Ana Kasparian — Joe Kent WARNS About Israel's Goals

Even like the early 2000s, the Israelis were much more worried about Iran than the United States was, right? We were much more worried about like Al-Qaeda, like a different branch of Islamic terrorism. So, even when we've been very aligned, we're just different countries that have different objectives. I think that in this particular operation, again, where interests were aligned is we wanted Iranian conventional military power to be much weaker, to be decimated. You know, the the Israelis shared that objective. Do I think that there are maybe I don't know if Bibi thinks this, but do I think there are people within Israeli society who would like to turn Iran into Libya? Basically, a failed state with 90 million people? Probably, but I I don't know that Bibi wants that. I've actually never had that conversation with him. It'd be an interesting conversation to have. I'll tell you right now, is Iran turning into a Persian Libya good for the United States of America? Absolutely not. >> I mean, it wouldn't be good for the global community. Iran is a country of 92 million people, and for all the complaints we hear about these mass migration events, these refugee crisis is that that take place, this would be one hell of a refugee crisis. If, you know, Israel, and I do also believe Netanyahu were to get their way in turning Iran into a failed state. But Joe, I want to ask you about something that I'm increasingly concerned and worried about because you have pretty prominent voices on the pro-Israel side who are just saying it out loud, and Mark Levin happens to be one of them. Just yesterday, he made reference to Israel's nuclear weapons. And I'm worried that it's going to get to a point where they're genuinely going to consider dropping a nuke on on Iran. I'm curious what you think about that. >> I'm very concerned about it as well. This has always been the the big concern with trying to find a military objective in Iran because, you know, taking any kind of like morality off the table, if you want total capitulation from a country that is the size of Iran that has, you know, the the demographics, that has the geography, um that has the terrain, especially, that Iran has, even if we even if everyone in America was okay with us sending our whole military over there to fight and we had a coalition, we still couldn't actually go in there and, you know, force our way in and occupy the entire country in an effective way. It'd be a bloodbath of an insurgency. So, whenever you play out the military equation, the only way to get that military solution or that total surrender, that total capitulation, it literally is what we did in in Japan. I mean, and and obviously morally America doesn't want to do that, but again, this goes back to Israel and us have drastically different views on how to fight. So, I think there is a scenario that exists. I don't know how likely it is, but there is a potential where Israel does say this is existential to us. We feel that Iran is going to get some kind of advantage, they're going to survive. Now they're in a more powerful state, which they actually are because of the war. Now, then where does that leave Israel? And so, that does concern me that there are hardliners there that would consider it. And and I don't know if we would be if they made that decision to go forward with it, I don't know if we would be able to act in time to to actually stop them. And this is why I think right now that the president, and I think he's leaning this way, we do need to meaningfully restrain Israel. So, they start having these hard conversations back inside of of Israel like, "Hey, do we want to lose American aid forever right now at this very moment when we picked fights with pretty much everybody? Or do we want to be able to rejockey our position?" Cuz I know they're having those discussions right now in in Israel. So, I think we need to make sure that they they know they can't cross that red line for sure. But then also, we are going to continue to take away support from them because we want to ensure that they are restrained because that that's never happened to them before. So, I think if we're not strong in a moment like this, something catastrophic like that could happen. >> Yeah, so I want to ask two more questions about the future because it leads to what you just said about how they've never been restrained, which is a kind of an amazing fact, right? That this country with a population of Papua New Guinea has never been restrained by America, right? We've always said yes to them, no matter how absurd the ask, no matter how big the ask, etc. And today Times of Israel had an article where they explain quote Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to use pro-Israel senators and right-wing media personalities to influence the terms of a final agreement between the US and Iran. And so, and you know, here I'll show the track AIPAC for some of these senators right now. Like Bill Cassidy's taking at least 500 These are always at least guys cuz they get a lot more into their super PACs, but $536,000 from AIPAC. He's the guy who said Reagan would be rolling around in his grave, which makes no sense because Reagan's the guy who withdrew from Lebanon after Hezbollah killed a couple hundred Marines. So, Reagan would have done the same exact thing as Trump, at least. >> [snorts] >> Ted Cruz has gotten 1.4 million. Tom Tillis has gotten 405,000. And these guys are all Roger Wicker, 533,000. [snorts] And these guys are all currently attacking Trump. You know, the rule was you never attack Trump. Look at this, Joe