4/9/26: WH Humiliated By Israel, Lebanon Bombings, Yanis Varoufakis On China Winning

23:13Yeah. You can't. Well, and here's the thing, too, is Trump has to be able to sell some kind of victory narrative at least to his base, right? The rest of the population is not going to buy it, but at least his base has to believe that this went well for us and we won and we got something out of it. And I don't know how you do that, given the state of affairs and what Iran is going to rightly demand. I mean, even if you dramatically water down their 10-point proposal, you still have a clear U.S. defeat, which countries around the world are going to recognize, which even Fox News, you know, I watched them a bit.

23:49And at first, they were very much doing the like, oh, Trump, art of the deal, and he made this threat, and all the panicans were freaking out, but look at how he was able to secure peace in the world, blah, blah, blah. By the next morning, when you had too much reporting on what these 10, I mean, we've known about what the 10 points are more or less for quite a while now, thanks to the reporting of Ryan and Jeremy and others. But once the mainstream press started having to talk about, well, what are these 10 points? Even Fox News could no longer be like, look at this marvelous victory because we're talking about reparations.

24:21We're talking about complete sanctions relief. And we're talking about a new status quo in the Strait of Hormuz that amounts to tens of, at the least, tens of billions of dollars of revenue into Iran's coffers. JP Morgan said it would be$92 billion a year if they just charged the$1 million a barrel fee. That would make them one of the richest countries in the entire Middle East. I mean, I would put a marker down 25 years from now, if they get anything remotely close to this, either sanctions relief or some sort of oil, they will be as rich, if not richer, than the UAE. Yeah. And these other places - already a middle-income country that has been dramatically hurt, certainly, by our sanctions.

25:02But this is a relatively well-developed, educated country with a lot going for them. Obviously, very strategic positioning in the globe. That's why when Robert Pape says they have now emerged as a new fourth world power, I don't think that that is overstating the case whatsoever. And so that's what makes it so difficult to see how this is resolved and why, Obviously, the decision to get into this disastrous war was such a horrific, catastrophic mistake from the interests of the U.S. empire perspective. Because in order to bring it to a close, you are going to have to agree to something like what those 10 points from the Iranians are.

25:41And I just I don't know if even Donald Trump, who is perhaps the greatest bullshit artist in history, if even he can sell that as some sort of a victory to his base in this country. When people turn to healthcare for weight loss, they're looking for real support. That's why more people are choosing orderlymeds.com. Orderly Meds connects you with real doctors and access to proven GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and terzepatide. No guessing, just a more supportive experience. And all shipped directly to your door in discreet packaging. Do your research. Ask questions. Then visit orderlymeds.com slash podcast for an exclusive offer.

26:17That's orderlymeds.com slash podcast. Individual results may vary. Not medical advice. Eligibility required. site for details. So what do this animal and this animal and this animal have in common? They all live on an organic valley farm. Organic Valley dairy comes from small organic family farms that protect the land and the plants and animals that live on it from toxic pesticides, which leads to a thriving ecosystem and delicious, nutritious milk and cheese. Learn more at ov.coop and taste the difference. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine, and the cool Bahamian breeze.

27:02Baja Mar, located in Nassau, Bahamas, offers your choice of three luxury hotels, the richly refined Rosewood, the playfully hip SLS, and the stylishly modern Grand Hyatt. With over 45 restaurants, bars, and lounges, Baja Mar serves up delicious dining from world-renowned chefs like Daniel Bouloud and Marcus Samuelson, nightlife venues like the new Jean Batiste Jazz Club, and the Caribbean's most luxurious casino. At Baja Mar, you'll find every pleasure under the sun and one-of-a-kind experiences for the entire family, like Baja Bay, our 15-acre lush tropical water park, interactive wildlife experiences, including our daily flamingo parade, world-class golf, tennis, spa, and so much more.

