← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Trump’s Iran War: The "Big Lie" and the Secret Purge of US Generals | Paul Rieckhoff on Washington Journal. l
00:47:11
Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America, joins CSPAN’s Washington Journal to break down the strategic "sucking chest wound" of the current conflict in Iran. The Iraq War veteran who predicted the fallout of Baghdad is back with a haunting warning: we are repeating every disastrous mistake of the last twenty years—and adding new ones. From the unprecedented lack of congressional oversight to the terrifying rise of low-cost drone threats hitting U.S. bases at home, Rieckhoff exposes why this "forever war" is the most unpopular in American history and how it is actively isolating us from our oldest allies.
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- [00:03]
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- [01:59]
Paul Rykoff
was easy, relatively speaking, and militarily, to take Baghdad. The hard part was what happened afterward, after Saddam was gone. Securing the safety of the Iraqi people is something that now, right now still is not done. So security has always gotta be the number one question because if you remove the nukes and you get rid of the regime, what happens then? We could see something that is even more dangerous, including I think, an underreported part of this increased threats here at home.
- [02:39]
Mimi (Host)
Back to Washington Journal. We're joined now by Paul Rykoff. He is founder and CEO of Independent Veterans of America. Paul welcome back to the program.
- [02:48]
Paul Rykoff
Good morning. Good to be with you, Mimi.
- [02:50]
Mimi (Host)
So just tell us a little bit about your organization and your funding.
- [02:55]
Paul Rykoff
Well, we are fielding a group of leaders to try to meet this moment of turbulence and crisis in America. Independent veterans. America recruits, unites, supports and elects a new generation of independent veterans for public office. From U.S. senate all the way down to school board this fall. We're shooting to have 100 men and women all across this country who are not Democrats, who are not Republicans, but are unaffiliated and independent and see this as a time where they need to continue their service and serve their communities, their states and their country in political office. A lot of them are deeply concerned about the direction of this country, but also about the broken political system and the dysfunction of the two parties. And we think they provide the hope and leadership that this country needs. We take funding from all across the country, small donations. A lot of veterans have supported us. We don't have big PAC money, billionaire money, or the funding of the two parties, but we think that these folks represent a source of hope and inspiration at a time when America's looking for fighters, Americans looking for leaders and looking for folks with integrity that they can trust. And we're trying to find them all across this country. So if any are watching and want to run for public office all the way down to school board, your country needs you, and this is a moment to step up and lead.
- [04:10]
Mimi (Host)
Well, let's talk about the Iran war. It's been just over a month since operations started there. In your opinion, what has been accomplished so far by the United States?
- [04:22]
Paul Rykoff
Well, I think we've successfully united America because most of the country is against this. We've also united a lot of the world against us, unfortunately, and isolated, especially our military is now allies are closing airspace to us. I think it's a really dangerous time in the world. But I think in every crisis there's an opportunity. And I don't say that flippantly when I say we've actually united this country. You've got Republicans on the far right, Democrats on the far left, and a lot of folks in the middle who don't want this war in Iran. And even more so, Mimi, they don't want forever war. You know, Trump ran on saying no new wars, no regime change wars, no never ending wars. And now it looks like deja vu all over again. I met with you almost 20 years ago. My book came out when I came back from Iraq. And I think a lot of this country feels like it's Deja vu all over again. It feels like a repeat of what we've heard in almost every generation of approach acted war with no clear end state. And I think most importantly, the president has failed to commit the country first, then commit the troops. Anytime you commit the troops without having the country behind us, we get into a real, real disaster. So, you know, the military objectives that the president put forward in the State of the Union has been kind of like a bouncing ball. You know, the other night he said that they were trying to dismantle the Iranian military. I think that's incomplete. The Strait of Hormuz has always been a topic that continues to be disrupted and really have a stranglehold on the rest of the world. The regime that they said they wanted to take out is still in place. And then there's the unsecured uranium. We still don't know where that is and what the status is. So I think it's effectively.
- [05:53]
Mimi (Host)
Yeah, let's talk about a couple of those things. You put a lot out there. Let's talk first about regime change. The president did say that even though that wasn't an objective, that was, in fact, what happened. The regime has changed. What's your opinion of that?
- [06:08]
Paul Rykoff
Doesn't look like it to the people in Iran, and it doesn't look like it to people in the region. I mean, we've replaced the ayatollah with a younger, more energetic version of the Ayatollah. So it seems like the regime is still very much in place. The Iranian people are not free to move around. Missiles and drones continue to fly around the region. So I think the Iranian people are going to be in the best position to tell us when the regime is gone. But the Iranian people are also in a really tough situation. I mean, they've got a regime that lies to them and has been killing them, and now they've got an American president that seems to be lying to them and also killing them and waging destruction on their land. So they're in a really, really tough spot here. But I think, you know, the falling popularity of this war is not just a political problem for Trump. I mean, it's a strategic problem for our military, because this has the potential. And I think it's already starting to become kind of a sucking chest wound. It pulls in so many of our resources and also puts our troops in danger, especially as Trump continues to attack NATO and attack our allies. We have less friends. We're in a bar fight right now, essentially in the Middle east, and we need every friend that we can get, but we've never been more isolated, and now we've got threats at the homeland. So I ask everybody watching, you know, even those who support this, do you feel safer? Because I don't feel safer here in New York City. I don't feel safer when I'm moving around this country. Our troops are definitely not safer. And I think the world feels less safe. And that's ultimately the objective of the president as a commander in chief, is to ensure that the American public is safe. And I think we're less safe by the day.
