Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Pentagon officials told Congress that they estimated the cost of the war against Iran had exceeded $11.3 billion in the first six days alone.

• Trump tells the G7 Iran is about to “surrender.” But Arab diplomats say Iran, emboldened by its ability to rattle the global economy by choking oil shipments, has laid out steep preconditions for any return to talks. Iran is demanding that the airstrikes stop before a cease-fire, and firm guarantees that it won’t be attacked again, reparations for damages and the removal U.S. forces from the region.

• Four of six crew members died after a U.S. military KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed into another plane in Iraq. A Michigan synagogue and Old Dominion University came under terrorist attack. Dubai’s financial center is under drone attack.

• Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of targeting civilian homes, killing four people in the capital and two in the east, as fighting between the two nations entered its third week.

JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE

https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

FOLLOW TED:

https://rall.com/

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• Outdated DIA targeting data—dating back at least 10 to 13 years—probably resulted in the Feb. 28 U.S. bombing of the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school mistaken missile strike that killed at least 175 people in Iran, mostly children. Is recklessness the norm for America’s “high tech” warriors?

• As oil futures surge over $100/barrel and tankers are attacked by Iran, 400 million barrels to be released from International Energy Agency oil reserves as Iran effectively blocks the Strait of Hormuz.

• As John Thune battles conservatives for refusing to alter Senate rules and mandate a traditional “talking” filibuster that would force Democrats to hold the floor to block the Save America Act, Trump trolls the Senate majority leader: “He’s got to be a leader.” Does Trump know Save would hurt him and the Republicans?

TO ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GO LIVE AT 9 AM ET: https://ahaslides.com/4UJWT

JOIN US LIVE ON RUMBLE

https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

FOLLOW TED:

https://rall.com/

https://x.com/tedrall

FOLLOW JOHN:

https://www.instagram.com/realjohnkiriakou

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8Zu

LISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall

Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST.

Today we discuss:

• In the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration is trapped between the specter of a global economic recession and a naval catastrophe. Energy arteries are constricting to a point of “nonlinearity,” where every day the Strait of Hormuz remains closed multiplies the economic pain exponentially. Iran will bomb Liquefied Natural Gas tankers first—vessels that could “explode like the Beirut bomb”—followed by oil tankers to maximize environmental and economic chaos. But there’s also a huge risk in sending US naval assets as escorts into a war zone. White House analysts call the Strait their “Death Valley.”

• Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to CNN. Despite US claims of having destroyed 14 Iranian minelayers, Iran still retains upward of 80% to 90% of its small boats and mine layers, so its forces could feasibly lay hundreds of mines in the waterway.

• Iran attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf. Two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest. Iran’s joint military command announced it would start targeting banks and financial institutions in the Middle East.

• San Francisco’s iconic mass transit system, BART, has entered a death spiral. Ridership cratered during the pandemic and remains less than half of what it was. The very future of the familiar white and blue trains, which have zipped around the Bay Area since 1972, is in doubt. BART says that only Bay Area residents can rescue the system by passing a new sales tax in November to cover its $400 million annual loss. Absent that, the board recently warned that it would take eye-popping actions out of desperation in 2027: Fewer trains. Higher fares and parking fees. Ending service at 9 p.m. instead of midnight. Laying off a quarter of its work force. And shrinking the system almost back to its original footprint by shuttering 15 stations. All of which will further reduce ridership. Meanwhile, the Iraq War costs $2 billion a day.

MERCH STORE: https://www.deprogram.live

https://x.com/tedrall

https://x.com/JohnKiriakou

LIVE ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8Zu

APPLE MUSIC: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall/id1825379504