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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | November 8th, 2025: Inside The U.S. Plan To Police Gaza & The Front Lines Of AI Warfare
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A
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B
Thank you. It's great to be here.
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A
Ambassador, if I could start with a, it's a pretty broad question, but, you know, this, this, this show is based on speculative questions in a very large playing field that we can roam all over the place. But at the, at the top, I guess. What is your perspective? How successful or not could a UN or international peacekeeping or peace monitoring force be in Gaza if neither Israel nor Hamas fully support it?
- [03:30]
B
Well, it's a big challenge, but then we all knew that when the 20 point plan emerged, it was at a very imaginative and ambitious plan. And the reason it hadn't been tried before is precisely because it's difficult. So we wouldn't expect this to be smooth or straightforward. But that said, because of the President's personal investment in it, it has already made a lot of progress beyond its sort of, you know, beyond its initial phase. And so now we're moving into the nitty gritty of the second phase. And this is difficult stuff. You know, it's not just the isf, it's also the question of, you know, where do you find the Palestinians and how quickly can you train them up to, to man a police force to provide temporary political, you know, staffing in Gaza independently of Hamas? And so we also have, you know, Hamas's clear objection at the moment to phase two. They haven't signed up to any of these stipulations of the Trump plan. Now, Israel, I think, is understandably looking at this cautiously. For them, this is deadly serious. And if they get it wrong, or if they allow others to get it wrong, it immediately impacts on the safety and welfare of their citizens. But in spite of that, I wouldn't say that they're against this by any means. It looks to me as if the current state that we're in is that Israel is cautiously welcoming the second phase, whilst pointing out the first phase has not yet been successfully completed. Hamas should not be allowed to hold over any credit from the first phase when they haven't actually completed it. Therefore, they shouldn't be allowed to negotiate against any aspects of the first phase. But Israel is cooperating, I think, with the proposal to stand up an isf. They have some concerns which they've expressed. They're concerned about Turkey being directly involved and I understand those concerns.
- [05:56]
A
Yeah, I think I was going to ask you about Turkey and about sort of the broader question of, from your perspective, which countries will play leading roles in this. But Before I jump into that, I take your point. I guess from Israel's perspective, it's more, it's not that they, they don't back the concept, they're just skeptical of, of the concept. And part of that is, again, to your point, Hamas has yet to, you know, even discuss the concept of disarming, much less giving up any governance role in the Strip.
- [06:36]
B
Exactly. So, I mean, you know, a number of countries have expressed an interest in potentially being involved in this isf. Some of the ones that have been mentioned include Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt. Clearly, from Israel's point of view, if they have people that they regard both as capable and also as honest brokers, then this is a good thing for them. They would see people who, they would have some confidence in trying to get to grips with the obvious difficulty of operating in Gaza. And of course, the idea is both from the Israeli side and from the US side, that this would be more than a peacekeeping force, this would be a peace enforcement force, that it would get involved in disarming Hamas, for example. Now, if those conditions are fulfilled, then Israel is likely to be, again, cautious because it could all go horribly wrong. And you could see people getting killed. Very. But Israel will facilitate and welcome. And the current US Blueprint envisages certainly both Israel and Egypt as key partners of this isf, key facilitators of this isf, because of course, they are the two bordering states that have, that have borders with Gaza. But if you think, if you look at, from the Israeli point of view, if the US Was to take its eye off the ball and you ended up with sort of pressure being put on Israel to accept a bunch of Turkish troops going in at a time when Hamas is effectively thumbing its nose at the international community and insisting that it still controls Gaza. And you then imagine the idea of a highly militarily capable NATO member going into Gaza and probably actively colluding with Hamas. Well, clearly Israel won't tolerate that and nor should they.
- [08:43]
A
Can you talk just briefly about the, that, that issue of, of Turkey? You know, I mean, I guess for, for our audience, it would be helpful if we look at, you know, why does Israel have, what's their primary concern over Turkey playing a significant role in this possible mission?
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B
So Turkey, like Qatar, has clearly aligned itself with Hamas throughout the last two years of conflict. It has also whipped up feeling on the Gaza issue. You've had President Erdogan's son talking about the liberation of Jerusalem and things of that kind. Turkey is hinting, sometimes more than hinting at Imperial ambitions. We should not forget the history of the Ottoman Empire. Of course, Jerusalem used to be control of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey is clearly maneuvering around Israel to Israel's disadvantage. And that's happening in Gaza, but of course it's also happening in Syria. So from Israel's point of view, Turkey is anything but an honest broker. And of course nor is Qatar, whereas it would accept uae, Saudi, even to some extent Egypt as relatively honest brokers.
- [10:12]
A
What about this issue of Hamas's future role? Have you heard any inklings or indication that Hamas is inclined to step back? And if that's not the case, then how does this, how is this just from the very beginning, not a non starter?
