Episode 5236: War With Iran Enters Fourth Week

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Bannon’s War Room – Episode 5236

Title: War With Iran Enters Fourth Week
Date: March 22, 2026
Host: Stephen K. Bannon
Key Guests: Admiral Gary Hall, Cleo Paskal, Israeli Officials, WarRoom Contributors

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Overview

This episode of Bannon's War Room provides an in-depth, real-time analysis as the fourth week of the US-Israel conflict with Iran escalates. The hosts and guests dissect President Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum to Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz, the risks and implications of potential US amphibious assaults, Israeli responses to Iranian attacks, NATO’s limited role, and the broader geopolitical context, including Chinese maneuvering in the Pacific.

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Main Discussion Points

1. President Trump’s 48-Hour Ultimatum to Iran

• Trump's Post on Truth Social:
  “If Iran doesn’t fully open without threat, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first.” (A, 00:00)
• Panel’s Reaction:
  • Skepticism regarding the administration's grasp of the consequences and lack of a coherent endgame.
  • “These threats seem to be coming hourly and scattershot … do they even know what they’re doing?” (B, 00:18)
  • The Strait of Hormuz is critical despite previous US claims of energy independence.

2. War Aims, Leverage, and the Vicious Cycle

• US Strategy Critique:
  • Ongoing bombing of Iranian infrastructure while easing sanctions creates a cycle with limited effectiveness.
  • Concerns for the safety of US servicemembers and civilians in the region.
  • “At this point, we are essentially funding a war against ourselves.” (A, 01:49)
• Complexity of Ending the War:
  • Unilateral decision by Trump to “end” the war deemed impossible; Iran still holds significant leverage. (A, 02:28)
  • Desperation could lead Iran to unpredictable escalations.

3. International Involvement and Escalation Potential

• Allied Contributions and Limitations:
  • Some European and Gulf nations have allowed broader US use of bases and might participate in strikes, but are unlikely to provide major naval support due to capability constraints and risk aversion. (C, 03:13)

4. Israeli Response and Objectives

• Summary by Israeli Official (Prime Minister/Spokesperson):
  • Outlines four recent Iranian escalations including strikes near Jerusalem's holy sites and a ballistic missile aimed at Diego Garcia (D, 04:06).
  • Emphasizes working “together” with US and urges global action:
    “President Trump’s call to have the international community confront this terrorist fanatic regime of zealots, that is a call not only for the security of America and the security of Israel, it’s for the security of the entire world.” (D, 05:30)
• On Israel’s “Victory”:
  • The aim is to shatter Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and foster regime change through internal unrest. (D, 06:17)

5. Potential US Seizure of Kharg Island

• Military Analysis:
  • Kharg Island seizure is discussed as an option, but panelists and Admiral Hall warn of “very high risk, high costs, and very little upside potential.”
    “Even if forces were able to come onto the island, they would be subject to drone attacks and artillery fire. So there’s no assurance here that that would be a successful operation.” (C, 07:45)
  • It would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and could result in significant US casualties.

6. Fraying US-Israeli Coordination and the Qatar Gas Field Incident

• Kerfuffle Over Gas Field Bombing:
  • Israel’s unilateral strike on an Iranian-Qatari gas field, despite US objections, triggered European and Qatari energy crisis concerns and further escalated conflict.
  • “It’s not a kerfuffle, it’s an outright … Israelis in a joint unified command decided to do their own thing against a standing order from the President…” (F, 11:55)
• Broader Implications:
  • Further risk to global energy supplies; missile exchanges intensify.

7. Amphibious and Naval Operations – Practical and Historical Perspective

• Military Perspectives:
  • Admiral Gary Hall discusses the modern mechanics and risks of amphibious operations in the Persian Gulf.
  • Highlights need for air and naval superiority prior to any landing and stresses the versatility/power of US Marine Expeditionary Units.
    • “They bring command and control, they bring air power, they bring ground power, and they bring logistics.” (G, 21:34)
  • Historical comparison to Alexander the Great’s retreat, drawing lessons about logistics and overreach. (F, 15:06)
• Timing and Readiness:
  • Amphibious ready groups are still en route, reflecting a potentially more deliberate approach to large-scale ground operations. (G, 31:20)

8. NATO’s Limitations and Japan’s Distinct Role

• NATO Readiness Critique:
  • Admiral Hall calls NATO “a paper tiger” and highlights its limited ability to project meaningful naval power without US leadership:
    “The combat readiness comes from national forces, not from NATO forces… When I left there, I took command of amphibious Strike Group 2 … that was larger than the British Navy…” (G, 34:49)
• Reliance on Japan:
  • Suggests Japan’s navy is more reliable than European navies for possible post-US escort duties in the Strait, but stresses US force would be needed for the hard part.

9. Red Sea Threats and Houthi Capabilities

• Summer Fight with Houthis:
  • The Houthis are described as skilled fighters who have successfully challenged several regional and global navies in the Red Sea; European navies provided minimal support during US operations there. (F, 35:24)
• Limited Prospects for Handing Off Security:
  • Even combined NATO/EU/Japanese/Chinese forces unlikely to keep the Strait of Hormuz open without prior US action.

