Part Of The Problem Host: Dave Smith (GaS Digital Network)
Episode: Col. Douglas MacGregor
Date: October 3, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Part Of The Problem features an in-depth conversation between host Dave Smith and retired Colonel Douglas Macgregor. The episode dives into current events, U.S. foreign policy, perpetual war, domestic decline, and the search for a new political direction outside the two-party system. Macgregor brings a candid, historically-informed, and critical perspective on America’s recent and ongoing wars, military leadership, and the consequences of unconditional U.S. support for foreign governments—especially in the context of Israel, Ukraine, and hints at Venezuela. The episode also touches on challenges facing American society, accountability in politics and the military, and the necessity of building an alternative “national conversation” around core unifying issues.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Third Way in American Politics

• National Conversation Initiative:
  Col. Macgregor describes an event in Dallas (with Natalie Brunel, Judge Napolitano, Dr. Olga Ravazzi) for an ongoing “national conversation” series aiming to define a new direction for American politics—one not bound by traditional party lines.
  • Main objective: Identify core issues Americans can unite around to preserve the country.
  • Quote: “If we want to chart a third way in politics, something other than what we're hearing through the mainstream media, what are the core issues that we think we can unite around? That's really what we want to find out, because we need desperately to unite around key things to hold the country together.” (02:25, Macgregor)

2. Perpetual Wars, Decline, and the Two-Party Charade

• Disillusionment with Both Parties:
  Smith and Macgregor lament the lack of substantive difference between Democrats and Republicans on issues such as war, debt, and currency debasement.

  • Smith notes Trump's differences from conventional Republicans but also his alignment with the status quo regarding, for example, U.S. support for Israel (05:21).
  • Summary Judgment: Merely switching parties or presidents hasn’t and won’t fix systemic issues.

• “The Car Toward the Cliff” Analogy:
  Smith argues that voting for Republicans merely slows, but doesn’t alter, national decline.

  • Quote: “If we're a car driving toward a cliff at 100 miles per hour... just voting in the Republicans is clearly, empirically not enough to stop this car from heading toward this cliff.” (06:11, Smith)

3. Drug War and Foreign Adventurism

• Rejecting Military Solutions to Domestic Problems:
  Both Smith and Macgregor are critical of proposals to use the military against Latin American cartels, noting past failures of both the War on Terror and the War on Drugs.

  • Quote: “The idea that the solution is to attack other countries to solve the drug problem that exists inside your borders is a very dumb idea.” (07:10, Macgregor)

• U.S. Regime Change Obsession:
  Macgregor draws historical parallels to Bolshevik “perpetual revolution” and argues that U.S. interventions—from the Middle East to Venezuela—have repeatedly failed, been poorly justified, and insulated the public from the consequences.

  • Quote: “How many times do we have to play this film about regime change to discover that it's a... dead end, it doesn't work, it leads you nowhere.” (08:40, Macgregor)
  • On Venezuela: The U.S. is “out of touch with reality” regarding both threat assessments and objectives (39:37).

4. Absence of Existential Foreign Threats

• Macgregor challenges the mainstream narrative that Russia or China are existential dangers to the U.S., suggesting their priorities are internal and defensive, not expansionist.
  • Quote: “I can't find existential threats beyond our borders. I'm sorry, I just don't see them. I see no evidence for mendacity and determination to attack and destroy us or Europe on the part of Moscow. Absolutely not.” (09:14, Macgregor)
• Warns against Americans’ insularity and political leaders’ focus on superficial appeasement rather than hard choices or clear accountability.

5. Gaza, Israel, and Occupation Wars

• Moral and Strategic Failures:
  Discussion expands on recent events in Gaza, ongoing U.S. support for Israeli actions, and the “forever war” trap.

  • Paradigm Critique: Explores the impossibility and folly of occupation wars, where “winning” is ill-defined and unattainable.
  • Wesley Clark anecdote: Smith references a TV debate revealing the entrenched "can't leave until total victory" mindset and the costs it imposes.
  • Quote: “What are our interests in Ukraine? Explain this to me, please. I haven't figured it out. And, oh, by the way, what driving strategic interest compels us to support the Israeli extermination of people in Gaza? I don't get it.” (18:44, Macgregor)
  • Macgregor suggests Israeli intelligence deliberately allowed the October 7 attack to occur as a pretext for actions in Gaza (30:38).

• Empathy and Disillusionment:
  Macgregor describes his personal transformation from being taught an idealized version of Israel to being forced to reckon with realities on the ground after witnessing Gaza firsthand.

  • Quote: “This was very tough for me to deal with because I had this very positive picture. And then it became very obvious this is a trigger to unleash this massive murder and expulsion campaign. And that's what it's been.” (32:13, Macgregor)

• Blank Checks and Moral Hazard:
  Smith compares unconditional U.S. aid to Israel to encouraging reckless behavior in a sibling: “Again, it's like saying to your little brother... get in a fight with anyone, I got your back.” (33:50, Smith)

6. Accountability, Hubris, and Historical Amnesia

• Lack of Accountability:
  “If there is no accountability, there is no performance, and we really haven't held people accountable, military or political, for a very long time for doing anything.” (35:06, Macgregor)

• Historical Warnings:
  Macgregor reflects on American experiences in WWI (“What has Germany or Austria, Hungary done to us? Nothing.”), WWII, and Vietnam—emphasizing vast casualties, the unpredictability of war, and Americans’ dangerous historical amnesia.