- [07:33]
Mimi (Host)
Well, Paul, you did mention that you served in the Iraq war, and I wonder what you think. Are any mistakes that the United States is making that we made back then, are we making this any of the same mistakes, or have we learned those lessons? And do you see us avoiding those mistakes?
- [07:54]
Paul Rykoff
I think we're making many of the same mistakes, and to some extent, we're making them more. I mean, the most important thing that I talk about a lot, Mimi, that I think folks need to understand, is that the amount of control and free reign that the president has is really unprecedented in American history. You know, in the Iraq war, you know, you may not have supported it, but at least George Bush made the case. At least there was a vote in Congress. At least he made an attempt to create an international unity around a coalition of the willing. Trump is in a position where I think the most important story in the world is that he can do anything he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen, and nothing is stopping him. There are no speed bumps. There are no guardrails. The congressional votes are just, you know, pushed off in the side. He gives him a stiff arm and just keeps going. So I think the really troubling part about Iran is it's not just Iran. I mean, he said now he wants to hit Cuba. He's floated the idea of Colombia. Along the way. He's hit multiple countries, including Venezuela and even Ecuador. Some folks watching may not even know we had military operations in Ecuador. So we're in a position where we have forever war, and that's what we had in Iraq and Afghanistan. But this is much more extensive. It has the potential to be much longer, and it's much less popular. I think that's the stunning part of this. This is less popular than any recent war in American history. And I go back to that point. You have to commit the country first and then commit the troops when you don't have the country committed. Our troops are in a situation where fighting an unpopular war. And here's a big mistake we didn't learn, Mimi, when we went to war in Iraq and in Afghanistan, they kept asking for defense budget requests. They kept asking for billions of dollars. They never asked for money for VA funding to take care of all of us when we came home. So for over a decade, I came on your show and so many others to fight for increased funding at the va, to fight for more resources for everything from traumatic brain injury to burn pits. Right now, the president and Hegseth have asked the country and the Congress for an initial $200 billion to fund this war. That's just for the Department of Defense. They've made no request whatsoever for the Department of Veterans affairs to care for all these men and women when they come home. And I think that's one really clear example of a lesson we have to finally learn in America. If a president presents a cost of war, he has to present the full cost. And that includes funding the VA and ensuring we can take care of all these men and women who even if he pulls the plug tomorrow, they're going to be facing health issues for the rest of their life.
- [10:15]
Mimi (Host)
Paul Rykoff is with us, and you can ask him a question. You can call us on our lines by party. So Republicans are on 202-7488-80001. Democrats are on 202-748-8000 and independents 202-748-8002. We also have a line for active and former military members. You can call us on 202-748-803. That's the same number. You can text us if you're not able to call us. Well, Paul, the administration is making the argument that Americans are going to be safer after this because the Iranians will no longer be able to threaten us with the possibility of nuclear weapons. And they say that this is essentially been Iran's essentially been at war with us for the last 47 years since the Islamic Republic took over that country. They have been pursuing nuclear weapons. What do you say to those arguments?
- [11:12]
Paul Rykoff
I think a lot of them are true. I mean, Iran is a bad actor. Iran is an enemy of America. Iran, you know, put proxies and weapons into Iraq to kill the people that I serve. You know, that is true. Iran is definitely a threat to the region. A nuke threat is always a threat to the world. I think there's a difference between intent and outcomes. Those things can be true. But the question is, have we made the world safer? Because if their intent is to remove the nuke threat. Well, that's not done yet. To our knowledge. Even the president won't admit that. If they can actually do it, that may be an admirable objective. But does most of the American public support that? Do they agree with that threat? Have they made a case for that threat? I don't think they have.
- [11:53]
Mimi (Host)
Have.
- [11:54]
Paul Rykoff
And then the bigger question becomes, what's the overflow factor? There's an old saying that when you upset the hornet's nest, the hornets decide when it's over. Trump has unleashed something in the Middle east now that's beyond his control. Even if he decided to pull out tomorrow, there'd still be instability in the region. The Gulf states might still be getting hit. Israel would still be engaged in Lebanon. So there was kind of a lid on Iran for decades. Now that lid has been blown off. And I don't think that most Americans feel the president has a plan not just to deal with what's happening now, but what happens next. A big question we have to ask the president is, okay, if you do annihilate the military, if you do remove the regime, if you do get rid of the nukes, who's gonna handle security? Who's gonna handle the boots on the ground? Who's gonna ensure the Iranian people are safe? At first they said it might be the Kurds. Is it gonna be some kind of an allied force with NATO? I don't think NATO is gonna support it. Is it gonna be Israeli and American soldiers? I don't think anybody wants that. Is it some kind of new free Iran? Ar? It is. He has to communicate that. Because one parallel we do see from. From Iraq especially, is it was easy, relatively speaking, and militarily, to take Baghdad. The hard part was what happened afterward, after Saddam was gone. Securing the safety of the Iraqi people is something that now, right now, still is not done. So security has always gotta be the number one question, because if you remove the nukes and you get rid of the regime, what happens then? We could see something that is even more dangerous, including, I think, an underreported part of this. Increased threats here at home. We've already seen affiliated attacks here on U.S. soil. We continue to see drones as a threat to the region and to our forces, and now here to US Bases at home. And I think that's an underreported this reported part of this story. What are we doing to keep Americans safer here at home, especially from new threats like drones?
