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Unknown A
If all of the hostages aren't returned By Saturday at 12 o'clock, all hell.
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Unknown B
Is going to break out. It's called the consequences of a war and a war that was started by Hamas on October 7th.
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Unknown C
Donald Trump the other day said, There's 1.9 million people in Gaza. Okay, that's 400,000 shy of what we started with. What are you guys going to do? Start bombing the rubble? This is biblical levels of evil.
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Unknown D
When Israel does 60 times the terrorism of Hamas, we should call than what they are a terrorist state and we should stop funding them. It was always about the theft of Palestinian land.
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Unknown E
If Israel wanted to occupy Gaza, it would be occupying Gaza right now. None of them will clearly they want to be occupying Gaza.
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Unknown F
What is your reaction to Donald Trump and his announcement about talking to Putin?
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Unknown C
America's got all the chips here. We can get Vladimir Putin to do much of what we would like him to do. I think you could work out a deal where the US Pulls out of NATO.
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Unknown E
We did not do anything to prevent this. Totally prevent war.
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Unknown F
This week has been dominated by cries of constitutional crisis in D.C. as President Trump fights the courts and emboldens Elon Musk. It's worth noting in response that US Foreign policy has operated without constitutional sanction for many decades and with far graver consequences. Now President Trump finds himself at the beating heart of a genuine crisis unfolding 5,000 miles away in Gaza. Hamas says Israel has violated the terms of its ceasefire agreement and is suspending the release of hostages. President Trump has given Netanyahu the green light to cancel the deal altogether if hostages are not returned as planned on Saturday.
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Unknown A
I'm speaking for myself. Israel can override it, but from myself, Saturday at 12:00. And if they're not, if they're not.
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Unknown D
Here, all hell is going to break out.
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Unknown F
Well, Arab states are still reeling from Trump's claim that Palestinians should be resettled in Egypt and Jordan and the US Owning and rebuilding Gaza as amid Middle Eastern Riviera. They've all fiercely refused that proposal, just as they've long refused to take in Palestinian refugees. But Jordan's King Abdullah struck a different tone on his visit to the White House this week, pledging to take in 2,000 sick children from Gaza and hailing Trump as a peacemaking visionary.
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Unknown A
Mr. President, I truly believe that with.
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Unknown C
All the challenges that we have in the Middle east, that I finally see.
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Unknown A
Somebody that can take us across the finish line to bring stability, peace and prosperity to all of us in the region.
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Unknown F
So is Trump successfully bluffing to get deals done and then claim credit for a ceasefire reprieve? Or is he running the reckless risk of eventually needing a bite to match his bark? Well, joining me to debate all this is Cenk Yuga, the host and founder of the Young Turks, the commentator and author Batia Unger Sagan, Dave Smith, host of Part of the Problem, and the actor and commentator Dean Cain. Well, welcome to all of you. Chuck Yuga. I mean, look, Trump's literally ignited a ferocious firestorm of debate with this Gaza Riviera plan. As with so many things that Trump does, the immediate response I would have is, well, what does he really want here? And I suspect what he really wants is for the leaders of Arab countries in the Middle east to step up and come up with a workable plan that actually gets things sorted. Because Trump's right. Nothing else has worked.
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Unknown D
Yeah, Trump is not right about one thing here. His plan is obviously asinine. We all can acknowledge that it has no chance of success. It's ridiculous. But more importantly, why is he doing it? Can we be honest here? I know in mainstream media and cable news you can't say this. Can we say this here? Yes, obviously, because of his donors. I mean, Miriam Adelson gave him that. Adelson family over three elections, gave him $337 million. Haaretz reported that she wanted portions of the west bank and Gaza Strips annexed. So why is Trump saying we're going to own it? He's trying to trick MAGA into thinking after we let the Israelis slaughter more Palestinians, as they try to push 2 million people out of their homes and their homeland, and after we finance that slaughter, which we're definitely going to finance cuz Trump. And to be fair to Trump, almost all the Democrats, all Washington, is owned by Israel.
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Unknown D
Netanyahu dog walked Trump around the park, made him look like a waiter as he was putting his chair in. So we're gonna pay for all that slaughter. And then Trump goes, don't worry, because we're gonna own it later. We're not gonna own anything. You think Israel's gonna give it back to us? No, they're going to steal that land. This was never about self defense. We were right all along. It was always about the theft of Palestinian land. We told you so.
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Unknown F
All right, Batya, your response?
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Unknown E
I think that there's a really important point to be made here, which is that no Palestinians have been allowed to flee this war zone because of course, Israel was not going to let in civilians from Gaza who may have Hamas members hiding amongst them. But Also, Egypt did not allow almost a single Palestinian to exit the Gaza Strip. Trump has been very clear that what he imagines here, rightly or wrongly, is the voluntary resettlement of Palestinians who wish to leave Gaza. Now, I know a lot of Palestinians who would rather live in the rubble than leave their homeland, and I respect that. But 40% of Gazans before this war were either employed by Hamas by the public sector, or by UNRWA or by jobs in Israel. None of those streams of revenue are going to exist now. And so the question I think we need to be asking is this, does the international community owe it to the people of Gaza to continue subsidizing their living in Gaza under Hamas rule?
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Unknown E
Because that is essentially what has been happening until now. Now, of course, I do not support any sort of forceful removal of anybody from their homeland, but I don't think that's what Trump is imagining. It was very clear from the press conference that there's going to be this meeting in Riyadh between the Saudis, between the Jordanians, and between the Egyptians, all of whom have done nothing to help the Palestinians forever. And so I think this question becomes who owes who what? And that's really what Trump is trying to introduce here, is a new path forward.
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Unknown F
Dave Smith, you said about the plan. I called it insane ethnic cleansing and the worst proposal a president can make. But if what it achieves is it gets everybody in a room actually properly debating a solution to all this, isn't it a means to an end?
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Unknown C
Well, I guess you could say that about anything. Like, if he doesn't come through on what he's saying he's going to do, and then something else better comes out of it. Perhaps. But look, it doesn't. The plan itself doesn't make any sense. I don't think Bhatia is right to say that it was clear that this is gonna be voluntary. I mean, at best, that was unclear. The only thing that Trump made crystal clear is that they would not be allowed back in. He said that explicitly in the interview with Brett B. The problem, even, I think, Pierce, with the idea which a lot of Trump supporters and I voted for him in this election. But a lot of Trump supporters are saying, oh, this is just a Trump negotiating tactic. The problem with that angle is that it doesn't even make sense as a negotiating tactic.
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Unknown C
I mean, who are you putting pressure on here? Like, the idea is you would have to, in order to have a negotiating tactic here, you would have to be putting some pressure on Israel. I mean, the idea that we're going to put more pressure on the people of Gaza. I think they felt quite enough pressure over the last nearly year and a half now and many decades before that. But this is just so even just to float this out as a starting point in a negotiation is so outrageous. The idea that Israel breaks it and then we buy it after. Israel, as we all know on this panel, has used their significant influence. Like even if you don't want to go quite as far as Cenk and say that, you know, the politicians in America are owned by Israel, although he's got an argument there.
