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Chapter 1: What recent U.S. troop deployments to the Middle East are being discussed?
look i would like nothing more than the end to this war but so far iran is saying they have no idea what he's talking about he's saying that he's making uh progress uh and you're reporting uh and making progress while sending uh sending troops there to possibly put them on the ground for maybe a ground war a ground battle so what is your reporting telling you
You know, it's fascinating because there's two ways of looking at this. One is to go back and forth between these oscillations that you've been discussing, right? One day, President Trump's talking about dramatic escalation, and the next day he's talking about negotiation. But from the national security space, what reporters are trying to do is just look and see what he's doing.
And what he's doing is sending thousands and thousands of troops. The most recent reporting that we have, it talks about 82nd Airborne being deployed. But late last week, we were talking about sending Marines and sailors to the Middle East as reinforcements.
So what you're seeing is kind of a steady buildup beyond the buildup that was already there that is giving President Trump more options for the days and weeks ahead.
Well, I think we're going to end it. I can't tell you for sure. You know, I don't like to say this. We've won this. This war has been won. The only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news. I mean, the New York Times. You read the New York Times. It's like we're not winning a war where they have no Navy and they have no Air Force and they have no nothing.
And we literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can't do a thing about it.
Phil?
Well, I mean, I think there's different ways to take that argument and analyze it. One is that the U.S. military undoubtedly has struck thousands of Iranian targets. It's definitely degraded its missile and drone capabilities and decimated its Navy. There's no doubt about that.
But the Iranians still have tremendous capability that they can still launch against their neighbors and against the US forces in the region.
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Chapter 2: How are rising tensions with Iran influencing U.S. military strategy?
It was a long campaign because of that. And so the Iranians have a lot of capability they can bring out. And it's a lot of it's hard to get places.
Jasper, how do you see this? Is there an off ramp for the United States? Is there an off ramp for anyone in this war right now?
Well, rhetorically speaking, sure, Donald Trump will just, you know, decide that we're off whenever he says we're off. But I think, you know, on a material level, no, because, you know, this is either a regime change war or it's not a regime change war. Like that's a sort of binary, right? You have the new Supreme leader who is the son of the previous Supreme leader.
Are they going to try to kill him? And if so, are they gonna take out the entire regime? And are they going to then try to install you know, the son of the last monarch, or are they going to try to install somebody else?
So, like, if you think about the sort of neocons who have been pushing for war on Iran for decades and decades, really, like, that was not about just killing the Supreme Leader or just, you know, like, taking out their long-range missiles. That was a regime change push. And what I'm saying is that would take a much, much, much bigger effort.
It would be much more protracted as, you know, again, as Phil's been saying, it would take ground troops. It would take, you know, a sort of building effort on the inside. And I think that Trump, doesn't understand this probably. Um, and he, he doesn't really have an, on one level, he wants to be able to say, you know, mission accomplished. We did it on the other level.
He doesn't want to just stick around and, you know, he's afraid of these forever wars just because he knows what they would do to his legacy. So he doesn't have, there's, there's no good answer for him basically. So I think he will, you know, of course, as he always does declare some sort of victory at some point, and he will leave an absolute mess behind.
And, um, and frankly, you know, I think if you ask Nanyahu, That's an outcome that he would take, all things considered.
This is John Brennan, and you guys know John Brennan ran the CIA.
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Chapter 3: What implications do troop deployments have for potential escalation in the region?
And if anyone at any time had said, who do you believe? Do you believe the president of the United States or do you believe Iran? There would be no question that people would say the president of the United States or I believe the United States. But not with this administration. Watch.
I tend to believe Iran more than I do Donald Trump because he could not acknowledge the truth even when it is, you know, he's slapped in the face with it repeatedly. And it's clear that, you know, he is flailing right now. He's trying to figure out how he's going to get out of this debacle that he has created.
And so he's going to make these claims about negotiations that the Iranians now are sending signals that they really want to make a deal and indicates they're going to make a deal on our terms. I don't think anything close to the truth in that statement. They may be talking to people indirectly. And we know that the Turks and the Egyptians are trying to find some way to mediate this problem.
So there could be some members, you know, distant members of parliament that are out there. They're speaking individually. But I don't believe there's anybody speaking authoritatively right now on behalf of the Iranian government with the Trump administration. The discussions took place yesterday. They went into yesterday evening. That's what the president said, Michael Steele.
The president is claiming there are negotiations going on.
Go ahead, Phil. I mean, it's amazing. I mean, it's really remarkable for me to sit here and listen to John Brennan say that he trusts Iran more than he does the presidential administration in the United States.
