All In David Sacks SOUNDS OFF On Biden's Ukraine, Gaza FAILURES
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful interview, venture capitalist David Sachs discusses his early warnings about the Ukraine conflict, his views on NATO expansion, and the impact of U.S. foreign policy. Sachs shares his sources for accurate information on the war, his concerns about the potential for a larger conflict, and his thoughts on the state of free speech on Twitter post-Elon Musk acquisition. He also reflects on his political philosophy and the influence of John Mearsheimer and Pat Buchanan on his views, as well as his perspectives on the 2024 election and the Trump vs. DeSantis dynamic within the Republican party.
Takeaways
- π£οΈ David Sachs, a venture capitalist, has been vocal about the Ukraine conflict since early 2022, advocating against NATO expansion as a key irritant.
- ποΈ Sachs hosts the Allin Podcast, where he discusses current events, business, markets, geopolitics, and politics, including the Ukraine war.
- π Sachs relies on independent channels for accurate information on the Ukraine conflict, as he believes mainstream media often shades the truth.
- π Elon Musk's early peace proposal for Ukraine was met with criticism, reflecting the polarized and censored nature of online discourse on the conflict.
- π Sachs views the US policy on Ukraine as a significant mistake, potentially worse than the Iraq War, and criticizes the mainstream media's role in promoting it.
- π Sachs is concerned about the potential for the Ukraine conflict to escalate into a larger war, akin to a 'World War III' scenario.
- π€ Sachs and the interviewer agree on the need for a change in US administration to address the issues in Ukraine and other foreign policy matters.
- π Sachs criticizes the inefficiency of the US defense industrial base, highlighting the disparity in artillery shell production costs between the US and Russia.
- π The Ukraine conflict has exposed the extent of US de-industrialization and the hollowing out of its defense capabilities.
- π Sachs believes that US policy has inadvertently strengthened Russia's military and economic position, contrary to the stated goals.
- π The conflict in Gaza and the Israeli response have led to a humanitarian crisis and a shift in global public opinion, which Sachs views as detrimental to Israel's long-term interests.
Q & A
What was David Sachs' initial stance on the Ukraine conflict?
-David Sachs started advocating against NATO expansion, suggesting it should be taken off the table as it was a significant irritant in the situation.
How did David Sachs become involved in shaping the narrative on Ukraine?
-He began speaking out on his podcast, Allin, and continued to research and share his views on the conflict, despite facing resistance and criticism.
What does David Sachs believe is the biggest foreign policy mistake by the US since the Iraq War?
-He believes the biggest mistake is the policy decision regarding Ukraine, which he describes as a blunder and potentially an even bigger mistake than the Iraq War.
How does David Sachs view the mainstream media's coverage of the Ukraine conflict?
-He criticizes the mainstream media for shading the truth and not accurately reporting the events of the war, in contrast to independent channels which he finds more reliable.
What are some of the sources David Sachs relies on for information about the Ukraine conflict?
-He relies on independent channels such as The Duran podcast, columnists like Step Bryan, and military analysts like Colonel Daniel Davis for accurate information.
What does David Sachs think about the potential for World War III due to the Ukraine conflict?
-He expresses concern that the one-way ratchet of escalating support for Ukraine could lead to a larger conflict, which he refers to as 'World War 3' or 'woke War I'.
How does David Sachs assess the current state of the US defense industrial base?
-He believes the US has de-industrialized and hollowed out its defense industrial base, making it less efficient and capable compared to Russia's.
What is David Sachs' view on the impact of US policy on the Russian military?
-He argues that US policy has inadvertently strengthened the Russian military, making it larger, more industrialized, and more battle-hardened.
How does David Sachs evaluate Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter?
-He believes it has significantly improved free speech online, as it has rolled back censorship and stopped the momentum of expanding categories of censored thought.
What does David Sachs think about the Republican party's stance on Trump?
-He suggests that the Republican party still favors Trump, and that DeSantis would need to be perfect and Trump to botch his campaign for DeSantis to have a chance.
What is David Sachs' prediction for the upcoming US presidential election?
-He predicts that Trump will win the Republican nomination and face Biden in the general election, emphasizing the need for a change in administration.
