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Obama's Colossal Mistake That Could Get Us Into a Proxy War With Russia

October 06, 2016
Lori Hanes

Writer

Barack Obama wants to go to war with Syria? Those words are evidently floating around the capitol.

"That is a very thinly veiled proxy war with Russia. A colossally bad idea," Glenn said Thursday, kicking off his radio program.

RELATED: Russia Tells Citizens ‘Nuclear War With the West Could Happen Soon’

Not only is it a bad idea, it's also unconstitutional; only Congress can declare war. But don't worry. Obama reveres the U.S. Constitution and always follows it to the letter.

Read below or listen to the full segment for answers to these colossally important questions:

• What other U.S. war was a proxy war with Russia?

• Does Vladimir Putin perceive the U.S. to be weak?

• Is Vladimir Putin on a mission to restore the Russian empire?

• Why did the U.S. suspend diplomatic relations with Russia in Syria?

• What excuse would Obama give to enter into war with Syria?

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN: Hello, America. And welcome to the program. We were just talking about a new -- I got a call from a couple of people in Washington yesterday because there are new voices floating around the capitol that Barack Obama wants to go to war with Syria. So you know, that is a very thinly veiled proxy war with Russia. A very -- a colossally bad idea.

Mike Lee is going to be on, either today or tomorrow to talk a little bit about that. He posted something on Facebook yesterday, actually made me call him. And I said, "What -- why is that?" He posted on Facebook about the separations of power for the president and Congress and said, "Only Congress has the ability to declare war, and Barack Obama needs to come to Congress to declare war if he wants to start another one."

I'm telling you, what we said yesterday, we are on the precipice. Nobody wants to hear it. But for those in this 10 million strong audience that are willing to open your mind and listen to something other than partisan politics, it's important that someone sees what's coming. And that someone is you. And we begin there, right now.

(music)

GLENN: We'll find ourselves -- I know.

We're talking about how nobody is going to declare war. Nobody is going to go through Congress. We haven't done that in a long time, but we need to have that conversation. Because I'm telling you, it's coming.

PAT: Yeah. World War II, I think, was the last time. Because Korea was a police action.

GLENN: Yep. Yep.

PAT: And they got approval from the UN. But they didn't get approval from Congress.

GLENN: Right. And we all know how that worked out. And that was a proxy war between us -- Vietnam was a proxy war between us and Russia. And that is what's going to happen in Syria.

PAT: And Korea was a proxy war between us and China.

GLENN: Yep. Enough proxy wars.

PAT: Yeah, we've had enough of those.

GLENN: And this is not going to stay a proxy war. It's not. Vladimir Putin perceives us as very, very weak. And we dismiss them as very weak.

What we don't take into account is the man believes he is on a mission from God to reestablish the -- the Russian empire, the holy Russian empire.

And he is making a pact with those in the Middle East. He has befriended Syria. He has befriended Iran. Saudi Arabia is moving towards the same kind of situation. Saudi Arabia is moving towards Russia and away from us. We're going to have the Middle East and Russia against us. I don't think that's a good scenario at all.

And Barack Obama is now talked about the -- the word in the capitol. And I've heard this from several sources. Is that we're moving towards a war footing with Syria in a proxy war. And Barack Obama is going to say, "We need to do it for humanitarian reasons."

JEFFY: I thought John Kerry just lost an argument that he couldn't use war or significant growth in his negotiations.

GLENN: No, no. I am hoping this is not true. I am hoping this is not true. But I heard those rumors. And I called Mike, and I said, "Why did you post this on Facebook? Why -- because he just sat in front of his computer and said, "Here's what we all need to understand: Congress -- Congress is the one that can declare war." And that was concerning to me. After hearing the rumors and seeing what's happened in Russia -- where as I told you at the beginning of the weak, today is the final day of the four-day 40 million people strong civil defense test in -- in Russia, where they dispatched people all over the country, affecting 40 million people. And they went in for chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons and shut cities and businesses and schools and universities down and set it up as if it was a treatment center. Plus, they had all their fire departments, you know, scrambling. And how do we put out a nuclear fire?

It is a very big deal. Then, as we told you on yesterday's program, Friday, we told you that we had broken off diplomatic relations about Syria with Russia. Then we find out that they are in a civil defense maneuver for four days, affecting 40 million. I've already told you that Putin said that we are going to -- we're already in World War III and he can't get anybody to listen to them. And then on top of it, as we said yesterday, the Soviet or the Russian state television said -- and was quoted yesterday saying that a nuclear war with the United States -- didn't they say seems inevitable?

Look it up. It was -- if it wasn't -- I think inevitable is too strong.

JEFFY: Yes.

