Geopolitical Economy Report

Afleveringen

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  How USA & Israel put drug cartel-linked puppet in power in Colombia 19.08.2026 45min

  Colombia's former President Gustavo Petro formally accused the USA and Israel of meddling in his country's election to put in power new far-right leader Abelardo de la Espriella, a US citizen and Trump ally who worked as a lawyer for years in Miami, Florida, defending drug traffickers. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rBhz7_rlg0 Check out our related video on the Sandinista Revolution and Nicaragua's resistance against US imperialism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIXMyFvMeMc Topics 0:00 US & Israeli meddling in Colombian election 2:34 US-backed coups in Latin America 4:23 Abelardo de la Espriella, US citizen 6:36 De la Espriella defended drug traffickers 8:19 US govt supports drug traffickers 11:17 De la Espriella's business interests 12:14 De la Espriella's botox scandals 13:40 Far-right paramilitaries in Colombia 15:42 Sociopathy 16:23 Colombia's new right-wing regime 16:52 Marco Rubio 17:27 US military alliance with Colombia 18:27 US-backed narco leader Álvaro Uribe 19:58 Marco Rubio's extremist ties 20:34 War on Drugs 2.0 22:13 Ecuador's narco-dictator Daniel Noboa 23:38 Operation Condor 2.0 25:27 Colonialist Donroe Doctrine 26:53 Gustavo Petro cut ties with Israel 28:48 Israel's new alliance with Colombia 29:53 Colombia: the Israel of Latin America 31:08 Israel occupies Syria's Golan Heights 32:50 Morocco occupies Western Sahara 33:23 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 36:00 Morocco supports Israel 36:53 US backs Morocco in Western Sahara 38:09 Colombia's relations with China 39:39 US Cold War Two against China 40:22 US puppet regimes in Latin America 41:15 US National Security Strategy 42:45 Neocolonialism 43:56 Anti-imperialist resistance 45:23 Outro
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  Dollar system in crisis: Why the US bailed out Japan 14.08.2026 35min

  The US government quietly bailed out Japan. The Treasury intervened in the foreign exchange market to try to stabilize the yen, the Japanese currency. Ben Norton explains how this reflects a larger, structural problem with the dollar system. Japan is the largest holder of US Treasury securities (US government debt), and Washington doesn't want other countries to sell its bonds, fearing that yields could rise and cause a debt crisis. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngGQrWxNdV4 Topics 0:00 USA bails out Japan 1:04 Japanese yen falls against USD 1:29 USA will "do whatever it takes" 2:21 Japan's holdings of US Treasuries 3:03 China de-dollarizes 3:31 US empire and Japan 4:26 Japan's role in dollar system 5:32 Carry trade 7:24 Wall Street benefits 8:24 Real reason for US intervention 9:39 US fears sales of its bonds 10:37 US bond yields rise 11:38 US government debt 12:14 Inflation in US 12:56 Foreign demand for US bonds 14:35 Seizure of Russian assets 16:06 Central banks buy gold 16:55 US bond market problems 17:58 US Treasury sells euro 19:37 Crisis in dollar system 22:07 Dollar dominance in decline 24:30 Why the yen is falling so much 24:51 Energy crisis and Iran War 26:57 Inflation in Japan 27:47 Interest rates in Japan 29:25 US govt backs carry trade 30:36 Economic stagnation in Japan 31:03 Enormous debt to GDP in Japan 33:10 US debt problems 33:44 Slow-motion financial crisis 34:46 Outro
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  Jaw-dropping corruption: Trump admin insiders profit from war on Iran 10.08.2026 17min

  Donald Trump administration insiders have been widely accused of corruption, insider trading, and market manipulation related to the US war on Iran. Ben Norton analyzes the evidence, showing why this may explain Washington's contradictory policies and flip-flopping between bombings and peace talks. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUkg472Ia1Q Topics 0:00 Trump TACOs on Iran War 1:40 USA has no clear strategy 2:49 Market manipulation 4:30 Oil market volatility 5:50 Options trading 6:49 Iran alleges US corruption 8:31 Steve Witkoff & Jared Kushner 9:56 Insider trading accusations 10:57 Shady trades on Wall Street 11:28 Corruption in US Congress 12:43 Trump sells early access 14:12 Big Oil sees record profits 14:42 USA is losing the war 15:22 Rich oligarchs are winning 17:27 Outro
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  Trump has no plan for his war on Iran. The US refuses to admit defeat. 05.08.2026 22min