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Unknown C
Israel has used their significant influence to push America into the entire terror wars of the last 25 years. Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli War Cabinet has still been trying to pressure us to fight a war with Iran, another catastrophic war in the Middle East. This is what these guys want. And now we are responsible for cleaning up their mess. It's an outrage. It is the antithesis of America first and the antithesis of the spirit in which so many people, the reason why so many people supported Donald Trump. A break from the permanent war party.
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Unknown F
Piers Morgan Uncensored is now proudly independent. If you like the show, we ask for only one thing. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Piers Morgan Uncensored on Spotify and Apple podcasts. Now, let's get straight to the point. Support for today's show comes from a business focused on a critical issue. Prosperity. U.S. national debt is at crisis levels. Inflation has made life more expensive for everybody and the stock market is precarious. It's enough to make anyone's financial future feel grim. So what is the solution? Well, a simple one is to opt out of the chaos and invest in something solid and reliable physical gold and silver. And there's only one name you need to remember. American Heart for Gold. This company has earned the trust of thousands of customers with an A rating from the Better Business Bureau and going reviews. You can see for yourself. They offer an incredible range of gold and silver bars and coins.
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Unknown F
They can be delivered directly to your door or they'll help you set them up in a tax advantaged gold ira. First class customer service makes the whole process simple, secure and straightforward. American Heart for Gold is committed to getting the truth out there and giving you peace of mind in uncertain times. And if that wasn't enough, you'll get up to $15,000 worth of free silver when you make your first purchase. And mention my name Piers. So make the smart move. Call 866-692-2474 or text PIERS, that's P I E R S 265532. That's 866-692-2474, or text PIERS. 2655, 32. All the details are in the description. Now on with the show. Okay, before I go to Dean, just, just one more thing, Dave, on this, which is Trump's position is, look, all right, give me a better option. In other words, if it's not America that rebuilds flattened northern Gaza, which is clearly uninhabitable to families right now, I have one, right.
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Unknown F
If it's not America that does that, who does it?
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Unknown C
Well, I mean, that's, I mean, look, if we want to try something new, what we could try is not giving Israel unconditional support and arming and financing.
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Unknown F
No, but that's not my question. My question is who is going to rebuild Gaza?
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Unknown D
I can answer it, Piers.
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Unknown F
Okay, Cheng.
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Unknown C
Well, the responsibility ought to be on Israel.
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Unknown F
Yeah, okay, Cheng.
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Unknown D
Yeah. So as you know, Piers, from day one, what I said was Israel should use special forces. This bombing, indiscriminate the buildings was outrageous. It was always meant to level it. Hold on. So then what I said after that, Piers, if you remember, is you should do a deal with the Palestinian Authority and the west bank to give the occupied territories back to the Palestinians where it belongs and have a two state solution that we've always fought for. And that way they would have the authority and the credibility to be able to push Hamas out of the Gaza. Who rebuilds Gaza, who pays, doesn't have to do it. Yeah, I know, I know, I'm getting to it. And so then I know Israel would never pay for anything. They try to make us pay for it, all their bills. So you can't. So then you go to the Arab countries, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and you say, oh my God, we got a deal.
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Unknown D
We got a two state solution. The Palestinians are going to finally have a homeland. Now you guys pay for the rebuilding. I guarantee you that they do that. That is an easy solution. The only thing blocking that solution, that way America doesn't pay any. There's no more killing, there's peace. The only ones blocking that are Israel because they don't want two states, they wanna steal Gaza. And now they just said it, they want to.
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Unknown F
Well, the other people steal it, but the other people.
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Unknown D
So there's no question about it, this.
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Unknown F
All sounds utopian and so easy. Except that of course you've still got a large Hamas presence, as we see with the release of all these hostages we believe from American Intelligence that for every Hamas terrorist has been killed, they've already been replaced. The ideology may, if anything, have been fueled and that ideology is committed to be destruction of all things Israel. So this blissful utopia picture you're painting, there's no relation to reality.
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Unknown D
It's not utopia. Super simple. No, no, no, no, no. First of all, Piers, you leave it to the Palestinians. That's why I'm saying do the deal with the Palestinian Authority in the west bank, you leave it to the Palestinians to drive Hamas out. So that's their internal business. But in order to do that, you have to have a deal for a two state solution and you make the Middle Eastern countries, the Arab countries that have always said that they Palestine pay for rebuilding Palestine. It makes perfect sense the all. And it does.
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Unknown F
Right to the point. Okay, look, you have me, you have me right to the point. You say it won't work, you're going.
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Unknown D
To the same talking point.
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Unknown F
I get it.
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Unknown D
Palestinians are always going to be terrorists.
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Unknown F
I get it.
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Unknown D
And that's a ridiculous Israeli propaganda.
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Unknown F
No, I don't think that at all. But I think the idea that the Palestinian Authority will simply go bang and Hamas disappear, forget it. Dean Cain, let me bring you in here. You've been waiting for it.
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Unknown D
It's very simple. But yeah, of course that's what you do. And they might be brutal about it, but that's.
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Unknown F
Palestinian Authority is run Palestinian business, you've.
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Unknown D
Got a guy, American business, you've got.
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Unknown F
A guy in his 80s running the Palestinian Authority. Right. I do not entrust him, frankly, with all due respect, to run Hamas out of town. Anyway, let me bring, let me give.
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Unknown D
You a perfectly viable solution, all right? Perfectly viable. And you're, and you're coming out with excuses because Israel wants Gaza.
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Unknown F
Be honest, coming up with any excuses.
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Unknown D
Admit that Israel clearly, clearly wants to steal Gaza. Isn't that, wasn't that the self defense.
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Unknown F
Let me ask you, I certainly believe there are people in Netanyahu's cabinet, Ben Gavir Smodritch and others who absolutely would like that. That's been my problem with this for a long time. Let me bring in and bring Dean Keynes. Be waiting patiently. I mean Dean, look, you know, a lot of people outraged as always by what Trump has suggested. But is there merit to his apparent madness?
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Unknown B
Absolutely, 100%. Look, what we're just failing to talk about here is October 7th, you know, and I'll quote Douglas Murray here, you don't get to start a war and then complain when you lose it. And there are consequences to losing it. And Hamas needs to be absolutely driven out and ended in Gaza. That's unequivocal. Otherwise they're going to completely keep going with the same circle teaching people through UNWRA and the schooling there that Israelis are drinking your blood, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. They're fomenting this. We're paying for half of this stuff, the USAID and the other things that are going on. It's ridiculous. I think Israel has every right to step up. I think President Trump has made it clear that he's going to back them 100%, unlike this last administration. And I think we'll actually see something really happen in this area.
