Pres. Biden to Announce Full Withdrawal from Afghanistan. Overdue or Ill Advised?

This is Jay Sekulow breaking news.

President Biden to withdraw troops, all troops from Afghanistan. We're going to analyze it today. Live from Washington, DC, Sekulow Live. Phone lines are open for your questions right now.

Call 1-800-684-3110. And now, Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, Jay Sekulow. Hey everybody, welcome to the broadcast. There's a lot happening on the international front.

I want to get right to it. Let me give you kind of an overview of what we've got today. The President has said that he is planning on withdrawing all troops out of Afghanistan by September 11th, the 20th year since the attack on 9-11. Now, a lot of administrations have called for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

We've supported the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. We're going to talk about what all that means, how it plays out. At the same time, China is threatening to invade Taiwan. Russia is threatening to invade Ukraine and has amassed troops on the border.

So, we have a lot of moving parts. On top of that, we had the situation as we discussed yesterday with Iran. Iran is at 60% of their uranium enrichment on their way to the 90%, which is only used for one reason only, which is a nuclear weapon. Now, I could tell you that I cannot imagine a circumstance where the region is going to allow for a nuclearized Iran. But then you've got the Afghanistan component to that.

And how does all of this play in? China is working with Iran. Russia works with Iran. Russia wants to invade, possibly, Ukraine. They're amassing a lot of troops there.

China has already said and continues to say that Taiwan is their property, it's their sovereign, and the United States needs to stop talking about it. All of this is happening simultaneously, and the President's talking about withdrawal of troops out of Afghanistan. So, I'm going to go to Colonel Westmith here first. I'm just doing an overview right now. We'll get into particulars. Your view of the Afghanistan situation, a lot of administrations, including the previous administration, Donald Trump's administration, called for the withdrawal.

Yeah, it is long overdue. The mission was accomplished there whenever we killed Osama bin Laden 10 years ago. We went in for two reasons, and that is to defeat al-Qaeda and to kill Osama bin Laden. You'll never really totally get rid of al-Qaeda.

They're like ISIS or any other terror groups. There are cells around the world. But we basically accomplished both of those missions, Jay. Meanwhile, we've had over 4,500 troops killed, over 20,000 wounded. But the objective has been achieved. It is time to come home. So, then you've got the, Andy, that you've got the whole, we talked about yesterday, the China-Iran link, but China also threatening Taiwan at the same time that they're doing business with Iran, basically the reoccurrence of the Silk Road. That's right, Jay. You've got Chinese aircraft from the mainland China proceeding against maneuvers over Taiwan. The threat that they're posing to Taiwan, the obligation that we have toward Taiwan under the 1979 Taiwan Act puts us all in a position of great peril as to what...

Okay, so we lost Andy's audio, so we'll check on that in a little bit. I will tell you this, also, Thanh, the reaction on the Afghanistan withdrawal has been mixed in Congress right now. Yeah, it's been mixed, Jay. I mean, to put it plainly, a majority of senators, majority of congressmen agree with pulling troops out. That's been true for some time. I will tell you this, though, the willingness of those who are willing to say it, Jay, it depends on the President that's announcing it. You heard a lot of senators who were silent when President Trump began this process, who are now applauding this decision. That's probably political, but there are several who have been consistently in favor of this.

I think of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mitt Romney, and others. Jay, a couple of concerns, I know we'll get into these, but things like date certain, mission focused, and also this, the Middle East region, don't let this confuse anybody. The Middle East region is not secure. It still remains a threat. We'll keep our eye on that. Well, Senator Tim Kaine said the Middle East is no longer the top priority, but let me tell you, if you don't want to rank it number one, rank it number two.

I mean, who are we kidding? So this is a lot to discuss. We're taking your calls too on all this, 1-800-684-3110.

China, Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, a lot of moving parts right now globally. We're going to talk about all of it, 1-800-684-3110. If you want to join the conversation, if you served in the region, we sure love to hear from you.

That'd be a great way to get engaged. Also, don't forget, support the work of the ACLJ at ACLJ.org. We're in matching challenge campaign, ACLJ.org. We're in court today, filing today against the State Department. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

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Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. All right, so here's what we've got. Let me kind of reset it so everybody understands exactly what we're dealing with here.

So what we got is this. We've got a situation where the President's calling for, as previous administrations have, the withdrawal of troops, final withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The concern among some is that can lead to an increase of ISIS or Al Qaeda operating again inside of Afghanistan. Then you have at the same time, this is all happening at the same time, Russia has amassed troops on the Ukrainian border. China is doing maneuvers over Taiwan. China and Russia also engage directly with Iran. Economically, militarily, they're engaged. So realize what you have here.

And Saudi Arabia is saying that they are very concerned about the 60% uranium enrichment, and that cannot be considered part of a peaceful nuclear program. So you have all of this hitting at the same time. So let's kind of break it down. We broke down a little bit of Afghanistan.