  The US government has no plan for the war that Donald Trump launched against Iran. The Pentagon is desperately asking analysts for ideas. Tehran won, but Washington refuses to admit it. Ben Norton explains what exactly is happening, and why the United States lost so badly. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25J1gdTCx_o Topics 0:00 Trump has no plan for Iran war 1:37 USA lost and Iran won 2:59 Trump threatens Iran 3:53 USA bombed schools 5:15 Trump's empty rhetoric 7:54 US allies in Persian Gulf 10:28 Yemen and Saudi Arabia 12:01 US military runs out of missiles 14:37 Iran destroys US bases 15:38 Iran expels US troops 18:20 Iran has the leverage 19:05 Trump always chickens out (TACO) 20:32 Iran strengthened, USA weakened 22:34 Outro
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  Trump is desperate as Iran war expands, US casualties rise, military runs out of missiles 31.07.2026 32min

  The US war on Iran keeps expanding into a regional conflict, as more countries get involved. Reports show that Donald Trump is getting desperate, and he is frantically seeking an off-ramp. Washington announced a "pause" to the fighting, but it lasted just four days. Ben Norton explains the three main reasons why the United States is desperately seeking an exit: one, the Pentagon is running out of missile interceptors; two, the number of casualties among American troops is steadily increasing; and three, Yemen joined the conflict, attacking Saudi oil infrastructure, exacerbating the energy crisis. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPBI8ukcA_4 Topics 0:00 Iran war expands 2:41 More countries join conflict 3:58 Trump is 'exasperated' 5:49 US 'pause' failed 6:19 Three main reasons 7:53 US violates agreements 9:53 USA lost & Iran won 10:40 US military running low on missiles 12:36 Gulf monarchies 13:38 Patriot interceptors 16:07 Pentagon orders old missiles 17:54 Preparing for war on China 18:47 China vs USA: industrial capacity 21:02 Pentagon hides US casualties 24:26 Yemen joins war 26:21 Blockade of Red Sea 27:45 Houthi attacks on Saudi oil 29:20 Energy crisis 30:14 Oil reserves running low 30:44 Iran has won 32:14 Outro
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  Iran war expands: Oil market in crisis as Yemen enters conflict 25.07.2026 27min

  The US war against Iran is expanding into a larger regional conflict. After Trump sabotaged a diplomatic agreement, Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz. Now Yemen's Ansar Allah (known commonly as the Houthis) has declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, shutting down oil exports in the Red Sea. Ben Norton explains how this escalation could cause a severe crisis in the global energy market. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJNwRPOnFs Topics 0:00 Trump restarts Iran war 1:26 Yemen joins the war 2:45 Red Sea blockade 3:28 Oil transit chokepoints 5:05 Saudi East-West Pipeline 5:55 China cuts oil imports 6:27 Saudi oil exports 6:59 Oil price skyrockets 7:55 Gasoline prices rise 9:17 Potential for oil crisis 10:31 Reserves running low 11:21 Yemen explainer 13:07 Ansar Allah (Houthis) 22:05 Axis of Resistance 23:58 Iran grows stronger 27:17 Outro
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  This country is resisting US meddling, and fighting back! 21.07.2026 27min

  US global dominance is rapidly declining, as China rises. So Washington wants to forcibly impose its hegemony in Latin America, invoking the colonial Monroe Doctrine. However, people are fighting back. Nicaragua's Sandinista government is resisting US imperialism and continuing its revolution. Ben Norton reports. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIXMyFvMeMc
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  Trump restarts war on Iran, but has no way out: The US lost 17.07.2026 28min

  Donald Trump violated the diplomatic agreement and restarted the war, bombing Iran and re-imposing a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Ben Norton explains why the US government will fail, because it has no plan and lacks leverage, whereas Tehran and its decentralized military have escalation dominance. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFHvtxgR5A8 Topics 0:00 Trump restarts war on Iran 0:36 USA violates agreements 1:49 USA won't accept defeat 3:07 Strait of Hormuz 5:37 Iran hits US allies in Gulf 7:20 Iran's decentralized military 8:43 Drones 10:25 Iran already won the war 10:56 Trump has no plan 13:13 Strait of Hormuz fees 13:51 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on fees 14:05 US fees vs Iran fees 14:52 Insanity of ground invasion 17:34 Scheme to seize Kharg Island 18:48 Oil and gasoline price 21:42 Strategic Petroleum Reserve 23:36 Global oil reserves running low 24:59 Danger of empire in decline 27:42 Outro
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  Americans are NOT wealthy: The truth about the US economy 11.07.2026 38min

