Judging Freedom - Col. Karen Kwaitkoski : Can We Predict Ukraine and Israeli Defeats?

Episode Date: January 3, 2024

Col. Karen Kwaitkoski : Can We Predict Ukraine and Israeli Defeats?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thank you. Hi, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Happy New Year. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski joins us now. Karen, happy New Year to you and to your family. Thank you for all the time you shared with us in 2023, and we hope you can do as much, or maybe even a little bit more in 2024. All our best to you. You have an interesting piece at

lewrockwell.com, which reveals some of your predictions about 2024. And they're all fascinating and some are quite challenging. But let me start with some basics for today. Is Israel losing its war in Gaza? Well, I think on a global sense, yes, they are losing it. To the extent that they rely on the United States to arm them, I think they're losing it, in part because we can't keep up with what they want, and in part because we are being weakened. The United States is being weakened politically, internally, globally, by our unquestioning support of what they're doing, which is, by definition, a genocide, a land take, a land grab. Now, is Israel, is the administration of Prime Minister Netanyahu in danger of harming Israel itself by the manner in which it's fighting this war? Well, I think he's harming them, you know, and not just because of his involvement in supporting Hamas, you know, years ago and kind of allowing this thing to happen. He certainly harmed Israel and just the events leading up to it.

But in his response, particularly in the fact that they've lost a good number of IDF troops, this fight is, I think, going to drag out. In fact, Israel says, the government says, you know, we'll be fighting for the next year. The rest of the world is viewing this. Oftentimes it takes time to digest what's happening. And as the world digests what's happening in Gaza and what Israel is forecasting lower, partly because of this. But global trade and trade and relations, international relations of all the countries of the world with Israel are already harmed by this. And the outlook is that they'll continue to be harmed, which this means it costs Israelis in their very pocketbooks, not just the normal cost of defense, but the cost of being on the wrong side of an issue, the cost of having your government despised by many of the people of the world, the loss of credibility, the constant lying about

what they're doing. All of this hurts the country. It divides the country. And frankly, Israel was divided in some sense before this. Netanyahu was in political trouble. So, yeah, Israel is not winning in any conventional sense here. Were you surprised that the Israeli leadership announced the withdrawal of a couple of battalions of troops and sending them home? I mean, why would you announce that? Why would they do that unless the pressure on them for these folks to get home and spend time with their families and take showers and live a normal life for a couple of weeks is enormous?

Yes, part of it's I think the pressure is that way. And part of it is if they are planning, as they say they are, to fight until Gaza is completely destroyed and completely eviscerated, all human life removed. I mean, that is their intention. That is a long fight and you've got to rotate troops. They don't have the kind of troops, you know, you have to have a long-term plan and that includes troop rotation. There's no doubt about it. So they are rotating troops. The problem is, I think, and I could be wrong, but, you know, we think of Israel as a strong in their intelligence and strong in their special operations, pretty good in their technology. Certainly, I'm sure they're courageous fighters. But the idea that all the people serve and that makes them instant soldiers, you know, because they have to serve for their country. This is

being tested. And it's clearly, you know, their army is not what they say it is. And I'm not talking about how moral it is. It clearly isn't moral. But it also isn't as capable as what I think Israelis would have liked to think. And the idea that you serve a couple of years behind a desk or you get some training with some other people and it's all fun and games, it's a good thing to do. It's a very patriotic feeling. And then you turn them into war fighters and you assume they're ready to go. They're not ready to go. And I think the Israeli generals know this and they're dealing with it. community, which was either asleep at the switch or didn't believe what soldiers were telling them because the soldiers were female and allowed October 7th to happen right under the noses and to go on for eight hours before there was any response.

I think that that was the plan. I think that the intelligence community, to the extent that some people weren't aware that the plan was to stand down and they reported, hey, we're seeing this stuff and then they're being shut down, they're being ignored. I think the intelligence community, at least at the political level, served their masters well. And that's usually what we see in intelligence, that the masters are served, not the countries, not the national interests. So I don't know how good or bad their intel is. I mean, their targeting around the world seems pretty on track. I think their intelligence capabilities are quite good. I think this was, and we'll see what comes out, because I think investigations are ongoing or going to be started soon. But I don't see this as a natural, accidental thing, bad intelligence.

