Matt Mackowiak's Mack On Politics

Iran is the subject of our 142nd episode. Former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker served in the Middle East for much of his career, representing the U.S. in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In this conversation, we explore President Trump’s decision to pull back on a planned military strike, what a proportionate response to Iran shooting down an American drone would be, whether reopening negotiations is a worthy strategic goal, how the US can restore deterrence, whether the ‘Maximum Pressure’ campaign is working, how our allies in the region may be viewing this, what the chances of war are, and what it was like to be stationed in Iran in 1972.