  Many Western economists and media outlets claim that Americans are wealthier than Europeans, but this is not true; it's based on a misunderstanding of the difference between average wealth and median wealth. Ben Norton explains how the extreme inequality in the US make its average wealth misleadingly look high, and why GDP per capita is not a good measurement. He debunks the myth of "Europoors", which is often spread by Donald Trump supporters. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzFUd8uj7pA Topics 0:00 The myth that Americans are wealthy 1:15 Average wealth vs median wealth 3:50 Data on US median wealth 6:42 Wealth inequality (Gini coefficient) 9:31 Poverty and homelessness 10:19 USA vs Europe 12:02 Wealth concentration of US elites 13:28 Distribution of growth in income 15:01 GDP per capita is misleading 21:18 US GDP by sector 23:13 Imputed rent and GDP 25:05 Life expectancy, mortality, etc. 27:10 US healthcare system 28:40 US health system vs OECD 32:58 Ridiculous "Europoor" myth 33:32 Trump cuts taxes on rich 34:27 Trump family corruption 36:20 Insider trading 36:56 Myth of American dream 38:18 Outro
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  He accidentally revealed the truth about the US strategy for Iran 06.07.2026 28min

  What is the US strategy in its war against Iran? Is the Trump administration seriously committed to negotiations to make a deal? JD Vance accidentally exposed the USA's plan, to use the talks to buy time to refill oil reserves and stabilize the economy. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_BojBCeM6o Topics 0:00 US negotiations with Iran 0:56 Trump considers restarting war 1:46 Strait of Hormuz 3:37 Israel and Lebanon 5:02 JD Vance exposes US strategy 6:27 (CLIP) JD Vance on Iran 7:31 Oil market 8:22 Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) 10:24 (CLIP) Trump on oil reserves 10:52 US strategy 11:56 Iran's strategy 13:12 USA violates agreements 14:18 Iran's economic nuclear weapon 15:24 Oil price 16:14 Parallels to Ukraine war 21:41 New Iranian government 25:55 USA lost. The war backfired 28:00 Outro
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  This scandal says everything about the West's hypocrisy 02.07.2026 41min

  The US-based right-wing Chinese billionaire Miles Guo (Guo Wengui), who worked closely with Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for committing $1 billion of fraud. Ben Norton explains how Western governments and media outlets support "dissidents" from countries they don't like, who are often corrupt grifters and con artists; and how fake "experts" make money by spreading absurd disinformation about China, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, etc. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSVBsyDz1ks Topics 0:00 Billionaire fraudster Miles Guo 1:03 Links to Trump, Steven Bannon 4:34 US DOJ prosecution 6:31 China's charges 8:06 US media whitewashing 12:25 Corrupt West-backed "dissidents" 15:23 US support for dictators 17:12 Pro-West Chinese "dissidents" 19:40 Soviet "dissidents" 21:07 North Korean defector Yeonmi Park 24:18 Yeonmi Park becomes a meme 25:36 (CLIP) Yeonmi Park on Joe Rogan 26:12 Absurd propaganda 26:53 Park jumps on the Trump train 27:47 Western media has no standards 28:56 Fake China "expert" Gordon G Chang 34:00 Ai Weiwei change of heart 39:16 Western imperialist hypocrisy 41:17 Outro
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  The real reason US Big Tech corporations fear China 27.06.2026 35min

  US Big Tech corporations are paying influencers to spread anti-China, pro-AI disinformation on social media. Ben Norton explains why Silicon Valley fears Chinese competition and seeks to monopolize artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, to impose the global dominance of the USA in an imperialist unipolar order. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BLnM-gxj-o Topics 0:00 Silicon Valley spreads propaganda 2:08 US govt helps Elon Musk pollute 4:52 Scapegoating China 5:32 AI arms race 7:34 (CLIP) Ex Google CEO Eric Schmidt 7:52 Silicon Valley wants monopolies 10:02 (CLIP) Peter Thiel loves monopolies 10:20 Sam Altman lobbies US govt 12:40 OpenAI is losing lots of money 14:02 Pentagon works with Big Tech 15:54 Anthropic conflict with Trump admin 17:25 Dario Amodei backs Cold War Two 18:28 USA wants unipolar world 20:01 Palantir and techno-fascism 23:26 Totalitarian police state 26:10 Larry Ellison buys up US media 26:44 Surveillance Valley 30:58 Monopoly and hegemony 32:27 Imperialism and Big Tech 34:48 Outro
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  Will Israel sabotage the Iran deal? Will Trump allow it? 22.06.2026 19min

