The Peter McCormack Show, Episode #154: "Who Actually Runs The American War Machine?" with Faraz Jaka
Released March 6, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of The Peter McCormack Show tackles the question: Who drives American foreign policy, particularly its ongoing wars in the Middle East? Host Peter McCormack (here, "Connor") brings on analyst Faraz Jaka as his Middle East expert to examine the forces behind America's wars, with a focus on the Iran conflict. Together, they dissect the intersection of business, politics, international lobbying, media, and ideology. Throughout, Jaka offers a critical appraisal of both American and Israeli motivations and the broader consequences of sustained chaos in the region — and the West's entanglement in it. The discussion is interwoven with reflections on Christian morality, the corrupting effects of power, and how individuals might respond at a time of global upheaval.

Key Themes and Insights

Who Runs the War Machine?

• Politicians as Puppets:
  Jaka asserts that US foreign policy is largely dictated by an entrenched oligarchy spanning finance, lobbying, media, and business, rather than by elected officials.
  • "Everybody promises the same exact thing, and then everybody implements the same exact playbook." (00:21, 10:20, 51:04, 87:16)
  • "So the politicians are not the decision makers and they're not the beneficiaries." (01:22, 51:19, repeated throughout)
• Networks of Influence:
  The episode explores how figures connected to the 'Epstein network,' major donors, and lobbies like AIPAC maintain influence regardless of the administration, citing specific examples (Larry Ellison backing Marco Rubio; Jared Kushner's ties to Netanyahu).
  • "When you look at the Epstein network, it kind of reveals it because you figure out that this group of donors is actually in control of elected officials." (00:29, 11:08)
• Profiteering from War:
  War is described as lucrative for defense contractors and their shareholders, notably BlackRock and Vanguard.
  • "This is great for the shareholders of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, but who are these shareholders?" — Connor (01:24, 38:29)
  • "A bunch of them are going to be BlackRock and Vanguard ... the system is fundamentally rigged." — Jaka (01:30, 38:36)
• The Oligarchy and Media Control:
  Media ownership (Ellison owning CBS and TikTok, Murdoch at Fox) amplifies certain narratives and suppresses dissent, with accusations of antisemitism weaponized to silence critics.
  • "You end up in this situation where you see that the whole system is rigged ... if you say that there is this influence ... well, that's anti-Semitic, but this is what the facts say." — Jaka (38:36)

Why Is America at War with Iran?

• American Interests or Israeli Security?
  The current Iran war is framed not as a core American concern, but as fundamentally about Israel’s security.
  • "The Iranians are a bit of a nuisance for the United States, but they're actually a threat to Israel." — Jaka (02:25)
• Failed Negotiations:
  Jaka, citing Omani mediation, argues Iran made major concessions, but American negotiators (Kushner, Witkoff) — closely tied to Israeli leadership — sabotaged talks repeatedly as military action became the default.
  • "The negotiations were being run by a Netanyahu family friend. They were never meant to work." (00:16, 02:42)
  • "Diplomacy is used as cover to conduct attacks..." (05:28)
• Expanding the Circle of Chaos:
  The Israeli strategy is said to demand endless regional instability, fearing any strong neighboring state.
  • "All of their enemies need to be weak and in chaos because any one of them becoming sufficiently powerful is ... a threat." (06:32)
  • "So what they want really is no functioning strong states anywhere near them ... this circle keeps expanding." (06:50)

Regional Blowback and Global Consequences

• Weaponizing Insurgents:
  The US and Israel have repeatedly leveraged Sunni jihadi groups as proxies, then cracked down domestically using the resulting threats to justify surveillance and repression.
  • "You have a radical Sunni threat and then you use it against your enemies. And then domestically, you say the answer ... is to clamp down on people ... control their bank accounts..." (07:19)
• Economic and Energy Chaos as Weaponry:
  Iran’s counter to military weakness is economic "Samson Option" — striking oil/gas/desalination infrastructure, raising global inflation, and destabilizing trade.
  • "If you don't stop the Americans, we're going to just destroy everything and bring this all down on everybody's heads." (13:48)
  • "So more chaos." — Connor (14:34)
  • "Not just more chaos. Like, the extent ... is genuinely scary. The energy shutdown that is currently underway can last ... a long time." (14:37)

Public Opinion, Narrative Control, and Dissent

• Manufacturing Consent:
  Dissenters are reflexively vilified as apologists for regime enemies, even when simply calling for policy restraint.
  • "If you say that ... bombing every civilian structure in Gaza ... is actually a bad thing, then you're a Hamas apologist." (30:47)
• Propaganda and Information Fog:
  Media coverage, social media campaigns, and AI-deepfakes make discerning truth nearly impossible; both sides manipulate numbers and stories of casualties.
  • "It's a big mess." — Jaka (35:04)
  • "Do we have any idea of what is really going on?" — Connor (35:05)

