Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Getting back to our origin of we the People, tackling current issues, both political and legal, with common sense.
As we the People, we must bring common sense back to make our lives better.
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[00:00:23] Speaker B: Tonight, the conflict with Iran is sending shockwaves far beyond the Middle East.
US And Israeli strikes have dramatically reduced Iran's missile launches, according to U.S. central Command.
But the story doesn't end there.
Here in Washington, Democrats have tended to limit the president's authority as commander in chief, while one Democratic senator, John Fetterman, broke with his party to support strong action against the Iranian regime.
And the ripple effects of this conflict could reach far beyond Iran.
From Russia's war in Ukraine to China's dependence on oil, from Iran and Venezuela to the global race for artificial intelligence, tonight, we connect the dots. This is we the People.
Hello and welcome to we the People. I'm Alina Gonzalez Dachry, your host tonight. We begin with rapidly escalating conflict involving Iran, a development that is already reshaping military strategy, diplomacy, and global alliances.
But before we get into the politics here at home, we need to begin with what has actually happened on the battlefield, because the early results of the military campaign are significant.
Over the past several days, the United States and Israel launched a coordinated operation targeting Iran's missile infrastructure, launch systems, and military command facilities.
The goal was not simply to intercept incoming missiles. The goal was to reduce Iran's ability to launch them in the first place and to effectively take out the ruling regime.
According to U.S. central Command, the strategy is already producing measurable results.
Iran's ballistic missile launches have dropped dramatically.
Military officials report that the number of Iranian missile launches has fallen by roughly 86% since the opening phase of the conflict.
Drone attacks have also declined sharply.
That reduction did not happen by accident.
It came after targeted strikes against launch facilities, storage sites, and command centers responsible for coordinating missile operations.
Satellite imagery now shows a significant damage to several key Iranian missile bases, as well as their underground missile launch pads.
Long structures are destroyed, support infrastructure damaged, and command systems disrupted.
In other words, the strategy was not simply to continue being merely defensive.
This is preventative. This is actively trying to invoke a regime change.
Also, as a result of these attacks, Ayatollah Kamini has been killed, and so has the second com Ayatollah that was placed, as well as now the third, which is the Ayatollah Khamenei's own son, which is reported to have been killed in these strikes.
Now, many Americans are asking the obvious questions. Why now? Why did the United States choose this moment to act.
Part of the answer lies in preparation.
Over the past several weeks, US Military planners have been positioning assets throughout the region.
Additional naval forces, fighter aircrafts, missile defense systems, intelligence and surveillance platforms.
That buildup created the operational conditions necessary to conduct a sustained strike.
But the timing also reflects a growing strategic concern.
Over the past several years, Iran has dramatically expanded its missile and drone capabilities.
Those systems have been used to threaten Israel, intimidate regional governments, and target U.S. partners across the Middle East.
Left unchecked, the capability would only continue to grow.
So the strategy behind the operation appears clear.
Reduce Iran's missile capacity now before it becomes an even larger threat.
Go in and force a regime change, which has been for months been shown on the streets of Iran by those protesters.
But while military operations were unfolding overseas, a political battle was unfolding here at home. And yes, as many will say, is because, of course, anything Trump does, the Democrats must go against.
Several members of Democrats in Congress attempted to pass legislation that would limit the president's authority to conduct military operations against Iran.
Pause here for a moment.
Think about that, and look at the constitutional framework that our nation supposedly follows.
The United States Constitution divides war powers between Congress and. And the president.
Congress holds the authority to declare war. The president, which, by the way, President Trump, is not the first. Let's recall President Obama, President Clinton, utilized the authorities as commander in chief to do certain excursions, certain operations in a limited time under the president's constitutional authority.
Let's be clear. The President of the United States, regardless of who is in that seat, serves as commander in chief of the armed forces.
The founders designed it that way for a reason.
Military operations require unity of command and the ability to respond quickly to threats.
Debate is a fundamental part of democracy. Absolutely. I am.
I applaud those that want to have a healthy debate.
