June 23, 2025 • 6 mins
Mike Kelly speaks with Mendte in the Morning about the release of Mahmoud Khalil from jail.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now let's get to Mike Kelly, an award winning columnists
for North Jersey dot Com and The Record. Do you care,
Mike at all, that Oklahoma City won the NBA championship?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
No way, no way, it's it's it's it's one hundred
and fifty degrees. You could you could make a pizza
on the sidewalk, and we're playing basketball well.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
In Oklahoma City, you know, the mecca, the metropolitan of
the United States in Oklahoma City. Uh, I'm telling you.
The NBA they just, you know, put their heads in
their hands when they found out it was going to
be Oklahoma City versus Indianapolis, the two smallest markets.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Say, uh, the labor the point. But the other problem
here is these athletes are really, really in great shape,
but playing that many games for that long, it just
it just knocks their body to death or bodies. I
should say, uh, you know, and it's just not healthy.
And I think the I think they should shorten the
season period.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Well, I'd hate to see Warner's reaction right now as
we continue to talk about this. He's shaking his heads,
his heads in his hands at this point, maybe even
shut off the radio. There are much more important things
to talk about. But what I was really fascinating, And
I guess you told Natalie this. You wrote a column
on Mackmood Khalil, and now now he's been freed from
(01:18):
prison pending a hearing. What is your reaction to that?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Well, this was a column that I wrote a couple
of months ago, Larry, in which I talked about this
relatively little noticed lawsuit that had been filed in federal
court against Columbia University, in which evidence was presented that
the group that Khalil Mak Khalil was leading at Columbia
(01:43):
University was actually in touch with Hamas during the demonstrations.
And you know, I thought the federal prosecutors who argued
this case in Newark, because I was there for some
of that, and they did not make a point of
the connection between Khalil and the Columbia University folks and
(02:07):
the Hamas communications network out of the Middle East, which
I believe, which I know has been funded by Iran.
And subsequently, now we have Khalil back on the street.
I don't think this case is over, but I really
think our Justice Department could have done a much better
(02:27):
job in really focusing in on who this guy was
and what he was all about.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, that's stunning, and I agree with you. Not bringing
that up and hearing is legal malpractice, and I certainly
hope as he goes through the legal process now that
that's brought up. But let's talk about the story of
the day. Because you wrote a book about Iran and terrorism.
So let me ask you, based on your knowledge about
(02:52):
this and Iran's capabilities, were you stunned, like the rest
of the world was, like the US military was that
there was not one shot fired, there was not one
plane launched by Iran to stop this.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Actually, I wasn't stunned. I don't think our country appreciates
how good the US military is and how well equipped
they are, and how and some of the technology that
they have. When I was covering the Iraq war, I
was in Baghdad and to look at the bomb damage,
and you know, from the Air Force they were literally
(03:28):
dropping now this is going back fifteen years ago, dropping
smart bombs through the roof of one of Saddam Hussein's
palaces to you know, knock out you know, a specific
target in the in those buildings. There is really some
some some impressive technology that our US military has, So
when I heard that they made it back just fine.
(03:51):
They were able to sneak into Iranian airspace without being
detected and nobody fire shot at them, I was I was.
I was really not that surprised. We have the technology
and the ability to do some pretty good pilots as well.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
And I think Iran is that weakened as well. I
agree with you, the US military stands above all else
in the history of the world at this point, but
I think Iran is weaker than we thought. And I
do think that the Israel had a major effect on
their defenses, taking out the missile launchers and taking out
some planes. So I'm with you. I wasn't I guess
(04:28):
I wasn't surprised, but the fact that they didn't have
a plane or a missile go off in this whole
thing is I didn't think that was going to happen.
Let's talk about Iran and terrorism and what you think
might happen next. Based on your expertise.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I think I think Iran is You know, it's an
interesting point you raised here, Larry about about Iran not
firing a shot at the US airplanes. What Iran is
not good at is fighting a normal war, that kind
of war where they would shoot at airplanes and that
sort of thing. What they're really good at is terrorism.
(05:08):
And I think what our country needs to be reminded
of is the fact that Iran has been the primary
bank account or banker for terrorism across the Middle East,
and I would argue the world for the last maybe
thirty years. My book focuses on a particular bombing that
(05:29):
took place in Jerusalem that killed a number of American
citizens and how those families sought to find out who
caused this, who was accountable, and they were able to
prove that Iran financed this bombing through Hamas and how
did they finance this. I remember sitting with this former
CIA guy and him showing me the line line and
(05:50):
budget in the Iranian national budget that says Palestinian terrorism.
It's right there in black and white for every body
to see. And our country needs to wake up this.
Iran has been financing and carrying out terrorism for a
very long time, and so don't don't count them out.
(06:12):
This is uh, you know. I know, we just had
the fiftieth anniversary of Jaws, and even though they were
shooting harpoons and all kinds of things that at that
large shark, it still managed to eat the boat. So
be careful of Iran. They they're very good at terrorism.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
That's a great analogy. What's the name of the book
in case people want to get it?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
The bus on Jaffa Road.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Mike Kelly, Award winning columnists for North Jersey dot Com
and The Record. Well, we talked about the NBA, we
talked about Iran and Khalil. You are You're multifaceted. Thanks
so much, Mike Kelly.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Thanks Larry.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Talked to you next week.
