2/12/26: Pam Bondi Meltdown, El Paso Airspace Shutdown, Bibi Poisons Iran Talks

24:45Loved the torture video. All these weird references to beef jerky. Like it's like... Grape soda. Grape soda, pizza, all of it. And you're like, there's no way these people are hanging out together and getting grape soda and pizza all the time. Right. Or that he's this into jerky that it's like a priority matter that his assistants are constantly communicating with each other about. We got to make sure we got enough jerky on the island. But then you ask yourself, like, am I just, I don't know. But some of the things are so dark in there that you can't put anything, literally anything out of bounds.

25:19Yeah. Can I just read you another one? Yes. I know someone flagged this to me yesterday. Epstein, July 19, 2011, quote, said she felt God's presence next to her when she was in bed. She knows that Jesus watches over her and he helped save her life. Whoops. Then follow up to Jeffrey Wilson. Whoops is another one that people are flagging. It was from Epstein to redacted. Then to from Epstein, you should dress up as him when you see her. This is like, I mean, you know, not to sound like a 1980s satanic, Like, this is satanic. Like, literally. I don't know. I just, there's so much of that. The torture video, I mean, all the famous stuff.

25:59But it's like every other day, somebody will just send me one and I'll go, oh my God. First, my instinct is, is it real? Then I search it. I find that it is real. Yeah. And I'm like, what is happening? Yeah. I know. Did you see this new one about Leon Black that came up? It's an allegation from a lawyer about her, you know, the client she's representing. Yeah. Allegations against him. She says when she was 16 that she was raped by Leon Black. I'm sure he denies all of this. Yes. Just put this out there for the lawyers. That when she was 16, she was raped by Leon Black. He bit her on her genitals, injured her, that she was bleeding.

26:35They wouldn't take her to the doctor. And then they flew her out the next day. So that was a 2023 lawsuit. Yeah, wow. And I mean, I looked at the same thing. I was like, is this real? Look it up. Yeah, it's there. It's there in the files. Right. So, oh, yeah, this is a July 2023 story. I actually didn't even know. And you want to tell me. She had Down syndrome, according to this afternoon. Or according to the lawyer. Yeah, again, he denies it, you know, and will vigorously defend himself. And this is part of, you know, in terms of the cover-up, right? They're telling us there's nothing here more to investigate.

27:06Okay, maybe you should talk to the victims and see whether there's anything. No, there's nothing to investigate. Okay, well, then we need to see. You had a list of potential co-conspirators. when and how was the decision made that there was nothing chargeable here, that there was no there there, that we don't need to pursue this any further. That's not in these files. That has not been identified in these files. So where is that documentation? Because somewhere along the way, there was a government decision that was made. We're not going to look into this any further. We don't think there's any there.

27:37Or for whatever reason, we're moving on. Okay, how did that process occur? Because we don't get any of that there. Instead, we get redacted lists of co-conspirators that they have to be put on blast in order to identify any of the people that they were looking at. And then we're just told, don't worry about it. There's nothing to see here. No further investigations. It's just Epstein and just Maxwell. And there's no one else who's implicated in this massive crime, criminal enterprise whatsoever. Yes, that's right. Welcome to the A building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

28:12had both been assassinated, and Black America was at a breaking point. Rioting and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's alma mater, Morehouse College, the students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in Black history, Martin Luther King Sr. and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution, I mean, people were dying. 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should.

28:55And it will blow your mind. Listen to The A-Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead up to the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Bowen. Hi, Matt. Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt. Hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys Five Rings on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

29:42What do you do when the headlines don't explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me, it's where culture meets the soul, a place for real conversation. Each episode, I sit down with people from all walks of life, celebrities, thinkers, and everyday folks, and we go deeper than the polished story. We talk about what drives us, what shapes us, and what gives us hope. We get honest about the big stuff. Identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore. Loss that changes you. Purpose when success isn't enough. Peace when your mind won't slow down. Fake when it's complicated.