Let me just, one more touch on that. Now Senator Lindsey Graham, our friend Lindsey Graham, I have a tremendous amount of respect for, his concern about total withdrawal, Wes, is letting Al Qaeda and ISIS come back in those regions. Right. But our capabilities have changed and our ability to collect on the ground intelligence has changed since 2001. So that when you look at our intelligence assets on the ground, you look at our ability with overflight and satellite imagery to see what's going on, you look at the capabilities of special operations forces, which can be sent in and sent out very quickly, and airstrikes, it's a different situation. We have the capability to monitor Afghanistan and to go in and make strategic attacks to defeat possible terrorist cells in camps in a way that we did not 20 years ago. So even if we leave, we can still re-engage without massing troops.

Not only that, we can not only re-engage, we can actually defeat terrorist cells in pockets there without even having troops on the ground other than special operations forces that are deployed from time to time. Andy, it's hard for me to believe that the situation moving to China and Taiwan and then Russia and Ukraine, that this isn't somehow coordinated between the Russians and the Chinese. I mean, and look, and it all goes back to Iran too, but just looking at those two incidents on a global scale, you've got these two mass movements of military hardware, maneuvers over Taiwan airspace, China doing that, Russia amassing hundreds of thousands of troops on the border. That's not, I don't think it's coincidence that they're both doing it at the same time while Afghanistan and Iran are also in the mix here. It's not coincidence at all, Jay.

Your perception of that is absolutely correct. These are coordinated. We lost Andy again, so we're going to have to figure that out. We'll figure out what the difficulty is there.

Let me go to, let me go back to Wes on this. Ukraine says that Russia has moved 80,000 troops to the border and that there's no discussion, there's no communications going on between Ukraine, Zelensky and Putin. Right. The last time Russia amassed this many troops along the border with Ukraine, they actually invaded Ukraine.

And I think you're exactly on target with what you just said, Jay. I don't remember the last time our adversaries, perhaps you should call them enemies. I don't remember the last time they have aligned with each other against the United States in just the same way. As you mentioned, you've got China, which is not our friend on so many levels, but they are threatening Taiwan. You've got Russia, which it appears they are getting ready to invade Ukraine.

And meanwhile. Let's go to China and Taiwan for a moment, because I look at China, I look at Russia, I see Iran. Okay. That's how I view it. I see Russia, China, Iran as the kind of the commonality, but they're also Russian and China are looking at adjacent property, so to speak.

Right. So on what is China doing with regard to Taiwan, other than their statements? They are invading their airspace. They've done that this week, over 20 combat aircraft from, from mainland China have invaded Taiwan.

They actually circled the island and they have made it very, very clear. They, they see Taiwan as a part of Chinese territory. They have made it very clear that is it is their intention to reunite Taiwan with mainland China, even if that is by force. And they have actually stated that in the meantime, see the United States, we're in an awkward and a weak strategic position. And that is after 1949, when the communist Chinese took over mainland China and then Chiang Kai-shek and others moved to what is now Taiwan.

Since then our relationship has been very, very weird with Taiwan. For example, we do not recognize them as a separate nation and yet we are arming them to the tunes of billions of dollars in coastal batteries and an aircraft. So we say... Did they put any kind of military force against China or would China just overwhelm them if they wanted to? They could initially. They could handle a, a frontal, a first attack, a first attack, but China's military is so large they would eventually... And their navy is so large. Yes. They would overwhelm the Taiwanese military very quickly. When you say very quickly, weeks?

Weeks. Yeah. If that, because Taiwan would, would make a valiant effort to defend themselves and we have sold them fighter planes, like I said, coastal defense artillery and what have you, but they would, they would be defeated fairly quickly. But in the meantime, here's the situation. We say that we are there to defend Taiwan pretty much at all costs. And yet what does that mean?

And what does that mean for the Biden administration? Are we willing to go to war with China over defending our allies in Taiwan? Are we willing to take... And are they... Yeah, so... I don't think, I don't think we are. Probably not. No.

Right? And are we willing to do something other than protest and do sanctions against Russia if they invade Ukraine, even though Ukraine is our ally? Probably not. There is a perception with China, Russia, and Iran that the United States is a declining power, that we are weak.

A Chinese official just this week, Jay, said that the weakness of America is our two-party system, that if they had a one-party system like we do, you could get more things done. Yeah. Well, Andy's smiling. So hopefully Andy's technical difficulties are resolved.

But Andy, let's go back to the previous question, which is this. You've got Russia amassing at least 80,000 troops on the border with Ukraine and Crimea. You have China doing maneuvers, military maneuvers over Taiwan's airspace. At the same time, President Biden's announcing withdrawal from Afghanistan. And then you've got the commonality factor between China and Russia, and that's Iran.

All of it... So I don't think this is just a coincidence that both China and Russia are activating a global maneuver at the same time. No, it's not circumstantial or just happening out of nowhere. It's a coordinated effort on the part of these powers to take advantage of the new sheriff in town, and that is President Biden as opposed to President Trump. You had a very strong President with unique capabilities of exercising force at the right place at the right time. Now what our enemies are doing is saying, well, let's just see how we can test them in all the levers of power. So we have the Russians and the Chinese getting together and the Russians advising and the Chinese happily accepting, exercising maneuvers with respect to Taiwan, and I think ultimately going to invade it. And one thing that I think that's very important is the Russian maneuvering at the U.S. border. This is an interesting... Yeah. Andy, we're having... You're freezing up and we're locking out. We're going to have to hear what that is.