27:44Visit Bahamar.com today and discover a vacation destination where memories are made for a lifetime. Bahamar, life spectacular. But let's turn to Lebanon just to give people a very clear view into what's happening over there. We had this announcement from the IDF. By the way, after the ceasefire, here's what they had to say. The IDF just carried out the largest strike against Hezbollah terrorists since the beginning of Operation Roaring Line. In just one minute, the IDF struck 100 Hezbollah military targets in different locations across Lebanon. The targets include command centers, missile infrastructure, and assets used by the Raduan Special Forces.

28:24This operation was based on weeks of precise intelligence and careful planning. These strikes come as Hezbollah changes the way it is operating. In recent weeks, the IDF intelligence identified Hezbollah moving beyond its usual strongholds and building positions in more areas across Lebanon, including civilian neighborhoods. Hezbollah's use of civilians as human shields is their strategy. Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into this war, and it is now trying to spread that danger to even more Lebanese communities. Our message is clear. We are fighting Hezbollah, not the people of Lebanon. We said this from day one.

29:03We will not allow Hezbollah to pose a threat to our civilians. Interesting accent. Unstained clearly, almost like it's from around here. Anyway, if you take a look at what that gentleman was saying about they're not at war with the people of Lebanon, let's go ahead and play some of A7, shall we? This is what the strikes were. In the middle of Beirut and in Lebanon, you can clearly see smoke and apartment buildings. and all of these civilian areas. The Belgian foreign minister yesterday actually revealed that he was in Lebanon while this was happening and had to take shelter from very close to where the strikes were happening.

29:44Imagine our Secretary of State, so this is a European Union foreign minister who's literally in the country, had no idea that this was happening. You can see some of the rubble, children and civilians and others that were buried underneath. underneath Israel taking credit, saying, oh, well, we killed about 200 Hezbollah commanders as a result of this operation. The operation, by the way, is called Operation Eternal Darkness. I did not make that up. They did, which Tucker's episode made clear to me. Again, as a secular person, I wasn't aware that's apparently how they refer to hell in the Bible, in the New Testament.

30:19So potentially a biblical meaning intended in some of this. Let's put A8 up there as well, just to show you all. This was one which appeared to be a funeral, which was struck. And you can see actually some of the caskets and other things of the damage that was done there. Again, I'm sure that they're claiming it was a Hezbollah funeral. Possible. Not really usual in terms of most Western countries, but of course, par for the course. Drop Site has the roundup here. Let's put it up there in terms of the death toll. They say Israeli strikes killed 254 and wounded 1 ,000 across Lebanon from Lebanon's civil defense.

31:00The figures represent the toll for a single day based on the data. Beirut had 92 killed, 742 injured. The southern suburbs had 61, 200 injured, and then various other districts all across the country. You could see with dozens killed and multiple hundreds of people that were injured as a result of the strike. So that's what's happening right now. Not to mention, let's put A10 up there on the screen. This part is very relevant, Crystal. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain all reported attacks after the Iran-US truce. Now you may say, wow, crazy Iran. Why would they do something like that?

31:37It turns out, though, that there was a very mysterious attack, again, after the truce or the fragile truce was struck, in which Iran reported that a key energy strike of it or energy site of it was struck. Now, we do not yet know who carried out that strike. The United States military has said it wasn't them. The Israelis have not said either. There is some speculation inside of Iran that this was the United Arab Emirates that carried out the strike. Now, why does that matter? Because as we have said here now ad nauseum, it's not just Israel that doesn't want this truce. The Gulf finds it untenable.

32:18They're like, we can't be paying the Iranians not after they've bombed the hell out of all of our countries. And that's why I think Iran was so forceful in its reaction against all the Gulf countries, not just because they believe it was a UAE. Clearly, they think that it was. But that's why they struck the east-west pipeline in Saudi Arabia. That's why they struck oil infrastructure in Bahrain, oil infrastructure in the UAE. It was a message also to the Gulf. So don't just forget, it's not just Israel that wants to drag us back in. It's these Gulf countries, too, because for them, a truce. UAE in particular.

