Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
What's up, what's up, everybody? Welcome to a brand new episode of Part of the Problem. I am Dave Smith. He is Robbie the Fire... Robbie the Fire Bernstein. Wow, I should get that one right after all these years. We just had a very fun time out in Pittsburgh. How you doing, Rob? I'm well. How are you, my friend? Very good. Very good.
You know, there's a war on, but that gives us a lot to talk about, and... Perhaps the world is crumbling before our very eyes, but we're going to go down podcasting. That's the plan around here. And our next trip is what? We got Boston coming up, Rob, right? Do we have something in between now and Boston? I don't think so. I think it's Boston, then Chicago. Boston and Chicago.
Those are always some of our favorites. Yeah, we got. Oh, I guess we got the the one night in Stanford in between Boston and Chicago. But yeah.
Chapter 2: What updates are there on the war in Iran?
So we got Boston, Stanford and Rosemont slash Chicago all coming up. And those are those are these are some of our favorite runs of the year. So make sure to come on out.
hometown show and i won't be inviting anyone i know i don't need them listening to my nonsense yeah no i understand it's probably it's best that they don't know it's best to keep them at bay oh and a quick reminder before we get into the show of course my wife's uh book healthy hibernation is available uh in paperback now out on amazon so go grab that healthy hibernation by lauren smith very nice uh children's book um she doesn't mention the iran war in there not once
So go go take your mind off of the world with that. Anyway, now let's talk more about the war. That isn't a war. So it's this war turned a week old since last we've talked to you. It's now going into the second week of it. Looks like it's going to it's going to catch and surpass that 12 day Iran war. Rob, looks like we're going to be in this one for a bit longer. What do you think?
Well, Trump likes breaking his own records, even go bigger and better. This thing, I mean, you never know when Trump does a U-turn, but it looks like he both didn't take his off-ramp and can't take the off-ramp because the Iranians are not going to negotiate with him twice after striking them in the middle of negotiations.
And I the way I see it at the moment is it's a it's a game now of if I guess we can take out their stockpiles before they run as dry because we conduct significantly more expensive warfare. And this thing is looking like a disaster to me. But, you know, I guess it's only week one. So as the longer it goes, the more money we spend and the bigger of a disaster can become. Yeah. Yeah.
You know, it's the thing that's really tough right now. is that, you know, as we've kind of been saying, right, as you just pointed out there, Trump seems like he didn't take the off ramp that maybe he could have after that initial strike, although it seems like it was an Israeli strike that killed the Ayatollah and his whole family. Well, not one son. Well, yes, that's right.
Except minus the one minus the Ayatollah who we have right now. And so much like, well, look, I mean, isn't this Donald Trump? Look, it took George W. Bush and Barack Obama and Trump won and Joe Biden. It took them 20 years to end the war in Afghanistan, which, you know, the regime change effort against the Taliban left us with a better armed Taliban. The Donald Trump in just eight days.
took us from an ayatollah who had sworn that he was never going to get nuclear weapons and that it was against their religion and largely had even when attacked by other countries that had a pretty you know reserved response to them and it gave us what is by all reports a younger meaner more aggressive ayatollah who by the way just had his entire family murdered by the regimes that he's at war with
So that part doesn't seem great. But I mean, record setting in terms of how quickly we got here. I guess the issue that I see is that when you look for these kind of like off ramps, especially when you're dealing with a guy like Donald Trump, because like you say, we make this point all the time, right? Like Donald Trump really is Donald Trump. It seems like at this point it.
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Chapter 3: How does the mainstream media cover the war in Iran?
But it just seems like not very good options. I see it. I say this with humility because I read a lot over the weekend, but it's not like I'm a foreign affairs expert or expert on Iran in the Middle East. But I think I think this is all or nothing at this point. And it's for a different variable. I think the Iranians need to make this as costly as possible and just survive.
And that basically, you know, gets everyone to back off and not want to do this in the future. And so they just need to they need to make this costly. They need to draw it out and they just need the regime to survive.
The problem for Trump in leaving now is that I think all of our Arab partners are going to be upset with the United States of America for basically not offering them real security and for creating havoc for their oil business. And so now if Donald Trump doesn't get rid of Iran, I think everyone else is kind of looking for new partnerships and is not seeing the United States in the same light.