10. Diego Garcia and UK Asset Vulnerability

• Iranian Ballistic Missiles Extend the Conflict:
  • Iranian missile fired at Diego Garcia (US/UK base in the Indian Ocean); indicated growing Iranian reach and escalation risk. (H, 44:26)
• UK Security and Chinese Penetration Risks:
  • Drones struck UK bases in Cyprus, raising questions about the reliability and security of UK assets.
  • Chinese influence and potential espionage in the UK, including suspected infiltration and infrastructure investments, add a layer of insecurity. (H, 46:22)
• China’s Activity in the Pacific:
  • Ongoing Chinese infrastructure work in Yap and other Pacific islands is viewed as a move to bolster long-term logistical and military influence. (H, 46:47)
  • Quote: “Everything, everything we’ve spoken about – the islands, Diego Garcia, what’s happening in Cyprus – this is all logistics… And unless we can kind of do a proper assessment and regain control on the logistics, which is where the Chinese are trying to cut off the US, […] they’re looking at the same map.” (H, 48:20)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Escalation & Uncertainty:
  “Do they even know what they’re doing?... When you have a president who uses smoke and mirrors, who obfuscates, who lies…” (B, 00:18)
• On Iranian Threats:
  “Third, they fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Diego Garcia. That’s 4,000 kilometers. I’ve been warning all the time. They have now the capacity to reach deep into Europe.” (D, 04:48)
• On Naval and Amphibious Operations:
  “There’s no beach beyond our reach.” (G, 23:57)
• On NATO:
  “They’re a paper tiger. And so my job, I want to go back in time … as far as fighting capability, limited fighting capability, little ability to deploy forces.” (G, 34:49)
• On the China Threat:
  “They do the relationship mapping, figure out who they can buy, who they can influence, and they’re settling in for the long run.” (H, 47:13)

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Content Summary | |-----------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Opening & Truth Social Ultimatum | Trump’s 48-hour threat to Iran | | 04:06 | Israeli PM/Rep Statement | Iran’s escalations, global threat, coordination | | 07:45 | Kharg Island Option | Amphibious assault pros/cons, high risk, limited gains | | 11:55 | Israel-Qatar Gas Field Incident Footnote | Escalation over joint command breakdown | | 15:06 | Historical Parallel: Alexander the Great | Logistics lessons from ancient campaigns | | 21:34 | Adm. Gary Hall on Amphibious Ops | Capabilities of US Marine Expeditionary Units | | 32:56 | NATO Critique | Inability to operate independent of US; “paper tiger” | | 37:06 | Red Sea & Houthi Challenge | Difficulty of allies replacing US navy | | 44:26 | Diego Garcia & UK Vulnerabilities | Iranian strike, asset vulnerabilities, Chinese risk | | 46:47 | Chinese Operations in Yap & Pacific | Long-term geostrategy and logistics | | 48:20 | Long-term Logistical Contest | China’s plan to control logistics lines |

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Tone and Style

• Conversation is urgent, often skeptical or critical of US and allied leadership.
• Presentation frequently weaves current events with historical analogies (e.g., Alexander the Great).
• Technical and operational depth, especially in discussions with military guests.
• Frequent attribution of quotes and perspectives to specific contributors and officials.

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Conclusion

The episode delivers a sobering, multifaceted analysis of the ongoing Iran war: from the brinkmanship of President Trump’s ultimatum to allied indecision, the operational dangers of direct military engagement, the limits of NATO and European help, and the expanding global implications—including Chinese and regional maneuvering. Guests emphasize that, while US military prowess remains unequaled, strategic miscalculations, alliance weakness, and long-term logistics confront the West with daunting challenges as the conflict threatens to spiral further.

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Transcript

[A]

Tonight, in a post on Truth Social, he wrote, quote, if Iran doesn't fully open without threat, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first.

[B]

Obliterate. Exactly. And obliterate. We know how obliterate went when was a few. A few months ago. These threats seem to be coming hourly and scattershot. Pardon the, Pardon the analogy from this president, which makes me wonder still, as I was thundering yesterday, do they even know what they're doing? I think the thing that there's a lot of interesting things in this post, but he has said over and over, we don't need the Strait of Hormuz. Everything's fine. So why is he so angry that it's closed? Because the truth is we do need it. The United States, everybody in the world uses it in some way, shape or form. And so when you have a president who uses smoke and mirrors, who obfuscates, who lies, who allies and adversaries can't actually understand what you want or what you're thinking about or what you might do, who knows what this 48 hours means? He loves, he loves to throw out a time, 48 hours, two weeks, within the next two weeks.

[A]

At the same time, at this point, we are essentially funding a war against ourself as we seized Iranian civil war, sanctions. And so the more we continue to bomb out their infrastructure, whether it's energy, oil, all, anything that is coming out of that area, but continue to ease sanctions and try to alleviate some of the economic pressures happening. It's, it's a, it is a, it is a vicious cycle here.

[B]

And it's putting, it's putting our, putting our service members who are there and the others who are steaming their way there in danger and the Americans that live in the region. Right. And not to mention everybody else in the Middle East. Right.

[A]

And the one thing that I feel like all of us keep hearing on the show and off the show is just that Trump cannot unilaterally decide that this war is over. That takes multiple parties at this point. And Iran sees what is going on now as they're the sole leverage that they have left, and that is all all lies in mucking up what's going on in the Strait of Hormuz. And I think even if he decided he wanted to end this tomorrow, that's. I'm not sure that's an option anymore.

[B]

You have weeks or possibly months of impact, and Also, when, when countries are desperate, when human beings are desperate, they act in certain ways. And so what we're seeing in the straight of Hormuz, what Iran might do if Donald Trump goes through with this threat, Iran, again, like you said, has a vote. But most importantly, when they're desperate, they might do things that we haven't even thought of at this point.

