51.840You see the soldiers going the wrong direction.
00:13:53.900That is buying time for not only them to do the rest of the planning, but to save his life.
00:14:00.540And I want to make another point on this, which is a strategic point about one of the things that makes the U.S. military so extraordinary and so unusual.
00:14:10.580um like a lot of folks i was following the breaking news uh from iran and of this rescue on on x which
00:14:17.540is the fastest way to get it and and one european uh commentator sent around a picture uh of the f-15
00:14:25.020and two c-130s and and and tweeted said lose all of this to rescue one pilot and call it your
00:14:31.700greatest military success of all time and and you know i i looked at that tweet that annoyed me but
00:14:38.100then a fellow and i don't i don't know who this person is craig fuller he's freight attorney is
00:14:42.680what his hashtag is he sent a a response that struck me as as really insightful and and in
00:14:48.820fact so listen to his comment in response to the european puzzled why we would give up three
00:14:54.840aircraft to save one airman during world war ii hitler was convinced that the americans lacked
00:15:01.620the will to fight and that any who did would be quickly overwhelmed. When early reports arrived
00:15:08.260from the battles in North Africa, German observers noted that Americans fought differently from the
00:15:14.920Europeans. Rather than charging aggressively and risking heavy infantry casualties, U.S. forces
00:15:22.240relied on overwhelming firepower, staying at a distance and expending vast quantities of artillery
00:15:29.740with little hesitation. Thanks to unmatched industrial production and logistics,
00:15:36.700fresh supplies were always available. This approach allowed the relatively smaller American units
00:15:43.860to wear down much larger and well-entrenched enemy forces. In contrast, German and other
00:15:51.180European doctrines often emphasized aggressive maneuver and were sometimes more willing to
00:15:57.840accept high casualties to achieve objectives or to preserve key equipment. This material heavy
00:16:06.880American style surprised many Germans, including Hitler, who had long dismissed U.S. soldiers as
00:16:14.860soft and lacking in fighting spirit. He believed soldiers were cheap and expendable. He discovered
00:16:23.060too late that Americans fought to conserve lives by expending machines and ammunition instead.
00:16:31.520It was one of the many reasons for Germany's defeat, perhaps the hardest for some foreigners
00:16:35.960to fully understand. Americans place a high value on the lives of our soldiers. Equipment
00:16:43.180and shells can always be replaced. I thought that was a very insightful observation. Absolutely,
00:16:51.320It was an incredibly successful mission.
00:16:53.440We saved the airmen, and we can always build more equipment.
00:19:50.620See, you looked up something earlier, but it was a quote.
00:19:53.880And I want to quote this because it was so important what this individual said that's serving his country said, you know, go look at the comparison to Bill Clinton and what he did with American troops in Somalia.
00:20:06.200He said, look at Barack Obama and what he did with Americans in Libya.
00:20:09.920Look at Joe Biden, who abandoned 13 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
00:20:13.500Trump moved mountains to rescue one American in Iran, one American.
00:20:18.020And if you're an American soldier right now, how fired up are you to serve Donald Trump knowing he's genuinely got your back?
00:20:25.620Well, let me be clear. You're serving the United States. You're not serving Donald Trump.
00:20:29.780But your commander in chief has your back, and that's a powerful thing.
00:20:35.460And by the way, it's not just you and me saying that.
00:20:38.180It's also Barack Obama's former secretary of Homeland Security.
00:20:42.820Listen to Jay Johnson talking about this incredible rescue.
00:20:45.420This operation for the first pilot and the second pilot, it's a remarkable exercise,
00:20:54.140demonstration of US military courage, technology, power. I would encourage the President and the
00:21:01.580Secretary of Defense, consistent with operational security, share as much of that with the American
00:21:07.020public so that the American public can appreciate what goes into this kind of operation is more
00:21:12.540complicated than the bin laden operation for example wow i'm not sure any of that saying
00:21:17.220something that's coming from jay johnson that's pretty incredible yeah it is and and and i want
00:21:23.760to drill down a little bit more on on what this does for the fighting spirit and the morale of
00:21:29.180the entire military and and actually a a different tweet but but i thought very profound as well
00:21:34.820uh from a fellow named john conrad on x here's what he said this is why americans are the deadliest
00:21:41.160fighters on earth. I met a priest yesterday who just got accepted to chaplain school in Newport.
00:21:46.320I asked him the obvious question, Marines or Navy? Navy, he said. His face fell a little.
00:21:53.200He told me he could never be a Marine because every Marine is a rifleman, and as a priest,
00:21:57.380he can't carry a weapon. He's hoping to get assigned to a Marine unit anyway. All chaplains
00:22:02.520are Navy officers, so that's the only door in. I laughed. I felt a little bad about that.
00:22:07.540Then I explained to him what devil dock means. The Marine Corps doesn't have medics. They use
00:22:13.860Navy corpsmen. I told him, when you get out to the fleet, find a Marine sergeant with a couple
00:22:20.000of purple hearts and tell him devil docks aren't real Marines. Be prepared to duck.
