WEBVTT 00:00:04.940 --> 00:00:08.900 All across America and around the world, this 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:16.179 is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. And 00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:20.320 now, your host for today's program, Dale Throneberry. 00:00:23.130 --> 00:00:26.489 Welcome to Veterans Radio. My name is Dale Throneberry, 00:00:26.550 --> 00:00:29.649 and I'm really excited for today's program. We're 00:00:29.649 --> 00:00:33.369 going to have our foreign policy expert extraordinaire 00:00:33.369 --> 00:00:36.710 Dr. Rebecca Grant on in just a moment. But before 00:00:36.710 --> 00:00:38.929 we talk with her, I want to thank our sponsors. 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:41.979 can't do the program without them, so our major 00:00:41.979 --> 00:00:45.000 donors are Legal Help for Veterans, Specializing 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:47.700 in Veterans Disability Claims. Call Legal Help 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:52.500 for Veterans at 800 -693 -4800 or go to their 00:00:52.500 --> 00:00:56.119 website LegalHelpForVeterans .com. The National 00:00:56.119 --> 00:00:58.299 Veterans Business Development Council, better 00:00:58.299 --> 00:01:01.780 known as NVBDC, is the nation's leading third 00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:04.540 -party authority for certification of veteran 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:07.180 -owned businesses. For more information, go to 00:01:07.180 --> 00:01:11.319 their website, nvbdc .org, or give them a call 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:17.319 at 888 -237 - The Irwin Press Corps and American 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:20.859 Legion Post 46 and the Charles S. Kettles Vietnam 00:01:20.859 --> 00:01:24.260 Veterans of America Chapter 310, both of Ann 00:01:24.260 --> 00:01:27.079 Arbor, Michigan. If you'd like to support Veterans 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:30.219 Radio, please go to our website veteransradio 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:34.400 .org and click on the donate button. Okay, so 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:36.719 let's get into this program today. As I mentioned, 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:38.799 we're going to be talking with Dr. Rebecca Grant, 00:01:39.239 --> 00:01:42.409 who is a Veterans Radio favorite. I think she's 00:01:42.409 --> 00:01:47.010 been on the program at least 20 times, probably. 00:01:47.750 --> 00:01:50.489 Let me tell you a little bit about this amazing 00:01:50.489 --> 00:01:53.870 woman. So Dr. Rebecca Grant is a national security 00:01:53.870 --> 00:01:57.390 analyst based in Washington, DC, specializing 00:01:57.390 --> 00:01:59.989 in defense and aerospace research and national 00:01:59.989 --> 00:02:02.890 security consulting. She is the vice president 00:02:02.890 --> 00:02:06.579 of the Lexington Institute. The Lexington Institute 00:02:06.579 --> 00:02:09.379 is a center -right think tank headquartered in 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:12.939 Arlington, Virginia. It focuses mainly on defense 00:02:12.939 --> 00:02:16.360 and security policy. Dr. Grant has over 20 years' 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:18.479 experience working with the United States Air 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:22.039 Force, Navy, and top aerospace clients. In addition, 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:25.039 Dr. Grant has often appeared on television as 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:27.800 an expert on national security for Fox News, 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:34.150 Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC. and as a series regular 00:02:34.150 --> 00:02:37.449 on the Smithsonian's Air Warriors. She also writes 00:02:37.449 --> 00:02:40.729 on China, Russia, and other technology and national 00:02:40.729 --> 00:02:44.509 security topics for Fox News Opinion. Her military 00:02:44.509 --> 00:02:47.150 books include 75 Great Airmen that she wrote 00:02:47.150 --> 00:02:50.990 with General Chris Miller. The B2 goes to war 00:02:50.990 --> 00:02:54.449 and battle -tested aircraft carriers in Afghanistan 00:02:54.449 --> 00:02:57.569 and Iraq. Dr. Grant graduated from Wellesley 00:02:57.569 --> 00:03:00.370 College and earned a PhD in International Relations 00:03:00.370 --> 00:03:03.229 from the London School of Economics in the University 00:03:03.229 --> 00:03:07.090 of London. And as I said, she is one of our favorite 00:03:07.090 --> 00:03:10.729 guests. She tells it like it is, and you really 00:03:10.729 --> 00:03:13.509 need to stick around and listen to this. We'll 00:03:13.509 --> 00:03:15.789 be back with Dr. Grant right after our Medal 00:03:15.789 --> 00:03:18.430 of Honor segment. The Medal of Honor is the highest 00:03:18.430 --> 00:03:20.849 award for valor in combat given a member of the 00:03:20.849 --> 00:03:23.150 Armed Forces of the United States. There have 00:03:23.150 --> 00:03:26.569 been over 3 ,400 recipients of the nation's highest 00:03:26.569 --> 00:03:30.210 award. This is one of them. Master Sergeant Gary 00:03:30.210 --> 00:03:32.870 Gordon requested permission three times to be 00:03:32.870 --> 00:03:35.990 inserted into a hot fire zone to protect downed 00:03:35.990 --> 00:03:39.490 helicopter crews before he got it. Details after 00:03:39.490 --> 00:03:43.680 this. If you have a VA claim denied by the Board 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:45.800 of Veterans' Appeals, contact Legal Help for 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:50.539 Veterans at 1 -800 -693 -4800. They're experts 00:03:50.539 --> 00:03:52.860 in handling cases before the U .S. Court of Appeals 00:03:52.860 --> 00:03:55.560 for Veterans' claims. Their number again, 1 -800 00:03:55.560 --> 00:04:00.120 -693 -4800. Gordon, while serving as sniper team 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:02.900 leader in Mogadishu, provided precision fire 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:05.419 from the lead helicopter during an assault and 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:08.629 at two helicopter crash sites. When Gordon learned 00:04:08.629 --> 00:04:11.009 that ground forces were not immediately available 00:04:11.009 --> 00:04:14.030 to secure the second crash site, he and another 00:04:14.030 --> 00:04:16.850 sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted 00:04:16.850 --> 00:04:19.769 to protect the four critically wounded personnel. 00:04:21.050 --> 00:04:23.050 When debris and enemy ground fire at the site 00:04:23.050 --> 00:04:25.930 caused them to abort the first attempt, Gordon 00:04:25.930 --> 00:04:28.850 was inserted 100 meters south of the crash site. 00:04:29.709 --> 00:04:32.290 Gordon and his fellow sniper fought their way 00:04:32.290 --> 00:04:34.269 to reach the critically injured crew members. 00:04:35.170 --> 00:04:37.529 Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other 00:04:37.529 --> 00:04:40.370 crew members from the aircraft. Gordon used his 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:43.110 long -range rifle and sidearm to kill an undetermined 00:04:43.110 --> 00:04:45.930 number of attackers until he ran out of ammunition. 00:04:46.709 --> 00:04:48.930 He then went back to the wreckage, recovering 00:04:48.930 --> 00:04:52.230 some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Even 00:04:52.230 --> 00:04:54.870 though he was critically low on ammunition, he 00:04:54.870 --> 00:04:57.629 provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then 00:04:57.629 --> 00:05:01.050 radioed for help. After his team member was fatally 00:05:01.050 --> 00:05:03.810 wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:07.079 He returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:09.600 with the last five rounds of ammunition, and 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:12.199 gave it to the pilot with the words, good luck. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.420 Then, armed only with his pistol, Gordon continued 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:20.040 to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:24.339 saved the pilot's life. He was posthumously awarded 00:05:24.339 --> 00:05:28.759 the Medal of Honor on May 23, 1994 by President 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:31.620 Clinton. The Medal of Honor series is a production 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:35.139 of Veterans Radio. You know you don't have to 00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:37.939 wear your PT gear anymore, right? It's comfortable. 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:40.839 So how's civilian life treating you? It's fine. 00:05:42.100 --> 00:05:44.480 When I got out, I didn't want to admit that there 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:47.259 was anything wrong because I felt like a failure. 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:49.540 And then I realized, like, there's nothing to 00:05:49.540 --> 00:05:52.579 be ashamed of. So I started talking to someone. 00:05:53.019 --> 00:05:56.259 Maybe you are fine. But if you're not, it's OK. 00:05:56.779 --> 00:05:58.860 Thank you. If you or a veteran you know needs 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:02.360 support, don't wait. Reach out. Find resources 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:12.079 at va .gov slash reach. All right. Welcome back 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:14.920 to Veterans Radio. And as promised, we've got 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:18.480 our foreign affairs military expert joining us, 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:21.079 Dr. Rebecca Grant. Dr. Grant, welcome back to 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:24.100 Veterans Radio. Great to be back on Veterans 00:06:24.100 --> 00:06:27.540 Radio. Thank you. You know, I was thinking about 00:06:27.540 --> 00:06:29.240 that the other day. If this was Saturday Night 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:31.120 Live, you know, they always give a jacket to 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:33.180 somebody who's been on there five times or something. 