The National Security Hour

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – We are sliding toward a war the United States did not need and cannot afford. A small circle of hawks sold a narrative that Iran posed an imminent existential threat. That claim never stood up to basic scrutiny. Key policymakers ignored dissenting intelligence. They bought a timeline set by outside actors and then wondered why events raced...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – The growing homeland risk environment — where adversaries exploit chaos across multiple domains: cyber attacks, infrastructure disruption, ideological incitement, and opportunistic violence. Not every incident is directly tied to Iran, but the threat environment has clearly intensified and demands vigilance...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – Iran, like so many asymmetric adversaries before it, never intended to fight America straight up. Its real strategy is to endure, decentralize, and retaliate indirectly—through drones, missile salvos, proxy capabilities, and above all by threatening global energy flows through chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – America is again involved in what surely looks like another ride down the highway of failed interventionist wars, this one again being waged on Israel’s behalf against Iran or one of its many enemies. The depth of the clear and cynical lock that Israel and rich Jewish-Americans have on U.S. policy in the Middle East can be seen in the...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – What does “America at war” actually mean — not just on the battlefield, but for Americans at home? Iran’s strategy has long relied on missiles, drones, proxy militias, cyber operations, and attacks on global shipping routes. Even after suffering significant military losses, Tehran still retains the capability to strike through asymmetric warfare...

The National Security Hour with LTC Sargis Sangari – Drones change the math of conflict. A weapon worth tens of thousands can force defenses that cost far more. Criminal cartels and state actors exploit that gap. Countermeasures are emerging, from directed energy to electronic measures. Those tools must be fielded at scale and priced for use, not hoarded as luxury tech. There is no simple path to...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – America and the West are facing a sustained information warfare campaign designed to demoralize populations, divide societies, and destabilize governments without ever firing a shot. From classrooms and corporate training programs… to media, social media algorithms, and entertainment, narratives are seeded, amplified, and repeated until...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – My fear is that this war ends not with order restored, but with America strategically diminished. U.S. bases may become untenable. Arab partners may decide that hosting American power is simply too dangerous. And Washington, after spending blood and treasure yet again, may discover that its position in the Middle East has weakened rather than...

The National Security Hour with Blanquita Cullum – This is a moment to choose what kind of country we will be. We must harden our commitment to steady, well-funded programs. We should partner where trust is real and protect what is uniquely ours. We must rebuild industrial capacity and nurture children who want to solve hard problems. Spaceflight is costly and risky. That is why it teaches...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – Indeed, the close relationship between American leaders and Israel contributes nothing to American security. That relationship does nothing but undermine U.S. security at every turn, from Israel publicly paying all but one member of the U.S. Congress to do its bidding, thereby controlling it, to conducting espionage against the American military...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – Just last week, we discussed the high probability of a massive joint American and Israeli air, naval, and cyber strike on Iran’s military infrastructure. Then it happened. That’s not prediction theater — that’s pattern recognition. But here’s the reality: Iran is not the final exam. The real test facing the US is the CCP...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – Iran knows something else, too: they don’t have to “win.” They just have to outlast us. They can wait, harass, bleed, and spike energy prices until American politics does the rest. And yes, squeezing Gulf infrastructure or shipping lanes isn’t just military leverage —it’s electoral leverage. You don’t have to topple Trump. You just have to make his...

The National Security Hour with Blanquita Cullum – Do the media and the public really understand the nature of the threat? Timing? Coordination with Israel? Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have provided air defense, airspace, and logistical support. Other allies, including Australia, have supported the strikes. As Americans became aware of a coordinated launch of targeted air strikes...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – There probably is not a lot of time before U.S. leaders have to decide if they will conduct a land war in Iran. The U.S. military has already expended a significant amount of ordnance from stockpiles that were described as “inadequate for a long war” before the first shot was fired. But it now appears that the Iranians are ready for a long war...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – What would a post-theocracy Iran look like — reformist state, military junta, or hardened IRGC stronghold? And while America shifts naval and air power toward the Middle East… What are China’s trigger lines for military aggression? Does extended U.S. engagement in Iran create a strategic opportunity for Beijing in the Pacific?

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – The danger is not simply that the United States could stumble into war with Iran or be drawn deeper into Mexico’s security crisis. The greater risk is that these events signal a broader erosion of strategic clarity. Without clear priorities, reliable alliances, and adaptable military doctrine, even the world’s most powerful nation can find itself...

The National Security Hour with Blanquita Cullum – What does this mean for Americans unable to leave? Some are stuck in airports, many are fearful, and some need medicine and are desperate for a timeline/hope to exit the country. We discuss the massive influence of the cartels, whose reach extends to almost every state in the U.S. Where does it go from here, and how will the...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – Isn’t it odd that on what seems to be the eve of a U.S. attack on Iran, violent demonstrations and protests have again started inside Iran to serve as another casus belli? This development certainly is occurring thanks to Israeli intelligence operations. Iranians and all Middle Easterners also have heard the U.S. Ambassador in Israel claim that all of...