Kent left the administration and he's a heretic and he should be destroyed. But yet when Netanyahu snaps his fingers and says, "Hey, pro-Israel senators that are pretending to be Americans, attack." [clears throat] They attack Trump and there's no consequences. So, given all of that, I'm a little worried that Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin has talked about, "You know what? Maybe we come to this come back to this issue and this war after the primary." Because they know that they have Congress in their back pockets. So, how much do they do you think they have Congress in their back pockets and how much does that make you worry about what happens after the primaries? >> Yeah, I mean this is a pretty concerning because what what the Israelis did after midnight hammer, they realized I mean everybody remembers the famous clip where Trump walked out on the on the on the White House lawn and he said the Israelis and Iranians don't know what they have to do and he kind of got BB to stop then and so they did back off momentarily. They were happy I think that we we did the the operation midnight hammer that gave Trump some some confidence that we can conduct those operations, but they did come off the trigger just a little bit and they were more subtle throughout the summer, fall, and winter. I think they realize that I'm sure that there's some argument being made inside Israel right now. Let's back off. Let's let Trump breathe throughout the midterms and then let's come back with a vengeance you leading with our senators, our congressmen, etc. Let's make sure that all of them cuz all of them right now that are up for election in November, they need those campaign donations. So, they they could in a very meaningful way I think be more subtle. What kind of works in in I guess our advantage here is that I do think BB Smotrich and Ben Gvir and these guys, I don't feel like they're thinking that tactically. I mean at least BB maybe a little bit, but Smotrich, Ben Gvir, and like some of the more hardliners in Likud, they seem to want to try to force this and if the more they force it right now, the mood that Trump appears to be in, the more they try to force it, the more I think he is going to push back. I just hope that we can hopefully get through to President Trump or President Trump realizes that you know the strong words aren't going to do it, that we've got to actually take away a good deal of the aid from Israel and then look at them and be like this can get much worse. Like we can take away even more from you guys. Do you really want to keep pushing? And then I think the more just light that we can shine on the influence that AIPAC and all these other groups have on getting congressmen and senators elected and and make that issue just radioactive with younger voters who are voting in larger and larger numbers, the more power the American people are going to have to actually have ourselves represented and and not just be bought out from under us by all these these moneyed interests. >> Final question for me because I'm very curious what you think. Now, Iran has made clear that their red line is Israel continuing its occupation of southern Lebanon, continuing to batter not just southern Lebanon. I mean, they keep going further north with their bombing campaign. In the case where Iran retaliates, they make good on their promise. They retaliate against Israel as it's battering Lebanon. Do you believe that President Trump will intervene in an effort to intercept missiles or or protect Israel as, you know, this confrontation occurs? >> I think in that in that last exchange when the Iranians shot at Lebanon, we we withheld. We at least didn't get involved. I mean, that's that's debatable because we we still gave them a lot of the equipment they used to shoot them and intercept as well, but we didn't get get proactive and intercept those missiles. So, I I think right now, especially with Israel continuing to do operations in Lebanon, if I were the Israelis, I wouldn't count on it. And then then the Israelis have to ask themselves, "Okay, if the Americans aren't going to come and bail us out because we've we've pissed off Trump so much, how many barrages can we withstand from the Iranians before it starts to make a huge difference here and they start taking casualties? If I were the Israelis, I wouldn't want to have to figure that out in real time while the missiles are raining down. And honestly, like right now, considering how President Trump is is speaking and speaking towards the Israelis, I I wouldn't want to test it if I were them, either. But again, like I'm not sure how much rationality there is there with that Likud faction, but I I think the the more clear that we can be to the Israelis right now and start taking things away from them, the better chance we have of preventing all that and at least make them go into like a pause mode where they're not doing all these offensive operations in Lebanon. And again, that gets us closer It gets us closer to the deal and I think that the the more time that the ceasefire holds and the more talks that there are and I'm really hoping at some point there's direct talks between at least the vice president and Iranian officials, if not the president and the Iranian president. The more of that that happens, the harder it's going to be for us to get sucked back into this war, but we're in a really sensitive time period right here. >> Yeah, so [clears throat] my last question is a good follow-up from that because you're right, there's a debate within Israel. We saw Jonathan Cornicost the other day telling Mario Nafal, "Oh