THE WAR ROOM WITH STEPHEN K. BANNON EP.5183

Summary

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Real America’s Voice – War Room with Stephen K. Bannon

Episode 5183 | March 2, 2026
Main Theme: Launch of Major US-Led Military Campaign Against Iran, Strategic Aims, and Geopolitical Fallout

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Episode Overview

This episode of War Room with Stephen K. Bannon responds to the unfolding military campaign, "Operation Epic Fury," launched by the US military and its allies against Iran. The hosts and guests analyze the goals, execution, and potential ramifications of the operation, discussing US strategy, the political process, public communication, regional reactions, and wider geopolitical context—including repercussions for China and the global balance of power.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate US and Israeli Strikes on Iran

• News Update: Israeli military launched dozens of strikes on Iranian regime targets in Tehran, focusing on intelligence services, command centers, and internal security ([00:33], Pete Hegseth).
• Operation Objective: Not just narrowly focused on leadership decapitation but broader regime change and neutralizing nuclear/missile risk ([01:11], Brian Glenn).
• Confusion on Objectives: Contradictory official explanations between targeting regime change, missile reduction, or wider destabilization ([01:11]).

2. Congressional & Constitutional Process

• Bypassing Congress: Criticism over the President acting without congressional approval ([02:04], Steve Bannon).
• Debate over Imminent Threat: Internal disagreement on whether an actual imminent threat justified the strikes, with official denials from some administration insiders ([02:14], Yanja Kellek; [02:30], Steve Bannon).
• Will Boots Be Needed? Cautious but open stance on the possibility of ground deployment, including potential Israeli involvement ([02:35], Brian Glenn; [02:42], Pete Hegseth).

3. US Military and Political Leadership

• Operation Epic Fury Details:

  • Official launch timestamp—Feb 28, 2026, at 01:15 EST ([11:39], Gen. Raisin Cain).
  • Integrated US forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, Coast Guard—with Israel as central allied partner.
  • Strategic goals:
    1. Destroying Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
    2. Disabling missile and drone capabilities.
    3. Neutralizing naval threats to shipping in the Persian Gulf.
  • Emphasis on scale, preparation, and joint force structure ([15:43], Gen. Raisin Cain).

• Casualties & Risks:

  • US casualties: 6 KIA, 18 wounded as of the broadcast ([14:34], Steve Bannon).
  • Acknowledgment that losses are expected due to the scale and type of combat involved.

• Leadership Praise:

  • Gen. Raisin Cain lauded for prior ISIS and Venezuelan operations ([04:46], Steve Bannon).
  • Department of Defense renamed “Department of War” to reflect a proactive, war-ready mindset ([20:11], Brian Glenn).

4. Objectives and Rationale Debate

• Strategic Rationale:

  • Dismantle Iran’s ability to project power and deter near-future missile/drone proliferation.
  • Prevent Iran from gaining "immunity" through weapons buildup, which could make intervention impossible in a year ([24:27], Marco Rubio).
  • Ensure safety of global energy supply and shipping ([19:21], Steve Bannon).

• Communication & Public Support:

  • Calls for greater transparency and more frequent, detailed briefings to maintain domestic support ([19:21], Steve Bannon; [20:11], Brian Glenn).

5. Political Process and Accountability

• Role of Congress:

  • Debate on whether the President exceeded authority without congressional signoff.
  • Is there an imminent threat or is US acting proactively on presumed future risk ([23:32], Pete Hegseth; [23:37], Marco Rubio).

• Coordination with Israel:

  • Confusion over whether strikes were truly coordinated or if intelligence cooperation lags operational moves ([29:39], Marco Rubio; [30:02], Steve Bannon).
  • “If we waited for Iran to hit us first after an Israeli attack, we would suffer more casualties”—justifies preemptive US action ([23:40], Marco Rubio).

6. Geopolitical Context: The Message to China and Beyond

• Signal to China:

  • Argument that these moves also send a warning to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party regarding support for Iran and Venezuela ([38:20], Yanja Kellek).
  • “A horse’s head in the bed”—show of force as the only language understood by adversaries ([38:20], Yanja Kellek).
  • CCP now perceived as unable to act aggressively due to direct setbacks ([39:51], Yanja Kellek).

• Broader Strategic Alignment:

  • The US is eliminating not just Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but its regional power projection in a way that also weakens China’s ability to distract US focus.

7. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we’re going medieval on these people.”
— Steve Bannon ([03:55])

“Our mission is to protect and defend ourselves and together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders… Across every domain, land, air, sea, cyber.”
— Gen. Raisin Cain ([15:43])

“There absolutely was an imminent threat. … If we waited for them to hit us first after they were attacked by someone else, Israel attacked them, … we would suffer more casualties.”
— Marco Rubio ([23:40])

“You want to understand the monsters that control so much power on this earth, get this book [on the CCP].”
— Steve Bannon ([45:22])

8. Memorable Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Speaker | Time (MM:SS) | |--------------------------------------------|-------------------|---------------| | Israeli Strikes on Tehran | Pete Hegseth | 00:33 - 01:11 | | Congressional Bypass, Debate Over Threat | Steve Bannon, Yanja Kellek, Pete Hegseth | 02:04 - 02:29 | | Operation Overview by Gen. Raisin Cain | Gen. Raisin Cain | 11:39 - 15:43 | | Debate: Regime Change or Deterrence? | Brian Glenn, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio | 25:01 - 26:26 | | Rationale for Preemption | Marco Rubio | 23:39 - 24:27 | | China and Global Impact Discussion | Yanja Kellek, Steve Bannon | 38:20 - 41:43 | | Communication Failures and Public Support | Steve Bannon, Brian Glenn | 29:30 - 37:11 |

9. Recommended Actions & Next Steps

• Public Communication: Strong request that the administration and military leadership adopt more accessible, frequent updates to clearly communicate objectives, risks, and progress ([21:57], Steve Bannon; [35:25], Brian Glenn).
• Accountability: Demands for detailed explanation of US-Israeli coordination, justification of action without a Congressional vote, and rationale for potential escalation ([30:02], Steve Bannon).
• Watch for Upcoming Briefings: Hints that more Schwarzopf-style briefings (visual, detailed, public-friendly) may be forthcoming ([19:21], Steve Bannon).