Let me go to Fan Bennett in Washington, DC. The China-Russia situation, obviously, has got to be on the top of mind by the United States Senate and House. Yeah, it is, Jay. I mean, let me just pick up on the thread that Andy was talking about because to me, the thread that ties all of this together is the fact that there is a new strategy of impeachment from Washington, DC, and I think that's playing into every one of these situations. I mean, not to go into great depth, Jay, but on each of them, you think about the situation in Afghanistan. You mentioned the concerns from Lindsey Graham, who's been very consistent on this.

He's correct on this, Jay. I mean, I'm concerned that there will be a move in Washington, DC to assume the job is done in the Middle East, which clearly is not the case. Even if removing troops is the right call, you've got to keep your eye on the ball there.

In Iran, Jay, last night, the United States Senate confirmed the lead negotiator of the JCPOA again to a position in the State Department. So you put the same people in play. And then in China, Jay, everybody wants to talk about how their threat to be the world's superpower is based in the theft of intellectual property, which certainly is there, but they're also slaughtering the weaker. So all of that put together, Jay, you need a foreign policy of vigilance. You need a foreign policy of strength. And I think each of these regions, Jay, is exercising wide latitude because they think they can take it in this moment. There is a sense, I have the sense, that what's happening is a coordinated effort.

And I think it is, Wes, a test of the United States. Because these are big players. China and Russia. Right. These are big players. And these are key strategic events that affect national security and our international interests.

I think it is coordinated. And here's the thing, you know, people think, well, if you're a military power, if you rattle your saber, that invites aggression. No, what invites aggression is perceived weakness. And I think Russia assumes that if they invade Ukraine, that ultimately we will not take any significant action. I think China is making that same bet calculation with Taiwan.

And here's the thing, Iran has already proven to the world that they can also enrich uranium. And what will we do? We will sign a new agreement with them. Yeah. And we put the same people in place, they got us the lousy deal, are now doing it the same. So when you put the same people in place, you're going to get the same result. Except now you've got China and Russia both about to flex global muscle.

President Zelensky asked to speak with President Putin. No response. This is a big deal.

We're going to talk more about it when we come back from break. 800-684-3110. Got calls coming in. We'll take your calls.

1-800-684-3110. Your thoughts on this. Also support the work of the ACLJ. We're able to give you this kind of analysis because of the work of the ACLJ with your support.

ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases. How we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists. The ramifications of Roe v Wade 40 years later. Play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

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A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our matching challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family.

Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. I feel like because there's so much at play here, I've got to reset it after each break. So we're talking about three global situations. President Biden announced he'd pull out of Afghanistan completely by September 11th, will be 20 years since the attack on the United States. The three previous administrations now, well, two previous and have talked about getting out of Afghanistan.

So this is not some new thing. On the other hand, at the same time, China and Russia are both making moves against areas adjacent to their region. Ukraine is now at risk because Russia has amassed, now they've done this before, 80,000 troops on the border and are threatening Ukraine, which the Russians believe is their property, is their country. Taiwan, same thing. China believes that Taiwan is its sovereign, under its sovereignty. And Wes, you were pointing out something very interesting and that is, and of course, Russia and China both deal with Iran directly, which is what's propping up Iran when we had all these sanctions going on.

Now, they didn't do that kind of propping up in the previous administration because they knew the reaction from the Trump administration would be difficult. But you've got the United States trying to get back into the Iran nuclear agreement while the Iranians acknowledge they're now at 60% in Richmond and Saudi Arabia is saying, hey, wait a minute, 60% means you're going to be at 90%. There's no peaceful use of that. So you've got a regional conflict in the Middle East, despite what Senator Tim Kaine says, it's not our number one priority. So what is it, number two in the globe?

I mean, it's a big deal. At the same time, you've got China and Russia making moves. And this is going to be a test of foreign policy, of defense for the administration.

I mean, this is a big, big test. We've got Tony calling from Georgia online. Hi, Tony, if you want to talk to us on air, by the way, especially if you served in Afghanistan or in the Middle East region, we'd love to hear from you. 1-800-684-3110.

Tony, go ahead. Our troops are in danger right now in Afghanistan. They've been in danger. They're not supported by the United States government. When the Obama-Biden administration changed the rules of engagement several years ago, it took our ability to protect ourselves even in war. Then they do not support us more than they continue to pay Iraq, which then they provided money to Iraq, which they're able to provide weapons to Pakistan to even fight against our troops. So they're actually funding the military to fight against our troops in Afghanistan. With our own money, with US dollars.

With US dollars. That's correct. So we needed to be out of Afghanistan seven years ago easily. And now, Tony, if I understand correctly, you served in Afghanistan three times, in three tours.