Outlines
π£οΈ David Sachs on Ukraine and NATO Expansion
David Sachs, a venture capitalist and podcast host, discusses his early warnings about the Ukraine conflict and his views on NATO expansion. He criticizes the mainstream narrative and advocates for a more restrained U.S. foreign policy, drawing parallels to the Iraq War and the potential for a larger conflict. Sachs emphasizes the importance of independent media sources for accurate information and expresses concern over the U.S. policy decisions leading to the current situation.
π Geopolitical Consequences of U.S. Policy
The conversation delves into the geopolitical implications of U.S. policy decisions, particularly regarding Ukraine and NATO. Sachs argues that the U.S. has made a significant foreign policy mistake by not avoiding the war and criticizes the mainstream media's role in shaping public opinion. He warns of the potential for a larger conflict, likening the current situation to the lead-up to World War I, and discusses the fusion of the woke left and neocon right in supporting the war.
π₯ The Escalation of the Ukraine Conflict
Sachs and the host discuss the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, with Sachs highlighting the U.S. administration's role in providing military support and the potential for further escalation. They debate the effectiveness of U.S. defense capabilities and the impact of sanctions on Russia, with Sachs suggesting that the U.S. has underestimated Russia's military and industrial capabilities. The conversation also touches on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the demographic consequences of the war.
ποΈ The Gaza Conflict and U.S. Response
The discussion shifts to the Gaza conflict, with Sachs expressing concern over the U.S. administration's handling of the situation. He criticizes the lack of restraint shown by Israel and the U.S. support for Israeli actions, arguing that this approach is counterproductive and harmful to Israel's long-term interests. Sachs also reflects on the changing narrative around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the potential for increased international backlash.
π€ Political Philosophy and Foreign Policy
Sachs shares his political philosophy, influenced by John Mearsheimer and Pat Buchanan, and discusses his shift in perspective following the Iraq War. He criticizes the neocon foreign policy and the U.S. foreign policy establishment, advocating for a more restrained and realistic approach to international relations. The conversation also touches on the importance of free speech, particularly in the context of Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, and Sachs's involvement in electoral politics.
ποΈ The Future of U.S. Politics and Foreign Policy
The final paragraph focuses on the upcoming U.S. election and the potential outcomes for U.S. politics and foreign policy. Sachs expresses his desire for a change in administration, citing concerns over the current administration's approach to Ukraine. He discusses the likelihood of Trump winning the Republican nomination and his hopes for a more restrained foreign policy under a potential second Trump term, while also acknowledging the unpredictability of Trump's actions.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Venture Capitalist
π‘Ukraine War
π‘NATO Expansion
π‘Neocons
π‘Information Channels
π‘Geopolitics
π‘Public Debate
π‘Woke Left
π‘De-Industrialization
π‘Strategic Autonomy
Highlights
David Sachs, a venture capitalist, discusses his early warnings about the Ukraine conflict and his views on NATO expansion.
Sachs began paying attention to the Ukraine situation in January 2022 and advocated against NATO expansion.
Sachs believes the Ukraine conflict is a result of deliberate US policy and neocon influence.
He criticizes mainstream media for not accurately reporting the situation in Ukraine.
Sachs relies on independent channels for accurate information about the conflict.
He mentions the Battle ofε·΄θ΅«η©ηΉ as a turning point that highlighted the disparity between mainstream and independent reporting.
Sachs considers the Ukraine conflict the biggest US foreign policy mistake since the Iraq War.
He expresses concern about the potential for the conflict to escalate into a larger war, likening it to World War I.
Sachs criticizes the fusion of the woke left and neocon right in supporting the war and opposing peaceful resolutions.
He discusses the inefficiency of the US defense industrial base compared to Russia's.
Sachs believes the US has made Russia's military stronger through its actions in Ukraine.
He highlights the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine due to the conflict.
Sachs discusses the potential impact of the conflict on the US's own readiness for war.
He shares his views on the handling of the Gaza conflict and the reaction of the Israeli government.
Sachs criticizes the lack of restraint in US foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East.
He discusses the influence of John Mearsheimer and Pat Buchanan on his political philosophy.
Sachs reflects on his past support for the Iraq War and how it changed his views on neocon foreign policy.
He assesses the state of free speech on Twitter after Elon Musk's acquisition.
Sachs shares his thoughts on the political future, particularly the upcoming election and the potential return of Trump.
