Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar - 1/22/24 ISRAEL: Biden Admits Houthi Strikes Are Failing, Navy Seals Declared Dead, Bibi Beclowns Biden On Two State Solution

Episode Date: January 22, 2024

Krystal and Saagar discuss Biden admits Houthi strikes aren't working, Navy Seals declared dead, and Bibi clowns Biden on two state solution.   To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: https://breakingpoints.supercast.com/ Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We rely on our premium subs to expand coverage, upgrade the studio, add staff, give you guys the best independent coverage that is possible. If you like what we're all about, it just means the absolute world to have your support. But enough with that. Let's get to the show. Speaking of Biden, an accidental moment of candor here. He gets asked a question about our ongoing attacks on the Houthis. Now, remember the context here. The Houthis, who basically are in charge of running Yemen, they're basically now the official government in Yemen, have been blocking the Red Sea in opposition to Israel's bombardment and what they and I describe as a genocide of the Palestinians

in the Gaza Strip. So they've been doing that. The U.S. decided that we had to get involved here. We had to protect commerce on the Red Sea. And so because our initial response wasn't working, we decided to go that step forward and start bombing Houthi facilities in Yemen without congressional authorization, by the way. So Biden gets asked about this. Hey, is this working? Let's take a listen to what he has to say. Well, when you say working, are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes. Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes. Okay. I mean, this is such an incredible admission. I guess he's like too elderly to come up with a lie on the spot. So he just tells the truth.

But, Sagar, it's just remarkable how U.S an expectation that this completely foolish and dangerous escalation that they've decided to engage in here, they don't even have an expectation that it's going to work. We know from the reporting, not only has it not worked, it hasn't damaged the Houthis' offensive capabilities significantly. It has not deterred them whatsoever. If anything, they have scaled up the attacks since we started bombing them directly. And you have more cargo ships than ever rerouting outside of the Red Sea and avoiding this area completely because now it's an active war zone. Gas prices immediately once we announced this bombing campaign went up. We talked last week about how Shell is saying we are not bringing our ships through here whatsoever. So it has been completely, wildly counterproductive.

They know that. He admits it. And yet it's still, yeah, but we're going to keep doing it, this foolish, stupid, counterproductive policy for no reason whatsoever. If I were to describe blob foreign policy, blob, by the way, is like the nickname for Washington establishment thinking. I would actually put this as the perfect example where it feels good, right? We're like, well, these guys are going to fire at our ships and we're going to take it right to them. I have nothing against that as long as it works, but that's the issue. It's got to work. And this is, it always feels good to drop a bomb, to drop, you know, a couple million dollars or whatever in ordinance. Everybody

gets to play with their toys and we get to watch some cool videos online. But then you're like, but now what? Did the bombing actually stop? And we brought everybody the news that in general, you know, the offensive capability had been only slightly reduced. It didn't take a genius. I said it from day one. I was like, look, Saudis carpet bombed these people for nine years. They haven't been able to do any real, you know, real destruction to their capabilities. It also, though, exposes what the word war means and what the Pentagon actually has the disdain for the American people for the democratic process. This was the perfect example where a Pentagon spokesperson was asked, is it fair to say that the U.S. is at war with

Yemen? And look at the way that this woman twists herself into knots to avoid the obvious answer of yes. Let's take a listen. Is it now fair to say that the U.S. is at war in Yemen? And secondly, there are some reports about a U.S. MQ-9 being shot down over Iraq by Iranian-backed militia. Is that something you're tracking? Thanks, Idris. I'll take the second, the last one first. I have seen those reports. I don't have anything for you on that. So I'd have to circle back with you. I've seen those reports, but don't have anything to add. In terms of your first question, no, we don't seek war. We don't think that we are at war. Just to follow up on Idris's question, you said that we are not at war with the Houthis, but

if this tit-for-tat bombing, we bombed them five times now. So if this isn't war, can you just explain this a little bit more to us? If this isn't war, what is war? Sure, Laura. Sure. Great question. I just wasn't expecting it phrased exactly that way. Look, we do not seek war. We are not at war with the Houthis. In terms of a definition, I think that would be more of a clear declaration from the United States. But again, what we are doing and the actions that we are taking are defensive in nature. I love those grizzled Pentagon reporters being like, all right, what is war then? And here's the thing. She actually gives the right answer. The correct answer is one that is declared by Congress.