The National Security Hour with LTC Sargis Sangari – A stadium is not a charity. It is private capital and local jobs. If policy chases headline projects for political reasons while choking everyday taxpayers, that signals weakness. Federal funding can be pulled when states fail basic compliance. That can cost billions in transit, childcare, and infrastructure. Credit agencies warn that thin margins and...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – While Russia wages war in Europe and China expands its industrial and military dominance, Western leaders are locked in a battle over borders, identity, energy policy, and escalation strategy. How decades of offshoring America’s manufacturing base have hollowed out our defense industrial strength. Why mass migration is no longer just a...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – Here’s the uncomfortable truth: secrecy is built into power. Intelligence agencies need it. Diplomacy depends on it. Negotiations require it. The challenge isn’t eliminating secrets — it’s preventing them from becoming private chains on public decision-makers. Because once leaders are ruled by what they’re afraid might come out, they’re no longer serving the...

The National Security Hour with Blanquita Cullum – A classic film meets modern politics as the filibuster takes center stage in today’s congressional battles. From 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' to current debates over majority rule, media influence, and youth activism, this discussion examines power, persuasion, and constitutional principles shaping America’s future at home and abroad...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – Author Ian Trottier argues that former CIA Director John Brennan sits at the center of sweeping intelligence corruption spanning the Obama and Biden years. Drawing on research and declassified material, *High Stakes Treason* alleges ties to 9/11, Russian collusion, and deep state financial misconduct that threaten the republic...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – Unmanned aerial systems now provide persistent surveillance, precision strikes, and loitering munitions that are cheap, lethal, and disposable. During the Biden years, Houthi rebels repeatedly launched low-cost drones at U.S. Navy ships, forcing America to respond with multi-million-dollar missiles—a losing economic and strategic equation...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – Trump went full Truth Social: “locked and loaded,” red lines, moral theatrics. Then the regime allegedly crossed the line with a brutal crackdown, and suddenly the White House is trapped by its own swagger. When you publicly promise to “do something,” you don’t get to be surprised when you’re asked what, exactly, you plan to...

The National Security Hour with Blanquita Cullum – There has always been a concern and outcry of voter fraud in the past. What is different and potentially more dangerous this time, and how to prevent it? On this edition of the National Security Hour, host Blanquita Cullum is joined David Shestokas a former Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney and he is currently on the Chicago Board of Elections...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – While the issue has yet to play itself out, Mr. Helegesen said he thought there was room for a compromise based on the fact that Greenland is strategically vital to NATO’s defense planning, and that the United States already has more-or-less unlimited sway in deciding how to ensure its defense arrangements in Greenland, especially...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – For years, Americans were told that climate change—not China, not Russia, not Iran—was the greatest existential threat to U.S. national security. Under the Biden administration, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin declared climate change an existential crisis, redirecting the Pentagon’s focus toward 91 environmental research...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – China isn’t wobbling the way Western chatter claims. In my conversation with veteran factory operator in China, Dan Collins, the signal came through loud and clear: there’s no coup in modern China, and this latest “purge panic” is more likely about power discipline (corruption, war planning, or both) than palace intrigue...

The National Security Hour with Blanquita Cullum – Are dangerous foreign players stepping in to create more volatility inside and outside of Iran? Who are the main players? China? Russia? Domestically, are foreign entities, countries, or individuals propping up and supporting demonstrations in the US? Where does it lead—to what end? Who is sitting at the table of this series of organized chaos?

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – Calls grow for decisive action as unrest spreads across American cities, with claims of an organized insurrection undermining law, sovereignty, and constitutional order. The focus centers on political leadership, foreign influence, immigration, and national security, urging immediate enforcement of existing laws to preserve the republic...

The National Security Hour with LTC Sargis Sangari – We are living through a revival of great power competition that plays out in places most Americans never imagined. We must put American interests first, strengthen defenses across the hemisphere and the Arctic, and stand with those who risk everything for freedom. That is how we protect the republic our founders entrusted to us...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – The political influence operations aimed at conservatives in the United States are not organic. They are global. Steven Kuhn explains how ideological narratives that historically did not resonate in America—terms like “fascist,” “Nazi,” “authoritarian,” and “no kings”—were developed, normalized, and weaponized in Europe, then deliberately...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – There is a better alternative: stop outsourcing U.S. policy to proxy forces with extremist roots; stop laundering their reputations to fit Beltway talking points; stop treating local allies as disposable; and stop building Iran strategy on the most volatile accelerant in the region. If the last twenty years taught anything, it’s that chaos is easy to unleash and...