Now let's get to Mike Kelly, an award winning columnists
for North Jersey dot Com and The Record. Do you care,
Mike at all, that Oklahoma City won the NBA championship?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
No way, no way, it's it's it's it's one hundred
and fifty degrees. You could you could make a pizza
on the sidewalk, and we're playing basketball well.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
In Oklahoma City, you know, the mecca, the metropolitan of
the United States in Oklahoma City. Uh, I'm telling you.
The NBA they just, you know, put their heads in
their hands when they found out it was going to
be Oklahoma City versus Indianapolis, the two smallest markets.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Say, uh, the labor the point. But the other problem
here is these athletes are really, really in great shape,
but playing that many games for that long, it just
it just knocks their body to death or bodies. I
should say, uh, you know, and it's just not healthy.
And I think the I think they should shorten the
season period.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Well, I'd hate to see Warner's reaction right now as
we continue to talk about this. He's shaking his heads,
his heads in his hands at this point, maybe even
shut off the radio. There are much more important things
to talk about. But what I was really fascinating, And
I guess you told Natalie this. You wrote a column
on Mackmood Khalil, and now now he's been freed from
(01:18):
prison pending a hearing. What is your reaction to that?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Well, this was a column that I wrote a couple
of months ago, Larry, in which I talked about this
relatively little noticed lawsuit that had been filed in federal
court against Columbia University, in which evidence was presented that
the group that Khalil Mak Khalil was leading at Columbia
(01:43):
University was actually in touch with Hamas during the demonstrations.
And you know, I thought the federal prosecutors who argued
this case in Newark, because I was there for some
of that, and they did not make a point of
the connection between Khalil and the Columbia University folks and
(02:07):
the Hamas communications network out of the Middle East, which
I believe, which I know has been funded by Iran.
And subsequently, now we have Khalil back on the street.
I don't think this case is over, but I really
think our Justice Department could have done a much better
(02:27):
job in really focusing in on who this guy was
and what he was all about.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, that's stunning, and I agree with you. Not bringing
that up and hearing is legal malpractice, and I certainly
hope as he goes through the legal process now that
that's brought up. But let's talk about the story of
the day. Because you wrote a book about Iran and terrorism.
So let me ask you, based on your knowledge about
(02:52):
this and Iran's capabilities, were you stunned, like the rest
of the world was, like the US military was that
there was not one shot fired, there was not one
plane launched by Iran to stop this.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Actually, I wasn't stunned. I don't think our country appreciates
how good the US military is and how well equipped
they are, and how and some of the technology that
they have. When I was covering the Iraq war, I
was in Baghdad and to look at the bomb damage,
and you know, from the Air Force they were literally
(03:28):
dropping now this is going back fifteen years ago, dropping
smart bombs through the roof of one of Saddam Hussein's
palaces to you know, knock out you know, a specific
target in the in those buildings. There is really some
some some impressive technology that our US military has, So
when I heard that they made it back just fine.
(03:51):
They were able to sneak into Iranian airspace without being
detected and nobody fire shot at them, I was I was.
I was really not that surprised. We have the technology
and the ability to do some pretty good pilots as well.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
And I think Iran is that weakened as well. I
agree with you, the US military stands above all else
in the history of the world at this point, but
I think Iran is weaker than we thought. And I
do think that the Israel had a major effect on
their defenses, taking out the missile launchers and taking out
some planes. So I'm with you. I wasn't I guess
(04:28):
I wasn't surprised, but the fact that they didn't have
a plane or a missile go off in this whole
thing is I didn't think that was going to happen.
Let's talk about Iran and terrorism and what you think
might happen next. Based on your expertise.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I think I think Iran is You know, it's an
interesting point you raised here, Larry about about Iran not
firing a shot at the US airplanes. What Iran is
not good at is fighting a normal war, that kind
of war where they would shoot at airplanes and that
sort of thing. What they're really good at is terrorism.
(05:08):
And I think what our country needs to be reminded
of is the fact that Iran has been the primary
bank account or banker for terrorism across the Middle East,
and I would argue the world for the last maybe
thirty years. My book focuses on a particular bombing that
(05:29):
took place in Jerusalem that killed a number of American
citizens and how those families sought to find out who
caused this, who was accountable, and they were able to
prove that Iran financed this bombing through Hamas and how
did they finance this. I remember sitting with this former
CIA guy and him showing me the line line and
(05:50):
budget in the Iranian national budget that says Palestinian terrorism.
It's right there in black and white for every body
to see. And our country needs to wake up this.
Iran has been financing and carrying out terrorism for a
very long time, and so don't don't count them out.
(06:12):
This is uh, you know. I know, we just had
the fiftieth anniversary of Jaws, and even though they were
shooting harpoons and all kinds of things that at that
large shark, it still managed to eat the boat. So
be careful of Iran. They they're very good at terrorism.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
That's a great analogy. What's the name of the book
in case people want to get it?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
The bus on Jaffa Road.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Mike Kelly, Award winning columnists for North Jersey dot Com
and The Record. Well, we talked about the NBA, we
talked about Iran and Khalil. You are You're multifaceted. Thanks
so much, Mike Kelly.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Thanks Larry.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Talked to you next week.
Popular Podcasts
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.