- [10:37]
B
Well, you may well ask, and I mean, I think a lot of skeptics when they looked at the 20 point plan, said, you know, the first five points, the first phase, Israeli redeployment, ceasefire on both sides, the release of Palestinian prisoners, the release of the Israeli hostages and the remains of the deceased hostages, and the opening of access for humanitarian delivery, that was all manageable. That was something that you could expect would successfully happen. And people thought that Israel would go ahead in good faith and deliver its part of that. Some people thought that Hamas might also manage to deliver that first phase. It is important again to say that Hamas has not complied and is still using the remains of deceased Israeli hostages as a bargaining chip. But the skeptics said that as soon as you get past the first phase, you then have a series of conditions which are more difficult for Hamas than they are for Israel. So Hamas has to accept that we'll have no future role in governing the strip. Hamas has to disarm. Hamas has to accept the deployment of an international stabilization force and some of its own Palestinian rivals who would likely form the Palestinian police and any kind of transitional authority. Hamas would have to accept that President Trump and Tony Blair and others on this board of peace would have some sort of authority over Gaza. And Hamas has not accepted any of that. I have seen no indication they are ready to do so. So in a way, the second phase of the peace plan depends heavily on the degree of pressure that Hamas's allies are willing to put on it now. Turkey and Qatar and also Egypt, of course, which is not an ally of Hamas, but which is a player in this. They did put pressure on Hamas and forced Hamas to accept the peace plan in principle and to sign up to the first phase of implementation. What's needed now is for those same countries to hold Hamas's feet to the fire, essentially If Hamas is told you have no friends anymore, nobody is going to protect you. And President Trump, as you know, on a number of occasions has made very belligerent remarks about Hamas and said if they don't play ball with this, then, you know, they will, you know, then we'll be happy for Israel to finish the job. Now, obviously is Israel, you know, is prefers to be in a ceasefire because it's been in two years of war. The United States wants this plan to succeed. It doesn't want it to collapse. And Israel will certainly not do anything that will cause the plan to collapse. But I think there may come a point where if Turkey and Qatar don't understand that they still have a key role in forcing Hamas to comply, and if, if Hamas refuses to comply, regardless of what Turkey and Qatar may do, well, then I'm afraid that the plan will stall.
- [13:46]
A
Understood. There is a lot to unpack here, sir. But right now we do have to take a quick break. Ambassador, so if you could stay with us. We will be right back with more of Ambassador Edmund Fitton Brown, who's got decades of experience in the Middle east in this region, both with the UK Foreign Service and the UN we'll be right back with more on THE SITUATION report. So don't go anywhere. Stick around. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, you've probably noticed Halloween is a thing of the past and now we're all setting our sights on Thanksgiving. Now, the great thing about Thanksgiving is it's one of the few times in the year when we can all slow down a bit, right? Gather as families and remind ourselves of what we're thankful for. And here's a little pro tip, do not discuss politics or religion or taxes around your Thanksgiving table. It's all about gratitude, not just for the past, but for the future. Right? And it's kind of legacy stuff. The team at Tritails Premium Beef, well, they understand that. You got to check this company out. They're terrific. They're a fifth generation ranching family in Texas. And just in time for the holidays, their thankful box was built for this season, a chock full of great tasting beef to help you feed your family, honor, tradition and strengthen the legacy that you're creating around your own table. Look, it's more than a holiday meal. It's a way to feed that legacy. And let's be honest, right, no one is going to be upset if there's a little less turkey and a little more beef on the Thanksgiving table. Am I right? Find it now@tribe.com PDB Again, very simple. Tribbeef.com PDB Hey, Mike Baker here. Now I don't want to alarm you, but the holidays are almost here. I know, right? So if you're looking for gift ideas and who isn't, look no further than Cozy Earth. You know that feeling when you find the perfect gift? You know the, the one that they actually use every day? You know what I'm talking about? Well, that's Cozy Earth. Over here at the Baker compound we have the Cozy Earth bedding and the family loves the sheets and their pajamas. Well, forget about it. They'd live in Cozy Earth pajamas if given the choice. The PJs are that rare mix of cozy and breathable so you never overheat. And if you want to make someone's day, well listen to this. The Bubble Cuddle blanket is next level comfort. It's plush and soft. Now I don't care whether you're a grandma, a Gen Z, a gym bro, or maybe a dude just back from deployment. Everybody digs plush and soft, right? And tell me it isn't fun to say Bubble Cuddle blanket. Also, their bedding and bath products come with a 100 night trial and get this, a 10 year warranty right now Black Friday has come early@cozyearth.com just use my code PDB on top of their site wide sale for up to 40% off. But these deals, well they won't last long. So head to cozyearth.com today use my code PDB and wrap the ones you love in luxury this season with Cozy Earth. And if you get a post purchase survey we well don't forget to mention the PDB sent you.
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AMPM Too much good stuff. Welcome back to the PDB Situation report. Joining me once again is Ambassador Edmund Fitten Brown, Senior Fellow at the foundation for Defense of Democracies and former UK Ambassador to Yemen. Sir, thank you very much for staying with us here on the Situation Report. If we could talk about Iran. You mentioned in our in our previous segment that Hamas is down to very few Friends, what role, from your perspective and your experience, what role do you imagine Iran is playing in Hamas's current thinking and strategy?
- [17:50]
B
It's certainly not playing a helpful role. We know that the Iranians at the moment are in denial about the fact that they lost the 12 day war, the fact that they have lost a lot of their proxy militias, the thing that they like to refer to as the axis of resistance. They still want to reconstitute the threat that they pose to Israel, and they're actively doing so, pursuing a rebuilding of their missile capabilities, their air defenses, and also of their nuclear program. So they're doubling down rather than looking to reach some kind of compromise with the United States and the international community. They're also actively resupplying the various militias that support them. And of course, they're particularly enthusiastic about the Yemeni Houthis, because the Yemeni Houthis were not defeated in the process of the last year and a half or so of conflict, or let's say two years of conflict, in fact. And so the Iranians will want the Palestinian issue to remain something that they can use against the west, against the United States and against Israel, and therefore they will not want Hamas to comply with any of the terms of the Trump peace plan.