32:49UAE in particular. I mean, they're not even hiding it. They went before the UN to try and authorize a use of force resolution. Like, they're pretty open. They want regime change. There are boosters all over Twitter, you can go and look, are like, this is unacceptable. We need regime change right now. So their aims are explicit at this point. I mean, I would say it's more existential for UAE than it is for Israel. I mean, Israel's nuclear arms, you know, they throw their weight around. Obviously, they've still got our backing, et cetera. UAE has been exposed as completely vulnerable. I mean, this is basically sort of like a fake state to begin with.

33:20And so they now that they're in this position are like, OK, how are Dubai and Abu Dhabi ever going to come back so long as we have the specter of this same government in power that was hitting our high rise luxury hotels? And, you know, all of the wealthy expats are fleeing and probably a lot of the indentured servant labor force, exploited labor force will also look for greener pastures as well. So they feel that this is quite existential for them. And I don't think that they're wrong about that. So that's why they are now so committed that they're the ones that went to the UN to try to pass this resolution through Security Council, which failed to open the Strait of Hormuz by any means necessary.

33:59That was the provision they took, the resolution they took to the UN. And then they've also said, which is why it is not at all unbelievable that they were behind these strikes, that they would join directly as direct combatants, not just allowing U.S. use of their space and cooperating, but actually directly joining themselves as combatants. So that appears to be what may be happening right now. Just with regard to Lebanon, the level of death and destruction here is just really horrifying. The attacks on medics, the attacks on civilian apartment buildings, the attacks on all the infrastructure there.

34:35And it's worth keeping in mind the Dahiya Doctrine, which many of you will have heard about. This came because Dahiya is a Shia section of Beirut. This comes directly out of Israel's war in Lebanon in 2006. And the idea is that you bomb the hell out of civilian infrastructure and put pressure on them so that Hezbollah, or in the case of Gaza, so that Hamas loses public support. Now, this has not been effective in terms of a strategy. It turns out to just be basically seeking bloodlust and to satiate a society that is increasingly genocidal. But that comes directly out of Lebanon. That appears to be very much what they're doing here as well.

35:13Now, Bibi, we're going to talk more about this later, has made it clear he doesn't want the war over. A lot of the most stringent Zionists, both here and in Israel, they are very upset with the possibility that the war could be over. They want to continue this thing indefinitely. They at least want to be able to go back to sort of mow the lawn strategy with regard to Iran. And so they are doing everything they can to blow up any even shred of a possibility of ending the war. And so not only are they continuing with their illegal invasion of Lebanon, which apparently doesn't have a right to exist, unlike Israel, which we're told about all the time.

35:49But anyway, they're continuing with that invasion, but they also escalated it dramatically. And the level of death is comparable to some of the worst days that we saw in Gaza, just mass slaughtering. And you can see that in the images that I brought up earlier. Yeah, sorry. I tweeted about this ethnic cleansing. People, what are you talking about? They literally said a million of you have to go. and that anybody who wants to come back can't come back near the border. What do you call that? They warned Christians against hiding Shia Muslims. It's like, I mean, look, sorry, the parallels with the Nazi regime could not be more undeniable at this point.

36:24I'm just like, look, you know, take the rhetoric for what it is. You could look at the IDF account. They drew a map. It's almost half of Lebanon. And they said, everyone below the map has to leave. What do you call that? Just tell me a better one, A temporary evacuation in which, by the way, they also say we will never allow those homes to be rebuilt near our border. That's like us going into northern Mexico and what's the city across from El Paso and just being like, yeah, you all got to go. Sorry, there's too much drug violence. Every single one of you, you're no longer allowed to live here.