And yet, what are we finding ourselves in? A tit-for-tat campaign? The problem was is that, as Ro Khanna articulated on our show about offensive capabilities, that was clearly an offensive action. It was described as such. It's a very different thing. And that's why previously in incidents where the Houthis had approached like a U.S. ship and we fired back at them, people were not upset about it from a congressional point of view because it's obviously an act of self-defense. Somebody's shooting at you and you shoot back, that's a different story. But when you're actively trying to remove their offensive capability, then that's not the same thing. And you have to get some congressional authorization for that. And the problem is, is that the only sign right now from Washington is that we're going to increase. And as we have said previously, if you want to

just solve this by air power, it's not possible. We're going to talk, I think tomorrow, a lot about the Israeli assessment, the U.S. military assessment of the Israeli military campaign. You can drop as many bombs as you want to on some of the most densely populated regions on the planet. You still can't kill everybody. Guess who found that out? In Japan, the United States, in our war with them. There's a reason Japan had to surrender, we got to militarily conquer the entire island

because even though we could kill 100,000 people in a single night, it's still very, very difficult in order to remove total enemy infrastructure and all of that with bombs alone. That's why the plans at that time called for a ground invasion of, you know, some quarter million troops or something crazy. So at the end of the day, if you want to solve this militarily, there's only one option. We've got to occupy Yemen. I don't think that should be on the table. And yet this seems to be, honestly, I think that seems to be the more likely scenario than something else, than an actual negotiated diplomatic solution.

And it is so important anytime we talk about this to remind people that if we just force Israel into a ceasefire and use our leverage to push them to the table and to end these hostilities, this all stops. We don't have to occupy Yemen. We don't have to bomb Yemen. We don't have to do any of this. And we know this because when there was a brief negotiated ceasefire the Houthis all but stopped their attacks all of the you know Iranian backed militias in Iraq all of these attacks stopped during the ceasefire so we know that this isn't just oh they're claiming it's about Israel it's really not about Israel no it is about Israel it is about what Israel is doing in Gaza right now

and yet that is taken completely off the table. And you are lead to the U.S. foreign policy establishment. You know, even going against the Rand Corporation is like this is a stupid policy. It's not going to work. Clearly, Joe Biden and co know that. And yet they feel like they we have to do something and we have to be the tough guys. So I guess we need to wage a war but not go to Congress to make it an official war. And speaking of that, let's put this up on the screen from The Washington Post. Apparently, the U.S. is preparing for a sustained bombing campaign, but definitely not a war, just a sustained bombing campaign. I'll read you some of the details here. The Biden administration crafting plans for a sustained military campaign targeting the Houthis in Yemen after 10 days of strikes failed to halt the group's attacks on maritime commerce, stoking concern among some

officials that an open-ended operation could derail the war-ravaged country's fragile peace and pull Washington, love that terminology, into another unpredictable Middle Eastern conflict. I love how we just get pulled in, like it's a force of nature, like there aren't other options on the table. Like our concerted offensive bombing campaign is us somehow being pulled into war without any choice or other possibilities. It's just insane. They say they don't expect the operation will stretch on for years, like previous US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria. At the same time, Sagar, they acknowledge they can identify no end date or provide an estimate for when the Yemeni's military capability will be adequately diminished as part of the effort U.S. naval forces also are

