Going to Ground | DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou

<p>Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou deprogram you from mainstream media every weekday at 9 AM EST. </p><p>Today we discuss:</p><p>• <strong>Middle East War: </strong>The Pentagon is preparing for <strong>weeks of ground operations</strong> in Iran, U.S. officials said, as thousands of American soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East for what could become a dangerous new phase of the war. Trump says he might attack <strong>Kharg Island</strong> and claims the U.S. might steal Iran’s oil. <strong>Yemen’s Houthis</strong> threaten <strong>Bab-el-Mandeb</strong>, an alternative shipping route to the Strait of Hormuz via the Red Sea.</p><p>• <strong>Cuban Crisis: </strong>The U.S. allows a Russian tanker to deliver oil to Cuba. The Castros step back into the breach. The U.S. blockade of medical supplies is killing Cuban medical patients.</p><p>• <strong>Pope Leo says that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars</strong> and have “hands full of blood,” and called the Middle East conflict “atrocious” and said Jesus cannot be ⁠used to justify any wars. The pros<strong>elytizing Christian campaign of Pete Hegseth</strong> violates norms, risks unconstitutionality, and undermines the bonds of mutual respect between troops that are essential, especially in wartime.</p><p>• <strong>Pickax CEO Jeff Dornik</strong> joins to discuss free speech online.</p><p></p><p>MERCH STORE: <a href="https://www.deprogram.live" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.deprogram.live</a></p><p></p><p><a href="https://x.com/tedrall" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://x.com/tedrall</a></p><p><a href="https://x.com/JohnKiriakou" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://x.com/JohnKiriakou</a></p><p></p><p>LIVE ON RUMBLE: <a href="https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://rumble.com/c/DeProgramShow</a></p><p>SPOTIFY: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8Zu" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/show/2kdFlw2w8sSPhKI8NRx8Zu</a></p><p>APPLE MUSIC: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall/id1825379504" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deprogram-with-john-kiriakou-and-ted-rall/id1825379504</a></p>