That's correct. Yeah. What military service were you in? The United States Army. Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you for your service because you kept us safe because Afghanistan was the hotbed and that's where it was all coming from and you kept our country safe. But Tony brings up some really good points and that is the economic dollars that we're spending over there and where they end up, Wes. You never really know.

No. And I was looking at a report this morning from the Pentagon. It's their cost of war report, which came out in September. We have spent over $815 billion in Afghanistan.

A lot of that, we cannot even account for. We don't know what some of their government leaders did with some of that $815 billion, but that's what the wars cost us. However, this same report said, if you add in the disabled veterans and others that continue to get paid, continue to have medical treatment, the war over there has cost us $2 trillion. It has cost us over 4,500 American troops lives. And in the meantime, Tony's right.

And thank you, Tony, for your service. The government there has been vacillating concerning US support and even our presence there. They're not sure they want us there, but they certainly want our dollars. And in the meantime, over the last few years, Iran itself has been supplying weapons and technology to the Taliban, which is used to kill American soldiers. And at the same time, and I agree with everything Colonel Smith said, but at the same time, then you've got China and Russia who both do business with Iran, flexing their muscles. Now we've written extensively on all of this. I mean, we've got a book on, a complete book on Iran, Russia, and Syria called Unholy Alliance.

We had a book called, we have a book called Burning Bridges that came out of our work at Oxford that had a whole section on the Silk Road, the trade route between China and Iran, which goes back into ancient history. But now you've got this flexing of muscles globally and Russia with Ukraine, China with Taiwan, while Iran is at 60% on their enrichment of uranium. All of this is happening simultaneously.

I mean, literally at the same time. And I don't think it's any accident or any surprise, Jay. That's what happens when the world's superpower gives an opening.

I mean, when you have a strategy of appeasement, other world powers who actually would like to dominate the globe are going to flex their muscles. And that's what we're seeing. I would just say maybe two follow-ups to the caller, Jay. First of all, it has always been true. And we've said it on this broadcast many times that our troops on the ground in every region of the world need two things. One, they need a clear mission.

And two, they need the authority to accomplish it. Jay, both of those things really had vanished in Afghanistan, which is why that makes this okay. But I would say this to follow up to Wes's point on the dollars. Jay, we have got to make sure we do a better job of making sure that the dollars allocated are flowing to the mission that is the safety of America. For far too long, as Wes illustrated, we have sent those dollars to advance missions that are expired or, quite frankly, that serve the interest of other superpowers around the world. We've got to focus that in and make sure that they're spent on the safety of America. Jay, I got to tell you, while I think maybe the move to leave Afghanistan is the right one, I am not confident that that second mission, properly allocating our foreign policy dollars, I don't think that's being accomplished right now, Jay. I don't either.

And I just wonder if the impact of this hitting simultaneously is a huge test for the Biden administration. Because you said something very interesting, Wes, which is we have this kind of weird acknowledgement of Taiwan. Explain that again. We only got two minutes left in this segment, but it's an unusual arrangement, I will say.

It truly is. For years, we considered Taiwan to be actually China. In most of our boyhood and youth, that was considered China and that the communists were the outliers.

They were the ones who had taken over illegally and wrongfully. But that changed, beginning with President Nixon going and making overtures to the communist Chinese. And so that now we no longer recognize Taiwan as an independent country. We recognize the real China as being communist China. But at the same time, we have pledged to defend Taiwan. We see them as independent, even though technically, according to us, they're not a country, which is really strange. And we give them billions of dollars in arms, and yet we don't recognize them.

As a matter of fact, I read this week, I'm not sure if it's true, it probably is, but that even with the consulate of Taiwan in our own United States, they're not allowed to fly their flag on the building because the communist Chinese object to America letting them fly their flag. So it's a real convoluted relationship. But here's the thing about Russia, China, and Iran. They perceive weakness, and weakness, Jay, always invites aggression. Every time. Yes.

Every time. Disraeli said, these countries understand one thing, power. And right now we're showing some weakness. And again, I'm not opposed to withdrawing from Afghanistan in an orderly process. I think that's probably wise at this point for 20 years.

But I think the reality is, and again, maybe you needed some balance and ability to get troops there on a quick, short notice. But I think that right now you've got Russia and China flexing muscles and you've got Iran that is the beneficiary of it. So this is going to be a real test.

All right, we've got another half hour of the broadcast ahead. Support the work of the ACLJ. We're in a matching challenge campaign, ACLJ.org.

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Back with more in a moment. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20. A $50 gift becomes 100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Live from Washington, D.C., Sekulow Live.

And now, Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, Jay Sekulow. Talking about global chess. That's what we're talking about.

Global nine-dimensional chess. We were talking about yesterday, Iran was supposed to, under the JCPOA, keep their uranium enrichment at 5%. That's for civilian uses, medical energy power. They went to 20 and the world sent an alarm bell off. They now announced, the Iran's chief negotiator, nuclear negotiator, announces they're now at 60%. Saudi Arabia says in the 60% there's no peaceful use for it, and we all know that means they're on the way to 90%. The Ayatollah said, we're going to do whatever we want to do to protect the Iranian nation, which is code word for we're building a nuclear weapon. And at the same time, the Biden administration is begging, with the same people that got us into this lousy deal, are begging to get back into it. Now, all of that's happening while China is making military maneuvers against Taiwan and Russia is amassing troops on the border of Ukraine. Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, reached out to the President of Russia, Putin.