So Donald Trump is kind of forced at this point to take out Iran and so he can turn back to Saudi Arabia and everyone else and go, look, we're still good partners. You guys are safe in your region.
But if he just allows more chaos in the region, data centers to get blown up and oil drilling to get blown up and people are still stuck relying on Iran for the Strait of Hormuz, I just think we're looking at, you know, a very weakened American empire. And so he's put us into a situation now where I think it's all or nothing on both sides.
Well, it's a very interesting dynamic of this war, and it's unclear what exactly the result of all of this is going to be. But there's no question, like, Donald Trump has really, like, thrown the board over. You know, like, the pieces are all being rearranged here, and we'll see what ends up coming of this.
But I think, like, look, there is significance that – and I'm not trying to, you know, paint, like – naive picture of the world it's the the the gulf arab states are you know corrupt governments and they know what politics is but there there has always you know at least to some degree been this idea that like okay well look you guys you guys obviously sacrifice a lot of your um
autonomy or a lot of your sovereignty by having us bases in all of your countries but there's a level of protection that comes with that you know you got the most badass military in the world's got their bases in your region you know that's you're going to be somewhat protected And one of the things that's happened as a result of this war is that that dynamic has really been flipped on its head.
In fact, you're not protected for having U.S. bases there. You're a target for having U.S. bases. And by the way, as this war becomes a game of attrition... Which, you know, is I don't know. It's kind of strange. It's like I know we're only a week into this war, but this is how all like the military experts are talking about it.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of Trump's actions regarding Iran?
This is what I bring to every debate that I do is just that I – at least I try my best to just be objective and go, hey, if I'm judging – you know – Our worldview, our libertarian worldview, makes it fairly easy for me to not feel that I am a part of the U.S. government. Because I'm not. And that's stupid. And that's just what they try to convince you. You know, that you're...
we are all one this is a government of the people or something like that and we just flatly reject that we we don't like we we look at our government as like our looting expropriator and then we look at the iranian government as the iranian people's looting expropriator you know what i mean like it's just they're just two criminal organizations one rules here one rules there so because we have that world view it's very easy for me to just go oh okay so if the conversation is over who whose criminal government is more evil or whose criminal government did what
I just go, okay, we could just judge both of them based on their track record and what they've done. But that is like kryptonite to the Warhawks who need you to believe that like, you know, that's why people be like, this is so outrageous. I mean, he's equating These benevolent, you know, rulers of the U.S.
and Israel with terrorist organizations like, sure, we have some collateral damage, but we're not terror. And like the thing about it is, is that if you get out of that religious mindset, that kind of cult like mindset that like this is our government and that's our you know, this is the USA and something like that.
I mean, you could just look at this whole situation and go, it's just so obvious who the bad guys are here. Like, if you were watching this in a movie, I'm sorry. It's like, no, our military doesn't represent the good guys in this fight. Daryl Cooper was saying on Provoked,
the other day which i thought was a good a really good way to put it i mean he was just talking about which is always his thing just how dishonorable this whole thing is because you know you're negotiating you just attack a country that you don't need to when you're they're in the middle of good faith negotiations for a second time but he said this i thought it was a good way to put it he goes
Even if you want to take everything that the hawks throw at you, like every talking point of what Iran has done over the years to America, you know, the Marines in Lebanon, that's 100% Iran's fault. And even if you want to say, you know, whatever, all the roadside bombs in Iraq are the responsible of the Iranians. There were no Iraqi Shiites who built anything. It was all Iran who did all of it.
Take all of it. Throw Donald Trump, the assassination attempt or something like that, whatever, you know, give them all the their talking points, even though, you know, many of them are not real. But let's just say they all were. That doesn't even all of it combined for 47 years doesn't even kind of compare to us giving Saddam chemical weapons to use against them. Right.
The war had already started. They knew we, our government knew what a madman Saddam Hussein was. They already knew he was targeting civilians in the wars and they gave him chemical weapons, knowing damn well what he was going to do with them. And he did. Killed like 700,000 Iranians or something like that. Like, you know what I'm saying?