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Flow Summary for New Listeners

• Opens on breaking news and the administration’s decision to strike Iran in coordination with Israel—debate about the true aim (regime change, deterrence, or prevention).
• Dives deep into legal and political accountability: Did the president exceed authority? Was there an authentic imminent threat?
• Military and geopolitical experts detail the structure and phased goals of Operation Epic Fury.
• Shifts to the broader context: how this ignites regional tensions, leads to Gulf states’ involvement, and signals to China about US resolve.
• Closes with a clarion call for transparency, detailed public communication, and the need for American unity and resolve—with a look ahead to further reporting, analysis, and events tied to the operation and its wider impact.

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Additional References

• General Raisin Cain’s Full Statement: [11:39 - 15:43, 15:43 - 19:21]
• Marco Rubio’s Rationale for Strikes: [22:18 - 25:01, 28:18 - 30:02]
• Discussion of CCP and Global Power Shifts: [38:20 - 41:43]

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Closing Thoughts

This episode marks the beginning of a potentially transformative military and geopolitical campaign. The urgency for transparency, the gravity of American military sacrifice, and the wider stakes—for Iran, the Middle East, US strategy, and great power rivalry—dominate the debate throughout.

“Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.”
— Steve Bannon ([04:23])

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Transcript

[Steve Bannon]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human Iranian regime armed with long range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle east, but also to the American people. Our country itself would be under threat, and it was very nearly under threat. I was very proud to have knocked out the Iran nuclear deal by President Barack Hussein Obama. That was a horrible, horrible, dangerous document. They would have had nuclear weapons.

[Pete Hegseth]

We're just getting this information from the Israeli military right now. They say that they have hit their words dozens of targets belonging to the Iranian regime and its intelligence services in Tehran. So they're putting that out there. Now. We've seen evidence, right? As I mentioned, Colonel, we've seen some of the images, but they're now saying specifically dozens, and they're giving a bit more detail as I'm speaking here. They're saying that those dozens of strikes specifically targeted headquarters bases and regional command centers of, and I'm quoting them, the Iranian terrorist regime's internal security bodies. Now, that's coming from a statement that the IDF has just put out.

[Brian Glenn]

He never talked about the goal being getting rid of just the ruler, Ali Khamenei. He talked about the regime. Regime. He mentioned it nine times. He called for members of the Revolutionary Guard and the army and all of the police to lay down their weapons or face certain death. And he called for the Iranian people to take over your government. That is regime change. This morning Pete Hegseth says this isn't about regime change. And then the president at the Medal of Honor ceremonies, you just played, he's saying, oh, this is about reducing their ballistic missile capabilities, their nuclear things, and they sort of exaggerated the missile capture capability. So it's all very confusing. And then in the middle of those two events on Sunday, the President spoke with the New York Times and talked about how the Venezuela situation, which was just the ruler Maduro and his wife being ousted, how that was a perfect solution. So it's all very jumbled at this point.

[Steve Bannon]

This is a discussion that has not been had because he bypassed Congress, the accountability.

[Pete Hegseth]

A president has the right to take military action for 60 days if there's an imminent threat.

[Yanja Kellek]

And there is no imminent threat.

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

Let me.

[Pete Hegseth]

Well, that might be your opinion. That's your opinion.

[Steve Bannon]

I sit on the Armed Services and the Intelligence Committee. If there are imminent threats, they have an obligation to tell us about it. I have seen no imminent threat. And even people within the administration have

[Yanja Kellek]

denied that there's imminent threat.

[Steve Bannon]

So listen, do you think eventually there will be a need for boots on the ground?

[Brian Glenn]

I would not exclude it for those reasons or other. But we have to see how it goes.

[Pete Hegseth]

And will that include Israeli boots on the ground, do you think?

[Brian Glenn]

I exclude nothing. We've been waiting for 47 years and we came to a point with every, every necessary means should be taken in

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

order to achieve our goals.

[Pete Hegseth]

Yet it certainly appeared, at least from what we understand from the reporting, that the human intelligence so central to the initial strike here actually came from possibly a CIA intelligence agent on the ground, as opposed to Israeli, which, which we know, obviously they have a deep network within Iran. But that a CIA specifically.

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

Well, let's take two of the objectives off the table. That would be regime change and Iranian support for militias around the region. That leaves three goals, which is their nuclear program, their missile capabilities and their navy. And to destroy all the targets associated with those three areas, I think would take four to six weeks at a minimum. And, and then of course, we'll have to get the battle damage assessment and re engage those that either we missed or that new targets pop up. But it's going to be an extensive campaign. This is not going to be over in a matter of days.

[Steve Bannon]

This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people. Reasons I got a free shot. All these networks lying about the people. The people have had a belly full of it. I know you don't like hearing that. I know you try to do everything in the world to stop that, but you're not going to stop it. It's going to happen. And where do people like that go to share the big lie?