Scenarios for Iran and the Region

• No "Winnable" War:
  The US cannot be hit directly ("The Americans can't lose this war because nobody can bomb the United States.") but will suffer economic costs; Iran, meanwhile, is resilient due to ideological commitment and outside assistance from Russia/China. (18:02, 25:05)
• Failed State Dangers:
  If Iran collapses, constant intervention will be needed, regional actors may be pulled in, and chaos could proliferate terrorist threats and migration into the West.
  • "The problem with failed states is that they require constant intervention and they bring chaos to the west, and they bring chaos to all of their neighborhoods." (53:33)
• Drones, Proxies, and Infinite Chaos:
  The "Assassins with drones" scenario: radical groups wielding drone swarms create perpetual instability.
  • "So if Iran becomes a failed state ... it's chaos. And who is this chaos going to invite in? The closest people are Turkey ... that narrative is already being spun by Israeli government officials." (54:06)

Christianity, Morality, and Personal Responsibility

• Christian Ethics vs. Realpolitik:
  Jaka emphasizes Christian doctrine as a corrective to Machiavellian "interest-based" foreign policy, critiquing "fake Christians" in US politics who endorse destabilizing wars.
  • "You have to be a Christian first and a patriot second. ... You have to put Christianity first, you have to put Christian morality first." (86:25)
  • "You can't defend chaos as policy if you're a Christian ... it is a better outcome ... to have stability than to have chaos." (68:22)
• Biblical Parallels:
  Sodom and Gomorrah, Noah’s Ark, and the Tower of Babel are invoked as allegories: unchecked immorality and centralization breed destruction, and moral responsibility starts with each person.
  • "What is a good man to do? ... build an ark to save as many people as he can." (76:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Repeating the Cycle:
  "You can take Clinton and replace him with Bush, promising you restraint ... then you can take Bush and replace him with Obama ... and then you can take him and replace him with Trump ... and it never really actually matters." — Jaka (10:20, 51:04)
• On Oligarchy:
  "This is an oligarchy. And this oligarchy is behaving in a way that fundamentally disregards not just the citizens of the Middle East, but also the West." — Jaka (52:51)
• On False Choices:
  "It tells voters that there is no bloody point in voting. It doesn't matter who you vote for. You get Israel, you get Israel first. And if it's not Israel first, then they're anti-Semitic." — Jaka (22:41)
• On Media Blindspots:
  "Everything that is published in Israel ... is under the authority of the military censor. And so they have full control over the media ecosystem in their country." — Jaka (41:20)
• On Moral Consistency:
  "Don't tell me you oppose the shooting of protesters in Iran if you also support the flattening of Gaza. Like, be consistent. Show me principle." — Jaka (49:05)
• On Chaos Over Order:
  "If you have a bad actor keeping order, it is a better outcome ... than to have chaos." — Jaka (68:32)
• On Debt-slavery:
  "You've taken the intelligent ... and you've placed them in debt slavery from before they've actually properly developed ... meaning that they will reproduce less ... an easier to control population." — Jaka (90:12)
• On Biblical Lessons:
  "The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is about everything being immoral, sensual, sexual, and lacking commitment, and the end result is destruction." — Jaka (75:16)
• On Modern ‘Treachery’:
  "You can't tell me that Christian Zionism is not a betrayal of Christianity. You can't tell me that. Because it is." — Jaka (81:03)

Key Timestamps & Segments

• Opening: Deconstructing the War Machine (00:00–02:13)
• Negotiations, Sabotage & Israel’s Security Doctrine (02:13–08:26)
• Why The Playbook Never Changes (10:00–11:04)
• Network Control: Donors, Media, and Policy (11:08–12:52, 38:36–42:08)
• Energy Warfare & Global Fallout (13:48–17:33)
• Public Sentiment and Narrative Policing (30:02–35:04, 41:20)
• Possible Outcomes and Strategic Logic (21:48–27:26, 53:33–54:06, 56:01–58:14)
• Christian Doctrine and War (64:14–69:37, 75:16–87:16)
• Debt, Usury, and Control (87:55–92:16)
• Reflections and Closing (94:13–End)

Conclusion

Faraz Jaka paints a bleak but incisive portrait of American warmaking as the servant of entrenched oligarchic interests, where war is both a tool and a business. He sees the Israel-centric foreign policy consensus as engineered, deeply resistant to democratic correction, and enforced via interlaced networks of money, media, and influence. Jaka returns repeatedly to Christian moral thought for solutions, stressing the importance of individual responsibility, integrity, and principle in both politics and personal life, especially when systemic evil seems ascendant. The result is a wide-ranging, provocative, and deeply challenging discussion on power, faith, and the consequences of perpetual war — for those in the Middle East, and for all those subject to the policies of the "war machine."