051324 John Hulsman

Episode Transcript

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This program. Jimmy Lakey is myname. You can also find me on

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the Twitter or the ex whatever wecall that now, also the truth Socialize
here under my name Jimmy Lakey,Facebook is Facebook dot com, slash Jimmy
Lakey fan page, spell the wholething out. Glad to have you here
on this glorious day the Lord hasmade at Jimmy Lakey again my name.
Thanks for listening to the Lakey Show, six hundred k col My first guest

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of the morning is John Holtsman,author of a new book called The Last
Best Hope, A History of AmericanRealism. If He's been a Fellow in
the European Policy Studies at the Centerfor Strategic and International Studies and Senior Research
Fellow in Geopolitics, Politics, andForeign Policy at the Heritage Foundation, and

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also has made a name for himselfas a pre eminent predictor of global geopolitical
risk in the crazy world that welive in. Please welcome to the program.
If we may, let me seemy buttons will work, It's said,
mister John Holsman, John walkerme tothe program. Good to have you,
Thanks for having me. Jimmy.Let's dive in here. You've got
a brand new book out we'll talkabout at a moment called The Last Best

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Hope, a History of American Realism. But I want to get your international
policy perspective as to what we're watchingin our relationship between the United States and
Israel. Congress passes a big billa couple of weeks ago, says hey,
we're going to support our ally Israel. Then last week the Biden administration
says, oh, Israel, I'mgoing to hold back this AMMO in these

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arms from you. If if you'regoing to go into Rafa and we don't
approve of this, Is this adangerous contemplation and or double cross of Israel?
Or is this nothing to be nothingto pay attention to. No,
it is dangerous because he's talking outof both sides of his mouth, President
Biden, and what he's doing istrying to feel to both sides of his

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base. We all know he's interrible trouble. The joke in Washington is
that the only two state solution Bidenis interested in are the states of Michigan
and Wisconsin. That he's worried aboutlosing young votes for people protesting on campuses
who don't know where the Jordan Riveror the sea are they're protesting about,
but that they're just not going toturn out in the numbers to help him.

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And on the other hand, hemay not get independent voters. And
in every pull, Americans by fourout of five favor Israel over Hamas and
this war, and so he's tryingto thread the needle. I knew Lady
Thatcher late in her life, andshe said a wise thing about this.
If you try to be everything toeveryone, you end up being nothing to
anyone. And the danger for PresidentBiden is by speaking out of both sides

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of his mouth, he's just alienatingboth sides of his caucus, when really
what he ought to care about isthe American national interest, what's best for
America and supporting our ally, whichfrankly is what my book The Last Best
Hope is about. There was aJohn Holtsman, the author of a new
book called The Last Best Hope,A History of American Realism. It looks
like that we had this ceasefire proposalthat suppose Hamas says, yes, we

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agreed to, but then they neversaid anymore the hostages that were part of
this, So Israel said, screwit. We're going to go right into
Rafa and we're going to take careof a problem there. Talk about this
ceasefire and why did Hamas not takeThey said they took the deal, but
they didn't release any hostages. Itwas kind of in the news, out
of the news, and no ceasefirethere. No. It would be like

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if divorced lawyers agreed, but theydidn't bother telling the couple and who Hamas
agreed to a deal that was puttogether by Kutzer and Egypt but not by
Israel, who are the critical playershere. And of course they did a
deal that was soft and that Hamaswould like. But bottom line, the
Israelis without getting the hostages back inlarge numbers, if not all of them,

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and I don't know why they're notsettling for all of them, will
continue to fight because Hamas have beenforthright that if they still are there,
they will come back and retake overGaza if they're not fully destroyed, and
then they'll try to do another Octoberseventh, a barbaric attack on Israel.
So Israel wants to destroy Hamas inthe last center where Hamas fighters are in

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charge. And by the way,the evil mastermind of the attack. Yeah,
yeah, Sinwar is undoubtedly fighting cowardlyin a tunnel somewhere in Rapae,
surrounded by human shields, and soIsrael wants to finish that up and Hamas
won. On the other hand,Israel to agree to a deal that ends
the war because they're losing the war. There is no deal here at the
moment. And however much other peoplewant there to be a deal, if

