BREAKING: Trump Says 18 Deaths Are “Small Potatoes” | Command Post

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of command post i'm joined as ever by our very own lieutenant general mark hurtling general we got to react to uh a pretty bizarre uh interaction president trump had today with the press uh you've seen this right you watched what he said i have and we do have to do a special command post on this because if we were truly in a command post this would be causing a whole lot of chaos and dysfunction in terms of how to figure this out what he's saying especially if you're in a command post and you hear your commander-in-chief say what he just said we might as well just hang it up and pack up the the tactical operations center and go home well you know you raise an interesting point we have to start with this uh are we at war this has been a question that we've gone back and forth on a bunch for reasons mostly of the administration trying to avoid congressional oversight uh the president just shared this today september 4th on his social media platform uh that the uh the lunatics democrats would ever wanted us to lose the war war in iran not an excursion not a special military operation the war he wants to win the war and then uh also today same day same person he was asked is this a war chris can we can we play clip four please uh the vice president said yesterday that he would not describe the conflict with iran as a war but the u.s resumed strikes for the first time in recent weeks can you explain to the american people if this is not a war what exactly is it well i'll tell you what a lot of people don't call it a war i call it a military conflict because it's it's small potatoes for us it's not a big thing we did venezuela and we did this and venezuela we lost nobody and this we lost 18 people uh and uh in vietnam you lost a hundred thousand people and in other conflicts you lost a hundred thousand people and in other conflicts you lost a hundred thousand people and in other conflicts you lost tens of thousands of people uh i would say that it's intermittent you know we do intermittent strikes so and i heard what he said and it was interesting because i think that there's a lot of truth that we're not fighting right now there's no fighting we're taking out a lot of oil we control the harmless trade and we control it very strongly mr president 18 people have died in this certainly doesn't feel like small potatoes 18 service members have died we're seeing record long deployments you initially said this record long why is it record long the second era how long were we in vietnam how long were we in vietnam we're seeing right now how long were we in vietnam we're in five months now we've been and you know what we did in five months they're not going to have a nuclear weapon that's what we did iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did you probably wouldn't be standing here very long where do you want to start with this hi i don't know there are so many things in there we could pick apart there were not a hundred thousand people killed in vietnam there were about fifty five thousand people killed in vietnam i don't know what you're talking about i don't know how many people were killed in vietnam i don't know what you're talking about i don't know how many people were killed in vietnam i don't know how many people were killed in vietnam i don't know how many people were killed in there was nobody deployed to vietnam for 10 years so there are so many things ben so there are so many things ben so there are so many things ben that are infuriating about this but the that are infuriating about this but the that are infuriating about this but the one that one that one that takes the cake obviously is 18 deaths takes the cake obviously is 18 deaths takes the cake obviously is 18 deaths are small potatoes this is a small are small potatoes this is a small are small potatoes this is a small potatoes potatoes potatoes um that that's the part that i think the um that that's the part that i think the um that that's the part that i think the president president president uh as much as he's trying to uh as much as he's trying to uh as much as he's trying to um put something in context um put something in context um put something in context using other wars other fights other using other wars other fights other using other wars other fights other deployments the more he is really deployments the more he is really deployments the more he is really radically screwing it up uh because he radically screwing it up uh because he radically screwing it up uh because he doesn't know what he's talking about doesn't know what he's talking about doesn't know what he's talking about uh you know uh you know uh you know even the earlier clips about what the even the earlier clips about what the even the earlier clips about what the lanes are open in the strait of hormuz lanes are open in the strait of hormuz lanes are open in the strait of hormuz the ships are coming out we're getting the ships are coming out we're getting the ships are coming out we're getting oily out the one big one was we control oily out the one big one was we control oily out the one big one was we control iran iran iran we control iran i didn't never know we we control iran i didn't never know we we control iran i didn't never know we could control could control could control another country but again we could sit another country but again we could sit another country but again we could sit here and turn this into a war college here and turn this into a war college here and turn this into a war college seminar seminar seminar and break down the words that he used and break down the words that he