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:36.000 I was thinking I'd have to give you a whole trousseau 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.720 just because that you have been on our program. 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:41.660 I think we counted it up one time a little over 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:45.660 20 times over the last 20 years. Oh, a trousseau. 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:49.819 You know, you did give me a lovely veterans radio 00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:52.879 polo shirt and I believe I have a veterans radio 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:55.170 mug. But most of all, I get the pleasure of talking 00:06:55.170 --> 00:06:57.649 to you and your listeners. So we're good. OK, 00:06:57.649 --> 00:07:01.269 we are good. OK, so let's start this right off. 00:07:01.810 --> 00:07:04.290 You know, you sent me a nice list of potential 00:07:04.290 --> 00:07:06.790 topics and kind of things that are going on in 00:07:06.790 --> 00:07:08.449 the world. The first thing I wanted to talk about 00:07:08.449 --> 00:07:12.490 what is going on in the Caribbean. You know, 00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:16.089 I mean, we're shooting fishing trawlers up there 00:07:16.089 --> 00:07:17.850 and I'm not, you know, we're not getting a whole 00:07:17.850 --> 00:07:23.959 lot of information about, you know. Why? Well, 00:07:23.959 --> 00:07:28.360 I can tell you this. No fish or fishing trawlers 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:31.220 were harmed in these operations. No, I agree. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:32.980 It's quite a surprise when you and I last talked, 00:07:33.019 --> 00:07:35.720 which was over the summer. I think the last thing 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:39.939 we expected was to see the USS Gerald R. Ford 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:44.519 aircraft carrier and the Iwo Jima amphibious 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:48.149 ready group. down in the Southern Command region 00:07:48.149 --> 00:07:50.949 in the Caribbean and going after the drug growth. 00:07:51.029 --> 00:07:55.310 So let's start with how this got going. You know, 00:07:55.350 --> 00:07:56.990 I think President Trump was elected thinking 00:07:56.990 --> 00:08:02.290 that he had a mandate to go after the drug cartels. 00:08:02.670 --> 00:08:05.550 They not only run drugs like fentanyl into the 00:08:05.550 --> 00:08:09.670 U .S., but they also are purveyors of illegal 00:08:09.670 --> 00:08:13.629 immigration, migrant crime, as the British like 00:08:13.629 --> 00:08:16.490 to call it. and other terrible things, including 00:08:16.490 --> 00:08:19.990 human trafficking. So what we have here is Secretary 00:08:19.990 --> 00:08:24.410 Rubio, who has been very watchful over Venezuela 00:08:24.410 --> 00:08:27.990 for a long time, has designated several of the 00:08:27.990 --> 00:08:32.039 cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. That's 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:36.379 basically like saying they are like ISIS in the 00:08:36.379 --> 00:08:40.879 Middle East, or the Al Qaeda, or ISIS West Africa 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:45.240 that's causing so much violence in Nigeria. So 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:47.360 you have that foreign terrorist designation. 00:08:48.299 --> 00:08:53.860 And then for cartels like Trinidad, that cartel 00:08:53.860 --> 00:08:58.379 was specifically designated as an imminent threat 00:08:58.379 --> 00:09:01.679 to the United States. Now, there's been a lot 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:05.340 of debate about this, understandably. You know, 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:09.100 we Americans are not used to seeing our military 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:13.919 forces in live fire operations in the Caribbean. 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:17.139 So I'm just laying out what the basis here is. 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:22.539 And then we saw beginning in September, the targeting 00:09:22.539 --> 00:09:26.190 of known drug boats. And I think that's kind 00:09:26.190 --> 00:09:27.669 of what's really gotten everybody's attention. 00:09:27.789 --> 00:09:30.610 Don't you agree? Oh, absolutely. You know, I 00:09:30.610 --> 00:09:34.070 don't think we've, you know, we've seen our military 00:09:34.070 --> 00:09:38.190 in action with, you know, the rockets and everything 00:09:38.190 --> 00:09:40.529 going down. It's like watching the rockets go 00:09:40.529 --> 00:09:44.690 into the buildings in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's 00:09:44.690 --> 00:09:49.169 exactly like that. And it's really an important 00:09:49.169 --> 00:09:53.360 analogy because, first of all, Our intelligence 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:56.960 and surveillance is very, very good. We have 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:00.720 exquisite maritime surveillance. Now, the Department 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:04.240 of War or the Pentagon is not giving us much 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:08.039 in the way of detail because this is still a 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:11.740 very active military and intelligence operation. 00:10:12.190 --> 00:10:15.730 But you get the big picture. The Navy has a plane 00:10:15.730 --> 00:10:19.110 called the P -8. It is a modified commercial 00:10:19.110 --> 00:10:24.009 airliner and it carries a gigantic radar. Radars 00:10:24.009 --> 00:10:27.929 that are tuned to look at maritime surveillance. 00:10:28.049 --> 00:10:29.590 You actually have to set them up a little different 00:10:29.590 --> 00:10:32.409 to do that, but they know that and they do. We 00:10:32.409 --> 00:10:35.649 have satellites, we have special forces, we have 00:10:35.649 --> 00:10:40.220 drones. Basically, Our US military forces can 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:43.440 see when the crew comes to the dock to get on 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:46.320 the drug boat. They can see the cargo being loaded 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:50.940 These boats then take known routes say from the 00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:53.220 coast of Venezuela or off the coast of Colombia 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:56.299 up into the Caribbean It's not different from 00:10:56.299 --> 00:10:59.320 watching, you know, just a daily traffic pattern 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:02.879 and we have assets that can do this maritime 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:07.590 moving target indicator so Again, they're not 00:11:07.590 --> 00:11:10.710 giving us the details, but there is no doubt 00:11:10.710 --> 00:11:15.090 that these are drug trafficking boats. These 00:11:15.090 --> 00:11:18.350 are not just randomly selected or someone out 00:11:18.350 --> 00:11:21.629 there with his or her binoculars looking over 00:11:21.629 --> 00:11:26.529 across the hazy horizon. And again, not a lot 00:11:26.529 --> 00:11:29.330 of detail on the sources and methods. And even 00:11:29.330 --> 00:11:32.669 when they release the videos, you can tell that 00:11:32.669 --> 00:11:36.480 they've kind of scrubbed off all the uh instrumentation 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:39.399 that you typically see around the frame of a 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:41.620 of a targeting pod video that gives you like 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:45.059 you know azimuth and altitude and speed and all 00:11:45.059 --> 00:11:46.820 this but what you're seeing is a lot of what 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:51.340 looks like to me a white hot flier either from 00:11:51.340 --> 00:11:55.620 a pod uh or something else and that's showing 00:11:55.620 --> 00:11:58.539 you some some really really precise strikes so 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:01.320 there's no doubt in my mind that they are hitting 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:05.139 um drug boats that are known and these are not 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:07.379 random at all. And you really see this whenever 00:12:07.379 --> 00:12:10.340 Secretary of State Rubio talks about the subject. 00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:13.899 And Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has been 00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:16.279 pretty clear about this as well. And Treasury 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:20.220 has all sorts of financial designations on the 00:12:20.220 --> 00:12:22.519 top cartels. And then President Trump actually 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:24.879 just put a designation on another one of the 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.600 cartels that will go into effect in late November. 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:29.899 So that's sort of the big picture of what's going 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:34.360 on. But it is amazing to see the USS Gerald R. 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:37.419 Ford, our newest and biggest aircraft carrier. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:40.039 She was rushed from the Mediterranean, where 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:43.039 she'd been doing exercises, down to the Caribbean 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:47.120 to add to potential striking power for U .S. 