GLENN: Seems very likely. Something like that. That we are on the road to a nuclear war.

I don't know if we're on the warpath with nuclear war. I have no idea. But we are entering a game-changing time. Game-changing time.

As game-changing as it was in 1914 and '15 and 1941 -- or, '38.

JEFFY: Imminent.

GLENN: Imminent. Imminent nuclear war with the United States

PAT: It's hard to believe that Obama would send troops to Syria.

JEFFY: It sure is.

PAT: You know, based on everything he ran on. Based on everything he said over eight years. Of course, it doesn't matter what anybody says anymore. Nobody listens. So he could get away with it, I suppose. But it's --

JEFFY: -- more than his belief in sending troops in?

PAT: Yeah. Come on.

GLENN: Okay. So, but let's think this through on history. And history always gets me into trouble. Because history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Okay. So just because someone is repeating the patterns that Adolf Hitler did -- I just had this argument with somebody yesterday: You can't say that so-and-so is Adolf Hitler. I've never said -- let's be frank about it. It was Donald Trump. I never said that he was Hitler. Never said that he was Hitler. Stop it. Only Adolf Hitler is Hitler.

Was he a guy with the initials, A.H. that nobody -- if he was Steve Johnson and he did the same things up until 1933, no one would have a problem with me saying, "Look at, he did exactly what Steve Johnson did in 1920 to 1933." That doesn't mean that he's going to gas 10 million people.

PAT: No. But Steve --

GLENN: That was Adolf Hitler.

PAT: -- was dangerous. Let's be honest.

GLENN: So you can't -- what you have to -- and this is hard for people to do: You have to look at what time period you're talked about.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: There is a huge difference. And past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

STU: Right. If you have ten paths to walk down, they all look very similar early on. Only one of them might end in the worst human tragedy of all the time.

GLENN: Right.

STU: But you don't take the chance to walk down the path even a step.

GLENN: Or you walk down the path with your eyes wide open and say, "Wait. No. You're leaning that way. We have to go this way."

STU: That's correct. We have to make sure we learn the lessons.

GLENN: You learn the lessons from the past so you don't repeat them. And when you see the patterns, you say, "Pattern. Let's make sure we stay off this road."

PAT: That's what learning from history is supposed to be. Right?

GLENN: That's what never forget means, you remember the patterns that got you there. Because no one is born evil.

Featured Image: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016. (Photo Credit: ALEXEI DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images)

EXCLUSIVE: Tech Ethicist reveals 5 ways to control AI NOW

MANAURE QUINTERO / Contributor | Getty Images

By now, many of us are familiar with AI and its potential benefits and threats. However, unless you're a tech tycoon, it can feel like you have little influence over the future of artificial intelligence.

For years, Glenn has warned about the dangers of rapidly developing AI technologies that have taken the world by storm.

He acknowledges their significant benefits but emphasizes the need to establish proper boundaries and ethics now, while we still have control. But since most people aren’t Silicon Valley tech leaders making the decisions, how can they help keep AI in check?

Recently, Glenn interviewed Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist deeply concerned about the potential harm of unchecked AI, to discuss its societal implications. Harris highlighted a concerning new piece of legislation proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation proposes a state-level moratorium on AI regulation, meaning only the federal government could regulate AI. Harris noted that there’s currently no Federal plan for regulating AI. Until the federal government establishes a plan, tech companies would have nearly free rein with their AI. And we all know how slowly the federal government moves.

This is where you come in. Tristan Harris shared with Glenn the top five actions you should urge your representatives to take regarding AI, including opposing the moratorium until a concrete plan is in place. Now is your chance to influence the future of AI. Contact your senator and congressman today and share these five crucial steps they must take to keep AI in check:

Ban engagement-optimized AI companions for kids

Create legislation that will prevent AI from being designed to maximize addiction, sexualization, flattery, and attachment disorders, and to protect young people’s mental health and ability to form real-life friendships.

Establish basic liability laws

Companies need to be held accountable when their products cause real-world harm.

Pass increased whistleblower protections

Protect concerned technologists working inside the AI labs from facing untenable pressures and threats that prevent them from warning the public when the AI rollout is unsafe or crosses dangerous red lines.

Prevent AI from having legal rights

Enact laws so AIs don’t have protected speech or have their own bank accounts, making sure our legal system works for human interests over AI interests.

Oppose the state moratorium on AI 

Call your congressman or Senator Cruz’s office, and demand they oppose the state moratorium on AI without a plan for how we will set guardrails for this technology.

Glenn: Only Trump dared to deliver on decades of empty promises

Tasos Katopodis / Stringer | Getty Images

The Islamic regime has been killing Americans since 1979. Now Trump’s response proves we’re no longer playing defense — we’re finally hitting back.