working to intercept weapons shipments from Iran. And it was part of that operation that led to we now have confirmation, sadly, that two U.S. Navy SEALs died attempting to intercept weapons from Iran to Yemen. So it shows you this is not costless whatsoever, not in terms of treasure, not in terms of lives, and certainly not in terms of global stability, let alone Middle Eastern regional stability. It just used to be, I mean, remember, Chris, do you remember when those soldiers died in, I think they were Green Berets, in Niger? And there at least was an uproar over that. People were like, what the hell are a bunch of Green Berets doing in the middle of the desert getting into a firefight with ISIS? To this day, the entire thing has been covered up

by the Pentagon. Oh, they absolutely lied about what really happened there. Those guys were left out in the cold. There was some crazy stuff that happened at command. People should have been prosecuted for what happened to those men. But that's a whole other story. Now, the same level, though, of scrutiny on this, I don't see it. Two U.S. Navy SEALs were died, killed in action now, it appears, in this mission. One of them, I mean, is a genuine hero who jumped in after one of the guys slipped off of the ladder and was carried off in heavy swells away. And their bodies have still not been found. They've been declared deceased now by the Pentagon. And the problem is, is that this is only ramping up. Let's put this up there on the screen. This is a terrifying thing that happened just a couple of days ago. So the main U.S. base in Iraq was, I love the headline,

attacked by Iranian-backed rebels. Okay, but that's not the headline. The headline is that, quote, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were fired by these militants from western Iraq that rained down on the base. Now, the reason why this is different is it's the first time so far that multiple ballistic missiles have been used against U.S. troops inside of Iraq. And what's even more troubling is that 15 Patriot missiles were actually fired to intercept these ballistic missiles and to shoot them down. Guess what, guys? Of those 15, we can put that up there, please. Each one of those costs $4 million. That means that we fired $60 million in ordnance. And what's even more

terrifying is that these so-called piddly rock missiles are just coming from Iran that they've been able to assemble without sanctions. They were able to get past our Patriot missile defense systems. So we fired $60 million in rockets, and multiple of our troops appear to have suffered traumatic brain injuries. And I believe one person was actually injured directly. That should terrify the hell out of all of us. A, our weapon systems don't work as well as we thought. That's number one. But two is that these guys are sitting ducks. And with the amount of technology now available to many of these Iranian-backed groups, this to me was a perfect preview of how much of a nightmare and how almost certain regional war is likely if Hezbollah does enter the war. Because they've got technology actually, frankly, even more advanced than this.

And this is another thing where things are all ramping up. The Houthis, obviously, are Iranian-backed. You've got these Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. They've got ballistic missiles and much more advanced technology. We do not have that many troops who are in Iraq right now. And then the question is, you know, Iraq too is in a major diplomatic problem. They're negotiating with us over our presence in the region. Yeah, they don't want us there anymore, basically. They don't want us there anymore. It's complicated. The Iranians tell them not, whatever. It's a different story. My main point is just that there's a lot at stake, and basically everything is being disrupted around all of this.

And you're right. I mean, the center of gravity for this is Gaza. If the ceasefire were to stop or if the ceasefire were to go into effect, then a lot of this would ramp down. That's not really an option that's currently being floated by anybody really in the American establishment. disgusted me was John Kirby, the spokesperson for the Pentagon, who went on Good Morning America yesterday and downplayed the TBIs that were suffered by these US troops in this attack. Here's what he had to say. What can you tell us about potential injuries to American troops in Iraq? And how will the US respond to this latest attack? Well, as we understand at this early hour on Sunday morning, it's only a very small number of US troops that were affected.

They're being seen for traumatic brain injuries with some symptoms of concussions, but no serious physical injuries other than that. Not that that's not serious enough, of course it is. But we understand it's a small number and it's limited to traumatic brain injuries. Obviously, we're gonna do what we have to do to protect them. I mean, these attacks have to stop. And we've made that very clear. Just a very small number, Crystal.