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:50.200 Southern Command. And you mentioned, though, 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:52.940 does this have any sort of ramification as far 00:12:52.940 --> 00:12:56.679 as China or Russia are concerned? Well, there's 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:00.440 a lot of strategic pieces in this puzzle. Remember 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:04.679 Venezuela run by the illegal dictator, Nicolas 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:08.419 Maduro, basically the entire world agrees that 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:11.500 he has stolen the election a couple times in 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:16.799 Venezuela. But Venezuela has more proven oil 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:21.500 reserves than Saudi Arabia. Really? So yeah, 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:25.279 it's astonishing. They sell this oil. to China, 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:29.419 of course, okay? So there is a Chinese relationship. 00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:33.299 And the Chinese are all over the Western Hemisphere, 00:13:33.419 --> 00:13:36.159 whether it is their fishing fleets, their building 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:40.320 of ports in places like Peru, their ownership 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:44.340 of key infrastructure in the Panama Canal, which... 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:46.539 was one of Secretary Rubio's first priorities 00:13:46.539 --> 00:13:50.279 was getting Panama to back away from China. So 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:53.659 part of this is asserting American leadership 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:56.620 in this region under, you know, the old Monroe 00:13:56.620 --> 00:14:00.019 doctrine from back in the founding father days. 00:14:00.460 --> 00:14:02.980 And then, of course, Russia, Venezuela and Russia 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:05.480 have been buddies for a long time. They have 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:09.279 a lot of Russian military equipment. You occasionally 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:13.059 used to see Russian long range bombers making 00:14:13.059 --> 00:14:18.539 publicity stops in Venezuela. So this, again, 00:14:18.539 --> 00:14:22.559 is closing the door on Chinese influence in particular 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:25.080 in this region. But I think the administration's 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:27.659 real priority here is they are just balanced 00:14:27.659 --> 00:14:30.179 and determined to do something about the flow 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:33.879 of drugs and about the illegal immigration. Well, 00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:38.659 I would say so. I think it's kind of interesting. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:43.779 I guess, you know, It's not a bad idea. And I 00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:46.279 mean, you want to send a message that, OK, you 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:49.759 know, this is this is the end of, you know, your 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:52.539 freedom of the seas to bring your, you know, 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:55.080 the fentanyl and all the other things that people 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:58.279 are smuggling into the country. So I'm hoping 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:00.940 that they get the message. It would be nice to 00:15:00.940 --> 00:15:03.960 not have to worry about our, you know, our population, 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:06.559 especially our young people getting more and 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.000 more involved with those god awful drugs that 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.059 some of them are using. Oh, yes. And I think 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:17.340 all of us know people whose lives have been scarred 00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:20.600 by fentanyl. And you know, part of the U .S. 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.600 Navy's mission is to prevent piracy on the high 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:28.139 seas. And I think these drug cartels really fit 00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:31.360 that definition. It is startling, though, to 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:34.460 see our military forces there. There was a CBS 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:37.980 news reporter doing a piece on the reaction in 00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:40.279 the region. And behind him at the airport in 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:44.210 St. Croix, were two US Air Force refueling tankers. 00:15:44.450 --> 00:15:47.830 You don't see that every day, right? So just 00:15:47.830 --> 00:15:49.889 the number of assets that are concentrated there. 00:15:50.029 --> 00:15:52.649 I think the idea is, again, just put the squeeze 00:15:52.649 --> 00:15:56.549 on the cartels for sure. And then the ties between 00:15:56.549 --> 00:15:59.870 Maduro and Venezuela and these cartels are very, 00:15:59.870 --> 00:16:02.350 very clear. And in fact, the Venezuelan military 00:16:02.350 --> 00:16:05.370 is through Maduro involved in some of this as 00:16:05.370 --> 00:16:07.850 well. So the rest of the intent here is to put 00:16:07.850 --> 00:16:12.850 the squeeze on Maduro himself. We shall see. 00:16:12.909 --> 00:16:17.269 Hopefully it works out. I think so. You know, 00:16:17.470 --> 00:16:19.129 kind of going to the other side of the world. 00:16:19.309 --> 00:16:23.169 I want to talk a little bit about about Ukraine, 00:16:23.730 --> 00:16:26.289 mainly because on today's news, I believe it 00:16:26.289 --> 00:16:29.690 was that they were talking about that they are. 00:16:29.970 --> 00:16:32.529 Well, Russia and the United States had come up 00:16:32.529 --> 00:16:36.850 with a 28 point plan that they haven't really, 00:16:36.850 --> 00:16:42.649 you know, given to Ukraine yet. Can you address 00:16:42.649 --> 00:16:44.529 that? I know you were talking about the UN as 00:16:44.529 --> 00:16:49.929 well. Yes, the Ukraine peace plan. This one's 00:16:49.929 --> 00:16:53.450 interesting. I think two things stand out. First 00:16:53.450 --> 00:16:56.409 of all, we don't know how solidified this plan 00:16:56.409 --> 00:16:59.750 is. And then most of all, we don't know if Putin 00:16:59.750 --> 00:17:02.129 will agree to it. He hasn't agreed to anything 00:17:02.129 --> 00:17:07.950 so far. But what's going on is and the news appears 00:17:07.950 --> 00:17:12.299 to emanate from a possible social media slip 00:17:12.299 --> 00:17:15.400 up by one of the negotiators that where something 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:19.640 was posted rather than direct messaged and there 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:22.519 was reference to this plan. But what we do know 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:24.900 is that Ambassador Steve Witkoff, you know, he's 00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:27.160 a New York real estate developer, long time friend 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:30.079 of President Trump who was very key in the Gaza 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:35.059 peace plan. He has all year been working on negotiations 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:37.220 with Russia. He's been to Moscow four or five 00:17:37.220 --> 00:17:42.359 times. there's a Russian named Kirill Dmitriev. 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:45.859 Kirill Dmitriev is a man about 50 years old. 00:17:45.900 --> 00:17:49.319 He is a finance bro. You know, he worked at Goldman 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:52.339 Sachs. He worked at McKinsey, speaks great English, 00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:56.180 and he runs a lot of Russia's sovereign wealth 00:17:56.180 --> 00:18:00.200 investments. So he has been a frequent interlocutor. 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:05.900 You know, what Trump would like to see is incentives 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:09.660 for Putin, and these would be finance and business 00:18:09.660 --> 00:18:13.980 deals with a release of some sanctions probably. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:17.480 So some incentives to get Putin to agree. I think 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:19.720 if you roll it back a couple months, this is 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:23.299 why Trump was optimistic about getting a settlement. 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:25.039 He thought, well, if I just go in and construct 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:28.880 a deal that Russia will agree to, you know, their 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.920 sanction, their economy is terrible, they're 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:34.759 dependent on China. Well, then we can get a deal 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:37.589 and have peace in Ukraine, right? Obviously, 00:18:37.609 --> 00:18:39.509 we know that didn't work. What's happened is 00:18:39.509 --> 00:18:43.490 that Putin has intensified his strikes on Ukraine. 00:18:44.490 --> 00:18:48.289 So back to the current update, it looks like 00:18:48.289 --> 00:18:50.849 Secretary Rubio and Ambassador Woodcoff have 00:18:50.849 --> 00:18:53.029 been working through the back channels trying 00:18:53.029 --> 00:18:55.589 to put together this 28 -point peace plan, kind 00:18:55.589 --> 00:18:59.009 of reminiscent of the Gaza plan. And then, of 00:18:59.009 --> 00:19:01.470 course, the details in that are of great interest. 