30:20Some guests have answers. Most are still figuring it out. If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to If You Can Hear Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

30:42Let's move on to some many are calling the El Paso incident the big one. Some of us are hoping for that. There is a potentially innocent explanation, which with the more information, I will give it some weight, although I still remain sketched out about the entire thing. So I do. I think Ryan and Emily may have mentioned it yesterday. The world woke up to some shocking news. El Paso Airport was shut down for 10 days. It's nothing like it in history, even including 9-11. And I'll explain a little bit. Let's put this up here on the screen. If you look at the NOTAM, which was a no-fly notice basically issued in the middle of the night at some 3.32 a.m.

31:22local time, you saw two areas where no flight traffic was allowed at all, over the city of El Paso, and then this strange triangular shape, which is near the border in the state of New Mexico. Now, the explanation initially was not given as to why the airspace was shut down. And the airspace shut down was so extraordinary, Crystal, that it went all the way up to some 18 ,000 feet and also put a complete ban on any aircraft, including medevac ambulances, from being able to fly in the city. Nothing like this had ever been issued in modern United States history. And it was given for a national security designation.

32:03Now, quickly, explanations become flying. Let's put B2 up there on the screen. The initial explanation from the government in the early hours of the morning. Here is Secretary Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation. He says, the FAA and the Department of War have acted swiftly to address a, quote, cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. Restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming. So immediately, the first story we get is about these alleged cartel drones, which are coming back and forth across the border.

32:40Immediately, I was calling bullshit on this because cartel drones, and this is not a justification. I'm just telling you that this is how it is. The cartels use drones on the Mexican-US side of the border all the time, not to drop drugs, but to surveil, to make sure that if there's a border patrol agent here or somebody there, they see an open lane and they're like, okay, go. Like you can use the tunnel or now is a good time. to send somebody over. This is a well-known phenomenon. So in fact, let's put a B4 up there on the screen. One estimate recently put it at some 300 cartel drones flying around the border daily, according to our own department of Homeland security.

33:18So what is it about this cartel drone, which makes it a worthy of a 10 day no fly notice issued to the city of El Paso. All right. So what we get then is an explanation twofold. One is that it wasn't drones per se. It was the use of a new experimental laser technology. Let's go ahead and put B3, please, up on the screen. This was from Jennifer Jacobs over at CBS News, but this quickly became the official story. Quote, the unexpected airspace closure in El Paso stemmed from disagreements over, quote, drone-related tests. Pentagon had undertaken extensive planning on use of military technology near Fort Bliss.

34:03Two sources identified the tech as a high-energy laser. Earlier this week, technology was used to shoot down what appeared to be, quote, foreign drones. The flying material turned out to be a party balloon, sources said. One balloon was shot down. The FAA administrator then last night decided to close the airspace without alerting the White House, Pentagon, or Homeland Security. They told officials the restrictions would be in place to ensure safety until issues with the department could be resolved. So this is my, and again, when we get to the new revelation, or at least the official story, blaming this on CBP, it might be true.

34:46But the explanation basically is that in the middle of the night, we decided to start shooting experimental lasers into the sky at alleged cartel drones. Sorry, that's bullshit. It's not happening. Now, you don't just use directed energy or highly experimental lasers for no reason. So this is where my UFO radar was going off, right? Let's go ahead and put my own tweet, B6, please, up on the screen, and I'll give you a little bit of an explanation. So as I initially showed you in that graphic, that triangle shape over the Oregon Mountains Desert National Monument is less than 10 to 20 miles from the NASA White Sands Test Facility.

35:27This facility has long been known as an area of UFO spotting. Going back to the 1960s, I can even show you one. B7, please. For example, I found this in the El Paso Times. 29 sight UFOs over White Sands Range. This is from the El Paso Times, literally, March 5, 1967. I mean, what is that? In the exact same type of time frame for surveillance. So my point only remains that the official story does not make any sense whatsoever. You do not shoot highly experimental direct energy lasers into the sky for no reason in the middle of the night and then issue a panicked 10-day shutdown over all airspace, cutting off the sixth largest city in Texas from the entire nation, which directly relies on air traffic to be able to bring in.