- [13:40]
Mimi (Host)
All right, let's take calls now. We'll start with Steven in Florida line for Republicans. Steven, you're on with Paul Rykoff. Go ahead.
- [13:47]
Caller (Various)
Thank you for taking. Yeah, thank you for taking my call. Happy Easter and Passover. I like Mr. Paul's hairstyle, the same thing.
- [13:56]
And I just wanted to ask him,
- [13:58]
what does he think about. I was watching Cuomo the other night, and Ms. Cuomo pointed out about the single sleeper cells that possibly could be allegedly the Royal Guard here, the damage that they could do in the local communities. My question is, what are we doing about what he addressed? And I wanted to thank him for his service.
- [14:20]
Mimi (Host)
Paul, go ahead. Sleeper cells.
- [14:22]
Paul Rykoff
Thank. Thank you, sir. I mean, this is a question for the President. I mean, what is he doing right now to protect us from sleeper cells? How high is that threat? I think the FBI knows how high that threat is. I think our Department of Defense knows how high that threat is. And you hear, for example, a scramble from the Department of Defense to increase our production of drones, but also our production of defenses against drones. I mean, we have a military base here in Barksdale that had drones over it for hours. And that military base did not even have the defensive capabilities to shoot them down or to get rid of them. I mean, that underscores how vulnerable we are. So I think there's a parallel to 9 11, where we don't know what the threats are. We're aware of generally what the looming threats could be, but we're not here on a defensive war footing in the way we need to be, given the scope of the threat and the potential increase for threat. I mean, you see what things look like right now in Kiev with the drone threat in particular from Russia. You see now across the Middle east in places like Israel, drone threats in particular, a new kind of warfare where death can come from above from a drone that costs just a couple of tens of thousands of dollars. I think that is our number one threat. That is the suicide bomber of this time. That is the terrorist attack of this time. And the question for the President is, what are you doing to protect our military bases and soft targets? I mean, you've got opening Day happening here in New York at Yankee Stadium. We have the World cup here coming in the US all those are extremely vulnerable sites to any kind of. Not just a sleeper cell, but someone who's sympathetic with the Iranian cause, like we've. So I think this is a very, very important question. And the President's talking a lot about the billions of dollars he wants to spend in Iran. What is he going to do to spend it here at home to keep us safe even again if this stopped. Tomorrow the world is ticked off at us. The proxies have been activated and that is unleashed. So what is he going to do right now?
- [16:09]
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- [17:50]
Paul Rykoff
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- [18:42]
Paul Rykoff
Please keep us all safer here at home.
- [18:45]
Mimi (Host)
Gwen in Birmingham, Alabama, Democrat, you're on the air. Go ahead, Gwen.
- [18:50]
Caller Gwen
Good morning and happy Christ resurrection. Good morning, Paul. First of all, thank you for your service because I have military veterans in my family and I always appreciate the military. I'm sick and tired of the Republicans with that talking point. We are the greatest military. Yes, we do. We have the greatest military. We appreciate the military. We will never be safe. Thank you military for watching out for us abroad and at home and everywhere. I always like watching you, Paul, because you are so fair, even against President Biden. You always there. I always watch you. I wish you were president of the United States because you are a very same reason we were person Donald Trump that speaks the other night to the American people. It was so disheartening. It didn't calm my fears at all. Because first of all, I'm sorry, nene, Donald Trump is a pathological serial liar and I just hate this to lies. This is Christ's resurrection week. We do not need lies made to us about our military. These young men Eliza at state when they serve this country and go to war for us, we need to protect them. We need to watch out for them. I have veterans in my family. I'm very disheartened with Trump. He's trying to tear up NATO. He just talks so down to these other countries out of allies like France, Europe. He's a disgrace to America. That's all I have to say.