00:19:01.630 --> 00:19:03.430 And maybe you've heard they're talking about 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:06.500 putting some limits on Ukraine's military forces, 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:11.099 too. I heard about that and also the idea of 00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:14.640 Ukraine giving up some of its territory. Yeah, 00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:18.039 the territory is the big one. And you know what 00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:20.880 hurts about this? Well, first of all, my personal 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:24.099 view is I'd like to see every last Russian out 00:19:24.099 --> 00:19:27.920 of Ukraine. That illegal invasion is absolutely 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:32.420 terrible. But the battle line right now, Putin 00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:36.079 He's moving forward inch by inch, but he still 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:40.440 has not taken all of the Donbass region particularly 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:43.599 the last bits of territory in the provinces of 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:46.119 Donetsk and Luhansk and that's partly because 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:49.700 there is a long -standing fortified defensive 00:19:49.700 --> 00:19:53.779 line that Ukraine holds and as terrible as the 00:19:53.779 --> 00:19:58.099 war is Ukraine is Pretty much holding Russia 00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:01.529 on the ground that Russia really is not going 00:20:01.529 --> 00:20:05.470 to get much further than they are now, which 00:20:05.470 --> 00:20:11.269 is why Putin has turned to these terrible drone 00:20:11.269 --> 00:20:13.730 and missile attacks. But back to the territory 00:20:13.730 --> 00:20:17.670 for a moment. The big question is, will Ukraine 00:20:17.670 --> 00:20:21.750 be asked to give up the Donbass, including in 00:20:21.750 --> 00:20:25.349 Crimea as well, which would be horrible and painful. 00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:27.970 But I think there are some in the Trump administration 00:20:27.970 --> 00:20:30.579 who feel like, look, This is the Ukraine we're 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:32.720 going to end up with. It's still going to have 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.240 the Port of Odessa. It's going to have most of 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:38.259 the territory. And from here, we can go forward 00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:40.500 with the redevelopment and have an economically 00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:44.279 viable Ukraine. So that's sort of where the decisions 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:46.960 are. Trump has many times said, let's just freeze 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:51.819 the line where it is right now. But again, Putin 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:55.559 hasn't agreed to anything. He just continues 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:57.819 every couple of days, another big missile attack. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.259 a big missile attack, and then you've got the 00:21:01.259 --> 00:21:05.900 members of NATO that are trying to, I guess, 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:08.240 trying to, you know, trying to do their part 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:12.319 in helping Ukraine. And then again, we've got 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.000 some, you know, other countries that are, you 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.240 know, drones are flying over, and that's not 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:21.440 a good thing to have going on over there either. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:25.319 Well, whatever happens, you know, at some point 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:27.099 there will be a ceasefire in Ukraine. You know, 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:30.579 it may not be for a while, truly, but at some 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:34.859 point, but the problem of European security against 00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:37.839 Putin's Russia is going to remain. Look, you 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:39.900 know, Ukraine, if they had a ceasefire today, 00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:44.680 Ukraine would need about a thousand tanks to... 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:48.859 put together a defensive perimeter, and it's 00:21:48.859 --> 00:21:50.500 going to have to be more than that as well. It 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:54.039 would be, they could use a thousand of our M1A1 00:21:54.039 --> 00:21:58.200 Abrams tanks because they need a defensive strategy. 00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:01.680 They also need, and as they have, our tremendous 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:04.140 air defenses, Patriot missiles, and many other 00:22:04.140 --> 00:22:06.539 types that have been put together into really 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:11.630 a stunningly capable air defense. all of Europe 00:22:11.630 --> 00:22:14.829 is concerned about a potential Russian invasion 00:22:14.829 --> 00:22:17.390 at some point. It's not just Ukraine. If that 00:22:17.390 --> 00:22:19.450 stopped right now, you know, the Germans are 00:22:19.450 --> 00:22:22.769 concerned. A Danish intelligence estimate said 00:22:22.769 --> 00:22:25.170 that Putin could be ready to invade someplace 00:22:25.170 --> 00:22:27.250 like the Baltics within another couple years. 00:22:27.549 --> 00:22:30.069 And so this is now a generational problem to 00:22:30.069 --> 00:22:33.410 defend that NATO border that runs now, of course, 00:22:33.609 --> 00:22:37.329 from Finland and Helsinki right down through 00:22:37.329 --> 00:22:41.960 Istanbul and Turkey. So, we are going to need 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:46.200 to have a strong NATO -led defense in Europe 00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:48.740 for the foreseeable future. Russia continues 00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:52.680 to build tanks, missiles. They already have a 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:56.420 huge stock of missiles. They buy and build Iranian 00:22:56.420 --> 00:22:59.940 drones. China, sadly, is supporting all of this, 00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:03.079 helping out with microelectronics and of course 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:06.500 with oil purchases. There's been some backing 00:23:06.500 --> 00:23:08.839 away since two of the big Russian oil companies 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:11.000 were sanctioned, but basically China is the one 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:14.660 that's that's paid the bill for this war for 00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:19.119 these whole four years. You know, the problem 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:23.460 is, you know, can anybody ever trust Putin? Well, 00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:26.039 that's exactly it. And you know, I understand 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:29.019 here Trump's frustration because a reasonable 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:32.579 head of state. would look at the military pressure 00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:35.220 and look at the economic deals and make a decision 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:38.200 on behalf of the people of the country. Putin 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:42.220 loves the war. He has a taste for war. He wants 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:46.259 imperial Russia. And there's just no telling 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:48.460 what will get to him. You know, my personal view 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:51.220 here is that he will have to feel he's going 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:53.420 to lose something of military significance. How 00:23:53.420 --> 00:23:56.140 might that happen? Well, you know, perhaps strikes 00:23:56.140 --> 00:23:59.140 on legitimate Russian military targets in Crimea. 00:23:59.900 --> 00:24:02.779 Ukraine has done a pretty good job mounting drone 00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:05.259 attacks. They've done about 60 in the last couple 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:09.720 of months, targeting either Russian air bases 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:14.359 or targeting Russian energy infrastructure. You 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:19.819 know, pipeline interchanges out in rural areas 00:24:19.819 --> 00:24:22.700 that are blown up by drones, that kind of thing. 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:26.079 That is the type of pressure that Putin needs 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:29.380 to feel. But remember, this war is helping keep 00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:34.240 Putin in power. He has no regard. He's had over 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:37.960 a million casualties. That's if you count killed 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:40.400 and wounded together. It's the number is a million 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.160 and it's just inconceivable. It's astronomical. 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:46.279 And you know, you've got to wonder what the Russian 00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:50.059 population feels about this whole thing of, you 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:54.380 know, again, wiping out another generation. And, 00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:58.640 you know, Putin came to power a long time ago 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:02.640 now at a time when oil wealth helped to bring 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:06.140 prosperity to Russia. And he's still, that is 00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:08.779 still, I think, the source of his political power. 