[Marco Rubio]

MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul,

[Steve Bannon]

I wish that any of these people had a conscience. Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

WAR ROOM here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[Steve Bannon]

It's Monday the 2nd of March in the year of our Lord 2026. We are in. We're in it now as this war starts to spread or this military operation starts to spread into other parts of the Middle East. We've had many of the Gulf states start to participate in this. And I understand that there's real anger from some of the Gulf states about the Persians hitting them during Ramadan. So this in fact is a bunch of pieces up, some reporting done that the Saudis are talking to the Americans right now, talking to us about actually doing their own independent strikes. There's so much going on here today. Two things. First of all, I had President Trump first time actually live to address this at the Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room. Said some very powerful stuff about what drove him to do it and what we should look for. Also this morning at 8 o', clock, we covered it here live in Rilla Mukher's voice. But we didn't have time to play the package. We showed Pete Hexseth in the morning show. We didn't have chance to show a package on General Raisin Cain. Remember General Kaine, just to put it in perspective, the ISIS campaign in President Trump's first term in 2017 that was so successful. Remember, President Obama has said it would be a generational effort to take down isis. When I talk about isis, I mean the caliphate, the physical caliphate of ISIS that was, I don't know, a third of Iraq and 50% of Syria, it seemed like at the time, but it was quite large, had oil revenues, was recruiting 10,000 people a month, individual a month, principally from Europe, from the mass migrations in Europe and other converts President Trump committed on the campaign trail he was going to destroy isis. I think it took four or five months. Now, Jim Mattis, Mad Dog Mattis, or Chaos as his call sign was, was, was the Secretary of Defense. But it was really raising Cain. General Kaine that ran the operations, that's where President Trump first met him. And he was so impressed with General Kaine during the ISIS campaign of the first term that he brought him back as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. General Kaine has done the expeditionary hit that ended the 12 day war with total obliteration. At least at that time, their assessment was total obliteration of Iran's nuclear program. And then he led the expeditionary effort, this magnificent expeditionary effort to essentially decapitate Madur and his wife as the head of the regime there. They made a deal with the existing regime and seemed to at least built a working relationship. President Trump and President Trump likes optionality in a range of alternatives that he's not boxed in, that he can, he can maneuver. I think he's been talking about optionality. He says, hey, this thing could take four or five weeks. I don't know. He's not going to put a time on it. He's also talked to Brett Baer. This, this his paradigm here is Venezuela and he believes he's already done Venezuela also. They have not, I think for operational security and other reasons, given the in depth briefing, which my understanding is maybe the Navy commander of the naval forces may give that tomorrow or the next day of how lethal some of this action has been. My understanding is that they've gone down to very, very deep with the Revolutionary Guard, even down to the battalion level to decapitate not just the mullahs, not the ayatollah and the mullahs. And the next in line, President Trump is pretty upfront, says, hey, we had two or three guys that were supposed to be in line we thought we could deal with, but guess what? They're all dead. So there's been, I think, a deeper strike into the command structure. I want to play Raisin Cane. Can we go ahead and play? We got Raisin Cain and we have Marco Ruby. I want to break them both down. We don't have Raisin Cain. Terrific. I tell you, let me go into the next hangar for Ruby for a second. We can break that in pieces, I take it. Thank you, sir. Marco Rubio gave a, I think, I wouldn't say impromptu, he was at the sticks, but he gave about a 12 or 13 minute, I think was one of the best explanations that we've had so far of what's going on. General Kane gave a terrific briefing earlier today with Pete Hegset. Took a question or two from the, from the audience, from the reporters. It was not Norman Schwarzkopf. I think that the Pentagon may eventually go to that. I think maybe the Navy admiral, maybe General Kane, where you're going to see some video once they're confident about the operational security. I think you'll see some video. I think you'll see some maps, some charts. Maybe they have a ruler and point up at it and walk you through it. Remember, if you're old enough to remember, I think you have to be a boomer to be that. General Norman Schwarzkopf in the Gulf War really became an expert in these presentations. It kind of galvanized the nations, made him a national hero and garnered, I think, tremendous support for the military effort over there because people could understand it. Also, a couple of things. Housekeeping, number one, gold finish at what, 5340? It's not the price of gold, it's the process that drives it. We've talked a lot about financial risk, the risk of the dollar, these massive deficits under Biden, the drop in the purchasing power of the dollar that was going to get the BRICS nations going, the central banks buying gold. We said, we'll lay that out for you. You have to make your own decisions, but we want to make you as smart as possible. Also that geopolitics, a fancy term for, I don't know, war and peace, was also because the business community, financial community, markets like stability. And obviously when the balloon is up and people are shooting at each other, particularly in a region like the Gulf where so much of the world's oil. I think 20% of the world's oil goes through the straits or moves today, particularly to Asia, into parts of Europe, that. That leads to instability. And that's why gold has been a hedge. When I say a hedge, it's something that can protect you against times of financial turbulence. Birchgold.com, promo code Bannon. End of the dollar empire. Make sure you get that Cane or Rubio. Okay, fine. Let's go ahead and play. I'll tell you what. Go to Birchgold, get all the. And Birch Gold's got a website. They put tons of information. Philip Patrick. I think Philip Patrick's gonna be with us tomorrow. Natalie Winters is going to also join us tomorrow. She's got an amazing piece up about open borders and going after Iran. The price you might have to pay. Nino Rodriguez is going to be with us in the 6 o' clock hour. Like I said, Nino really broke that story yesterday. But for Operation Security reason we didn't talk about it because had not been totally confirmed by the FBI. Let's go ahead and play a couple minutes of General Kaine and then I'll come back after the break. Let's go and let it rip.