[C]

An increasing number of countries are starting to see their own interests at stake here and are starting to think about what they can do to contribute to efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and to protect their own national interests. However, they're limited, really, in the capabilities that they can offer. So we've already seen the UK and other countries expand access for the United States to use their bases in, in more ways. And there's some talk among states in the Gulf, as well as the UK of potentially contributing to US And Israeli offensive strikes on Iran. And so that's something that we could see in the next couple of days, which would be yet another escalatory step. But as far as these countries contributing naval capabilities for some kind of effort to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, I see that as very unlikely, just given the constraints on their capabilities and their historic unwillingness to take on the types of risk that type of operation

[D]

would involve, that Iran endangers the entire world. The last 48 hours, the last 48 hours, Iran targeted a civilian area. They're doing that as a mass murder weapon. Luckily, no one was killed, but that's due to luck, not their intention. Their intention is to murder civilians. Second, they are using. They fired on Jerusalem, right next to the holy sites of the three monotheistic faiths, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Al Aqsa Mosque. And by dint of a miracle, again, none of them were hurt, but they were targeting the holy sites of the three major monotheistic religions. Third, they fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Diego Garcia. That's 4,000 kilometers. I've been warning all the time. They have now the capacity to reach deep into Europe. They already have fired on European country, Cyprus. They are putting everyone in their sights. And fourth, they're stopping a maritime international route, energy route, and trying to blackmail the entire world. What more proof do you need that this regime that threatens the entire world has to be stopped? Israel and the United States are working together for the entire world. And it's time to see the leaders of the rest of the countries join up. I'm happy to say that I can See some of them beginning to move in that direction. But more is needed. President Trump's call to have the international community confront this terrorist fanatic regime of zealots, that is a call not only for the security of America and the security of Israel, it's for the security of the entire world. And it's time for them to act.

[E]

Sir, what will your response be to this attack on Israeli civilians?

[D]

We're responding with great force, but not on civilians. We're going after the regime. We're going after the irgc, this criminal gang, and we're going after them personally, their leaders, their installations, their economic assets. We're going after them very strongly.

[E]

What does victory look like in this campaign?

[D]

Well, we've defined two clear goals. One is to break completely their nuclear program, break completely their missile program, break completely their capacity to produce the components for both of these programs. We're well on our way on achieving it. We've also set a goal of creating conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow this tyranny that has tormented them and made life miserable and is making life miserable for the entire world. And I hope we achieve that, too.

[E]

Overnight, President Trump said that if in 48 hours, the Iranians don't open the Strait of Hormuz, that there will be strikes against the power grids in Iran. Will you participate in those strikes? And what do you think should happen next in this campaign?

[D]

I think President Trump knows exactly what he's doing, and whatever we do, we do together and as far as possible, in confidence.

[E]

As the Prime Minister was leaving, I asked him about President Trump, and he talked about the great relationship that these two leaders have amid Operation Epic Fury. The operation has now entered week four, and we do anticipate heavier strikes against the Iranian regime in the hours and days ahead.

[A]

And a lot has been discussed this week about whether the US Would take Carg Island. The President, United States has expressed an interest in doing so. What would happen if that were to take place, and what does that mean exactly?

[C]

Well, that does seem to be one possible option that the Pentagon and the White House are considering. And it's something that the Marines that are on their way to the region could potentially participate in. It's something that they would be trained for, an amphibious type operation. However, it will be very high risk and would likely involve significant U.S. casualties for very low gains. I think the strategy here is that if the United States were able to seize this island, which would significantly reduce Iran's ability to export oil, it would be an economic shock to Iran that would limit its ability to continue fighting. But there's a few problems with that, that logic. The first is it assumes the US Operation will be successful, and there's definitely no guarantee of that. Amphibious operations are very difficult. And even if forces were able to come on to the island, they would be subject to drone attacks and artillery fire. So there's no assurance here that that would be a successful operation. Even if they did that, it would do nothing to reopen the strait forcibly. It's not the right location for that. And right now, Iran's strategy is very low cost. It does not need a lot of revenue to fire a few dozen drones and missiles to keep the strait closed and to keep the pressure on the Gulf states and the United States. So I guess I see this as a very bad option. It has very high risk, high costs, and very little upside potential, in my view.

[F]

Walapa walayata

[E]

wata basal Kabul.

[A]

I want to drill down on the sort of the end game here. There was a bit of a kerfuffle, I would say, at this past week between the US And Israel over Israel bombing natural gas fields. Prime Minister Netanyahu came out and said very clearly that President Trump is the quote leader and he is the quote ally. So what will Israel do when the leader, the US President Trump, says this war is over? Will Israel also stop the war?

[E]

Dana, you know, we've planned this operation together, we're implementing it together. There's never been a precedent of such collaboration between two militaries. And putting an emphasis on what you call a kerfuffle, I think is putting emphasis in the wrong place every day,

[F]

every hour of the day.

[A]

My emphasis is on how it's going to end. Well, I know that you've moved past that.

[E]

You know when it ends, it's going to end, as President Trump and Prime Minister have said, where. There is not an entity in Tehran that's going to threaten the region. Now, if that's going to be brought about by this regime having a change of heart, heart to imagine, but going on the assumption that that happens, then it'll take place that way. Probably it's going to take place because the Iranian people have had enough. They try to raise up. Last month they were brutally put down. I think that we need boots on the ground, but they've got to be Iranian boots. And I think they're coming.

