Transcript [00:00] So, this has been a uh strange war in a [00:02] number of ways. One of them is the [00:06] disinformation, the strange type of [00:08] disinformation, which could be expected [00:10] living in the [00:11] in the era of social media and AI has [00:14] provided [00:16] all kinds of new ways for people to [00:19] misrepresent what is going on. So, we've [00:21] seen footage of Tel Aviv in flames, [00:24] which is of course nonsense. We've uh [00:26] we've heard all sorts of fake news [00:28] reports about Prime Minister Netanyahu, [00:31] which are of course nonsense. [00:33] And more. So, there's a lot of strange [00:35] stuff going on in this war, and I [00:36] recently saw a great video, a great [00:39] update [00:40] by [00:41] Victor Davis Hanson, a great uh military [00:43] historian and public intellectual, and [00:45] he puts out these short videos [00:48] uh on you know, for the Daily Signal, [00:50] and he talked about this aspect of the [00:52] war, and I want to watch that video, and [00:53] I have a few things to say about it [00:56] when we come back after the clip. But [00:57] before we get into that, please make [01:00] sure to go to israel365charity.com. [01:03] Israel365charity.com. [01:06] I believe the link should be in the [01:07] description of this video. If not, just [01:09] type that in. Israel365charity.com. [01:12] Click on Israel under fire, and your [01:16] donation will go directly to all kinds [01:18] of needs that are happening on the [01:19] ground. Israel365 is very well connected [01:21] with charities that are helping families [01:24] that are struggling with a whole range [01:26] of [snorts] issues that are the result [01:28] of this war with Iran. So, please go [01:31] ahead and do that. It's a great way for [01:32] you to participate and help out with the [01:34] nation [01:35] of Israel at this difficult time. All [01:38] right, let's get on with Victor Davis [01:40] Hanson from the other day. [01:43] Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for [01:46] the Daily Signal. [01:47] We're in the second week, just [01:49] completing it, of the so-called Iran [01:52] war, this effort of the United States to [01:54] bomb [01:55] uh the theocracy into submission so they [01:59] will [02:00] cancel their missile and uh nuclear [02:03] programs, and to champion the popular [02:06] protest on the streets that have some [02:09] potential to get rid of the regime [02:11] itself. But it's a very surreal war. I [02:13] haven't seen, I don't think any of us [02:15] have seen anything like it. [02:16] >> [snorts] [02:17] >> It's only been 2 weeks, and we're told [02:20] that it's dragging on, that it's a [02:21] forever war, that we're losing, that the [02:24] Pentagon and the Trump administration [02:27] had no plans. And [snorts] yet, when you [02:29] look at Iran, this huge country, [02:32] much, much bigger, much, much more [02:34] popular, populous than Iraq or [02:37] Afghanistan, and [02:39] it has no military left. The navy is [02:42] dismantled, the air force is dismantled. [02:45] The uh Republican Guard, all of these [02:49] special contingents are under enormous [02:52] assault. The command and control is [02:54] destroyed, the missile defense is [02:55] destroyed. [02:56] >> [gasps] [02:57] >> And [02:58] yet people say that it's unconquerable. [03:01] It doesn't make any sense. It's output [03:04] of missiles and drones at the Gulf [03:06] Patrol states and Israel has dropped by [03:09] 90%. [03:11] So, what's going on? And I think part of [03:13] the problem is that there's no media [03:15] coverage. There are no uh embedded [03:18] reporters. Because we are not on the [03:21] ground. When you don't have a ground [03:22] fight in enemy territory, you don't have [03:25] American embedded journalists traveling [03:28] with the troops that can give di- [03:30] diverse opinions, accurate accounts. All [03:32] we have are the journalists who are [03:35] allowed into Iran. And that happens to [03:37] be, guess who? CNN. [03:40] And they report the party line that [03:41] comes out of the Iranian theocracy. [03:44] Again, an air war is very hard to cover [03:47] because planes, pilots can't talk to [03:49] anybody. [03:51] They're at bases that are secluded and [03:52] secure. They get in the planes, they fly [03:55] their mission, and they go home. And [03:57] there's no way a journalist can really [03:59] get to them or talk to them. So, all of [04:01] our information comes from [04:04] three sources. [04:06] The Iranian propaganda machine, which is [04:08] completely un- not credible. It's about [04:10] as credible as the Hamas body count that [04:13] we saw 2 years ago. Or CNN and a few [04:18] other Western, but very biased news [04:21] outlets that only Iran will let in based [04:24] on the conditions which they impose on [04:26] them. [04:27] And the Israelis. And the