I don't see any of that. This was allowed to happen because it served a very distinct and important political purpose for the Likud party. Is that what you mean when you say part of the plan? This was allowed to happen because it served a distinct beneficial purpose to the Likud party. Did Prime Minister Netanyahu know about this? I'm pretty sure he did. You know, he's not as, he's kind of a hands-on guy. He's quite, you know, mentally sharp. He is a is a power hungry sociopath, like many politicians. This power hungry sociopath would be complicit in murder if your theory is correct. Wouldn't be the first time, would not be the first time. I mean, you know, well, heck, Joe Biden is complicit in murder. You know, any of these states that see war as a way of pursuing

interests that are not, that should not be life or death interests, they are preferences. You know, we have preferences. So let's start a war. Let's kill a bunch of people because we have, or some politicians have preferences. You know, this is, who's the South Carolina senator that constantly wants to blow up every country, Russia, Iran. You know, this is who's the South Carolina senator that constantly wants to blow up every country, Russia, Iran. You know, he he believes in killing people because of his personal preferences. And he has achieved it. I mean, he has been part of a Senate that has supported the murder of people around the world. So, yeah, I mean, politicians kill people. So this isn't the first for Netanyahu. I don't think it's he's at least a bit bothered by it.

Chris, do we have the clip of Senator Graham saying, bomb Iran? Here's who you're talking about, Colonel Kwiatkowski. Secretary Austin and the Biden administration's failing our troops in the field. I admire him. He's a patriot, but he's not doing a good job protecting the soldiers. THE PRESIDENT IS A PART OF THE PEOPLE. HE IS A PART OF THE PEOPLE. THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS FAILING OUR TROOPS IN THE FIELD. I ADMIRE HIM. HE IS A PATRIOT BUT HE IS NOT DOING A GOOD JOB PROTECTING THE

SOLDIERS. I ASKED HIM A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, JOY, WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT. IS THERE A RED LINE? WOULD YOU TELL OUR ENEMIES PUBLICLY THAT IF YOU KILL AN AMERICAN, WE ARE COMING AFTER

YOU? WITHOUT IRAN, THERE ARE NO HOOTIES. THE HOOTIES ARE COMPLETELY BACK BY IRAN. I've been saying for six months now, hit Iran. They have oil fields out in the open. They have the Revolutionary Guard headquarters you can see from space. Blow it off the map. Hit Iran, blow it off the map, and start World War III, Senator. Sure, sure.

He is so ignorant about the things that he says, you know, like he knows anything about the Houthis, you know, that he understands anything about the even the modern history of the Middle East. He knows nothing. What he has is he has preferences and he has sponsors in the military industrial complex among the neocons, you know, people who potentially will make money off more war. He has that. And he, and from that, he forms opinions, and he uses his position to mouth off about those opinions, as if, as if he has some value added. He has none. But, you know, the funny thing is, many people are laughing at him in this country for saying that. He is clearly, I think, in some ways very isolated from mainstream American opinion on this. Mainstream America is not interested in more weapons to any country. They're not interested in more wars. see us as being used by other countries to, you know, to do what they want. And when do Americans get to get some of the benefit of this great country? You know, they want some of this money to stay home. Here's Congressman Waltz, cut number eight, Chris, saying that, you know, a couple of

boats, the glorified Boston Whalers, thought they could attack United States naval ships. And according to Congressman Waltz, this is an attack on the whole world. This is an attack on the whole world because 20% of global trade passes through that sea. Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate. But this administration is so afraid of escalation. Eventually, Jason, one of these missiles are going to get through. It's going to sink one of our ships. Iran looks like the tough guy around the Middle East. And the United States, once again, under Joe Biden, looks feckless and weak. You have to escalate or to deescalate. That's a new one on me. Have you heard that

before, Colonel? No, I think he should be teaching at one of the military academies. You know, ideas like that. Yeah. I mean, this is the same Joe Biden that has wasted $100 billion in Ukraine money, obviously, but with ours or money borrowed in our names, financed the genocidal slaughter in Gaza. But even that isn't enough for some of these Republicans in the Congress. No, it's amazing how different their perspective is from an average person, whether that person is a thinking person who's just trying to live their life in America or somebody who's actually looked at history and

studies foreign policy. I mean, these guys' opinions are so extremely shallow and so counterproductive. I mean, now, again, I would change my opinion if Lindsey Graham and this this Wurtz guy from Florida would say I am stepping down from office because I believe in defending democracy and I'm going to Ukraine to do that. Or I am going to fight against terrorism and I'm going to Israel to fight in Gaza. They're both ex-military. I don't know what Senator Graham, I think Senator Graham was a lawyer in the military. I don't know if he actually saw combat. I believe was injured in Iraq, but go ahead, Karen. And this is what they should do. This is how they should demonstrate their passion. Otherwise, they need to represent the people that are in their districts or their

states, and they need to think about what's good for them. And they live in this country, so what is good for the United States? I don't think a case has been made by Graham or anybody else that it will be really good for the United States to destroy Iranian oil fields or to, you know, take out major Iranian cities or, as some have suggested, use atomic weapons. I don't see that they've made the case for that. They just like to talk about it. And again, who's pulling their strings? Maybe they are just so in bed with the defense establishment and neocons and,ocons and their various military portfolios that they can't even, they're just mouthing these words that they've been told to say.

