For this week’s Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten podcast, I had historian, Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, former Special Advisor to the Secretary of State and consultant to the National Security Council during the Reagan administration, author of 38 books and most pertinent to today, Iran expert, Michael Ledeen on the podcast to discuss among other things:
- The impending collapse of the Khomeinist regime and what the U.S. can do to accelerate it
- The false narrative about alternatives for Iran being either appeasement or war
- The history of U.S. intelligence failures in Iran
- How secular and liberal Iran’s dissidents actually are
- Whether there is a wedge that can be exploited between Iran and Russia
- What will become of Hezbollah if the Iranian regime collapses
- The allegedly political witch hunt against Iran hawk and Israel supporter Larry Franklin as an illustration of historic anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the foreign policy and national security establishment
- Ledeen’s theory that Gen. Michael Flynn — with whom Ledeen co-authored the book, The Field of Fight — falsely pled guilty, and the real reason why Gen. Flynn was targeted in the first place
You can find the episode on iTunes, everywhere else podcasts are found, download the episode directly here or read the transcript here.
More
Rex Tillerson seems to be criticized by every imaginable group: State Department employees, ex-employees, the media (of course), and now Congress. I thought it would be worthwhile to figure out, on balance, whether the disapproval is justified, and how he and his State Department are performing. Unfortunately, it’s not a pretty picture. And it’s not all Tillerson’s fault.
Refugees come to the United States through several legal channels, and this post will focus on only the Refugee Resettlement Program. The Refugee Resettlement Program has its own issues, and is a high-profile element of our immigration policy. We have discussed this before at Ricochet, and it is time for an update. I am posting here to provide some background on Refugee Resettlement, to specifically discuss refugees from Syria, to comment on the program under the Obama Administration, and to document that 
This past week, 
The US Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Exxon/Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as the new Secretary of State. All Republican Senators supported him, along with three Senate Democrats: Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Joe Manchin (WV), and Mark Warner (VA). The final tally was 56 to 43. Sen. Angus King (ME), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also voted to confirm the nominee.
The American appetite for businessmen in government is a hardy perennial. Ross Perot won 19 percent of the popular vote in 1992 on the strength of his “get under the hood” appeal. The Republican Party nominated Wendell Willkie in 1940 (though he’d been a Democrat until 1939) because he was perceived as a businessman “with a heart.” Now, the president-elect has chosen ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. Is a businessman – a great dealmaker – according to the Trump camp, what we need as Secretary of State?
The email scandal grows
Ever since a young Sean Penn starred in Taps and Fast Times at Ridgemont High he has evolved into a world class actor and director. I would consider myself a fan of his work.
There are people in this world who, though they are not American, believe in the justice of America’s cause. It sometimes happens that they commit their lives to an unkind fate by becoming America’s allies. This has happened in Iraq. Those who most loved America face the cruelest fate. Americans are represented by politicians who are the artisans of this fate.
