← Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw
Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw
SITREP 34: Lebanon Ceasefire, UK Murder Outrage, & President Trump's Coal Revival
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We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created. As a member of Congress, I get to have a lot of really interesting people in the office, experts on what they're talking about. This is the podcast for insights into the issues. China, bioterrorism, Medicare for all in depth discussions, breaking it down into simple terms. We hold. We hold. We hold these truths. We hold these truths. With Dan Crenshaw, the eagle has landed. Welcome sitrep34 thanks for joining us as we cover the most important issues from this week and arm you with the facts. So let's start with Iranian proxies, the peace process. Now, there was a U S brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on June 3rd and that continues to hold. Now this is important for US Interests because Iran is always attempting to use Hezbollah and the conflict in Lebanon as leverage to extract concessions at their own negotiating table with us, the United States. Now additionally, there is this deal proposed by the United States between Israel and Hezbollah that would have required Hezbollah to cease attacks and withdraw from southern Lebanon, allowing Lebanese government and military to reassert control. Hezbollah rejected this agreement, calling it a surrender and has continued attacks against Israel. The Iranian backed terror group has demanded an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon before it will consider ending hostilities. Now if you're confused, it's understandable. Hezbollah operates as a major power in Lebanon, but it's not the government of Lebanon. The Lebanese armed forces are not Hezbollah. In fact, we, the United States maintain pretty tight relations with the Lebanese armed forces. We've historically done training exercises alongside them. The Lebanese government is caught between the power of Hezbollah and the fact that they must also protect their own sovereignty in southern Lebanon or be seen as weak and feckless in the face of the Israelis. Now from the Israeli perspective, they're not at war with Lebanon, but with Hezbollah who effectively controls southern Lebanon. Now another new development. All this is the following. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has now publicly broken with Hezbollah, warning that Lebanon cannot continue serving as a battlefield for Iran's regional ambitions. He has described the current proposal as a last chance for a comprehensive truce and has pushed for diplomacy over continued conflict. That's a pretty critical change in the Lebanese government's tone. They have been plenty critical of Israel but but had resisted openly criticizing Hezbollah until now. And why you ask? Well, because again, Lebanon's a pretty delicate power balance between Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims and Christian populations. Hezbollah wields a great deal of power in the country as the militant wing for Shia interests. So the fact that the Lebanese government appears increasingly unwilling to let Hezbollah dictate the country's future. Thus creating a rare open split between Beirut and Tehran is a new and positive direction as Iran sees Hezbollah as key to its own leverage. The Iranian foreign minister said no tangible progress has been made in negotiations with the United States and reiterated Tehran's demand that any deal on the nuclear program include an end to the fighting in Lebanon. We, the United States, maintain that that's a separate conflict. So the critical question is whether Hezbollah can be sufficiently isolated politically and militarily to prevent Iran from using Lebanon and its conflict as a bargaining chip in the negotiations with the United States. Okay, hope you understood that. Let's move across the pond to Great Britain and talk about Henry Novak. This is a death that is rocking the country. Henry Novak, an 18 year old student, was stabbed to death in Southampton outside of London last December. As he lay dying, police listened to his attacker, who claimed to be the victim of a racist assault, and officers handcuffed Henry Novak instead. This week, body cam footage of the encounter was released, triggering outrage across Britain and raising some pretty uncomfortable questions about what happens when racism is treated as a greater crime than murder. Now here's what happened. Henry Novak was walking home from a night at the pub with a couple of friends when he encountered Vikram Digua, he's a sheik man, in the street. Some kind of altercation ensued, leading Digois to draw a knife and stab Henry. Digoire alleged that Henry had made a racist comments which was later disproven. Now when the police arrived, they arrested Henry, seemingly ignorant of the fact that he'd been stabbed. Body cam footage shows Novak on the ground in handcuffs, begging the officers to help him, telling them that he's been stabbed. The officer's response was don't think you have mate. Henry died moments later. Henry's father Mark spoke outside the court and said this his murderer was afforded decency. He was believed he was not handcuffed when arrested. He was not handcuffed when transported to the police station. As far as we understand, he was never handcuffed at all. The contrast is unbearable. Dig was was convicted of murder and sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years. His mother was also convicted of assisting an offender because she took the murder weapon, hid it in the family home. The court found his racism claims were actually completely fabricated. The justice system did work, but the footage made visible something people had already suspected. The reaction in Britain has been explosive. Protests broke out Tuesday night outside Southampton's police station. Eleven officers were injured, bricks thrown, riot police deployed. Hampshire Constabulary has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The Prime Minister and opposition leaders all weighed in as well. Britain has had an ongoing conversation for years about what they call a two tier system of justice, meaning one that holds