36:53They already have completely destroyed a number of Lebanese villages, just wiped them off the map. Like that is what they're up to here. And so, yeah, you can see from the Iranian perspective, first of all, you've got just the horror of allowing that to continue. Second of all, Hezbollah is an important part of how they do project regional power. And Hezbollah has proven a lot of the analysis wrong. I mean, they were really seen to have been effectively destroyed and dramatically weakened by the beeper attack from Israel. And obviously their top leadership had been assassinated, et cetera. They have proven to be much more resilient and much stronger than was expected.

37:35They've operated very effectively in coordination with Iran. So Iran is not going to be excited about seeing that capability and that force projection given up. So, yeah, you can see why Iran is drawing a hard line in the sand on this and has been clear from the very first time we learned anything about what their requirements were to end the war. Lebanon was included in that. And if Trump and J.D. Vance and Steve Wyckoff and Jared Kushner thought that the Iranians would just go, well, I guess Lebanon can continue to get decimated and Hezbollah destroyed and we'll just look the other way. I think we already see that that was a completely wrong calculation as evidenced by the fact not only the rhetoric from the Iranians, which is one thing, but the fact that they went ahead and completely closed the Strait of Hormuz now where previously there was some tanker traffic going through.

38:25Now the situation is actually worse. Yesterday, there were zero oil tankers that went through the straight of Hormuz based on the publicly available data. Yeah, that's right. All right, we got Giannis standing by. Let's get to it. When people turn to health care for weight loss, they're looking for real support. That's why more people are choosing orderlymeds.com. Orderly Meds connects you with real doctors and access to proven GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and terzepatide. No guessing, just a more supportive experience. And all shipped directly to your door in discreet packaging. Do your research.

38:54Ask questions. Then visit orderlymeds.com slash podcast for an exclusive offer. That's orderlymeds.com slash podcast. Individual results may vary. Not medical advice. Eligibility required. See site for details. So what do this animal and this animal and this animal have in common? They all live on an organic Valley farm. Organic Valley dairy comes from small organic family farms that protect the land and the plants and animals that live on it from toxic pesticides, which leads to a thriving ecosystem and delicious, nutritious milk and cheese. Learn more at ov.coop and taste the difference. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine, and the cool Bahamian breeze.

39:44Baja Mar, located in Nassau, Bahamas, offers your choice of three luxury hotels, the richly refined Rosewood, the playfully hip SLS, and the stylishly modern Grand Hyatt. With over 45 restaurants, bars, and lounges, Baja Mar serves up delicious dining from world-renowned chefs like Daniel Bouloud and Marcus Samuelson, nightlife venues like the new Jean Batiste Jazz Club, and the Caribbean's most luxurious casino. At Baja Mar, you'll find every pleasure under the sun and one-of-a-kind experiences for the entire family, like Baja Bay, our 15-acre lush tropical water park, interactive wildlife experiences, including our daily flamingo parade, world-class golf, tennis, spa, and so much more.

40:26Visit Bahamar.com today and discover a vacation destination where memories are made for a lifetime. Bahamar, life spectacular. For more on the state of the war or this quote unquote ceasefire, we're fortunate to be joined this morning by Yanis Varoufakis. He, of course, is the former finance minister of Greece and host of the Econoclast podcast. Great to see you, sir. Good to see you. Thank you for having me back. Yeah, of course. So first, just your reaction to whatever is going on right now. Do you think that it's possible we could secure some sort of a lasting peace here or is this already fallen apart?

41:05No, I don't think it's fallen apart. I mean, allow me to preface my assessment with my astonishment that, you know, Donald Trump persecuted the war, which is a textbook case of how not to start the war, how not to prosecute it and how not to end it. But the essence of the ceasefire is, of course, as you are pointing out in your program so far, it's just totally ramshackle. It's a mess. But even though you can see that it is being undermined by Israel, the reason why Netanyahu continues to commit massacres, not just to continue to persecute the war in Lebanon, but actually, you know, he upped the end with what can only be described as a massacre at the end.

