RADIOApril 19, 2024

WEAK or BRILLIANT? Israel’s Response to Iran EXPLAINED

Israel has struck multiple targets inside Iran in retaliation for its recent 300-missile attack. But was this limited strike wimpy or brilliant? Former Department of Defense intelligence analyst Jason Buttrill joins Glenn to argue the latter. As opposed to Iran’s massive, but unsuccessful, attack, Israel launched a successful precision attack that showed Iran it could strike the country whenever and wherever it wanted — without Iran knowing. Jason, Glenn, and Stu also discuss why the increased tension in the region is all Biden’s fault. Plus, they review how YOUR tax dollars allegedly went to the families of Palestinian terrorists.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: We're dealing with a true ancient evil in the Middle East. It was -- we have Jason Buttrill here, who is main researcher for the Glenn Beck Program and also watches over military operations, and conflicts all around the world for me.

Explain, what happened yesterday, with Israel, and this wuss response from Israel.

Was this the response? Or a response?

What was this?

JASON: This was a brand response, in my opinion.

GLENN: Was it?

JASON: Well, what Israel essentially did. It's kind of -- all three of us. You asked us, what is going to happen?

We were all collectively right. You said, they would strike back at other targets. Which they did. In Syria and Iraq.

But they also struck in Iran. But it's definitely in the Middle East.

The proxy status is dissolving right before our eyes.

The proxy locations. They hit proxy locations. There's not a whole lot of information we do know.

What it looks to me, when analyzing previous attacks, is that these are locations that have been given Iranian weaponry, specifically like cruise missiles, and shorter range missile systems like the kind that hit Israel.

But they also struck near Isfahan in Iran. That's their main missile manufacturing area is right there.

So this was a very limited strike. I would say, maybe a few planes. Maybe a few planes.

They didn't even. I don't even think they launched the missiles from Iranian territory.

Which means probably somewhere over Iraq. They were able to reach up and touch Iran, without Iran knowing a thing about it. And completely destroying the targets they wanted to destroy.

Iran launched 350 plus missiles. Couldn't kill a single thing. Or destroy a single thing. They did this, in such a way, that showed Iran, we could hit you, whenever we want.

You will never know it. And it will be precise.

GLENN: Such a good thing for the people of Iran.

Because you cannot turn the people of Iran.

JASON: Exactly right.

GLENN: They're not part of this.
JASON: No. And there was no collateral damage that we know of, at the moment. This is how you restore deterrents. This is exactly how -- and let's be honest here. This is not a surprise or a secret, that the proxy status is dissolving in front of us.

And that the Middle East is becoming something new and something terrible. This is the result of foreign policy. This is Joe Biden's foreign policy. He went away from the Abraham Accords.

Reengaged with Iran. Coddled Iran. This is what you get. This is exactly what you get, and it is entirely unmet.

STU: And it's interesting too, that there is a level of deescalation here, by Israel as well.

Like, they did -- yes. This is as far as they have gone, right?

But it is considerably less than what Iran tried to do.

JASON: It's deescalation through strength. Iran has no choice, but to go back to their quote and say, we concluded this concluded. They had no choice.

Because right now, you have a bunch of mullahs sitting around the table going, oh, crap. We're kind of screwed here.

STU: Do you think that's what they will do? Are they going to say -- are they basically going to not respond after this?

JASON: I highly doubt against Israel proper. I highly doubt. I think they go back to the way Israel operates. Because they are decades behind Israel. Texting. And it really is jaw-dropping i mean, not only Israel, but the United States, all of our ally allies, how much far ahead we are against this axis of evil, like Iran, North Korea, russia.

They're crazy, and can do some crazy things. But we are way ahead of them. And as this shows, I mean, it really is kind of breathtaking and amazing just how efficient Israel is.

GLENN: So this not will maybe improve your mood much. But according to the Palestinian Authority's official news outlet, the Palestinian General Intelligence Service on April 4th provided a grant for 36 families perform of agency families who died or were in prison, as a result of their involvement in anti-Israel security crimes.

And they paid their families off, with money that came from us.

PAT: Unbelievable.

GLENN: We will pay the families of the martyrs, and they are using American dollars, that we are giving them to reward the martyrs and the families. So you've always got that one going for you.

