Last night, Bret Weinstein joined ZeroHedge to moderate a debate on the Iran war featuring Curt Mills, executive director ofThe American Conservative(magazine founded by Pat Buchanan), and Max Abrahms, Northeastern University professor and terrorism expert.
The discussion went far and wide. From Chabad to whether the war has strengthened Iranian hardliners to the question of Israeli influence over U.S. policy to how this war affects Russia-Ukraine.
Below are some of the most notable exchanges for those who missed it:
Abrahms argued that claims Israel dictates U.S. policy ignore numerous cases where Washington has acted against Israeli preferences. He pointed to the influence of Tom Barrack, Trump’s ambassador to Turkey who is “absolutely reviled by many Israelis,” and policies such as ending sanctions on Syria, inviting the new Syrian president to the White House, and cultivating close ties with Qatar, Pakistan, and Turkey’s Erdoğan. On Gaza, Abrahms saidDonald Trump “told Netanyahu, you need to stop prosecuting this war against Hamas,”adding that even critics like Steve Bannon acknowledge Trump has been “telling [Israelis] what they can and cannot do.”
Abrahms also cited last June’s “12-day war” with Iran, saying Israel wanted to continue strikes but Trump intervened. “Israel had planes over Tehran and Trump said, ‘I don’t like this’... Literally in the skies over Tehran, the Israeli planes were sent home.”
Mills rejected the framing. “It’s an archetypal straw man.” Conceding that the administration has taken steps “certain people in Israel… don’t prefer,” Mills argued the larger objective remains unchanged:“The holy grail of the Israeli hardline and neoconservatives… has for a long time been an Iran war… and they just got it done.”
Abrahmsaccused Tucker Carlson of blaming “the Jews”for the war, pointing to Carlson’s claim that Chabad-Lubavitch and Christian Evangelicals were at least partially behind the conflict, a theory outlined in hislatest monologue.
Both Mills and Weinstein rejected that accusation.“That’s a far cry from the Jews,”Weinstein said. “There is all the difference in the world between an organization to which some people belong and many do not and the Jews, which is a large lineage.”
Mills argued that the most serious consequence is diplomatic. “I think currently the biggest macro problem actually is that theU.S.’s diplomatic word is getting crushed.” In his view,the war will “harm Trump’s ability to make a deal with the Russians to end the war in Ukraine”and “permanently scar any future president’s maneuverability and diplomacy.”
Mills questioned whether the purported strategic gains aregainsat all.
Source: ZeroHedge News