No response. Which may mean the response is going to be militarily. And that's the concern right now. And how does that all impact Iran? Well, Iran becomes the beneficiary of all the chaos, right Wes? Yes, they do.

They do. They've already asked that all the sanctions be lifted against them, even though they're at 60% enrichment of uranium and our negotiating team in the United States, in Vienna, of course, they're doing it not directly, they're through intermediaries. They have actually sent a message to Iran through their delegation says, well, we will consider it. Why would you consider lifting sanctions on a country that is violating the agreement, that are moving rapidly towards a nuclear weapon? But that's where we are.

And again, that's that perceived weakness. On the good news front though, Jay, and I try to find the bright side where I can, Iran's behavior is pushing the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia closer and closer to Israel. They're going to be true allies before this is over because the survival, not just of Israel, the survival of those other Arab States depends on how they counter Iran. I will tell you this, I will predict Iran does not get a nuclear weapon. The Iranians are not going to get a nuclear weapon.

There is no way that the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, and Jordan are going to allow a nuclear weapon in the hands of the ayatollahs. Now, how you get that done could be messy. It could be done through sabotaging their systems. The Israelis have done that before. It could be military engagement at a higher level.

I don't know the details of that, but I'm going to tell you something. You got that going on. At the same time, the United States is talking about withdrawing out of Afghanistan, which is well overdue. Lindsey Graham raises a good point though, and that is you don't want to let it be a festering bed for more Al Qaeda and ISIS kind of re-engagement.

You've seen some of that already. But I think the consensus is people want out of Afghanistan. We've been there 20 years. And then China and Russia at the exact same time are making moves against, for China it's against Taiwan, with Russia it's against Ukraine. We recognize Ukraine is a separate country.

Yes, we do. And the other thing about this Russia's aggression there on the border is that for several years now, Ukraine has petitioned, they want to become part of NATO. They're not right now. We try to arm them and train them, but they're not technically part of NATO. Because if they're part of NATO, if one country gets attacked as if all of them are getting attacked, I think Russia realizes that at some point, NATO may be open to those overtures.

They need to go ahead and invade and take it over before it becomes a part of NATO. And I think that's part of their calculus as well. So Tina on Facebook said, I feel like all these countries are testing the Biden administration. Yes, I agree. And Catherine on YouTube says, I wanted a withdrawal from Afghanistan, but I don't want a repeat of what Obama did in Iraq. And I think that, listen, both worth talking about when we come back from the break. Let me tell you something folks, this is global chess, except the consequences are not checkmate.

Okay. They're much more serious than that. And Iraq, we talked a little bit about Iraq getting, you know, and their government's far from stable. So you've got a, you got a moving pieces here, but the beneficiaries of aggression from China and aggressive Russia is Iran.

Make no mistake. That's how they're economically surviving. Chinese and the Russians do a lot of business with the Iranians.

So do the Germans, by the way, for a point of reference. So there's a lot going on here. All right. We're going to take your calls and comments when we come back.

1-800-684-3110, 800-684-3110. Senior council for the ACLJ, Skip Ash is going to be joining us as well. Also served in the United States army. We'll get his perspective as well. At the American center for law and justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad, whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support for that. We are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way for a limited time. You can participate in the ACLJ matching challenge for every dollar you donate. It will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes 100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our matching challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you were saying when you stand with the American center for law and justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. It is a complicated world we live in. There's no doubt about that. And it's not made less complicated by the fact that Russia and China are trying to do two moves of aggression at the same time and the beneficiary of the chaos becomes Iran, who's also trying to enrich uranium.

Skip Ash is senior counselor of the ACLJ and expert in these areas. And, Skip, let me get your reaction first to China and Taiwan. Skip Ash – Well, that situation, I think the Chinese are definitely taking advantage of what they view as a weak administration in the United States, an administration more concerned about making sure we use the proper pronouns in the Department of Defense than they are that we have military forces ready to respond to external threats. So, I think they look at the United States and say, we are indeed right now, in their view, a paper tiger. And this is the time to act because they don't think that the President can act decisively. Skip Ash – So you think it, because we've, Wesley, I've been talking about this, and so has Stan, that they're sensing a, at least a vulnerability or a lack of focus from the United States.

Skip Ash – Yes, I think that's exactly it, and therefore that, in their view, equates to an opportunity. If the United States is incapable of responding because the administration is incapable of crafting a meaningful policy and executing it, they can have this done relatively quickly and it would be a fait accompli. Skip Ash – What would happen if, what do you think would happen militarily or not at all? What would happen if China did?

I want both Wes and Skip to talk about this. If China does make a direct move on Taiwan, what happens? What do we do? What's the reaction around the world?