The National Security Hour with Blanquita Cullum – According to Andi Buerger J.D., survivor, founder, and Chairman of Voices Against Trafficking, “At a time when real-life heroes or role models can be scarce, ordinary people are making a difference in human rights, not for glory but for good.” Andi, a survivor, shares insights on how to recognize and help victims...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – On Iran, Professor Dorsey noted that Trump’s foreign-policy behavior has been – as it was in Venezuela – on-again (ready for war) and off -again (marking time until war). Professor Dorsey said this is a very dangerous way to treat the Iranian government. That government is fully aware of the force the US can bring to bear on the...

The National Security Hour with LTC Sargis Sangari – If we want a safer world, start with real health. Fund sanitation and nutrition. Strengthen oversight, so aid serves people, not contracts. Insist that pathogen sharing is transparent, time-limited, and tied to capacity building. Break the monopoly of secrecy around genetic data. Hold bureaucracies accountable. Return medicine to the bedside and away...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – Because Greenland sits on the shortest strategic line between Eurasia and the United States—a corridor now exploited by Sino-Russian increased military coordination, including both undersea mapping operations to destroy vital underseas communications lines, mapping of underseas terrain for adversaries safe submarine navigation into the western...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – America bleeds power not through invasion, but through strategic incompetence. Control of global chokepoints still decides trade, war, and influence, yet Washington turns quiet leverage into public theater. As allies grow uneasy and rivals advance patiently, geography exposes a deeper rot: an empire that outsourced strength, mistreats partners, and mistakes noise for power...

The National Security Hour with Blanquita Cullum – Does the United States need to take control of a country like Greenland to establish a “Golden Dome” to protect the United States? Are our longtime allies moving toward countries that pose a threat to us, such as Canada and Mexico, cozying up to China? How about Iran? How close are they to countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and...

The National Security Hour with LTC Sargis Sangari – There is no easy exit from this trap. Iran is not a single narrative. Kurds, Arabs, Turks, Persians, leftists, monarchists, moneyed factions, and armed units all push their own vision. Whoever holds the guns will have a seat at the table. There is no clear, uncontested leader to replace the clerical state. Someone waving an old royal flag will not unify...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – For the United States, according to Professor Dorsey, a military intervention would be a mistake of large proportions. Indeed, it probably would unite the Iranian population against the United States. In terms of politics, culture, and reputation, the United States at the moment possesses almost nothing that Iranians are eager to have at home...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – From Iran’s long revolutionary history to the present-day uprising, to the global shockwaves that could follow regime change, this is not about what already happened—it’s about what may happen next. For the United States, global allies, and strategic competitors alike, the stakes are enormous. China currently depends on Iran and Venezuela for...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – What we do now is drift from conflict to conflict, using the U.S. military as a global enforcement arm for political frustration. Venezuela today. Ukraine yesterday. Iran tomorrow. The logic is always the same: we can, therefore we should. A real national security strategy does three things. It keeps Americans safe, free, and prosperous. It avoids wars we...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – U.S. actions in Venezuela expose the recurring dangers of interventionism, from regime uncertainty to costly military escalation. The narrative questions war driven by oil, politics, and global norms, arguing that targeting leaders invites disaster. Drawing on intelligence experience, it warns that endless wars drain lives, liberty, and national strength while weakening democratic...

The National Security Hour with LTC Sargis Sangari – Brennan allegedly defrauded the US Government and its People by inducing Congress to spend more money to stop terrorism that it needed to—the result was due to Brennan’s deliberate inability to keep the nation safe. High Stakes Treason reveals what appears to be a major act of treasonous financial fraud committed against the American people...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – The United States, China, Russia, and Iran don’t operate alone. They rely on alliances, partners, and proxies—working together economically and militarily to project power, deter rivals, and advance strategic interests across the globe. From the Middle East and Eastern Europe to the Indo-Pacific and the Western Hemisphere, Fred Galvin explains how...

The National Security Hour with Brandon Weichert – The raid that removed Nicolás Maduro was tactically brilliant. Anyone saying otherwise is lying—or coping. But the real story isn’t the raid itself. It’s what it normalized. For the first time in decades, the United States wielded hard power unapologetically in the Western Hemisphere. Not in Europe. Not in the Middle East. At home...

The National Security Hour with Col. Mike and Dr. Mike – Maduro’s lieutenants are reported to be in charge of producing the vote-counting machines that have been used for fixing U.S. elections, and that operation would never be conducted without the full knowledge of Venezuela’s President. How credible a witness Maduro would be against the legion of Democrats and NGOs who ran the...

The National Security Hour with Major Fred Galvin – Once the wealthiest nation in Latin America, Venezuela has been reduced to authoritarian rule, economic ruin, and criminal governance under Nicolás Maduro. And into that collapse stepped China—buying oil, gold, rare-earth minerals, and political loyalty in exchange for billions in loans that turned a sovereign nation into a CCP client state...