Only thing you [04:30] can find out about this war that's [04:32] official comes from [04:34] the Israeli government and some Israeli [04:36] newspapers, the Israeli Times or Israel [04:39] Times or [04:41] the Jerusalem Post. So, there's a lot of [04:43] misinformation about the actual damage [04:46] that we're inflicting. [04:48] And then there's the attitude toward the [04:49] war. The attitude In [04:52] World War II, everybody was behind the [04:54] United States. We did a lot of things [04:56] that we regretted, the Japanese [04:58] internment, [04:59] we [05:01] we made a lot of mistakes strategically. [05:03] Okinawa, Tarawa were disasters. The B-17 [05:08] bombing program cost 40,000, but [05:10] everybody's [05:11] basically said we don't have to be [05:13] perfect to be good. We're going to win [05:15] our war because our cause is better than [05:17] the alternative. That's gone now. [05:19] It's gone even in the first Gulf War of [05:21] 1990-1991, people were united. But the [05:25] Democratic Party is not the Democratic [05:27] Party of Bill Clinton. [05:28] >> [snorts] [05:28] >> It's a socialist [05:30] uh party for That's a euphemism. It [05:33] really does not believe in traditional [05:35] America, and it believes that if it can [05:39] convey a sense that America is losing, [05:42] then two things follow it. [05:45] For some, it means that the November [05:48] midterms might give power back to the [05:50] Democrats, and therefore it's in their [05:53] self-interest to magnify [05:55] the debacle, so to speak, or the [05:58] tragedy, or that we're losing. [06:01] And [snorts] then there's others that [06:02] actually in the Democratic Party, and [06:04] I'm talking about the squad or They [06:07] actually are sympathizing [06:09] with the enemy. If you think I'm crazy, [06:11] there was a protest out in New York [06:13] where we had resident aliens, students [06:15] here on student visa, naturalized [06:17] citizens. And what were they [06:19] what were they screaming? Shame on the [06:21] United States while we're at war, and [06:24] who were they protesting on behalf of? [06:27] Iran, the Hezbollah people, terrorists, [06:30] and the Hamas terrorists. [06:33] And so, th- this is a very bizarre [06:36] thing. And in addition to that, we've [06:38] got the element of anti-Semitism, where [06:40] we have the Democratic Party now, its [06:42] basis is just unavowedly anti-Semitic. [06:46] And I'll just make a [06:48] casual observation. [06:50] I will predict that you will not have a [06:52] Jewish-American [06:54] president [06:55] candidate, presidential candidate, or [06:57] vice presidential candidate for the [06:59] foreseeable future. It is impossible to [07:01] nominate anybody with a Jewish [07:03] background on a national ticket in the [07:05] Democratic Party. And you can see that [07:08] as the Democrats look at this war. They [07:10] have bought hook, line, and sinker [07:14] the idea that Benjamin Netanyahu is [07:16] pulling the strings of the Donald Trump [07:18] puppet, and tiny Israel is getting in [07:22] and into this war despite the fact that [07:25] all seven prior presidents to Trump [07:28] himself said on the record that [07:31] Iran would not get a nuclear weapon [07:35] on its watch, and that they would take [07:38] measures to ensure that it didn't, and [07:40] didn't for the None of them did that. [07:43] None of them did that. [07:45] So, when you look at the first Gulf War, [07:47] it was 42 days, [07:50] but only 4 days were on the ground. It [07:52] was a magnificent victory, [07:54] but [07:55] 300 people were killed. We've lost about [08:00] what? 14, 13 casualty uh fatalities. [08:04] 300. That was considered amazing at the [08:06] time. [08:08] And they overran the country, but it [08:09] took 42 days to disable it. And they [08:12] left Saddam Hussein in power. And they [08:15] had to go back. And so, it [08:18] that was considered a stellar success. [08:20] But this this is a much more [08:22] >> [sighs] [08:23] >> dramatic victory. I mean, we've only [08:24] been here 2 weeks, and the much more [08:26] formidable enemy is in shambles. And [08:30] we're left with just three three [08:31] alternatives. Either the the regime is [08:33] going to be replaced now or in the next [08:35] few weeks as the people come out of [08:37] their homes and see what their country [08:39] is like and what the theocracy caused [08:42] and what it did to them. [08:44] Or there's going to be some Venezuelan [08:45] solution with a strong man will come [08:47] forward. Or maybe that won't happen at [08:49] all, and the United States under [08:51] political pressure will stop. But if it [08:52] stops, they have destroyed the Iranian [08:55] military and its nuclear and missile [08:57] program [08:58] for years. [09:00] So, this was all preferable to the [09:02] situation [09:03] pre-war, in which Iran