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:13.559 That and the complete and utter control of society 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:16.160 and of the flow of information. But you would 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:18.440 think that at some point, yes, these casualties 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:22.240 would begin to... It's just devastating for the 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:24.339 Russian people. But we have very little insight 00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:26.720 into that and Putin remains the absolute dictator 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:31.079 and Xi Jinping of China continues to back him 00:25:31.079 --> 00:25:35.559 up. And that combination enables Putin to continue 00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:43.039 this terrible war in Ukraine. Well, the war that 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:47.640 they're just keep breaking out everywhere or 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:51.140 continuing or hopefully ending. Moving a little 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:54.079 bit further, I guess, to the southwest, if my 00:25:54.079 --> 00:25:57.240 map reading is ability, is what about what's 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:01.980 going to happen next in Gaza? Gaza, you know, 00:26:02.119 --> 00:26:05.619 here I think we have good news, actually. It 00:26:05.619 --> 00:26:09.599 was tremendous to see the ceasefire go into place. 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:13.960 And just this week, the United Nations actually 00:26:14.580 --> 00:26:18.660 passed a resolution in support of the Gaza peace 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:21.920 plan. This is the 20 -point peace plan that was 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:24.960 agreed several weeks ago. And you know, let's 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:27.299 just take a step back for a moment and say that 00:26:27.299 --> 00:26:30.480 this was a remarkable act in itself. President 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:35.170 Trump had called together in Egypt numerous world 00:26:35.170 --> 00:26:36.910 leaders. There were so many you could hardly 00:26:36.910 --> 00:26:39.089 put them all on the stage together. Georgia, 00:26:39.130 --> 00:26:44.029 Maloney of Italy, Keir Starmer of the UK, Erdogan 00:26:44.029 --> 00:26:46.710 from Turkey was there. Of course, the local Arab 00:26:46.710 --> 00:26:49.650 states were very much in support as well. You 00:26:49.650 --> 00:26:53.970 had the president of Indonesia there. Just the 00:26:53.970 --> 00:26:57.569 world came together and that's what put the pressure 00:26:57.569 --> 00:27:01.950 on Hamas to finally agree to the ceasefire. There 00:27:01.950 --> 00:27:06.140 have been some tensions. Of course, there have 00:27:06.140 --> 00:27:09.400 been a few attacks by Hamas on Israeli forces. 00:27:09.559 --> 00:27:11.839 There's been retaliation by Israel for those 00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:15.700 attacks. But several weeks have now passed, and 00:27:15.700 --> 00:27:18.680 the ceasefire in Gaza is holding. This is tremendous. 00:27:19.240 --> 00:27:25.420 This is enabling food aid to get into Gaza. And 00:27:25.420 --> 00:27:27.700 of course, most of all, the shooting has pretty 00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:30.400 much stopped, which is as it needs to be. So 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:33.180 what the UN did was kind of remarkable because 00:27:33.180 --> 00:27:36.299 the UN had not done anything to help Gaza during 00:27:36.299 --> 00:27:38.960 the whole two years of the war, but they did 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:43.119 pass the resolution with Russia and China abstaining 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:45.880 from the Security Council resolution, which is 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:50.099 kind of how things go. Great credit to new UN 00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:55.019 Ambassador Mike Walz for pulling that off. He 00:27:55.019 --> 00:27:57.559 really did a good job to get that vote initiated. 00:27:58.099 --> 00:28:02.460 This will give the peace plan even more legs 00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:05.460 because the next step will be to form an international 00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:11.019 stabilization force. And to go into Gaza, its 00:28:11.019 --> 00:28:15.339 mission will be to stabilize and then begin to 00:28:15.339 --> 00:28:20.359 train or retain a Gaza Palestinian -focused police 00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:24.630 force to keep peace in the Gaza Strip. Do you 00:28:24.630 --> 00:28:28.089 think that there'll ever be any sort of two -state 00:28:28.089 --> 00:28:33.190 or two -state solution to this? Well, the diplomacy 00:28:33.190 --> 00:28:37.109 this fall has put a two -state solution back 00:28:37.109 --> 00:28:40.710 on the table for sure. You know, you'd almost 00:28:40.710 --> 00:28:43.630 say about this agreement that no one was entirely 00:28:43.630 --> 00:28:46.869 happy with it, which probably means it was about 00:28:46.869 --> 00:28:49.549 the best agreement you could get. One of the 00:28:49.549 --> 00:28:53.569 key points in the peace plan is admittedly a 00:28:53.569 --> 00:28:59.650 rather vague endorsement of a future path towards 00:28:59.650 --> 00:29:04.369 a two -state solution. Having that language was 00:29:04.369 --> 00:29:09.589 really key for people like the Crown Prince of 00:29:09.589 --> 00:29:14.710 Saudi Arabia to agree to this whole framework. 00:29:15.750 --> 00:29:18.190 Whether it actually happens, I think, is a much, 00:29:18.190 --> 00:29:19.589 much, much bigger question, because you know, 00:29:19.650 --> 00:29:22.109 Dale, it's not like ... You have all the Palestinians 00:29:22.109 --> 00:29:25.230 living on one side of the strip and Israelis 00:29:25.230 --> 00:29:27.970 living on the other. The communities are very 00:29:27.970 --> 00:29:31.089 intermixed and intermingled. It's not like you 00:29:31.089 --> 00:29:34.930 can just draw a line and say, okay, all the Palestinians, 00:29:35.450 --> 00:29:37.410 but once you can live here and everybody else 00:29:37.410 --> 00:29:39.529 can live somewhere else and you have a clear 00:29:39.529 --> 00:29:42.130 two -state solution like the border between France 00:29:42.130 --> 00:29:45.390 and Germany. It's just not like that. And you 00:29:45.390 --> 00:29:47.289 know what the region needs overall, and I think 00:29:47.289 --> 00:29:49.750 Trump has been right to sense this, is it needs 00:29:49.750 --> 00:29:52.549 economic redevelopment, it needs to get back 00:29:52.549 --> 00:29:55.829 to business, it needs to focus on tech, it needs 00:29:55.829 --> 00:29:59.069 to keep China out of the mix, and it needs to 00:29:59.069 --> 00:30:03.349 keep Iran contained so that they can't go back 00:30:03.349 --> 00:30:06.750 to funding Hamas and Hezbollah and the other 00:30:06.750 --> 00:30:09.910 terror groups. I think a few years of peace and 00:30:09.910 --> 00:30:15.279 prosperity would do a lot more even than a formal 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:18.460 Palestinian state towards giving that region 00:30:18.460 --> 00:30:21.700 a chance and a better future that we all want 00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:26.720 to see. I hope that all the other countries in 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:29.599 the Middle East are probably going to have to 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:35.650 be honing up some cash to rebuild the Gaza. Oh, 00:30:35.990 --> 00:30:39.009 lots of cash, exactly. I mean, the devastation 00:30:39.009 --> 00:30:42.529 there is so hard to see. And, you know, with 00:30:42.529 --> 00:30:45.589 the key Arab allies in that region, I think, 00:30:45.589 --> 00:30:48.329 you know, two things were obvious. One, they 00:30:48.329 --> 00:30:51.849 were very frustrated with Iran and very tired 00:30:51.849 --> 00:30:56.609 of Hamas's intransigence and of the war itself. 00:30:57.730 --> 00:31:01.289 But secondly, they like to keep a low profile. 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:05.640 But they're certainly willing and when prodded 00:31:05.640 --> 00:31:10.599 by President Trump to go and invest in that region. 00:31:11.259 --> 00:31:13.680 And what we've seen, of course, is a lot of US 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:16.480 trade deals, bilateral trade deals with countries 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:20.400 like Saudi Arabia, like the United Arab Emirates, 00:31:20.660 --> 00:31:23.660 like Qatar, where they will invest, my goodness, 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:27.059 the United Arab Emirates is going to invest 1 00:31:27.059 --> 00:31:32.430 .5 trillion. Yes, that's trillion with a T. in 00:31:32.430 --> 00:31:35.230 the US doing everything from an aluminum smelting 00:31:35.230 --> 00:31:37.950 plant to data centers, et cetera. You talk to 00:31:37.950 --> 00:31:40.009 the folks from the UAE and they say, and we're 00:31:40.009 --> 00:31:42.630 good for it too, we're really gonna do it. So 00:31:42.630 --> 00:31:46.289 those strong bilateral trade relationships center 00:31:46.289 --> 00:31:50.670 around technology and a future that goes beyond 00:31:50.670 --> 00:31:54.670 just oil. But they also really bind the U .S. 00:31:54.930 --> 00:31:57.390 and countries of the region together in this 00:31:57.390 --> 00:32:00.430 prosperity path, right, in keeping Iran down 00:32:00.430 --> 00:32:03.430 and in not having the funding for terrorism and 00:32:03.430 --> 00:32:05.750 the dreadful conditions on the ground that really 00:32:05.750 --> 00:32:08.690 spawn terrorism. So I think it's a positive start. 