This is from the same people who believed Havana syndrome, who believed that Russians were shooting secret microwaves into U.S. diplomats' ears. And they passed how many millions of dollars in health. These are our servicemen who are sitting there getting missiles rained down on them. And he's going on national television, a former admiral in the U.S. Navy, to downplay traumatic brain injury, which last time I checked is actually one of the worst things that can happen in combat because it follows you forever. You have no idea the personality changes that could come. I mean there's all kinds of downstream effects that these guys may have to live with for the rest of their life. How can you feel being sitting there? you have missiles raining down on you,

and the freaking Pentagon or the press secretary go on television and just be like, oh, it was a very, very small number. I don't even care if it was, you know, if it's just one, so what? You know, every one of their lives and all those matters, it's the entire purpose of the government. Because they don't want to acknowledge even any other option or the failure of their strategy, strategy. Yeah. We're downplaying. I mean, just it's repulsive. It is repulsive. Yeah. Just a little traumatic. Yeah. Imagine that's your son or daughter. I know. Yeah. And it's horrible man out there. And, you know, I was saying this to you, like the other flax for the White House, the other shameless propagandists and liars that they employ. They at least look a little squirrely, like a little uncomfortable

when they're faced with the other lies and propaganda that they have to continue to promote. Not this man. No shame there. None whatsoever. He will just go out and proudly lie and spin and misdirect. And it is disgusting. And you know, that article that we put up before, it has an astonishing statistic in here, which I did not realize because we've tried to cover these attacks as much as we can because they are incredibly dangerous. This particular assault, which was one of the largest since October 7th, this was the 144th attack on U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Syria since October 7th. 144 attacks on U.S. troops in the region. I mean, first of all, this again begs the question, like, why are all these people still in the region? That's number one. But number two, like, what are we doing here? I saw another commentator say yesterday, like, listen, even if you do not care a bit about Palestinian lies, even if you are not repulsed

by the videos of 15-year-olds having to have their legs amputated with no anesthetic, even if that doesn't move you whatsoever, what possible U.S. interest is being served by this policy? What possible end are we pursuing? And this is the insanity to go back to the original comments from Biden, where he acknowledges, are the bombings of the Houthis working? No. Are they going to continue? Yes. It's the same thing with our policy with regard to Israel. You had Tony Blinken just recently come out, Sagar, and say there is no military solution to Hamas. I mean, it's true. It's obvious. But then what the hell are we doing? Like, what are we supporting? We're the ones sending the 2,000 pound bombs to drop on the Gaza Strip and destroy infrastructure and murder civilians, mostly women and children. And we're openly acknowledging, well, we know this

isn't going to work. Then why are we doing it? Why are we supporting it? And it shows you the level of complete insanity and disconnect from reality that has taken hold among the DC blob establishment. They will bomb, they will, you know, ship weapons to murder civilians, knowing that not only is it not going to work, it is actually going to achieve the opposite end of what you claim to support. Because the Houthis have never been more popular locally or around the world than they are right now. Hamas has never been more popular in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank than they are right now. Every civilian murdered in Gaza is likely a new Hamas or other militant member. They know this. They know this. And yet they continue to

pursue the policy anyway. If that's not the definition of insanity, I don't know what is. Well, I mean, like I said, it's all blob politics. Everything feels good. You know, everything is about obscuring like actual national interests. I, Chris, as I said, I am a big fan of talking in the language of national interest, because when you do talk to Americans, you people are pro-Israel. I would say, in general, for people who are pro-Israel, if you were to talk to them, you'd be like, do you think it would be worth sacrificing U.S. lives and, you know, U.S. military in order to fight for them? They'd be like, oh, no. And it's like, well, what if I told you that American troops have been fired upon 114 times? People are

like, well, you know, that'd be a little bit of a problem. Look, it's only a matter of time. And I hate to say it. We've already got two dead who've been killed. These brave heroes in this interdiction mission. It's only a matter of time. Ballistic missiles and all this stuff flying around, this amount of ordnance, somebody's going to die. And when they do- Yeah, we are lucky that it hasn't happened already. We are so lucky that it hasn't happened before. And it's just purely a matter of chance. 114. 144. Sorry, 144 attacks. Once we get to 200, like, what are we doing here? And it's just purely a matter of chance. 114. 144. Sorry, 144 attacks. Once we get to 200, like, what are we doing here?