36:19I mean, think about it. It's hours away from any other national center. Now, I'll give you the potential explanation. And again, given the new information coming to light, this is certainly possible considering the behavior of our great CBP officers. B5, please, up on the screen. This is the new story that has been released. According to a U.S. official, the directed energy and laser counter drone technology was in CBP's control, Customs Border Patrol, when the balloon was mistakenly shot down near El Paso. In January, the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, signed an agreement for the Pentagon to loan the directed energy counter drone platform to DHS.

37:02The official said the agreement was signed sometime in the last 30 days. Following the shootdown is when the FAA closed the airspace. And they said a U.S. official could not go into specifics about what exactly the technology is, but it's some sort of direct energy laser, quote, is accurate to use. So again, this is a very, very experimental technology. So the official story is the Pentagon gave this experimental laser. They gave it to CBP, and CBP shot it off in the middle of the night because they thought it was a cartel balloon, and it ended up being a party balloon. Literally like one of those balloons you go, what is it, like Party City or something that you fill up with helium.

37:35That's the official story. Yeah. I don't know. You tell me what you think. Again, because CBP's involved, it's possible. I mean— It's possible. The story is so embarrassing that I'm inclined to believe it. and you see the way CBP operates. These people are absolute maniacs. The fact that the Pentagon gave them some sort of directed energy weapon is insane, completely insane. So yeah, if I'm the FAA guy that's running that airport and you see them shooting space lasers and party balloons, I'd probably be like, you know what, we gotta shut this shit down. We're doing it for, I'm sending a message.

38:11It's 10 days until you all tell me what the fuck is going on because this is insane. Yeah, that does kind of add up to me. That does kind of add up to me, to be honest with you. I don't know. I just, there's something about it that smells wrong. Cartel drones. Wouldn't you come up with a better cover story than this, though? Yeah, but - I mean, come on. But government incompetence. Party balloon? So look, government incompetence is usually the right answer. Yeah. I will just say, again, for people who are in the UFO world, when it ends up being a balloon, it's like a meme, all right? It's literally like, oh, it's got to be a balloon.

38:40It's always a balloon. Usually it's a weather balloon, though. Yes. I mean, at least that's a little bit less embarrassing than literally. When I saw the term party balloon, I thought maybe that was some sort of technical term that I just didn't know. No, I'm like, it's actually one. Because I could not process the fact that they actually meant literally the, like, happy birthday balloon that you buy in the checkout on the way to the kid's birthday party, right? Again, you might be right. And considering that CBP's involved, it could be true. I just, there's something, there's, look, maybe I want it to be true.

39:07It's near White Sands Test Facility. You have a 10-day shutdown. It's like a panic. You try to shoot something down with this brand new fancy laser. there's no coordination, meaning this is a highly secret operation. Maybe you recover something, recover something. Uh, and then you recover it maybe quicker than possible. And you're like, it was just a balloon. It was all a big misunderstanding. And if you look at the news, everybody's already moved on. Everyone's like, Oh, okay. Uh, you know, whatever. Right. So I don't know. I I'll give it 70 % that it's CBP. I'll give it seven. But there's something, there's something about where, I mean, how can you go from cartel cartel drone to balloon, It just feels so classic this administration, though.

39:47Like, they put out something that was idiotic. The drones, the cartel thing. Which is fake. It's literally fake. Because anyone who was covering, you know, the border instantly knew, like, what are you talking? This happens all the time. Like, these drones are ever-present. Like, there's no way that this was just about some cartel drones. So what is really going on? And so then gradually, you know, you get this comedy of errors type situation that tumbles out. And yeah, so I mean, to me, once I heard that it was a CBP that had been given this, which again, insane, this directed energy laser, whatever they were given.

40:23Then I was like, OK, yeah, I think this probably does add up. So I shared your skepticism to begin with. But at this point, I'm like, it's probably the most likely explanation. I would need to see some other evidence of some other thing going on. And we haven't gotten that yet. No, and this is where, look, patriots, whistleblowers, and others in the El Paso area. Get in touch, all right? Let me know. I just want to know. And if it is a party balloon, release the image. You know, this is a good point. This is a good point by my friend Chris. Let me give him a proper shout-out. Christopher Walford.