- [20:23]
Mimi (Host)
All right. And Gwen did mention the speech on Wednesday. What was your reaction to hearing that
- [20:29]
Paul Rykoff
it was a failure. It was a nothing burger. First of all, there was no new information and I think the president did nothing to appease anyone's concerns. I mean, there was real concern from me and others that he might be announcing an escalation of boots on the ground because we've got 50,000 of America's sons and daughters in the region. We've got now Thousands from the 82nd Airborne, from the Marine Corps and from Special operations unit that have been at the ready. And that's still a very real threat that he could pull the trigger on that and put boots on the ground at any moment. I don't think anybody left that speech feeling better. Whether you're a Republican, a Democrat or an independent, like 45% of the country now and rising. I think his energy was very low. I think he looked old. He Looked weak. The good part about it was it was only 20 minutes. So by Trump's standards, it was pretty short. And we got a little bit of our evening back. But I think it was also troubling because his objective was clear. It was a political one. It was to try to grab the microphone and force the American people to again listen to his rationale. And he was kind of jamming it down our throats, saying the same kind of stuff all over again with no new announcement, I would actually challenge the TV networks and say, is that something we should be carrying? If he has no announcement, if he has no news, if he's not really giving the American people anything new, can you platform him and give him the opportunity to continue to push what, in my view is a lot of propaganda? The point that I would also underscore is everybody loves and respects our military, and they're absolutely exceptional. What's really uniting people is their respect for the military, but also their outrage for this president waging this war the way he's waging the war, by not asking for congressional approval and kind of throwing his middle finger up at the checks and balances and continuing to go forward. And what I've really been struck by is I think if you hear from Republican callers, Democrat callers and independent callers, most of them, I would say 80% or more don't want this war and definitely don't want boots on the ground. So Trump has done something really spectacular here. In a time of tremendous division and toxicity, he's uniting the American public against this war. I think it comes in the back of something else that's very important. Ice, which was very unpopular across all political backgrounds. The tariffs are very unpopular across all political backgrounds. Gas prices, we're now hitting five bucks a gallon, and diesel and fertilizer is up. So he's done something really extraordinary here. He's uniting the entire country on these issues and more and more so and more and more so if I can't, maybe against him. So you're hearing from folks like Sean Ryan, the right wing podcaster. You're hearing from Alex Jones, you're hearing from Marjorie Taylor Greene, and then you're hearing from the folks on MSNBC and AOC and others, and lots of folks in between. So I think it's a real moment for the American people to push back, because the real failure, too, is Congress, the Democrats and the Republicans, I think, have both failed here. And that's why I'm so focused on trying to provide new leadership, especially from veterans that are unaffiliated and independent.
- [23:14]
Mimi (Host)
Well, well, so in the speech, he did say that combat operations are nearing completion. He also said that he will continue to. He will. If. If there's no deal reached, he will bomb Iran into the Stone Age. Do you see those as conflicting messages?
- [23:32]
Paul Rykoff
Yes. Pretty much everything he says is conflicting messages. I mean, we've heard two weeks on just about every reference point, and I don't think anybody in America believes an American president who says something's gonna be over soon. I mean, they told me that when I got to Baghdad. They told a generation of Vietnam veterans that. They told us that in Afghanistan. And I think this is a really, really important moment, Mimi, because what's happened in America is. Especially Republicans feel like he's lying. This is now the new big lie. The big lie is he said when he ran for president, no new wars, no regime change wars, no forever wars. And he went back on that. That is clear. I don't think anybody can debate that. And that has activated people in a way that is very, very profound, because they do care about our troops. They do care about our national security. This is our sons and daughters, our moms and dads. We're watching them on television and hoping that they're okay. And he also has a very flippant response to human cost of war, whether it's Iranians saying we're gonna bomb him into the Stone Age. That's not how an American president is supposed to talk. An American president is supposed to have integrity and respect for all people. And if we're gonna fight someone, we fight them hard. We fight within the rules of war. We honor the Geneva Convention, and at the end of it, we don't ask for oil. We don't ask for plunder. The only thing the American public has ever asked for after standing up for freedom is a place to bury our dead. And that's the only thing we should be asking for now. Our military is not mercenaries. We should not be plundering in Iran or in Venezuela or anywhere else. And that's part of what's really isolated us and continued to drive down the popularity of the American public. And it's not just Trump. Our troops are less popular. So every time he ticks off the world, he's making a Marine standing on an outpost in Europe or at an embassy less popular. Our military around the world is less trusted because of him. And that's ultimately one of the most nefarious and dangerous parts of, especially the last year of his presidency, is the popularity the American military is dropping, and that's really solely on him.
- [25:31]
Mimi (Host)
Colin is an independent in Washington, D.C.
- [25:33]
Caller Colin
good morning, Colin, good morning and thank you. For C span. I had two questions and. Well, not really questions, but I just wanted to know your thoughts, sir. I just wanted to know your thoughts on President Trump's preparations actually today, as reported in Bloomberg, that he will be releasing his proposal for the budget of 2027, you know, kind of his pitch for 2026, in which he wants to grow the military budget from 1 trillion to 1.5 trillion at the expense of social programs, which social programs are yet to have been established. So I just wanted to get your immediate thoughts on that. And then my second question, to follow up on your point about, you know, war crimes and everything like that, I just wanted to know your thoughts on, you know, any sort of talks of ceasefire or diplomacy somewhat being sabotaged by our proxy state Israel, assassinating diplomats, which is against the Geneva Conventions, as well as bombing infrastructure like civilian infrastructure, like bridges, that we did yesterday. The largest bridge in the highest bridge in the Middle east was bombed by the American military in a double tap strike, which is a war crime. So for those who don't know what double tap strikes are, it's when an initial strike is made and then when rescue operations are being initiated, another strike is made to both kill the, you know, the responding services like fire and ambulance services, as well as, you know, make future responses to attacks less desirable.
- [27:10]
Caller (Various)
So.
- [27:11]
Paul Rykoff
Okay, Colin, thank you and have a great day.
- [27:13]
Mimi (Host)
And Paul, before you answer, Colin just mentioned the article that he mentioned in Bloomberg. It says Trump budget pits spending cuts against massive defense push. It says discretionary non defense spending would be cut by 10%, about 73 billion, according to fact sheets circulated by the White House in advance of today's budget release. But go ahead with your answer.