Skip first. Skip Ash – Well, I think China does that. China's been making, has been rattling savers a lot recently in this direction. I think the Taiwanese would fight and that would, so there would be a cost to the Chinese, but at the same time, what do we have to go over there with? Are we ready for a long-term war and possibly get, you know, get sucked into that area of the world in a, in a conflict for quite an extended period of time? I'm not sure we're ready for that. I'm not sure the people are ready for that. There's but no preparation of the public for something like this, so. Skip Ash – It would be a direct conflict. At that point, it would be, Wes, a direct conflict with the Chinese government. I can't imagine that. Wes Gray – I don't think the Biden administration is willing to go there.

And I think Skip's right. The American people certainly at this point are not willing to go there. The other thing too, we, we've armed the Taiwanese and we trained them. They had the ability to do a certain amount of self-defense, but long-term, they would be overwhelmed by the Chinese military.

And we could say, well, we'll go in and behind the scenes supply and support them. We don't even have the military assets in the region to offer meaningful support if China were to invade them right now. Wes Gray So, I mean, so Skip, from a practical standpoint, you don't see it then, I mean, of the United States taking adverse military action, maybe trade action, but adverse military action against the Chinese government? Skip Ash Well, I think the military action would have, they would have to, you would have to up the ante relatively quickly.

And to do that, you may have to approach at least the threat of the use of weapons of mass destruction, which all of us want to avoid at all costs. So, I think at some point in time, you get to the point, what we need to also understand is, were that to happen, our allies in Korea and our allies in Japan are really going to be freaked out about that because if the Chinese can take Taiwan, then Korea, South Korea is at stake and the Japanese are very vulnerable. Pete Wes, do they view, does the Chinese view South Korea and Japan as their territory?

Skip Ash They do not review it as their territory. But on the other hand, the Chinese are very territorial. They would think nothing of trying to go in there if they thought they could do it with impunity.

I don't think that is likely. But at the same time, I think Taiwan is living today under a real, real threat. And look, even on a smaller scale, what has happened with Hong Kong, which is supposed to be a free and democratic city, China is basically obliterated freedom and democracy there. They intend to do the same thing with Taiwan. Pete What is the sense, Than, in Washington right now? I mean, I cannot imagine an armed conflict against the Chinese.

Now, let me play this before you get Than's comment. Christopher Wray, the head of the FBI, made an interesting statement about the kind of investigations that are going on regarding China. Take a listen. Oh, it's not, is that a quote?

Okay, let me read it. We now have over 2,000 investigations that tie back to the Chinese government. 2,000 investigations going on right now, Than, tying back to the Chinese government, which is interesting. But those investigations aren't solving this problem. Chris They're not solving the problem, Jay.

And I would say a couple of things. Number one, I think the sense in Washington, D.C., is that the tool that the U.S. has primarily against the Chinese right now is an economic one. You just discussed with Skip and Wes how there's not much of a military action or option here. But, Jay, that's why the posture that the Trump administration took economically against China was so important.

Now, that's been pulled back significantly, which means we don't have as many tools on the table. But I would tell you this. You talked about the open FBI investigations into the Chinese. Here's what concerns me, Jay. We know that they've infiltrated the United States Congress. So we have got to figure out how deep that infiltration is. Who is involved? We know. We found a lawsuit on it already. We're already in court on it. One of the main reasons we did that, Jay, because we've got to know how deep that vulnerability is, because if we're going to respond economically, we've got to make sure that the people that are going to the floor to the floor.

Think about that, Jay. The people that would have to go to the floor of the United States House and the United States Senate to vote on sanctions, we have to know if they're compromised by the Chinese government. The same quote from Christopher Wray says this, and this is interesting, we're opening a new investigation into China every 10 hours.

And he says, I can assure the committee that's not because our folks don't have anything to do with their time. So this is a serious, I mean, serious ongoing, and that's intellectual property theft. It's trade issues.

I mean, it's a whole host of things. Cyber espionage. But an armed conflict with China is a different story. Now let's move to Ukraine and Russia.

Skip gets your view. Russia has amassed 80,000 troops on the Ukraine border. It's not the first time they've done it. Are we looking at a potential invasion here? Again, remember that the Russians and the Chinese have gotten together cooperating, and I think they see a situation where the United States, if they create enough crises, United States will not be able to handle them. So you have a situation where if there is trouble all around the world, the United States can't handle all of that.

So they're going to be able to succeed at least someplace. And the Russians, remember, the Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union for many years, and the Crimea had been traditionally part of Russia. So when the Soviet Union transferred to Ukraine during the time of the Soviet Union, it was still part of the overall country. But when Ukraine got its independence, this traditionally Russian area went with the Ukraine, not with Russia.

So there is an historic issue here. But there's also the fact that the Russians fear and feel resistance from Ukraine, and they don't want to have that type of resistance on their border, especially their border that is closer to Ukraine. That is closer to Europe, where their main enemy is on the ground in the Eurasian continent.

Let me ask a follow-up to that question to both you and to Wes, and that is, I'll go to Wes first. Ukraine's military, what's the status of their military right now? Better than it was some years ago when Russia first invaded Ukraine. We've offered them training, we've offered them some weapons.