[A]

How so?

[E]

Because the people. There's a, there's a point of combustion. Look, nobody knew when the Soviet Union would collapse. Nobody knew when the Romanians would turn their guns against their Ceausesco government. But it happened at some point and if we degrade them enough, the people of Iran are going to say we've had enough and we want a different regime.

[F]

Sunday, the 22nd of March in the year of our Lord 2024, they kind of complexion of this war has changed I think over the last 24 hours and the next 48 hours I would say would be another inflection point right there. The Israeli ambassador to the United States and Dana Bash. It's not a kerfuffle, it's an outright second time. And this is what's gotten us in the last 72 hours in this kind of jam. With no off ramp, once again the Israelis in a joint unified command decided to do their own thing against a standing order from the President of the United States which was attack this oil and gas, gas field jointly owned by the Iranians and the Qataris, managed by the Qataris. The Qataris are saying took out 17% of their capacity for LNG and it's LED them to threaten, I don't think they've technically done it. Force majeure on five year contracts for gas for principally European countries, I believe some Asian. And now in the last 24 hours there's been basically a knockdown, drag out ballistic missiles fired at a ballistic missile fired at Diego Garcia. Cleo Pascal will be here for that. The Israelis trying to hit I think the potential nuclear facility. The Iranians, the Iranians striking back with a, with a horrific attack on the Israelis. President Trump at first saying hey, you know, pox on all your houses. We've taken care of what we've taken care of. CENTCOM and the joint staff has told us that we've degraded, defanged, declawed. We're going to do a little bit more of this and then we're out of here. And Hormuz and keeping it open is your problem. Whoever uses it, Asia, the Asian countries and the European countries, it's your problem. Then yesterday Dublin down said he's giving him a 48 hour ultimatum and that would approximately be 4:45pm Eastern Daylight Time tomorrow if we're basing upon the true social posts. And President Trump said, hey, mark the time right now that they've got to open up to all shipping to all shipping or suffer the consequences of he will take out, he will call for strikes to take out their entire electric grid. This continues to get ratcheted up every moment of every day. We've got Admiral Gary hall who used to be the commanding officer Once the commanding officer of the USS Tarawa, which is what the Tripoli is, same class of ship. Also was a special assistant to the President, United States and the White House and National Security Council about alliances, particularly NATO. He'll join us. Cleo Pascal, Rabbi Wlicki from Jerusalem, all of it. Next in the wor,

[E]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[F]

And I think I'll be prepared, I don't know, Monday or Tuesday to go into this more, but I was thinking over the weekend that one of the other great strategists, maybe arguably the greatest strategist and field commander combined in history, Alexander the Great, had this issue about the same part of the world in 324 BC, in a retreat from India, maybe a strategic repositioning, I think they would call it, he and his generals the war council. Because the Macedonians and Greeks, as hard as they were, as tough as they were going from Greece through Persia, all the way through the Khyber Pass into India, I think all the way to the Indus river, maybe beyond, they decided maybe we've gone too far from our logistics chain and maybe it's time we go back. And this concept was, hey, maybe we go back and we'll go back to Babylon, right? That's the nicest place. And we'll regroup and we'll rethink. And if you want to be the king of Asia, maybe we go back to Egypt and North Africa and we do the whole thing, and then you can call yourself the king of Asia all the way from where we touched India all the way back through it at around this time in 324 BC. Think about that. 2300 years ago, 2300 years ago, probably the greatest expeditionary force, at least from the West. I realized Genghis Khan and these guys were too shabby coming from the east, but the greatest expeditionary force to ever exist in the West. And really, although they were mainly Macedonians, they had enough Greek to be the foundational pillar of democracy and debate. They had the same dilemma, the same exact dilemma. They were on the retreat. They decided it was going to be too hard, too tough to take the entire army and march it back through Persia, that what they were going to do is go along the coast of what they called the Indian Sea, but really the North Arabian Sea Sea. And because the Arabs weren't really a thing then, weren't really a known entity, and they were going to put into a fleet, a fleet that would be just off the coast in the North Arabian Sea and would head through, wait for it, the Strait of Hormuz and go all the way up past Carg island, all the way up past those gas fields which obviously back then no one knew about the wealth and how that would drive the modern industrial society. They would go to the. To essentially Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates, and they would take as many vessels as they could up to Babylon. And then the army would. Would disembark and march up there and his army would go through the Greek capital, visit the tomb of. Of Cyrus the Great. But they would trail him on the coast, the same exact coast. And when you read the Greek historians that gave the eyewitnesses account of that, it was. Although they weren't fighting the entire way, they had fought all the way over there. But coming back, patriarchal, particularly in that part, it was absolutely brutal. Why? The land there is like the surface of the moon. I got the photos. Maybe I'll show them here in a few minutes about the coastline. It was not easy then. And these were pretty tough hombres. 2300 years ago, the greatest probably military genius of the West. Greater than Caesar, greater than Napoleon. Alexander the Great, in fact, the one from Caesar to Mark Anthony to Napoleon to all of them used as the template. In fact, there were many stories about what Caesar went to the. When he was in Egypt, went to the tomb of Alexander the Great. The Cleopatra saw him and he wheat and he wept because Alexander had done by the age of 31, 32, 33, what Caesar had not accomplished in his 50s going through the same logistics problem. It's quite ironic and I think there's a lot we can learn from the Greeks and a lot we can learn from those men about exactly what we're biting off here, exactly what this has got to be thought through with all the modern technology and everything going on, warriors are still warriors. So this got to be thought through. We got a lot of. I got Admiral Hall, Admiral Gary Hall. And the reason I asked you here today, Admiral, thank you for doing it, to change your Sunday plans to join us, is that you were the commanding officer of the USS Tarawa, which is the same class as the Tripoli. You obviously, as an aviator, and they do have. I think aviators are always the commanding officers of those amphibious. Because of the central mission of the air assets in support of amphibious operations, as these. As one from the Tripoli from Japan, and now the USS Boxer, I think from San Diego, I think we'll have a combination of around 5,000 fleet marines, amphibious force. It could be up to 5,000 men and more could be put in there. I think the 82nd Airborne elements, the 82nd Airborne, have been put on notice. Just what is the thinking right now of CENTCOM specifically, as President Trump has kind of given this ultimatum that the Iranians either keep free navigation of the Strait of Hormuz by roughly five o' clock tomorrow afternoon, Eastern Daylight Time, or he's going to unleash hell on their assets. Clearly one of the capabilities that people will be looking for and maybe executing the president's plan is an amphibious operation on the islands in the coast right there at Hormuz, which the Greeks had to deal with, plus Carg Island. Just walk us through what centcom, Admiral Cooper and people like you on that staff. I might add also that Admiral hall was on the staff in the first term of the Trump administration as an assistant to really take being in charge of for the President, our alliances and particularly NATO. We'll get to that in a moment. But right now, for the amphibious part of it, what are people thinking of?