41:53the other day in response to the ceasefire, it's because Netanyahu is trying to undermine the ceasefire. Netanyahu's mantle has always been permanent war in the area, constantly trying to distract public opinion in the United States, in Europe, in the rest of the world from the genocide in Gaza, from the ethnic cleansing in particular in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. So he will do whatever it takes to make sure that some war is happening. It doesn't necessarily need to be in Lebanon. It can be in Yemen. It can be in Jordan. It can be somewhere. And, you know, he still has Donald Trump hooked.

42:29Because there is no doubt in my mind that when the Pakistani general, field marshal, whatever his title is, when he announced that Lebanon was included in the ceasefire, surely he didn't do this without the support of the Trump administration. So clearly Netanyahu is undermining Trump. That's what Israel does. It undermines the interests of the United States and always succeeds in roping the United States into its ethnic cleansing, genocidal campaign. So that's point number one. Point number two is that the deal that is being fashioned, as we speak, is a major victory for Iran. I mean, did you see what J.P.

43:15Morgan did? I mean, they did the arithmetic and they discovered that the state of Iran is going to make out of charging tolls on vessels crossing the states of Hormuz. They will make something between 70 and 90 billion dollars a year. It's important to juxtapose this against what Panama makes from the Panama Canal. It makes five. Or, you know, Egypt from the Suez Canal makes 10. So the Iranians are going to be making between 70 and 90 billion. This, given the sanctions and so on, this represents around 20-25 % of national income, of GDP. They've come out pretty nicely out of this. They have had the consent of the Gulf states that they were bombarding, in my view, in self-defense, but nevertheless they were bombarding Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and those, the GCCC countries, the Gulf State Council countries, have consented to these doors being charged, it seems, from what I read.

44:18So it is a complete catastrophe for Donald Trump. But there is one silver lining for him, that he's found an excuse, an off-ramp, for getting out of a war that he knows he should never have allowed himself to get into. Yeah. Sir, one thing I'm curious, an angle that we've seen underexplored here, is how much of the ceasefire was just the United States. There was some reporting, let's put B1 up there on the screen, the Chinese foreign ministry now coming out and taking a significant amount of credit. Allegedly, it was them who made several calls to Tehran to try and to force some sort of a ceasefire or at the very least get them to the table.

45:04It seems to have been very influential to the new Ayatollah and to the Supreme National Security Council in Iran. What do you make here of China's role in explicitly pushing this role towards a ceasefire and in some ways working as some sort of an intermediary or almost guarantor of parts of Iranian national security and energy policy? There is no doubt whatsoever that the great winner out of this awful murderous war is China. China, from the moment that Tomahawk missile hit that school in southern Iran onwards, China has been winning. They don't need to do anything. They just need to sit back, relax, to the extent that it is possible to relax these days with the massacres that we watch, and just take the credit for being the adults in the room, internationally, for being reliable partners to anyone that they have done business with, of not flip-flopping, of not threatening with Armageddon, a civilization like Iran, or any country for that matter.

46:06Now, regarding the particular diplomatic engagement of China, well, this is not the first time, is it, Sagar? Yeah. Let's not forget that it was China that brokered a hugely important deal between Iran and, on the one hand, Saudi Arabia, that was back in 2020, 2021, and then with the United Arab Emirates. You know, the Saudis, after decades of animosity towards Tehran, opened an embassy in Tehran. And that was done with the Chinese working their diplomatic magic behind the scenes. It was a source of major, major discontentment from Washington, D.C., both under the Biden administration and now under Trump.

46:54But, you know, China has been playing this game very cleverly. So having said that, let's not give them too much credit for it because it is as if Washington, D.C. is doing its best to lose every diplomatic brownie point America has ever won since 1944. Sure. Well, and equally perhaps significant is the lack of involvement from Europe in securing at least this fragile ceasefire, whatever we're calling this thing right now. China was obviously involved. Pakistan very much involved. Turkey reportedly. And Egypt somewhat involved. But, you know, the main players are not in Western Europe. Sadly, I'm saying sadly as a European and a Europeanist who has been observing this European Union of ours sliding steadfastly into an unethical irrelevance.