PAT: Sorry. American dollars. Going to the Palestinians. Hamas.

American dollars going to Israel. As it should be, I believe, right now. American dollars also going to Iran.

American dollars going to Iraq. American dollars that will be spent when we have to deal with a lot of this stuff.

Where is there not the stain of our ridiculous foreign policy, geopolitics, how we teal with the entire region and world?

We're funding every single side here.

GLENN: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And -- and the right side, we're funding, I think, kind of against the government's will.

I think they will cut off the money for Iran. I mean, I'm sorry. For Israel in a heartbeat. If they could. They could get away with it. They would cut it off in a heartbeat.

Look at what's happening around our own country right now.

And no one is saying anything about it. You have people chanting death to America.

Quoting the Ayatollah Khomeini. In -- in large sections, and large numbers of major cities.

You have the campuses. What happened yesterday, in Columbia?

Police had to come in, and shut the whole thing down, yesterday.

We were talking to the -- the consulate yesterday. The Israeli consulate.

What is the university in New Orleans?

Tulane?

It has 50 percent. 50 percent of the population of Tulane, is Jewish. There are protesters there. And the Jewish students, don't feel safe!

JASON: Yeah.

GLENN: And who is doing anything about it?

JASON: That's why. I understand where Israel is coming from.

But I think they need to mass produce the video they showed us yesterday.

It has to be everywhere. It can no longer be ignorance, for you to chant death to America. That has to do with Iran. Iran greenlit the October 7th -- they have to!

GLENN: I asked them.

I said, look, can I put out a general call and say, come to a movie theater, with me?

And you guys can present it. But you can come in.

You know, we'll vet you in advance. So we know who you are.

And see it. And they said, no.

We can't do that.

STU: They just don't want everyone. What's reasoning?

It's disturbing for the families of these people?

GLENN: No. The families in many of these cases. One of the more disturbing things was the attack on the family. And these two little boys.

JASON: Oh, my gosh.

GLENN: I mean, it was unbelievable. And the mom survived. And she insisted that that video be included.

She's like, no. No. No, no. The world needs to see what happened to my family.

And so what was it she said? She said, we just can't --

JASON: She said, the people that see it, need to have a reason to see it. Or something like that.

GLENN: Yeah. She didn't -- I think their deal is, they don't want to deal in death. You know, they don't want to be seen as just -- but I have to tell you, it is -- it is -- if we could have seen the death camps in advance.

Okay?

If the American people could have seen the beginning of the death camps. And the showers. It's not enough to talk about it.

It just not enough.

JASON: I want to see these people continue to protest in that way.

If they have seen that part of the video and just a quick narration, these terrorists march into a village. They slaughter a dog, that was running up with a happy, wagging tail.

GLENN: Okay. Not an enemy.

JASON: Slaughter the dog.

It was a friendly dog. Then they go through, and you see their body cam turn, as it looks into the screen window. They shoot an old person sitting there in front of the -- behind the window.

You hear them groan and drop. Then you go to this specific voice with the boys. It turns to CCT footage camera.

They're in their underwear. You can tell they're woken up by the gun shots. This is -- the father takes the two kids, hides them. Shields them with his body from a grenade, and he drops instantly. Then the two kids are screaming, why am I alive? Is he dead? Why am I alive?

GLENN: Little kids. Little kids. One of them said.

JASON: Six, eight.

GLENN: Yeah, one of them said to the other, I think we're going to die. And the other brother came and comforted him and tried to, you know, heal him. The little kid had lost the vision in his eye. Couldn't see in both. He's gained back his vision now, in one eye. But the other brother was shielding him.

It was shocking!

JASON: And then, what do the terrorists do? They walk through the house, and start rummaging through their refrigerator. Drinking the juice and the Coke and stuff, looking for food.

It's the most animalist thing I've ever seen.

GLENN: And the kids were smart enough to hide. They ran and hid. I don't know where they hid.

JASON: That was God stuff right there.

GLENN: That was. How they got out of that house alive, and hid. When you saw -- you see the entire community. Everyone is dead. Everyone is dead.

JASON: Yeah.

GLENN: I mean, it was -- it's what happened in Poland, in Czechoslovakia.