40:54He's a huge fan of the show, UFO researcher. I talk to him all the time. Chris pointed out a good point to me. You've got high-def 4K imagery of these boat strikes out in the middle of the ocean. Yeah. release the footage. Let's put it all to bed. Middle of the night, night vision, all this stuff. Nest camera. Yeah, right. Nest camera. You don't even pay for a subscription and the Nest is recording you. Man, I'm glad they covered that yesterday because look, I'm happy they did it for the whole Nancy Guthrie thing, but the fact that this exists, you're like, yo, man, this is a real problem. Also, they were like, Google had to invent a whole new process.

41:31I'm like, oh, great. I'm sure they'll never use it again. Right? Right? I mean, we're living in the dark night. You know, in The Dark Knight, at the end, whenever he hijacks everybody's phone and uses, like, everybody's phone's frequencies? That's apparently the world that we live in. Like, that was way ahead of its time. I mean, I think about the Nest thing, and it's extremely creepy because you know it's, like, this camera that's there all the time. But let's be honest. We walk around with these things out. We bring them in the freaking bathroom with us. Like, I mean, what? You think that's different?

42:00You think they're not? You know, oh, there's no way they'd listen to us or spy on us there. You were talking about the Israeli tech. Yeah, the Paragon. Paragon that there was a, they accidentally put out what a screenshot that showed like the control panel. And you can see all the access to all the different social media, WhatsApp and whatever that they're able to get into. So yeah, we do live in that world. That is where we live now. That is where we live. Very scary. Yes, indeed. Also, you know, I do think of the image of the party balloon. That's too, too. Okay. And then PSA, uh, cause Ryan recently alerted to me to this.

42:30Remember that Washington post journalist who had her phone seized by the government. So because she had lockdown mode enabled on her phone, the FBI was not able to crack it. And so I don't recommend lockdown mode to anybody unless they're involved kind of in the business that we're in, in the potential of government surveillance. But I got to tell you guys, like it does work. And if you are involved in anything like this, I actually do recommend, especially if you're a high level person in business, because these tools, it's not just used by the government. They're selling them, you know, to big businesses for corporate espionage purposes.

43:01And then, you know, it's much harder to prove and the stakes and all that. So really consider it or at least look into lockdown mode and what it's able to do for you. Because at least as of now, it seems to be one of the very few tools that we have right now that's left, which can actually keep them from easily getting in to your phone. Welcome to the A building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. have both been assassinated and Black America was at a breaking point. Rioting and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's alma mater, Morehouse College, the students had their own protest.

43:41It featured two prominent figures in Black history, Martin Luther King Sr. and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution. I mean, people were dying. 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should. And it will blow your mind. Listen to The A-Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, In the lead up to the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends.

44:31Hi, Bowen. Hi, Matt. Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt. Hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now the Winter Olympic Games are underway. We are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys, Five Rings on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

44:57What do you do when the headlines don't explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me, it's where culture meets the soul, a place for real conversation. Each episode, I sit down with people from all walks of life, celebrities, thinkers, and everyday folks, and we go deeper than the polished story. We talk about what drives us, what shapes us, and what gives us hope. We get honest about the big stuff, identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore, loss that changes you, purpose when success isn't enough, peace when your mind won't slow down, faith when it's complicated.

45:35Some guests have answers. Most are still figuring it out. If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to If You Can Hear Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

45:55Turning now to Iran's major developments after Prime Minister Netanyahu recently visited Washington for, I can't even keep track at this point, of Donald Trump's president. I think it's number seven, the most visits by a foreign leader, I think ever, in a short period. So let's go ahead and put this up here on the screen, immediately after the meeting concluded. This is from Trump. I have just finished meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and various of his representatives. It was a very good meeting. The tremendous relationship between our two countries continues. There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated.

46:33If it can, I let the prime minister know that we will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be. Last time, Iran decided they would be better off not making a deal. They were hit with midnight hammer. That did not work out well for them. Hopefully, this time, they will be reasonable and responsible. Additionally, we discussed the tremendous progress being made in Gaza and the region in general. This is truly peace in the Middle East. Thank you for your attention to this matter. So kind of a middle way, I guess, you know, message there from Trump. Let's put this next one up here.