I really don't know. I have no respect for people who use their position like that. Well, I'm going to raise your blood pressure a little more, if you don't mind. Here's Senator Graham saying, we'll find a way to get your money to Zelensky. I want to make sure I ask you about the connection here to Ukraine. You've seen this incredible attack by Russia on Kiev, some of the most significant missile attacks since this war has begun. And it happens days after the United States sends the last shipment of aid for 2023. Do you see a connection? And when will Ukraine aid actually be able to get through the Senate?

It will be a package. I want to help Israel. They're under siege. And I'm not objecting to Secretary Blinken sending them weapons as an emergency declaration. I think it makes sense. Ukraine, I want to help desperately, but we've got to help ourselves. I cannot come back to South Carolina and talk about giving aid to Ukraine and Israel if the border is still broken. It is not broken. It's in chaos. So when he talks about emergency, this is how deceptive he is. He's talking about Secretary of State Blinken signing a document over the holiday weekend under oath, which authorizes $100 million in aid to Ukraine, bypassing Congress, because when he signs this document, he certifies under oath that it's

absolutely vital to the national security of the United States. Now, I would defy Secretary Blinken or even Senator Graham to explain under oath how sending $100 million to Israel so it can slaughter Palestinian civilians is absolutely necessary for the national security in the United States. So necessary they can't wait for Congress to come back at the session and vote on it. Yeah, that is insane. But there was a little glimmer there of recognition about what the people of South Carolina want. And really what you have is what Lindsey Graham wants, which is to fund all these things,

because he's a sociopath and he's not very bright. But then he does mention something Americans are concerned about, which is this border situation that has been evolving and growing in terribleness since Biden and even before that. You know, we've had border problems for a while and they do care about that. South Carolina voters do care about that. So now Lindsey's like, well, you know, as a side thought, I just realized, you know, I actually represent people in South Carolina and they might not want to do what I want to do. And again, this separation from, you know, this gap between what Lindsey Graham wants in his own mind and who his sponsors and his donors want, you know, compared to what the people of South Carolina want. Very different. And it's a real, you know, I think the Democrats

are worried about our democracy. Yeah, I'm worried about our democracy also when I see people like Lindsey Graham. Is Ukraine on its last legs? Yeah. I mean, it's been out of resources, the kind it can reinforce itself, its people, its soldiers, its energy level, its infrastructure. Those have been in decline really consistently for over 18 months, almost two years now. And they're at a very low point. They've spent through or washed through or resold everything that NATO and EU countries gave them. And they've washed through all the cash we've given them. And they've, I guess, used pretty much every weapons system that we've given them. And some of them may need parts. I don't

know what the true situation is on, you know, they might have a few things left, but what they've gained with all that is nothing. They've continued to lose territory, lose credibility in the world, and everybody's tired of it. So yeah, that war has been over for a while. I think the profit taking apparently is there's some idea that there's some more profit to be made here. And this is the excuse for sending more tax dollars, borrowed money into the Ukraine. Workers, their veterans and veterans hospitals won't even have any income after another month unless Lindsay and Joe can concoct some deal. Yeah, well, they'll have to talk to their constituents and see if those guys will take, you know, less money so that we can pay for the government bureaucrats who work in Ukraine or don't work, as the case may be? You know, the Financial Times has reported that President Biden and his people and British Prime Minister Sunak and his are talking about stealing, stealing 300 billion in frozen Russian

assets in Belgian banks and giving a portion of that to Ukraine. Only the government can speak openly, engage openly in a conspiracy to engage in a felony, but it doesn't. Some of our guests have said the pushback, the blowback on that would be catastrophic internationally. Now, I don't know if Lindsey Graham and Joe Biden and the other neocons here and Prime Minister Sunak, who's about to face a terrible campaign in which he's probably going to lose. I can't say reelection because he's never been elected. I don't know if they would do that, but that would be catastrophic.