- [27:38]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, thank you for the question, sir. Let me break it apart into two pieces. When it comes to the budget request, which is now asking for an additional $500 billion on top of the $200 billion supplemental that they've already asked for. Say, hell no, I'm not in Congress, I'm not a senator, I'm independent. I say, no, you can't continue to ask for more money for war that the American public doesn't support. And you haven't even had a formal congressional authorization for. Congress is supposed to declare war. Congress is supposed to fund war. That's how it's supposed to work. And because it hasn't worked that way since essentially World War II, doesn't mean it shouldn't work that way now. So I think the American people are very strongly pushing back on the 200 billion already. They're just going to find out now about the additional request for a plus of $500 billion. And look, you gotta listen to what Trump says because he telegraphs his punches, whether it's, you know, hitting Iran and Venezuela or saying that he wants to cut social programs. He said yesterday, I don't care about Medicare, I don't care about Medicaid, I don't care about daycare. He said that out loud. He says, hey, don't worry about gas prices. They're gonna come down. The reality is we know those things are important. Everybody, especially working people, people like me with kids, know those things are important. And if he has $200 billion for a war in Iran that most people don't support, but there's no money for Medicare and Medicaid, there's no money for daycare. And we haven't again, even talked about the cost of war that's going to be required at the Department of Defense. I think there's going to be overwhelming pushback. This might be a time where Congress actually starts to work. I've got no love for Congress on either side. I think the Republicans have failed us and they have lost their integrity and the Democrats have been run over. They are disjointed, they don't have a strategy. I think they're weak and the Democrats are not going to save us here. So this is why I continue to look for, for independent voices that can come together. I look to, for example, Representative Ro Khanna, the Democrat, and Tom Massie the Republican. They have joined together in a bipartisan way on Epstein. They've also done it on the wars. They might be able to pull together a coalition that can push back on this funding and push back on Iran and maybe unite Congress, which is something I'm excited about. I had an extensive conversation yesterday with Ro Khanna on my podcast and I challenged him on that. And I think there might be space for it when it comes to the other piece. Look, Americans should not engage in war crimes. That is foundational to who we are. We should not be doing double taps, whether it's in the Middle east or on Venezuelan drug boats. And every time we do, we undermine the trust and integrity in our military in that 18 year old son or daughter who's standing on the line somewhere now in the Middle east or standing on a ship. That person's trust by the world drops every time Trump does something that is against the laws of war or even says he's going to do something, something that's against the laws of war. And when it comes to Israel, I think there's a bigger picture challenge here, is that the world doesn't have to wait for Donald Trump anymore, and much of the world doesn't trust Donald Trump anymore. So we're in a new reality where America isn't calling the shots, our commander in chief isn't calling the shots. So Israel can do what they want without running it by the United States. The Gulf state regions, the Gulf region states, are gonna do what they need to do in their national security and in their interest. Folks in NATO can't trust America anymore, so they're gonna have to operate independently. We know Ukraine can't trust. So that's a really, really important part of this moment. The world doesn't trust us. And when you're in a bar fight with more and more of the world by the day, you need all the friends you can get. We've got to continue to hold the President accountable and demand that he abide by the rules that have guided our country for decades and for generations. We don't need an American president that drives our popularity into the ground. We need an American president who can be a quarterback and move us all forward.
- [31:16]
Mimi (Host)
Here's John in Georgia line for Republicans. Good morning. Good morning.
- [31:20]
Caller John
Good morning. For you to say that Donald Trump's actions were unprecedented is a little disingenuous. Truman ran the Korean War without a declaration of war. Johnson had the Vietnam War. He did have the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, but that was after 16,000 troops were already committed. The founders of the Constitution, the authors of the Constitution, deliberately divided the war powers between Congress and the President because they feared a demagogue and they feared legislative paralysis. So the President has the authority by being commander in chief. You may not like it, but the Constitution is set up that way. Additionally, I just saw an interview with Lindsey Graham. He said that he was working with the Biden administration to help formalize relations with Israel and Saudi Arabia, and that was the impetus behind the attack in October of 2023. He said Iran would not let those relationships go through. So you have a country. And by the way, he said that the Biden administration was getting ready to announce those relationships at the end of October. So Iran is not going to let peace happen in the Middle east if they're going to to attack a country, Israel through proxies, if Israel is trying to formalize relations with an Arab nation. He also said that Iran had 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to an 80% level. It only takes two weeks to go from 60% to 90%, which is weapons grade. So what would you have done?
- [33:09]
Mimi (Host)
All right, let's get a response. Go ahead, Paul.