47:06This is some inside reporting. Allegedly, Trump to Netanyahu, the U.S. prefers a deal with Iran to war for now. I do think, obviously, the big question is like a deal over what? And so this is where everything could fall apart. So, for example, the Iranians appear poised to want to make a deal on any nuclear-related issues, as in they're willing to let in inspectors. In fact, I can put C5 up here on the screen. This kind of broke after the meeting with Netanyahu. The president of Iran came out and said, The country is willing to open up its nuclear sites for any verification to prove it is not seeking to build a nuclear weapon.

47:41The president made the public pledge on Wednesday during a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the revolution. quote, we have announced time and time again, we are not seeking nuclear weapons. We are ready for any kind of verification. Spoke to the U.S. Spoke as the U.S. continued its naval buildup. And what's difficult about this, though, is they're framing this around nuclear. But the problem is that there's a secondary issue, which Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israelis are pushing, is it's not just about nuclear. It has to be about missile production. Regional missiles, ballistic missiles, are the only deterrent that they really have against the Israelis.

48:17That's it. And as we all saw during the 12-day war, they work actually pretty well. They were very able to defeat the Israeli missile defense stuff. If it wasn't for the United States, which was pouring billions into defending Israel, they would have been destroyed in the 12-day war, like on their own accord. That's why the Israelis care so much about the missiles. We shouldn't care that much about the missiles. We have troops there to protect Israel, and that's the only threat that they really pose to us. But in general, this is a regional threat. So then becomes the question, why would we go all in for the missiles on the behest of the Israelis?

48:51All that really we care about is the nuclear issue. I don't know where this one is going to go. The Iranians are saying that they're willing to meet with us, all of this. However, on the missile issue, from day one, they're like, this is not up for negotiation. Yeah. Period. It's not happening. And it seems that we keep insisting, insisting, insisting. And all of the groundwork is currently being laid for a major and a wider war. Absolutely. And I mean, it's not even really worth seriously talking about the missiles because, of course, Iran is not going to disarm completely. They would be insane to do that, right?

49:24That is not a serious proposal, which is exactly why the Israelis are pushing it. because they know there would be no deal that the Iranians would be willing to make on, oh yeah, we'll just get rid of our ballistic missiles so you can just completely attack us and we'll be vulnerable and defenseless and have zero deterrent whatsoever. Sure, we're gonna do that. But there's some psychology at work here too with Trump because supposedly in the 12 day of war, we destroyed their nuclear capabilities. So now here we are back. He's now positioning this again as now it's no longer about, oh my God, the brave protesters.

49:57Now it's back to being about the nuclear weapons. But Netanyahu and whoever else is in his ear that wants to push him to war can rightly say, yeah, but sir, if you're just negotiating on nuclear, you claim that you destroyed that. So that's why you have to up the ante and also go after the ballistic missiles. And your troops in the region will never be safe and secure and will never have regional stability unless we get Iran to give up their ballistic missiles. So I don't know what the timing will be. But in my view, it's only a matter of time. I mean, we've seen over the course of this administration and prior ones as well, but this one has really upped the ante.

50:31They cannot live until they cannot be satisfied until this Iranian government is toppled. They will try every every method they can, you know, whether it's the devastating economic sanctions, which have been in place for years and years, trying to cripple them even further economically. You know, the intense maximum pressure that was applied here that Scott Bessent has been bragging about. That's what helped to foment the protests. you know, whatever inside agitators were used to help escalate those protests into violence. They are running through the playbook of everything they can do to try to topple this government.

51:05And so far, they have been able to withstand all of the pressure that has come, which is why I, you know, sadly see it as only a matter of time before they decide, okay, well, there's no other play left in the playbook. We have to take kinetic action once again. This is what's really scary. Let's put the next one, shall we? C4 up here on the screen. The Pentagon is now preparing a second aircraft carrier to deploy to the Middle East. So Trump is ratcheting up the pressure on Iran to make a deal over the nuclear program. The carrier strike group is an immense amount of firepower. Everybody, if we just rewind the clock, here's what happened originally.