no, without America we can't do these wars. Just militarily, strategically, we just don't have the capacity to do that." I mean, >> [clears throat] >> Mark Levin and the others here always puff up their chests and say, "Oh, Israel's the greatest country in the world. We can do anything, right?" But like real strategists are like, "Are you kidding me? We're a tiny country that's like nearly irrelevant without the might of America. We got nothing, right?" So, okay, so that's one camp. The other camp is Ben-Gvir and Smotrich going, "Oh no, no, Southern Lebanon is now part of Israel. We're never giving it up. It's part of Greater Israel. We're never, ever going to leave." And if Iran says, "No, you must leave," that sets up a scenario where Iran and Israel go to a full-scale war without us. So, is that possible because of course if Israel starts taking more and more casualties cuz they start running out of interceptor missiles, they're going to howl and they're going to say, "Oh, it's a new Holocaust. Oh my god, just because we were trying to murder them and take Southern Lebanon and destroy everyone in their government, I can't believe we lost a single person. America owes us, right?" And so and all the Wickers and the Cruzes are going to come out and go, "America owes Israel. America owes Israel. We can't let a single Israeli die." etc. So, there'll be enormous pressure. And what I can't figure out is that last step. If Iran and Israel are in full-scale conflict, can is it possible that we would sit it out? Or does that mean no, by definition, you're going to get we're going to get dragged back in? >> I mean, I think obviously we'd be under immense pressure. The president would be under immense pressure from, you know, a ton of Republican senators, Democratic senators, too. And the same thing with the house, and then also the donors. And I think they would launch a a, you know, a pretty effective public relations campaign to try and get the president involved. And it would be very challenging for him. And it would be a I think a big media fight. But again, I I think this is why we need to take away things from Israel right now and be very, very frank with them. And I I don't think the Israelis should be in the business. I know some of them are probably considering it. Like I think Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, I think their rationale is, let's keep pushing until the war expands, and then America will have to get involved. But again, I I just don't think that that's necessarily going to hold up because I I think that they have just crossed the line so many times that the president right now would be inclined to just let them try to fight it out on their own. If their theory of the case, what they have all their talking heads saying, is that, you know, Israel can stand on its own, and it really doesn't need the American aid, I mean, there is a scenario I think that exists that President Trump could say, "Okay, fine. Well, you guys prove it." But I just we've got to be clear with them right now that this deal has to hold. They've got to cut it out in Lebanon, or this is going to forever change our relationship with Israel, and they will go it on on their own if they continue to to attempt to disrupt the deal. >> Yeah, I'm really glad we did this segment together because based on your last couple answers, I'm now sure that Netanyahu himself is insatiable. I mean, he did a video today saying we're never leaving southern Lebanon. So, that that means they're definitely to try to drag us back in militarily. Like they're going to They're almost going to set up a situation where they know they're going to get hit, {quote unquote} bad enough, that they get to cry to America and say, "You now must defend us since we got ourselves into a mess we can't get out of. We need daddy's help." And then, what happens at that point, as we all three of us just talked about, we don't know. >> Right. >> We know what should happen, which is see you, wouldn't want to be you. If there's a problem with the war you ordered, maybe you shouldn't have ordered it. >> But as as Trump is under that tremendous pressure, I think it's important to give him credit where credit is due. Even though I am furious that we entered the war to begin with, right now he's dealing with that pressure, and one thing I know about Trump is he loves admiration and validation. So, if people are giving him credit for pulling out, um I think that that will help him kind of hold the line, if you will. >> Yeah. So, uh we'll see how that goes. >> too. I mean, just the the the tone from Trump and the and and the tone from the vice president, I mean I mean, they are praising him right now. Uh and I think most Americans after this war for the last, you know, 60, 70 days, they're really, really excited to see someone actually holding the Israelis accountable. So, if I were the Israelis, I wouldn't count on that bet. It's it's a huge gamble for them to make. >> Yeah, I mean, look, when Vance uh gave the speech uh saying the the Israelis better know their role, right? Basically. There was like an explosion of joy in the country. Like I saw it on social media, right, left, didn't matter. I mean, we got left-wingers like us going, "Attaboy, J.D. Vance." Which I didn't think I'd ever said in my life. >> Yeah. >> So, I mean, it's great to see a single American politician stand up to Papua New Guinea. I mean, Israel. >> [laughter] >> Uh okay. All right, Joe Kent, thanks for joining us, brother. We appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets his wings. Totally not true, but it does keep you updated on our live