- [33:13]
Paul Rykoff
Well, I wouldn't have launched an unpopular war without the support of Congress and without the American people. If that's the case they wanted to make, they should have been focused on it. They should have been clear on it. They should have organized an international coalition. They should have allocated the budget. They should have built a non bipartisan coalition and make that case to the American people. And if the American people aren't buying it, you're going to run into problems because are you happy with where we are right now? Most of America is not happy where we are right now. Most of America doesn't feel safe. And let's underscore another point. They haven't removed the nuke threat. They tried to do that last time. They told us it was done. And now they say they have to go back in and try again. And right now, does anybody know where the uranium is? Does the President know where the uranium is? Is it secure? So if that is our objective, which is not what they said, they've said a number of different things over the course of the last month or so, but that might ultimately be the most urgent threat. If it is true, and I'm not being disingenuous the way this is supposed to work, I think that there should be an authorization from Congress. Because if you're gonna get especially into a difficult and protracted war, you can't do it without Congress, you can't do it without the American people. Or you run into what we had in Vietnam and you run into what we had in Iraq and in Afghanistan, where our troops continue to shoulder this burden and it goes on for decades and the rest of America is living life uninterrupted. This is backward, right? And the President has gone all gas, no brakes. He's trying to run as far and as fast as he can so he doesn't have accountability from Congress and the American people. And this is a breaking point. I mean, this is the point where Republicans, especially in his base, are saying, hell no. They're saying, you lied to us. They say, we don't want this. So if he's gonna make that case, he's failed to do it. And the poll numbers reflect that. The lack of support from our allies reflect that. And now we're in a situation where the rest of the world doesn't see that threat either. Italy said we can't have aviation assets going over their airspace. Spain is saying our military can't use their airspace. That makes things more dangerous. That makes our job harder when we're trying to conduct military operations. And it makes things, things much more dangerous for our troops on the ground. So this entire thing is backwards. It's a demonstration how not to do a war. And I think that's why you're seeing so many people all across this country of all backgrounds pushing back.
- [35:26]
Mimi (Host)
Steve, Independent line, West Palm Beach, Florida. Good morning. You're on the air.
- [35:30]
Paul Rykoff
Good morning.
- [35:31]
Caller Steve
I didn't.
- [35:32]
Paul Rykoff
Can you hear me?
- [35:33]
Mimi (Host)
Yes, we can. Go ahead, Steve.
- [35:34]
Caller Steve
Okay, please give me time. I got seven points real quick. I didn't vote for Trump. I stopped voting in 2013. I just want to bring out some points and I'll let the viewer decide whether this makes sense. You know, we lost a total of 2,800 people on 9 11. If it was done today with the population, the same percentage of the population lost, it would have been 3,000. Pearl harbor, if it happened today, would be, I believe it's around 8 to 10,000. What happened to Israel on October 7, if that happened to us, it would have cost up 42 and a half thousand American lives. I wonder what we had we would have done, huh? Second, Mr. Trump is flipping his approach. Well, first, everyone will know that the best decisions in our lives are done for several reasons, some more, some less significant. But more importantly, he's flippant. Well, I'll give you a quote from military history. Always mystify, mislead, and try to surprise the enemy. And if you strike and overcome him, pursue him and never let, so long as you have resources at your disposal. That was Tom Jackson. You might know him by his nickname, Stonewall.
- [36:49]
Caller John
A forever war.
- [36:50]
Caller Steve
Trump put it beautifully during his talk. The Iraq war was 8 years, 8 months, and whatever many days. This has taken 32 days so far. Even if we've only eliminated 33% of the missiles, drones, etc. To do the whole thing in 90 days is a miracle.
- [37:06]
Caller Colin
Protocol.
- [37:07]
Caller Steve
Iran is going to charge a toll for the Hormuz. What an interesting idea. Why don't we blockade and charge tolls and those ships from any country that do not wish to comply will be turned away. It worked when the Union army blockaded the South. By the way, isn't the 82nd Airborne trained for such a mission to deploy onto ships and things like that? Trump has shown incredible restraint.
- [37:32]
Mimi (Host)
Okay, Steve, let's get some responses for Several of those points. Go ahead, Paul.
- [37:39]
Paul Rykoff
I'll just start with the last point. Trump has exercised restraint is laughable. I mean, he is the most unrestrained president we've ever seen. He's the most unaccountable president we've ever seen. And now he's careening toward being the most unpopular president we've ever seen. I mean, look, I understand that the rationale now has landed on the threat of nukes in the region. That's maybe their most compelling argument. But they haven't made that case compellingly. And if they remove that threat, that can be a good thing. Like I said, you know, intents and outcomes are two different things. But what happens afterward? You know, they haven't secured it. It's been 30 days. Maybe it'll be 90 days, maybe it'll be nine years. We've been through this before. Right? But once they do secure it, that's not the end of our problems in the region. The threat of loose nukes is always a problem. We've got nukes throughout the region in places like Pakistan and others. And ultimately you've got an overflow factor where drones and missiles and proxies are flowing across the entire region. So the 82nd Airborne can't control all of this. They can't protect the Kuwaiti airport. They can't protect all the Gulf states. We can't protect all the places that are now threatened by this overflow. And there still remains the question, if the nukes are removed, who's in charge over there? Well, we just gonna set up toll booths and we're gonna charge people for admission in the Strait of Hormuz, and we're gonna maybe charge them to pay for our troops. I mean, we're entering into this world of a mercenary approach, which is the opposite of what America is supposed to do. This is the same. Same is true the minerals deal in Ukraine. We're gonna only provide protection for Ukraine if they give us their minerals. We're not a shakedown nation. Our military is not there to plunder and profit. We are there to stand for freedom and to stand in defense of the American people and our democracy. This is the greatest overreach we've ever seen. And Republicans, especially, constitutionalists especially, should be outraged by that. And I think that's why you're hearing from more of them. And when folks wanna quote Lindsey Graham, I mean, they're in no greater. There's no greater chicken hawk than Lindsey Graham. There's an entire generation of Republicans and some Democrats who are happy to send Other people's kids to war who never served themselves. And I'm always going to put it back on them. And most on, most focusing on the President. Why isn't your kid going Barons of age? You know, I went. Lots of people's sons and daughters are over there. And if so many of these people are so committed to this cause and it's so urgent and it's so noble. Noble, why isn't your family a part of it? I think that's a fair question for every single president and every elected leader.