Transcripts
joining me now is my friend David Sachs
he's a venture capitalist at craft
Ventures and host of the Allen Podcast
David it's great to see you in person my
friend yeah good good to be here all
right so David you were the Cassandra on
Ukraine uh have been now for two years
far before it was in Vogue so day one
the Ukraine war is happening you all of
a sudden I mean in some people's
estimation I think especially for the
neocons you come out of nowhere and
you're very counter narrative so where
did that come from just give us some of
the background as to why you decided to
speak out on the conflict from very very
early days and really be intimately
involved in trying to help shape the
narrative away from the mainstream on
Ukraine Aid on how the ukrainians were
doing and on some of the historical
background of the conflict well I
started paying attention to it in
January of 2022 because we covered it on
our podcast so like you mentioned Allin
is a weekly podcast we do current events
uh a lot of business and markets we also
do geopolitics and politics in any event
in January of 2022 the media started
reporting that there was this conflict
that could even become a war and um you
know I was I was a little bit familiar
with uh the conflict and uh with the
idea that NATO expansion was something
that the the the the Russians really
didn't like and um and so I started
advocating on the Pod that just we
should just take NATO expansion off the
table that's clearly an huge uh irritant
here in the the situation and even if
you believe that Putin is just using
that as a pretext for whatever he's
going to do we should Rob him of that
pretext by just saying that you know
Ukraine's not going to become part of of
nat so I started saying that on the Pod
before the war broke out and then uh
when the war broke out I gave a talk
here at American moment uh reiterating
that position and the more I kind of got
into it and uh the more uh I sort of
researched it the more I realized that
this was all kind of the result of a
deliberate US policy kind of a neocon
policy that either wanted this war or
certainly wasn't willing to avoid this
war that NATO expansion they weren't
willing to take NATO expansion off the
table to avoid the war so um so yeah I
just started speaking out about it I
guess using my channels uh to talk about
it and uh the more resistance I got uh
the I'd say the more hysterical
resistance I got the more that kind of
encouraged me I guess I'm just kind of
stupid that way uh and so here we are
two years later yeah I mean you in
particular you drive these people crazy
in a way that I honestly ASP to I I wish
I could be in their heads uh I mean I
guess the criticism that I often see is
like this guy is a sass venture
capitalist he doesn't even know what
he's talking about um but I mean in my
estimation been far more correct on the
conflict than they have so then where
are you getting your information from I
mean this is a question that we get here
all the time like where do you guys get
this information we talked previously I
know about like adva U others you know
we're looking at open source channels
why and where can you look to get the
real information you can help our
audience maybe look in the same places
yeah yeah so it's a very interesting
question so what you do when you're an
investor or or when you're an investor
you have a track record it's very easy
to size up an investor based on their
track record I mean that's all you
really have to do with these information
channels is what do they say was going
to happen and then what actually
happened nobody ever does that in the
information space right so you know I
figured out uh pretty early which
channels were sort of telling the truth
and and which ones weren't MH and the
mainstream media is and isw they were
always really shading the truth or not
telling us what was really happening in
the war and independent channels were
the ones that were giving the the
information that turned out to be
accurate and I think the the Battle of
bachot was really a turning point where
I could clearly see you had um the
independent channels who I really came
to rely on saying that the Russians were
actually winning whereas isw and the
mainstream media were saying that the
Russian attack had had culminated that
was the big word the independent
channels were saying actually the
Russians that created a cauldron so it
was sort of culmination versus cauldron
it turned out the cauldron was exactly
correct that the ukrainians basically
destroy themselves by pouring all these
resources in and then with the sumar
counter offensive same thing so in terms
of like who who do I respect who do I
listen to I mean the Duran as a
geopolitics podcast where they summarize
the war virtually daily they've turned
out to be much more accurate than other
sources step Bryan who's a columnist for
I think Asia times who's a former under
Secretary of Defense so it's weekly
column he's been very uh accurate Daniel
dve Colonel Daniel Davis has been very
good um there's a a Twitter account
called Aiden uh who has a podcast called
um calibrated with Scott I think is is
is his actual name and he's turned out
to be pretty accurate um I'm probably
forgetting there's other ones I to but
yeah this is because people ask us the
same thing and this is you know this