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

On Saturday 28th February at 01.15 Eastern Standard Time, 9.45am local, Tehran time, on the orders of the President United States U.S. central Command, under the command of United States Navy Admiral Brad Cooper commenced Operation Epic Fury. As I said, I'm going to walk you through the initial phases of the operation. But first I want to express my deep condolences and the condolences of the Joint Force to the Department of War personnel killed and wounded in action thus far. As the Secretary said, they're heroes and represent the best of our nation has to offer. They're true examples of what selfless service means. Our deepest and heartfelt condolences are with their families, their friends and their units. We grieve with you and we will never forget you. Additionally, I stand here before you today grateful for each service member, planner, logistician, operator across our joint force. For our Department of War civilians, our intelligence community teammates, our interagency teammates who continue to to stand in harm's way alongside us. I am proud of all of you as you take the fight to the enemy. And we are the best in the world at integrating, period. I want to extend my personal Gratitude to the dedicated commanders and senior enlisted leaders and the enlisted members of the Joint Force who are fighting this fight across the CENTCOM aor. In addition to Admiral Cooperation and Fleet Master Chief Compton, I want to highlight a few. Today, U.S. army Central Command commander Lt. Gen. Pat Frank, who along with his team are fighting the counter missile and counter drone fight. United States Navy Central Command Commander Vice Admiral Kurt Renshaw and his team who are engaged with the Iranian Navy and projecting American naval combat power from the seas. And United States Air Force Central Command Commander Lieutenant General Derek France and his leadership team who are crushing Iranian targets from the air. I want to highlight the support to the CENTCOM fight from other combatant commands who are directly involved with this effort to include U.S. spacecom, U.S. cybercom and U.S. eUCOM. I also want to specifically call out United States Transportation Command and U.S. stratCom for their contributions to this fight. We cannot project American combat power at the time and place of our choosing without both. And finally, I want to express how deeply thankful I am for the continued service and sacrifice of the entire Joint Force and their families. Their unwavering commitment and dedication are the cornerstones of this effort.

[Steve Bannon]

Okay, we're. We're going to take a short break and we're going to come back after a commercial break and continue on with General Kaine. As I said, the president holds him in the highest regard. And you see right there, he talks about the unified command and power projection. Also as an update, six members of the United States military are now killed in action. 18 wounded, 18 casualties. We'll return after a short commercial break to the Order.

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

War Room, here's your host, Stephen K. Band. Okay, welcome back.

[Steve Bannon]

Brian Glenn's gonna join me right now. Brian, thank you for coming, for stepping in here. I want to break down this game film. We did Pete Hexit this morning. And I want to do, I want to break down for the audience General Raisin Cain, who is really the chief, obviously the chief military advisor. But I would tell you some of the President Trump puts a lot of trust in, given his track record against ISIS, his track record against the 12 in the 12 day war, and also in the Venezuelan situation. Let's go and play the rest of his briefing. And I think he also throws in a question. Let's go and hear it.

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

So let me start with a few details. First, to be clear, as the Secretary said, this is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve and in some cases, will be difficult and gritty work. We expect to take additional losses and as always, we will work to minimize US Losses. But as the Secretary said, this is major combat operations. So let me talk about the preparation and the planning. On February 28, the full strength of America's armed forces came together in a unified purpose against a capable and determined adversary. The United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard and our reserve components integrated across our combatant commands and began coordinated operations with the Israeli armed forces of an unprecedented scale. As the Secretary laid out, our military objectives are clear. Our mission is to protect and defend ourselves and together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders and be ready for follow on actions as appropriate. Across every domain, land, air, sea, cyber. The U.S. joint Force delivered synchronized and layered effects designed to disrupt, degrade, deny and destroy Iran's ability to conduct and sustain combat operations on the US Side. This marked the culmination of months and in some cases years of deliberate planning and refinement against this particular target set. From precision strikes against key military infrastructure to persistent intelligence and targeting integration to the close coordination of the components across vast distances, this operation again demonstrated America's reach, readiness and professionalism and that of our Joint United Force. It was historic, not only in the operational scope, but in the level of joint integration displayed across every element of the Joint Force. And as I said earlier, this work is just beginning and will continue. So now to talk a little bit about setting the force and setting the theater on the order of the Secretary of War over the last 30 days to reinforce deterrence and provide the President with credible options should action be required, the Joint Force began to systematically reposition assets and personnel across the region. These movements ensured that US Forces remained postured, protected and ready to respond decisively for any emerging threat. This deployment included thousands of service members from all branches, hundreds of advanced fourth and fifth generation fighters, dozens of refueling tankers, the Lincoln and Ford Carrier Strike Group and their embarked air wings, sustained flow of munitions, fuel, supplies, all supported with command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance network. And the flow of forces continues today. In fact, Admiral Cooper will receive additional forces even today. This rapid buildup of forces demonstrated the Joint forces ability to adapt and project power at the time and place of our nation's choosing.

[Steve Bannon]

So Brian Glenn there you saw and that was a very big overview of what they set in place. It was not a Schwarzkopf type briefing with, you know, grainy gun, camera, video, blowing up some stuff you don't have big Maps of where the deployments are don't have charts. They've been very limited in what they've given reporters because of Operation Security. Do you think it's some time to get the American people more to understand what's going on? The briefings and they talk about Admiral Cooper. AOR means area of responsibility. That's kind of the combatant commander. I think the naval forces are under, are under Admiral Cooper. Maybe he does it tomorrow, the next day. Do you think we're getting on the clock, that we've got to cut to the chase and make sure people understand what's going on?

[Brian Glenn]

Yes, sir. Steve, I think we really do need to update the American people, not only why we're doing this, but a little bit of the thought process in building up to this. I do believe, and he said it, that this has been planned for months, if not years. And I'll go back and maybe this is going down a rabbit hole here, but I think when we changed it from Secretary of Defense to Secretary of War, Department of Defense, Department of War, that was proactively getting the American mindset in the, in the right frame of mind, rather that we are going to be proactive in defending this, this country. We're going to go to war. So maybe, maybe there's nothing there. I don't know. But I do think, however, this was planned for months. I think the negotiation obviously was still being, you know, in the process. They still wanted to maybe find an alternative to taking kinetic action. But I think today's press conference and Secretary of War Pete Hetseth did an amazing job as well. Look, he's very articulate, he's a good looking guy, he's charismatic, comes from Fox News. He is the point person you want in the Department of War to convey messages to the media. I think he's perfect with that. And then I think General Raisin Kane is the perfect person to explain just what he laid out kind of strategically what's going to happen next. This needs to happen more than often right now because, Steve, when you get on social media, and I know social media a lot of time is not the real world, but right now it's not good as far as getting the public to support what we just, I