But attempts to weaken the commander in chief during an active international crisis raise serious concerns. And also, it just gives another glaring light as to the disruption, the disconnection that these progressive Democratic elected officials have because all they do is want to destroy Trump rather than support what is best in the United States. For the United States, support our military and support our allies.
Because America's adversaries watch our political divisions closely. Countries like Iran, Russia, and China studied the signals that come out of Washington.
They look for hesitation. They look for confusion. Hell, they looked for weaknesses that were on clear display in the last administration.
And they look for moments when domestic political conflict might undermine national security, just as was attempted by those in Congress.
In this case, the effort to limit presidential authority ultimately failed.
And amid the debate, one voice in Washington stands out as always, one Democrat that operates from a sense of patriotism, common sense and rational thinking. And that is Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
Fetterman has been unusually direct in supporting strong action against the Iranian regime at a time when partisan politics often dominates Washington. His position has been notable for something increasingly rare.
Clarity, common sense, a sense of historical appreciation and reality.
Because the reality of the Iranian regime is a difficult to ignore.
This is a government that funds militant groups across the Middle east, funds the same, very same terrorist organizations that only want to take down not only our allies, but death to America.
A government that has targeted American allies, has targeted Israel, a regime that their own sole purpose is death to America.
This raises an important question. What do the people of Iran themselves think about this moment? Think about these operations that are jointly being held by Israel and United States and now are being joined by Saudi Arabia, France and other allies, especially those in the Middle East.
Because the reaction we are seeing, seeing from Iranians around the world tells a powerful story, one that is in direct contradiction to what you see in mainstream media or from the progressive left.
And this is where we turn next.
As tensions rise between governments, something remarkable is happening among the Iranian people themselves.
From protests inside Iran to celebrations across the Iranian diaspora, many citizens are openly expressing hope for a change.
When we come back, we'll look at the growing movement among the Iranian people.
Why this moment may represent more than just a geopolitical conflict, more than just a simply, oh, we're exerting a regime change, because let's face it, the United States is not great on regime changes.
Truth.
You can look at Afghanistan, you can look at what happened in Korea and Vietnam for historical aspects. But what's more importantly is, is what we need to look at is the very people that have been under this diabolical, excruciatingly vicious regime.
Those are the people that who matter most. Those are the voices that we should be listening to.
Stay with us. And we'll be back to look at the Iranian people and our Middle east alliances.
Welcome back to we the People.
Before the break, we were discussing about the political debate in Washington surrounding the conflict with Iran. And of course, we did not even discuss the word fight that is happening among certain alliance countries and President Trump.
But to fully understand this moment, we have to shift our focus away from governments, away from the political talking heads and toward the people who have lived under the Iranian regime for decades.
Because across the world, we are seeing Something remarkable.
Members of the Iranian diaspora gathering publicly in cities across Europe, America and the Middle east, celebrating what they see as increasing international pressure on the regime that has ruled their country for more than 40 years.
For many Iranians, this moment represents hope.
Hope, just like the Venezuelans are starting to feel that the oppressive system controlling their country may finally begin to weaken. That may they finally have freedoms that they used to enjoy before the 1970s.
And it's important to remember something.
The Iranian regime is not the Iranian people.
Let me repeat that. The Iranian regime, the Ayatollah, their.
Their totalitarian government is not the Iranian people.
Millions of citizens have spent years risking their lives resisting it.
Women have led some of the most powerful protests that we have seen in decades.
The world watched in shock when Mahasa Amini died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran's dress code laws.
What was that? Oh, yes, her hijeeb.
Her head covering was not appropriate.
Done.
Her death sparked a nationwide protest movement.
Women Life, Freedom. Now, that's empowerment.
Women removing their head scarves in public, knowing that they could be killed, knowing that they could be arrested, knowing that they could be blinded with acid poured on their faces, as so many have had done, because this regime does not care for the woman.
Think about that. For those that are now, what, Putting on his Jeeves in solidarity with Iranian government, who are supposedly for women's liberation, but yet are not backing these very own women that have been tortured, who suffer, who many have had their faces with acid poured on them or brutally killed.