And it just gets worse and worse. Already, you know, I've seen some of the images of some of these ships that have come out of the Red Sea. Yeah. This is no joke. I mean, go back and look at the damage, for example, of, like, the USS Cole back in 2000. I mean, a lot of sailors died in that attack. It's only a matter of time, you know, before something like that is allowed to happen. And that was just a tiny little skiff or something.

These guys have advanced military technology. And yes, as we see with the Patriots, we can shoot some of them down. But ask Ukraine, you can't shoot everything. And it's like, it only takes one, and you can do a hell of a lot of damage. We can see it in Israel, we can see it in Gaza, we can see it in Kyiv and everywhere else

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or wherever you get your podcasts. So speaking of what the hell are we doing here, the longtime stated goal of the U.S. government through successive administrations and especially amplified now in the wake of October 7th by the Biden administration, is the two-state solution. And Biden was asked, this was a great question, by the way, Biden was asked in a sort of a scrum, is it impossible to achieve a two-state solution while Bibi Netanyahu is prime minister of Israel, given that he continues to assert that not only does he oppose a Palestinian state now and forever, he has been a primary opponent of ever getting a Palestinian state for decades

at this point. Let's take a listen to what Joe Biden had to say. President, is a two-state solution impossible if Bibi's in power? No. If Bibi's in power. Is the former president trying to derail negotiations on Ukraine and the border? What do you think? I'd ask him. Are you going to reconsider conditions on Israel, Ed, given what Netanyahu said about a one-state? I think we'll be able to work something out.

What does that mean? There are a number of types of two-state solutions. There's a number of countries that are members of the UN that are still, don't have their own military. A number of states that have limitations. And so I think there's ways

in which this could work. But BBS said he's opposed to any two-state solutions. So what is he open to? Did you talk about it this morning? That was interesting, actually. Every part of that is very revealing. So let me go through it. So first of all, he's asked, do you think it's impossible with Bibi as prime minister? And he says no. He says there are a number of types of two state solutions. He says no, he didn't say that he's totally opposed to two-state solutions.

Well, he has said that multiple times and continues to say that. I'll show you in just a moment. But he lays out his specific idea of basically like, you know, a Palestinian state that isn't really a state, that doesn't really have sovereignty, some sort of state-minus solution that he thinks maybe he can sell to the Israelis, even with Netanyahu as prime minister. I mean, there's a lot to say about this. I mean, first of all, I think that solution is unacceptable, you know, to give them some sort of like pretend state that isn't real, number one, is unacceptable. Number two, even that,

Netanyahu is not going to go for. He is adamantly opposed to any form of anything approaching a Palestinian state or Palestinian sovereignty. So Biden is living in some sort of fantasy delusion, even in spite of the fact that Bibi continues to make it clear that there will never be a Palestinian state so long as he is in power. Yeah, I mean, Crystal, he made that very, very clear in his speech. It's amazing amazing too, because this is the perfect example of Hebrew versus English. In English, I don't believe he's ever said it. But in Hebrew, he's not tweeted it now multiple times. He's saying it to the public. He seems to forget that some of us can actually listen in on English language broadcast that's translating his

remarks live. Here's what he had to say. For 30 years, I am very consistent and I'm saying something very simple. This conflict is not on the lack of a state of Palestinian, but the existence of a state, the Jewish state. Every area that we evacuate, we receive terrible terror against that. It happened in South Lebanon, in Gaza, and also Judea and Samaria,

which we did it. And therefore, I clarify that in any other arrangement, any other arrangement, in the future, the state of Israel have to control on the entire area from the river to the sea. This is what happens when you have sovereignty. This truth I say to our American friends. And I also stopped the attempt to impose us a reality that will jeopardize us. A prime minister in Israel has to be able to say no, even to the best of friends, to say no when you need to and to say yes when you can. Crystal, you were explaining to me that the river to the sea is not the perfect translation, but it's still the inspiration if you want to just give that.