you're someone that I really look to you
know for my information which I'm sure
people will call me out on but I mean I
guess it gets back to the track recer
question and what you're talking about
with the conflict but at the base like
passion level I mean I I can assume I
know I personally I mean I've spoken out
on BLM I spoking on covid a lot of thing
I have never received any more push back
than on NATO expansion on Ukraine
specifically it might be the single most
controversial topic so why do you feel
passionate about it like why do you even
care you know you've got this investment
thing going on I would assume this is
probably not the best thing for that you
know in terms of some of the people the
mill you that you surround yourself with
so why do you care well I just can't
believe what a big blunder the United
States is making I mean this was a
horrible policy decision this is easily
the biggest foreign policy Mistake by
the us since the Iraq War it might end
up being a bigger mistake than the Iraq
War it was entirely avoidable and yet
you have the whole mainstream media
stampeding us into this policy and the
um the sort of the taboo they're trying
to create around it where uh you know
it's a lot like the Iraq War where
anyone who opposed it was considered
unpatriotic or sort of treasonous that's
the argument you're make that is made
today uh in fact I think it's even worse
uh the the sort of the consensus that
they're trying to manufacture around
this so I think that I guess I wouldn't
speak out as much about it if I thought
that the issue is being covered
accurately and it is such a important
issue I mean this could lead to World
War I or what I call woke War I if we're
not careful so uh so I think that you
know just again the the magnitude of the
the policy mistake and the importance of
the issue relative to how inaccurately
it's it's been covered sort of
encourages me to kind of keep posting
about it what do you mean by World War 3
dig into that a little bit Yeah well one
of the things I noticed early on in this
war is that there's been a fusion of the
woke left and the neocon right in
supporting this war and they both
support the same cancellation tactics
they've both tried to make it
unacceptable to um to support the idea
of a negotiated settlement apparently
any kind of peaceful resolution of the
conflict other than total Ukrainian
Victory uh is is pro- Russian in their
View and uh and you know and it's you
saw this actually remember when Elon
came out pretty early in the war with
his peace proposal I think this was in I
think this must have been around
September of 2022 that sounds right it
was in the height of the UK craze I
right exactly yeah and and um and it is
a craze and zilinsky himself came out to
denounce elon's proposal as pro-russian
and there was this huge pylon um but
that and and that's just one example but
the point is just anyone who has
contradicted the official narrative uh
basically gets uh demonized uh as as Pro
Putin as a puppet for the other side
what have you and the problem with this
is it creates a oneway ratchet because
there's only one acceptable position
which is to keep escalating the war and
that is in in fact what we've seen I
mean the Administration has continuously
escalated the type of support they're
going to provide in the beginning Biden
said that providing things like f-16s or
Abrams Tanks or long range missiles
could start World War III now they've
done all those things so we've seen this
pattern where the thing that initially
was considered to be too risky uh
eventually you know becomes normalized
and the discussion we're having right
now led by European leaders like mcon is
well we need in ground
troops and uh and again this has been
dismissed now but the pattern we've seen
is this thing starts to get kind of
normalized by talking about it the fur
sort of dies down and then the the Deep
State kind of does what they want so uh
so I think it's very important that
there is actually uh like a healthy
public debate about this question
because it could lead somewhere TR even
more disastrous than it's already LED I
totally agree so give us the kind of the
forks of the decisions where for where
we go from here so as you said you know
we've got macron and Germany kind of in
a spat here and so it's like macron and
the Brits and then Germany kind of
weirdly in the middle somewhere where do
the Europeans do what do you think that
they're going to do what do you think
the us is going to do let's say we have
two forks here some Aid no Aid and then
finally the ukrainians kind of in this
question where are some possible like
decision trees we could see the conflict
going well it's it's very interesting
the debate you're seeing in Europe um
the the pressure is really on Olaf
Schultz right now to deliver these these
Taurus missiles these long range
missiles um Yen stoltenberg the
Secretary General of natives already
said that it's now acceptable for the
ukrainians to hit targets inside of of
Russia and then you've got macron saying
that uh that he's trying to normalize
the idea of ground troops so where all
of this is is headed is World War III um
if we if we if we go for it uh it's it's
kind of ironic that macron's the one
pushing this because he's the one in the
past who's always talked about strategic