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the folks on the ground don't wantthere to be a deal in a war,
there isn't a deal. Let's talkhere about the United States. President
Trump. Former President Trump said,none of this chaos would be happening,
from Russia going into Ukraine, tothe crazy war between Israel and Hamas,
and even China making flexing, therattling your saber in Taiwan, none of

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this would be happening if he werethe president. Has America lost its state
on the international stage? Is Americanow impotent in regards to keeping international calm?
Perception is important, Obviously, thereare other factors. Are a military
still easily the best in the world. We have by far the strongest and

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most dynamic economy, Jimmy, Butyou're right, the perception is that the
Biden administration is a prisoner of facts, not dictating them. And President Trump
was undoubtedly thought of as a strongpresident, an able president, a realist
who defended American interest from Americans livinghere, whereas Biden seems more a creature
of the international community whatever that is, less caring about America's specific interest.

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The Chinese certainly respected him and sawhim as a worthy adversary. The Iranians
were kept in a corner. Theyweren't brought in from the cold, they
were put in the freezer by theTrump administration, and we lived in a
more stable time because, unlike speakingout of both sides of his mouth,
like him or not, President Trumpis decisive, is clear, and articulates

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American interests in a way that bothfriend and folk can understand, and that
is incredibly important in international relations.John Holtzman as my guest. His new
book is called The Last Best Hope, A History of American Realism. John,
in your new book, you've combinedsome history and conservative contemporary foreign policy

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going on, you kind of messit all together. Give a quick plug
for the book called The Last BestHope, A History of American Realism.
Well, thank you, Jumy forthe shameless plug. Yes, rather than
just pick on the Buiyen administration,pick on the foreign policy establishment, the
elite blob, I wanted to tellstories from the American historical perspective about when

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we did things right and what wecan learn from those stories, going back
to George Washington and Alexander Hamilton gettingour country started, to Abraham Lincoln saying
we don't fight wars we don't haveto with Britain. For instance. He's
the one who came up with thelast best hope phrase. The Senator William
Borow, who fewer people have heardof, who fought Woodrow Wilson to keep
American foreign policy about Americans and notforeigners, through to Richard Nixon dealing with

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MAO, to Ronald Reagan making usa shining city on a hill. It's
to look at what we've done right, draw precepts from that, and then
apply those precepts to, as youput a Jimmy, the crazy world we
live in now, and it dovetailswithout. President Trump has done to unite
the base of our party, Jeffersoniansand Jacksonians together, and this ought to

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be realism, the once in futuregoverning foreign policy of our country, a
policy that puts Americans first. Iffolks want to get a copy of the
book, I'm guessing Amazon, Barnesand Noble, all the usual suspects exactly,
Jimmy, Amazon's the easiest in It'severywhere. Thanks very much for your
shameless plug. You got it.One more quick question for you looking at
the book. Is there a timeWe've got a limited amount of moments here,

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but is there a time in Americanhistory that you look at as say,
we are repeating this era in Americanhistory right now? It worries me
that we're repeating World War One.I think the analogy for World War two
is in World War One, everythingseemed wonderful until it wasn't. When you
look at what tevving in Asia theMiddle East, you could very quickly be
drawn into a war that was biggerand more devastating than anybody had in mind.

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So we need good leadership now toavoid that pre nineteen fourteen calamity.
The name of the book is calledThe Last Best Hope and it's written by
John Holtzman. Pick up a copyof it. He's the Last Best Hope.
A History of American Realism available anywherefind books are sold. If they
don't sell this book, they don'tsell fine books. It's called The Last
Best Hope, A History of AmericanRealism. Thank you John for hopping on

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the program that wraps up our segmenttogether. You know why, because the
music is about to play. Andwhen the music plays, that means I
have to shut my pie hole andtake a break so we can pay all
the wonderful bills around here. Buteverybody stand by Laky on the radio.
Good morning to you. If youwant to jump in eight six six triple
eight fifty four to forty nine,send me an email Jimmy Lakey at iHeartMedia

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dot com, Facebook dot com,slash Jimmy Lakey fan page and all the
other devices. Just look up myname Jimmy Lakey, j I M M
Y L A K E Y,and I'll read all those messages as they
come in this morning. Thank youJohn Holsman, author of the book The
Last Best Hope, A History ofAmerican Realism. Everybody stand by Lakey on

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the radio. Good morning, sixhundred k col