51:38What happened was that we were on the verge of potentially striking Iran. Then the Iranians came out and said, if you do, we're going to hit back with everything that we have. Immediately, they issue a panicked order to withdraw a carrier strike group from the South China Sea and sail it some two weeks to the Persian Gulf to make sure that it's ready to deploy against Iran if needed. Now, a second carrier strike group. This would be an extraordinary show of force we haven't really seen in the region since the last time or even really around October 7th. We're talking about billions. I mean, I can't even quantify the amount of firepower that is in a single, let alone two carrier strike groups that would be there in addition to all of the bases that are around in addition to a lot of already forward deployed stuff, which is in the Middle East at this time.

52:28This is what we would be needed for a full-blown long-term war. Now, and even then, as we found out against the Houthis and others, it's not like it will hold up all that well. And I hate to crap all over our own military because I don't blame the individual service members, but it's the contractors and the culture that have led to where we are. So for example, today, two ships in the middle of refueling collided. I mean, this is like amateur stuff, right? And I've talked about this with my friends who are in the military who are like, our readiness is a disaster. Like we spend all this money, but we can't do basic stuff.

53:02Remember when we had to like push fighter jets off of the deck because they, you know, they like lost to various jets in high seas or something like that. Going back a decade, That was in our losing war against the Houthis, by the way. It was a collision and a bunch of people, a bunch of sailors died. And like our fire control, which is like one of the basics of the United States Navy, it was a, you know, there's been multiple incidents at sea. And again, it's not to denigrate the service members whatsoever. We're talking about a culture and about really an institution which is more focused on getting as much money from the taxpayer as possible for these high precision weapons.

53:39And they can't do the basics correctly. Like this is really what we're dealing with, and that's why it's scary is because the Iranians' message is now pretty clear. We will negotiate nuclear all day long. We will not negotiate ballistic missiles, period. And in exchange, what is going to happen is if you continue and if you strike us, we know we will lose. We know that. But we will make it as painful for you as humanly possible and extract an immense amount of blood. And my price for Israel's regional ambitions is zero American lives. That's what it should be. And again, that's just my opinion.

54:12I hope you share the same opinion. This will be a massive problem for the Trump administration, but they keep boxing themselves into corners. And if you box yourself into the Israeli position, you're done. There's no other option. And by the way, Bibi knows this. You think he really thinks they're ever going to make a deal on ballistic missiles? Of course not. Of course not. That's the point. That's the whole point is he knows they would never make that deal. That's the whole reason it's there. It's meant to be a poison pill. And as we've said before, you know, in previous buildups to various, you know, conflicts and kinetic military action that Trump has started, it only takes one day of the neocons, whoever it is in the administration, Bibi and his allies and the donors who give to Trump.

54:53It only takes one day of them convincing him and it's game on. And I think, I think probably, you know, I think the holdup isn't partly they didn't have the assets in the region. They had to, you know, move things into the region because they realized that the Iranians were not this time just going to do a performative retaliation, that there might be some real damage that comes from this. They're like, all right, well, I guess we better have more stuff in the region. And then I think the other holdup is Trump does not actually have the stomach for what Bibi wants. He does not actually have a stomach for some long, protracted, potential boots on the ground, potential U.S.

55:27soldiers killed, etc. thing. What he loves is the Venezuela model, where he can come in. It's one day. There's some big show of American military might and then dramatic images of Maduro being captured. And then he doesn't have any thoughts about what the second and third and fourth order consequences are. Those will come down the road. He doesn't really care about that. He gets his show from TV, and then he gets to move on and feel like he's this big, tough guy and like he's showing America's might in the world, et cetera. And I think he's having trouble. no one's really been able to sell him on a similar option at this point with Iran.

56:02The similar option was the 12-day war. Okay, we already did that, right? Now what? Now what's the next thing that they can sell him that he can be convinced would be, quote-unquote, painless from a U.S. perspective? And the part of that that, you know, is pretty obvious is even if it is being sold as being painless, first of all, again, the medium and long-term consequences, but second of all, very easy to miscalculate in that, Very easy to miscalculate on what the Iranian response will be, how things can escalate, what Israel would do in that situation, et cetera. And at the same time, I wanted to keep our eyes on, we're going to have Nathaniel Jasper on next week to talk about what's going on in the West Bank.

