War Is Not MAGA Cosplay: Lt. General Mark Hertling on the Iran War Dumpster Fire
The Lincoln Project
The Lincoln Project
4.6 • 9.1K Ratings
🗓️ 17 March 2026
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rick Wilson sits down with retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling to break down the rapidly escalating war with Iran under the Trump administration — from the growing threat to global shipping lanes to the shockwaves already hitting oil markets and regional stability. Drawing on decades of battlefield command, Hertling explains what real wartime leadership looks like, why lawful orders and military ethics matter, and how quickly reckless politics can collide with the brutal realities of modern warfare. Together, Rick and Hertling cut through the cable-news noise and Washington theatrics to talk about the hard truths of war, the responsibilities of command, and the kind of steady, serious leadership democracies need when the stakes are life and death.
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You can find Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling on X @MarkHertling. His new book, ‘If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal,” is available now, wherever fine books are sold.
Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.
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#Trump #IranWar #MiddleEastWar #RickWilson #LincolnProject #USMilitary #WarLeadership #MilitaryEthics #MarkHertling #WarInIran #Geopolitics #BreakingNews #USPolitics #ForeignPolicy #MilitaryLeadership #IranConflict #GlobalSecurity #LeadershipMatters
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It scares the hell out of me because Iran is not a rock. |
| 0:04.4 | It's three times bigger. |
| 0:06.4 | It has almost two and a half times greater population. |
| 0:10.4 | It's mountains all around it. |
| 0:12.8 | You know, it's not a desert, not a flat desert. |
| 0:15.9 | It's urban centered. |
| 0:18.8 | And there's a lot of place to hide things, and there's different cults within |
| 0:23.0 | the population. |
| 0:24.6 | So it is a rock on steroids, I think. |
| 0:28.0 | Your task will not be an easy one. |
| 0:30.3 | Your enemy is well-trained, well-equipped in battle-hardt. |
| 0:34.2 | There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. |
| 0:37.8 | There is the United States of America. |
| 0:42.7 | Good night and good luck. |
| 0:45.0 | Hey, folks, welcome back to the Lincoln Project podcast. |
| 0:47.1 | I'm Rick Wilson, your host, as always. |
| 0:49.2 | And I am delighted to be joined today by Mark Hurtling. |
| 0:51.8 | Mark Hurtling has a phenomenal new book out, and it is called, |
| 0:55.5 | If I Don't Return, a Father's Wartime Journal. |
| 0:58.8 | Now, I'm showing it to you on my Kindle because you can't get a hardcover right now because, |
| 1:03.3 | Mark, they sold out. |
| 1:04.4 | Congratulations, man. |
... |
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