Citizens have been demanding on the streets protesting for several months.
And what are they demanding? Something so simple that you and I take for granted in this country.
Freedom.
Freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of religion.
Freedom over their own lives.
Freedom for education and job opportunities.
Freedom to be openly gay.
Which makes some of the political rhetoric we hear in the west particularly troubling and some that I am still absolutely flabbergasted over.
Because in some corners of Western political discourse, we see harsh criticism directed at democratic societies, while authoritarian regimes such as this receive surprising leniency. And some actually uphold them as something to be cherished and great. And yes, I'm talking to those pro Gaza, pro Hamas protesters.
The Iranian regime imprisons journalists.
Hell, I would have been in prison for a lot of things if I were in Iran.
The Iranian regime persecutes religious minorities.
You have no religious freedom there.
Criminalizes and kills homosexuality, enforces some of the most strictest restrictions on women.
Maybe the only other stricter place is Afghanistan, thanks to the Taliban.
Yet when the United States confronts this regime, the conversation in some political circles immediately shifts toward criticism of American actions. Criticism that we are in a totalitarian government and that women don't have rights here and, you know, young women and, and those that purport to be part of the LGBTQ+ putting on Hibs in solidarity with the Ayatollah.
That's insanity.
The TR this contradiction deserves serious discussions. It also really deserves some serious look into what's going on in our educational systems and what is polluting our young people's minds.
Because at the same time, something else is happening.
The United States is strengthening partnerships across the Middle East. Look at this board of peace. Look at what Trump has been able to coalesce. Coalesce in allies in the Middle east in, in assisting with the end of the the Israeli Gaza battle.
For decades, analysts predicted that American influence in their region would decline.
Yet recent developments suggest something very different.
And it also deserves to point out that while our traditional Western allies, those of the Western European countries, seem to be always throwing dispersions on, on America, criticizing American government, especially our current President Trump, and faltering and wavering on every single thing to weaken our very own existence.
And yes, this started under Obama's apology towards, but it was most defined during Biden's administration as well because the Western European countries are falling to the same antics of the progressive left.
But that's why this is also so important. Because what we are seeing is Trump creating new alliances and strengthening these alliances with these Middle Eastern country. And it's not just because of oil.
Remember, we have more than enough oil that we could be drilling right now in our own country. I'm not saying we should, but that's the reality.
But we had to look at why is Trump putting so much concerted effort into shoring up the democratic countries and regime changes within our own back door in South America?
Is it because he's starting to see 10 years down the road or even more? And seeing that our alliance with Western Europe is weakening because they do not wish to have a strong United States, though they need us.
But also it goes to technology.
Countries throughout the Gulf and Europe increasingly recognized that Iranian aggression threatens regional stability.
Cooperation with the United States has grown stronger. Defense coordination, intelligence sharing, missile defense systems. These partnerships may reshape the region's security landscape for years to come.
But while the alliance has strengthened the Middle east, another global power is watching very carefully.
That is Russia.
Yes, President Putin and the Iran conflict could create unexpected advantages for Moscow.
But Also, it has some anticipated threats to Moscow as well.
So you see, this is more than a chess game.
What we are seeing is hope of liberation from a regime that has put its beautiful Persian people in strangleholds, that has stripped away any rights of women since the 1970s.
And for those of us that were around and born and young during the late 70s, early 80s, we remember the Iranian hostage takeover. We remember when we first started hearing Ayatollah stating death to America.
We remembered the absolute catastrophe that when the Ayatollah, the Supreme Leader took over in the 70s, what resulted in Iran.
See, for those that are going to come after me and say, oh, you're just MAGA or you're just a warmonger. I'm not a warmonger. But I do know one thing to witness to see that these women in Iran coming forward, putting their own lives at stake, all for what?
Taking off their hijab so that they can say, I am empowered. I am a woman. I want freedom.
To see these people go out protesting in the streets despite the military turning their guns on them.
Nobody is talking about this. 50,000 people were murdered by the Royal Guard of the Ayatollah.
And for what? Protesting for their rights?