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Unknown F
But the problem. But the problem, the problem seems to me is there is no real evidence that Hamas have been defeated. In fact, if anything, these propaganda videos they're showing with the hostages, there seem to be a lot of Hamas and a lot of support for Hamas for these, certainly in the, in the early ones. And I think that would be very.
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Unknown D
I can't believe they don't love Israel.
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Unknown F
Well, no, but this has been my problem again. My problem again.
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Unknown D
62,000 people there.
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Unknown F
Yeah, but just to go back to things.
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Unknown D
They don't love Israel. That's so shocking.
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Unknown F
Well, hang on. I'm going to go back to things. Yeah.
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Unknown D
Would you love your oppressors?
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Unknown B
I knew what you did on October 7th.
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Unknown D
I wouldn't love people who murdered my family there.
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Unknown B
You sound like.
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Unknown D
You sound like one of these. You're wrong. The Palestinians didn't start this war. Israel started it with the occupation. You don't get to Occupy Texas for 57 years. And if Texas fights back, go, oh, look at the terrorists in Texas. They started the war. No, Israel definitively started a war. America first. I'm tired of Israel first. Israel first. Give them $300 billion. Pay for their genocides. Get out of there. America first. And let these poor people, Palestinians go.
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Unknown F
Do you sounding check Israel and their.
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Unknown D
Infinite greed for land, land, land and slaughter.
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Unknown F
So just to be clear.
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Unknown D
Everybody knows that.
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Unknown F
Just to be clear, Chen, because you're going a bit further than you have before. Just to be clear. You think October 7th was an inevitable consequence of the way the Palestinian people have been treated?
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Unknown D
Guys, I hate October 7th. When Hamas does violence, they do so much damage to the Palestinians, the Muslims, so. But two things can be true at the same time. You could have something awful and then you could use your brain to figure out, hey, why did that happen? And does anyone think that any American wouldn't fight back. If they were occupied and humiliated and their land stolen and their families bullied and harassed and humiliated for 57 straight years, of course we would fight back. Of course any set of human beings would fight back. But when Israel oppresses them and uses their might of their giant military to crush them, that's not terrorism. But if Palestinians fight back, terror risk, it's absurd. It's propaganda. It's both terrorism. Okay, so, yes, the Hamas doing terrorism is despicable. And when Israel does 60 times the terrorism of Hamas, we should call them what they are, a terrorist state, and we should stop funding them.
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Unknown D
Don't send our taxpayer money to go fund terrorist government of Israel.
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Unknown F
All right, Bhatti, your response.
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Unknown E
I just want to talk about this idea of Israel owning the United States government, because it seems to me that people who make that argument want to have it both ways. On the one hand, we give Israel exorbitant amounts of money, and on the other hand, somehow they control us through the money that we give them. And it's never been clear to me, like, what do they use for that control. So people will say AIPAC, but Apec spends about $3 million on local races in America, on congressional races. It's not a lot of money.
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Unknown D
Number one, don't.
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Unknown E
This campaign cycle, the Israel Lobby is.
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Unknown D
The number one donor.
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Unknown E
They're literally bribing the American people. Is the fact that Americans are supportive of Israel. It's like the way that the NRA was popular when it was because Americans like their guns. These lobbyists, they are powerful to the extent that they reflect views that the American people already have. And I think that's a really important point to point out here, because you cannot take an unpopular view and just use money in order to push it. And nothing has proven that. Like this last election cycle. Nikki Haley outspent Donald Trump 2 to 1. Kamala Harris outspent Donald Trump 2 to 1. Money in politics has been revealed to be nothing compared to the will of the American people. This is an amazing thing. I mean, as a lefty, I was really against Citizens United. And it turns out, actually the American electorate has a very clear idea of what it wants.
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Unknown E
If you look at Donald Trump's cabinet, every single person in that cabinet, which is, by the way, the most famous ideological cabinet in American history.
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Unknown B
No, it's not.
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Unknown E
They all have a very similar view of what it means to be America first. There's only one thing that they all share, and they all seem to think that having a pro Israel point of view is Very much inherent in the America first ideology. Because Israel is a good ally. Israel brings a lot to the table. We get a lot more bang for our buck. In fact, I think Israel should stop taking aid from the United States because I think Israel has paid a much higher price for that aid.
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Unknown C
I agree.
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Unknown E
In terms of its sovereignty, it has been bad for Israel to take all this money because it means that the Americans can tell them what to do and they shouldn't accept that they should be sovereign nations. I'll just make one more quick point. Sovereignty is not something you can give somebody. It's not a gift you can give to another nation. I feel for the Palestinian people, but the idea that somehow Israel, which won its sovereignty through winning wars, owes them something in the form of a sovereign state. This is just ridiculous. Like, this doesn't actually make any sense. Shenk, you said who should rebuild Gaza. You said the Arab nations should rebuild Gaza in exchange for the two state solution. But what Trump is about to do is get a deal in which they rebuild Gaza, Gaza without actually having to have a two state solution.
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Unknown E
So he's actually sort of a little bit ahead of the game in the way that he often turns out to be.
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Unknown F
Okay, let me bring in.
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Unknown D
No, you know how unrealistic that is. You think Saudi Arabia is gonna pay for Israel to occupy Gaza? Nobody's gonna pay. None of that.
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Unknown E
I don't think Israel wants to occupy Gaza at all.
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Unknown D
They're not that big a sucker.
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Unknown E
If Israel wanted to occupy Gaza, occupying Gaza right now, none of them will. He clearly doesn't want to be occupying Gaza.
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Unknown D
Yeah, none of them will do that.
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Unknown E
Why Shank, according to you, why is Israel not currently occupying Gaza if they want it so badly?
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Unknown D
Because they're waiting for America to give them permission. They were waiting for this election. That's why they supported Trump. So Kamala Harris and Joe Biden were terrible on this issue. They gave Israel everything they wanted. But they. But Netanyahu made a deal with Trump and it became obvious to me that the reason for that was just Trump was going to give them even more, which is just to let them grab this land in Gaza, which is gonna cause a massive conflict. And guess who's gonna pay for it? We're all gonna pay for it.
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Unknown F
Okay, let me bring in.
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Unknown D
Come on. You know, the donors control things. The drug companies are deeply unpopular and they win every time in Congress. All right, let me bring in by our Congress.
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Unknown F
And so does Israel made the point. Let me bring in Dave Smith. Dave, the immediate big picture here is that there's been, you know, a big fracturing of the agreement in terms of releasing hostages, Hamas and so on. And it's now coming to a head on Saturday where Trump says if they don't release all of the hostages by Saturday, midday I think he said, then all hell will break loose. Supposed to be three hostages being released. Netanyahu now no longer says three, but doesn't give an actual number, he just says many. I think you've got three different positions here. Either way, it feels like a very precarious moment in this process. What do you make of it?
