Kevin: Welcome back. Don't you change? We're in the same thing you were in the last episode. What's going on? Oh my gosh. Shoot me now. Do you borrow some money to a new shirt? Oh, crap. Oh, wait. I'm wearing the same thing. By the way. Gosh dang it. I'm only wearing one shirt, All right, so let's get into it. Another fun topic I'm tingling. It's just. getting with anticipation yeah this is a fun one I'm worried my stomach is gonna hurt by the time we're done I think Kevin Hart is gonna borrow some of our material on the war on Iran yes I'm sorry the entanglement military action military action incursion yeah well we can't call it a war because you need Congress for that right so if it's if you don't call it a war the war powers act giving him full legal authority to engage our troops in our nation's best interest during times of conflict. Well there you go. So all perfectly legal. Well, every president is used. I guess we'll find out. ⁓ yeah. Yeah, that's right. Everybody is used it so that so we're good. We have found the mixing bowl of commonality and the least common denominator. We baked it all into a little cake. Let's go to war and bomb some people. We are good at that. When you look at the history of our there any oil in Iran? Um, a bit. Hmm. A bit. That is so weird. Okay, well let's talk about all the reasons. Is there any oil in Cuba? No. No, not much. Then why would we... Never mind. That's probably for different day. It almost touches Florida. So... 90 miles. It is not much. It is not much. A rubber boat ride away. So when we look at the justification for the incursion, for the conflict, ⁓ I think it's pretty much universal. You look back at the past four, five, six presidents, all of them have stated unequivocally that we cannot allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. When you look at the nuclear club, all the different nations that have nuclear weapons, they're people that are by in large responsible players in the world stage iran has never been that it's the single largest sponsor of state terror in the world ⁓ has beloved to the hooties to all you know all these different organizations that completely funds and they are a bad actor on the world stage and they've killed a lot of innocent people. They tried recently to kill ⁓ Americans in the United States, including the President of the United States. They've done that twice. That's a government. of a sovereign country that's trying to literally murder another country's citizens, including the leadership. We're gonna get there, because I know where you're going with it. Wait a minute. It's different when we do it. Did they get permission from there? Yeah, they don't have to get permission there. ⁓ But they, so they're trying, they have nuclear aspirations, which you know the second they get that, they're gonna throw that at Israel like a hot rock. They're not gonna be hold onto it. That's gonna be a dime burning in their pockets to use that nuclear weapon and use it on Israel, because that's their sworn goal, is to remove Israel from the planet. ⁓ So you look at all these different things that come together, ⁓ and I can understand why we had to do what we do. They're an unstabling, unstabling, don't even know if that's a word. Destabilizing. That's a much better word, thank you. A destabilizing, ⁓ you know, player or factor in that region which is already a very contentious area in the world. And so when you look at the threats all back to Bible times, mean scripture talks about unrest and that region being at war with its own brother. Absolutely. Persia. All of it. So there's a lot of reasons why I think the United States has a strong case to go through and do what they do when you look at what it could do, the positives that it could bring. you you what you have half the population ⁓ that that are in a state of where they're not even citizens ⁓ the women of that country cannot be educated they can have their eyes gouged out if they read ⁓ they can't drive they can't go to school all these different things on their second-class citizens i think they can still be what's stone to death if if they had an affair ⁓ you know they can be mutilated if they have sex with her boyfriend and all these different things that that go on there that subjugate women And, ⁓ you know, that's just one of the many things going on in that country. And then when you saw, when you look back and see what that country was back before the Shah, you know, was taken out of power and the Ayatollah and that, and his group came in and took over. this was a country of well-educated, intelligent ⁓ people that, you you look at those pictures and it looks like the US in the 1970s as opposed to what it has now become. And so I think that this is a different scenario than what you'd see in Afghanistan. think that the Iranian people want democracy. They want to be able to run their own government. They want a moderate Western government. opportunities for their children, for they want opportunities for their girls and ⁓ I think the United States is in a position to help bring that about and so ⁓ in my opinion I think it's a justified conflict. ⁓ So two things on that. Number one ⁓ Do they want it or do we want them to want it would be my question is who are we talking to in societal circles over there that are pleading for us to come in and write their ship for them would be my question. And the second question is and it always goes back to everything that we've talked about over these last few weeks. It's not so much the end goal that I question. Yeah, we don't want bad actors to have nuclear capabilities. I don't think that suits anybody's best interest especially in that region, but if you extrapolate that out it could also be in our region if they get long-range capabilities and they can reach American soil with those. So obviously that you need to pay attention to