When we return, we'll look at how missile defense systems, supply chains, and global strategy are all connected and why the conflict with Iran may have consequences serious for the war in Ukraine.
Stay with us after this.
Welcome back to we the People. Tonight, we've been examining the global ripple effects of the growing conflict involving Iran. And to understand the broader implications, we have to look at another major player watching events very closely, and that is Russia.
Because modern wars are not only fought with soldiers, tanks on the battlefield, or aircrafts and drones.
They are fought with logistics, supply chains, weapon systems, and the hard reality of who runs out of resources first.
One of the most important defensive systems in the world today is the Patriot missile defense system.
One only has to look at the Iron Dome for Israel.
Ukraine relies heavily on Patriot interceptors to defend its cities against Russian ballistic missile attacks.
According to Ukrainian officials, those interceptors are absolutely essential to protecting civilian populations.
In fact, Ukrainian President Zelensky has described them as a matter of life and death for his country.
Matter of life and death.
But here's where the situation becomes complicated because one may be going, well, wait a minute, Lena, why are we talking about Russia and Ukraine with Iran?
Because during the opening stages of the conflict involving Iran, the United States and several Gulf nations fired hundreds of Patriot interceptors to defense against.
To defend against Iranian Missile and drone barrages. I mean, look, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Turkey, Crete, the United Kingdom's based there, Which is another thing to discuss. We are now having NATO allies being targeted by Iran.
But for these interceptors, which are highly sophisticated, they are extremely effective, but they are not unlimited.
Some analysts estimate the regional stockpiles could be depleted quickly if missile attacks continued at a sustained pace.
Now we do have the reports from Satcom that's saying that over 83% reduction in missile launches from Iran, which tells you that the attacks made by us with Iran and other allies is working.
Washington could eventually face difficult choices though if the missile attacks and using of defensive weaponry like the Patriot missile defense systems.
Now we're going to come up to a difficult choice where these defensive systems are needed most.
And this has implications for Ukraine.
Every interceptor used to defend cities in the Middle east may be one that cannot be used to stop Russian missiles over Ukraine.
And that dynamic could create short term advantages for Moscow.
And that little opening could be just enough.
If Ukraine's air defenses become strained, Russian missile strikes become more effective.
And missile strikes have been one of the Kremlin's primary strategies throughout the war.
That is extended now to four years.
But the story does not end there because the conflict involving Iran also creates serious risk for Russia.
Excuse me.
Over the past several years, Iran has become one of Moscow's most important strategic partners.
Tehran has supplied Russia with military drones and other technology used extensively in this war versus Ukraine.
Those systems have played a major role in Russia's ability to conduct long range attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure.
If the Iranian regime were significantly weakened, destabilized, or God willing, completely replaced, ousted, defeated, never to come back again, Russia could lose a critical military supplier and ally.
And that complicates Moscow's ability to sustain its war effort against Ukraine.
There is also the question of regional influence.
For years, Russia has worked to expand its presence across the Middle east, particularly through its relationships with Syria and Iran.
A major conflict that weakens Iran could disrupt the entire regional strategy.
And it could open the door for other regional powers or Western alliances to expand their influence in areas where Moscow once hoped to play a leading role.
One only has to look at what Trump has been able to form with this board of peace.
Look at who are the allies, the Middle Eastern countries that are part of the negotiations in the Gaza and peace treaty.
The very same Middle Eastern countries. We're talking Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Emirates, Arab Emirates are all part of this. Jordan, Pakistan, I mean, the list goes on.
This is huge influence. This is huge inroads to a strong alliances between the west and in the Middle East. Between the United States and the Middle east, Even the economic picture is more complicated than it might first appear.
Some observers initially assumed that instability in the Middle east would automatically benefit Russia by driving global prices higher.
But the reality is more complex because international sanctions have forced Russia to sell much of its oil at significant discounts on global markets.
It is the same as when Venezuela, under its sanctions and embargoes, were forced to sell their oil reserves at a much reduced rate to those like China, Russia, Iran.