[G]

Well, first of all, Steve, it's great to be back with you in the war room. I think, of course, of Dr. Strange. Love that there's no fighting here in the war room. But when it comes to the amphibious ready groups, three ships, 25, 100 marines, a couple about 1500 sailors, they come with a great capability. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is special operations capable. And I think CENTCOM thinks of them as, as well as Fifth Fleet as a Swiss army knife. They can do anything. They bring command and control, they bring air power, they bring ground power, and they bring logistics. They're qualified for 20 plus special operations missions. They can do anything from humanitarian operations to rescue, recovery, or taking a small island and defending it. So I think it gives us great capability. And with two amphibious ready groups, the Triple A and the Boxer, that's going to be great combat power. And I think it just gives you a great capability. The Strait of Hormuz, you know, is more than just oil, it's commerce. It's also signaling that we have freedom of navigation and that we're in control, which brings stability throughout the world.

[F]

The amphibious operations in World War II, which I think are a good benchmark for things, is it not a not assumption, but is it not a part, when you're looking at semcom's looking at this, that one of the key elements is obviously air superiority or air supremacy, but just as important is naval superiority. Naval supremacy. Do we have to essentially have some sort of naval dominance around, you know, the Gulf of Roman? What leads into Hormuz Hormuz itself and then up to, because there's these islands off of the coast of Iran right there that look like they have to be seized. That's one of the reasons that they're getting pounded right there on the coastline, pounded with these bunker busting bombs because it looks like they've got elements dug in there. But do you have to actually get naval forces not as escorts for tankers, but actually in there to get naval supremacy to make sure the speedboats can't come and everything like that before you launch, or can you actually launch with the helicopters back off in the Gulf of Oman?

[G]

Yes. So consider defense in depth. And we want those naval surface ships like you served on to provide anti missile defense, anti surface defense. And so the Gulf of Oman is the doormat. Straits of Hormuz is the gate to the North Arabian Gulf. So could we go from the Gulf of Oman? Yes. And so basically it's not so much helicopters now, but V stall, the V22, which has, you know, capability of traveling at, you know, over 300 to 400 knots, can carry marines and get them provide both helicopter like capabilities as long as well as fixed wing capabilities. So yeah, there's no beach beyond our reach, as we like to say. And World War II, what would you say, Private? Now if you think about World War II amphibious operations, completely different. They didn't have the same capabilities we have today. And it was, you know, against tremendous opposition where right now we're looking at, you know, drones or missile attack. I think our naval capabilities, you know, our goal has always been if there's a naval engagement with Iran, it's we're going to sink everybody in their port. And that's pretty much what we've done.

[F]

Admiral, can you hang on? I want to, I want to a few more questions on this to get make sure people understand what's being planned for. And they're doing a lot of planning and getting and putting capabilities. They haven't pulled the trigger yet on an amphibious or air assault, but they're certainly as Admiral Cooper and General Kane want to make sure they got every capability in case the commander in chief pulls the trigger. They're going to have to, they're going to have a lot of amphibious capabilities. Also. The President the other day said, hey look, we've, you know, if you follow Captain Funnell, we've defanged and declawed him, maybe not perfectly, but enough and we'll do a little bit more. But the Strait of Hormuz and coming in and out of the Persian Gulf should be the countries that really use it. That would be the flags of Asia, Japan and the Chinese, Chinese Communist Party, plus our European allies. Also, the wild card in this is the Houthis, who gave as good as they got back in the summer against the United States Navy in the was it the Gate of Tears down there in the Red Sea is, I don't know, 10 times more lethal than straight of Horus, leads right to the Suez Canal. We'll talk about all of that. Gold had its worst week in 43 years. Find out Philip Patrick's going to be with us tomorrow. Make sure you get access to him. Take your front text Bannon B A N N O N 989-898 get the ultimate guide totally free, no obligation of investing in gold and precious metals in the age of Trump. Plus access to Philip Patrick and his team. Short commercial break Back in a moment.