When the -- when the people would go into towns. And they would put everybody into a church. They would chain the doors. And they would burn it all down.

And every single Jew in the community was dead. That's what it was.

It's shocking. And how these two kids survived is beyond me, other than a miracle from God.

JASON: I spoke to an IDF guy. He was probably in his 90s. And he was in the six-day war. It was in Sderot.

GLENN: Sderot was hit?

JASON: Sderot was hit as well.

GLENN: I've been there.

JASON: I asked him. How the heck did you guys win? He goes, at times, it felt like God closed their eyes and shut their ears. And that quote came back to me, when those two little boys when you see them run around the corner, when there's terrorists everywhere.

GLENN: There's CCTV footage on this whole area. And so you can follow the kids.

And they're running -- as soon as they leave the door. I don't know. Nobody spoke during this thing. But as soon as they opened the door, I'm like, don't do it. Stay inside. Stay inside.

And they run out. And then you see them running in an open space, between houses. And there are guys just shooting everything. Shooting everything.

And they just run and snake around, and they're not even -- they're kids. They're not trying to be, you know, low to the ground or anything.

They're just running like little kids run, in an open field.

And somehow or another, nobody saw them to kill them.

It's --

STU: Wow. They were survived.

GLENN: They survived. They survived. They survived.

STU: Let me ask you this: How would this play out?

If one of these large protests. The pro-Hamas protests we've been seeing ail around the country.

If you had two thousands of individuals people there, at one of these protests.

And somehow, or one of the big walls nearby, they just played this footage. How does that crowd react to it?

GLENN: That crowd will start saying, very soon, that this is all deepfake.

Let me give you --

STU: They would deny it.

They would be won over. And see the horror.

GLENN: Maybe some would.

The hard cores definitely won't. Hard cores definitely won't.

Let me just give you, this is the polling from the Palestinian territories of Hamas. This is taken after -- after October 7th.

95 percent of the Palestinians when asked, do you think people around you, will forgive what Israel did in this war some day?

This is -- this is asked like October 10th.

No. We will not forgive at all. Seventy-five percent of Palestinians are extremely supportive of the military operation led by Hamas on October 7th.

76 percent of Palestinians. Somewhat positive. Very positive view of the roll of Hamas. 97 percent of Palestinians have a very negative view of Israel.

97 percent, very negative view of the role of America.

84 percent of Palestinians have a very positive view of the roll of Islamic jihad.

74 percent. When presented with a choice of a two-state solution. Or a Palestinian state. From the river to the sea.

74 percent say, river to the sea. When asked about their own preference for the party, who should be in control?

60 percent said, Hamas.

85 percent -- 85 percent, responding to the videos. No. I'm sorry.

93 percent, responding to October 7th.

93 percent said, that they were fine.

That Hamas didn't commit any atrocities. On October 7th.

93 percent, no atrocities!

And you can't tell me, it's just because they didn't watch the videos.

A lot of these videos came from their own video channels.

That everybody is accessing.

And the people on the streets, know exactly what was going on.

JASON: That's the wrong question.

Because they don't consider killing Jews atrocities.

Could passengers have SAVED Iryna Zarutska?

Surveillance footage of the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, NC, reveals that the other passengers on the train took a long time to help her. Glenn, Stu, and Jason debate whether they were right or wrong to do so.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: You know, I'm -- I'm torn on how I feel about the people on the train.

Because my first instinct is, they did nothing! They did nothing! Then my -- well, sit down and, you know -- you know, you're going to be judged. So be careful on judging others.

What would I have done? What would I want my wife to do in that situation?

STU: Yeah. Are those two different questions, by the way.

GLENN: Yeah, they are.

STU: I think they go far apart from each other. What would I want myself to do. I mean, it's tough to put yourself in a situation. It's very easy to watch a video on the internet and talk about your heroism. Everybody can do that very easily on Twitter. And everybody is.

You know, when you're in a vehicle that doesn't have an exit with a guy who just murdered somebody in front of you, and has a dripping blood off of a knife that's standing 10 feet away from you, 15 feet away from you.

There's probably a different standard there, that we should all kind of consider. And maybe give a little grace to what I saw at least was a woman, sitting across the -- the -- the aisle.