Even if global oil rises rise, Moscow does not necessarily receive full financial benefit because they are still under those sanctions.
In other words, the Iran conflict creates a mixed strategic picture for Russia.
There may be tactical advantages in the short term, hope that we exhaust so much of our own missile defenses that we have to plunder into the stockpiles that were promised to Ukraine.
There may be tactical advantages in the short term, but there are also serious risks in the long term. And I think that's what we need to focus on. It is what are the negative effects or the potential effects on Russia long term?
This is the reality of modern geopolitics.
A crisis in one region rarely stays contained.
Instead, it reshapes alliances, supply chains and military strategy across the entire globe global system.
And we've been seeing that. I mean, it's only been five weeks when we took out Maduro.
And yes, we're still dealing with the transition of Venezuela from the Chavez Maduro regime, but you're seeing significant impacts already on the geopolitical realm, especially when it comes to Russia and China.
And this also has effect on the currency as well, because. And we're going to discuss that in a little bit in our last segment.
But remember, Russia, Brazil, Iran, China, we're trying to create or foster a new global currency to weaken to the point and eradicate the US Dollar as the med.
So what we're seeing with this, with this specific conflict with us hiring up, yes, we are seeing some of our traditional allies coming out in opposition and criticizing Trump. In the United States, we saw that from Spain. We see that with the United Kingdom prime Minister, which both always come back because they need us. And that's the reality.
But what we are seeing is a reshaping of alliances. We're seeing supply chains being affected. Military strategy across the entire global system are being rewritten now.
And that's exactly what should be unfolding. Because while Russia is calculating the risk and opportunities created by the Iran conflict, there's Another global power studying these defile elements just as closely.
You guessed it. China.
China's economy depends heavily on imported energy, more specifically from Venezuela and Iran.
And a surprising amount of the energy comes from the countries currently facing political and economic pressures.
So tensions escalate in the Middle east and pretty sure belittles in Latin America. Beijing may be facing an unexpected strategic challenge.
When we return, we'll take a closer look at how pressure on Iran and Venezuela could affect China's energy supply and global strategy and why the United States may be building new alliances in both the Middle east and Latin America that could reshape the global balance of power.
Stay with us. Tune back in. We'll be right back.
Welcome back to we the People.
So far tonight, we've talked about the conflict involving Iran, the constitutional debate here at home, the amazement when common sense actually is the voice of reason.
Thank you, Senator Fetterman. And the ripple effects that could impact Russia and the war in Ukraine.
But to understand the full strategic picture, we have to look at another global power watching all of this very closely.
China.
China is the largest importer of oil in the world.
Let me repeat that. China is the largest importer of oil in the world. Now people have been screaming, oh, because of Iran and closing down the strait.
This is going to affect oil price stuff. Reality check is going to affect China the most. It will affect potentially Europe, the European countries, but less so US kind of changes the perspective.
China imports more than 11 million barrels of crude oil every day.
That accounts for roughly 3/4 of its oil company consumption.
Imagine that they import three quarters of their oil consumption.
For years, China has quietly taken advantage of a particular strategy, buying discounted oil from countries under Western sanctions.
Russia, Venezuela.
Sometimes because of the loans given out to these countries like Venezuela, they get it at such a reduced rate that it doesn't even go. It would shift the market completely if they were included.
Countries like Iran, Russia and Venezuela have been the main suppliers of oil for China.
These arrangements allowed China to secure large amounts of energy at lower prices, helping fuel the factories, manufacturing centers and industrial systems that power its economy.
But that strategy has created a huge vulnerability because when pressure increases on those suppliers.
Iran and the Middle East, Venezuela and Latin America, China suddenly faces potential disruption to two important energy sources at the same time.
Recent instability in the Middle east has already raised alarms across Asia.
A large portion of global oil shipments pass through the Straits of Hormuz, one of the most important energy choke points in the world.
Any disruption to shipping through that narrow corridor can quickly affect Global markets.
But countries that depend heavily on imported oil, like China, feel those risks particularly sharp.
And if Iranian oil supplies become unstable, China may be forced to rely even more heavily on Russian energy.