autonomy for Europe that Europe should
making it own decisions apparently what
he means by that is that Europe should
be even more hawkish than the United
States that the that Europe should adopt
the American position but actually push
it even further it's not that Europe
should rethink whether the American
position on this war is actually good
for them uh the the American position on
this war has been disastrous for Europe
it's basically especially Germany has
plunged the Europe e exactly um so in
any event that that's sort of the debate
that's been set up in terms of where
this goes from here uh we will either
escalate or the Ukraine will lose it's
very simple I mean there's nothing
really we can do anymore to help them
and whether this 60 billion or not
passes doesn't matter we're out of
ammunition to give them mean unless
we're going to deplete the stock pil at
are reserve for our own Readiness uh
which would be very dangerous to I
wouldn't put it past them though yeah it
is possible but but the Bas the bottom
line is we don't have the ammunition and
they don't have the Manpower anymore
so and they wasted a lot of time when
they should have been building defensive
fortifications they were sort of
charging headlong into the the
minefields and you know uh during the
summer counter offensive so it's
entirely too late now I think for
Ukraine to be building the proper kinds
of defensive fortifications that they
need so the simple reality is what
you're seeing right now is it's not a
stalemate it's never been a stalemate
it's always been a war of attrition the
ukrainians have been at Tred the the
Russians are getting more powerful they
have more soldiers
uh are enlisting more coming out of
training and their industrial capacity
is really ramping up they have this huge
industrial war machine that they
inherited from the Soviet Union East of
the urals that's now been fully ramped
up and is producing more of everything
more of artillery shells drones tanks
planes everything yeah you know it's
interesting because you go back to 2022
I think it fell off for some of those
too you're like man these Russians you
can't even beat the ukrainians right and
it's like well three years later youve
replaced every single one of these dead
people with conscripts doesn't seem seem
to be that much consternation
domestically you're producing 4 and a
half million shells Europe can barely
deliver half a million if we were to get
into some prolonged conflict Russia
China whatever do you think America how
long do you think it would take America
to actually reach full Readiness because
I fear I truly fear that this war has
only exposed and then further depleted
us to the point where it could take
years to be able to ramp up production
even if we were to really be in a
situation where we had a genuine
strategic interest in front of us and we
may have to make some serious
concessions yeah I think the war has
really exposed the extent to which we've
de-industrialized ourselves and how
we've hollowed out our defense
industrial base uh if you look at
artillery ammunition for example at the
beginning of the war we were producing
about 14,000 shells a month we're now
what two years into it and they've only
as of a few months ago what I saw
publicly reported was that they had
roughly doubled production to 28,000 a
month that's still only what is that
about 300,000 a year it's on10th what
the Russians can do it's pathetic right
and what the Pentagon has said is that
we're going to double it this year and
then dou next year that still only gets
you to uh generously 100,000 a month
which is a quarter to a third maybe of
what the Russians can do now never mind
what they're going to be able to do in
two years so we have figured out or
learned I think just how pathetic our
our dib or has become and the other
thing we've learned is that is how
inefficient it is so the New York Times
reported that the cost to the United
States of producing one artillery shell
is in the5 to $6,000 range it cost the
Russians $600 of course so now at the
beginning of the war you're right the
Russians were accused of being this um
incredibly inept kleptocracy the idea is
that their military was Hollow it would
collapse because you know their
kleptocracy had stolen everything well
as it turns out we're 10 times more
inefficient than they are so what does
that make us if they're a kleptocracy
it's like oligarchic
kleptocracy competence we just have a
different kind of kleptocracy yeah well
see and that's the fascinating part is
you know in many ways people part of the
case for Ukraine Aid is we got to weaken
Russia and I'm like well it seems as if
every step that we've made and by
protracting the conflict you blood you
blood the Army that's very key if we go
in the history of military conflict
we've rapidly increased their
industrialization for their defense
capacity they have become more sanction
proof today than ever before I mean they
seem better capable of mounting even
more aggressive action against the West
I'm not saying that they want to
necessarily then before the war had
happened on top of adding some 800 miles
to our NATO border with the expansion
which goes to the route of the conflict
that we began this interview with so I I
call this Biden's big backfire if you
look at all of his claims at the
beginning of the war they've all come