I think there is a difference there. But when you talk about that question. Those two questions are definitive.

You know, I know what I would want myself to do. I would hope I would act in a way that didn't completely embarrass myself afterward.

But I also think, when I'm thinking of my wife. My advice to my wife would not be to jump into the middle of that situation at all costs. She might do that anyway. She actually is a heck of a lot stronger than I am.

But she might do it anyway.

GLENN: How pathetic, but how true.

STU: Yes. But that would not be my advice to her.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: Now, maybe once the guy has certainly -- is out of the area. And you don't think the moment you step into that situation. He will turn around and kill you too. Then, of course, obviously. Anything you can do to step in.

Not that there was much anyone on the train could do.

I mean, I don't think there was an outcome change, no matter what anyone on that train did.

Unfortunately.

But would I want her to step in?

Of course. If she felt she was safe, yes.

Think about, you said, your wife. Think about your daughter. Your daughter is on that train, just watching someone else getting murdered like that. Would you advise your daughter to jump into a situation like that?

That girl sitting across the aisle was somebody's daughter. I don't know, man.

JASON: I would. You know, as a dad, would I advise.

Hmm. No.

As a human being, would I hope that my daughter or my wife or that I would get up and at least comfort that woman while she's dying on the floor of a train?

Yeah.

I would hope that my daughter, my son, that I would -- and, you know, I have more confidence in my son or daughter or my wife doing something courageous more than I would.

But, you know, I think I have a more realistic picture of myself than anybody else.

And I'm not sure that -- I'm not sure what I would do in that situation. I know what I would hope I would do. But I also know what I fear I would do. But I would have hoped that I would have gotten up and at least tried to help her. You know, help her up off the floor. At least be there with her, as she's seeing her life, you know, spill out in under a minute.

And that's it other thing we have to keep in mind. This all happened so rapidly.

A minute is -- will seem like a very long period of time in that situation. But it's a very short period of time in real life.

STU: Yeah. You watch the video, Glenn. You know, I don't need the video to -- to change my -- my position on this.

But at his seem like there was a -- someone who did get there, eventually, to help, right? I saw someone seemingly trying to put pressure on her neck.

GLENN: Yeah. And tried to give her CPR.

STU: You know, no hope at that point. How long of a time period would you say that was?

Do you know off the top of your head?

GLENN: I don't know. I don't know. I know that we watched the video that I saw. I haven't seen past 30 seconds after she --

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: -- is down. And, you know, for 30 seconds nothing is happening. You know, that is -- that is not a very long period of time.

STU: Right.

GLENN: In reality.

STU: And especially, I saw the pace he was walking. He certainly can't be -- you know, he may have left the actual train car by 30 seconds to a minute. But he wasn't that far away. Like he was still in visual.

He could still turn around and look and see what's going on at that point. So certainly still a threat is my point. He has not, like, left the area. This is not that type of situation.

You know, I -- look, as you point out, I think if I could be super duper sexist for a moment here, sort of my dividing line might just be men and women.

You know, I don't know if it's that a -- you're not supposed to say that, I suppose these days. But, like, there is a difference there. If I'm a man, you know, I would be -- I would want my son to jump in on that, I suppose. I don't know if he could do anything about it. But you would expect at least a grown man to be able to go in there and do something about it. A woman, you know, I don't know.

Maybe I'm -- I hope --

GLENN: Here's the thing I -- here's the thing that I -- that causes me to say, no. You should have jumped in.

And that is, you know, you've already killed one person on the train. So you've proven that you're a killer. And anybody who would have screamed and got up and was with her, she's dying. She's dying. Get him. Get him.

Then the whole train is responsible for stopping that guy. You know. And if you don't stop him, after he's killed one person, if you're not all as members of that train, if you're not stopping him, you know, the person at the side of that girl would be the least likely to be killed. It would be the ones that are standing you up and trying to stop him from getting back to your daughter or your wife or you.

JASON: There was a -- speaking of men and women and their roles in this. There was a video circling social media yesterday. In Sweden. There was a group of officials up on a stage. And one of the main. I think it was health official woman collapses on stage. Completely passes out.

All the men kind of look away. Or I don't know if they're looking away. Or pretending that they didn't know what was going on. There was another woman standing directly behind the woman passed out.