- [40:03]
Mimi (Host)
And Paul, the, the caller mentioned a kind of strategic ambiguity when it comes to the enemy. To surprise the enemy, not to show his hand. What do you think of that?
- [40:14]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, I mean, that, that, that, you know, you know, we don't want to show our hand. The enemy's not going to show their hand. I mean, the reality is that modern warfare is exceptionally complex. Complex. We've got no shortage of enemies abroad and here at home. I mean, the domestic threat is something that. It shocks me how rarely it's addressed. You talk about 9 11. I'm talking to you right now from six blocks away from ground zero. I was there on 9 11. I am well aware of what the threat can look like and how American citizens can die. But you've also got to ask the American public if they want this and if they're behind this. Because I think the greatest mistake that George bush made after 911 was not to ask America to participate. He sent people like me and over a million others to a war in the Middle East. And you know, most Americans never saw their taxes go up, were never asked to put any skin in the game. If you're going to engage the American military in a military objective, you have to get the American people behind them. Because we're also careening toward a dangerous place where the American military is less trusted. At home, we've got National Guard in the streets. He wants to put federal troops in the streets. He said this week he might put them in Chicago and in New York, around the World Cup. That is a very real possibility. And if he said something like that, I think you should take him at his word. But we're going into a place where the American military's popularity is coupled to his. And that is a very, very dangerous place because the politicization of our military has never been more extreme. And I can't say that without noting Hecseth fired a bunch of generals again last night. The purge of generals who are not aligned with them politically continues. He just Fired the chief of staff of the army in middle of a war. We continue to be in combat operations. Meanwhile, Hegseth is on a culture war inside the Pentagon, removing a swath of generals and senior leaders like we've never seen before. So oftentimes, Hegseth is more focused on the culture war internally than he is on our enemies abroad. And I think that's a very important part of this.
- [42:07]
Mimi (Host)
To highlight, let's talk to Phil, who is calling us from North Dakota on the Republican line. Good morning, Phil.
- [42:14]
Caller (Various)
Morning, you guys. Hey, you know, I just had a couple quick questions. You know, I hear everybody, you know, everybody says Donald Trump didn't go to Congress. Well, for one thing, I don't honestly think if Iran was bombing our country, the Democrats would stand behind Donald Trump. That's just a fact. It doesn't matter whether he's right, wrong, or indifferent. You guys would be against him on anything he ever does. So, I mean, what's he supposed to do, let the rest of the world blow us up? You guys talk about, you know, we don't need to stop Iran, so what's going to stop Iran from the next 30 years? Tying up the oil so everybody has to pay through their nose for everything the rest of their lives. Don't you think America has to stop? And y' all talk about the U.N. the U.N. to me, is like a bunch of kindergartners listening to their kindergarten teacher, okay? They don't have any idea. They wait for America to go first. And we call it the U.N. it's not the U.N. land, okay? So, you know, come on, guys. America's got to stand up and put an end to this so America doesn't have to fight wars for the rest of eternity. Y' all have a nice day.
- [43:27]
Mimi (Host)
Paul Rykoff.
- [43:30]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, we're not going to have a nice day because 50,000 troops are in the region right now, and it looks like we're not going to end anything quickly. I would just challenge you on this. Look, the threats are real. Okay, I understand the threats are real. I've had friends die and get blown up. I live in New York City, a couple blocks from grounds there. I understand how real the threat is, and I would just start by challenging you. Don't indict Democrats or Republicans or anybody to say they wouldn't stand up for America if we were attacked. I was standing there on 9 11. I saw Americans of all backgrounds stand up when we were attacked. And I think that's the kind of rhetoric that divides us, and it's Also, it has our enemies celebrating when the chips are down. Americans come together, but they also depend on leadership. Bipartisan leadership, ideally. Independent leadership. Ideally, but also thoughtful leadership. And if the threat in Iran is as real as they say, how about doing what Donald Trump often does and saying, hey, you guys handle it. He's okay to throw the onus on NATO. How about throwing it on the Gulf states? How about throwing it on Israel? This is not viewed as an imminent threat to most Americans. Now, they can try to make that case, but how about starting with the countries in the region, many of which have still not dedicated military forces? So he's okay to send men and women from the 82nd over there, but not folks from the Middle East.
- [44:42]
Carvana Announcer
East.
- [44:42]
Paul Rykoff
I think you have to turn Trump's rationale back on him and say, if this is an issue that is a threat to the region, how about calling on the region first and foremost to address that threat?
- [44:51]
Mimi (Host)
On the line for Democrats in North Carolina. Joe, go ahead. You're on the air.