- [19:22]
A
If we could circle back just for a second to the question of governance, future governance in, in Gaza, early on, before they had agreed to this, this ceasefire peace plan, there was a lot of talk certainly coming out of the U.S. you know, the, the Trump administration about the Palestinian Authority and how, you know, there was this idea that the PA would assume the role of, of leadership in, in Gaza. Talk to me about that and the, the realities of it. I mean, I understand a theoretical concept. Oh, hey, great, man, we'll get the PA in there. But, but what do you, what do you think about that from a, from a pragmatic, realistic standpoint?
- [20:13]
B
Yeah, I mean, the PA does not have a good track record in any respect. I mean, it doesn't matter how far back you go. There's no moment at which the PA was delivering impressively or looking like it would become a capable sort of democratic partner for the Israeli government. Now you now have a situation where the leader of the PA has been sort of 20 years into a four year term. So you've got high level of autocracy, a high level of corruption, and also, of course, you know, it spectacularly failed to hold on to authority in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal. So that is why the Trump peace plan included a clear stipulation that the PA would have to be reformed, and only if it was successfully reformed, could you then be looking at some form of pathway to a Palestinian state. Now, of course, it's important to mention that there are other constituencies in both the west bank and Gaza, as well as Hamas and the pa. And I don't mean the other resistance groups, the other jihadi and other Palestinian terrorist groups. I mean some of the civil society in significant cities. And those are particularly notable in the west bank, where you've got significant clans and tribes and city notables. And I think that in this respect, the international community does need to be doing more to reach out to those people, because any meaningful reform of the PA is going to have to involve widening its base of acceptance in the Palestinian territories, and it obviously is not going to gain acceptance from Hamas or people who are sympathetic to Hamas, but somehow to rebuild the trust that is broken down between the PA and Palestinian civil society will be important.
- [22:25]
A
Yeah, I just. Looking at the history of the pa, their popularity in Gaza, their differences over the years, Hamas, look, there's no doubt that PA would love to take on that role and get their hands on the billions of dollars that are going to flow in eventually, eventually for reconstruction purposes. So that's a strong incentive for them to maybe try to think of a way to make it work. But look, I'm a very skeptical, cynical individual when it comes to the Middle east. And so I, I, what I'd like to do now is, if you don't mind, maybe we could play the speculation game and say that if, if Hamas doesn't say, okay, fine, we're willing to disarm, we're willing to step aside if they don't, even in the short term, abide by the initial points of the plan and return the remaining deceased hostages. Where do you imagine this going? What does that look like?
- [23:23]
B
I don't want to go there if one could help it, but, I mean, we have to, as you say, as skeptics, as realists, we have to accept that this plan may not go further. And, you know, by the way, I completely share your skepticism on the Palestinian Authority. Clearly, you know, one thing that would make a difference would be a change of leadership if you could bring in somebody who had a new lease of life and who would welcome all those billions not in order to swell their own private bank accounts, but in order actually to engage in proper governance. So, you know, let's. Let's hope that may still be possible, and let's hope that somehow the, if you like, the sort of the the type that there aren't many other options will mean that the pressure will be kept on Hamas and somehow or other we do get through phase two of this plan. But if we don't, well, you know, clearly President Trump said at various points, if Hamas sinks this plan, then God help them. You know, he is prepared to see the Israelis go after them again. The Israelis, of course, have even more intelligence on where they are than they had when they were fighting the conflict earlier. They also, of course, don't have to worry any longer about live Israeli hostages who might fall victim to the fighting because of Hamas effectively as human shield. So that's another reason for just a touch of optimism, because Hamas doesn't have a strong hand to play here. It's not clear what exactly they can do other than simply absorb whatever is coming at them from the Israelis. If it does go back to conflict, I'm pretty sure that the Israelis are not going to want it to be an endless continuation of what we've seen over the last couple of years. They had some limited objectives in Gaza City and in the camps which they might try to prosecute in order to take out some key Hamas figures. But I don't think that we're looking at, you know, just a resumption of endless conflict.
- [25:38]
A
Do you think the Israeli public would, would be supportive if Netanyahu had to make that decision and say, we, we have no option at this stage, we have to go back in and try to just remove the last vestiges of Hamas?
- [25:55]
B
I think that it would be a very difficult call for him to make. He has already presumed a lot on the patience of the Israeli public because there is a lot of skepticism still in Israel. The Israelis have got long memories and they haven't forgotten that the country was left unprotected on 7th October 2023. And I'm afraid that the buck stops with the Prime Minister on that. Sooner or later, Netanyahu will face an inquiry for his failures in that regard. And sooner or later will be an election in Israel. And whilst it's very difficult to predict Israeli elections, I think there's a real chance that we would see a change of government in Israel. So I think if Netanyahu is to prolong the conflict primarily in people's view, in order to strengthen his political position and try to sort of find a way through the jeopardy that he faces, I'm not sure that will fly with the Israeli public. So I think, you know, unless Hamas does something that clearly justifies renewed military activity, and unless that military activity is time bound and has clear objectives, achievable objectives, then I think Netanyahu will be blamed for continuing the war.
- [27:13]
A
Okay, Ambassador, you've seen a lot over your years, both in the foreign service and with the UN from your perspective, are there any lessons from past peacekeeping missions that could be applied here to try to maximize at least the, the chances of success?