Immediately springs into action. Jumps on top. Grabs her pant leg. Grabs her shoulder. Spins her over and starts providing care.

What did she have that the other guys did not? Or women?

She was a sheepdog. There is a -- this is my issue. And I completely agree with Stu. I completely agree with you. There's some people that do not respond this way. My issue is the proportion of sheepdogs versus people that don't really know how to act. That is diminishing in western society. And American society.

We see it all the time in these critical actions. I mean, circumstances.

There are men and women, and it's actually a meme. That fantasize about hoards of people coming to attack their home and family. And they sit there and say, I've got it. You guys go. I'm staying behind, while I smoke my cigarette and wait for the hoards to come, because I will sacrifice myself. There are men and women that fantasize of block my highway. Go ahead. Block my highway. I'm going to do something about it. They fantasize about someone holding up -- not a liquor store. A convenience store or something. Because they will step in and do something. My issue now is that proportion of sheepdogs in society is disappearing. Just on statistical fact, there should be one within that train car, and there were none.

STU: Yeah. I mean --

JASON: They did not respond.

STU: We see what happens when they do, with Daniel Penny. Our society tries to vilify them and crush their existence. Now, there weren't that many people on that train. Right?

At least on that car. At least it's limited. I only saw three or four people there, there may have been more. I agree with you, though. Like, you see what happens when we actually do have a really recent example of someone doing exactly what Jason wants and what I would want a guy to do. Especially a marine to step up and stop this from happening. And the man was dragged by our legal system to a position where he nearly had to spend the rest of his life in prison.

I mean, I -- it's insanity. Thankfully, they came to their senses on that one.

GLENN: Well, the difference between that one and this one though is that the guy was threatening. This one, he killed somebody.

STU: Yeah. Right. Well, but -- I think -- but it's the opposite way. The debate with Penny, was should he have recognize that had this person might have just been crazy and not done anything?

Maybe. He hadn't actually acted yet. He was just saying things.

GLENN: Yeah. Well --

STU: He didn't wind up stabbing someone. This is a situation where these people have already seen what this man will do to you, even when you don't do anything to try to stop him. So if this woman, who is, again, looks to be an average American woman.

Across the aisle. Steps in and tries to do something. This guy could easily turn around and just make another pile of dead bodies next to the one that already exists.

And, you know, whether that is an optimal solution for our society, I don't know that that's helpful.

In that situation.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Max Lucado on Overcoming Grief in Dark Times | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 266

Disclaimer: This episode was filmed prior to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. But Glenn believes Max's message is needed now more than ever.
The political world is divided, constantly at war with itself. In many ways, our own lives are not much different. Why do we constantly focus on the negative? Why are we in pain? Where is God amid our anxiety and fear? Why can’t we ever seem to change? Pastor Max Lucado has found the solution: Stop thinking like that! It may seem easier said than done, but Max joins Glenn Beck to unpack the three tools he describes in his new book, “Tame Your Thoughts,” that make it easy for us to reset the way we think back to God’s factory settings. In this much-needed conversation, Max and Glenn tackle everything from feeling doubt as a parent to facing unfair hardships to ... UFOs?! Plus, Max shares what he recently got tattooed on his arm.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Are Demonic Forces to Blame for Charlie Kirk, Minnesota & Charlotte Killings?

This week has seen some of the most heinous actions in recent memory. Glenn has been discussing the growth of evil in our society, and with the assassination of civil rights leader Charlie Kirk, the recent transgender shooter who took the lives of two children at a Catholic school, and the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, how can we make sense of all this evil? On today's Friday Exclusive, Glenn speaks with BlazeTV host of "Strange Encounters" Rick Burgess to discuss the demon-possessed transgender shooter and the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk. Rick breaks down the reality of demon possession and how individuals wind up possessed. Rick and Glenn also discuss the dangers of the grotesque things we see online and in movies, TV shows, and video games on a daily basis. Rick warns that when we allow our minds to be altered by substances like drugs or alcohol, it opens a door for the enemy to take control. A supernatural war is waging in our society, and it’s a Christian’s job to fight this war. Glenn and Rick remind Christians of what their first citizenship is.