[E]

War Room here's your host, Stephen K. Banner.

[F]

So, Admiral, and I'm not trying to put you on the spot, although you're an old and dear friend, so I'll put you on the spot. The full disclosure, Admiral hall was my kid brother's I guess you were the senior stick, you were the you were the plane, the lamps pilot. Commander My kid brother was your was your co pilot for many, many years and learned to be a great pilot under your mentorship. You were known as a great pilot, but you've done as you went up in in rank and became one of the rare helicopter pilots that makes admirals. One of the things you did was you were a great briefer, thinking through problems and briefing. That's why you were over, that's why you were at the White House in the Trump first term and particularly given, quite frankly, something that became a flash, a hot flashpoint, the NATO situation. If you were with Admiral Cooper today and the President kind of calls in from Mar a Lago, give the audience one or two minutes of the pros and cons because you got to understand the risk and how to mitigate it. The pros and cons for the President to get a framework for thinking about a potential amphibious assault onto Kharg island to basically seize control of seize control of the Iranians capacity to actually get their oil out and monetize it. Sir okay.

[G]

Well, first of all, you know, I remember CENTCOM when I was involved with CENTCOM at the beginning of OEF talk, we have to take data, turn it into information to facilitate a conversation in order to make a great decision. And I think we have the data in Our intel.

[F]

You were, you were, you were at centcom. You were at, you were at Sun. You were at CENTCOM with Tommy Franks in the, in the, in the march up to Baghdad. Correct. In fact, you were in charge of psyops at the time.

[G]

You, you information.

[F]

The.

[G]

Yeah, I dropped 40 million leaflets into Iraq. We did the radio broadcasting in Tyraq. I think we saved a, a lot of lives and saved a lot of the infrastructure. We did computer network attack and computer network defense. So it laid the groundwork for the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. So I think we have the intel and also the, the amphibious ready groups, the Tripoli and the Boxer have superior, extremely classified intelligence gathering capability in sensors. So we control the electronic communications environment. So I think you know that at CENTCOM at 5th Fleet, they're going to be deciding do we have control of the air, do we have control of the sea? What is the latest intel on the infrastructure at Carg Island. And then we do massive briefs and rely on our training. So I think it's very capable that we could take secure that island, defend that island and secure the infrastructure. But it would be great deal of planning.

[F]

But go ahead, go ahead. No, go ahead, sir.

[G]

No. The muse, they've gone through this training to get certified to deploy. We spend more time training than we do deployed. And even I was talking to your little brother and we talked about, you know, the training that makes all our operations capable and how it lasts throughout our, our lives. So I think the Marines and when you have two amphibious ready groups, that's going to be a tremendous power if needed or even.

[F]

Does it, does it surprise, does it surprise you? Does this surprise you, given the centrality? Because this is clause of it says the center of gravity of this battle is not Tehran. The center gravity battle is the Persian Gulf. Understanding that and understanding that CENTCOM understood it and the Joint Staff understood it and Fifth Fleet understood it and the chief naval Operations understood it. Does it surprise you that we're on day 19 is actually when the Tripoli got underway. In day 20 is when the Boxer got underway. Because they're not going to be there for what, a week or so. So if you want to use this capacity, you want to have this capability, it's not on, it's not on station, sir.

[G]

Well, I think that showed, you know, as I thought about that having traveled boxers route to the Persian Gulf, it literally takes, you know, if they go optimum speed, it's going to take three and a half weeks to get there. So I think that this is a tempered Approach that maybe you want to put that, those ready groups in there for phase four of the operation where they're capabilities that can be moved in and out of the Gulf as needed. So I look at it based on the timing that it takes to get there, that they're used for the end state of the operation.

[F]

Let's pivot. And I want to get George Papadopoulos. I'm going to get George into this conversation too. I want to talk about, and maybe Cleo, NATO. You were on the President, you were on the National Security Council in charge of a hot potato NATO back then when the President was saying, hey look guys, you got to get to 2%. And I want a real 2%. I don't want, you know, women's health care. I don't want climate change. I don't want all of it. Your assessment at the time was that NATO was not a real, basically a functioning alliance because the politicians just wouldn't put the money into interoperability, into maneuvers, into equipment. That this was really on paper an alliance, but it actually didn't work day to day as an alliance. Was that I just want to make sure I'm not miscommunicating that. Was that essentially your position at the time?

[G]

That was my position while on the National Security Council. But also, Steve, I spent two and a half years at NATO Northwood in the Maritime Component Command as the Assistant Chief of Staff of Operations. And so during that time, you know, yes, we throw great parties, we have a lot of fun, but even something is planning the summer picnic. All the NATO nations shuffled their feet, waited for the United States to say, okay, we'll take charge of it. So they had a small standing naval destroyer group in the Mediterranean and a small anti mine group, you know, in the Black Sea, but very little capability. In fact, we came up with the idea of a Naval Quick Reaction Force and we would exercise it. We would have countries sign up per quarter. So we would have four functional naval Quick reaction forces in one quarter of the annual calendar year. We would deploy those forces. Well, guess what? No NATO nation signed up for the quarter where we were going to deploy. And so the United States took that. So they're, they're very fickle force. They love to talk about the alliance and how important it is. But the combat readiness comes from national forces, not from NATO forces. And the other concern when I was there was can we keep up with the communication in information operations with the United States? They're, you know, when they spend all their money on social programs and not on defense, they couldn't keep up with the technology. Simple, basic radio communications. So, yeah, they're. They're a paper tiger. And so my job, I want to go back in time.