47:46the moment we not we as persons but as european union went all out to support israel's genocide in gaza we lost every kind of opportunity that ever presented itself to occupy the high moral ground to open lines of communication with arab countries with with israel itself because you know netanyahu looks at the european leaders and sees lily patians that he can do whatever he can wipe the floor clean with them. And they may say a few things here and there, but then they will fall into line. And the moment Israel starts bombarding Iran illegally and criminally, the Europeans, you know, either whistle in the wind or allow the Americans to use their bases, like the British base on Cyprus in Akrotiri, that Keir Starmer, whatever he might have said against the Donald Trump campaign in Iran, essentially provided to the United States Air Force to launch sorties against Iran.

48:44So the Europeans have rendered themselves unethically relevant yet again. And, you know, it's, it's, I have a theory because I was involved in the great euro crisis 10 years ago and beyond that. It's the euro crisis, the way we misandered it. We, you know, the powers that be crushed our populations with austerity for the many while printing trillions and trillions of euros for the very few. We don't have a government. We have many different governments. We have a commission that nobody has ever elected. So it lacks democratic credibility, legitimation. And you can see that ever since that euro crisis happened and then with the pandemic, it was a pathetic response to the pandemic.

49:29You know, heads of states got together and decided to borrow together something like 800 billion. and they started passing it on from one country to another as if this was some kind of meeting of the mafiosid

49:45delving up between them some loot. So Europe has been on a steady decline for a very long time and you can see this now playing out just strategically. Also the situation in Ukraine. I mean, it is an idle mess, the European policy towards Ukraine. They don't have a policy for peace in Ukraine, and they don't have a policy for war in Ukraine. I think that says it all. Right. You know, sir, I want to get your reaction to some of the later breaking news here out of Washington. There is an alleged comment by Mark Rutt that he told NATO countries that they must dispatch warships or Donald Trump will threaten some sort of action against NATO.

50:26How do you see the likelihood of this considering NATO's straddling game that they've been playing? They've been supportive of the United States. They've also been largely supportive of the U.S. aims at the very least rhetorically in some sort of Iranian regime change or ballistic missile reduction, but also not wanting to get involved in the crisis. How are they going to handle this if the U.S. continues to try and put pressure on them to deploy warships even now in the midst of a ceasefire to the Straits of Hormuz? Well, to begin with, whether warships are deployed or not is irrelevant. Because, you know, if you're sitting on Iran and you have your missiles and your drones, you don't care about warships.

51:06All you need to do is to get one of the tankers or two. That's sufficient. So those warships are going to be fighting a losing battle. Now, look, the more interesting question is, why did Donald Trump and his many men, mostly men, Why did they contradict themselves? Because on the one hand, Donald Trump has been dismissing Britain, Germany, France as military dwarves. And he's not wrong to say that. You know, Britain couldn't even send a single vessel to the Gulf. They just didn't have it. It wasn't available. One that they sent had to be done back for servicing. So, you know, that was a strategy.

51:52Donald Trump disparaging the Europeans as useless militarily. And therefore saying that, you know, NATO is a great drain on the United States and forcing the Europeans to pay more. Since you can't do the work, the defensive or offensive work, and you rely on Americans to do it, you pay, you rascals. That was a kind of position by Donald Trump and his administration. Now that he's calling upon the Europeans to come and help him clear the states of Hormuz, it is as if he's admitting that they do have a power, which they are, however, not using. So he has to, you know, it shows desperation on the part of Donald Trump and his administration.

