A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran.

Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating eminent threats from the Iranian regime.

His eminence, Grand Ayatollah Imam Khomeini, we send salutations.

Yesterday we eliminated the tyrant Kamene, along with him, we eliminated dozens of senior officials of the oppressive regime.

Our forces are executing with unmatched skill, and the mission is advancing decisively. This is the kind of

no-nonsense, results-driven, war-fighting that America demands. Welcome, everybody. It's the

Rikoshae podcast number 779. You can join us at ricochet.com. You really can. You can be part of the most

stimulating conversations and community on the web. I'm James Lillax in the middle of the country in Minneapolis, where it's very foggy, and I'm joined by Stephen Hayward in sunny California and Charles C.W. Cook in Florida, who knows what the weather is, who cares? And gentlemen, it seems, in retrospect, that our first clue should have been renaming the Department of Defense, the Department of War.

Here we are with one of the most astonishing displays we've seen in a long time.

People were goggling over the snatching of Maduro, and now that appears to be like walking down to the corner store for a pack of smokes.

This is big.

This is something the likes of which I've never seen in my lifetime, and I've been around for the desert for the Iraqi wars and the rest. It feels different, too. It feels like weapons free, like

unburdened, like the rules of engagement have changed, like there is a martial spirit

breast puffed that we haven't seen in a long time.

And we can attribute that probably to, probably, to the president and to the SAC Def.

So here we are.

It's been since February 28th.

BDA, BDA from you guys.

Stephen, go first.

Well, I think not only the Department of War, but I think a bigger clue is the obvious one,

which is sending so many forces over to the theater.

And, you know, when Trump does that, and I think this was true of Venezuela, you know he's going to use it.

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