- [27:35]
B
I mean, I think there are, there are a lot of negative lessons that we would certainly have to factor in that. And you know, that, that, that tells you tracks not to go down. But of course, there isn't a great deal that we, we have in terms of really positive role models for this. You know, we should always make comparisons with other conflicts. But of course, comparison can only go so far. One of the dangers in listening to the Brits, for example, and I don't count myself amongst them anymore because I speak, I speak entirely on the basis of my own understanding of the situation. But you know, you'll get the Brits talking about what happened in Ireland and that doesn't help. Situation in Ireland is not sufficiently analogous to the situation in Gaza. And I think when I talk about negative lessons, clearly when we talk about UN Observers or peacekeepers, we have a lot of negative examples that we need to factor in. Unifil, of course, in southern Lebanon was an unmitigated disaster that led directly to the Israeli Hezbollah war that Israel recently won. And that was because if you simply put inadequately prepared, inadequately armed people essentially at the mercy of ruthless extremists, well, armed extremists, they duck the task and not only do they not challenge the extremists, but they actually end up suppressing their own reports in such a way as to make it look as if they're doing their job when they're not.
- [29:13]
A
This is, this is actually my book of, of questions. And I've got three more pages of questions for you. But I also have no more time. So that's my simple way of saying I hope you'll come back and join us again on the show. There's a lot of ground here to cover. Ambassador Edmund Fitton Brown, I want to say thank you very much for joining us today on THE Situation REPORT and sharing your insight. All right. Coming up next, artificial intelligence isn't just transforming technology, it's shaping how the next generation thinks. And in a big way. Former CIA officer and author Adam Hardage joins us to explain how America can raise leaders, not followers, in the age of AI. Hey, Mike Baker here. This podcast is brought to you in part by Stash. Now let me ask you a question. What if you could start investing without ever picking a single stock? Well, with Stash, the experts handle the hard part for you. Look, Stash isn't just another investing app. It's a registered investment advisor that combines automated investing with expert guidance. And that's important so you don't have to worry about figuring it out on your own. You can choose from personalized investments or let Stash's award winning smart portfolio do the work for you. With Stash, investing doesn't feel like gambling. It's simple, smart and stress free so your money can finally start working as hard as you do. Get access to world class financial advice with personalized guidance. Forget this, just $3 per monthly subscription. Stash has already helped millions of Americans reach their financial goals. So don't let your money sit around. Put it to work with stash. Go to get.stash.com PDB to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and and a few important disclosures. That's get.stash.com Pdb this is a paid non client endorsement, not representative of all clients and not a guarantee. Investment advisory service is offered by Stash Investments LLC and SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Investing involves risk Offer is subject to terms and conditions.
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Make style easy. Get started today@stitchfix.com Spotify that's stitchfix.com Spotify Success isn't guaranteed. It's earned through unwavering commitment. The only ones who make it to the top are those willing to go the extra mile. Get ahead with WSJ offering insights from the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, marketwatch and Investors Business Daily. Because Fortune favors the ambitious. Welcome back to the BDB Situation Report. America's next great challenge isn't a foreign adversary. It's the battle for the minds of our children as artificial intelligence reshapes how we think and learn and communicate. Generation Alpha. That's the new generation that followed in behind Generation Z. Remember them? Generation Alpha is being raised inside the same digital systems that shape perception, identity and truth itself. When information can be weaponized, every citizen, of course, becomes a potential target. If our children can't tell real from engineered reality. America's long term security and sovereignty are clearly at risk. That's the warning and the mission of today's guest, Adam Hardage. He's a former CIA operations officer and author of the book Alpha Blueprint Preparing the Next Generation for an AI Future. Adam, very good to have you on the show. Thanks for taking the time here to be on the Situation REPORT now.
- [32:57]
C
I really appreciate it, Mike. It's, it's a real pleasure. Thank you.
- [33:01]
A
Well, you'll think differently after we spend some time chatting. So let me ask you this for the benefit of our audience, could you give us a brief background on, on your experiences where you come from?
- [33:14]
C
Sure, absolutely. So I'm kind of a product of the 911 generation. I'm a Gen X guy. I graduated from the Air force Academy in 1997 when the world was still very peaceful and we didn't really have a lot of wars and a lot of stuff to worry about. It was a fun time and of course 911 happened that changed everything. I crossed from the Air Force over to the army, then ultimately got picked up by the Defense Intelligence Agency and ended out my time at CIA as a case officer there. So it was a, it was a strange career, you know, really kind of driven by world events more than anything else. So ended up doing the wars. I did Iraq, Afghanistan, West Africa, Jordan, Syria, a few other, you know, posts that were not war zone related. But most, most of my time was spent war zones. So I've done kind of everything that, that a case officer, you know, is, is, gets to do if, if they're lucky in their career from you know, all the declared to the undeclared stuff and in and out of embassy and all the other fun things. So I'm really, really very grateful for it. I, you know, I, I, I'm one of those guys that has the romance attached to the life, you know, seduced and betrayed by a scoundrel type thing. And I've got the, the scars and, and the stories to, to back it up now. So anyway, it's been a fun career and I left 2017, became an entrepreneur and then now most recently author of the Alpha Blueprint. Because I sat around and was thinking about my 7 year old boy and my 10 year old daughter and wondering, you know, what the heck do I tell them in their generation do I tell them to go to college and you know, go work for a Fortune 500 and get a 401K and we're, you know, 30 years of retirement And Medicare and Social Security be there for you. And I think, you know, that ship has sailed. And so that's kind of what, what spawned the Next thing, which was the book. And now I'm on a mission to prepare the next generation for an AI future. That's me.