white Britons to a far higher standard of behavior than immigrants and new entrants in their country. It's worth noting that Novak's last words were I can't breathe. Same words that ignited violent riots across the United States in the summer of 2020. And yet no major media outlet had a sympathetic word for the Nowak family, now moving back home here after a long night. $70 billion for ICE and Border Patrol was finally delivered by the Senate. Senate Republicans passed President Trump's reconciliation package early Friday morning about 4am, delivering a major victory for the administration's immigration agenda and finally moving billions of dollars toward border security, deportation operations and law enforcement. Now let's remember that this is what caused a government shutdown. We couldn't get this appropriated in the normal process, hence the need for this reconciliation bill. Last night was a vote, a rama, as they call it. This is because it's an open amendment process. So the Senate uses this term for when senators can just submit as many amendments to a bill as they'd like until they get tired. And I guess that finally happened. About 4am The Senate passed the reconciliation package with a 52 to 47 vote. With Republicans largely unified behind the measure. Legislation now moves to the House for final consideration. The bill provides about 70 billion in mandatory funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, CBP detention capacity, deportation operations, border security infrastructure through the remainder of President Trump's term. Now, the funding is designed to shield key immigration enforcement operations from the future appropriations fights and potential government shutdowns, which gives the administration long term resources to continue the deportation efforts and border enforcement operations. Again, they had to do this because we could not get it done in the normal process. And remember, Democrats shut down the government over it. In other news here at home, President Trump is going all in on Coal, announcing $700 million and the first new plants built since 2013. So yesterday President Trump stood at the White House flanked by Secretary Burgum, Energy Secretary Wright and EPA Administrator Zelda, and announced this $700 million in federal support for the American coal industry. That includes funding for the first new coal fired power plants in the United States since 2013, and he invoked a Defense and Production act to do it. So here's exactly what was announced. $425 million via the Defense Production act to upgrade 13 existing coal plants across 10 states. Another 75 million for a long delayed export terminal in Oakland, California to ship American coal to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia. Another 200 million in DOE grants for three new projects, plant in Alaska, one in West Virginia, and a restart of a shuttered plant in Maryland as you'd be the first new coal construction in this country in over a decade. White House says the package supports creates more than 14,000 jobs across coal construction, rail, maritime sectors. You might be asking where does the money and authority come from? Mostly Department of Energy grants. There's grants for things like electric grid reliability and energy infrastructure development. It's also funding within the Defense Production act that the president has large discretion over when determining a need for national security. The key argument that he's making here is that energy reliability, because coal is a baseload form of energy, it doesn't turn off when the sun goes away or the wind stops blowing, is considered critical to national defense and security, hence invoking the Defense Production Act. President Trump has already ordered coal plants in Michigan, Indiana, Colorado and Washington State to keep running past the retirement dates. And this goes for further than that. The administration's argument is pretty straightforward. The grid needs reliable, always on baseload power. Coal provides that, you know, natural gas provides that, nuclear energy provides that. But we have an increasing demand and you've got to have all of them. The the Biden administration's regulatory, regulatory war on reliable energy really forced a lot of power plants offline faster than replacement capacity could come online. And in too many places. We're paying for it now in grid fragility and higher electricity costs. So some numbers for context. Coal generated roughly half of American electricity in the early 2000s, according to the Energy Information Administration. Its share fell to 16% in 2024 and is projected to still fall to 15% this year. So the argument is simple. Look, reliability is what our grid needs right now. Democrats would have the government dole out tax credits to unreliable energy sources at a time when we need to focus on what works and make the energy more affordable. Another developing headlines in case you missed it, US economy added 172,000 jobs last month. That's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data. And job growth was far stronger than in recent months. Job gains mostly in hospitality and as well as the public sector. Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week and what will be his first Visit in nearly 7 years trip will be latest in a series of steps to reinforce its ties with its nuclear armed and annoying neighbor. The world's biggest sporting event lands in America. Next Thursday, 11 US cities are set to welcome fans from around the world for the World cup, with local businesses, hotels, restaurants, transit systems preparing for a massive influx of visitors and spending. So hope you enjoy that. If you read nothing else as we as we approach the 250th anniversary of 1776, our Declaration of Independence. Check this one out. It's called it's a book called American how the Constitution Unified Our Nation and Could Again by Yuval Levin. This book argues the Constitution is actually a framework for national unity designed to manage disagreement in a pluralistic society and to shape our citizenry to live out the founding ethos and the American dream fully under the greatest political document ever conceived by man. Good read for the upcoming 250th birthday. That's all out.