COL. LAWRENCE WILKERSON : After 23 Years, Is the Iraq War Finally Over?

The Iraq War has been a “still going” story for so long that it barely feels real when someone says it might finally be ending. We sit down with Col. Lawrence Wilkerson to talk through what the last American forces leaving Iraq could actually mean, not just for Baghdad, but for the bigger U.S. posture across Southwest Asia and the political reality that Washington may be getting pushed out rather than choosing to leave.

From there, we move into the Iran file: reports of sanctions relief and unfrozen funds tied to nuclear concessions, why a leak like that can trigger panic, and what it says about how fragile U.S. strategy looks when there is no clean military option. We connect the dots between economic pressure, diplomacy as “optics,” and the kind of internal politics that can make even a workable deal impossible to admit out loud.

We also dig into Israel’s direction under Netanyahu, the risk of escalation with Iran, and how domestic pressure inside Israel can reward leaders for going further, not for stepping back. Along the way we talk about Yemen and the Houthis, Saudi vulnerability, the Gulf monarchies the U.S. has long supported, and the Red Sea’s human costs through migration, exploitation, and instability.

If you want a clear, unsparing conversation about Iraq, Iran, Israel, Yemen, and the choices that keep pulling the U.S. into the same regional storms, hit play. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who still argues about 2003, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Chapter Markers0:06 Sponsor Message And Cold Open0:51 Tech Trouble And Guest Return1:37 Trump Rages Over Iran Offer Leak3:53 Israel’s Existential Spiral And U.S. Pullback7:53 Why The U.S. Carries The Fight10:22 The Clean Break Endgame On Iran11:58 Houthis, Saudi Vulnerability, And Tyrants16:32 Red Sea Migration, Scams, And Piracy19:32 Are U.S. Troops Finally Leaving Iraq20:31 How Iraq Was Broken And Why It Matters26:29 Who Believed WMD Claims And Why28:14 October 7 And The Power Of Narratives31:05 Final Thoughts And How To Support

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