52:31He had a strategy which made some sense of being dismissive to the Europeans. Now he's contradicting himself. Look, the future of NATO is severely circumscribed and darkened by what has happened. I think that the belief, the faith in some kind of alignment that is structurally constructed between the United States and the European Union, I think that's gone. And that's gone independently of who is in the White House. It's going to be eroded. I think it's a good thing, personally, because it was never in the interest of Europe. In the end, it wasn't in the interest of the people of the United States.

53:13Maybe the military-industrial complex did really very well out of that. But, you know, Europe now is in dire straits. They have to decide that NATO is not for them, that NATO is not in their interest anymore. They can't decide that because they are so heavily invested in the concept of NATO. So they will be like rabbits that are caught up in the headlights of the oncoming truck. Giannis, I want to get your perspective on how much the world has changed as a result of this war. Whether it's right now they're able to come to an agreement or the Americans decide they want more pain before we come to some sort of an agreement to end this war.

53:53I think we can see basically the outlines of what is going to emerge. are very likely to have more or less the Iranian 10 points, you know, put into action, including a new status quo, a new reality around the Strait of Hormuz. So how much does that resolution of this war change the global order? Oh, hugely. Firstly, it changed the law of the sea. You know, up until now, the notion that you would have to pay a toll in order to cross through international waters was unheard of. Donald Trump put this on the map. And, you know, if the Iranians manage to do this in order to recoup some of the funds that are necessary in order to rebuild that which Israel and the United States destroyed during the last few weeks, well, what next?

54:43Maybe the Houthis will start charging for letting vessels go through the Red Sea. Maybe other nations or groups or organizations will start doing the same thing. A precedent has been set. So international law has been changed. Mind you, of course, international law was totally rubbished by Israel. Every time it ethnically cleansed the Palestinians in Gaza against the direct order of the International Criminal, not criminal, the International Court of Justice, I should say. The United States has done this a number of times. The illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 by George W. you. So, you know, but still, the law of the sea had not been challenged to such a vicious extent.

55:27Now it is in smithereens. Also, the fact that the Gulf states will have to rewrite, at least in their minds, their business model. Their business model is kaput. It cannot continue as it is. and the Gulf states were crucial in the American design of the Middle East, all the way from Morocco, all the way to Iran, maybe all the way to Pakistan. There was a plan for how to base the strategy of the United States and of Israel on the Abraham Accords of effectively luring Gulf states, the Gulf states, into some kind of geoeconomic alliance with the United States and with Israel that would be the 30 pieces of silver that they needed in order to betray further the Palestinians.

56:20And that's gone. That plan has gone. And as you said in your previous question, now we have a resurgent Chinese diplomacy that is working very methodically behind the scenes, providing the stability and the trust that the United States has so casually jeopardized. Wow. Stark warning, but as great, always good analysis. Thank you very much, sir. We appreciate your time. Thank you. Are you trying to get weight loss support through telehealth, but it feels overwhelming and rushed? Check out orderlymeds.com now. Orderlymeds.com was built to be different. Here, you connect with real doctors who take the time to understand your goals, review your eligibility, and guide you through a plan that's right for you.

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57:38Again, that's orderlymeds.com slash podcast. Individual results may vary. Not medical advice. Eligibility required. See site for details. So what do this animal and this animal and this animal have in common? They all live on an organic valley farm. Organic Valley Dairy comes from small organic family farms that protect the land and the plants and animals that live on it from toxic pesticides, which leads to a thriving ecosystem and delicious, nutritious milk and cheese. Learn more at Ovi.coop and taste the difference. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine and the cool Bahamian breeze.

58:24Baja Mar, located in Nassau, Bahamas, offers your choice of three luxury hotels, over 45 fine dining and nightlife venues, John Batiste's all-new jazz club, the Caribbean's most luxurious casino, and one-of-a-kind experiences for the entire family, like our 15-acre tropical water park, wildlife sanctuary, world-class golf course, and so much more. Visit BajaMar.com today. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.