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Unknown C
Yeah, well, I mean, I certainly agree it's a precarious moment. There was a good piece in the New York Times about this, I mean, where even some Israeli officials were admitting that they haven't held up their end of the ceasefire either. There's been a bunch of Palestinians killed during this ceasefire. The problem here, I think with Trump's negotiating posture is that again, it's just all the pressure is he's just trying to put more pressure on Hamas, on Gaza. But there's two parties here and I think at the very least people could acknowledge that, like there has to be some pressure on both of them. And, and this is what, you know, I just want to respond to a couple of the things Bhatia was saying. Cuz there actually was really interesting news that you was broke on your show here, Piers, if you remember back a few weeks ago when you hosted a debate between Wesley Clark and Scott Horton.
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Unknown F
Yeah.
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Unknown C
And four star general Wesley Clark, who's probably most famous for his seven countries in five years comment that he had seen that this plan was all he revealed very casually on your show, that actually he had seen these plans back in 1991. And you know where they came from? They came from Paul Wolfowitz. And he said this was sanctioned by Israel, that Israel under George H.W. bush's administration had the plan to topple all of these governments. This is a decade before 9, 11. And then of course they lost the election. The plan got reignited when George W. Bush took over. But to Bhatia's point, there was no, there was no groundswelling of support from the American people to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi or to start a civil war in Syria or even to overthrow Saddam Hussein. This was totally a top down move largely done by Israeli influence.
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Unknown C
And so it's just not the case that what's popular is always going to rise to the top and that politics and business have no influence on this. And I'm Not a lefty. I'm not like, I don't care about getting, getting money out of politics. I care about getting politics out of money. I want to see the size and scope of the government drastically reduced so it doesn't even really matter who owns the thing. And I think Elon and Trump are doing a great job on that front, or at least starting to. But, you know, this is just the idea of what we're going to look, Pierce, the thing that's kind of frustrating here, right, is that I sit here on your show six months ago, eight months ago, and I say, you're never going to be able to get rid of Hamas. You're just going to get more Hamas or Hamas, like groups doing this.
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Unknown C
Then we, and then we turn around and then all the pro Israel, you know, people, they just act like that point never happened. We just move on to whatever the next, like, topic is. But what are you guys going to do? Start bombing the rubble? I mean, like, for God's sakes, like, have a little bit of humanity. The numbers. Look, Donald Trump, by the way, I think Cenk is wrong when he's floating. You know, remember all those months where on this show people would always argue whether you can trust the Ministry of Health's numbers or not? That argument's over. It's way higher than what they were estimating. Donald Trump the other day said, There's 1.9 million people in Gaza. Okay, that's 400,000 shy of what we started with. I'm not claiming to know what the exact numbers are, but this is just so, I mean, like, on any.
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Unknown C
This is biblical levels of evil. You're just going to start bombing these people again and think that's going to solve the problem.
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Unknown F
Yeah, Dean, I mean, look, I think these are very valid questions. I've been saying for many months, what's the plan for the end of this? Because it seemed to me there was no actual evidence that the ideology was being removed whatsoever. In fact, quite the opposite. Looked like support for Hamas was growing in Gaza because of the scale of the retribution from Israel for October 7th. Dean, I mean, my question for you would be just on a human level, if you were suddenly told, along with your entire neighborhood, right, you've all got to leave, right. And you can't come back instinctively on a human level, you'd be like, sorry, what? No, it's in my home. I'm not going anywhere. And even if that's.
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Unknown B
If they told me that, if they told me that in a sort of a blank slate but if people had done what happened on October 7th, and then you get removed from that area, I don't know how much you can complain. And when they're pushing that.
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Unknown F
But why should. But why should 2 million people be punished for the actions of 50,000 people in Hamas?
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Unknown B
Well, what is the percent of support for Hamas within the Gaza state?
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Unknown F
Well, it's hard to gauge what it really is, because rather like in Russia and other places, when you have a controlling body in a country who ruled by fear and violence and intimidation and murder, then often people are not going to be honest in polling. Right. So we don't really know. I mean, I've seen enough scenes.
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Unknown D
You said it perfectly.
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Unknown F
There's a lot of support. But I think to collectively punish 2 million people, which is what is going on here under this plan, that seems to me to be almost the embodiment of ethnic cleansing, isn't it? I mean, if you're. If you're forcing them against their will to leave their homes and not allow them back, that is by the definition of the phrase ethnic cleansing.
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Unknown B
Well, it's not a genocide, and it's not ethnic cleansing. There are plenty of Arab Jews or non Jews inside of Israel. It's that. It's Hamas.
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Unknown F
It's that voluntarily. Hang on, hang on. They're there voluntarily. The point about ethnic cleansing is where a group of people are removed from a place where they live against their wishes. That is called ethnic cleansing.
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Unknown B
It's called the consequences of a war, and a war that was started by Hamas on October 7, period. You do that. Let me tell you what, Piers, Anybody on this panel, if your kid was one among those that were taken hostage and pulled across, what would you do to get him back? I would do anything.
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Unknown F
Yeah, but I would read. Dean, I agree with you. Dean, I agree with you, but what would you do?
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Unknown C
Why don't we ever apply that to the other side? I get your point. I would do anything. But what about the Palestinian children who have died in such greater number, who are so much more oppressed?
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Unknown B
But quit putting rockets and things in schools. Quit putting. I mean, there's no question what Hamas is doing by. By burying all their things right in the schoolyards, right in the churches, right in the mosques, wherever it is in areas. They do that. And then what do you do? How do you. How do you respond to that at a certain point?
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Unknown C
Have you seen the pictures of Gaza? Are you telling me there was Hamas. There were Hamas missiles in every single one of those buildings? That. That's the entirety of the story is that Israel just had to blow up this building, which, by the way, still I don't think would be morally justified. But, like, come on, man, look like. It's just. Again, even to Dean's point, I always find this fascinating because somehow Americans could say this about the people in Hamas and go, like, you know, like you said, yeah, I wouldn't like to be kicked out of my neighborhood, but if my government had done October 7th, I'd accept it. Your government, Dean, destroyed Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, the drone bombing campaign in Pakistan. So, like, what are. Can you get kicked out of your house now? Is it not ethnic cleansing if we were to kick you out of your neighborhood?
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Unknown C
This is so ridiculous that we impose these standards on these poor people, that we would never dream of holding ourselves to that standard. It's just. It logically makes absolutely no sense. And it doesn't really matter what Hamas's approval rating is, in the same way that it doesn't matter that George W. Bush had record high approval ratings. That doesn't mean that the innocent civilians of the United States of America are fair game, and neither should any other group of civilians.
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Unknown F
Okay, Bhatti, your response.
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Unknown E
Can I just jump in for a second? I feel a little bit like. Dave, I appreciate what you're saying, but I feel a little bit like you're trying to have it both ways. On the one hand, you're saying Hamas as an ideology will never be defeated. Ergo, there is this sort of widespread support for it. On the other hand, you're asking Israel to live side by side and treat the population of Gaza as innocent. Now, I happen to agree with the latter. I think. I think Hamas is. I don't understand why everybody keeps saying that they're so popular. The latest polling have shown Hamas support is down to 20%. I've even seen polls at 7%, because the people of Gaza, the innocent people of Gaza, understand who brought this upon them. Hamas is much more popular right now in the west bank than it is in Gaza, because people in the west bank have not had to.