00:32:09.109 --> 00:32:11.490 You know, as we see with the new government in 00:32:11.490 --> 00:32:16.740 Syria, led by a man who was once in a U .S. jail, 00:32:17.099 --> 00:32:20.000 but is now recognized and that they're giving 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:22.400 him a chance to really lead Syria and see if 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:24.640 it'll turn out better. So I think that, you know, 00:32:24.779 --> 00:32:27.480 the situation in that region is much, much, much 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:30.299 more hopeful than it was. And you've got a credit, 00:32:30.619 --> 00:32:33.740 Operation Midnight Hammer, those B -2 bombers 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:36.740 and all the other U .S. aircraft that took down 00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:41.410 Iran's nascent nuclear weapons capability. and 00:32:41.410 --> 00:32:44.650 made this new era possible. I was just going 00:32:44.650 --> 00:32:46.890 to ask you about what what you think is going 00:32:46.890 --> 00:32:48.769 on with Iran because now they got to kind of 00:32:48.769 --> 00:32:52.569 rebuild or what are they doing? Well, as usual, 00:32:52.990 --> 00:32:55.549 they're off, you know, running their mouths and 00:32:55.549 --> 00:32:59.150 talking about this and that. But the fact is, 00:32:59.390 --> 00:33:04.289 their primary nuclear weapons enterprise was 00:33:04.289 --> 00:33:08.049 obliterated by the careful and precise targeting. 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:10.740 of the B -2 bombers and the Tomahawk land attack 00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:13.019 missiles that attacked the other side as well. 00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:15.160 And then, of course, the work done by Israel 00:33:15.160 --> 00:33:17.640 and then by the US too to take down the air defenses. 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:21.660 So they are not in a position to be a resurgent 00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:24.980 breakout nuclear power. They've also seen their 00:33:24.980 --> 00:33:28.000 terror proxies really taken apart, whether that's 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:33.200 Hamas or Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Houthis are 00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:35.440 still there, but not as active as they were, 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:38.960 though they bear close watching. So, you know, 00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:43.640 Iran is not the terror mastermind that they once 00:33:43.640 --> 00:33:46.440 were. The regime is still there. They still hate 00:33:46.440 --> 00:33:48.799 Americans. They still hate Israelis. They still 00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:53.220 want bloody revolution across the region. They're 00:33:53.220 --> 00:33:56.819 still dangerous, but they are contained, and 00:33:56.819 --> 00:33:59.759 that is key. And that is why also we see the 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:04.279 strengthening U .S. and Saudi diplomatic, economic, 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:08.329 and military partnership. that is also a rebuke 00:34:08.329 --> 00:34:13.670 to and a containment of Iran. Well, we can only 00:34:13.670 --> 00:34:17.289 hope, right? We continue to hope. That's the 00:34:17.289 --> 00:34:20.769 idea here. We're talking with Dr. Rebecca Grant 00:34:20.769 --> 00:34:24.150 here, as I mentioned earlier on, who is our resident 00:34:24.150 --> 00:34:27.210 expert on foreign policy. And, you know, we got 00:34:27.210 --> 00:34:31.590 to get the real idea of what's happening around 00:34:31.590 --> 00:34:36.400 the world. I don't know anybody who's more in 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:39.159 tune to what's happening than you are, Dr. Grant. 00:34:40.380 --> 00:34:44.679 Let's take a look at, let's see, where are we? 00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:49.900 Oh, China, bringing Japan and South Korea closer 00:34:49.900 --> 00:34:52.960 to the US. Yes, you know, President Trump was 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:56.260 just in Japan and South Korea a few weeks ago. 00:34:57.369 --> 00:35:00.610 was on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, 00:35:00.730 --> 00:35:03.710 which is home ported in Japan. And Japan has 00:35:03.710 --> 00:35:06.409 a new prime minister, Prime Minister Takachi. 00:35:06.550 --> 00:35:09.210 She's the first female prime minister, and she's 00:35:09.210 --> 00:35:13.429 conservative. And she is in favor of Japan having 00:35:13.429 --> 00:35:16.170 a stronger military, which has been going on 00:35:16.170 --> 00:35:19.510 for a while. You know, Japan really participates 00:35:19.510 --> 00:35:23.570 in missile defense against North Korea and against 00:35:23.570 --> 00:35:26.869 China. and is a tremendous ally. So, you know, 00:35:26.989 --> 00:35:30.269 China's global rise and their machinations have 00:35:30.269 --> 00:35:33.730 brought Japan and South Korea closer to each 00:35:33.730 --> 00:35:36.989 other. Although they have a lot of historical 00:35:36.989 --> 00:35:40.329 animosity stemming from World War II, they've 00:35:40.329 --> 00:35:42.550 managed to patch a lot of that up. And here the 00:35:42.550 --> 00:35:45.369 Biden administration did a good job in getting 00:35:45.369 --> 00:35:49.289 that trilateral Japan -South Korea -U .S. relationship 00:35:49.289 --> 00:35:52.369 going diplomatically. Then in comes the Trump 00:35:52.369 --> 00:35:55.000 administration and you know, the signature of 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:58.860 the year is using tariff threats and trade deals 00:35:58.860 --> 00:36:02.960 to shore up alliances. And I think Japan and 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:05.780 South Korea was just a classic case. South Korea, 00:36:05.820 --> 00:36:10.199 Trump threatens 35 % tariffs or 50 % tariffs, 00:36:10.219 --> 00:36:13.880 and then backs off. They settle at about what 00:36:13.880 --> 00:36:15.880 everybody gets, because you know, everybody has 00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:18.659 a tariff. And so we put ours at about 15%. And 00:36:18.659 --> 00:36:21.039 that's similar to everybody else around the world. 00:36:21.059 --> 00:36:24.860 Everyone's happy. We have, of course, about 28 00:36:24.860 --> 00:36:29.480 ,000 U .S. forces in South Korea. South Korea 00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:33.760 may be getting access to a nuclear -powered submarine 00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:36.039 technology. We're already sharing that with Great 00:36:36.039 --> 00:36:38.219 Britain. We have for decades. And we'll now share 00:36:38.219 --> 00:36:42.139 it with Australia. South Korea may be included 00:36:42.139 --> 00:36:46.639 in that as well. So this threat of China has 00:36:46.639 --> 00:36:48.940 really brought both Japan and South Korea closer 00:36:48.940 --> 00:36:51.320 to the U .S. And this is good in so many ways. 00:36:51.869 --> 00:36:54.110 You know, South Korea obviously is an economic 00:36:54.110 --> 00:36:57.889 powerhouse, so is Japan. Japan has some niche 00:36:57.889 --> 00:37:01.989 but significant rare earth metals processing 00:37:01.989 --> 00:37:05.030 capability that we want to have. And then of 00:37:05.030 --> 00:37:08.309 course in both cases, you know, kind of the new 00:37:08.309 --> 00:37:13.679 currency of global power is AI. and the AI tech 00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:17.500 stack. And the contest is between us and China. 00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:20.500 We want the world, whether that's Saudi Arabia, 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:24.699 South Korea, Finland, you name it. We want the 00:37:24.699 --> 00:37:29.440 world to adopt the US AI tech stack. That's chips, 00:37:29.739 --> 00:37:34.280 software. cloud, everything that makes AI run. 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:37.500 And so these deals have generally also included 00:37:37.500 --> 00:37:41.079 closer cooperation in technology. That closes 00:37:41.079 --> 00:37:44.619 the door on China. And it's very, very important 00:37:44.619 --> 00:37:50.820 for the next decade. AI is way beyond my understanding. 00:37:51.380 --> 00:37:55.739 It's still I think people my age are going what? 00:37:56.179 --> 00:38:00.550 Now what? What about you mentioned before that 00:38:00.550 --> 00:38:03.230 the you know, South Korea and Japan and the US 00:38:03.230 --> 00:38:05.670 are getting closer and closer But North Korea 00:38:05.670 --> 00:38:10.369 still hanging out out there North Korea so after 00:38:10.369 --> 00:38:14.090 the the good news on Gaza the good news on Japan 00:38:14.090 --> 00:38:17.329 and South Korea, you know North Korea things 00:38:17.329 --> 00:38:23.000 have gone downhill back in 2018 when In the first 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:25.099 Trump administration, Trump was talking with 00:38:25.099 --> 00:38:27.780 Kim Jong Un. They were meeting. They were sending 00:38:27.780 --> 00:38:31.159 letters. And there was a one -year test moratorium 00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:35.760 that Kim put in place. Well, now things are worse 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:39.579 than ever. North Korea has tested some long -range 00:38:39.579 --> 00:38:42.579 intercontinental ballistic missiles that, in 00:38:42.579 --> 00:38:46.400 theory, Have the range nearly the range to hit 00:38:46.400 --> 00:38:50.579 the west coast of the US They still have a lot 00:38:50.579 --> 00:38:53.780 of problems with warhead integration and reentry 00:38:53.780 --> 00:38:56.320 But there's no question their technology has 00:38:56.320 --> 00:38:59.699 moved on in some key areas long -range missiles 00:38:59.699 --> 00:39:03.900 solid fuel missile technology which enables a 00:39:03.900 --> 00:39:07.199 missile to be Brought out and launched more quickly 00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:09.800 if it's liquid fueled like most of their arsenal 00:39:09.800 --> 00:39:11.840 You got to bring it out and put the gas in and 00:39:11.840 --> 00:39:15.300 it's easy to see and it takes a long time But 00:39:15.300 --> 00:39:17.199 South but North Korea has made some progress 00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:21.059 there North Korea is working on a submarine launched 00:39:21.059 --> 00:39:23.780 missile and here's the worst thing North Korea 00:39:23.780 --> 00:39:27.900 and Russia as you know Several thousand North 00:39:27.900 --> 00:39:31.780 Korean troops have gone to fight in Ukraine on 00:39:31.780 --> 00:39:35.639 the Russian side North Korea has sent ammunition, 00:39:36.340 --> 00:39:38.800 and we think that what North Korea is getting 00:39:38.800 --> 00:39:42.719 in return is assistance with nuclear technology. 