It would be an act of international theft, would it not? Oh, yeah. That would be international theft. And it would also be breaking the trust with everyone, not just breaking the trust with Russia, but anybody who allows UK and the US to hold their money. The breaking of trust, it would be phenomenal. It's pretty expensive, so I feel bad if they do it. It's expensive for Russia, but I'm not sure Russia expects to see that back anytime soon anyway. But yeah, if that money is stolen and given to Ukraine or to Israel or to banks that are insolvent,

whatever they do with the money that they steal, that will be a big blow to the international financial system, which is already transforming and has been transforming for several years now. This would be a pretty big thing. And the question is, will the bankers who understand the ramifications allow Sonek and Biden to to to get away with that? Do it. Yeah. I mean, I think I think there are people way smarter than some of these politicians that will advise them in a certain way. And if they if they don't listen, they'll just disallow it. Because I think there are controls in this world

that are beyond the political elected folk. This morning, we spoke with Scott Ritter in Moscow and along with him was a Russian businessman. And we had a translator for the businessman. And we had an interesting conversation. I said to him, what do the Russians think of Joe Biden? And he said, well, in Moscow, we have a joke. Thank you, Joe Biden, because we're doing better in Russia since the imposition of the sanctions

than beforehand. And our friend Tom Woods woods always says no matter who you vote for for president you end up with john mccain you end up with people that want to start and fight or participate in and extend wars yeah yeah i think there's a I do think the politicians who want these wars are isolating themselves from the people. The more they talk this way, I'm sure they have polls and I'm sure they use them. But I don't know how truly aware they are of the mood of the country, which is not a mood that seeks to engage and fund more wars. We're coming to a crisis point as the military becomes, as our military becomes weaker and less well armed, I guess you could say less well supplied, certainly less well led,

unable to with this legacy equipment systems that we have like carrier battle groups. Okay, legacy systems, they're not going to win in future wars. So how much are we going to have to pay just to defend this country? We have paid enough to defend our country very well, but we're not getting that defense. What we're getting is politicians who say it's never enough. I mean, it's almost like our Congress is filled with a bunch of little Zelenskys. Give us more, give us more, give us more. I think people are getting a little tired of it. I have to ask you one last question before I let you go. I think perhaps the most interesting prediction in your piece, Can We Predict?

That's the one at rockwell.com dated yesterday, January 1st, was who will be the next president of the United States. So you and I do share this view that Joe Biden will not run, that he will either become disabled or announced to the public. Look, the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza and the economy are just too important for me to be to be diverted by politics, and I'm going to devote 100% of my time to addressing these three issues. But tell me what you think will happen in the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, and who? And remember what state I'm coming from. It's insane, but I love you. And who you think will be the next president of the united states okay well of course naturally i'm guessing but um i don't see biden finishing this out this race i think he's he's incompetent

if he tries to campaign it's over um so the democrats can't afford to run him or they will lose to uh trump or a republican um trump has his own problems and his own challenges. And so I just, you know, I'm not sure. I'm not sure we'll see him on all the ballots. They're certainly working hard to keep him off of there. Now, Trump people, Trump voters will write his name in. He's easy to spell, not a problem. He's going to get many votes for president, whether he's on ballots, whether he's not on ballots. You have the RFK factor and some of the other small groups, and they're going to pull votes this time as well, because they speak to a lot of people in this country. But the Democrats are very strong. And so all they have to do is get

somebody who's willing to be a one-termer and deal with what Biden has left them. A rich liberal. Yeah, yep. And so I don't know much about this guy from New Jersey. I forget the guy's name. I was researching potential Democrats. You're not talking about Chris Christie. You're talking about his successor, Phil Murphy. Yeah, yeah, Murphy.

Well, first off, Murphy. What a great name for president. I mean, Murphy. It's beautiful. He's got an exploratory campaign. He's got a, he's got a exploratory campaign. He's got funding. He's got friends. He's from New Jersey. You need that. You need that. You need the New England concentrated democratic voters and kind of suck in the party confidence there. So something like that could win a four-way race with something like 33% of the vote and he could be president and he or she, but I think it'll

be a he. And anyway, so I put it out there. I think, you know, I think this country is divided. When I think of divided, I think of Lincoln's race. It was a four-way race. He got hardly any votes from half the country, barely made it into the presidency, an unpopular president. I see something like that. We're primed for that because we are divided as a country. And Trump and Biden both are just so problematic. Trump has lost, he's lost some people that might have voted for him. And you've got Nikki. I threw Nikki Haley in there, the neocon candidate. You can't not have one. She is the ultimate neocon. She's like a female Lindsey Graham.

She just never saw a war or somebody else's blood. She didn't want to shed. Karen, what a pleasure, Phil Murphy and all, but if you're from New Jersey, that's quite a hoot to hear that Phil might end up in the white house, but stranger things have happened. Yes. Thank you for joining us. I hope you'll come back again next week at your usual time. Yes, absolutely.

Thank you, Judge. Happy New Year. Happy New Year to you and to your family, Karen. All the best. Thank you. All right, my friends, we have one more interview coming today. Four o'clock, the one, the only, the inimitable Larry Johnson. Judge Napolitano for Judging Freedom. I'm