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Unknown E
Well, a little bit. They've had to bear the costs of what happened on October 7th. But mostly it's been the people in Gaza. And I think that to ignore the historic unpopularity of Hamas is truly criminal. It's to suggest that we cannot imagine a life for the Palestinians in Gaza, in their homeland, not living under the brutal regime of Hamas. Hamas is only able to attack Israel in a very limited way. You know, October 7th was not some act of, like, unbelievable Genius. They broke a goddamn fence because Israel wasn't looking at the fence. Right? It was like the most easy, obvious, stupid thing, right? When actually, right now, Hamas's ability to actually kill Israelis is going to be back to what it was before October 7th, which is very, very minimal. This is not like an unbelievably sophisticated group here. And what I don't understand is why do we think it is compassion to the Palestinians to sentence them to live under a brutal dictatorship that murders and tortures and steals food from its own people?
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Unknown E
And I'm not saying that we should have some sort of plan here for regime change or whatnot, but I'm saying that there seems to be this weird view that the primary victims of Hamas are Israelis, and they are not. They are the people of Gaza. And again, Pierce, I don't think the question is one of ethnic cleansing. Because Trump. You're right, Dave, he did say they can't go back, but he also then very quickly said they're not going to want to. He is picturing a situation in which young Gazans are given an opportunity to leave and seek a life elsewhere, an option, a choice which they have not been given ever before. And the question is, should they be given that choice or should they be subsidized by the international community to continue living under the brutal problem?
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Unknown F
Battirist. All right, but hang on, hang on. Look, there's a lot to unpack there, but the immediate problem is none of the Arab states want to do this. So this plan is not going to go anywhere because none of them are prepared to take in 2 million Palestinian refugees, least of all.
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Unknown E
Always say that when Trump starts a negotiation. No one's going to do this. Look at what he achieved, Pierce, over the last three weeks with tariffs. He got everything he wanted. Every single.
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Unknown F
There's a big difference. But hang on, can I respond? There's a very big difference between tariffs and 2 million refugees.
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Unknown C
Listen, the idea to even make the comparison of Mexico or Canada sending 10,000 troops to their border and compare that to Jordan or Egypt taking in a million refugees each is just.
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Unknown B
I mean.
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Unknown C
I mean, they view this as an existential threat to their regime. And there's lots of historical reasons for that, but, like, there's just no comparison between getting that concession and getting this one. But I think, Bajit, like, I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. I'm not saying Hamas could never be defeated. I'm not saying that the Palestinians are sentenced to live under Hamas forever. I don't think it's our job to determine who their government is. If we wanted to use that justification, we could justify having regime change in the majority of governments around the world. The point is that I'm saying Hamas cannot be defeated, treated like this or at least a similar ideology. You'll either have Hamas or a Hamas like group. As I've said on the show before, this is General McChrystal, not a libertarian dove like me. It was his. He's the one who coined the term insurgent math.
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Unknown C
What's 10 minus 2? 20? The more you keep doing this, everybody. Every time you kill a little girl. They had a father and a brother and an uncle, and you just get more people. So Hamas might be less powerful. Powerful because. Or less popular. Excuse me. Because they have been unable to protect their people. But they'll be just. Just be looking for the next most gangster protector that they can provide. Hold on now.
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Unknown E
Let me just.
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Unknown C
Okay.
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Unknown F
No, no, no.
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Unknown E
He has shown that support for. Support for the two state solution in Gaza has grown since October 7th by leaps and bounds. Like the exact opposite of that.
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Unknown C
No, no, it's not.
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Unknown E
Sorry, it's not at all.
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Unknown C
That's not what I'm saying. Now let me say to your other point. Point. And I don't even think you realize you did this, but you just gave the whole game away. Like you just totally gave away any justification Israel has for this. When you say October 7th wasn't some genius thing. We just weren't looking at the wall. We could just look at the wall. You know, I think. I think, Pierce, a lot of times, as I've watched so many debates on your show about this over the last year, people argue the number of people who are dead, people argue the civilian to combatant ratio. All of this is irrelevant. Okay? When you look at the unimaginable amount of profound human suffering that Israel has inflicted on Gaza over the last year, plus, the only relevant question is, do you absolutely have to do this? Is there any alternative?
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Unknown F
Well, also, what I would say if there's not.
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Unknown C
If that's not the case, if you're saying we could just keep our eye on that wall, then you have absolutely no excuse.
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Unknown F
I would say. I would say. What? Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on.
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Unknown E
Destroy them.
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Unknown F
Hang on one second.
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Unknown E
The fact that it.
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Unknown F
Sorry, Betty, hang on. I just want to respond to that because we've done a lot of debates, like you say. I mean, most of us have been debating this all year on this show. Here's what I would say that from maybe two, three weeks in, I began asking two questions repeatedly. What is a proportionate response and what is the end game? And in other words, what happens when this is over? And nobody really on the Israeli side ever had had a real answer for this. Right. And it seems to me that the scale of a response, given that Hamas, if the mission was to eradicate Hamas, that has simply not happened. So that has not been achieved. So the victory that Netanyahu wanted, which was the elimination of Hamas, I don't think anybody would argue that that has been achieved. And so we are where we are with that.
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Unknown F
Secondly, there's no question that in terms of. Of the plan for the end of this, there wasn't one. Right. And that's why Trump has come up with this idea, because nobody else has come up with a plan which makes any sense to him. You know, the Arab countries do not really want to get involved in rebuilding Gaza or taking in any refugees. They expect America to pick up the bill for this and to do it, do it themselves. Trump says, fine, but if we're going to do that, it'll take a year, two years, who knows, three years. I mean, Gaza's been destroyed. What happens to these people in the meantime? It's uninhabitable for anyone with families. He's right about that. Where do they go? What do they do? And he's offering one solution, which they're all saying is ridiculous. Well, okay, what's the other one?
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Unknown F
And that seems to me to be where we've got to. Where the mission cannot be categorized as a victory when you've got this level of civilian death and the people you were trying to eradicate are still there in large enough numbers, and the ideology has not been dismantled. In fact, it's probably been fueled. Then I'm not sure what kind of victory it feels. A very Pyrrhic victory. I mean, check. Let me bring you in here. It just feels to me like a very Pyrrhic victory that is very likely to blow up in Israel's face because they've simply gone too far.
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Unknown D
Yeah. So, Piers, as you know, and I just did it again today, I'm a rare person who keeps offering a constructive solution. And that solution has the Arab states paying instead of America paying. It has the Palestinians taking care of their own country instead of us taking care of it or Israel taking care of it. So. And it checks off all those boxes. And I want you guys to understand how practical it is, because oftentimes peace is shown as impossible or impractical. But Israel actually already did this. We have a model for it, their peace deal with Egypt. And so at the time everybody said, oh, you can't work with Egypt. They attacked Israel twice and they did. They organized all the Arab nations against Israel twice. Egypt is the worst of the worst. They'll always attack Israel. Well, those folks who said that were wrong.