President Trump did a lot, actually. President Obama refused to give them any- That came up during the impeachment proceedings, remember, they were saying how bad we were to Ukraine, and yet President Trump had given more weapons and ammunition. Well, Obama would not give them any offensive weapons, only defensive.

Well, President Trump came in and changed that. So they're better trained and better armed. But again, sort of like with Taiwan and China, they would be no match for a Russian all-out invasion of their country. And I think Russia and China both are banking on the fact they can do this without any real consequences that are going to hurt them. I don't want to be a doomsayer, but I think the geopolitical stars are aligning in such a way. I predict that China is going to aggressively move on Taiwan and Russia is going to aggressively move on Ukraine, and I think they will do it in coordination with one another. I have that sense, too. I mean, I don't have any intelligence that tells me that as far as any knowledge, other than, you know, as Skip, as you said, the Chinese and the Russians are certainly close and are in contact.

And then I ask you the same question. Can Ukraine put up a fight against a Russian invasion? They will put up a fight, but I don't think they can prevail. Remember, that's a broad plane. There are no natural obstacles, no natural defensive obstacles for Russians to charge into the Ukraine. It's just one flat plane. It's a perfect tank country.

And I think it's one of those situations where Ukraine would be quickly overrun. All right. We're going to take your calls. We've got calls holding, so hang on the line there. 1-800-684-3110.

If you want to talk to us on air, 800-684-3110. China, Russia, Ukraine, Taiwan, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Gulf States, all happening simultaneously. Don't forget, in the middle of all this, the Iranians are enriching uranium now at 60%. 90% is when it's nuclear capable for weaponry. This is happening simultaneously. And as Skip just said and Wes said earlier, the Russians and the Chinese are not acting independently of each other. And this is going to be a big test on the United States. So we're just going to have to see.

I mean, we're in a serious moment in our history. All right. We'll be taking your calls at 1-800-684-3110, 800-684-3110. Got comments, you can get them on Facebook or YouTube as well, wherever you're watching on social media. But again, if you want to talk to us on air, 800-684-3110.

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Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. All right, last segment of the broadcast. We're going to go right to your phones on this what we call complicated geopolitical day that we're breaking down for you. Paul's calling from Florida online too. Paul, welcome to the broadcast.

You're on the air. And by the way, if you want to speak to us, 800-684-3110. But Paul, go ahead.

PAUL Hello, Jay. I want to just point out that the United States has an obligation to defend Ukraine, because in 1994, the Clinton administration signed an agreement with Ukraine that if Ukraine got rid of their nuclear weapons, they would be defended by the United States. So I just wanted to point that out.

I'm not sure. You know, I appreciate the call and appreciate the information. Does that necessarily, Skip and Wes, I'll go to Skip first, equate to military engagement? WES Well, I think the idea was that, yes, it was an encouragement for them to give up their nuclear weapons. And by doing that, we were in effect offering military assistance should have come to that. PAUL But that doesn't mean that the United States is going to attack Russia.

WES Well, I do not. The issue would be whether NATO alliance would come into agreement. But right now, the NATO alliance, many of the armies in the NATO alliance are broken. So they are incapable of doing that. So I don't think any agreement we have would be fulfilled in a way that would be satisfying to Ukraine. PAUL Under President Bill Clinton, basically, that had the effect of almost like an executive order.

There was no formal defense treaty with Ukraine. President Clinton said, hey, we will have your back if this happens. That's as good as whoever's in the White House. WES But that doesn't mean we're going to send – look, here's the reality. I don't see a circumstance where we're having armed conflict with China and Russia. PAUL No.

WES Simultaneously? I cannot imagine such a thing. Now, economically, backing up the other countries militarily with assistance is one thing. But this is going to put – this is chaos coming if this happens. PAUL Well, the United States is not physically capable of intervening militarily in all of these situations.

So you have to have a strategy for each one of them. And, you know, Jay, I would tell you that I think this is why things like the Abraham Accords were so important in the Middle East, because it actually diminished the likelihood that U.S. would have to contribute military forces or military activity in that region. And I would tell you, maybe that's one very small silver lining. That's probably a too generous description of it, of the fact that the United States has reengaged with funding the Palestinians. Because, Jay, I think the other Gulf states in the region will now see an increased need to better their relationship with Israel.

So we know that we saw that dramatically improve during the Trump years. Maybe they will see the United States cannot be the savior in this situation. We're going to have to improve our relationship.

One can only hope. PAUL Yeah. I'm going to go to John. He's calling from Arizona on line three. If you want to talk to us, 800-684-3110. John, go ahead.

JOHN Thank you for taking my call. What do you think about a domino effect from China? Go after Taiwan, then go after Philippines and the South Pacific, isolate Japan, and do somewhat similar strategy what Japan did during World War II?

PAUL Let me give you my sense of it. I think, look, if you're Japan or you're South Korea, all of these incursions make you nervous, make you concerned. Now, whether that will result in that kind of, that would be changing the global order, Wes, significantly.