that. China, they're good allies with them. I worry about the rockets and the missile technology that China is giving them or has promised them. China and Russia. Yes, absolutely. Are backing Iran in this ⁓ entanglement or military incursion. I want to make sure I get my. In military conflict that works too. Well, it works. The other thing is, or to that same point, it's not the end result that I struggle with. It's not the goal at the end. It's the means by which we get there that I am challenged by. And I think there needs to be humanity in the solution in that equation. Somewhere in there, there has to be empathy for the people that we're affecting over there, the collateral. And I hate the word collateral damage because well those people aren't collateral to anybody other than the guy that hit the switch that that dropped the weapon or the the person that that shot the howitzer or whoever So to use that term is I think you can use the word innocence. Yeah, there are there are people whose lives are changed forever. By the fact that we are going over there to inflict a regime change and and by hitting their compound and killing all of their leaders, ⁓ we're we've effectively created a regime change. I don't think it's going to be different. But it's going to be I mean, I don't think it's going to operate any differently. It'll have a different Ayatollah, it'll have a different commander but i i think it not much will change in the short term and i know that like i said the goal has to be paying attention to their nuclear proliferation? ⁓ that's all jackal is it a jacket jackal jackal so anyway it that that that ends don't justify the means is my argument i i think that we were actively negotiating ⁓ an opportunity there through trumps peace initiative ⁓ i think there was an opportunity there too I we don't want to well we're never going to know if there was any movement there ⁓ but we were openly discussing with them other options i know that they've said that any option that includes them not being able to ⁓ secure their own ⁓ weapon and the raw chemicals needed and the ⁓ but those are that's what everybody says in negotiating ⁓ table if anybody knows how to negotiate the best deal ever would have been I mean, he's the he wrote a book about it. I've read it everybody. It's a great bathroom. Yeah, if you want to borrow it's great for something in the bathroom. Yes I'll say this though first off to go back to an earlier point of yours and that is how can you tell ⁓ that people are excited about it and I would say the the incredible outburst of support from the iranian people themselves ⁓ both living in united states and in europe but also the individuals that were celebrating in in iran that they could and and and i don't think it was widespread but i know they went through and tore down a statue of the ayatollah ⁓ these people we had been writing these huge riots against that regime ⁓ leading up to what happened there and they murdered over 30,000 of their own citizens because they were they were protesting what was going on with that regime and And so when you see people dancing and you see Iranians doing the Trump dance and again I'm not trying to make this a Trump thing with that piece But it was just celebrating the fact that finally somebody is doing something about it all these American presidents before that said Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb under any circumstances did nothing to stop them ⁓ you can sign whatever peace accord you want you can sign whatever agreements we did it many times ⁓ the with the west ⁓ you know specifically ⁓ england did with with germany back in the in the thirties and and and hitler would go through and sign all those all those agreements and they meant nothing eight he didn't plan on abiding by any of these agreements and that is the way that iran has been dealing with the west for years delay delay delay build up your your your arson build up your nuclear ambitions, do all that stuff, and no one's gonna do anything to stop you. And I hate to say it, but what Trump did was cut through the BS, and he did something about it. And he is now taking action that can actually stop Iran from achieving their nuclear ambitions, and at the same time, I hope, bring about the regime change that is needed. And if we stop the war now, then yes, could be a situation where there is no regime change because Ayatollah's son will just take over, it'll be more of the same, they'll just still continue to get ⁓ both technology and weapons systems from Russia and China and eventually build themselves right back up. Maybe it'll take them another 10 years, but they'll eventually wind up with a nuke. if there is regime change and that's why i think trump is as asking for the united states military is asking for unconditional surrender so that regime change can happen and elections can be held and people can be democratically elected and and you pull iran into the world sphere and and and they're not going to go willingly the the elect i mean the leaders not elected leaders ⁓ but the leaders of iran ⁓ you know they're gonna fight this I believe that it continues the way that it is, which has been a wildly successful military campaign at this point. If it continues this way and they have no Navy, ⁓ their ability to fire rockets in defense or offensively has been diminished greatly because we're watching everything. Every time they fire a missile, we take out those launching pads and we've been able to take out a lot of their cache. So it's been a wildly successful with very few fatalities, I think, six americans so far which is horrible we don't like to see any american soldiers these these heroes be killed in ⁓ you know in action ⁓ it has been well successful if we can continue on this course and get to the point where regime change change can happen i think that's a great thing for the region ⁓ you know you can see that by the fact that all of these gulf nations responded positively to us ⁓ they're helping i think i ran throwing missiles at it was probably a really poor idea ⁓ taking out civilian targets taking out balls and airports and stuff like that on killing innocent people is probably not the way to get the rest of the gulf nations You know on your side But again, the response has been pretty universal We're getting the backing of Gulf nations in this fight because everybody knows what a bad actor they are look at all the damage done by the Houthis by by Hezbollah by all these these Iranian sponsored terror groups and what they've done to destabilize that that area just just being able to ship stuff anywhere near you know, the Straits of Hormuz or around the the horn ⁓ up by by the Suez, all of those terrorist attacks on shipping and on oil tankers and all that stuff, it's destabilizing the world economy. They're a bad actor. you know, no, I don't like the fact that the US has to be the world's policeman, but sometimes as the lone superpower, I think the United States is forced to action. And I think this is one of those times. I don't think the being the United States being the police force for the world doesn't bother me as much as it has the feeling of trying to establish this new world order mentality of all these other countries have to ⁓ have a system in place that benefits us and us primarily. And I think I'm troubled by that. I don't think that's our place. ⁓ I don't think that's our responsibility. And I do think that the United States being this, this power, this economic and military ⁓ presence, you there are responsibilities that come along with that, but I don't think it's to go along and pick out the countries that have ⁓ resources that we need and decide that they are unstable and replace their leadership. It has, and I'm not saying that's what we're doing, but it has that feel. If you look at the, you know, we're not playing a game of risk here where where the most red pieces belong to us and we win the game. It's much more ⁓ granular than that. It affects life in every other country. And then at some point, where does the world turn around and look to us and say, well, you started this. And my life isn't any better because of it. If you're looking for stabilization in that region, the Bible tells us that that's not. that's not practical thought. That's not going back to Isaac and Ishmael. Yeah, it's so if so if God inspired that word and wrote it down, why do we think we're the ones that are going to go in there? We don't speak their language. You said just an hour ago or the last time we talked about people not speaking the language. Well, we don't speak their language. We don't. live their religion and there are other things that affect their leadership and how they govern their country that are in play here that we don't understand why do we think that a western ⁓ government is going to work in that region when everybody around it pushes back against that Iran's going to be the first one that's going to be a heavy free election democracy and they're going to live in the middle of all those other countries that don't. How are they going to survive? How are they going to be supported by the countries around them? And has anybody thought, and I'm sure we have, But if you look out, you you take that line and move it out past the initial intent and ⁓ engagement and look past that, what's life going to look like for that region five years from now, 10 years from now when we are pulling resources out to support our way of life over here? How does that how does the world view change as far as how they look at the United States and the role that we play in this new world order, which which you know, that that's biblical as well. I don't think we're the ones that one world currency and one world order and a supreme leader. that's where this is, know, and we've heard like we were talking about before we started, one of the military's own commanders said that Donald Trump was appointed by God for this time to bring about this Armageddon. And I think he's talking about in times, I don't read in scripture where we're supposed to play a role in that actively. I believe God doesn't need our help to bring about when Jesus returns. Yeah, so why do we think we need to play some active role in that progress? end times. Armageddon only means one thing. You say that as a Christian, it only means one thing to us. I don't know the context that he was specifically referring to. God appointed Donald Trump to bring about what the end of this battle? You think that's a feasible explanation? just don't know. I don't know what he's referring to. I can let's say this. I don't know what his intent was. My fear is that as Christians and the church as a whole is supporting this idea that we're helping God usher in these last days and these end times to bring about Jesus' second coming. I don't know that that's what we're supposed to be doing. And I'm fearful that that that. OK, all right, well. I've read I've read revelations. I've read Daniel. I've read a lot of end time prophecies and stuff like that. I've not read anything where, you know, the orange the orange man will come and help us usher this in. I've not I've not read anything like that. I'll say this. ⁓ As I look at it pragmatically, the United States has been, you know, since since World War Two, we have been a force of good in the world. When you look at the number of people that were taken out of poverty because of our open market policies, the US Navy protecting all of the worldwide shipping, all the things we have done to try to bring about a stable economic ⁓ playing field for everybody to flourish in. And if you just look at what China's been able to accomplish under American protection and with the benefit of the American marketplace for them to play