Name: "They're Supposed To Be A Guard Rail. They're Not Even A Speed Bump." - Paul Rieckhoff On Congress
Uploaded: 2026-03-10T17:22:13.000Z
Duration: 7 min 53 s
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My next guest tonight is a national security analyst, podcast host, and

founder of the group Independent Veterans of America.

Please welcome to the Late Show Paul Rykoff.

Well, Paul, it's been a little while, but you haven't gotten any smaller.

National security analyst, advocate for veterans, served in Iraq, host of the podcast Independent Americans.

You advised us over at the Colbert Report.

When we took the show to Baghdad in 2009 for the USO and the troops, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

We're now at war with Iran, even though they say it's not a war, but

And as a former soldier, I'm just curious what you think the troops need to hear from a commander in chief before we go to war.

Was that case made in a clear way to the people who have to fight and sacrifice for the goals, whatever they may be?

There's nothing more sacred, nothing more important than the commander in chief can do than send men and women into harm's way potentially to die.

And before he even talks to the troops, he has to talk to the country, because first you have to commit the country, then you have to commit the troops.

And it's one of the reasons why the Congress is supposed to declare war, because those people have to answer their individual districts.

But anytime you get it backwards and you send the troops first and then try to convince the country, we get into trouble.

And the challenge is that most of the country does not support this operation in Iran, does not support boots on the ground, does not support a lot of what he's doing right now.

And that is a real problem, because not just the troops, but the country needs a clear objective.

We need a real understanding of what the costs of war can be.

Not just financial, but especially human.

And then we need to know that it's absolutely and positively, vitally necessary that it's worth the cost of now seven American troops and probably more to come, tragically.

I got him here so far in the last 14 months.

Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Caribbean, Syria, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Ecuador.

And for a guy who ran very specifically on no new wars, what do you make of this change of heart?

I think the most important story in the world is that Donald Trump can do anything he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen, and

And I think Americans are outraged, with Republicans most of all, of course, but

When he went to war, when we started this war, and

it is a war, okay, don't believe the spin and the crap coming out of the White House.

They didn't even come back into Congress.

The members of Congress were in their mansions and they're posting tweets.

They couldn't even have an emergency session of Congress to discuss the new war.

At least the UN called the Security Council and had an emergency session.

Our Congress didn't even get back together.

They're supposed to be the guardians of our democracy.

They're like the mall cops of our democracy.

We heard stopping their nuclear ambitions.

We said stopping their attacks both regionally and eventually in possible near term missiles against the United States.

As far as regime change goes, as we were saying earlier, now there is a new Ayatollah, a new supreme leader.

It's Mujtaba Khamenei, which is Ayatollah Khamenei's son.

I mean, look, the rationale keeps changing, right?

The strategy is to ensure that there are multiple rationales.

But it also ensures they're not held accountable.

I got sent to Iraq for yellow cake and weapons of mass destruction, and

But this ensures that they're not accountable because they're all gas, no brakes.

And they want to hit Cuba too, as you mentioned, but

they have not articulated what success looks like.

Not just for the American people, but for the Iranian people and for the region.

Now we've got over a dozen countries that are being impact the lid is blown off.

And by replacing the Ayatollah with his son, it's kind of like replacing Kristi Noem with Mark Wayne Mullen.

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"They're Supposed To Be A Guard Rail. They're Not Even A Speed Bump." - Paul Rieckhoff On Congress

articulate

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impact

vague