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Chapter 5: How is the current war compared to past conflicts?
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And if you sign up now, you can get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash problem. That's B-E-T-T-E-R-H-E-L-P.com slash problem for 10% off. All right, let's get back into the show. Any thoughts, Rob? I think that's probably why he went for it now is because he knows the midterms aren't going his way. There was pressure from Netanyahu. They saw this as their last opportunity for this.
It's incredible that Donald Trump, I guess, wanted this more than a presidential legacy or actually enacting an America first agenda. But for whatever reason, I guess this was the top thing he wanted to accomplish on his list. So this is the last thing he's getting done before the midterms. And quite possibly after it.
I mean, don't get me wrong, he can keep a war going with Democrats in Congress. There won't be any more resistance to that. The thing is that he has no chance of doing any important thing that the establishment doesn't want him to do again. And that's all the good stuff. You know what I mean? So like there's nothing good is coming out of this administration. It's the way it is.
And I will say, I think he's also tanked. I think he's tanked the careers and the political ambitions and the popular support base for all of the people attached to this regime. I just don't see what like, man, what can Tulsi Gabbard do after this? What's her next move? You know, what was J.D. Vance going to do after this?
I mean, again, like we always say before, like, you know, I'm sure they'll get taken care of in some way, but it's not going to be, you know, having the reputation that they had before. My guess is for all these people, they're going to go the way of Dick Cheney, which is they are not going to be able to run for office again, and they're going to be looked at like the Bush administration.
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Chapter 6: What are the consequences of U.S. military presence in the Middle East?
It's very difficult to cover Donald Trump because Donald Trump isn't a conventional president. He'll – typically they wouldn't say things like this, and he'll say it. It doesn't mean anything. I –
think there's a very low chance that we're actually going to see like a major ground invasion here i mean we might we we certainly might see some special ops or special forces something like that on the ground that's quite likely um the idea of a real deal military invasion i don't think is going to happen for for two basic reasons which is that um i think
logistically it's next to impossible and there is just not nearly the level of public support for any politician to get away with doing something like this um so i don't think it's gonna happen but you know who knows I just did a run your mouth with Kyle Anzalone, which was a deep dive.
And I think he's he's expecting or I believe he said that he's expecting that there will likely be some special force incursions to try and get the enriched uranium out of the country. But on the second point that you said of that, there's no public support for it. I don't think Trump cares anymore. I do not think Trump cares about the base. And I do not think he I think he's just.
he's just in trump world like this is the i i honestly think he doesn't care he'll just get back and say no they love this i think he's being told that this is wildly popular
um i i'm not sure if he's really aware um of what's going on out here to your point i i get your point there's there's still even if you're going to say i don't care about public opinion there's a major major difference between fighting a war like this from the skies and fighting a war like this from the ground and i'm telling you something this unpopular you can't stop start losing americans in the numbers that you would with a ground invasion
I think at that point, there'd be like a demand to impeach him. I think like it would really, really be a disaster for him. That being said, we'll see. This is... And by the way, this has been... One of... This has been a theme of mine for several years on the show now.
This was true even before Trump won, but it was ultimately really the main reason why I supported Donald Trump and the main thing that was accomplished by him winning in 2024 was that it really destroyed the legacy media. It really destroyed the corporate media. And now... We're running a system without a propaganda machine. And this is new. This has really never been the case before.
I've never really seen a government operate like this, like launch a war without the propaganda machine to cover for you. I mean, they have the propaganda machine. We'll check in on it in a second. But they're being dwarfed by the other media. I mean, if you just look at like even...
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Chapter 7: How does Donald Trump’s presidency influence U.S. foreign policy?
So here's Brian Kilmeade over on Fox News, which is, this was, so he's giving you quotes from a conversation he just had with Donald Trump. Here, let's play this clip. I just spoke to the President of the United States 20 minutes ago about the Gulf states and their involvement, and what he told me was this.
Iran had thousands of missiles pointed at all these Middle Eastern countries for the last four months. They were going to take over the Middle East, meaning Iran. They were going to control it all, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. They had 1,200 missiles pointed at these countries. All these nations were afraid of Iran, and they are not anymore. And they had reason to be afraid.