still was working [09:06] on the bomb, still had 3,000 missiles [09:09] and more drones, and was boasting that [09:12] it was going to anytime it wanted close [09:14] the Straits of Hormuz. And they've tried [09:16] it, and they will not be successful. [09:19] Put it all together, this is a surreal [09:21] war. What is actually happening is not [09:24] being reported, and there's an alternate [09:27] alternate reality that's been [09:29] constructed by the left that sees this [09:32] war as politically advantageous to its [09:37] uh agenda to recapture power in the [09:39] United States. If [09:41] if it can convince us, the American [09:44] people, that A, we're losing, [09:46] >> [snorts] [09:47] >> B, we may deserve to lose, C, it's all [09:51] Donald Trump's fault, and this war will [09:53] be beneficial in denying him the [09:56] Republican majorities in Congress in [09:59] about eight months. Thank you very much. [10:01] This is [10:02] Okay. So, he makes a couple of important [10:05] points in this video and uh I just want [10:07] to go through a few of my own [10:09] observations. First, [10:11] um [10:13] I'm sorry to uh disagree slightly with [10:16] with Victor Davis Hanson. It's not just [10:19] coming from the left. The criticisms of [10:21] the Trump administration for this war [10:23] are [10:24] uh are also coming from the right. In [10:25] fact, there's a lot of voices on the [10:27] right that are also seemingly rooting [10:30] for American defeat and getting all [10:33] impatient. Now, he he also he [10:35] the point he raises about the fact that [10:37] it's not being well covered in [10:38] journalism because there's no ground [10:40] offensive, so there's no embedded [10:41] reporters is a very interesting one. And [10:43] what it's led to is that social media [10:46] and all of the [10:48] spitting contests back and forth on [10:50] social media have become the a lot of a [10:52] large part of the way the war is covered [10:53] and that's filled with all kinds of [10:55] disinformation. [10:57] Uh and you know, the the past wars he [10:59] talks about where you have embedded [11:01] embedded journalists in American wars, [11:03] whether it's Iraq or Afghanistan or [11:04] certainly anything before, you didn't [11:06] have social media. [11:07] So, that didn't So, you didn't have that [11:10] aspect either. But, I think what he's [11:12] what he's pointing to [11:14] in saying, you know, like people, you [11:15] know, we've only been at this for a [11:17] couple of weeks and a much more [11:19] formidable [11:21] nation than Iraq or Afghanistan is [11:24] decimated, much larger, much more [11:26] formidable, and that's all true, and yet [11:28] people are looking at this like, "Oh my [11:29] gosh, it's a forever war." [11:32] And I think what he's pointing to is a [11:35] kind of impatience [11:37] that people have these days. We live in [11:39] a you know, instant gratification [11:42] society. People want things to move [11:43] quickly. They're used to watching a [11:44] Netflix series or you know, some sort of [11:47] TV show and why isn't this progressing [11:49] quicker? [11:50] What's the exit strategy? Well, you [11:52] don't know yet what the exit strategy is [11:54] and you don't even have to have an exit [11:56] strategy yet. Let things progress. Let's [11:58] see where things go. Does the regime [12:00] fall? Does it not fall? [12:02] Uh as as Israel and the US continues to [12:04] degrade Iran's governing capabilities, [12:07] what does that look like? You can make [12:09] decisions as you go. You can have an [12:11] overall goal without having the entire [12:13] thing mapped out. So, a lot of the [12:15] criticisms of the war are stemming from [12:18] a kind of uh I would say immaturity. [12:20] It's almost infantile. This kind of [12:22] impatience like, "Hey, why isn't this [12:23] thing over yet? How come How come the [12:25] people aren't in the streets yet?" Well, [12:26] the people shouldn't be in the streets [12:28] yet. They should Wait, with every [12:30] passing day, the regime is getting [12:32] weaker, then [12:33] wait as long as you can. That's probably [12:35] the best course of action. [12:38] Wait and wait and wait and wait and [12:40] wait. The worst thing that could happen [12:42] is the people coming out into the [12:43] streets and getting mowed down by [12:44] whatever remains of the Basij and the [12:46] IRGC. The worst thing that could happen [12:49] is the people rise up again and fail [12:52] because the regime still has enough [12:54] strength to suppress the protests. So, [12:57] if with every passing day, the regime is [12:58] getting weaker, there's absolutely no [13:00] advantage to them coming out except all [13:03] the armchair people sitting in front of [13:05] their laptops with their popcorn [13:07] or looking at their phones are eager for [13:09] you know, to get