[Steve Bannon]

think you got to explain, you just got to put a little more detail on this and explain to folks what's going on, what the target package was, all that. I'm sure that's going to be in the next 20, 24 hours. Rubio took a crack at this a little bit about the effort here, the focus, the objectives. Let's go. And we're going to break it down twice as we go to commercial break. Let's go and do Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Brian Glenn will come back in drones

[Marco Rubio]

that they also have. They've been doing this for a very long time. And by the way, they've been doing it under sanction. You see the attacks they're conducting right now, they're attacking airports, they're attacking hotels. They're hitting not just military bases, they're attacking our embassies directly. They're attacking facilities that have nothing to do with, with war or with military. And that's a weakened Iran. That's in Iran despite years of sanction. Imagine a year from now or a year and a half from now, the capabilities they would have to inflict damage on us. It's an unacceptable risk, especially in the hands of a regime that's run by radical clerics. The ayatollah is a radical, was a radical cleric. That entire regime is led by radical clerics who don't make geopolitical decisions. They make decisions on the basis of theology, their view of theology, which is an apocalyptic one that has to be taken very seriously as well. So that was the purpose for what this operation is all about. That's what it's focused on. As the president said earlier today, it is on or ahead of schedule. I will defer to the Department of War to discuss the progress being made at a tactical level. But it was the right decision and an important decision for the safety and security of the world.

[Pete Hegseth]

Have to weigh in. Does Congress have to weigh in? Is the president declaring war? And does Congress have to weigh in?

[Marco Rubio]

And is there an imminent threat?

[Pete Hegseth]

Did you tell lawmakers that there was an imminent.

[Marco Rubio]

There absolutely was an imminent threat. And the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us. And we were not going to sit, sit there and absorb a blow before we responded, because the Department of War assessed that if we did that, if we waited for them to hit us first after the they were attacked by someone else, Israel attacked them, they hit us first, and we waited for them to hit us, we would suffer more casualties and more deaths. We went proactively in a defensive way to prevent them from inflicting higher damage. Had we not done so, there would have been hearings on Capitol Hill about how we knew that this was going to happen and we didn't act preemptively to prevent more casualties. And More loss of life.

[Steve Bannon]

Was forced to strike because of an impending Israeli action.

[Marco Rubio]

No.

[Yanja Kellek]

First.

[Marco Rubio]

Well, I mean, two things I would say. Number one is, no matter what, ultimately this operation needed to happen. That's the question of why now. But this operation needed to happen because Iran, in about a year or a year and a half, would cross the line of immunity, meaning they would have so many short range missiles, so many drones that no one could do anything about it because they could hold the whole world hostage. Look at the damage they're doing now. And this is a weekend Iran. Imagine a year from now.

[Steve Bannon]

So that had to happen.

[Marco Rubio]

Obviously, we were aware of Israeli intentions and understood what that would mean for us and we had to be prepared to act as a result of it. But this had to happen no matter what.

[Pete Hegseth]

Secretary President Trump said overnight that his top choices to now run Iran were killed in the strikes. Does the United States have a firm plan for how they intend to handle this power vacuum in Iran to ensure that an iron hardliner does not?

[Marco Rubio]

So two things, and two things can be true. Number one is our mission and our focus is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and their ability to manufacture them, as well as the threat posed by their navy to global shipping. That's their objective. That said, we would not mind, we would not be heartbroken and we hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country. We would love for that to be possible. But the objective of this mission is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and of their naval capabilities.

[Steve Bannon]

So are you saying based on that,

[Yanja Kellek]

are you saying that there is no responsibility?

[Steve Bannon]

Okay, I'm going to come back to that. Now. I'm kind of confused. Brian Glenn, now it's the destruction of the ballistic missile and their naval capabilities. And I think he said Israel is going to be first mover. It's fine. But I think there has to be a sense of consistency here and kind of lining everything up because they've got many enemies on Capitol Hill that are coming for him with the knives out. That's these Democrats. Of course, we have huge primaries tomorrow in Texas and North Carolina. Brian Glenn, give me 30 seconds before we go to break.

[Brian Glenn]

Well, I think Marco Rubio laid it out that if we didn't proactively do it now, I heard someone say, can you imagine, you know, five, six, seven years from now when we, God forbid, get a really liberal left, lean president and get a congressional and Senate, and that then if Iran was to all of a sudden think they've got the military needs to do it. They go make an attack and we're sitting on our heels. I like being proactive. I like being on offense.

[Steve Bannon]

You're a department of war. I like that. Stick right there. Brian Glenn. We're going to play the rest of Secretary of State, National Security Adviser Marco Rubio.

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[Steve Bannon]

Take your phone out, text BAN NBA and 989898, get the ultimate guide for investing in gold and precious metals in the age of Trump. When you read this, no obligation, it's totally free. But understand the geopolitical turmoil we have right now. I don't think was considered but you'll learn about what a hedge is and why gold is on fire again. Remember, it's not the price, it's the process that drives the value. That's what you have to understand. If you learn that, you'll go a long way to understand how you get financial stability in your life. Birchgold.com, talk to Philip Patrony. Philip's going to he obviously it's crazy today with the markets where they are. Philip's going to join us tomorrow. Natalie's going to join us tomorrow. She's written a brilliant piece on her substack about open borders and Iranian terrorists. David Rodriguez is going to be on Warham, Texas. Like I told you, he really broke that story yesterday, but we decided to tamp it down because we didn't have all the verification we needed. But David Rodriguez was on it. About the situation in Austin, Texas, I want to go back to the beginning and play this. Maybe we'll do the whole thing tomorrow. But this is so important. I got Brian Glenn. Let's go ahead and play it from the top drones that they also have.