in and all the advantages they had in having trade with us and us just letting them freely come in. thinking that if we gave people access to our economy and and you know we would protect their shipping so no one could just come and take their goods or anything like that they would come in line that they would wind up being you know a player that was part of the system yes up you know i think that the ultimate goal would be partners but at least be you know good players in the game ⁓ even whether they agreed with us or not actively work against that same order that was created to help them flourish But it took a billion people out of poverty, you know and worldwide it has taken billions of people out of poverty and given them a much better life i think when you look at what the iranian people want and this is what they're saying if you watch them online if you watch the celebrations if you watch individuals of iranian descent talk about what is going on over there they want peace they want on their own government and they want to be ⁓ part of this this community of of nations where they can flourish and to say that we're just taking that energy out so so no one's gonna pay them for their raw material no one's gonna give them money for oil dump in if it went to the people that would be so much better than then state-sponsoring terror attacks i mean if that that money was used to build roads and schools and and and and to help dot the citizens of that country flourish in with this the untold natural resources of iran the education level everything that that country possesses that should absolutely be a rock solid economy. They should be a first world economy and they're not because they were run by people that that kept it backwards because it's easier to subjugate people that way and that's what they have done. They've subjugated those people so they there is this this flourish and you can see it in the protests you can see it in the celebrations going on right now. I really believe that this is an opportunity for Iran to seize control of their own country their own government and to have free and fair elections and and and I that is my hope and maybe I'm an obing overly optimistic about the possibilities of this but I really believe this is a huge opportunity that that the United States military has created. Well I mean absolutely I agree 100 % I wanted to be I want to remain an opportunity and not justification it needs to be forward thinking and and a plan to help them move forward after the conflict is over and not used as justification to do what we're doing because they have something that we need. You don't want you know those aren't parallel paths you're not on the same path if you if you're marrying yourself to both of those. outcomes I guess. So let's talk about the oil. So right now ⁓ When you look at where China was getting and Russia. Well, it has to be parallel because we have to look at the oil and we have to look at the money because those aren't the same. ⁓ In fact, I would say they're inversely proportional. The more oil that money goes somewhere might not be, ⁓ that cause and effect might not be the same. So just... Let's talk about the oil first and then financially what that means as far as who is profiting from moving oil. absolutely. So. a lot of the the cheap oil that china was getting was coming from venezuela and it was coming from iran where they can pay well below or at least below market prices ⁓ because of the sanctions that were against both those countries and they've still found ways around the sanctions to get really cheap oil from those two which help those two nations and so they created their own little access ⁓ to subjugate any type of sanctions against rogue regimes that went against what the world the world trade organization, the United States and our allies, ⁓ but sanctions were placed on them. So they found a way around it and it was really a strong benefit to China. you look at the world stage, China's obviously really working against the US in our best interests. They wanna take the standard for ⁓ the currency used to actually move oil around, pay for it, move it, everything like that, out of the standard United States dollar, helps our economy greatly, especially in managing our debt ⁓ and and move that over to another alternative, ⁓ which again really hurts our economy. And now ⁓ Trump has really taken that away by both what he did in Venezuela and what he is currently doing in Iran. He's kind of removing those pieces, those chess pieces off the board for China. So is this part of a greater plan to ice ⁓ and hurt the Chinese economy and kind of remove some of the advantages that they have ⁓ in the economic war that's going on between China and the United States right now. Okay, so how does that manifest itself as far as moving of oil and the conflict in Iran and Venezuela? Because I feel like there's a few things going on there. There's oil, there's rare earth. which I don't know how much I understand not what they are, but economically ⁓ who benefits from... who owns the resources and under what country are we mining these materials from? think that's good. Let's take a moment to talk about that because it's such I think there's a misnomer when we talk about rare earth metals. These metals are not really all that rare. You find pockets throughout the entire world. The US really went through and revolutionized processing all of those metals and these metals are used in a lot of the military. They're used in a lot of chips. They're used in a lot of things, semiconductors, etc. And those things are needed for technology, it's needed for military, it's needed for our iPhones or iPads, a lot of our stuff. ⁓ And I think when you look at how this whole thing went down, ⁓ you create kind of an environmental mess when you process it. It's a very difficult process to take things through.