WES It would. I don't see that as likely. What will happen, though, they'll take Taiwan and then they will do what they're doing in the South China Sea right now. And that is they will interfere with South Korea's navy and Japan's navy.

They will harass them and just basically be a nuisance. And they will continue to do with them what they do with us. And that is all of the trade misbehaviors and the theft of intellectual property and internet, you know, fraud, as well as, you know, internet attacks, those kinds of things are what the Chinese are known for. But on the other hand, I think they are looking at actually taking Taiwan back.

PAUL I think that the difficulty here, and I really think this is the difficulty, is that it's putting these countries in a very tough spot. Listen to Joseph Wu. He's Taiwan's foreign minister. JOSEPH WU We are willing to defend ourselves without any question. And we will fight the war if we need to fight a war. PAUL Now, I mean, you're talking about Taiwan, talking about fighting a war with China.

I mean, this is very, very significant, very significant. And I think that we're kidding ourselves if we think that this does not have global ramifications. And as I said, the beneficiary of the chaos is Iran, because everybody's, the eyes go off of Iran, and everybody's focusing on China and Russia. We're doing business with Iran. And as Skip asked earlier, look, it's not a coincidence, right, Wes, that these two incidents are happening at the same time.

WES Right. No, no, they are aligned, and they perceive a weakness on America generally, but also weakness with the change of administrations. And they are taking advantage of this. And I think their behavior is only going to get more dire and more aggressive over the next few days and few weeks. They need to strike as while the iron is hot, so to speak. And I think they are willing to do that in the near future.

And they think they can get away with it. And here's the sad part, Jay, they probably will. PAUL Yeah. Secretary of State Blinken has now come out publicly about the situation with Taiwan, what the United States would do.

Take a listen. JAY BLINKEN We have a commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself. PAUL Now, when they say ability to defend itself, that doesn't mean we take our troops there.

JAY BLINKEN No, those are very important words. We have to parse that out. We will help them have the ability to defend themselves. We do not have a treaty with them that says we will send in troops and that we will defend you. We will give you the means to defend yourself. That is well and good, and I'm glad we're doing that.

But they will be, as Skip said, fairly quickly overwhelmed by a huge Chinese military. PAUL Fan, I know Lindsey Graham is concerned about this. Are there other members that are also concerned about this? I mean, we should maybe get Senator Graham on this week to discuss this.

What is your sense of where this is? Because this is obviously, these are major escalations. I mean, huge. China, Taiwan, Russia, Ukraine, China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan withdrawal. I mean, it's a lot going on. JAY BLINKEN I think to paint with a broad brush the concern with several of these members, I'd put Senator Graham in this camp. I'd put Leader McConnell in this camp, is that maybe we're taking our eye off the ball on several of these situations. You look at the Senator Kaine quote, sure, maybe there are greater threats around the globe, but certainly the Middle East is still a threat.

And Senator Graham is absolutely correct that in a vacuum you could have re-emergence of some threats, and we have to keep our eye on that. The other thing that I would maybe mention that I'm hearing from members of Congress, Jay, relates to China. I think we need to hear from Secretary Blinken and President Biden very clearly an acknowledgement of what China is after here. China, Jay, as you know, but as maybe this administration has not acknowledged to the extent that they should, China wants to be the world's superpower. That is what is behind all of these moves. And so even if we don't come militarily to the aid of Taiwan, we have to play a leading role around the world addressing that threat because that's what they want, Jay. They want to supplant the United States as the world's superpower. JAY BLINKEN You know, it's interesting. They have no problem, the Chinese government, saying China first. I mean, is there any question?

PAUL No question at all. And yet they took great offense when President Trump talked about America first. JAY BLINKEN Yeah. I mean, the irony is unreal. The seriousness of the situation, though, is also real. I think tomorrow's broadcast, we're going to be joined by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. And I think later in the, I think maybe Friday, we have Ambassador Grinnell back on too. So we'll be able to give you more analysis. This is a big moving thing, moving target. Now, the good news is the American Center for Law and Justice, your support of the ACLJ, not only allows us to broadcast, get you this information, but also to provide you the analysis that's necessary.

Go up to ACLJ.org. A lot of information posted there, a lot of blogs. You've got two on China, I believe, right, Wes? WES Yes, sir. PAUL Are they currently both posted? WES They are.

PAUL They are. We're working on another major piece on China right now at our office in Washington. That's going on right now. So, Than, your office is engaged in the China issue as well.

JAY BLINKEN Absolutely. All around the globe, Jay, this is part of the, this is one of the main missions of the ACLJ and our international affiliates. So we're going to be on top of it.

PAUL You're not kidding. Folks, support the work of the ACLJ. We're almost mid-month in our April Matching Challenge, March and April Big Matching Challenge months. ACLJ.org, that's ACLJ.org, any amount you donate, of course, tax-deductible, but you get a matching gift. So let me encourage you to go to ACLJ.org. That's ACLJ.org to support the work of the ACLJ.

We'll talk to you tomorrow. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20. A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org.