- [44:56]
Caller (Various)
Oh, yes. I, I whole thing doesn't make sense. We've got the most educated country in the Muslim world that can predict a of the best drones that can penetrate Israeli airspace and bomb downtown Tel Aviv. But we swear that for 20 years they've had all this uranium and they are almost two weeks out producing a bomb that's been going on for 20 years. The reason why I'm skeptical of all that we're hearing from our White House is that this all has the hallmark of Benjamin Milachowski. Benjamin Milachowski is Benjamin Netanyahu. He was the guy who gave us weapons, mass destruction. He drove that truck until we picked it up and went into war and killed people both in Iraq and and American citizens. He's now driving this new truck. You know that after 20 years with all of this uranium, they're only two weeks out from an atomic bomb, people. There's another problem with Benjamin Milachowski. Netanyahu. There were 12% of the population in Palestine when Israel was started in 1948. The 12% of that population were Christians. They now have them down to less than 2%. And we still have the Christian world cheering and giving blessings to Israel.
- [46:47]
Caller John
Why don't we wake up?
- [46:49]
Mimi (Host)
We got to get a response. Go ahead, Paul
- [46:52]
Paul Rykoff
boy. Mimi, every time I come on your show, I learn some interesting things. And I don't know if there's a question in there, but I will say this. Look, Israel is obviously a valuable partner to America, but Israel's popularity in America is not what it Used to be either. And the Israelis know that Netanyahu has his own challenges at home in the same way Trump has his challenges here. And I think at the end of the day, you know, Trump can't have it both ways. We can't say, hey, we're going to not get into new wars. We're going to put America first, and at the same time continue to get dragged into wars around the world. And that's central to all of this. I think most Americans don't to want. Want our men and women to die overseas for regime change wars, for forever wars. And they care about what's happening here at home. And they hear a president who's more focused on Israel's national security and more focused on Iran than he is on childcare and gas prices back at home. And most Americans don't want it. So he has failed to make an effective case. And wars don't get more popular as they go on. I hope the casualties stop. But we still had 13 brave Americans killed in action. We've had hundreds wounded. And that is a miraculous testament to our military that it has, there hasn't been more. They are exceptional, but they are also not endless. And we can't forget about threats like North Korea and China right now. The Chinese are thrilled to have us sucked into this black hole in the Middle east yet again. They can just sit back and continue to watch as we punch ourselves out in this place and Russia punches themself out in Ukraine. And the big winner here is not Israel. The big winner is not Iran. The big winner is China. So I think we have to take a longer view to what's happening and underscore that if the President does want to do this for as long as he says, even right now, $200 billion more, he's gonna need Congress for that, whether he likes it or not. If he wants $200 billion more, he's gonna have to get that from Congress because he's not rich enough to pay for it himself. So this is the crossing point. This is the point where I think Republicans are standing up. You're hearing that from moderates and even from the most conservative parts of his party. The question for Trump is, what are you gonna do if they shut the wallet off? What are you gonna do if they say no more money? How are you gonna leave our troops stranded out there? And how are you gonna care for them and the other threats we have going forward? Because, most importantly, Mimi, he's broken the trust with the American people. That's what this moment is the American public does not believe him. And you hear that most of all from Republicans who are breaking ranks and are exceptionally concerned about the midterms happening in just a couple of months.
- [49:16]
Mimi (Host)
And Paul, I mean, speaking of that, have you thought about running for Congress?
- [49:23]
Paul Rykoff
I definitely don't want to run for Congress.
- [49:25]
Mimi (Host)
Why not?
- [49:25]
Paul Rykoff
I do not want to be in a two year cycle of raising money is frankly, frankly hell. I've seen it, I've been around it. And also I'm a political independent. So I can't run for Congress and be viable right now. That's part of why we're building this movement, because we want to be able to make it viable for independents. And unaffiliated Congress is the toughest nut to crack of all of these. We've got, I think seven and counting independent veterans who are running for Senate. There's a real opportunity for independent veterans to win in places like Montana. Seth Bodnar is running as an independent. He's a Green Beret, an independent veteran who's running there in a seat that's competitive. Todd Achilles is a veteran running in Idaho. That's a place where an independent can win. Brian Bangs in South Dakota, Ty Pickens in Mississippi. We've got others that are coming online. But I think the real opportunity for independence is for mayor and for governor. There are a number of them this year running for mayor and for governor. But we need to disrupt the system so that there is an infrastructure on everything from open primaries so independents like me aren't blocked out of primaries in a way that disenfranchises them and I would argue is unconstitutional to the money pie. We don't have an independent billionaire. You know, the left has George Soros and the right has the Koch brothers. An independent billionaire hasn't jumped in yet to fund this movement, but we think there's an opportunity. So I have no lane right now to run for office, but I do want to help other men and women who do have a lane and do have an opportunity this year especially, the
- [50:53]
Mimi (Host)
organization is Independent Veterans of America. It's.org if you'd like to look at their website. Founder and CEO Paul Reikoff, thanks so much for joining us.
- [51:05]
Paul Rykoff
Thank you, Mimi, as always. And thank you to all your callers and viewers.
- [51:09]
Poetry/Outro Speaker
Tells me the left and right are dreams for those without a clue and when you wait it's time to grow and it's not cool to believe in school but if I can say one thing I've seen the children of the revolution and the good trouble they can bring he says the red and blue I independent is an attitude an island in the sea of rhetoric and I can rather go he tells me the left and right Our dreams for those without a clue and when you wait
- [51:38]
Paul Rykoff
it's time to grow power by righteous media.