used and break down the words that he used just now just now just now to a bunch of people standing around his to a bunch of people standing around his to a bunch of people standing around his desk with a lot of people standing behind desk with a lot of people standing behind desk with a lot of people standing behind him at the desk him at the desk him at the desk and him pontificating about a subject and him pontificating about a subject and him pontificating about a subject he knows very little about as the he knows very little about as the he knows very little about as the president of the united states and the president of the united states and the president of the united states and the commander-in-chief commander-in-chief commander-in-chief yeah it seems to me with all of his yeah it seems to me with all of his yeah it seems to me with all of his statements what he's really struggling statements what he's really struggling statements what he's really struggling with with with is how to think about and how to talk is how to think about and how to talk is how to think about and how to talk about about about the cost benefit analysis and it is a the cost benefit analysis and it is a the cost benefit analysis and it is a very difficult thing to do what do they very difficult thing to do what do they very difficult thing to do what do they think presidents have to do it's a thing think presidents have to do it's a thing think presidents have to do it's a thing senior commanders like you have to do senior commanders like you have to do senior commanders like you have to do where you have to say you know is there where you have to say you know is there where you have to say you know is there are there national security objectives are there national security objectives are there national security objectives that are worth asking people to give up that are worth asking people to give up their lives their lives their lives and sometimes the answer is yes and and sometimes the answer is yes and and sometimes the answer is yes and we're very lucky that we have people we're very lucky that we have people we're very lucky that we have people who are willing to give up their lives who are willing to give up their lives who are willing to give up their lives for a greater cause for a greater cause for a greater cause trump here is struggling because trump here is struggling because trump here is struggling because he can't really articulate factually he can't really articulate factually he can't really articulate factually what the greater objective here was what the greater objective here was what the greater objective here was because he's changed it so much because he's changed it so much because he's changed it so much it wasn't regime change it certainly it wasn't regime change it certainly it wasn't regime change it certainly wasn't helping the iranian people that wasn't helping the iranian people that wasn't helping the iranian people that didn't work out didn't work out didn't work out he's falling back on this well they he's falling back on this well they he's falling back on this well they won't have a nuclear weapon won't have a nuclear weapon won't have a nuclear weapon which wasn't exactly what his rationale which wasn't exactly what his rationale which wasn't exactly what his rationale was when he began operation epic theory was when he began operation epic theory was when he began operation epic theory in the first place he said that was in the first place he said that was in the first place he said that was already accomplished and also it's not already accomplished and also it's not clear that has anything to do with what's happening now in the street of Hormuz. He can't come out and say, well, all these people died and we're actually slightly worse off than we were in February before this war started. So instead he's saying, well, it's not as bad as Vietnam. It's not as bad as Vietnam. So there. I don't know how that argument is supposed to be persuasive. The other part of the argument that I found a whole lot offensive, I won't say a little offensive, was when he did mention the denuclearization of Iran. And he said, if I hadn't done what I had done, you'd be dead right now, saying that to a reporter, in effect, saying, well, they would have put a nuclear weapon on your head and Israel wouldn't exist anymore and they'd be shooting at Europe. How do you go from trying to contain a nuclear production facility to immediately assuming this nation is going to start throwing nukes all over the world, and especially if it's going to be a war, especially at a reporter in Washington, D.C., standing in the Oval Office? It just is so, Ben, there are so many words to describe it, but the one I keep going back to is silly. It's silliness. We are run right now by a couple of guys who are doing things only for their political survival. Nothing else. Nothing that's helping the United States of America. It is their sole political advisor. And they're trying to make us as Americans feel dumb about what they're doing. And it's increasingly obvious to anybody that understands national security or how things work that they are not doing anything for us. They're doing it to survive or to attempt to survive. You mentioned this earlier. Trump also said in the course of his rather disorganized statement, we have essentially taken over Iran. Chris, can we play clip one? We have essentially taken over Iran. Now, there's been no shooting for days. Before the hit that we gave them the other night to wipe out their radar. They're very sophisticated. They brought in radar because we knocked it out once. Now we knocked it out twice. Now we don't notice any activity. I think they're tired