Threat of Drones and Sleeper Cells in US Not a Major Concern: Panelists

And we're bringing in our next guests. Joining us now is Adam Hartage, special operations combat veteran and former CIA operations officer. And we have geopolitical strategist Darren Gobb. He's a retired lieutenant colonel who served in the U.S. Army as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot and battalion commander. So good afternoon to you both. Adam, may I start with you today? So ABC reports that the FBI recently warned California police departments that Iran could launch drone attacks on the West Coast in retaliation to the U.S. Can I just get your overall thoughts right now on this development? Yeah, I'm not sure what specific information they're acting upon, but I will say that based on everything that I've seen about modern warfare and the continued development of modern warfare, what you're in essence seeing is the democratization of lethality down to a very low level where, frankly, that technology is being perfected and has kind of been perfected over the last few years in Ukraine, where you've been watching almost going back to trench warfare from World War I because the battlefield was not able to be crossed by either opposing forces. So I would not be surprised if there are bad actors who get their hands on lethal drone capability. It's certainly not expensive. The drone is the delivery vehicle, and as long as they have the actual explosive ingredients themselves, it's not a big stretch of the imagination for them to get there. So Colonel Goff, let me go to you now. Can the U.S. defend efficiently against potential drone strikes on the West Coast? Well, they can. Probably not as good as many people would like, just because it's impossible to defend against drones perfectly with the amount of airspace and land that we have. Fortunately, 20 years ago, I spent a lot of time in this arena and predicted this exact threat to the homeland from cartels and from the ocean and many other entities saying that our forces deployed in our homeland was susceptible to drone threats for a variety of reasons and from a number of people. So I've been writing about this exact scenario for the last 20 years or so. So I know Homeland Security and the Department of Defense have been well-warned about this, and there are technologies and systems that are very effective against drones. It's just a matter of what kind and what volume they would come in. So this is not something that would keep me up at night. It's worth acknowledging the threat could be real, but I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time being extraordinarily concerned about it affecting a person's daily life. Vigilance as always, but fear never. Okay, so Adam, the colonel says it wouldn't keep him up at night. Let me talk to you about another concern here, about sleeper cells. Talk to us about this. Could they be activated by the Iranian regime in the United States? How are you looking at this situation in particular? Yeah, you know, the whole notion of sleeper cells, I believe, gets a little bit overblown and a little overdramatic, dramatized in government circles and in the media. I do think that there is a significant part of the diaspora here, the Iranian diaspora, that is very happy that we have overthrown what is a fundamentalist regime that's been controlling the country for 47 years. But that's not to say that Iran would not have the ability to activate groups, partisan groups, which are loyal to them, whether through physical violence or protests or anything like that. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if we see some sort of low-level activity that would result in potentially some kind of a kinetic operation. But I don't foresee that as being a major threat as far as something on the scale of, let's say, 9-11 or something like that. So, Colonel, is the concern over sleeper cells overblown, in your opinion? I think it can be, just because the human imagination takes something like this and automatically assumes, like Adam said, the 9-11 style picture on your computer screen or your TV screen. So I think it's, again, one of those things that we have to acknowledge can be real and that those people most certainly are here because they were in Venezuela, they worked their way through Mexico to our border. But again, this goes straight back to vigilance is warranted. But again, it's not something that I'm going to lose a lot of sleep over. But we do know that they're here. I've got documents from the people who were working some of this down in Mexico that show large amounts of single fighting age males, both Iranians and Chinese that moved into the United States. So amongst all of those, you may have one out of a thousand or so people who are part of a quasi sleeper cell or something like that, that it's worth noting that threat. But again, most of us can go on with our lives and probably never have to experience anything as a result of that. Okay, understood. So Adam, a few more things that we have to talk about today. We're seeing reports of the Islamic Republic Guard Corps claiming responsibility for striking two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz this morning. It also says it has full control of the strait. Your thoughts on this situation? Is that the case? Yeah, I think that's more of a narrative war because, you know, in warfare, the first thing to go is going to be the truth. That's the first casualty of pretty much all war. And war is, you know, it's deception. It's diplomacy through violence. It's all manner of things. So what ground truth is there? I think it's really best explained at the end of the day by how much shipping actually occurs through the strait. So I think the best way to cut through and figure out what ground truth is, is how many vessels are able to move through there. I've seen reports that several have been hit with explosive devices of some kind, unknown. So I would imagine some form of drone attack on vessels. But I know that the President is also moving U.S. resources to the region in order to defend that. And then one other piece I would say that was interesting was when we saw the cancellation of insurance policies by lawyers in London. And then the President moving quickly to have the Obama Finance Corporation step in and fill that gap. So obviously, you know, the President's objective is to keep commerce moving, to keep trade going, to keep the oil flowing. And, you know, people might have a negative opinion on, you know, oil isn't that important, but that's just not the case because it's everything from the gas in your car to the heat in your home. That's a critical resource. So obviously, the Strait of Hormuz is a strategic, it must be open, you know, transit zone. So Colonel, Iran says it has control of the waterway. How much of that can they actually back up with real action? Look at how much they're already backing up with real action in regards to their ability to dominate the Middle East and Central Asia. They're at a war on words, as Adam mentioned, too. It's a narrative piece. So everything that is said, it has to be followed up with action or what they say doesn't mean much. So that is really the measure. It is, as stated, how much is going through the straits. It's how much can Iran affect the air force, the airspace over their own country now, these kinds of things. And when you look at the reduction in missile strikes and drone launches and things like that, you're down to about 5% of what it used to be. And that happened very quickly. So their words don't match their ability to take action and make those words a reality. It doesn't make them not dangerous. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be vigilant in all things when it comes to clearing the waterways and continuing to keep an eye on the airspace. It doesn't mean they're not going to keep launching things. But I do not think you're going to see Iran stop talking like they have been. But ultimately, their effectiveness and the things that we can truly measure are the message you need to pay attention to. Okay, so Adam, let me focus on this action that Iran claimed to have done striking these vessels. Because President Trump warned Iran against blocking the waterway and probably includes doing such actions. He said, quote, if they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran. And you'll never hear the name again. I just thought this was an incredible statement. What do you think is going to happen next, then, given the fact that Iran did this? Yeah. I mean, talk about an escalation of rhetoric. Those are pretty serious firing words right there. I don't think that it's in anybody's best interest, including the US's, to see broad casualties across the Iranian population. I don't think that that is the intent within the administration. I think the intent is liberation. But also, we know that President Trump is a very, very, very tough negotiator. And he is willing to use any of the tools that he has at his disposal to achieve his desired end state outcome, which in this case, obviously, is regime change, which has already been obviously quite successful. But what comes out of that, whether or not we have a stable Iran that returns to the good times that it was prior to the religious revolution, I don't know. I can't really make much of a prediction there. But I do think that the offensive capabilities and the actions that have been taken have been so devastating towards Iran as to almost have decimated their offensive capability at this point. Okay, so Colonel, I very much want to hear your thoughts on this, that President Trump said you'll never hear the name Iran again. Well, you know, at some point in the future, I'd also like to not hear the name Iran again. I'd love the people to take back their own country and change their name back to Persia. And that would be the reason why I would like to see that. But yeah, I agree that the entire mission here, the entire point is not to go in there and create some sort of mass casualty event across the population of Iran that would be counterproductive in the first place, and not in keeping with our actual goals and objectives. Our conflict is with the radical Islamist so-called leaders of Iran, who have a messianic zeal to destroy the nation of Israel, create a lot of problems around the Middle East and Central Asia, and frankly, have been coming after the United States for 47 years, even as far as putting Hezbollah into Venezuela and the islands to the north of that location. So what we need to be able to do is really, frankly, remove that dictatorship, provide the people of Iran their best opportunity they've ever had in decades to take back their country and create something free and prosperous, even if it's short of democracy, it doesn't matter if it can be a good neighbor, and take part in world trade, take part in all the things that are important for their own folks. That's what's important. And everything I have heard tells me that that's the goals they're following. Trump can be a little hyperbolic in his languaging at times, but I think he's just trying to make sure that he displays that strength and shares that message directly to the Iranian dictators, but not necessarily as much to the Iranian people initially, although I'm sure they'll hear it and take it as the message it is. And frankly, that's that we're on the side of the Iranian people, but not in favor of their government and their military. All right, one more subject I want your guys' thoughts on. So Adam, an exclusive report by the Epoch Times features China insiders saying that Beijing's afraid of this war could spur an uprising, that the Chinese Communist Party officials are scrambling to ensure loyalty, and that internet traffic is being restricted about regime change. And this is according to this Epoch Times report. Your reaction upon hearing this, Adam? Yeah, well, I know that China has got a very long-term plan and obviously has been a threat towards Taiwan for a long time. It's a very sensitive diplomatic issue. I do understand that. I would say that the Chinese leadership probably is a little bit nervous about the will of this president being able to and willing to take action against regimes that are threatening either America's interests or America's allies. And certainly Taiwan is one of those. I would like to see nothing but peaceful continuation of the status quo and even recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Okay, Colonel Gob, your final thoughts on this Epoch Times report that Chinese Communist Party officials are scrambling to ensure loyalty domestically? Not surprised. I mean, Chinese economy has been ailing. Now you've cut off Venezuela and Iran from supplying especially cheap oil back to their economy that it relies on so heavily. Chinese people are no doubt seeing this as another strike against their economy again, and a weakening of the regime that's hit a lot of internal politics as well that have not helped either. And President Xi may or may not have the power that he thinks he does. So they're going to, I guess, keep the fence up around their people in order to make sure that loyalty remains so the regime can stay in place. But there are forces at play around China right now that they simply cannot control. And what they're also seeing is America's military prowess and might in the Middle East. And all of those systems that we just destroyed in Iran are the same systems that Russia and China use religiously and have very little impact on this conflict. I'm not surprised that China is going through this process right now and expect to see more in the future. All right. You expect to see more in the future. Great conversation from the both of you today. Thank you so much, Colonel Gob and Adam. Thanks for having us.