  • Quote: “We are out of touch with reality. We don't know what this word war means anymore. And that's the greatest danger.” (39:21, Macgregor)

7. Domestic Consequences and Political Paralysis

• Unintended Domestic Effects:
  The ongoing crisis in Gaza and unflinching U.S. support for Israel have generated profound unrest and division domestically, especially within the Democratic Party.
• Elite Consensus and Public Distrust:
  Smith notes that both major parties support policies that are increasingly unpopular with their own bases, fueling conspiracy theories and broader public distrust of the system.

8. War, Wishful Thinking, and Cultural Relativism

• Macgregor and Smith agree American policymakers are motivated by utopian or quasi-communist visions, believing they can remake societies by force, ignoring historical and cultural context.
  • On occupations: “Occupations turn soldiers into jailers. The Mongols didn't occupy anything...They stuck a new bunch in there and said... you can rule. I'm leaving a small contingent here to make sure you don't get out of line.” (51:07, Macgregor)

9. Alternative Visions and Economic Development

• Macgregor proposes an under-discussed path for American prosperity, leveraging geography and logistics rather than war, advocating infrastructure that unites and enriches the heartland rather than chasing military adventures abroad (53:05).
  • “We could do a land office business...people in the heartland who've been abandoned, who've been deindustrialized, they would profit. It would spur growth there. But we need to invade Venezuela.” (53:54, Macgregor)

10. Final Reflections: Learning From the Founders

• Foundational Wisdom:
  Macgregor closes by referencing George Washington and Alexander Hamilton's advice: prosperity and security come from peace and leading by example, not foreign entanglements.

  • Quote: “Washington said when he left office, give us 20 years of peace and we will become so prosperous and economically strong that no one in the world will challenge us. That was his answer to the military question.” (59:26, Macgregor)

• Call to Action:
  Smith and Macgregor encourage engaging in new conversations and organizing around shared national interests: “…the national conversation is our attempt to begin a movement in a fundamentally new direction, and we hope it will be successful. But it's just the beginning.” (61:45, Macgregor)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Every society is three meals away from a revolution.” (02:59, Macgregor quoting Lenin)
• “I can't find existential threats beyond our borders. I see no evidence for mendacity and determination to attack and destroy us or Europe on the part of Moscow. Absolutely not.” (09:14, Macgregor)
• “How many times do you have to have strategic failure before someone inside the United States notices?” (12:45, Macgregor)
• “We can't allow, you know, this, this crime to take over all of our big cities. And we have nobody in this country who is running a serious campaign on those issues.” (06:56, Smith)
• “If there is no accountability, there is no performance, and we really haven't held people accountable, military or political, for a very long time for doing anything.” (35:06, Macgregor)
• “Occupations turn soldiers into jailers.” (51:07, Macgregor)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:07 – Dave introduces Col. Douglas Macgregor & overview of event/National Conversation
• 03:29 – The current crisis and need for a new political coalition
• 05:21 – On the two-party system and Trump’s role
• 07:10 – Critique of military interventions in the Drug War
• 08:40 – Regime change failures – Venezuela, Iran, Russia
• 09:14 – Why Russia and China are not existential threats
• 13:49 – The dynamics that insulate Americans from foreign policy failures
• 17:27 – Military and occupation wars: Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan – why we never learn
• 18:44 – Israel, Gaza, and the problem of endless wars
• 30:38 – Macgregor’s personal disillusionment on Israel after Gaza visits
• 32:13 – The “trigger” for mass expulsion campaign and children’s deaths in Gaza
• 33:50 – The problem with “blank checks” and moral hazard in U.S. alliances
• 35:06 – Accountability and historical perspective on WWI, WWII, Vietnam
• 39:21 – Loss of understanding about the reality and cost of war
• 44:23 – Why both political parties support unpopular, risky Israel policy
• 51:07 – “Occupations turn soldiers into jailers” and cultural relativism
• 53:54 – Vision for national development through logistics and trade
• 59:26 – Founders’ advice: prosperity through peace and example, not intervention
• 61:45 – National Conversation as a movement for real change

Tone and Language

The discussion is direct, reflective, and deeply critical of U.S. policy failures. Both Smith and Macgregor use humor and historical anecdotes to sharpen criticism but maintain a measured, intellectual tone. The episode’s language is accessible but assumes the listener has some familiarity with recent U.S. wars and current events.

Further Information

• Colonel Douglas Macgregor: Find his work via search (“Colonel Doug Macgregor”), YouTube, his website, and his paper “Taming the Warfare State.”
• National Conversation Events: Regular forums with public Q&A aimed at building a new coalition around urgent, unaddressed issues.

This summary captures the flow, highlights, and essential arguments of the episode, providing context for listeners new and old to Part Of The Problem.