We have knocked the hell out of them like no other nation could. And they still have remnants left. Just wanted you to respond to that. Let's pause it a second. Yeah, because we almost got to just respond to Donald Trump. I mean, dude, again, all these wars are sold off lies. They always are. This one is...
it's one of the least believable of any of them like wait he said he's telling you that iran iran was about to take over the middle east they've had their missiles pointed at all of these countries for months like you mean since the last time you attacked them they pointed their missiles at the military bases of the country that had attacked it
like but the idea that look we're we're already getting a taste of what iran is capable of doing it's killing some people it's destroying some things but what is your what is the argument here really that this uh this missile capacity was that going to be enough to what invade
all of the surrounding countries and take over all of them rob and and they used to be very afraid of iran now they're not you know they used to not be getting attacked by iran now they are like what an inversion of reality this is just so pathetic well i i think uh the biggest proof of this being a lie is that this wasn't said until after you started the war so now that you need an excuse for the warrior
You're telling us that actually Iran was going to take over all of its surrounding countries. Is there any intelligence to suggest that? And does 1,200 bombs give you the capacity to take out all of those countries? And he didn't say take out those countries. He said take over those countries.
So, Mr. Donald Trump, can you explain to me how you can take over all of those countries with just 1,200 missiles? Because you seem to be having a problem with Iran right now. That's just one country. How many – How many missiles have been lobbed back and forth in Ukraine and Russia? Who's taken over a country with 1,200 missiles? That all it takes is 1,200 missiles and cheap missiles, too.
Cheap drones? Someone can just take over another country with 1,200 missiles? Please put the intelligence officer on air who sat down with you in the Oval Office and said to you, we have to go now because they're about to take over the entire Middle East. And you know what the good news is? If 1,200 missiles can take over the entire Middle East...
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Chapter 8: What are the ethical considerations of the war in Iran?
I don't know. But like. Just like you're just the enemy of the people. Look at you. You're like a traitor to your republic. This is it. So wait, the president said this to you. And OK, was your response, sir, I'm not an idiot. You can't just lie to me like this. Like, sir, I'm sorry. I'm going to this is just absolutely not true.
No, just repeats it verbatim on his show as if he's delivering you news, like as if he's going. The president said this. Like, okay, what? I can't, I find the propaganda setup so interesting that you got Guy, it's basically all these people work for the administration. So he goes, hey, here's a talking point that Donald Trump gave me.
You other person who works for Donald Trump, do you agree with him? Why, yes, sir, I do agree with him. It's good that Donald Trump said that and you can put me on your platform so that I can reinforce exactly what he said to your aging boomer cons who will sit there, be paranoid and still support us.
thank you for having me on to reassert what was just said by him yeah the template is like guys like you know you're not doing news right now like you know when you do something like that like dude you're doing some type of performance but like this is just i don't know like look in the same way that i go um like ben shapiro and barry weiss and for that matter mike huckabee and ted cruz
should be viewed as as foreign spies because that in effect that's what they are you know um what was there was reporting this week about lindsey graham going when he was going remember he kept making all those trips to israel that he was coaching netanyahu on how to talk to donald trump to persuade him like all right well you're a foreign spy then man what is this you know um
But OK, but in the same sense, you go, well, what should we think about Fox News? What do you like this this dynamic that you're just talking about? Well, how do you view that? OK, that's in effect your state media. I should I should take you about as seriously like in North Korea somewhere. There's like a news reporter who's reporting how great the chosen one is.
and how you know he's like reporting how kim jong-un has never you know missed a shot in whatever sport he plays or something like that how why should i treat you any differently than that you're in effect the same thing just state media you're just in the business of propaganda like you know anyway okay here let's go back to the clip there'll be more lies
Well, this is why the president, one of the reasons I think he did why he did this now. Imagine, we're seeing how the Iranian regime is behaving now. It's just so funny how bullshit this war is that they had to give you 15 different reasons.
why we did this but then he just this is a new one you know that donald trump just made up on the phone with kilmeade and he goes oh they were about to take over everyone and then the guy even has to go well this is one of the reasons why we did this right now
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