Trump Says the War Is Ending. A Navy Commander Says It’s About to Escalate

April 5
34 mins

View Transcript

Episode Description

Former Navy pilot Ken Harbaugh — who flew recon missions as a mission commander over the Strait of Hormuz — joins Tara to break down Trump's address to the nation and what it actually means on the ground. Ken calls the speech alarming, says the Pentagon has no plan, and explains why Iran doesn't need a navy or air force to win this war. Ken's final answer: we're closer to something much bigger.

0:53 – Trump's address: contradictions on "nearing completion" vs. "major escalation"

1:52 – Total lack of a plan — and no one around Trump will say so

4:04 – Mission accomplished vibes — and why Iraq's military collapsed in minutes but the war lasted years

6:22 – Mining the strait: fishing boats vs. the U.S. Navy

8:36 – Iran will come out of this with a better deal than Obama's JCPoA

10:47 – Russia is providing targeting intel to Iran

12:14 – Why the U.S. is losing the drone war — and Ukraine offered to help

14:02 – China is laughing — and learning every lesson we're missing

15:24 – Ad break: Noble Mobile

17:16 – "Bomb them back to the Stone Age" — why it doesn't work

18:30 – Ground troops: the 82nd Airborne and the Kharg Island problem

21:53 – What does victory even look like now?

25:46 – Was it Israel? Total lack of coordination either way

27:01 – Do the Iranians even want to negotiate?

30:33 – 100,000 hardened IRGC fighters with weapons we can't counter

30:57 – Outro: subscribe and support independent journalism


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See all episodes