Al Franken - David Rothkopf and Paul Rieckhoff on The Iran War

[Rhiannon12866]

America is at war with Iran. It's the eighth time that Donald Trump has attacked another country since he began his second term (despite pledging "no new wars" during his campaign). To break it all down, we're joined by foreign affairs expert David Rothkopf and Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq War vet and CEO of the Independent Veterans of America.

We take a look at the difficult history between America and Iran along with the current military campaign Trump has started in the region. Trump and his administration have yet to outline exactly WHY we are fighting, and with Americans already dying, it's no surprise that this war is extremely unpopular. Not to mention, this is costing our country a billion dollars a day and will only become more expensive as the war expands.

David and Paul discuss the long term impact this might have for America and the Middle East and how it may escalate in the region and could signal a scary moment for the global nuclear arms race. - Al Franken - 03/08/2026.


READ David Rothkopf in The Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/author/david-rothkopf/

SUBSCRIBE to David's Substack "Need to Know": https://davidrothkopf.substack.com/

LISTEN to David’s podcast "Words Matter" with fellow friend of the show Norm Ornstein: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dsrs-words-matter/id1420216970

LEARN more about Paul's organization, Independent Veterans of America: https://independentveteransofamerica.org/

LISTEN to Paul's podcast, Independent Americans: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff/id1457899667