[Marco Rubio]

They've been doing this for a very long time. And by the way, they've been doing it under sanction. You see the attacks they're conducting right now. They're attacking airports, they're attacking hotels. They're hitting not just military bases. They're attacking our embassies directly. They're attacking facilities that have nothing to do with war or with military. And that's a weekend Iran. That's in Iran despite years of sanction. Imagine a year from now or a year and a half from now, the capabilities they would have to inflict damage on us. It's an unacceptable risk, especially in the hands of a regime that's run by radical clerics. The ayatollah is a radical. Was a radical cleric. That entire regime is led by radical clerics who don't make geopolitical decisions. They make decisions on the basis of theology, their view of theology, which is an apocalyptic one that has to be taken very seriously as well. So that was the purpose for what this operation is all about. That's what it's focused on. As the president said earlier today, it is on or ahead of schedule. I will defer to the Department of War to discuss the progress being made at a tactical level. But it was the right decision and an important decision for the safety and security of the world.

[Pete Hegseth]

Does Congress have to weigh in? Does Congress have to weigh in? Is the President declaring war? And does Congress. Did you tell lawmakers that there was an imminent threat?

[Marco Rubio]

There absolutely was an imminent threat. And the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacking, attacked, and we believe they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us. And we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded because the Department of War assessed that if we did that, if we waited for them to hit us first after they were attacked and by someone else, Israel attacked them, they hit us.

[Steve Bannon]

If Iran was attacked, then we would be attacked. Does that mean if Israel, Israel is going to attack, but that they're supposed to be allies, they're just going to attack and not coordinate with us? And that makes no sense at all. That just doesn't make any sense. I don't understand that. This is why they're the greatest ally. I don't understand that. If we knew they were going to be, that Iran was going to be attacked and they would attack us, is there no coordination in this? I think that has to be explained. I think it has. That has to be explained. Brian Glenn, I think that one has to be explained. I don't understand that.

[Mike Lindell]

What?

[Steve Bannon]

That's the first we've heard of that. I don't think that'd just be up at the sticks, just tossing out there. I think that has to be explained, sir.

[Brian Glenn]

Yeah, I agree. Who's talking to who? Don't you think if we should all be on the same page with this? And I do like the proactive approach to this, though, and he makes a good point. They're attacking all of these sites now as a weakened Iran and imagine what they would do if they actually had more ballistic missiles, they had more firepower there. They would maybe take it a little bit further. So. But I do think that needs to be further explained. And like I said in the previous segment, the American people want to hear this stuff. They want to be explained why we are taking these steps. And why we have lost six servicemember and maybe 18 or 19 injured, seriously injured. Right now they need to do more of this explanation on what's happening right now because this kind of started, you know, middle of the night there. True social post. Next time you wake up and we've got bombs flying and I think the American.

[Steve Bannon]

But I don't know. I don't know if, look, this is a very serious military operation and we understand, particularly in the opening salvos, people's lives at risk. We now understand, I think the six service members that died were in Kuwait trying to stand up some sort of either radar installation or something. But they were hit and they didn't. There was no warning. There was no, you know, they didn't hear anything. Of course, the New York Post is breaking. That I think is an exclusive. We'll drill down on that more. But when you put American prestige, you put American honor and particularly put the most precious resource we have, which is our servicemen and women, in harm's way, it's got to be really thought through. I, I find that that has to be explained. I, I just don't understand that we knew Israel was going to hit and that the, the Iranians would hit us. Well, hang over a second. They were going to hit without us saying, okay, we're all ready to go, that they were just going to take it on their own. There's this. If you're an ally, I don't think Allah, particularly if you're. And I say they're a protectorate, because we provide the air defense, principally, we're providing the offense here, principally, we provided the intelligence. My understanding is we provided the CIA provide the targeting package for the ayatollah. I think things just have to get sorted here. And I think that has to be explained in detail to the American people. So the American people fully understand. It's like in the Iraq war. You know, the Iraq war, the first couple of days everybody's cheerleading at Fox News, is glazing everybody and got the pom poms out. Well, these are serious and these take a while. And of course, the American public opinion, which is very important here to support these operations, has to be fully informed. Even people of your, not your political party, have to be informed of exactly what went on because you need the support of the American people to make sure these operations are successful. And let me add again, especially when you have service members in harm's way and we're in a shooting war now. And so I think this has to be explained. And Secretary Ruby, to Throw that out there. No, I don't understand that. I just don't. That has to be. I got a couple of three questions, I think, about that one, and I think a lot of people ought to have questions about that, particularly with everything on the Internet, you know, who controls who. If you want to put that to bed, you have to come out and make a case for exactly what was going on here, exactly what the thinking was and what's going on. Then Rubio went into, I thought it was great. He said, hey, we're going to take out their naval assets. And President Trump said today, I believe we've taken 11 of their combatants, their vessels, and they're now at the bottom either the North Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf. And I believe we've taken out their air defense or their air assets. And to get air superiority in their naval assets, I think we've done a overwhelming java, but that's more of the operational and tactical. I think we need a full understanding of the strategic. Brian Glenn, the White House. Here's what's interesting. Rubio really came out, he had Pete in a very limited situation day General Kaine in a very limited situation. Marco really went up and took all questions. Are they going to start, you think, being more aggressive on the, what I call the information warfare size here? Because they've been very silent over the weekend. Nobody did the Sunday shows yesterday. Right. It's pretty obvious Scott Bessant was not out on Squawk Box or talking about oil or the capital markets, although I don't think the capital markets were in horrible turmoil as some people predicted. Do you think the White House is going to get more proactive on the messaging side?