- [35:28]
A
Well, that sounds simple enough. That sounds, sounds like you've taken on something very simple. Not to put you on the spot, but of all the things you've done in your career leading up to now, what was your favorite?
- [35:43]
C
My favorite thing of all time was HALO jumping. So high altitude, low opening, military free fall parachuting. It's. I was a professionally licensed skydiver. I was an instructor on the Air Force Academy's parachute team. I was an instructor on the SOCOM parachute team. Let's see. So aside from, aside from jumping out of planes, the other thing was just frankly being a CIA operations officer, I, I absolutely love, I loved, should say I still think of myself as one. You know, it's kind of one of those, once you're, once you're there, I mean, you've always got that, it's like a lifelong thing. So I'm just, yeah, I was really proud of my service. Even though I'm not happy with, with the way that things turned out with the wars. I'm not happy with Iraq or Afghanistan. I'm not happy with a lot of the political leadership that we've had over the last 20 years. I'm not happy with a lot of the things. But, but for me personally, I'm very honored that I got to do what I got to do.
- [36:52]
A
Yeah, I don't blame you for, for starting with the, with the jumping out of perfectly good working airplanes. But I was happy to hear you talk about the agency briefly. And yeah, I was, I was the same way. I, I enjoyed it immensely, had a great time. Never, you know, it was just one of those things where it's hard to, it's hard to explain to people, I think sometimes, but, but it was immensely enjoyable and fulfilling. Well, now I want to get to the next point, which is the book. I know you just briefly touched on why you wrote it, but tell us a bit about the book.
- [37:35]
C
Yeah, so the, I would say that the entire book is kind of encapsulated in this, this single premise of AI has democratized PhD level intelligence globally for 20 bucks a month. So now, you know, a 15 year old kid in Nairobi is writing an MBA, an MBA level business plan and proposal that's on par with, you know, Harvard grad that's got a team of lawyers and hedge fund guys and everything else with them. So, so it really got me thinking about what? You know, how do you guide your children? How do you guide the next generation if, you know, if jobs are going away faster than companies can even, you know, train robots to replace them? You know, what do I, what do I tell my kids? And so, so it really made me get deep, deep, deep, deep about the problem set. And, and, and frankly, I, I kind of view the world from this weird sort of pseudo, you know, cynical meets real world experience and truth meets, you know, faith and, and, and, and my spiritual God given mission on earth to raise a good family and, and pro, you know, provide for them and protect them. It's so that's, that's kind of the mishmash lens that I see the world through. And it occurred to me that, that nobody, nobody is out there talking about how, what are we doing in 20 years? How do we prepare our kids or our grandkids for 20 years from now? But 30 years from now, what is, how do you not become a copy of a copy of a copy in a world that is basically built on lies? And you and I know all about, you know, lies and manipulation and deceit because the agency is, is the best at it. And, and, and now you've got algorithms that can literally.
- [39:33]
A
Wait a minute, wait a minute. I don't know about your career, but I, I never engaged in anything bordering on lies or deceit. Come on. I think you should. No. All right, fine. I take your point. I take your point. Well, so, okay, so I, I'm fascinated by the, the, the, the intersection here that, that you hit on in terms of AI. I had a conversation this morning with some investors in an AI company and they look at it from, obviously from their perspective as, look, we want this thing to hit solid returns. They're not, they're not sitting there pondering the downside and they're certainly not sitting there pondering the intersection of AI and the future of our young people. Yeah, and now I've got, I've got young kids. Well, I've got teenagers, teenage boys. And you know, every day we see the impact of AI and just in terms of their schoolwork and their, their, I don't want to say inability because they're smart kids, like all three of them, but you know, it's, it's, it's having a negative impact on critical thinking skills, on writing skills and on analytical skills, I think, because their go to. And it's the same with Colleagues, friends of mine who are in business and have been very successful, who, the first thing they do when they, they, they're wondering about something is turn to their, their AI concierge. Your assistant. Yeah. And then they engage in a conversation with it. And there's never, I shouldn't say there's never, but it strikes me as there's rarely any cynicism. And, and by that I mean looking at something or reading something and saying, is that accurate? Is that, where is that coming from? What's the source of this? Right? Tell me about that from your perspective. If you could do this, if you could prioritize and say your, your number one concern with AI's impact on young people, what would it be?
- [41:47]
C
My number one concern is that kids are too willing to, or will be, let's say, enticed to be too willing to put their brain in a box and let AI do the thinking for them. And then you couple that with the inability for this younger generation to even be bored, I think that's a recipe for, for a whole lot of unrest and a whole lot of frankly, misery with, with, you know, the individual lives of these kids. So I think it's very important that, you know, kids can learn to be resilient, that they learn to have human connections, that they learn to think critically and, and that they get frustrated with problem solving and look to, you know, forms other than just the easy solution, which is punch it into. A great example is when I was a kid, my dad caught me using a calculator. I say caught me because I was like, dad, this is required. This is actually graphing advanced math and graphing calculator. I can't do this work without, without it. And he didn't want to have anything to do with it and he destroyed the thing. And next thing you know, after he talked to my teacher, he had to go and do. And because he's like, well, actually, your son is right on this. But the point is, you know, you've got technology that's available to everyone for 20 bucks a month, and it's really, really easy to just be lazy. So my biggest fear is that if you don't, as a parent, not you personally, but obviously any one of us, any one of us, if we don't instill discipline and academic rigor within the sort of ethos and the spirit of our kids, then they will end up being nothing more than a copy of a copy of a copy. So the only way, I think, to guide kids and, and I really get into this in depth in the book is for the next generation to really understand. They don't have 50 years to figure this stuff out. So they really have to look inside themselves and figure out who am I, what really matters to me, what are my values. I may only be 10 years old, but I got to figure this stuff out because the world's going to be moving so fast by the time I'm even eligible to enter the workplace that if I, if I am not solid in me and if I don't understand my God given spark in my own creativity, then I am just going to be a copy of a copy. I think that's the biggest dating.