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Unknown D
Egypt never attacked Israel again. It's been a stalwart ally and the peace deal worked. And then people said, well okay, we're condemning the Egyptians to live under Mubarak and military rule, etc. But that's Egypt's business, that's not our business, so let the Palestinians handle their own business. And Piers, you said there's never been a plan here. No, there's always been a plan. They just didn't want to say it in public because they're pretending that this was about self defense. October 7th happened 15 months ago. I mean they've destroyed almost every building in Gaza. The plan is obvious and they're now finally announcing it, which is that Israel's going to take it. That's why they never had realistic ceasefire proposals. That's why they never drove towards peace. That's why they never want a two state solution, because they want, want one state, Israel, from the river to the sea.
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Unknown D
And Netanyahu has literally said from the river to the sea. We're going to have all of it. So we're all pretending that Israel doesn't want to take this land when that's been their intent all along. And why are we pretending that? Cuz AIPAC was the number one donor in politics in this election cycle. Donald Trump's gotten 337 million, but Biden got 11 million from AIPAC. Kamala Harris got 5 million from Israeli lobby in this campaign. So Washington D.C. is occupied territory. That is why we're not getting to the obvious America for first answer, which would also make the Palestinians happy and get peace for Israel and get a safe Jewish haven which we all want for Israel and would stop this madness. But we've got to actually go towards the actual practical solution which is peace and a two state solution. And the people blocking that are Netanyahu and his far right ridiculous government in Israel.
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Unknown D
And Dave is right, you put pressure on the people blocking the deal, which is Netanyahu in Israel. The people in Gaza have almost no power at all. The people with nearly any.
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Unknown F
My guess is that the Arab nations will say, right, we will let America rebuild Gaza. The Palestinian people will not be all forced out. The ones who want to stay, will be able to stay, but it has to be as part of a two state solution pathway that is specifically laid out and has a time timeline. I suspect that may be how this ends up. Anyway, we'll see. I want to just change to another war briefly. And let me start with you, Dean, on this one. This is Ukraine. Donald Trump has revealed he's had a very productive call with Vladimir Putin. He said, we talked about the strength of our respective nations and the great benefit. We'll someday work together. But first we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia and Ukraine. President Putin even used my strong campaign motto of common sense.
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Unknown F
We both believe in it strongly, adding they've agreed to start negotiations immediately and that he will notify Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the conversation. That apparently is going to happen imminently. So there's movement there. I interviewed President Zelensky last week and it was clear that he also is prepared to sit around on the ghost setting table and try and resolve this. But what is your reaction to Donald Trump and his announcement about talking to Putin?
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Unknown B
He should talk to both sides. I'm all for that 100%. But I say that with President Trump's leadership that that war in Ukraine will be over for the end of this calendar year. And I think that's what everybody wants since what President Trump has said himself. He's like, I want to stop the killing. I want to stop people from dying. And that war, I believe wholeheartedly will be done by the end of this, of this year. Whatever the concessions are, I don't know, but, but it's going to be done and people will stop dying and that'll be a conflict that is we've needed to end. There's so many people who have been killed there and I'd be, I'll be celebrating when it is over and it will be over by the end of this year.
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Unknown F
Dave Smith, you know, my, my concern with this is the only way I can conceivably see this getting resolved anytime soon is that Vladimir Putin gets to keep what he's taken, as he did with Crimea. I just don't see that the Ukrainians have enough strength or enough resolve from people like the United States now to continue the battle. And so we're left with where we are on geographic lines, which means Putin really, you know, he wins, doesn't he? He takes what he's taken again.
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Unknown C
Well, I mean, I don't know. Look, I certainly get your point and I think that we are. There are constraints to reality. And you know, look, I mean, even like me and Cenk as we've been talking about this situation in Israel, I mean, both of us would probably agree that it certainly wasn't legitimate the way the state of Israel was formed to begin with. And there was a whole lot of ethnic cleansing that went on then. But neither of us are arguing. We're saying the Palestinians should have their land in Gaza and the West Bank. Neither of us are saying like, you got it. You know what I mean? Like, because at a certain point, point in time, you just have to deal with the reality of the situation. People living. That is what you know, there is no practical way to force Vladimir Putin out of the areas that he's taken, short of the US Military rolling in and having a direct confrontation with Russia.
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Unknown C
And I just don't think that any of us are willing to do that so that the Donbass region is ruled by Kiev rather than Moscow. That's just not. I'm sorry, that's not worth the cost of a total war between America and Russia. I hope Dean is right. I think this is up an incredible improvement from the previous administration and their rhetoric and their strategy there. And I give a lot of credit to Pete Hegseth who also just recently said some great things on this issue that NATO won't be involved. Look, I know that me and you don't agree on this, Piers, but I'm with Scott Horton and John Mearsheimer on this. I think that U.S. foreign policy and particularly NATO in large judgment, color coded revolutions. I think we did a lot to provoke this conflict. And I think that much like Israel in the Middle east.
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Unknown C
Look, America's got all the chips here, really, when it comes down to it, we can get Vladimir Putin to do much of what we would like him to do. I would like to see Trump follow through on one of his previous ideas that we, I think the only chance of actually getting all that Ukrainian territory short of Crimea, you're not getting Crimea, but the rest of the territory. I think you could work out a deal where the US Pulls out of NATO. NATO. Donald Trump said it before, why on earth are we subsidizing the defense of rich European countries? Because we worked out this agreement when they were in ashes after World War II to prevent against the Soviet Union. Well, they're not in ashes anymore. The Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore. And there's no reason why America needs to subsidize the defense of other rich countries.
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Unknown C
So look, I think this is A huge improvement. There probably is room for improvement even from there and I don't know, I'm not quite as confident as Dean but I really do hope that this, this war comes to an end and the killing.
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Unknown F
Yeah, I mean, look, the reason we disagree is I wouldn't Putin as far as I could throw him and I think he deeply regrets the Soviet Union ever got broken up and he would love to get it all restored. He sees himself as a modern day czar is my opinion.
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Unknown C
If he only. He couldn't even take Kiev. So what do you think? He's rolling on poll.
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Unknown F
Okay. But he'll end up, he'll end up with a third of Ukraine to go with Crimea. Right. And I just wouldn't trust him. I think that he will try and come again, again for more of Ukraine and we'll see. History will prove one of us right about this. I just don't trust him and think he is a ruthless Russian dictator and I think he's used the excuse of NATO encroachment when in fact the reason NATO had to be encroached was precisely because of what he's done in Ukraine. So it depends which who you really want to believe most here. Batsya, let me bring you in. I mean it seems to me whatever people think of this Donald Trump once again, as he's shown since he became president again, he steamed in here utterly determined to get this resolved very quickly. And he is indisputably a man of peace.