true in Reverse he said that we would
weaken Russia in order to prevent them
from waging uh this type of War again in
fact we've made the Russian military
stronger it's larger it's larger than it
was before it's produced uh far more
weapons the industrial base is ramped up
plus it's now a battle tested and battle
Harden especially against Western
weapons so it's a much more formidable
military Biden has created on the part
of the Russians than when we started
meanwhile it's the United States that
has seen its stockpiles depleted and
hollowed out uh then you look at the
economic claims that Biden made he said
that sanctions would crush the Russian
economy in fact the Russian economy is
growing faster than any of the G7
economies it's really booming and it's
our European allies economies that have
been crushed by the sanctions so you
know all this all the this policy he's
pursued has really boomeranged and again
come true in reverse then then you take
the humanitarian claims he said that we
would help ease the suffering of the
ukrainians in fact we've led to I think
our support of this proxy war and our
willingness to fight to the last
Ukrainian like Lindsey Graham said this
is the best money we've ever spent using
ukrainians to kill Russians this has led
to uh an unprecedented humanitarian
catastrophe in Ukraine where something
like 10 million plus uh people mostly
women and children have left the country
uh I think at least half a million
casualties killed or seriously wounded
uh and um the population of the country
is reduced from s like 44 million to 28
million yes and if you look at the
demographic pyramid something like 10 to
12 million are pensioners they can't
really work so what we've done is really
leading to the demographic uh death of
this country so I want to shift to Gars
a little bit uh in the early days of the
war in Gaza uh you and I as many others
were warning about expanded war in the
Middle East so we're several hundred
days now or whatever into the conflict
of the Gaza do you still worry about
that in President Biden's handling how
would you rate his conf uh the handling
of the conflict so far well what I said
about in the wake of October 7th the
first thing I said was that uh it's a
little bit of reminiscent of 9/11 that
the purpose of a outrageous terrorist
attack is usually provoking overreaction
yes and I hope that the Israelis would
react wisely and not in the 911 manner
like the United States did it's safe to
say now that the Israeli reaction uh is
exactly it has to be exactly what Hamas
wanted because uh they've created this
humanitarian crisis in Gaza and it's
basically turned uh the whole Middle
East and most of the world against
Israel I mean the I'm actually shocked
by the some of the arguments that I'm
seeing now that this this sort of
decolonization narrative that used to
really just be in academic circles is
now kind of gone mainstream and you're
seeing lots of people on social media
take the position that um that uh that
Israel doesn't have a right to exist you
know which which I strongly disagree
with but but I think this has been that
reaction has been caused by the way that
Israel has reacted to this uh yeah
obviously every action is equal opposite
ex reaction so how how bid handling that
well yeah I think Biden made a huge
mistake of basically going to the Middle
East initially and hugging Netanyahu and
giving him car blanch I mean if you look
at the history of the relationship
between American presidents and uh you
know Israeli Prime Ministers in war It's
usually the American role to pull the
Israelis back from going too far yes so
you know Eisenhower stopped the
israelies from going too far with Suez
uh it let's see it was uh Kissinger
Nixon who stopped him from going too far
in 1973 that's right uh Reagan called up
makan in 1982 and said that stop bombing
Lebanon you're creating a Holocaust
actually use that word so it's
historically been the American role not
to encourage the Israelis to basically
go to the limit but to kind of pull them
back before they do something that
frankly is not in their own interest
never mind ours and uh Biden kind of
missed the opportunity to do that to
kind of set some boundaries on what
America is willing to support and I
think it's been disastrous for the
Israelis I don't think that what they're
doing is in their own interest when they
started bombing Gaza I basically tweeted
that I Al got ratioed for this that yeah
Israel has a right to defend itself what
happened on October 7th was an outrage
and atrocity and yet it's pretty obvious
that indiscriminately bombing a civilian
population in Gaza is going to backfire
horribly on them right and that's what I
see happening so I said that the most
controversial thing has spoken out is
Ukraine I think the discussion you and I
just had why is this so difficult so you
and I swim in right-wing circles I think
it's fair to say or at least you have
you know much longer than I have what
you and I are saying right here is
anathema for a lot of people but it's
self-evidently obvious especially if
you're going to imp play uh if you were
going to Embrace a restraint philosophy
whenever it comes to Ukraine it equally
applies to the inment that we've had
over some 20 some years in the Middle
East with respect to Israel and you can