[Brian Glenn]

They should. And I look and I think that they will, because right now all you have is some of those ultra MAGA social media accounts that you see on X and Getter just going hard in the paint. You know, it's the America. It's like, yeah. And all of a sudden the reality comes in that this is a war and we have had casualties and this is a little bit more involved than what we thought it would be. I heard some pundits, the commentary class, as I like to call them, before this started, saying it's going to be very precise, very precision. We're going to go in there, we're going to carve it out. It's going to be just like Operation Midnight Hammer. I said, you got to be kidding me. Look at all the assets we're putting in that area. This is going to take a while. So as long as they communicate this, Steve, to the American people on why they're there, what's going on and be, be truthful with them. I think the American people could take it because no one wants the Iranian regime to exist. We do, I think what evil people out of power, but at what bad guys.

[Steve Bannon]

But I do go back to the bad guys. Trump saying, hey, we're going to decapitate, we're going to go and decapitate and let the Iranian people, as I've been saying, hey, no offense, they brought the Islamic Republic on, right? I realize this is their parents and their grandparents, most of them, but they wanted the Islamic Republic. They kicked the shot, they kicked us out. They brought it on them and now they don't want it. That's fine. Then step up like President Trump's been saying, step up and take it out. Brian Glenn, social media we'll get you back on tomorrow because there's a lot going. I agree with you. I do think they're doing systematic takedown of air and naval assets and Revolutionary Guard. I think they've done a lot deeper in the command structure than they've let on. But we'll see all that, I'm sure, the next couple of days. Where do people get you? Brian Glenn?

[Brian Glenn]

Steve, you can follow me at Brian Glenn TV on Twitter, Ryan Glenn on Instagram, at Brian on Truth Social and get her. I pray for this country, Steve. You know, this is war and I am no expert by any means, but I do know the realities of losing men and women in the battlefield and what that means in this country. And I want us to make sure when this is all said and done that we put, we close a chapter on this, this whole narrative that we've got to stop the Iranian regime from getting a new a nuclear weapon. Let's put this to rest, Steve. I'm done with this crap. Let's put it to rest.

[Steve Bannon]

Brian Glenn, thank you so much, sir.

[Brian Glenn]

Thank you.

[Steve Bannon]

Pray for our young men and women that are in harm's way right now. Jan Yekalik, my favorite Epic times, your great show, American Thought Leaders first. I'll get to the Chinese Communist Party in a second because they look like they're taking some heavy hits here, both in Venezuela and here. And you're an expert, but just your overall assessment with the information we're getting and where do you think we stand on this in the first couple of days of this war,

[Yanja Kellek]

Steve, I can't help but think about this from the broader geopolitical context. I saw this amazing Commentary yesterday, which has basically mirrored my exact thinking. How do we communicate with the Communist Chinese leaders? How do we communicate them? Well, the commentator said a horse's head in the bed is really the only way to do that. So as you pointed out, we've got Venezuela, this is what can happen, right? We've got Iran now. This is what can happen. And you can understand that Xi Jinping is getting a message, don't screw around with us. I think this is, you know, I don't know if this is the key reason for these, for these attacks. I don't think it's the only reason, but it's a very important, let's call it, side benefit to what has happened. Because the only thing they really understand is sheer exertion of force. Or as this commentator pointed out, it's kind of like a mafia message, right? This is what's going to happen if you don't play with us. And then of course, we've got the tariffs on the other side of restricting the one pillar of their economy that they have left, which is really their export. So for me, all roads need to

[Steve Bannon]

shine if they've taken it on. They've had two allies. They got a couple, three, but they got two big ones, Venezuela and the mullahs. Both of one's in American jail or American federal prison awaiting trial. The other is graveyard dead. How does she keep face there? He's purging the military every other week. How does he keep face among the power brokers in the Chinese Communist Party? Sir, we got about a minute.

[Yanja Kellek]

He's not keeping face at all, I think. And he's actually, I think, very, very worried. And he's getting a lot of questions are being asked and he can't even really do his power play on Taiwan at the moment because he doesn't have the military capability to do so. And, you know, this is actually something that I, this whole concept of how the CCP actually operates in a very extreme way, I document this very well. And thank you for carrying Killed to Order and having me on about this. This is my new book. But it's not just about this forced or shocking forced organ harvesting industry. It's how it's the perfect lens to understand how the CCP actually operates. We get into all this stuff in the book explaining that.

[Steve Bannon]

Well, we're going to take a short break. We're going to get into it. If, you know, you can see Maduro, the mullahs, the ayatollah and the heads of the Chinese Communist Party, bad, bad, bad. Actors. But as bad as the mullahs and maduras, what, what Yan exposes with the Chinese Communist Party will rock your world. We're going to take a short commercial break. We're going to return in the war room in just a moment.

[Stephen K. Bannon (Host)]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Banff.

[Steve Bannon]

I, I, I, I do believe that President Trump's overall strategic, one of strategic thrust is to make sure the Chinese Communist Party, our greatest existential threat, understands that, hey, we can do with your allies what we want to do with them. And you got nothing to say about it. That's why I'm, I'm, I'm taking the under on whether there's going to be a state visit in April. Now, they could still surprise me. I just don't see it right now. Yan, talk to the audience about what your book and your 20 years of research that you're finally able to bring forward shows what monsters these people are.