00:22:28.420Marines are violently particular about who gets to wear their uniform. Navy corpsmen and Navy
00:22:34.380chaplains who have eaten dirt alongside them in combat, qualify. Full stop. My dad was Air Force,
00:22:42.900not even Navy. I remember going to VFW halls with him as a kid. Someone would ask him what service
00:22:48.100he'd say Air Force, and the room would chuckle a little. And then they'd find out he was a medic,
00:22:52.960and the air in the room changed. Something close to reverence. Dad hated being honored. He had one
00:22:59.980line he used to deflect it. I didn't do much. Save your praise for my cousin, the PJ. That always
00:23:06.800broke the ice. PJs are the Air Force special operators who go into hell to pull downed pilots
00:23:14.100out. They will take casualties and are prepared to die to rescue a single pilot or crewman.
00:23:21.340The math doesn't math out. Why would any combat force take multiple casualties
00:27:15.020Open the effing straight, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell.
00:27:22.340just watch praise be to Allah President Donald J. Trump now I will say he did not abbreviate
00:27:31.180effing but but but this is a PG rated podcast so I did um I will say also that after he sent that
00:27:38.960true social the Wall Street Journal article that I quoted at the beginning of this show quotes it
00:27:44.560and for the first time I've ever seen the F-bomb in the Wall Street Journal they did it quoting
00:27:49.840the president of the united states i'm not aware of any precedent of a president dropping the f-bomb
00:27:55.160but then again i'm not aware of any president dropping the level of bombs that he is dropping
00:28:00.440in a concentrated focus that is having this kind of effect and look i think tuesday night is a very
00:28:08.440serious deadline the president wants the strait of hormuz open and if you're an iranian leader
00:28:14.600as bat crap crazy as those guys are i don't think they think this is a bluff yeah i i would think
00:28:23.960not now they may be crazy enough just to say go ahead and do it and and that may be how much
00:28:28.080they're holding on for dear life just to try to save control but i agree with you i don't think
00:28:33.020he's bluffing at all well and and that's the challenge it is that the mullahs i i don't think
00:28:41.300care at all about their people. You know, we talked before about comparing, say, the Nazi army
00:28:47.000to the Allies during World War II, that Hitler was willing to send German soldiers in to die and
00:28:52.000just have them mowed over. I think the same is true with the Mullahs. They're happy to have,
00:28:59.060not happy, but they're willing to have as many Iranians die as need be. They believe they're
00:29:05.220on a mission from God. This is, it is theocratic. And if thousands, look, they murdered, the Ayatollah
00:29:15.060just murdered about 40,000 Iranians who were rising up in protest. So thousands of Iranians
00:29:21.060dying doesn't bother them at all. Tens of thousands doesn't bother them at all. It may
00:29:26.060prove to be the case that hundreds of thousands or even millions of Iranians dying doesn't bother
00:29:31.180them. And so the question is, look, if the U.S. military takes out the power plants and takes out
00:29:37.840the bridges, that kind of hard infrastructure, that doesn't get rebuilt overnight. That has
00:29:44.520real and long-lasting damage to the economy in Iran. It imposes enormous consequences on Iran.
00:29:54.160What I don't know is, does a theocratic mullah who's chanting death to America care about inflicting massive misery on the Iranian people and devastating the Iranian economy?
00:30:07.940I guess we'll find out by Tuesday. I don't know the answer to that.
00:30:11.000You know, what's interesting is, I was asked this question over the weekend, and it's one I want to ask you, Senator.
00:30:16.520Someone said, all right, well, look, let's say we do this and we knock out their power plant.
00:30:20.420What good does that do us? Because then we're just going to have to help them rebuild it one day.
00:30:23.800My response was, what you don't understand is that may be what it is it takes for the people to really overthrow their government.
00:30:32.180It'll also have a devastating impact on their military in general.
00:30:35.860And it's another it's another way to fast track them losing control of their country.
00:30:40.960That's the reason why I think the president saying, all right, fine, you guys aren't budging.
00:30:44.980Well, then we're going to go to the next step here because I'm not backing down.
00:30:47.740Yeah. And look, the president in his nationwide address said he was going to bomb them back into the Stone Ages. What's one of the aspects of the Stone Ages? Not having electricity, not having power, going back to lighting fires for light.
00:31:03.200You take out all their power plants and they have no electricity, which is amazing for an oil rich country like Iran.
00:31:10.940But you want to talk about grinding the economy to a halt immediately, grinding the military to a halt.
00:31:22.040And by the way, you take out the bridges.
00:31:23.780That means, you know, it's one of the things that I've learned.
00:31:26.680I didn't realize when I was a kid how much of military effectiveness is logistics.
00:31:30.960One of the incredible things our military is really good at is moving people and materiel, getting it in there, getting ammunition in there, getting food in there, getting fuel in there, moving it around.
00:31:44.420All of that, logistically, we are extraordinarily, we, the military, not you and me.
00:31:50.260I'm a lawyer, and you're even worse, you're a podcaster.
00:31:52.900So we are not extraordinary logistically, but the military is.