- [44:27]
A
Yeah, I mean we talked, we talk about it all the time. I mean just the Internet's impact on, on kids growing up too fast. And so I think you're right. It takes a lot, I would argue, to gets young people, even young teens or, you know, early teens to start asking those questions about, you know, what is important to me, what is my role. And I want to talk about how you get kids to focus on things like that. But if you wouldn't mind, we do have to take a quick break. Then we'll be right back with more from Adam Hartage, former military CIA officer as well author of a great book. And we'll be back here with more from Adam on THE SITUATION report. So please stick around. Hey, Mike Baker here, host of the BDB and fashion icon. That's how people know me. Two Classic started with a simple goal. I'm going to tell you about a great company that you have to check out as soon as I finish telling you about it. It's called True Classic. But they make premium comfortable clothing accessible because frankly, looking great shouldn't mean paying a designer price. And clearly that's resonating with the public. With over 25 million shirts sold. Get that? 5 million customers and 200,000 plus 5 star reviews. True Classic has earned its spot in closets everywhere. But this brand is is about more than just fabric and fit. It's about confidence, showing up, feeling polished without the effort and the high price. That's why True Classic makes the perfect holiday gift. Whether you're shopping for your dad, your brother, your partner, your, your, your wife, your sister, your kids, there's something for everyone. The same comfort and fit that built the brand are now available for the whole family. These pieces fit right, feel amazing and they won't wreck your budget. You get that tailored look without sacrificing comfort or price. So skip the guesswork and the overpriced designer stuff. Give comfort, give confidence. This holiday season, give true classic. You can find them at Amazon or Target, Costco and Sam's Club or. Or just head to trueclassic.com PDB to grab the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Attention, podcast people. I'm Harry Cole and I'm invited you to something properly different, something urgent, something real. It's called Harry Cole Saves the West. If you're tired of limp commentary and afraid to offend punditry, then this is the show for you. We're taking sledgehammers to sacred cows and battling the malign forces tearing apart the US in uk. From open borders to cultural collapse to economic chaos to the threats to national security, the values and freedoms of the west are under siege like never before. This is the show where American grit meets British backbone. We all defend faith, family, freedom, and the future of the west with bold, unapologetic truth telling. So if you're ready to push back, ready to stand tall, ready to laugh at the madness, then hit subscribe. Harry Cole Saves the West right now available wherever you get your podcasts. The fight back starts here. And yes, bring the popcorn. Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. Joining me once again is Adam Hardin. She's a former CIA operations officer and author of a very interesting book. You've got to pick this up if you haven't already. It's called the Alpha Blueprint. Preparing the Next generation for an AI future. Right. And that's where we're all headed. Adam, thanks very much for sticking around. Appreciate it. If we could, I want to kind of move a little bit. We're still talking about kind of this intersection of AI, what it means to, to young people, how you guide them through there, how you develop their abilities to prepare for what's coming next. Talk to me a little bit about deep fakes, the inability for a lot of people to tell the difference between credible, accurate information and just whatever happens to be put out there.
- [48:20]
B
Yeah.
- [48:21]
C
And you, you, you hit on probably the number one thing right there. And it's, it's funny. I was just talking to my wife last night about this because one of my guilty pleasures is scroll on Instagram. I, I, I, you know, loved it because it's, well, you know, because it's especially I, you can curate your own following and stuff. So I've always got really funny stuff. I do, you know, I shared funny stuff with buddies all the time and, but I realized I was like, this Instagram is starting to suck because I can't like it's getting, AI, is getting good enough to the point where I can't really tell if what I'm seeing is real or is not. And so you kind of lose the bubble in the fun. Just, and that's, that's a very, you know, benign example of, you know, hey, this is not, not something I necessarily want to afford my buddies because I'm.
- [49:10]
A
Not sure if it's real.
- [49:11]
C
But think about where we are now, where we were five years ago, and where we're going to be five years from now. I don't think the future is going to be a world where you can believe anything that you see or that.
- [49:28]
A
You hear or that you are told.
- [49:30]
C
Unless you can reach out and physically touch the person in front of you. And then you better make sure that they're not a humanoid. You know, I, I think that is, I, what do you mean?
- [49:41]
A
Not, not, not a, not a lizard person. What are we, what are we talking about? That, I mean, I, I, good point.
- [49:47]
C
That's, that's where we are, buddy. So, I mean, you know, I, I, I joke, but I would tell people, you know, now is the time to get right with your families, with your communities, with, you know, it's the time to embrace like really you're, you're a human God given spark. And to, you know, frankly, it's not to proselytize, but it's, it's time for people to really consider, you know, what matters most to them in the world. And that I hope for, for many it is their community as their family. And I think you're going to frankly, see a lot of resurgence back to small town America. You know, all the, all the flyover stuff that, you know, like dead America, you know, when you drive through and you see these towns that are literally just abandoned shop, shops doors boarded up because in favor of the big city and stuff. I think you're going to see a lot of people kind of going back to that and getting back into their local communities and, and learning how to do things with their hands and learning how to embrace something real versus something virtual or digital.