of putting it in and getting blood. But the Strait of Hormuz is taking a lot of ships. We're getting a lot of ships out of there. A lot of oil is coming out of the Strait. There are no mines whatsoever. We have no mines. You know why? We took out all the mines. They had some mines. We took them all with our minesweepers. They go underwater. Nobody can see them. The best in the world. So we're doing a great job. And we will. I would say it's a military conflict. If you want, some people could go to it. I don't think it matters what you call it. What matters is the fact that we have had tremendous success. We stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon. General I want to paint you a hypothetical here. You're a commander. And one of your subordinate officers comes to you on Monday and says, good news, General. We destroyed the target. And you say, great. Then he comes to you Tuesday and says, good news, General. We destroyed the target again. The same one. Is that good news? That's not good news. And I'd also be looking at other people in the Tactical Operations Center, the command post, and saying, do we have minesweepers here? because there are no minesweepers in the United States Navy right now. Yes, they disabled some of the mines, but his implication is there's these boats that are going underwater and taking care of the mines that are, and that's not true even in and of itself. But, you know, Ben, I've been trying to figure out what must be going on in either the Oval Office or the Situation Room. And I think I've come to the conclusion that he has a lot of people who are very knowledgeable come in and tell them what they're striking, what their kinetic strike package is, what intelligence they're gaining. And he's picking up snippets of things and feeding them back to the press like today, and it's just confusing as hell. So they told him, you know, he probably said, well, what did you hit last night? And they said, well, we hit, you know, a mine lane missile. We hit a missile. We hit a radar. Oh, you hit a radar? Oh, that's good. I know a little bit about radars. I kind of know what radars are because my uncle was an MIT professor. And that becomes the topic of discussion to the press. I think that's what's going on. Now, I'm presuming that, but I've talked to bosses in the past where I've tried to give them a load of information and they latch upon a snippet and that becomes the key story. And it's not accurate. And it's not true. It's not helping the American people. And it's not the fact that we're not in a war. We are in it. And he also said, you know, we haven't struck in a couple of days. They struck on Wednesday. That was two days ago. So, okay. Yeah, so weird flex, but okay. Winning never sounded so good. What would you do if you won big? 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We're prohibited by law. 21 plus terms and conditions apply. What do you think of the statement, "We have taken over Iran"? Huh? Yeah, it's the 51st state, I guess, because it only has 92 million people and it's three times the size of Iraq. And it is -- I'm not sure what "taken over" means in the first place. If he's saying we've secured the Strait of Hormuz, that would be a stretch. But taking over Iran is an impossible task. And if so, we're in big trouble if we've done that. Yeah, I cannot -- maybe he means, since he sort of tends to think in financial monetization, monetary, sort of narrowly economic terms, that, like, we have a blockade on their southern coast, so we've taken them over economically. But even that is not really true. I have no idea what he's talking about. Well, this is the commander-in-chief, remember, Ben. This is a guy who is supposed to have control and understanding of the intelligence community, the State Department, the Department of Defense, the Commerce Department, everybody else. And he's comparing basically a snatch-and-grab operation in Venezuela, which was highly successful by special operations forces, a relatively small group with a lot of aircraft, but a whole lot of intelligence, and a synchronized, coordinated action with attempting to return to normal in a major oil platform and against a major country that is having none of this nonsense. It's just -- it is -- it's not comparable, so I'm not sure why he keeps going back to Venezuela. Yeah, well, he did it again. Sorry, Chris, I'm going to go a little bit out of order here, because this is -- this is actually the clip that I think is the most troubling, and it sort of wraps up everything that we've been talking about so far and adds a new, very unsettling spice to it. So, Chris, if we could play clip three, and then, generally, I want to hear your response. We've been in there for five months, and in five months, what did we do? We stopped them from having a nuclear weapon. If we didn't go in there, you wouldn't have Israel right now, you wouldn't have the Middle East, and they probably would go out -- European cities and our cities next. But we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon in five months. And you know what? We lost 18 souls, 18 great souls. I was there to greet the families of those people at Dover, and they're great. I got very friendly with some of the families. They were incredible families. But -- and one is too much, but in Vietnam, we lost -- tens of thousands of people. In Afghanistan, we lost a lot. Sleepy Joe Biden lost 13 just by standing at an airport, an airport that they shouldn't have been in because they should have used Bagram, not the local little airport right in the middle of the city. They lost 13. But they lost 78 people in terms of their arms, their legs, their face was just wiped out. You don't mention that. What