00:00And I think that's what, frankly, Donald Trump is thinking at the moment about the Gulf.
00:05I'll win it all on one more throw.
00:06I'll use all these forces and that will persuade the Iranians to throw in the towel and then
00:12we can get what we want and we'll walk away without looking foolish.
00:16I don't think it's going to happen.
00:18Now, the Israelis, if they think they're doomed and they can't sustain any more damage
00:22and their country is on the skids or on the path to, what is it, extinction,
00:30they may want to do something like that.
00:32But I do.
00:32I've been to Israel many times and I've worked with the Israeli Defense Force.
00:35I thought very highly of them and I liked them.
00:38They were pretty sober minded when it came to this sort of thing.
00:42I don't think the Israeli professional military is a problem at all in that connection.
00:48I think the problem is really with Mr. Netanyahu and his tight little inner circle.
00:52So I would hope that that doesn't happen, but I can't guarantee it.
01:00Number four, this is not a minor conflict.
01:02This is a major war with terrible consequences.
01:05I mean, economically, Bahrain, I think it was Qatar, both said,
01:11we've already filled all of our tanks for strategic reserve.
01:15We're stopping production.
01:17You know, this is a disaster for the world.
01:20How is Saudi Arabia and UAE looking at it?
01:23Because I read some reporting where they are goading President Trump on to go finish the war
01:28now that he started it because a hobbled Iran with the current regime
01:32is more dangerous for these nations in the region.
01:36You know, I am very skeptical of statements in public by the Saudis
01:41and some of the other GCC states, particularly UAE.
01:47These are people that have survived in their current positions for a very long time
01:52by playing off potential opponents and competitors against each other.
01:59To be frank, I don't trust any of them.
02:02And I think that privately they're very concerned about their future.
02:06You know, we talk about the Epstein class in the United States.
02:11Well, in much of the Islamic world, the people that rule the Arabian Peninsula
02:15are viewed as part of the Epstein class.
02:18They're seen as decadent and corrupt in the worst sense of the word.
02:24All you have to do is go into the Koran and read what it talks about there.
02:27You know, the fat, the corrupt, the distant places that are unworthy.
02:32I think they're worried about their future.
02:35They could easily be removed by their own people.
02:38And everybody says, oh, well, that's impossible.
02:41Well, when people can't eat, you'd be surprised what they're willing to do.
02:45You know, the French Revolution broke out when people couldn't afford to buy bread.
02:51That's when you get revolutions.
02:53So I think they're worried about that and they're hoping that perhaps
02:55President Trump can rescue them, maybe.
02:57I don't know.
02:58I don't think it's a good plan.
03:00What do you make of this reporting that's coming out that Iran doesn't want to negotiate
03:06with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff?
03:09And maybe J.D. Vance can step in and be a voice of authority in negotiation.
03:15And then Witkoff, Jared combine is like, are they like they talk about Israel more?
03:19Yeah, I think Witkoff and Kushner, even in this country, are viewed as people who are preeminently
03:26Israeli agents and they exist to represent Israeli interests.
03:32So I think that's unsurprising.
03:35I'm sure there'll be cries of anti-Semitism in this sort of business.
03:39But I think when they mention Vance, I'm sure that offends Trump.
03:44My impression is that, you know, he's vice president.
03:48Vice presidents are supposed to shut up, sit in a corner and wait to be called upon to do anything.
03:53And I think he sees Vance as someone who is probably going to want to be president at some point.
04:00I don't know how possible that is at this stage, but nothing's ever impossible.
04:04So it probably offends him.
04:06But if I were dealing with us right now, I'm surprised the Russians would talk to us.
04:11I mean, how many times have we sent Witkoff and Kushner there?
04:15They all seem to be much more interested in side deals that they could make that would enrich themselves
04:20and their friends than anything else.
04:22And then you have to look at billions of dollars that have flowed into Kushner's hands and Trump's hands
04:28from various Gulf Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
04:34This is a very uncomfortable situation, I would think, for anybody trying to do business with us.
04:40They begin to say, well, wait a minute.
04:42Where's your government?
04:43Who is representing your interests?
04:45Is this what Americans want?
04:48I don't think it is.
04:49I don't think Americans want any of it.
04:51And that's a big problem.
04:52So again, we're back to how does Trump get out of this mess?
04:56And I'm saying I'm hopeful that perhaps Prime Minister Modi could help and assist,
05:02not guaranteeing success by any means, that if he intervenes, that he can produce a miracle.
05:07But I don't see anything happening directly between us and Israel and Iran.
05:13I just don't see it at this point.
05:15Final questions.
05:16And this is a personal question to you, Colonel.
05:18Have you ever been in touch informally, formally with the Trump administration in any capacity?
05:25Well, previously, until after the election, once, and I don't want to say too much, but I wrote a paper
05:33which you can find.
05:35It's called Taming the Warfare State.
05:38It addresses this business that we were talking about before, the realities of new warfare that changed the way you
05:45invest money and build military power.
05:50And RFK Jr., who was running for president, liked it very much, and he supplied it to everybody in the
05:55Trump cabinet.
05:58And, you know, that was the last communication I had with anybody there.
06:03And there was no interest in cutting spending.
06:06There was no interest in dealing with a debt.
06:08There was no interest in reforming and reorganizing military power, coming to terms with the new realities that we're discussing.
06:17So, I've had really no interactions since the election.