00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:45.320 And that could include nuclear warhead design. 00:39:45.380 --> 00:39:47.780 They already have nuclear weapons. The question 00:39:47.780 --> 00:39:50.380 is the design of the warheads and integration 00:39:50.380 --> 00:39:53.440 onto, for example, submarine -launched missiles, 00:39:53.860 --> 00:39:56.179 or really completing their intercontinental missiles. 00:39:56.199 --> 00:39:59.340 So it is just bad, bad, bad. And every time You 00:39:59.340 --> 00:40:02.960 see, you know, one of the Russian defense officials 00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:05.559 in North Korea or someone from North Korea going 00:40:05.559 --> 00:40:07.380 to Russia, you just you just got to shake your 00:40:07.380 --> 00:40:09.719 head. How did the world come to this that we 00:40:09.719 --> 00:40:12.059 have North Koreans fighting in Ukraine and the 00:40:12.059 --> 00:40:15.000 payback is in nuclear technology? Really, really 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:18.619 bad. Well, I don't know if you know anything 00:40:18.619 --> 00:40:20.719 about this. What about the North Korean that 00:40:20.719 --> 00:40:22.679 are fighting in the Ukraine? Are they getting 00:40:22.679 --> 00:40:27.000 losing as many percentage wise as the Russians 00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:32.239 are? Yes, the initial reports were that it was 00:40:32.239 --> 00:40:34.500 very, very ugly that they were not well trained. 00:40:34.780 --> 00:40:38.559 You know, Russia has started taking volunteers 00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:41.039 and pretty much rushing them to the front. So 00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:45.559 a lot of poorly trained soldiers, the sort of 00:40:45.559 --> 00:40:48.039 thing that we would never ever see in the US 00:40:48.039 --> 00:40:50.559 or in Western militaries. And the reports were 00:40:50.559 --> 00:40:53.980 that the North Koreans, several units were really 00:40:53.980 --> 00:40:57.409 wiped out and hit very hard initially. which 00:40:57.409 --> 00:40:59.650 is tragic. I mean, you just have to think that 00:40:59.650 --> 00:41:02.409 these North Koreans living in a society where 00:41:02.409 --> 00:41:04.670 they have no contact with the outside world and 00:41:04.670 --> 00:41:06.289 fighting themselves suddenly in the midst of 00:41:06.289 --> 00:41:10.010 the Russian army and fighting in Ukraine. You 00:41:10.010 --> 00:41:12.489 got to wonder how they ended up there. It's just 00:41:12.489 --> 00:41:17.090 the terrible decades of repression by Kim Jong 00:41:17.090 --> 00:41:19.909 -un and his father and his grandfather. That's 00:41:19.909 --> 00:41:23.570 what it's led to. So sad. Well, I can't imagine 00:41:23.570 --> 00:41:27.070 just, you know, as you say, you know, being picked 00:41:27.070 --> 00:41:32.269 up and put down in Ukraine around so many other 00:41:32.269 --> 00:41:34.230 different cultures that you've never even heard 00:41:34.230 --> 00:41:37.690 of before, probably. Right, and then to have 00:41:37.690 --> 00:41:39.889 the Ukrainians who are a pretty battle -tested 00:41:39.889 --> 00:41:44.570 force, you're right in there fighting. It's been 00:41:44.570 --> 00:41:47.489 a long time since the Korean War, but when one 00:41:47.489 --> 00:41:51.469 forgets about a lot of the prison camp atrocities 00:41:51.469 --> 00:41:55.449 that were carried out by North Koreans on Americans 00:41:55.449 --> 00:41:59.030 and on other allies, but there is an element 00:41:59.030 --> 00:42:02.769 of a vicious, repressive society there, and it 00:42:02.769 --> 00:42:06.769 is a shame to see Russia's Vladimir Putin coddling 00:42:06.769 --> 00:42:09.349 them and cooperating with them and China's Xi 00:42:09.349 --> 00:42:13.389 Jinping just letting it go because it's useful 00:42:13.389 --> 00:42:17.210 for China to have North Korea agitate the United 00:42:17.210 --> 00:42:20.570 States. I'm really sorry that Trump's diplomacy 00:42:20.570 --> 00:42:23.510 back in the 2017 and 2018 timeframe with Kim 00:42:23.510 --> 00:42:26.389 didn't work out. It was worth a try to see if 00:42:26.389 --> 00:42:28.989 he could get Kim interested in becoming a real 00:42:28.989 --> 00:42:32.840 estate developer for North Korea. and sadly now 00:42:32.840 --> 00:42:36.059 really all that has atrophied including the closer 00:42:36.059 --> 00:42:38.280 ties between South Korea and North Korea that 00:42:38.280 --> 00:42:40.400 were in place for a few years that's pretty much 00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:46.519 closed down as well. I'm just very interested 00:42:46.519 --> 00:42:48.219 in this whole thing because you know you were 00:42:48.219 --> 00:42:50.559 mentioning how Japan and South Korea were trying 00:42:50.559 --> 00:42:53.460 to work through the you know the terrible things 00:42:53.460 --> 00:42:57.019 that Japan you know forced upon South Korea during 00:42:57.019 --> 00:43:04.300 World War II and I can only imagine what the 00:43:04.300 --> 00:43:07.340 government of North Korea is telling their citizens 00:43:07.340 --> 00:43:11.980 about what's going on in the outside world. You 00:43:11.980 --> 00:43:14.659 just can't even imagine it. You talk about Japan 00:43:14.659 --> 00:43:17.239 and South Korea. I know this was imperial Japan. 00:43:17.320 --> 00:43:19.960 There were military that ravaged Asia. There 00:43:19.960 --> 00:43:23.159 was sex trafficking. There were atrocities. And 00:43:23.159 --> 00:43:26.480 this is not that many generations ago, so very 00:43:26.480 --> 00:43:29.360 painful on both sides, but especially I think 00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:33.360 for South Korea. But nonetheless, the successive 00:43:33.360 --> 00:43:36.579 Japanese and South Korean governments have managed 00:43:36.579 --> 00:43:41.039 to set that aside because of the imminent danger 00:43:41.039 --> 00:43:46.039 of North Korea with nuclear weapons. and of China. 00:43:46.139 --> 00:43:49.340 You know, we talk about how the newest long -range 00:43:49.340 --> 00:43:51.199 missile in North Korea, but North Korea's had 00:43:51.199 --> 00:43:54.059 the ability to hit Japan or South Korea for a 00:43:54.059 --> 00:43:57.579 long time now, which is why we have tremendous 00:43:57.579 --> 00:44:00.639 both land and sea -based missile defense there 00:44:00.639 --> 00:44:05.800 in FAD and other systems. And we, the Space Force, 00:44:06.219 --> 00:44:09.960 is launching a new satellite architecture that 00:44:09.960 --> 00:44:13.949 will help track hypersonic and ballistic missiles 00:44:13.949 --> 00:44:17.710 from space. Believe me, I'm no physicist, but 00:44:17.710 --> 00:44:20.730 that's the answer. If you can track those from 00:44:20.730 --> 00:44:23.230 space, it's very, very helpful. And it's because 00:44:23.230 --> 00:44:25.989 of these threats, mainly emanating out of that 00:44:25.989 --> 00:44:30.730 region. You mentioned in your email to me to 00:44:30.730 --> 00:44:33.909 ask about the Space Force and some of the revelations 00:44:33.909 --> 00:44:37.630 that are coming out regarding, again, our good 00:44:37.630 --> 00:44:41.869 friends in China trying to I don't know what 00:44:41.869 --> 00:44:43.530 they're trying to do. They're trying to take 00:44:43.530 --> 00:44:47.530 control of the whole area, I'm thinking. Of the 00:44:47.530 --> 00:44:51.519 world and also of space, they have... plans to 00:44:51.519 --> 00:44:54.260 go back to the moon. But what the Space Force, 00:44:54.400 --> 00:44:57.739 you know, our Space Force is coming up on its 00:44:57.739 --> 00:45:01.619 sixth birthday in December. It's a small force. 00:45:01.840 --> 00:45:03.820 It's the toughest one to get into. They have 00:45:03.820 --> 00:45:06.460 more recruits than they can deal with. And they're 00:45:06.460 --> 00:45:08.260 tremendous under the command of General Chance 00:45:08.260 --> 00:45:10.119 Saltzman, who was originally in the Air Force 00:45:10.119 --> 00:45:12.199 and is now Chief of Staff of the United States 00:45:12.199 --> 00:45:14.860 Space Force. So Space Force has revealed to us 00:45:14.860 --> 00:45:18.059 what we kind of knew, which is that China has 00:45:18.059 --> 00:45:21.840 the capability to attack our satellites on orbit. 00:45:22.400 --> 00:45:25.059 They do that in different ways. They have some 00:45:25.059 --> 00:45:28.960 ground -based laser weapons. They also have satellites 00:45:28.960 --> 00:45:33.880 that can extend a robot arm and go bully other 00:45:33.880 --> 00:45:36.539 satellites and do things like throw them into 00:45:36.539 --> 00:45:39.820 an orbit where they'll go into a graveyard orbit. 00:45:41.019 --> 00:45:43.760 So all kinds of problems up there. And then we 00:45:43.760 --> 00:45:46.980 also know that China has positioned a geosynchronous 00:45:46.980 --> 00:45:49.619 satellite. That's one of the highest altitudes 00:45:49.619 --> 00:45:52.840 that looks at the Pacific and tries to see what's 00:45:52.840 --> 00:45:56.320 going on. The good news is Space Force has known 00:45:56.320 --> 00:45:58.320 about this for a long time and they've been at 00:45:58.320 --> 00:46:02.659 work on countermeasures and they have a new countermeasures. 00:46:02.909 --> 00:46:07.150 system called Netherlands that helps to counter 00:46:07.150 --> 00:46:10.409 and break up space -based communications links. 00:46:10.909 --> 00:46:13.929 So it is a battle royale up there to make sure 00:46:13.929 --> 00:46:17.789 that we can deter China from wiping out our satellites 00:46:17.789 --> 00:46:20.349 in space. And this is much, much more important. 