  The USA and Iran are holding negotiations to end the war, but Tehran condemned Washington for violating the agreement, because Israel keeps attacking Lebanon. US Vice President JD Vance appeared to criticize Israel, but Ben Norton explains the deep hypocrisy of the United States, which is still giving Netanyahu billions of dollars of weapons and military aid. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wogLemf3er4 Topics 0:00 Talks between USA & Iran 0:35 Iran says US violates agreement 1:50 Will Israel sabotage Iran deal? 2:58 Israel needs US military support 4:12 JD Vance: US is Israel's only ally 5:04 (CLIP) JD Vance: US military aid 5:47 (CLIP) JD Vance on Israel 7:57 Put up or shut up 8:40 Billions in US aid to Israel 9:42 Military-industrial complex 11:03 Unsinkable aircraft carrier 11:48 Tails don't wag dogs 12:36 Trump warns of oil shortages 13:25 (CLIP) Trump: 4 weeks of reserves 14:07 Trump threatens Iran again 14:33 (CLIP) Fox News on Trump threats 15:14 Iran has more leverage 16:08 Israel's goals in Lebanon 17:28 Israel takes over Gaza 18:40 US sends more weapons to Israel 19:14 Hypocrisy 19:45 Outro
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  It's official: Iran won the war, and the US lost. This is how 17.06.2026 28min

  The US government has signed an agreement to end its war on Iran. It is now widely admitted that Washington lost, and Tehran won. Ben Norton explains why Donald Trump failed, and how this has massive geopolitical implications for the Global South. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NOUxBUSM64 Check out our related report on how Iran destroyed US military bases: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_wC4KuEcWI Topics 0:00 USA & Iran sign deal 0:53 US lost the war 2:21 US lifts oil sanctions 4:14 Details of US-Iran deal 7:25 Strait of Hormuz 8:56 US agrees to end sanctions 10:13 $300 billion investment fund 14:08 Frozen assets 14:36 Nuclear weapons 15:37 Previous nuclear deal, JCPOA 18:00 Why USA lost the war 21:33 Victory for Global South 25:35 Destroyed US military bases 26:43 Historic defeat of imperialism 27:46 Outro
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  Democracy is dead: Elon Musk becomes world's first TRILLIONAIRE with SpaceX IPO 13.06.2026 34min

  Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire, with the IPO of his company SpaceX. He is a symbol of how the United States has become an oligarchy, where elections are bought by rich elites and large corporations, and extreme wealth is concentrated in a few hands. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj-hd3l4dSo Topics 0:00 Elon Musk, world's first trillionaire 0:50 Oligarchy 1:54 SpaceX IPO 3:06 SpaceX is losing lots of money 4:13 Wall Street changes the rules 5:39 Trump coin pump and dump 6:14 Reasons to avoid SpaceX 7:04 Musk: symbol of US oligarchy 8:45 Wealth concentration 9:55 Gilded Age & robber barons 11:13 Money wins US elections 13:06 Elon Musk funded Trump 14:52 Larry Ellison buys up media 17:14 Capitalist class 18:19 Progressive Era 19:27 Great Depression & New Deal 20:08 Golden Age of capitalism 20:59 Tax rates 22:08 Tax burden shifts onto workers 23:24 Billionaires avoid taxes 24:34 Neoliberalism 25:18 Financial crisis & QE 26:54 Neofeudalism / technofeudalism 28:27 Artificial intelligence (AI) 29:24 Universal basic income (UBI) 30:50 Nationalize Big Tech 33:04 China's alternative 33:58 Outro
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  Why countries are dropping the dollar - and buying gold 08.06.2026 20min

  Gold has officially overtaken Treasury securities (US government debt) as the top asset held by global central banks, according to a report by the European Central Bank (ECB). Ben Norton explains how dedollarization is continuing, gradually and steadily. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmyWn2lrXBM Topics 0:00 Decline of US dollar dominance 0:55 Debasement trade 1:42 Central banks buy gold 3:59 Gold overtakes US Treasuries 5:36 Top countries buying gold 7:00 West's seizure of Russian assets 8:54 Alleged unofficial gold holdings 10:16 Falling dollar share of reserves 12:14 Reasons for fall in gold price 14:58 EU hypocrisy 16:26 China keeps buying gold 18:05 China calls for multipolar system 19:13 De-dollarization is continuing 20:32 Outro
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  Before the AI bubble pops, billionaires want to loot your retirement funds 04.06.2026 27min