Because, OK, so obviously the exact phrasing from the river to the sea has been framed as genocidal when it's coming from college students on campus here, any sort of Palestinian activists, et cetera. And then Bibi says it here. And, you know, apparently that's fine. It's also in the Likud party charter, by the way, as it is in the Hamas charter from, you know, when the when Hamas was originally founded. Now, the cope here was, oh, well, he didn't actually say from the river to the sea. He said the entire area west of the River Jordan, which is literally defining the exact same territory.

But that was the goal. He didn't actually say from the river to the sea. He said from the river to the sea, but use like different technical words in Hebrew. Yeah. In any case, he's making as clear as he possibly can. He literally says for 30 years, I am very consistent. And he's correct. He has never hidden his disdain and disgust for the idea that there would ever be a Palestinian state. And he's making it incredibly clear here that the entire area west of the Jordan or from the river to the sea, however you want to put it, he wants it to be under Israeli control. So makes for a very awkward situation for U.S. officials who have gone out of their way. You know, they freaking censured Rashida Tlaib from saying this when she's using it to call for equal rights for everyone, whether they are Muslim, Arab, Jewish, any nationality, any religious group in that area. She censured for it.

And yet, let's take a listen to, this is D4 guys, John Kirby, trying to clean this one up based on Netanyahu's comments. Let's take a listen to, this is D4 guys, John Kirby trying to clean this one up based on Netanyahu's comments. Let's take a listen. Did the president address Netanyahu's use of the phrase from the river to the sea in their conversation today? I know the White House has previously said that phrase is divisive. I'm not aware that that specific phrase was discussed. Do you condemn him using that phrase? Look, there's a connotation with that phrase. We've talked about this before. But when you use the phrase river to the sea, it speaks basically to the mantra of Hamas and in their manifesto where they basically describe the geographic bounds of what they believe to be Palestine. And if you look at it on the map, if you go look at

the four corners that they describe it, it's basically the state of Israel. They just don't believe it should exist. So again, it's not a phrase that we recommend using given because of that context. But this wasn't hamas this was i understand i i don't have anything more on that and i certainly don't have anything more on the conversation to read out with respect to that this wasn't hamas this was netanyahu and by the way like just again this man is not hiding his aspirations his ideology what his views are before any of this happened, he went to the UN with a map of Israel from the river to the sea with no Palestinian, you know, no West Bank,

no Gaza Strip, no Palestinians whatsoever. That was all fine and good. And apparently Joe Biden is still operating under some delusion in which Bibi Netanyahu could be some sort of partner for an actual negotiated peace settlement. And just, Sagar, in case it wasn't totally 100% clear from the literally thousands of times he said it before, Netanyahu also tweeted out, let's put this up on the screen, this is D3, guys, I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over the entire area west of Jordan. And, again, to be totally clear, he says this is contrary to a Palestinian state. So he's making it as plain as he possibly can. And yet Joe

Biden still, still not getting the message here somehow. Yeah. I mean, at a certain point, it's like, look, guys, like, what are we doing here? And same thing. I have a very simple proposition, which is to treat Israel like you treat every other nation. But the problem is that this is America. This is apparently the way that we treat our so-called allies. We're like, hey, Ukraine, we're going to give you all these weapons, but just don't use it to attack Russia. And they're like, okay, yeah, sure, we'll just use it to attack Russia. And we're like, oh, well, you probably shouldn't do that, but here's a couple more. And now we do the same thing here. The EU has a much more sensible policy. If we can put the tear sheet up there, please, D5. You know, I was reading this just yesterday. And look, in