say that we should as you said take a
leading role and we should try to at
least concur to some restraint for our
own sake if not for you know the
survival of the Israeli state but I
don't see a lot of this discussion David
amongst the right-wing politicians that
I am what explains that what do you
think well I think a lot of people think
that the way to be quote pro-israel is
just to support Israel no matter what
they do and I guess I don't think that's
intellectually honest I mean look I want
Israel to survive and thrive I just
don't see how the current strategy that
they're pursuing is in their long-term
interest I mean at the end of the day
here there's going to be what 2 million
plus Palestinians in Gaza there's
another 3 million plus in the West Bank
that's right where are they going to go
what are you going to do with them I
mean it seems to me that you're
radicalizing that population even more I
mean by again by indiscriminately
killing
civilians which I I don't think you can
argue that they're not at this point um
that uh you know again you're you're
turning this this whole population
you're radicalizing them against you and
then again you're losing the sport of
the world which you know may not matter
in the next month or two but eventually
it seems like it's going to matter it
seems like you look at you look at
polling of young people in America like
18 to 24 year olds really crazy poll
result that of 18 to 24 year olds the
majority believe that Israel should just
be handed over to
now I think that's an insane uh view I
mean I don't support anything like that
but Israel's actions are because they're
going so far are going to f that type of
backlash yeah I mean look we saw so much
of it during after the Iraq War as well
in terms of backlash against the United
States it seems again so self-evidently
obvious and yet you know we come back to
this restraint his philosophy that's
actually something I wanted to talk to
you a little bit about um I've noticed
you you're one of the few people I view
is actually principled within this
discussion I think a lot of people are
very you know the selectively restraint
this whenever they want to be and then
not so who are the people what helped
formed your views so I've seen you've
been attacked previously I think you
were on C-Span in 2002 advocating for
the Iraq War so give us some political
philosophy background of yourself and
you were involved with the teal folks
and all of that so what did you read for
you to arrive at the place that you are
today which I think is very unique for a
lot of people in your position yeah so I
I think the the two intellectual Giants
for me are John mimer and Pap yanan yes
absolutely um so you know Pat sort of
represents this isolationist school of
thought and then mirim represents this
realist school of thought when the two
of them agree I think you can take that
to the bank like 100% accurate and then
when they disagree you have to you have
to think a little bit harder about yeah
see yeah I mean well and so what were
some of the big breaking points for you
post Iraq like what happened just take
us back to that time as somebody who was
kind of involved in the discourse well I
wasn't really involved in the the
discourse around around Iraq I mean some
people doing on me discovered some clip
that that where I was really promoting a
book about um about political
correctness at Stanford at the time and
then I got a question about Iraq and
really I just repeated the conventional
wisdom at the time and I think that when
I saw the result of the Iraq War and
that we had been lied into it I mean so
egregiously um and I don't think there's
any other word for the the the untruth
that we were were told about it that
started to really change my point of
view um on this neocon foreign policy I
mean our going into Iraq and then the I
mean it wasn't just Iraq it was also
staying in Afghanistan for 20 years it
was the you know the covert War we waged
against Syria uh what we did in Libya I
mean these things were it was a total
Fiasco we unleashed um you know
incredible amounts of death and
destruction created this huge Refugee
problem in any event I don't need to
recite all of that but yeah I think
anybody who lived through that and
didn't reconsider American's foreign
policy and to really start asking
questions about the foreign policy
establishment that gave us those Wars
yes hasn't been paying attention I I
couldn't agree more Libya was a big one
for me I I will say just you know
personally I want to you know just shift
gears a little bit you talk a lot about
Free Speech you've helped uh Elon you
know kind of with the Takeover of
Twitter so we've been more than a year
or so in that now what's your assessment
do you think free speech is better on
Twitter is it worse what do you think oh
it's it's much better I mean thank
goodness Elon did that it's the only I
the the the fact or the the the fact
that Elon decided to acquire Twitter I
think is the only reason we have free
meaningful Free Speech online anymore
you have to remember it's not just about
the fact that he rolled back you know
what Twitter was doing uh it's also the
fact that that censorship movement had a
Ament momentum to it and they kept
adding new categories of thought and
opinion that you couldn't you couldn't
say I mean imagine if we had this
