https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-tlc4P0iDw Today’s topic is so far-reaching, deep, and important that we had to dedicate an entire podcast episode to it. Frankly, it is one of the most interesting we have ever done. With so much conflict in the world—and the potential for even more escalation, particularly in the Middle East—we have heard a lot of worry, concern, and even hyperbole in the media about “World War III.” I actually have the opposite view: that after the recent strikes and counter-strikes between Israel and Iran, I wholeheartedly believe that World War III is far less likely than it was even just a couple of months ago. Read that again: in the wake of growing conflict in the Middle East, and even with the potential for US involvement, World War III is less likely. In today’s podcast, I put on my old hat as an Army intelligence officer and discuss the Iranian order of battle, their weapons and defense systems, much of which, frankly, is derived from Chinese military technology. Over the past several days, that Iranian-based Chinese military tech was obliterated—completely overwhelmed by Israel’s precision strikes. And where did Israel get its technology from? Some of it is homegrown, of course, but the majority comes from the United States. So the way I look at this Israel-Iran conflict is almost like a live-fire exercise or war game that models what a real conflict between the United States and China might look like. And based on the results, it is not looking good for China—or Russia, for that matter. It leads me to the conclusion that no adversary nation wants to risk an armed conflict with the United States right now, lest they too get obliterated by America’s F-35s. Towards the end, we talk about whether or not the United States should be involved. I do not have the definitive answer. But I walk through the rational framework that I hope America’s leaders are using to make that kind of decision. There is not enough reason and rational decision-making in Washington these days. Too many politicians make knee-jerk, emotional reactions for the benefit of Twitter likes, rather than conducting a clear cost-benefit analysis. There is so much more we unpack in this episode—it is definitely worth a listen, and we hope you tune in to join us. Once again, you can listen in to the podcast here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-tlc4P0iDw And you can access the podcast transcript, here.
