Ben Domenech

You know, we have a vested interest because of our relationship with Iran.

Let us do some kind of a deal or an arrangement that allows that type of scenario that Mr. Shapiro then I can say then is is making as making note of which would allow that regime to basically

hold on to power and would also, frankly, strengthen China's role in the area.

That's the biggest thing that I'm concerned about.

If those interlocutors get their way and they will not like the long term ramifications of that.

Yeah, I think, and thank you for saying that, I think that this is a situation where one of the lessons I think people haven't learned, particularly politicians, is that this long drawn out case for war that we have seen made in the past is just not something that the American people actually want or necessarily need anymore.

I actually think that they assess things entirely based on success.

The Maduro raid is a perfect example of this in the sense that

there was tons of skepticism about what we were doing in Venezuela in various poll questions leading up to that decision.

And then after it happened, everybody basically said, oh yeah, I was always in favor of that.

And the reverse happens when you look back at the Iraq war, where there's tons of people who pretend that they were opposed to it.

So I think that part of the thing that's going on here though, is that we are dealing with a president as Andrew said, that has different priorities.

And I think that the number one thing that he assesses this on, I believe, is the loss of American life.

The loss of American life is not something that he wants to see.

He has this very visceral attitude towards risking American life.

And there have even been stories, not ones that I've been able to run down, though some other journalists have claimed that they have, that he kept going back to the Pentagon when it came to reworking that Maduro raid.

in order to get the number lower and lower and lower in terms of the risk to American lives because he didn't want to lose anybody.

And so I think that when it comes to this war, people who are concerned about American troops having to go in on the ground, I think the president will be incredibly hesitant to do that.

He is trying to do something with air power that isn't traditionally achieved.

And we will need additional work by the Israelis, I think, in order to achieve it in a real sustained way.