we've done is amazing. We've done a great job. Let's put the Bagram airfield to rest first, Ben, if we could. Okay. Let's start with that. So the two airfields in Afghanistan that the U.S. forces were using, Bagram was one of them. When you get a message from the Secretary of State Pompeo that a deal has been reached with the Taliban -- Under the Trump administration. Under the Trump administration. And we will withdraw by May. What you do as a military commander is you start looking for facilities where you can withdraw from, closing them down as fast as you can and narrowing it into one place. That is what we did. And under the Biden administration, they didn't do the closure in May because the military came back to the President and said, we can't get out of here that fast. We need more time. So they extended it until the August timeframe. And was it a mess? Was the noncombatant evacuation operation conducted in Afghanistan a mess? Yes, it was. Were 13 people killed at Abbey Gate because of an explosive device? Yes, they were. Suicide vests are relatively common in many Middle Eastern and Far Eastern countries. So that's a further explanation. But he keeps coming back to that. That there were 13 people killed at Abbey Gate. And that's true. But you have had 18 people killed and 700-plus wounded in a war of choice. You can't blame that on Biden's actions in Afghanistan. You just can't do it. So this is, you know, the whole face of this, Ben, and what we've been talking about because of the confusing language, the unsupportable comments, the lack of understanding of what is happening boils down, I think, to one issue. And it's why we're, I think, on the air tonight talking about this in a special episode of Command Post. We have lost trust in our leaders. And when you lose trust and they continue to feed the fire and feed the flames of that loss of trust, we're going to do nothing but cause people to be pissed off. And truthfully, I try and be an analysis. I try and give analysis. I try and be an analyst and stay true to my military roots and say, here's what's right and here's what's wrong. But this is really starting to piss me off. And I think it's pissing off a lot of other people, too. Understandable that it would be. I mean, it's pissing me off. I mean, we have to talk about the way the president of the United States, sitting in the Oval Office, just gave this weirdly gruesome but also sort of not clinical, just like very sort of weirdly like grossed out but unfeeling sort of inhuman kind of description of, I don't know if these were soldiers who were killed or wounded or what he's talking about. We know Trump has a whole long history with wounded soldiers. And he hates seeing people who have suffered combat wounds. But, like, that is not. That is not, to my ear, a respectful or productive way to talk about people who were wounded in the service of the country. I mean, it's just gruesome and awful. He's describing a video game or a movie. It's war porn is what I call it. It's war porn. It's the same reason we're seeing repeated images of CENTCOM striking targets. And it doesn't matter a bit. It matters that the CENTCOM commander is hitting the targets he's being asked to hit. But the American people who they think they're impressing, it dates back to Desert Storm and early days of these shock and awe campaigns where if you show enough explosions of things getting blown up, people think you're successful. And that's not the case. You're not always successful because you blow things up and you can't kill your way out of this. And whenever the president keeps saying, I'm going to obliterate Iran and we're going to strike them again and kill more people. It's his attempt at saying we're going to be able to kill our way out of this. And that's not how you end a war. Yeah. Also, it's made very clear he's not going to do it. He's threatened it like 18 times by now and never followed through. So, I mean, maybe that's the art of the deal. I don't know. But not even the Iranians seem to take it seriously at this point. Moving on from Iran, we also have to talk about another maddening thing Trump said at this press conference. Because why not throw in a little Putin while we're there? Chris, can we play the last clip, please? Clip number two. Watch that Putin would never attack NATO territory. Now Germany is blaming Russia for an explosive attack. The drone found at a German airport, isn't that an attack on NATO territory? I don't think that Putin will be. I speak to him. I know him very well. Putin's not looking to attack NATO territory. Oh, I have a follow up question. Can I play reporter now? Yeah, go for it. All right, Mr. President, why did you send CIA Director Radcliffe to Moscow on a secret mission if Putin's A-OK and everything's fine? And oh, by the way, why? Why also did the intelligence community just release notification that Putin actually is trying to attack and bring asymmetric warfare against several NATO member countries? It's a great question. This is this reminds me of the moment in Trump's first term when he had a summit with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, and someone asked him, well, what do you what about the the very well researched, well documented, pretty obvious case of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Well, what about the the very well researched, well documented, pretty obvious case of Russian interference in the 2016 election? And he said, Oh, well, I trust Putin. I don't see he said he didn't do it. So I guess he didn't do it. And he sided with Putin over the American intelligence community. This is that I have one more one more point to that. Yes. 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