[Yanja Kellek]

Well, the book talks about killed to order, which is this forced organ harvesting industry kind of unique in the world and evil yet to be seen on this planet, described by one of the researchers, David Matis. And I go into exactly how it works and how it's different than your, basically your typical run of the mill, also horrible organ trafficking. But more importantly, actually now to the topic of today is that it actually is a lens into understanding how Communist China actually works at a deeper level. Right. The stuff in this book will shock you to the core. It shocked me as I was doing the research and actually over the years, you know, what I've learned is kind of like, is actually really, really mind blowing because for normal people, like we kind of always assume that we're dealing with a normal government or kind of normal people on the other side that you can negotiate. This is why I was talking about this horse's head communication as being kind of one of the ways to do it. But another thing, you know, another thing that I talk about in the book is the utilitarianism being a function of the Chinese Communist Party and how it deals with everybody. In fact, that it's been using Iran the same way it's been, aside from being an ally. Right. It's been this massive source of distraction and instability in the Middle East. So the American gaze, so to speak, keeps being focused in another direction and not where the biggest adversary subtitle of my book, the True nature of America's Biggest Adversary. That's Communist China. And so, you know, right now, if, if this is successful, which, which I certainly hope it is, this operation and so forth. America can actually focus on dealing with, with its massive threat across the Pacific.

[Steve Bannon]

Okay, I want everybody to know, here's what we're doing. This is through the good offices of Tony Lyons and War Room, many people. We're going to have a very special event with you. What's the date? It's one of the last events, I believe, in the Trump Kennedy center before it shuts down. I think it's shutting down this spring. So it's gonna be the Trump Kennedy center. What night? And how do people get tickets?

[Yanja Kellek]

It's actually incredible. So the Trump Kennedy center has decided to have an official event as part of its Millennium Stage series, thanks to Tony Lyons. What I thought initially was a crazy idea, but they're actually running this. You can actually reach the RSVP for it at killedtoorderevent.com killedtoorderevent.com It's March 16th and it's a conversation between Rob Schneider, who's someone who's gotten behind this issue in a massive way. God bless you, Rob. Thank you so much for that. And you know, we're going to talk about some really hard questions and a little bit of dark humor. We're still figuring that out because this is such a dark extreme issue. But it's going to be an incredible evening to remember. And there's also a VIP event afterwards for people that may want to participate in that as well. But basically we can get more than a thousand people in the door and the first thousand people that come in will actually get a book. There's a really generous donor who decided to kind of again, support this issue. There's so many people that are getting behind this. I'm really touched and thank you for your support. Steve.

[Steve Bannon]

No, where do people go? One more time. Where they go get the book. Where they go. For anybody in the greater Washington, D.C. area, it's really going to be a very special night. So where do folks go?

[Yanja Kellek]

Well, the book, if you want to get it. Killedtoorder.com that's the direct to the Amazon link. We're trying to create a movement, you know, get this book, share it with people, raise the level of awareness. This explains how the Communist Party operates to people and not enough Americans know. But for the event, it's killtoorderevent.com and that's for that March 16 event. 6pm Trump Kennedy Center. It's going to be incredible.

[Steve Bannon]

You and Rob Schneider is coming. And Rob has really gotten it back of this, by the way. Very, very smart guy. Talked at Turning Point, you know, really smart guy, if you want to understand the monsters that control so much power on this earth, get this book. Yan Social media, where do people get you? The Epoch Times and War Room are the tip of the spear and taking down the Chinese Communist Party. Where do people go to get all your writings? And over at the Epic Times.

[Yanja Kellek]

Well, go to theepochtimes.com that's our main website. There's always good stuff on China there. Right now, of course, we have the war at the top of the page. And for myself on X, Yanja Kellek on truth, the same way, please follow me on my social media. And I'm actually covering all of this stuff as we speak and of course, different aspects of the book. And we just had Gordon Chang on about Iran, China, digging into this geopolitical aspect massively. That's on American Thought leaders, that's on YouTube. Check it out. It's actually going viral. He really knows what he's talking about.

[Steve Bannon]

Gordon's the best. Thank you. Ayan. Fantastic book. Harrowing. That's why we so we're so strongly in back of this. And I want to thank everybody who's associated with this Kennedy Center. If you're in the greater Washington area, you do not want to miss it's going to be a great night and you get to see the Trump Kennedy center one of the last times, I think before it goes into refurbishment for a year or two. Mike Lindell, okay, we're going to bifurcate this.

[Yanja Kellek]

Mike.

[Steve Bannon]

We had a lot to talk about about the executive order and you know, we had about we had Brian Kennedy on Today, his magnificent piece about what we have to do to make sure the elections are secure in 2026. President Trump just put up a true social free Tina Peters. So it's never far from his mind. We're going to get to that and the in the war in Texas is going to follow us. Richard Barrett's going to join us. David Nino Rodriguez, right now, sir, on what's been a very tough Monday on the eve of the Texas primary, what the Warren posse wants to know about is what deal you got for us? Lindell all right.

[Mike Lindell]

Well, we got the deals of the century, everybody. I can't wait to come back here in a few minutes and talk about the election stuff. But right now, if you haven't heard, MyPillow is moving into another factory. This week. We're moving into a factory. So we would rather get these products that this inventory sold. Our mattresses, our mattress toppers, these Big ticket items. You guys can get them for as low as 99.98, the lowest prices ever. Free shipping right to your front door. We're going to add the free shipping back in and we can save up to 80% off the lines. We're closing out, you guys. This is a sale like no other. It's a war room exclusive. So you make your bed and you turn your bed with one of the Mat Shop 6 month money back guarantee, 10 year warranty and you're getting free shipping right to your front door and the best price ever. And all these made in the, made in the USA and my mattresses. But go to mypillow.com war room and there you see all the clothing lines were closing out. You save 80%. Slippers were closing out. All these things were closing out. Plus all the items we put at the best price ever. So we don't have to move them, you guys. And we can't and can't wait to to get into the new factory. But you guys can help us out and help yourself right now with that promo code war room. 800-873-1062. You're going to talk to my employees there too to take your order. They're not moving. They're staying where they are. They love taking your promo code war room.

[Steve Bannon]

Okay, stick around. War of Texas is not as next. Michael and I was going to stick stick around. Richard Barris going to join us about the numbers. Nino Rodriguez about Austin next. This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.