the EU, I mean, Germany literally has laws on the books where they'll imprison you, you know, if you protest for Palestine. And yet for them, they're like, look, we need to, quote, seek consequences for Israel over opposition to Palestinian statehood. They have urged member states now to impose basically sanctions from Brussels and from all member states if they continue to oppose Palestinian statehood. I find this to be an eminently reasonable policy, which is that, look, if you are going to go against the wishes of what we believe is a sustainable peace and or a sustainable solution, then we are not going to support you monetarily. It's very simple. That's what you usually would do in the past. This is also the fanatical way that we talk

about this is deeply contrary to historical American foreign policy towards Israel. Henry Kissinger often would lecture Golda Meir, who was a hell of a lot more liberal than Netanyahu. George W. Bush would often lecture Netanyahu and the Israeli government. And in fact, you can go back and pull a transcript, I've read it here in the past, a couple years ago, of Ari Fleischer, who is like, literally justified the war in Iraq. And he said, we condemn Israel attacking apartment buildings in Gaza. That's how much, somehow, that is how much the rhetoric and the policy has changed here. I don't really know what happened, to be honest. It seems that we've somehow gone in the opposite direction, which is kind of crazy considering what the overall situation is.

But, look, they've humiliated us. There's just no question. They've humiliated President Biden. The Ukrainians did, too. They probably learned from Zelensky. They're like, well, if he could do it, you know, what are we going to do? And they've got our political system basically rigged. So, you know, I see these Republicans all the time who are attacking Biden for not being pro-Israel enough. I'm like, what do you want? You know, it's like, I almost said the F word, but it's not like, what else could you possibly want? They're getting their weapons.

I mean, Biden didn't even talk to him for 20 days, which in my opinion is nuts. How do you go 20 some days without talking to the person who is actively engaged in this war and is escalating and doing things? They're getting us involved in a situation. At the very least, you would expect some sort of bilateral communication. Then the question is, like, are they the ones that snubbed us and then he goes out and you know gives a speech saying Sometimes you have to tell your American friends. No, where's the requisite policy from our president? Why doesn't he give a speech me like listen? I support the state of Israel as we often understand the state is different than the politician him and I have

Differences and as long as he's going to have this policy then the policy the United States is going to be support What we believe is in the long-term interest of Israeli national security, which is a two-state solution. And if you have a government that's in place that believes that, then I'm sorry, that is where counter odds here. That doesn't mean I have anything against you. I'm not anti-Semitic. We have a disagreement. What's wrong with that? We can't talk that way here. You know, Sagar, it is interesting to think about how we've gotten to this place because you tell me if you think that I'm wrong with this. But Trump and then Biden have been the two most pro-Israel, total unconditional support for whatever they want, whatever they want to do.

No criticism. We ship the weapons. We don't say a word in grievance that we've ever had. I mean, thinking back. Trump definitely. Biden too. Yeah, I'll say thinking back. Trump, definitely. Biden, too. Yeah, I'll say Biden, too. Obama actually was extremely pro-Israel until he no longer was campaigning for office. I don't know if you remember this.

In 2016, I believe, it was actually during the campaign, he allowed some U.N. resolution to go through. That's right. People freaked out. But that was, I mean, frankly, the only real counter-Israel thing that he ever did. After there was no political consequences. Yeah, there was no political consequences. I mean, listen, I'm not saying that any of the other presidents were good on the issue, but Biden and Trump have taken it to a whole other level.

And it is interesting because it comes at a time when the American public has moved in the opposite direction. There's a lot more skepticism of Israel, especially in the Democratic base, but also there's some rising numbers among independents and a little bit among Republicans as well. For the first time, you have some actual dissident voices in Congress. Not a lot of them because, you know, it's still very difficult to win a campaign if you're going to have courage on this issue. But there are actually a few dissident voices who have from the beginning been calling for a ceasefire and been taking absolute hell for it too.