56:44I said Nathaniel Jasper, Jasper Nathaniel. Anyway, there's been, without getting into all of the bureaucrat technical details here, The TLDR is that the Israeli government has put in place a variety of new measures to make it much easier for Israelis to steal land from Palestinians and to continue the mass annexation of the West Bank. Now, we've got a new, let's put C6 up on the screen here. We've got a new, oh, Trump is very concerned about this. You know, he's very worried about this. This harkens back to the meetings that he used to have with Biden, where it was, oh, Biden is very, very unhappy, is very disappointed with Netanyahu, et cetera, et cetera.

57:23So Trump says he opposes Israeli annexation steps in the West Bank. But of course, Sagar, there aren't any announcements of any steps that are being taken to stop them from moving in that direction. He's just, you know, telling Barack Reveed or whoever that this is not something that he's happy about. Yeah, the West Bank stuff is, I mean, first of all, yeah, what's going on there is totally insane. But the irony is that this comes at the same time that Bibi joined the Board of Peace, if you'll remember. Can we put C3 up there on the screen just to remind people? You know, Secretary Rubio and Netanyahu met while they were here in Washington.

57:59The U.S. Secretary of State, ahead of my meeting at the White House, I signed Israel's ascension as a member of the Board of Peace. We will continue strengthening the unbreakable alliance between Israel and the United States. Well, you know, illegally annexing territory and taking fully control of it seemed to be a little bit of a violation of the Board of Peace, right? And also maybe of the original actual deal that was struck. And as long as you are not actually going to do something about it, then, yeah, you do de facto have control. Also, look at our fanatical insane ambassador who, by the way, he recently challenged Tucker Carlson to an interview.

58:34So I'd love to see that one. Yeah, one's not coming. Let's ask about Pollard, shall we? Let's talk about that for a very nice long period of time. If you check his feed, it is unhinged. Huckabee more recently has been talking, like the Olympics. He'll be like, of course I'm rooting for Team USA. But the next team I'm really rooting for is the Israeli bobsled team. Like he is highlighting the athletes of Israel more than our own athletes. It's crazy. Wow. As if they're like some great heroes or something. He's literally, he seems to see himself as part of the Israeli nation. Or, I mean, considering his own Christian philosophy, maybe he does.

59:11Like, I really don't know. But it is psychotic. He, of course, was here. I also took notice in some of those meetings, there were senior IDF generals, many of whom were present. And yet, I didn't see any American military representatives on the other side of that table. Very worrying. Because, of course, these are the same people who are going to be offering all of these BS assessments around regional ballistic missiles and everything else. So look, I mean, I hate to be a broken record, but this is scary. Like a second carrier strike group, even strategically, just think about it. I used to talk about this with Ukraine all the time.

59:44We're going to pour, you know, all of our financial, like all of our financial assets, hundreds of billions of dollars, the entire SWIFT system. We're going to sacrifice on the altar of Ukraine. Iran is an even dumber case than that. I mean, shit, it makes more sense for you to defend Ukraine than it does to go all in on Iran. This is like the wet dream of a lot of these, you know, Middle East firsters who are like, this is the most important region of the world. Like, no, it's not. Not even close. And you can just like two carrier strike groups, this amount of firepower, considering what's happening in the rest of the globe, it's just a disaster.

1:00:22It really is from a strategic level. Over the last couple years, didn't we learn that the folding chair was invented by black people because of what happened in Alabama? After Montgomery Brawl. This Black History Month, the podcast Selective Ignorance with Mandy B unpacks black history and culture with comedy, clarity, and conversations that shake the status quo. The Crown Act in New York was signed in July of 2019, and that is a bill that was passed to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles associated with race. To hear this and more, listen to Selective Ignorance with Mandy B from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:00:58I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead up to the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Bowen. Hi, Matt. Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt. Hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway, and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys, Five Rings on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:02:10This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.