[F]

I was. Yeah, keep going, keep going.

[G]

No, I was told by the Chief of Naval Operations, your job at NATO is to understand NATO so you can teach us all what NATO is. And again, as far as fighting capability, limited fighting capability, little ability to deploy forces. When I left there, I took command of amphibious Strike Group 2, and I had 26 ships and 16,000 sailors under my command that was larger than the British Navy, you know, and Britannia once ruled the seas. So it's. NATO is not what Americans think it is. It's. Yeah, its staffs.

[F]

I think we. We got to have. We got to have you back during the week in more detail. But I want to go back to the summer in the Red Sea, because the Red Sea, that gate of tears that get you into the Red Sea. I think from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea and then up to the Suez Canal. 95% of what goes through there is for Europe during the summer. It had to be an American carrier strike group down there fighting the Houthis. And folks don't discount the Houthis because they're a bunch of tribesmen in the mountains. They're kind of. They got. They got the. They're born fighting like the Scotch Irish. These are tough guys that have beaten the Egyptians. The British, they're just tough. They beat that. They beat uae, the Saudis, nobody's ever really been to get. And the reason is they just fight to the end, and they're very savvy, and they. They gave as good as they got with the United States Navy last summer. And I kept screaming and screaming. I think the British eventually sent a frigate and the French sent a corvette and the Italians sent a supply ship, and that was about it. Right now, when the President of the United States says, hey, look, we've done what we're going to do, and I'm going to have Cooper and Kaine is going to defang and declaw for another week or two, but we're out of here. And if you use the Strait of Hormuz, that's your problem, and you guys got to go in and keep it open. What is the possibility of that being a reality with the combined navies of NATO? Let's throw in the Japanese and maybe even give the pla, the People's Liberation Navy. Is there any combination thereof that could actually take the place of the United States Navy to practically keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

[G]

Yeah, Hope is not a plan of action, but I would rely more on Japan's capable navy than some of the Europeans to get there. If you Remember back in 2007, the British sailors were captured by Iranians and it was a whole, you know, Keystone Cop operation. So they're, they're not as capable as they used to be. But I think once we finish up here, it should be a simple process to keep the strait open using European naval forces in. But I would rely on Japan. I think they have the capability, the training, the discipline to maintain the straits open.

[F]

So when you say clean up, you mean after we've, are you saying, hey, after we go into phase four or whatever this phases is that we've actually taken Carg island, when we've secured the perimeter of the Persian Gulf, even if we have to take a beachhead on, on southern Iran, and if we've got Kharg island at that time, you think we could turn over escort duty to the Europeans and to the Japanese to escort the tankers in and out? Or is there some, is there something we can do beforehand, like President Trump originally said to kind of walk away and toss it to him?

[G]

Well, I think as we get, as we wind down this, that it's not that difficult to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. I've been through that Strait of Hormuz dozens upon dozens of time, both in daylight, at nighttime, in all sorts of conditions. And so I think right now, just based on industry and insurance rates and things like that, everybody's being super cautious. But I don't think it's going to take a lot of military power to maintain the straits open so that there's a free freedom of navigation and that shipping can flow freely.

[F]

Fantastic. Good, good report. Look forward to talking to you in the next couple of days, particularly as President Trump's got this ultimatum for 4:45 Eastern Daylight Time on Monday. Of course, we know that the Iranians are reaching out to people to try to negotiate. Admiral hall, do you have social media that could people go and get your website somewhere where they can track you down?

[G]

Well, if you want to see my live streaming of my podcast or live streaming of Once a month, we pray a rosary for our classmates in need of healing power. In fact, we've included your brother there on YouTube. I'm the Admiral's Almanac, and if you want to communicate with me, you can go to Instagram. Gary Hall, 76. So that's how you can get a hold of me. Not, not a big social media presence but I do have a couple of podcasts, a radio show on Catholic Radio Network. Crazy stuff.

[F]

Thank you Admiral. Appreciate you particularly change it particularly change around your Sunday to join us. Admiral Gary Hall. Pretty good track record. Amphibious ready group, NATO. The NATO naval aspect of it on the president's staff. All of it right there. Okay, we're going to take a short commercial break. Once again I want to thank our sponsor, one of our sponsors, Birch Gold into the Dollar Empire is now available in hard copy. If you so desire birchgold.com promo code Bannon you get access online totally free. The eighth installment's coming out. Hopefully make it by CPAC. Get the hard copy. The Patriots edition. It's now given out. It's certain major colleges in the graduate finance. If a major disruption happened and you couldn't get to the store, how long do you think you could last with what's in your house right now? If it's anything less than a month, you need to check out our friends at my Patriot Supply. They're America's number one preparedness company with over 3 million satisfied customers. And right now when you go to preparewithbannon.com their best selling 4 week emergency supply food kit comes with an additional week of free food. That's you get the best selling four week emergency food supply and it comes with an additional week of free food kicked in. This is the best long term storable food you can find. You're getting at least 2,000 calories a day. Real meals made with real ingredients, no artificial flavors, no artificial colors and a shelf life measured in decades. Look, we all need to know that we need food stored for emergencies. Look around your house right now. How long would you last? Why not get it from the most trusted folks in the business? Get a free week of food thrown in while you're at it. Go to preparewithbannon.com to get your free week of emergency food today. That's preparewithbannon.com America's number one preparedness company. My Patriot supply with over 3 million satisfied customers. Make sure you're one of them.