So it is a strange situation where you end up with this president who is absolutely lockstep at a time when the U.S. public is really reassessing what this relationship is, why we're supporting it, why our tax dollars are going to fund these absolute horrors and atrocities that are unfolding before our eyes. I could see it going both ways. I could see, you know, things wrapping up and then maybe everybody just moves on or whatever. But I mean, I've said it before. I mean, I think the biggest mistake that Bibi ever made was coming here and criticizing Obama to his face in his own country. Because it's just like, who do you think you are, man? You think the American president's going to go to the Knesset and speak against you? By the way, we should now, you know, at this point, after you dare to do that in our country. We always have an Israel exception, it seems to be. So I do think that in the long

run, they definitely have lost it. You know, in general, the Democratic Party, look, you can ignore it for as long as you want. But if you've got a small d democratic consensus, I don't think things have reached the breaking point, quote unquote, yet. It will come more likely if there is kinetic action involving U.S. troops, because that's when the debate and the fire really breaks. Yeah. In general is with U.S. military lives are actually, you know, are really being spent. And we're getting involved, especially in a bigger war, but even a minor one. I could see things changing on the domestic side. You bring up an important thing with the Iranian nuclear deal because Israel did not want that deal to be signed.

And so that is another really significant instance where Obama went against Israel in a way that Joe Biden certainly wouldn't have. And there's these stories, too, about Biden undermining Obama's policy vis-a-vis Israel and sucking up to Netanyahu and telling him, like, I'm the only friend you've really got here, but you can rely on me, basically. I'm paraphrasing, but that was effectively what he was saying to him. So listen, in a lot of areas up till now, I would have said Biden's

certainly his domestic policy and really probably his foreign policy was better than Obama's. I mean, getting us out of Afghanistan, rolling back the drone war, those were all positive steps in the right direction just to completely squander it with these absolute horrors that we are backing 100 percent and creating tremendous risk for our service members, for global stability, just absolute insanity. And just last thing here as a reminder, because I never want to lose sight of what continues to unfold on the ground in Gaza, an American doctor who went and worked in Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza came back and was interviewed by PBS NewsHour about what that experience was like. Just take a listen to what she has to say. There is no death with dignity when you're lying on the ground of an emergency

room in Gaza. In my first three hours of working at Alexa Hospital, I treated a one-year-old boy with a bloody diaper and his right arm and right leg had been blown off. There was no leg below the diaper. He was bleeding into his chest. I treated him on the ground because there were no stretchers and no beds available. And when the orthopedic surgeon came to wrap his stumps up to stop the bleeding, I would have imagined in the U.S. this would have been a straightforward case that went immediately to the operating room because of the severity as a stat case. And instead, the impossible choices inflicted on the doctors of Gaza have made it such that he wasn't the emergency of the day.

There was a waiting list and the operating room was already full with other more pressing cases. And so I asked myself, what's more pressing than a one-year-old without an arm, a leg, and who's bleeding into his chest and choking on his blood? And that will tell you a little bit about the scale of devastation that the people of Gaza are suffering. Just absolutely unimaginable. I mean, this woman is a hero for going in there and doing everything that she can, but I literally cannot imagine. She says, what's more pressing than a one-year-old without an arm and a leg who's bleeding into his chest and choking on his blood, and he's not even the top priority at that moment. And remember, this is happening to 10 kids are losing their legs every single day. We're talking cesareans with no anesthetic, amputations with no anesthetic, hospitals

consistently under bombardment. You actually had Jordan just complaining to Israel, their field hospital that they set up was coming under attack. The level of devastation, the level of generational trauma, imagine what these kids are going to deal with for their whole lives, the ones who are lucky enough to survive all of this. The horror is indescribable. I'm Jeff Perlman. And I'm Rick Jervis. We're journalists and hosts of the podcast Finding Sexy Sweat. At an internship in 1993, we roomed with Reggie Payne, aspiring reporter and rapper who went by Sexy Sweat. A couple years ago, we set out to find him. But in 2020, Reggie fell into a coma after police pinned him down,

and he never woke up. But then I see my son's not moving. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat coming June 19th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two

of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts

at it a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.