- [50:56]
A
I think we saw that. I'm sorry for interrupting, Adam. Yeah, we, we did start to see that during the pandemic. Right. I will look. Whether it was 9, 11, whether it's a pandemic or any other, you know, obvious national crises, you do tend to see people revert back to some, some core basics, some, you know, value thoughts. And so you did see a lot of people moving out of the cities and part of that obviously, during the pandemic was necessity. Right. And whether they're moving back home or just trying to find a way to. To get by, or the fear of living in a confined, very large urban environment. But you did get some of that. And then, of course, it dissipates. Right. We, you know, it seems like the pandemic's ancient history, certainly 9, 11 ancient history. And so we don't pull together, I would argue, particularly well, unless there is a very large outside threat. And then for a period of time, sometimes it seems relatively short, we all pull together. For me, the toughest part, I think, when you're talking about the kids, because I am fast again, you know, I think any parent is concerned about this. Right. I would hope, anyway. But I. People talk about AI like Elon Musk the other day, you know, talked about the impact of AI on employment in the future. And he said, well, you know, it wasn't exactly rocket science, even though he barely is a rocket scientist almost. But he was saying, look, you know, it'll be. There'll be lots and lots of jobs, but there'll just be different kinds of jobs. Well, thank you. I, you know, I didn't, you know, need to think too long to come up with that one. But the point is that I don't know what those jobs are going to look like because we're losing again. In the old days, you know, I don't sound like Wilford Brimley, but you'd walk into a library with your assignment from school, and you'd have to go through the process of finding books that would deal with that. And then you'd have to dig through and you'd have to take notes and you'd have to write. Right. And you'd have to actually put together an essay. Right. Of your own doing. Right. And that doesn't. At least, you know, from what I've seen from, from our kids and their friends. And I've had a daughter go through university. You know, our oldest boy is now in university, and AI is prevalent. It's everywhere in terms of what they're doing. So, again, there's these critical skills that our young people are losing and we don't even understand yet the damage done by the Internet and the screen time, because we haven't had enough time to process that. I don't really have a question. I just. I want to be in a dialog with you.
- [53:35]
C
Yeah. You know, I think you hit on, like, some of the biggest things, and that's what. That's the entire Point of the book. So I'm not claiming in the book people are like, well, what makes you qualified to write the book? I said, because I wrote it. And they said, well, you know, what makes you qualified to give an opinion? I said, because I think I'm about as well informed on this as anyone else in the world. And frankly, the matter is that no one really knows. And so we have to take our best guess, our best stab at what, that, what the right course of action is, what the right way to lead, to guide our families is. And, and, and I, I think that is the conversation, the number one conversation that is going to be around the dinner table worldwide, not just in America, worldwide, over the next 10 years, 20 years, however long it is. And so I, you know, I don't have all the answers and, and certainly Elon doesn't and Zuckerbucks and you know, none of the other guys do. They, they have an idea where they think it might go. But the, you know, the truth of the matter is, you know, this is a huge conversation that, that I, I mean I'm, I'm betting my entire future career on this one conversation. Meaning I think this has enough, enough importance to where I'm willing to dedicate my life to it because I'm so concerned as a father for my kids, but then also for my kids, friends and for the next generation. And so what does right look like in that? And I mean, call me old fashioned, but I find my answers in the book. You know, the leather one that it's kind of thick and you know, it's got a cross on the front of it. I, I tend to, I tend to, to rely on a lot of that ancient wisdom because I think it is timeless and, and true today as it was 2,000 years ago.
- [55:41]
A
Well, look, I mean, I, I, I, I think, you know, people can, can get, whether it's scared or put off or wary of, of seeing any reference to religion or faith or belief. Right? But I would argue, and you know, that, that going back to an earlier point you made that, you know, part of this effort in trying to raise kids for this next generation, for whatever this future is going to look like as a result of AI and all the impacts of technology. It comes down to family, community, church.
- [56:25]
B
Having.
- [56:28]
A
Confidence in themselves. Right? And confidence comes from understanding your core beliefs and values and principles and what you stand for. If you don't know what you stand for, you're, you're in trouble. Right? Let me, let me ask you about this. You, you, you talk about the danger of raising passive kids. What do you mean by that?
- [56:54]
C
It really comes down to the mindset of I'm just going to believe everything that I'm spoon fed from whatever the source is, versus I'm going to be a critical thinker, I'm going to test theories, I'm going to know who I am internally. So again, they don't have 50 years to figure that out. Unlike, you know, the luxury that we all had. You know, we could all go through midlife crisis and oh, poor me, and you know, you know, what am I, what am I going to do with my future and all this stuff. I mean, that was a luxury that I'm not sure that this generation gets so much, at least certainly not right now. I'm not a Chicken Little, the sky is falling kind of guy. I am very hopeful and very positive about the future. But I do want to take it with, you know, sort of a jaundiced eye in the sense where I say, okay, the world is changing on a daily basis faster than anybody can even really wrap their heads around. And when I look at what do you tell the next generation? It's got to come down to the timeless wisdom, to those timeless things. You know, that faith and family, freedom, those things matter, right? They're not just punchlines, they're not just, you know, just bylines in a, in a book. So, you know, truth, integrity, character, honesty, where your word is your bond, you know, I mean, I hammer those things into my kids all the time. And I'm like, you do not have the luxury to be a liar. You can't do it. And, and there's only one major reason that I give them as to why they can't do it. And it's not about because dad's going.