And that creates another dilemma strategically for China, because Beijing has long tried to avoid becoming too dependent on Moscow. Yes, they have strategic alliances, but they do not want to be dependent on Moscow.
In other words, that same discounted oil strategy that helped power China's economic growth can now become a geopolitical liability.
And you're starting to see some of this occurring in the news that's coming out.
The Chinese government has already announced that it is reducing their GDP to only 4.5% to 5%. They have been the fastest growing economy for several decades, and now they're saying that they are slowing their gross domestic product. Why is that? Well, it could be a direct correlation because of Venezuela and the US now controlling the exports of oil and ensuring that oil is purchased at the fair market value as everybody else does.
So that underscores China's ability.
And now Iran.
Another major competition is also unfolding at the same time as the GDP as this discounted oil.
And that is the race for artificial intelligence. Remember, that is one of the most strategic partnerships that Trump announced in his first year, just the last year, why he has such a great relationship, and it is a trade relationship with Saudi Arabia, the uae, for development of AI.
Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming one of the most important strategic technologies of the 21st century. We see it now, it is constantly developing at such a rapid rate that some of us are blindsided every day by the new things that AI can do.
We're looking at AI having an impact on military systems, economic productivity, cybersecurity, even national defense systems.
Countries that lead in artificial intelligence will hold enormous advantages in the decades ahead.
And right now, the United States maintains several critical advantages in that race.
Most of the world's most advanced AI systems rely on high performance semiconductor chips designed by American companies.
These chips power the massive computing systems required to train modern AI models.
But in recent years, the US has imposed export restrictions on some of the most advanced semiconductor technology, especially banning those sales to China.
Those restrictions are designed to prevent cutting edge chips from strengthening China's military and surveillance capabilities.
As a result, Chinese technology companies face growing challenges accessing the most powerful processors used to develop next generation artificial intelligence systems.
And that has become a significant strategic concern for Beijing.
Because AI development requires enormous computing power, it requires advanced semiconductor technology, and it requires vast amounts of energy to power the data centers that these systems, which Means the global AI race is directly connected to the same issues we've been discussing tonight.
Energy, oil, fuel, technology, geopolitical alliances, all of it is intertwined.
And when you step back and look at the bigger picture, something very interesting emerges.
The United States appears to be strengthening partnerships across regions that were once considered uncertain, unstable or impossible.
Closer cooperation with allies in the Middle east.
Growing engagement with democratic partners in Latin America, and strategic relationships that extend beyond traditional Western alliances.
If these partnerships continue to deepen, the geopolitical landscape could shift in ways many analysts did not anticipate just a few years ago.
Because global power today is not measured only by military strength, which don't get me wrong, the United States still has the most strong, technically advanced military on, on this planet.
I mean, we saw the proof of that just in the five hour military operation in Venezuela.
But global power today is measured by energy technology, supply chains and alliances.
And this brings us to an important reality about the moment we're living in.
A conflict in one region can reshape the balance of power across the entire world.
Missile defense systems in Europe, energy supplies in the Middle east, technology competition in Silicon Valley and Beijing, all these forces are now intertwined.
Which means that decisions being made today may shape the geopolitical landscape for decades to come. We're talking for our children's, our grandchildren's future.
But in a democracy, the ultimate source of national strength has always remained the same and informed and engaged citizenry.
Because power of this country does not belong to governments, it belongs to its citizens.
To inform citizens, to engage citizens, to we the people.
So as we look at what is happening both in our back door with Venezuela and still seeing the hope crying out from those in Cuba that maybe that regime after 60 plus years falls. But what we are seeing, and we have been seeing and we've stated this on this show, is historically the people rising, demanding their freedoms, their rights in Iran.
And we continue to see the celebrations across the globe of those exiled Iranians, the Persian people, standing up.
And maybe that's the greatest lesson that we're seeing.
Hope.
Hope is going forward.
Hope that maybe one day we all start seeing a more just global geopolitical experience.
I'm Alina Gonzalez Dacre. Thank you for joining me tonight.
I wish you all a good night.