Well, you know, it's remarkable because, you know... Just a minute ago, Jasper brought up the issue of the school strike. And Reuters, myself and a colleague of mine, broke the story about the US military investigation that showed that US troops were likely responsible for that strike. And the Pentagon still hasn't commented on whether that's true. And the Secretary of Defense came out
at a press conference that i attended uh i wasn't able to ask a question uh because uh the media he called on were weren't reuters but but uh but at that press conference he he offered uh he said we don't give quarter no quarter to our to our enemies um which is you know which which which created a lot of concern among human rights uh officials about whether those were orders to the u.s military to to not give quarter to enemies which would be illegal under national law
So there are real concerns about what the U.S. is saying at these events, these press conferences, the credibility of U.S.
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Chapter 4: How does the U.S. military's current stance affect its negotiations with Iran?
officials among analysts and experts, and whether it's being damaged in an effort to message this war correctly.
You said, who was this? Was this Pete Hegseth? Who gave you that answer?
The no quarter answer? It wasn't to me. But yeah, Pete Hegseth talked about, we don't give quarter to our enemies. Yeah, at a press conference.
So, OK, so then can we talk about that? Because you're since you're there, a federal judge struck down the Pentagon's press credential like then and told them banning certain reporters and and ordered them to return the press credentials to reporters. I guess saying it was unconstitutional.
But then, as I understand that, the Pentagon is still fighting that and still banning and restricting reporters despite a federal judge's ruling.
So I am also a board member of the Pentagon Press Association. This is a matter that we issued a statement about yesterday. And we believe that the new Pentagon policy is not just a violation of the Constitution, but it violates the judge's order.
And so at the Pentagon Press Association, you know, we're quite concerned because basically they're going to create a situation where no media are ever allowed inside the Pentagon unescorted again. That is the current plan. And they've created a new policy which talks about journalism as if it were criminal. Don't I know.
And so they want people to acknowledge that policy, although you don't have to, under the new version, you don't have to say you agree with it. It is a problematic moment for the Pentagon reporters because they haven't been allowed in the building throughout this war.
The Pentagon reporters haven't been in the building for, except for these very staged press conferences, and the Pentagon reporters haven't been in the building for the Venezuela operation or since last fall. So it's a very problematic situation for the Pentagon.
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Chapter 5: What challenges does the U.S. face in addressing Iranian military capabilities?
Keep fighting back. I'm so proud of you for fighting back and for issuing a statement and you guys standing together. That's amazing. But let's talk about what this means for the American people. Because more workers now are struggling rather than thriving. This is from the first time since 2022. Tom Nichols. I think it's 49% say that they are struggling. 46% of people say that they are thriving.
And I think that's flipped since Donald Trump took office in 2022. More people are rating their 401ks at alarming rates. Gas prices are up. The price of goods up. Diesel up. You see the chaos in our airports. And Donald Trump's approval rating is now at 36%, which is the lowest that it's been since this time taking office. Lower the lowest it's been since January 6th. So what gives?
Is this different this time? I know we always ask, and then it never is.
Yeah, you know, I think every poll that, every time they take a poll, what you really find is about 35 to 40% of the country
you ask them if they support donald trump they're just going to say yes no matter what's going on i mean trump could be standing outside with a flamethrower burning their house down and they're they're not going to say it um the question i think becomes because he's not going to run i mean we all worry about oh he's going to try for a third term i don't think
But the question is, will they then will voters displace that anger onto Republicans in the midterms and at state and local levels of government? I think that is going to happen because, you know, this goes back to what Phil was talking about with the press corps.
This war, I think, and everything that's happened over the past few months with tariffs and trying to get around the Epstein files, because I think you ask, why are we having a war? Well, Don, you just answered part of the question is that Trump is always looking to kind of move things into the commander in chief space. So that we'll talk about that instead of all the other things going on.
But this really shows that this team, this administration does not think of itself as representing the American people. It thinks of itself as representing a certain percentage of the American people.
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Chapter 6: Is there a feasible off ramp for the U.S. in the current conflict?
And everyone else is an enemy, including Phil and the Pentagon reporters. They're the enemy. I mean, if you listen to the way Pete Exet talks about this, they are the enemy.
um as much as any foreign enemy and that is very much part of this administration's whole ethos that other americans if they don't support donald trump they ask hard questions if they um they're not gonna read pete hex's talking points they are they are not just americans with whom you disagree they are the enemy And they're trying to fight a war on one hand.
That's why there's been no rally around the flag position here. You know, usually presidents launch a military operation. They come out and they say, here's where I'm doing it. I hope I hope that, you know, the American people will back me on this. Here's my explanation. And the Trump administration has been we've started this war. And if you don't like it, screw you, then you're not on our side.