06:21Before that, yes, I did, and I was cold sometimes, and my input was not well received.
06:27Because I urged an immediate end to the war in Ukraine.
06:31Back in April of 2022, I said to the president, please, stand up, put an end to this right away.
06:39And I said, if we don't, the Russians will crush Ukraine.
06:43And he was surrounded by people telling him that the Ukrainians could win.
06:48I mean, you know, I mean, just totally out of touch with reality.
06:51No understanding of Russia.
06:53No appreciation for Russia's national security interests.
06:56Only interested in doing whatever could be done to harm Russia.
07:00And interestingly enough, the same strategy towards Russia that failed is really the one that is being applied now to
07:06Iran.
07:07Let's break up Iran.
07:09Let's divide it into smaller bits and pieces.
07:11Let's capture its resources and exploit it.
07:14That's what the American-Israeli axis is all about.
07:17It's a dead end.
07:19We need to get out of that business.
07:21But unfortunately, that's where we are.
07:23So, finally, Colonel, what would you advise?
07:26If you are called tomorrow to the Oval, what would you advise, President Trump?
07:30How does America salvage this situation where it does keep its honor as well and there is peace in the
07:36region also?
07:37How does that happen?
07:39Well, I would immediately urge that we disengage militarily.
07:44In other words, as a unilaterally, we are no longer going to attack Iran.
07:48We are withdrawing our forces.
07:51And I would say a safe distance.
07:53Say it's 1,200 kilometers, something like that, from Iran and the Persian Gulf.
07:59And we will do this.
08:01And we hope that the Iranians will respond by acknowledging this.
08:06And once we've done this, we would like very much to talk to Iran and find a way forward.
08:12And we respect Iran's conditions and their wishes.
08:16We may not be able to fulfill all of those.
08:19Some of those we can.
08:21And we hope that they will be amenable to discussions along those lines.
08:25But I, as President of the United States, no longer see that the use of American military power is the
08:32right answer to the disputes between us and Iran.
08:36That's it.
08:37Now, I think that's something that nobody wants to say.
08:42Oh, well, you're being weak.
08:46No, we're being intelligent.
08:48We're recognizing reality.
08:49And we're trying to put an end to a pointless war.
08:52The Israelis are another matter.
08:54But President Trump is in a position to do something.
08:57He's always in a position with Israel to say, look, I've gone as far as I can with you.
09:02Now, you can get on board with us.
09:04Or you can get off the train and you're on your own.
09:07Now, the Israelis don't think he can do that.
09:09Can the Trump administration live with a nuclear capable Iran?
09:13I think we've lived with a nuclear capable Pakistan and a nuclear capable India.
09:19I think, yes, we have a nuclear capable North Korea.
09:23Nobody's talking about intervening in and punishing North Korea.
09:28So at this particular stage, I would argue, yes.
09:32And the interesting thing about the Iranians is that they've been accused of wanting desperately to build a nuclear weapon.
09:39Yet they have consistently failed to do that.
09:41They haven't wanted to do that.
09:42They've said no.
09:43Now that we've killed the previous supreme leader who was opposed to it, we have a new leader who says,
09:49yes, I do not oppose the building of a nuclear weapon.
09:52And why should we be surprised by that?
09:54And if you if you want to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear technology in that sense, you
10:03don't go to war and do what we've done to Iran.
10:06Everyone's lesson today, at least if I were sitting in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, I would
10:14look at this and say, well, we'd all better invest in a nuclear weapon or we're going to be a
10:19target for American military intervention.
10:22It's insane.
10:23But it's back to also the beginning.
10:25The whole world is changing.
10:27We aren't.
10:28We're trying to cling tenaciously to the past.
10:32We want to hold on to the NATO alliance.
10:35I thought the NATO alliance should have gone away in the 90s.
10:39Oh, no, no, no, no.
10:41The motto then, by the way, was NATO is either out of area doing something that we want it to
10:48do or it's out of business.
10:50It has to have an enemy.
10:52It has to have a purpose.
10:53Well, wait a minute.
10:53If there's no enemy, there's no reason for the alliance.
10:56Isn't it time for the Europeans to figure out what they want to do with themselves?
11:00Oh, no, no, they can't do that.
11:02What do you mean?
11:03I mean, it's like telling India it's 1948.
11:06Well, I'm sorry, but you're really not ready for this.
11:09You know, by the way, before I forget, I just wanted to make this point.
11:13I don't know if you're aware of it or not.
11:14Go for it.
11:16But Lloyd's of London has done more to shut down the Straits of Hormuz than anybody.
11:20Yeah, with insurance cutting.
11:21Yes, and here's something to keep in mind.
11:27The Japanese and the Chinese don't give a damn about Lloyd's of London.
11:31They're insuring their own vessels.
11:33They've set up their own strategic insurance framework.
11:37India needs to do the same.
11:40Why are you bothering with Lloyd's of London?
11:43Do you really think anybody in London is terribly concerned about the plight of the Indian farmer or anything else?
11:51You know, it's a mystery to me that this late at this late point in Indian history, it's you would
11:57pay any attention to Lloyd's of London.
11:59So that's one of the first things I do.
12:01Put an end to that once and for all.
12:03Anyhow, just a thought.
12:06Douglas McGregor, Colonel, thank you so much for talking to us.
12:09I hope you can come back soon and help us make sense of what's going on.
12:13Well, let's hope we have good news.
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