  The AI bubble has caused the most concentrated and overvalued stock market in US history. The billionaire CEOs of Big Tech corporations fear it may pop soon, so they changed the rules on Wall Street so that, mere days after their IPOs, SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic will be given "fast track" inclusion in major index funds, despite the fact that they are losing tons of money. These corporate oligarchs want to use average retail investors as exit liquidity, looting pensions, 401(k)s, and other retirement funds, all so Elon Musk can become the world's first trillionaire. Ben Norton explains the scandal. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh3d8xO9NHg Topics 0:00 US stock market bubble 1:08 (CLIP) Ray Dalio on AI bubble 1:37 Comparisons to past bubbles 3:38 Market cap to GDP 4:50 Concentration of stock market 6:52 Magnificent 7 stocks 7:28 Monopolies eat the economy 8:37 Corporate profits break records 9:35 USA slashes corporate taxes 10:40 Plan to loot retirement funds 11:38 SpaceX is absurdly overvalued 12:32 SpaceX is losing money 13:51 SpaceX IPO is a trap 17:00 Elon Musk, first trillionaire 18:08 OpenAI's shady IPO scheme 19:32 Many IPOs at peaks of bubbles 21:51 Bogus Big Tech earnings reports 24:09 AI circular financing scheme 25:09 Animal spirits 25:49 Unregulated financial looting 26:54 Outro
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  Bombshell report: World sees USA as biggest threat, instead prefers China 31.05.2026 21min

  A comprehensive global survey found that people in most countries see the United States as the biggest threat to the world, and they prefer China over the US. Ben Norton analyzes the results of the Democracy Perception Index. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UhHqPGFGos Topics 0:00 Shifting global political order 1:35 Democracy Perception Index 3:08 USA is biggest threat to world 4:25 US military bases unpopular 5:36 Negative perception of USA 6:25 China more popular than US 8:07 US war against Iran 9:06 Israel-Palestine 9:40 Ukraine war 10:14 Taiwan 11:14 Greenland 11:54 Countries progressing 13:15 Democracy 17:33 USA is an oligarchy 20:20 End of end of history 21:15 Outro
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  To fight China, USA literally plans to colonize its ally 27.05.2026 28min

  The US government is desperate to create a new supply chain that cuts out China, through its Pax Silica initiative. To do so, the Trump administration plans to colonize the territory of the Philippines, a supposed "ally" run by corrupt leader Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, with a 99-year colonial concession. Ben Norton explains the controversy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=302uQhql3kY Topics 0:00 Intro 0:35 Cold War Two 1:50 US-India critical minerals deal 2:55 Pax Silica 3:41 US meddling in Philippines 4:55 Corrupt Marcos dynasty 6:36 US military bases & missiles 8:38 US colonial plan 10:37 Colonial 99-year leases 12:11 US colonialism 13:31 China "threat" narrative 14:34 Exploiting natural resources 15:39 US official Jacob Helberg 16:16 Silicon Valley oligarchs 17:39 US official freaks out 19:57 Neocolonialism 23:58 Comprador leaders 25:21 Poverty & development 28:31 Outro
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  War hawks admit Iran defeated USA - and it will change the world 22.05.2026 24min

  It has become so widely accepted that the US lost the war with Iran that now even American neoconservative hawks admit it. Ben Norton explains why major neocons like Robert Kagan and Bill Kristol have turned against the war. They lament that Iran's victory reflects the decline of the US empire and the transition to a more multipolar world order. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrlXNHSCfoQ Topics 0:00 USA lost war with Iran 1:47 Poll: war is unpopular 2:42 Media admits USA lost 3:32 Iran still has most missiles 4:39 Iran withstands US blockade 5:21 Iran destroyed US bases 6:03 US hawks admit the truth 7:25 Neocons and PNAC 9:13 George W Bush admin 9:55 Neoconservatism 11:30 Rise of Donald Trump 12:00 Hillary Clinton 12:44 Victoria Nuland 13:41 Coup in Ukraine 15:29 (CLIP) US-backed coup 16:14 US "checkmate" in Iran 17:05 Decline of US hegemony 18:26 Iran has major leverage 19:22 US defeat 20:34 Neocons abandon ship 22:14 Poll: Americans oppose war 22:44 Poll: Americans say US lost 23:30 Crisis of US imperialism 23:57 Outro