Ukraine war under the old Twitter
management I can't uh you remember like
during Co there were all sorts of
positions that we now know are true that
you couldn't say without getting
censored lab leak exactly look it's the
censorship uh it's it's protean and it
morphs in order to protect official
narratives at least that's what it was
doing and and still does at other major
tech companies and so I think that it
the problem would have gotten worse and
worse if Elon hadn't essentially pulled
an intervention by buying Twitter so uh
the other thing is I know you've been
more recently involved in electoral
politics you did this uh the the launch
with Governor DeSantis and I know you
supported him or at least I think you
attended something for so what's your
assessment of what went wrong for that
campaign I you talking a little bit
about it but I mean a lot of people
pointed to the xace that you guys
launched on do you think it was m i mean
not your fault it was good for you uh
but on his part you know was it a
mistake for him to do that do you think
he was too online what what went wrong
for him what do you think you know I
don't think that that Twitter space was
that big a deal we got started 15
minutes late and then the people people
are always looking for something to to
some fault to find look I just think
that uh D's main problem is that the
part wasn't willing or ready to move on
from Trump and um you know Trump would
have to like absolutely botch his
campaign and then D sance would be have
to be absolutely perfect in order to
have a chance and or maybe maybe that
might may not have even worked and the
reality is is that Trump is still pretty
much you know at or near the top of his
game I mean I think that when Trump did
that CNN town hall and he kind of walked
into the lion's den and he kind of
pulled out of his pocket the the tweets
that he said look on January 6 I tweeted
this this this I mean he was ready for
them that's a master yeah he was yeah
Caitlyn Collins had the whole CNN studio
in her earpiece trying to get Trump and
they couldn't get him yeah and I think
everyone's like okay this guy's still on
the top of his game I think that was it
and um and you look De Sanchez didn't
run a perfect campaign but I don't think
it mattered I mean the reality is the
Republican party is still likes Trump so
then politically what do you think is
going to happen in this election what's
your
assessment well I mean if you believe
the polling right now Trump's going to
Wi win okay so it's going to be Trump
versus Biden it's kind of a you and I
are talking on day after super Tuesday
so it's definitely going to be Trump
versus Biden it's not even a controversy
at this yeah I mean uh it's funny how
we've been talking for months and months
and months about whether it's going to
be Trump ver you know it was it was
always inevitable um it was sort of
Unthinkable and yet inevitable at the
same time uh so you know I I think we
really need a change in Administration
in Washington I I get really worried
about this Administration uh about
whether about how objective they can be
on what our next steps in Ukraine are
because just sunca fallacy that they
they may feel the need to protect their
previous policy choices avoid having egg
on their face by continually escalating
the situation in Ukraine and B and by no
means has been the craziest on the
Ukraine war I mean there are people in
Washington like Lindsey Graham even like
Mitch McConnell who wanted more
escalation sooner or like mcon in in
Europe so you know there are forces
pulling him in a direction of even more
escalation and then you know since he
got us into this uh War this proxy war
uh he may his administration may have
the incentive to really keep doubling
down so I think it's really important to
have a change of administration my worry
with the Trump Administration is I
covered it you know extensively at the
time I interviewed him four times at
that time is you could always see that
he didn't particularly care about what
was going on he outsourced I mean he
cared about a few things but he would
Outsource things John Bolton or you know
whoever was running HR Master these
people were nut yeah Pompeo I mean these
people are more psychotic than many of
the people in the Biden Administration
do you think that Trump has learned his
lesson uh do you think that things will
be different in the Trump 2 kind of
policy because that's the biggest
question to me when I want to change the
administration too 100% but with him it
genuinely is like I never know which way
he's going to go who he's well I think I
think I think the biggest knock on the
first Trump term was personnel and that
Trump ended up choosing a lot of people
who didn't support either his policy or
at least policy instincts right and I my
suspicion is he's learned his lesson if
for no other reason than all those
people betrayed
him good for so uh so I think that he I
hopefully he's done with all those
people yeah all right well I hope so
David thank you so much for joining me
my friend really appreciate it all-in
podcast you can go and subscribe highly
recommend it and we'll have a link down
to his Twitter as well where you can go
and check them out so thank you David
thanks for taking the time hey guys if
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