The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.

Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.

It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.

Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.

The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.

The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.

Operation Midnight Hammer

The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.

USAF / Handout | Getty Images

To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.

As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.

They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.

If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.

This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.

What comes next

We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.

Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.

That would be catastrophic.

The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.

The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?

Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.

Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.

Now we pray

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.

The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.

He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Globalize the Intifada? Why Mamdani’s plan spells DOOM for America

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

If New Yorkers hand City Hall to Zohran Mamdani, they’re not voting for change. They’re opening the door to an alliance of socialism, Islamism, and chaos.

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he's saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Could China OWN our National Parks?

Jonathan Newton / Contributor | Getty Images

The left’s idea of stewardship involves bulldozing bison and barring access. Lee’s vision puts conservation back in the hands of the people.

The media wants you to believe that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is trying to bulldoze Yellowstone and turn national parks into strip malls — that he’s calling for a reckless fire sale of America’s natural beauty to line developers’ pockets. That narrative is dishonest. It’s fearmongering, and, by the way, it’s wrong.

Here’s what’s really happening.

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized.

The federal government currently owns 640 million acres of land — nearly 28% of all land in the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s more territory than France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom combined.

Most of this land is west of the Mississippi River. That’s not a coincidence. In the American West, federal ownership isn’t just a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a stranglehold. States are suffocated. Locals are treated as tenants. Opportunities are choked off.

Meanwhile, people living east of the Mississippi — in places like Kentucky, Georgia, or Pennsylvania — might not even realize how little land their own states truly control. But the same policies that are plaguing the West could come for them next.

Lee isn’t proposing to auction off Yellowstone or pave over Yosemite. He’s talking about 3 million acres — that’s less than half of 1% of the federal estate. And this land isn’t your family’s favorite hiking trail. It’s remote, hard to access, and often mismanaged.

Failed management

Why was it mismanaged in the first place? Because the federal government is a terrible landlord.

Consider Yellowstone again. It’s home to the last remaining herd of genetically pure American bison — animals that haven’t been crossbred with cattle. Ranchers, myself included, would love the chance to help restore these majestic creatures on private land. But the federal government won’t allow it.

So what do they do when the herd gets too big?

They kill them. Bulldoze them into mass graves. That’s not conservation. That’s bureaucratic malpractice.

And don’t even get me started on bald eagles — majestic symbols of American freedom and a federally protected endangered species, now regularly slaughtered by wind turbines. I have pictures of piles of dead bald eagles. Where’s the outrage?

Biden’s federal land-grab

Some argue that states can’t afford to manage this land themselves. But if the states can’t afford it, how can Washington? We’re $35 trillion in debt. Entitlements are strained, infrastructure is crumbling, and the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and National Park Service are billions of dollars behind in basic maintenance. Roads, firebreaks, and trails are falling apart.

The Biden administration quietly embraced something called the “30 by 30” initiative, a plan to lock up 30% of all U.S. land and water under federal “conservation” by 2030. The real goal is 50% by 2050.

That entails half of the country being taken away from you, controlled not by the people who live there but by technocrats in D.C.

You think that won’t affect your ability to hunt, fish, graze cattle, or cut timber? Think again. It won’t be conservatives who stop you from building a cabin, raising cattle, or teaching your grandkids how to shoot a rifle. It’ll be the same radical environmentalists who treat land as sacred — unless it’s your truck, your deer stand, or your back yard.

Land as collateral

Moreover, the U.S. Treasury is considering putting federally owned land on the national balance sheet, listing your parks, forests, and hunting grounds as collateral.

What happens if America defaults on its debt?

David McNew / Stringer | Getty Images

Do you think our creditors won’t come calling? Imagine explaining to your kids that the lake you used to fish in is now under foreign ownership, that the forest you hunted in belongs to China.

This is not hypothetical. This is the logical conclusion of treating land like a piggy bank.

The American way

There’s a better way — and it’s the American way.

Let the people who live near the land steward it. Let ranchers, farmers, sportsmen, and local conservationists do what they’ve done for generations.

Did you know that 75% of America’s wetlands are on private land? Or that the most successful wildlife recoveries — whitetail deer, ducks, wild turkeys — didn’t come from Washington but from partnerships between private landowners and groups like Ducks Unlimited?

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized. When you break it, you fix it. When you profit from the land, you protect it.

This is not about selling out. It’s about buying in — to freedom, to responsibility, to the principle of constitutional self-governance.

So when you hear the pundits cry foul over 3 million acres of federal land, remember: We don’t need Washington to protect our land. We need Washington to get out of the way.

Because this isn’t just about land. It’s about liberty. And once liberty is lost, it doesn’t come back easily.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.