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Unknown F
He does not believe in war. He thinks war is bad business. It's bad for dead bodies and bad for money that gets wasted. I mean it's an unusual thing with an American president. You know, sitting here in London right now, I'm like this is good to have an American president who doesn't like war. Hallelujah.
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Unknown E
Exactly. And first of all, utterly delicious for once to be on the same side as Dave of an argument. I think the United States should immediately withdraw from NATO. I just want to push back on.
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Unknown F
One thing you said sorry on that. Wait a minute, wait a minute. That would be a catastrophe and I'll tell you why. Russia has 6,000 nuclear weapons, America has a few less, America with Europe has a little bit more than Russia. That's why NATO has to stay in intact. You have to have a strong. But where Trump was right is that all the member countries have to pay their way. It was completely scandalous. They weren't even paying their minimum dues. And guess what? Most of them now are right. And the ones who aren't will soon be bounced out if they're not careful. So first of all, Trump was right. I don't think he wants to dismantle NATO because he understands that NATO collectively actually is more powerful than Russia. If you dismantle it, neither American nor Europe, Europe as an entity or America would have the same firepower nuclear as Russia.
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Unknown F
That's why it has to say again.
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Unknown E
First of all, that acknowledgement was bought in blood, right? Donald Trump was mercilessly booed and mocked for suggesting that. Not by me, not by me, but by many, many, many people. So first of all, acknowledging that that acknowledgement was hard won.
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Unknown F
He was right then and he's right now.
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Unknown E
Second of all, what I would say is when the war in Ukraine started, the Donbas region was not part of Ukraine. It was an independent republic of Donetsk and Luhansk. There was a civil war undergoing at that exact time. And in fact, the residents of Donetsk and the residents of Luhansk were blaming Putin for abandoning them and not invading and coming to protect them from the neo Nazi, as they called it, Ukrainian regime.
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Unknown F
But that's not true. Only 10%. Hang on, that's not true.
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Unknown E
There was a civil war.
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Unknown F
Sorry, only 10 in the Donbass region. Only 10% of those polled in that region wanted to be part of Russia. 10%, 90% did not.
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Unknown E
That was not true in 2014 and 2015 during the Maidan Revolution. That was true after Putin invaded. I agree with you then that the war itself was very unifying in Ukraine. But at the day that that war started, there was a civil war going on there. And that area was an independent, independent republic. Two weeks into the war, Putin laid down three conditions for immediately withdrawing troops from Ukraine. Number one, Ukraine will not be part of NATO. Number two, the area, the Donbas, that region that was under civil war would be remain independent. Right? That was the second condition. And the third condition that he laid out was that Crimea would remain part of Russia. Guess what? What? The war is about to end along those three conditions. But the people like me and Dave who pointed this out when Putin laid that down were called Russian stooges.
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Unknown E
A million young men ago, a million young men were still alive when we were saying, all Putin is asking for is a ratification of the status quo and you won't give it to him. And now all these people are dead. That's not to say that the deaths are not at Putin's feet. They are, are. But I agree with Dave. I think we did not do anything to prevent this totally preventable war.
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Unknown F
Okay, I couldn't disagree more with that analysis, but I appreciate the way you conveyed it. Cheng, final word to you briefly, if you don't mind.
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Unknown D
Yeah. So I'm going to be consistent here. We need to get to peace. And Biden and Boris Johnson in this case did great damage to the cause of peace. They pushed the Ukrainians further away from it when they could have had a pretty good peace offer way earlier. Now, unfortunately, they're going to get a bad peace offer and so it doesn't seem like there's a great way to avoid letting the Russians keep some portions of Ukraine that they've already taken. I agree with Dave. It's too impractical to try to take it back. I would propose that the deal is, yes, you get to keep that Russia, but the rest of Ukraine gets to join NATO to be forever protected. Remember, we took away their nuclear nukes with the promise that we would protect them forever. Now we've kind of failed on that promise, but at least protect the rest and that would be a way to do that.
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Unknown D
I don't agree with getting out of NATO. I think that's a terrible idea. Agree with peers. But I do agree with all of you guys that Trump did a very good job of getting them to pay their bills. In fact, I think they should pay more than us cuz we're mainly defending them. So don't ruin the alliance, but make it fair and just.
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Unknown F
Yeah, I agree just on that. NATO point, Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary the United States does not believe, he says that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome for negotiated settlement. And if you take the logic of the pro Putin members of this panel joke. But if you take the logic of the more, more, more we believe him elements, then if the reason why he went to war was to stop NATO in Croatia, the last thing he'll do in a peace deal is allow Ukraine to become a full paid up member of NATO is more assessment. Anyway, great panel. Thank you all very much.
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Unknown D
Yes, but we have to have compromise.
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Unknown E
Thank you, Piers.
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Unknown F
We do. God bless you. Thanks, Piers. Yeah, good to see you guys. Thank you very much.
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Unknown D
Thank you.
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Unknown F
Well, I'm joined in the studio now by the crown prince of Iran, Reza Paslavi, who says this is a moment for a reset in the Middle East. Great to see you again.
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Unknown A
Good to see you again.
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Unknown F
So much has happened. I mean, every time I see you, so much has happened. But what do you make of where we are in the Middle east right now?
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Unknown A
In a nutshell, I don't Think there's any moment after 46 years that we see the Iranian regime as its weakest and in proportion to that, the Iranian people as resolved and determined than ever before. The loss of proxies and the fall of the Bashar regime in Syria has been a severe blow to the regime means of implementing its sort of beyond its border intervention and fomenting, you know, conflict. And so therefore, they really have their backs to the wall right now.
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Unknown F
The speed that Assad was driven out of Syria in the end was very dramatic. These things often can be like that. Is there any real expectation that there could be a similar uprising in Iran, for example, that the people look at what happened in Syria and think, yeah, we can do that, and would it be achievable?
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Unknown A
You know, Pierce, the first time that we met, I think you were still with cnn. We had the first interview. And throughout the years, I think you can also remember that while we had several generations of protests in Iran throughout the years and the decades, the frequency of them have become much more, particularly since the mass revolution and the fact that Iranians are more than ever ready to. To go beyond the regime. The cries on the streets, the protests of death to the dictator, death to the Islamic regime are louder than ever, including the last few days, which was around the anniversary, the 46th anniversary of the revolution. What's, however, important for all of us to realize is that I believe there's an alignment of the stars in terms of a golden opportunity to put an end to the very root of the crisis all over, which is the regime itself, the epicenter, has always mean Tehran.