on with it. They want [13:10] to see the next stage of this. They want [13:12] to see the regime fall and and it's [13:13] taking too long. They want to fast [13:15] forward. [13:16] It's not the way it works. [13:19] So, yeah, I agree. It's a very strange [13:21] war and very a lot of and the criticisms [13:24] are are really just losing the forest [13:27] for the trees. There's you know, there's [13:29] a [13:30] there's a lot of reasons to see this as [13:32] a stunning stunning success thus far [13:35] uh even though we don't necessarily know [13:37] 100% how it's going to work out. Now, I [13:39] I I want to show you an example of this [13:42] criticism from the right. [13:46] I'll show you an example of this and [13:48] this is from the American Conservative. [13:49] The American Conservative is a [13:52] um is a publication that was started by [13:53] Pat Buchanan back in the day. [13:56] Uh um very, you know, isolationist, [13:59] right-wing, uh very anti-Israel, and it [14:03] still has that legacy today. It's now [14:04] run by [14:06] a couple uh a couple guys who are harsh [14:08] harsh critics of Israel, even, you know, [14:12] very anti-Israel voices on the right. Uh [14:15] most notable among them from my [14:16] perspective is Kurt Mills. He appears a [14:18] lot on uh on Bannon's War Room where I [14:21] also appear. I I'm I tend to be the only [14:24] uh [14:25] consistent pro-Israel voice that is [14:26] brought on there. And uh and you know, [14:29] Mills will always, you know, take the [14:31] other side. [14:33] But, this piece here on the American [14:34] Conservative [14:35] was uh was published last week [14:38] and the title of it [14:40] is The Madness of King Trump. The [14:43] president has pursued a policy of war [14:45] and plunder. [14:47] The president has pursued a policy of [14:49] war and plunder. [14:51] President Trump did not start any wars [14:53] in his first term. [14:55] And in his second term, his military [14:56] actions have been short and decisive. [14:58] And then you get to the Iran one. Now, [15:00] Iran is a big deal. It's a very large [15:03] country, very entrenched. [15:06] It's [15:07] a completely different ballgame from [15:09] Venezuela or Iraq or Afghanistan for [15:11] that matter or or these smaller issues. [15:14] And yes, it's a bigger enterprise. [15:18] And there they talk about it in this [15:20] piece. This piece is written by a guy [15:22] named Doug Bandow. [15:24] And he's talking about how how terrible [15:26] it is that we're getting into this [15:28] expanded war and but I just want to jump [15:30] to the end and and really get the feel [15:32] for it from the the way he ends the [15:34] piece here. [15:36] A decade ago, candidate Trump denounced, [15:38] quote, a reckless, rudderless, and [15:40] aimless foreign policy, one that has [15:43] blazed the path of destruction in its [15:45] wake, end quote. He highlighted his [15:47] opposition to the invasion of Iraq, [15:49] promising that, quote, unlike other [15:51] candidates for the presidency, war and [15:53] aggression will not be my first [15:55] instinct. You cannot have a foreign [15:57] policy without diplomacy. A superpower [15:59] understands that caution and restraint [16:02] are really [16:04] truly signs of strength. [16:06] Alas, his policy has become one of [16:09] careless and callous brutality with his [16:11] ambition bounded by neither morality nor [16:13] principle. He has become a threat to [16:15] global peace, killing prodigiously while [16:18] setting the entire region on fire and [16:20] doing so for no recognizable US [16:22] interest. Ultimately, he is likely to [16:24] prove more dangerous to Americans than [16:26] anyone else. This is coming from the [16:27] right. Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at [16:30] the Cato Institute [16:32] and a former special assistant to Ronald [16:33] Reagan. Okay, so this is a guy on the [16:35] right [16:36] and he's writing about how this has been [16:39] this is callous brutality and murder and [16:42] so many people are being killed by the [16:44] in this war. I think he says near the [16:45] beginning of it, so far some 1,200 [16:48] civilians, including more than 660 [16:50] children have been killed by American [16:52] and Israeli action. How does he know [16:53] that? Where does he get this from? [16:56] You know where he gets it from? Check it [16:58] out. I'm going to click on this link. [17:00] You ready? [17:01] Here it goes. [17:04] Al Jazeera. He gets it He's quoting Al [17:07] Jazeera. This guy, that's where he gets [17:09] his numbers from to make Trump look bad. [17:11] Okay? [17:12] This shows you how far the right the [17:14] right has gone in America, the [17:16] isolationist right. [17:19] And just because you're you believe in [17:22] in uh in a just war, you believe that [17:24] there's a that there's a reason