00:46:20.429 --> 00:46:25.329 We expect to see about 50 ,000 small satellites 00:46:25.329 --> 00:46:29.489 launched in the next few years to provide internet 00:46:29.489 --> 00:46:33.239 and broadband to areas around the world. American 00:46:33.239 --> 00:46:36.340 companies to do this. We've got Elon Musk, Starlink 00:46:36.340 --> 00:46:40.440 is the leader. Amazon has a group called LEO, 00:46:41.139 --> 00:46:43.340 a little bit of a play on low Earth orbit. They 00:46:43.340 --> 00:46:45.900 are launching a proliferated LEO constellation 00:46:45.900 --> 00:46:48.340 to provide broadband. And of course, China wants 00:46:48.340 --> 00:46:51.019 to get in there too. But we need to keep our 00:46:51.019 --> 00:46:54.320 dominance in the space domain and in the approaches 00:46:54.320 --> 00:46:57.039 to and around the Earth and the Moon as well. 00:46:57.599 --> 00:46:59.400 So the next generations, we're going to be looking 00:46:59.400 --> 00:47:02.219 to defend all of that. and the United States 00:47:02.219 --> 00:47:06.679 Space Force will be in the lead. There's a lot 00:47:06.679 --> 00:47:10.079 of things going on in the world, Dr. Grant. They 00:47:10.079 --> 00:47:14.940 just keep going on. You mentioned also that one 00:47:14.940 --> 00:47:20.260 last little item here is about the naval aviation 00:47:20.260 --> 00:47:22.599 having a little difficulty with a carrier plane. 00:47:23.579 --> 00:47:28.510 Oh, the secret Navy carrier plane. That's right. 00:47:28.750 --> 00:47:31.250 It has a name. It's kind of a quiet name. It's 00:47:31.250 --> 00:47:35.150 called F -A -X -X. It stands for fighter attack 00:47:35.150 --> 00:47:39.690 experimental. Two companies, Boeing and Northrop 00:47:39.690 --> 00:47:42.190 Grumman, have flown prototypes of this plane. 00:47:42.750 --> 00:47:46.010 And the Navy really wants it because it's longer 00:47:46.010 --> 00:47:49.570 range, it's stealthy, it flies off the carrier 00:47:49.570 --> 00:47:53.269 decks. And when you put it together with an unmanned 00:47:53.269 --> 00:47:56.590 refueling drone called a Stingray, and some long 00:47:56.590 --> 00:47:59.289 -range missiles. This means aircraft carriers 00:47:59.289 --> 00:48:03.409 could launch attacks 1 ,000 or even 1 ,500 miles 00:48:03.409 --> 00:48:05.869 from the target. But they've got to have this 00:48:05.869 --> 00:48:09.030 plane, and it's caught up in the Pentagon bureaucracy. 00:48:09.469 --> 00:48:12.429 I've seen this before. It's all ready to go. 00:48:12.429 --> 00:48:14.570 They thought they would get the green light back 00:48:14.570 --> 00:48:17.829 in April, but here we are just waiting to see, 00:48:18.010 --> 00:48:20.309 waiting to see. So the Pentagon bureaucracy is 00:48:20.309 --> 00:48:22.909 trying to mess around and delay this plane. The 00:48:22.909 --> 00:48:26.820 Navy really needs it. They've planned for 15 00:48:26.820 --> 00:48:28.460 years. They knew what was coming with China, 00:48:28.480 --> 00:48:31.219 and they've developed the ability to keep the 00:48:31.219 --> 00:48:33.980 carriers relevant with this new plane. And I'm 00:48:33.980 --> 00:48:35.800 hoping we'll see the green light on it soon. 00:48:37.139 --> 00:48:39.980 I guess for our audience to understand that many 00:48:39.980 --> 00:48:43.960 of these weapons systems that we've been talking 00:48:43.960 --> 00:48:48.559 about for the last 30 minutes or so, it takes 00:48:48.559 --> 00:48:52.320 years for them to come to fruition. You just 00:48:52.320 --> 00:48:55.739 can't say, OK, I need a new jet next week. And, 00:48:55.739 --> 00:48:58.539 you know, that's going to happen. And as you 00:48:58.539 --> 00:49:00.820 mentioned, if you got to go through the bureaucracy 00:49:00.820 --> 00:49:03.239 of what's happening, you know, what's going on 00:49:03.239 --> 00:49:05.199 at the Pentagon. And I'm sure that there are 00:49:05.199 --> 00:49:07.440 other different lobbying groups out there that 00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:11.340 say yes and another group says no. And they got 00:49:11.340 --> 00:49:14.579 to work that out. It's amazing they get anything 00:49:14.579 --> 00:49:18.300 done. It is, and this is a little bit of a casualty 00:49:18.300 --> 00:49:21.019 of the new administration kind of trying to figure 00:49:21.019 --> 00:49:24.360 out what they're up to. But take the Ford, which 00:49:24.360 --> 00:49:27.159 is down in the Caribbean, for example. Very capable 00:49:27.159 --> 00:49:30.840 air wing, but it's based around the Super Hornets. 00:49:31.239 --> 00:49:33.380 And those first flew, they first went to the 00:49:33.380 --> 00:49:38.039 Navy in 1999. And the helicopters that she flies 00:49:38.039 --> 00:49:44.360 are nicely updated, MH -60S, MH -60 Romeos. But 00:49:44.360 --> 00:49:47.099 they're Blackhawks, right? And you know, that's 00:49:47.099 --> 00:49:50.739 a 1970s design. Even their airborne early warning 00:49:50.739 --> 00:49:52.480 aircraft, their E2, which carries the little 00:49:52.480 --> 00:49:55.659 radar dome on top and is really tremendous. The 00:49:55.659 --> 00:49:59.380 E2Ds are from about the 2005 -2007 timeframe, 00:49:59.539 --> 00:50:02.400 but the design, again, goes back into the 1960s. 00:50:02.739 --> 00:50:05.119 So every plane on the deck of the USS Gerald 00:50:05.119 --> 00:50:08.400 R. Ford has a design that is decades old. They're 00:50:08.400 --> 00:50:11.179 very capable, but they weren't designed to do 00:50:11.179 --> 00:50:14.619 the long -range mission against China in the 00:50:14.619 --> 00:50:18.940 Pacific. But the secret carrier plane, FA -XX, 00:50:19.280 --> 00:50:22.239 the stingray drone and the long -range missiles 00:50:22.239 --> 00:50:24.500 they were designed for that so they just need 00:50:24.500 --> 00:50:27.039 to get that carrier plane piece and it's ready 00:50:27.039 --> 00:50:29.659 it's flown it's very very secret no one will 00:50:29.659 --> 00:50:31.599 tell you anything about it but it's flown it's 00:50:31.599 --> 00:50:33.719 ready to go it's ready to start into its next 00:50:33.719 --> 00:50:36.420 phase they could have it within a couple years 00:50:36.420 --> 00:50:38.619 if they would give it the green light and i hope 00:50:38.619 --> 00:50:43.619 they do well i hope so i hope so so uh are there 00:50:43.619 --> 00:50:46.039 any one last comment that you would like to make 00:50:46.039 --> 00:50:49.300 or anything you would like to mention Well, I 00:50:49.300 --> 00:50:52.219 just have to say thank you again to all the veterans 00:50:52.219 --> 00:50:55.099 out there. You know, Dale, you and I just marvel 00:50:55.099 --> 00:50:59.019 at the exponential increase in crises around 00:50:59.019 --> 00:51:01.099 the world, and we just wouldn't be able to do 00:51:01.099 --> 00:51:04.480 anything at all if it weren't for our armed forces 00:51:04.480 --> 00:51:07.559 from the Army right through to the Space Force 00:51:07.559 --> 00:51:11.730 guardians, Air Force, Navy, Marines. Coast Guard 00:51:11.730 --> 00:51:14.590 everyone involved in this they are really working 00:51:14.590 --> 00:51:16.829 hard and things are more critical now than ever 00:51:16.829 --> 00:51:19.909 China is a true menace with their allies Russia 00:51:19.909 --> 00:51:22.929 and Iran and so many others and it is our US 00:51:22.929 --> 00:51:27.449 military that is keeping the world safe and Giving 00:51:27.449 --> 00:51:30.329 us and our children and our next generations 00:51:30.329 --> 00:51:33.789 a great chance at the American way of life. I 00:51:33.789 --> 00:51:36.630 Couldn't have said it better. So thank you very 00:51:36.630 --> 00:51:39.090 much. Dr. Grant and we'll have you back at the 00:51:39.090 --> 00:51:41.980 beginning of next year is Hopefully we can figure 00:51:41.980 --> 00:51:45.420 out what's going to happen during 2020. I'm going 00:51:45.420 --> 00:51:50.780 to be 2026 already. Oh, goodness. Anyway, thank 00:51:50.780 --> 00:51:53.320 you so much, Dr. Grant. It's always a pleasure 00:51:53.320 --> 00:51:56.219 to talk to you. And it's so informative, not 00:51:56.219 --> 00:51:59.360 only for me, but also for our audience. And we'll 00:51:59.360 --> 00:52:02.079 be talking and being in touch with you sometime 00:52:02.079 --> 00:52:05.219 in the near future. I love Veterans Radio. Thank 00:52:05.219 --> 00:52:08.329 you. How about that? She loves us. Well, we love 00:52:08.329 --> 00:52:11.530 Dr. Grant, too. She explains everything so clearly. 00:52:11.969 --> 00:52:14.130 Maybe we can convince her to run for president 00:52:14.130 --> 00:52:17.909 someday. Veterans Radio is now into its 23rd 00:52:17.909 --> 00:52:20.349 year, and I have to think that we are one of 00:52:20.349 --> 00:52:22.929 the longest -running radio programs dedicated 00:52:22.929 --> 00:52:26.050 to the telling the stories of America's military. 00:52:26.750 --> 00:52:29.469 So go to our website, veteransradio .org, and 00:52:29.469 --> 00:52:32.710 check out our over 1 ,100 programs archive there. 00:52:33.159 --> 00:52:35.599 You can also listen to Veterans Radio anytime 00:52:35.599 --> 00:52:39.260 you want on your favorite podcast platform. Follow 00:52:39.260 --> 00:52:43.000 us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, whatever 00:52:43.000 --> 00:52:46.260 else is out there, we're on it. If you like what 00:52:46.260 --> 00:52:49.059 you hear, please make a donation. Go to our website 00:52:49.059 --> 00:52:52.559 again, veteransradio .org, and click on the donate 00:52:52.559 --> 00:52:55.380 button. Veterans Radio is a production of Veterans 00:52:55.380 --> 00:52:59.460 Radio America, a 501C3 non -profit corporation. 00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:03.440 If you have a story idea, let me know. Send me 00:53:03.440 --> 00:53:07.719 an email that's to me, dale, at veteransradio 00:53:07.719 --> 00:53:10.920 .org. Finally, today we are going to go out on 00:53:10.920 --> 00:53:13.840 our favorite song, God Bless America. This version 00:53:13.840 --> 00:53:19.320 today is by the Brothers of the Heart. Until 00:53:19.320 --> 00:53:21.619 next time, this is Dale Thromberry for all of 00:53:21.619 --> 00:53:24.500 us here at Veterans Radio, wishing you and yours 00:53:24.500 --> 00:53:28.579 a very happy Thanksgiving. You are dismissed. 00:53:35.769 --> 00:53:49.329 God bless America Land that I love Stand beside 00:53:49.329 --> 00:53:56.809 her and guide her Through the night with the 00:53:56.809 --> 00:54:14.190 light from above To the oceans white with foam 00:54:14.190 --> 00:54:29.329 God bless America, my home sweet Home, God bless 00:54:29.329 --> 00:55:19.320 America, my home sweet more space. Grace on thee. 00:56:02.510 --> 00:56:04.050 White with no