And that that's not working for them. I just show that's not working for them.
Can I just add something to that? I think all that's true and it begs the question though, where is the opposition party planting a flag of being anti-war and anti-imperial adventures and anti-massacring civilians all around the Middle East? I mean, where are they? There are, you know, one-off democratic lawmakers here and there who have given really forceful remarks.
And certainly, you know, lots of them have come out and said they're not going to vote for supplemental funding for the Iran war. But, I mean, this is a moment, you know, as Tom says, where the administration is losing the American people for, like, completely legitimate reasons. And I am ā I am ā
every day longing for somebody to step into that void and present a different future, a different vision for America's role in the world, one that does not involve wreaking chaos and death all around the world. And I'm just really disappointed, frankly, that I have not seen that happen.
Andy, do we still have the live picture of the big hole in the wall that we had in... I think that was in Israel, but... And as we're saying this... The feed ended. The feed ended, okay. And so, thank you. And as we're saying that, they're still fighting. You know, supposedly there are peace talks going on or at least some sort of negotiation and they are still fighting.
America is dealing with the higher prices than they've seen in a while. Europe and beyond, they're calling this Trumpflation.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of U.S. military actions on domestic public opinion?
And we saw in India... miles of cars backed up waiting to get gas, gas lines reminiscent of the United States in the 1970s. I don't know where else we can go from here, gentlemen, but there you go. Yeah.
Can I make a point about the thing Jasper just said, though? I mean, I worked on Capitol Hill during the first Gulf War, which I just sort of dated myself and revealed my age, I guess. But, you know, it's a really...
It's a tight needle to thread once troops are actually in the field to come out and say, you know, we're going to stop Donald Trump, because at this point, the attempts to invoke the War Powers Act have failed. And the War Powers Act is a pretty poorly designed piece of legislation to begin with. There are other options, I suppose.
The Democrats could come out and say, we're just going to cut off all funding for this war. But in a way, the Republicans, I think, would love to invite them into that trap to say they're cutting off money while our guys are out there fighting and they're going to lack fuel and ammo and food. It's all put up, but it's a very powerful... message to be able to send. And it's very tough.
And there have been, I will say, there have been some Democratic legislators, people like Tim Kaine and others, who have stepped forward to say, you know, this is not, the president can't just go off and start wars by himself. The problem is that the way our system is structured, the president can go off and start wars by himself.
And the only thing Congress can end up doing is try to pull the rug out later, which then puts them in the position of not supporting the troops and you know, aiding the enemy and all of that.
So I take Jasper's point, but I think people out there should understand that this, when it comes to war and peace, when American troops are actively in a theater of war, it's tough for the opposition party to come out and be, you know, kind of full-throated anti-war. I think what they've been better off at doing has been anti-abuse of power by the president, but it's just a sticky conversation.
situation i think it is yeah no it definitely is a hard thing to do but i think that Go ahead. I was going to say, I mean, I think that I think basically it's a risk they need to take, especially before there's, you know, boots on the ground.
I mean, I think that the American people are not going to believe the sort of cynical attempts of Republicans to say they're trying to get our troops killed, because, as you say, like this war is incredibly unpopular. And I do think that if there's ever been an opportunity for a really powerful anti-war message coming from the Democrats, it's right now when we're fighting a really unpopular war.
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Chapter 8: How might the current political landscape affect future U.S. military engagements?
that there may be Democrats stepping back and saying, don't interrupt the president while he's hurting himself, because if he puts boots on the ground, the big division in this country will not be between the anti-war center left and left and everybody else. It's going to be within the MAGA coalition
And even I'm there's a part of me that says, you know, step back from that and let them fight it out rather than giving them an opposition to coalesce against. Because if he does put boots on the ground and I think that we're heading that way. I mean, he's talking out of one side of his mouth about negotiations and sending, you know, the 82nd Airborne Command structure over there now.
I think that would be a politically disastrous thing to do. But, again, I'm not sure ā I mean, I guess we're in kind of heated agreement about it would be great if somebody could step up and say this is a war that was started by one man on his own authority and his own whim.
But he's also ā But it goes beyond that because I think that's ā
That's gotta be the last word, we gotta run. Thank you both, thank you all, I appreciate it. at 2P and 8P. And if you want even more Don Lemon Show content, join the Lemon community. Members get exclusive posts, behind-the-scenes videos, and live chats just for you. So hit the Join button or visit our channel page to sign up.
Thanks again for all your love and your support, and I'll see you next time.
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