- [58:35]
A
To be disappointed in you.
- [58:36]
C
It's not about because, you know, God wants you to be honest. It's none of that stuff. It's because, kids, in 10 years, you're going to live in a world where you cannot believe almost anything that you see or, or are told. And therefore, your community and your character will be paramount and importance of how much people trust you. And the more people trust you, they want to work with you, they want to be around you, they want to help you, they want your help. So, you know, trust is the cornerstone and the foundational character are the cornerstone, foundational elements for everything that has to happen. And I love the fact that, that this next generation is called the Alpha generation because if you think about it, we screwed it all up so much. From the boomers to the Gen Xers to the millennials and the zers that now we've got a hard generation that's about to be raised, and they're going to come in and set it right. And I am very, very hopeful that that's what's going to happen.
- [59:40]
A
Well, yeah, I, I, I agree with you. I mean, I, I am by nature, I think, just because of what I've done over the years, maybe I'm a cynical bastard. But, but I also, you can do that. You can be that and still have hope for the future and still understand it. It's a very resilient world. And, you know, there's, there's a lot of good there. And, and so, yeah, I never disappear down some negative rabbit hole necessarily, even though I am cynical. But let me ask you this as a final question. Being mindful of your time, how do you, from your perspective, how do you teach kids to be skeptical in today's information world of what they're reading and seeing and hearing? How do you teach them to do that, to question what they're seeing, reading and hearing without turning them into a cynical bastard like myself?
- [60:31]
C
Well, that's, that's a great question. And I go into it a lot in the book. In fact, the whole first part of the book is called the World of Lies. And so I lay out for them the top 50 big ones that everybody knows is garbage and nonsense that we're all getting fed. But once I've laid those things out, I'm like, now here's how you spot them. Here's how you spot the license. It's very simple. You know, it's, it's, and you know the game. So, you know, if you're dealing with an information operation or some sort of misinformation or disinformation or psychological blah, blah, blah. And it's really, it comes down to the same things. It's like, you know, it's going to be loud. It's going to not allow you to question the narrative. If you do question it, you're going to be called names or you're going to be shut down and you're going to be canceled. Culturally, like, those are all the sin signs of the, of the manipulation. So I, I go into a lot of that in detail and I'm like, here's how you identify truth, you know, aside from, you know, relying on your own core gut to understand these things. But if you don't have a good foundation in who you are and what the truth is, and what. And what are the parameters of truth then? I think, then I think you're prone to being one of those followers and not one of those leaders. So my, my objective, my, my goal is to raise leaders, is to raise kids who are loving, who are hopeful, who are solid in who they are, who are good, solid citizens, you know, contributors to society that want to move the world forward in a positive direction. And so I, I'm, I'm not, you know, as is cynical as you and I can be, I'm still actually quite hopeful and excited about the future. I am. I mean, AI is scary stuff, sure, but I'm also really excited about it. I mean, it's, it's bringing us capabilities and technologies that we've never seen. I'm a thousand times more productive than I would be just on my own, as long as I don't put my brain in the box and let it just do my thinking for me. So we got to teach them how to think. We got to teach them how to lead. We got to teach them how to win in the world that, you know, we're guys like you and I are much better equipped to guide those kids than, than, frankly, a lot of people because we have been on the mean streets. We have seen the world of hard knocks. We have been lied to and manipulated and beseech and deceived, but we've also won. And we've, you know, we, we know what victory looks like. We know what hard work looks like, we know what ethics and, and morality looks like. So I'm very, very hopeful and positive for this generation. I think they just need guys like you and I to, to lead them into the future with a strong, steady step.
- [63:18]
B
So.
- [63:19]
A
Well, I'm, for one, I'm very glad, I'm very glad you're doing this. And it is, it is an incredibly important message. We are, unfortunately, at a time, even though I could drag this conversation out for quite a while longer, I do find this, this, again, intersection of, of the next generation and the future technology is fascinating. I highly recommend that our audience pick up this book, the Alpha Blueprint Preparing the Next Generation for an AI Future. Adam Hartage, the author, former CIA Operations officer, former military Listen, Adam, thank you very much for taking the time, man. I really appreciate it and I hope you'll come on back, but that's all the time we have for the PDB situation report. Listen, you know what we do. If you have any questions or comments or humorous anecdotes or limericks or jokes that, you know, your grandpa used to tell you maybe they're they're inappropriate. Please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com hey. Once a month a select team of our PDB executives gathers around our very expensive mahogany conference room table in our quite posh conference room lined with many bookshelves filled with leather bound books and there's also sort of the hint of pipe tobacco hanging in the air. And then that crowd chooses some of the best viewer questions and we produce our monthly award winning Ask Me Anything episodes. So keep your cards and letters coming to listen to the podcast of the show ad free. You can do that. You can do it very simply. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com I'm Mike Baker. Until next time. You know the drill. Stay informed, Stay safe, stay cool. With stays under $250 a night, VRBO makes it easy to celebrate sweater weather. Book a cabin with leaf views or a home with a fire pit for nights with friends with stays under $250 a night, find a home for your exact needs. Book now at verbo. Com.