They Walked Into This War Completely Unprepared (w/ Adam Kinzinger)

The current administration is seeking $200 billion for a war with Iran, a figure drastically higher than the approximately $66 billion spent over four years to support Ukraine against Russia. This massive expenditure for a 'war of choice' is seen as fiscally irresponsible and strategically misguided, especially when compared to the support for a key strategic ally.

Kinzinger states, 'for less than $200 billion, which is what they're asking for for this war of choice, less than that is what we spent over four years helping Ukraine to defeat one of our chief strategic enemies.' He later details military personnel receiving 60 hours' notice for deployment, crew duty days being waived, and bases rationing food due to missile strikes.

Active-duty military personnel, including C-17 pilots, are experiencing extreme pressure due to rapid, short-notice deployments to the Middle East. This has led to overworked crews, waived safety protocols (crew duty days), and logistical challenges like food rationing at targeted bases. The military feels unprepared and betrayed by the leadership orchestrating the conflict.

Kinzinger reports, 'my friends that probably voted for Trump, they're furious. the ones that are still in. I have one friend who was a C17 pilot and they're like they're abusing them in terms of just like they get 60 hours of notice all of a sudden to deploy to the Middle East... They're miserable and they feel like we went to war without being properly prepared.'

Many Republican politicians publicly express 'concern' or disagreement with the administration's actions (e.g., the Iran war, lack of Ukraine support) but consistently vote in alignment with party leadership or Donald Trump's directives. This performative concern is criticized as a failure to act on their stated beliefs, despite having the power to influence legislative outcomes.

Kinzinger criticizes 'the concerned Republican... These are the people that know that what's going on is wrong... And instead of voting that way, they tweet their concerns and then vote how Donald Trump wants.' He notes that 'just two Republicans in the House of Representatives uniting can shut down the floor'.

The term 'neoconservative' is being incorrectly applied as a slur to current 'corrupt jingoistic war hawks' who are perceived to be driven by financial gain (e.g., cryptocurrency deals, real estate) rather than the original, albeit flawed, intentions of promoting democracy and freedom globally. The hosts argue that true neoconservatism, in its initial form, was well-intentioned, despite its poor execution.

Miller states, 'there was an earnest feeling among the original neoconservatives which was we want to bring democracy and freedom to the world. Execution was bad. Intentions were good though.' He contrasts this with current figures who 'want money. They want to sell their cryptocurrency to the UAE... They don't care what Ayatollah takes over next.'