to go to [17:25] war, doesn't mean that war is your first [17:27] instinct. [17:28] Right? You know, Trump said war is not [17:29] my first instinct. It's not his first [17:31] instinct. He tried to negotiate with [17:33] these guys. He tried a diplomatic [17:34] solution. [17:36] But, you have to have the credible [17:38] threat of war and you have to be willing [17:40] to use your military assets to take evil [17:43] off the table. And [17:45] comparing this, you know, [17:47] basically the case this piece makes is [17:49] that this is on the same, you know, this [17:51] war is is just an extension. Now, he's [17:52] gone back to the same, you know, old old [17:55] policies that he used to criticize. No, [17:56] what he criticized was forever wars. [17:59] Was wars that were rudderless and [18:02] aimless and reckless [18:04] that blazed the path of destruction. [18:07] This is much more of a surgical action [18:10] done with overwhelming force, minimizing [18:12] US casualties as Victor Davis Hanson [18:14] pointed out, [18:16] and making a positive change and not [18:18] remaining there. There's no evidence [18:20] whatsoever that this is going to be some [18:22] kind of forever war because it's been [18:23] going on for a couple of weeks. As Trump [18:25] said the other day on Air Force One, he [18:27] said, "Look, if I have to if we have to [18:28] endure uh a spike in oil prices for a [18:31] couple of weeks or or or two months, [18:34] that's a very small price to pay. That's [18:36] not a forever war. That's not a 20-year [18:37] forever war." [18:40] And the the hysterics [18:43] on the right about what this is [18:46] are coming kind of you know, it's almost [18:48] like they're behaving like a traumatized [18:51] uh you know, person who who who [18:54] you know, blows things out of proportion [18:56] because of some trauma. So, yes, Iraq [18:58] and Afghanistan were terrible and they [19:00] were and they decimated a whole [19:02] generation of Americans who went off to [19:04] fight for a war that seemed to have no [19:06] purpose and no and no meaning and no [19:08] end. [19:09] So, therefore, every single conflict in [19:11] the world is seen through that lens as [19:13] though it's a repeat of the same thing. [19:15] It's not not. It has nothing to do with [19:17] it. [19:19] And it will make the world a better [19:21] place. It will make oil prices more [19:23] stable, probably lower in the end of the [19:25] day. [19:26] Yes, it will take some time [19:29] to get this thing done right. It's like [19:31] surgery. [19:33] You know, imagine it's like if these [19:34] people witnessed a surgery, they would [19:36] say, "Oh my gosh, look at this. This guy [19:38] has a knife and he's cutting this [19:39] person. He's attacking him." Well, of [19:41] course, you have to cut the person open. [19:44] But, it's going to it's going to mean [19:45] they're going to be in bed for a while. [19:46] It's going to it's going to cause them [19:47] pain. [19:48] Yes, that that's called recovery. It it [19:51] it that's what this is like. [19:53] There's there's this [19:55] There's this narrow-minded infantile [19:58] blindness [20:00] to the fact that there are difficult [20:02] things that need to be done in the [20:04] world. [20:05] And President Trump knows the difference [20:08] between a forever war [20:10] and [20:12] and a war that has a [20:15] beginning and an end and it's going to [20:17] be done quickly and part of the way you [20:18] do it quickly is with overwhelming [20:20] force. [20:22] And the inability of these people to see [20:23] that what they're blinded by whether [20:25] it's just an anti-Israel bias or it's [20:28] the trauma of of the actual forever wars [20:32] or it's a sympathy for you know for the [20:34] enemies of America. I'm not exactly sure [20:36] what's motivating these people. [20:39] Some of the motivations are are good. [20:40] They've just been taken too far. Like [20:42] there has to be an emphasis on domestic [20:43] issues. Trump is doing great on domestic [20:45] issues. [20:46] Yes, this war has an impact on prices [20:48] temporarily. [20:50] But he's doing great on domestic issues. [20:52] He has been doing great on domestic [20:53] issues. Why don't you trust him? And [20:55] that's the big question mark. Why don't [20:57] these people on the right like the [20:58] people at the American Conservative who [21:00] are big Trump supporters, why don't they [21:02] trust President Trump to handle this in [21:04] a way that's different? [21:06] What are they what are they not seeing? [21:10] All right. [21:12] I've gone on enough on this point. I [21:13] hope you enjoyed the video. Please drop [21:15] a comment below. Please like, share, [21:17] subscribe, all that great stuff. And [21:20] thank you very much for watching and for [21:21] helping grow the channel. [21:23] God bless you.