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Unknown A
I said, in the way that the regime is weak and the people are ready. The important thing is for some governments who are behind the curve to catch up to that. Why do I say this is important? Because, as I'm sure everybody wants to avoid conflict or escalation of conflict. And the only way to avoid conflict, particularly if diplomacy has failed to achieve what was a false premise of behavior change and there has to be reset, as you said, of policy. The best way to address the issue, so that we don't lead directly from failed diplomacy to conflict and aggression, is to provide a third alternative, which is empowering the Iranian people this time. So therefore, a policy of maximum pressure that so far has been implemented in the regime has to be coupled with a policy of maximum support, thereby enabling the Iranian people to ultimately achieve that goal of liberation, put an end to this regime, and instead of what we had as a major source of instability, instead have an element that brings stability and peace, which is conducive to realistic prospect of permanent solutions, shall we say, about the Israeli Palestinian
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Unknown A
issue, that cannot be achieved as long as this regime is there sabotaging every effort.
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Unknown F
Right. So, I mean, the belief is that Iran's tentacles extend to Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, Hamas, and they've all been destabilized to a degree, but possibly the ideology behind it has not been. Certainly in Gaza, for example, the US Intelligence believe that perhaps you've killed a lot of Hamas terrorists, but that the thinking that belies them actually may have been fueled by everything that's gone on there. What do you think of that?
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Unknown A
I would say that it's very hard to defeat an ideology by killing people. What needs to eradicate an ideology is to give the people an alternative whereby they can escape regimes that try to dominate via ideology, whether it's communism, like we saw during the Cold War and the Soviet Union, or an Islamic theocracy that is trying to push its agenda of exporting an ideology, of course, at the expense of. Of the population of the country from which they're using as a launching pad, which serve as for Khomeini and his entire vision of exporting this ideology across the world, the alternative is there because the ask of people today in Iran is the very same values that the free world enjoys and aspire. Human rights, democracy, no discrimination of any form. And that's exactly what the Iranian people want against the DNA of a regime that cannot coexist in the world based on that conflict of values.
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Unknown A
Which is why you cannot ever achieve a reasonable outcome by compromising with them. That's why you cannot trust them. That's why they will never agree to it. Even as late of President Trump trying to still offer yet another opportunity for them to complete. Khamenei rejected it not because it's irrational, but because he can't afford to agree to it. And these are why we.
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Unknown F
What do you think? President Trump's come up with this idea that the Palestinians should all be taken in by Egypt and Jordan, 2 million people. It's been met with huge kickback from the Palestinians and from other Arab countries in the region. But as with many things that Trump says, you know, maybe he's trying to create a debate here about what should actually happen because most of Gaza has been flattened. I mean, what happens to these people, do you think?
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Unknown A
Well, first of all, my heart goes out to the victims of all of these conflicts. But we have to think of what is the permanent and only solution. Again, I think that when you have a regime in Iran that is an element of instability, that is fomenting aggression, supports terrorism. How could you possibly, in that atmosphere, talk about legitimate, possible, lasting peace? I think the key element to change the entire situation in the Middle east and beyond is the impact that the regime has if the regime is no longer there. And instead you have a government that first of all is representative of the people of Iran's aspiration. People who want peace, who don't have any hostility or aggression towards Israel or the Arabs or any ethnicity or any religion, instead want to be contributors to stabilizing our region. Region. That's where, finally we can see it.
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Unknown F
But how do you remove the ayatollah in that scenario?
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Unknown A
Well, again, I think that the formula that we have always prescribed to. You're familiar with it, you remember me saying it all along, is that the Iranian people are the ultimate agent of change. They are your true boots on the ground.
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Unknown F
You would see a similar scenario to what we saw in Syria.
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Unknown A
Well, I mean, I think Iran is really unique in terms of. We cannot draw a parallel to, let's say, Iraq or Afghanistan or Syria as recently as it has been in terms.
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Unknown F
Of the people themselves within the country rising up against the regime.
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Unknown A
Well, that's what the people of Iran have been trying to do, except that they've been alone in this fight. They have received no support whatsoever from the outside world. And the reason I say this is because successful campaign of change of regimes in a nonviolent way without involving foreign intervention or military occupation or what have you could not have been achieved all by itself without some tacit support from the free world. Example, solidarity movement in Poland at the end of the Cold War. Or the support for Nelson Mandela and the ANC to put an end to apartheid in South Africa. In the same spirit, I think that empowerment means that we're giving the people a real chance to stand up to a regime. They need to be fortified. They need to be engaged with. And I think the shift that I'm talking about in policy and a reset is that instead of talking about appeasement, instead of talking about expecting a behavior change, and they have been given ample chance to come clean, and they haven't.
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Unknown A
Isn't it time for once to give the Iranian people a chance to really be the agent of change and trust Iranian people in the fact that they are aspiring to the very same principle that the free world is governed by against a regime that is completely neglecting these rights to begin with? It's a win, win for all. It's really a situation that will be a relief to our immediate neighbors. It will be an element that addresses the security concerns of many countries. It eliminates the existential threat to Israel. And most importantly, and I'm sure Donald Trump as a businessman will appreciate this, it's good for business, too. You have to have a stable environment in order to have economic opportunities.
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Unknown F
I mean, what is the one thing you would like President Trump to do right now to help facilitate this?
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Unknown A
Well, one thing we can learn from his first mandate and the maximum pressure campaign was certainly effective. But this is sufficient for what it is that we are trying to achieve. That's why I propose that parallel to the maximum pressure campaign, and I hope Europe will join in some elements that could be added more pressure. For instance, the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organization which is yet to be implemented by Western governments. And couple this with a campaign of maximum support, energizing, invigorating the people on the streets in Iran so they can better organize and mobilize themselves in the campaign of civil disobedience. Perhaps the final coup de grace against the regime will be labor strikes. That paralyzes the regime and forces an implosion. At the same time, this will be a cause for more defections from the regime. We already have seen sign of of it.
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Unknown A
I've already had elements who until yesteryear believed in again, maybe reform is still plausible. But that idea has been that narrative has changed. Today people know that the solution is to get out of this regime, but have a policy that also prepares the ground for post regime in terms of the transition period and how this defection makes most people who don't have their hands soiled with the blood of the Iranian people survive regime change and have a hope for the future so they're not stuck in no man's land or forced to stay with the regime to the bitter end. That's part of the solution. To minimize the cost to the nation to achieve the goals that they have. For that we really need to have solidarity from the outside world.
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Unknown F
Grumpy. It's always good to catch up with you. I feel like we're living through history when I see you.
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Unknown A
Yeah.
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Unknown F
Every few years we get together and so much happens in between.
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Unknown A
Well, let's make a deal. Next time I see you, we'll be in Tehran. How's that?
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Unknown F
Let's do that. That would be great.
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Unknown A
Good to see you.
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Unknown F
Great to see you. Thank you very much. Much. Piers Morgan uncensored is proudly independent. The only boss around here is me. If you enjoy our show, we ask for only one simple thing. Hit subscribe on YouTube and follow Piers Morgan uncensored on Spotify and Apple podcasts. And in return, we will continue our mission to inform, irritate, and entertain. And we'll do it all for free. Independent, uncensored media has never been more critical, and we couldn't do it without.