[E]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Band.

[F]

Okay, welcome back. Remember when you saw this kind of major escalation between the Iranians and the Israelis last night with both of them being hit and hitting each other, that's on top of the Americans, I believe. Another intense night of bombing on military objectives laid out by centcom. So remember, that's kind of the substrate of this, I think that Rabbi Wolicki is telling me that the, the Tehran regime has issued a response to President Trump's ultimatum. They kind of said it the other day. I think they said, hey, look, if you're going to come in and take out our electrical grid and, and you're threatening we'll take down every piece of oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf, or words to that effect. So we'll see. Rabbi Wolicki is going to have an update in a moment. George Papadopoulos is going to talk about maybe some alternatives. Cleopascal Nothing warms my heart more here in the war room than have someone introduce someone like you to the audience. I don't know, a year or so ago. And to be so dead spot on on Diego Garcia, the expansion of this war. And of course, Bibi, I think did a good job explaining, hey, look, they do got the ability to deliver farther beyond than Israel and Qatar and Saudi Arabia is. They launched a ballistic missile towards Diego Garcia, which you had pointed out from for over a year here on the show that how important strategically it was. The Persians think so, too. If it was not, I think for an Aegis class destroyer cruiser to take you down, there would have been a, could have been a catastrophic hit onto the atoll in the pier and the Runway that is Diego Garcia. Do you think the Brits now know that? Maybe that's an asset that we keep? Ma', am,

[H]

I'm very grateful for the coverage on the war room of the situation in Diego Garcia. There were two missiles launched at it. One disintegrated effectively and the other one was defended. I think that this points to an even larger problem. Admiral hall was talking about NATO and UK capabilities. They're becoming increasingly clear that this is a serious problem and all of the UK assets I think, need to be looked at. There was a drone strike on one of their two bases in Cyprus, for example. And now the Cypriot government is talking about, oh, we're going to have to perhaps renegotiate or take a new look at having UK bases in Cyprus after this conflict is over. That's another real serious problem for the U.S. there are, I think, some major signals intelligence operations going on out of Cyprus. And we're seeing a degree of potential penetration of the UK government that raises concerns also in financial sectors where you've got that large embassy that they're talking about, the Chinese are talking about building in London being built near some of the cables that transmit key information into and out of the city. And of course, those transmissions are very time sensitive if you're doing trades or things like that. And there was also reporting they've arrested a few people in the UK recently on suspected spying for the Chinese. One of them, a Labor advisor, spoke directly to Marco Rubio in December 24 about Chagos, just before he became Secretary of State. So we're going to have to really look not just at them being not particularly helpful, perhaps, as Admiral hall was describing, but potentially being an actual vulnerability across multiple areas.

[F]

The CCP and all of this give us your perspective. I know you focus on Micronesia and the islands in the Pacific, the western part of the United States. What is the third island chain? How are they taking this in right now? Because their oil has essentially been cut off, we think. But now we're hearing last week that they're letting Chinese flag vessels through in Beijing. How are they viewing this? Ma', am,

[H]

I'm hoping that it's making them recalculate a little bit on the ground. I don't see a lot of slowing down. So I was recently in Yap and Palau and Guam. And in Yap, if you remember, we covered the Chinese rebuilding of that imperial Japanese Runway on Wuleai. That construction crew has now moved onto the main island of Yap, where the US is putting in $2 billion worth of infrastruct. And according to Secretary Hegseth's public statements, although the negotiations aren't complete and this is where you get a concern, I look more at kind of the left of bang, what happens before things blow up so that hopefully things don't blow up. That same Chinese company that was doing the Runway is on the main island doing a bridge which is in a location between the port and the airport that the US is looking at rebuilding. And they've also settled in to do over a dozen secondary roads on the island. So from a situation of about a year ago where there was essentially no Chinese installed government linked operations on the island of Yap, there's they're now settling in and they, they do the relationship mapping, figure out who they can buy, who they can influence and they're settling in for the long run. So that Runway, which is about 400 miles from Guam, which they've completed, they've completed the Runway, but they've left behind on woolly eye containers and I don't know what's in the containers, they also left behind a couple of tenders. One of them has sunk and has leaked oil into the lagoon. So the locals are having problems with their fishing supplies. It's just it's not dialing down so I hope that they're reconsidering. But all of this, everything, everything we've spoken about the islands, Diego Garcia, what's happening in Cyprus, this is all logistics. This is all about the four, right? And unless we can kind of do a proper assessment and regain control on the logistics which is where the Chinese are trying to cut off the U.S. if you remember, Admiral Keating was testified in 2008 that he was told by Chinese official, you take Hawaii east, will take Hawaii west. And they're putting in place logistical control in order to to try to make that happen like happened with the Japanese German war too. They're looking at the same map.

[F]

Cleo, you're putting up great stuff all the time with us. The geostrategic confrontation between the Chinese Communist Party in the United States of America.

[G]

Where do people go?

[H]

X just my name Cleo C L E O P A S K A L and I'm real Cleo still on getter

[F]

thank you ma'.

[D]

Am.

[F]

Appreciate you.

[H]

Thank you sir.

[F]

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