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Youtube Music U.S. Carrier Group SANK 64 Iranian Warships, Then Came Home | A Navy SEAL Reacts
MIKE DROP NEWSROOM | 09 OCTOBER 2026
The New York Times says the Iran war was supposed to show off American power and has done the opposite. B-1 bombers are pulled out of Britain, bases across the Gulf are closed, and carriers are being resupplied from 2,200 miles away. Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland, who served in Iraq, breaks down why seven months of war have left Iran's regime replaced but not weakened, and what he thinks winning should actually look like.
Mike's take: decades of U.S. bases and troops in the Middle East haven't made the region more stable. Look at Iraq and Afghanistan. Reaching the stated goals in Iran would take a World War II-style invasion and occupation. His answer is to bring every U.S. troop home, close the bases, and force Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the rest of the region to deal with Iran themselves. He also asks the question few pundits raise: if Iran is that determined to get a nuclear weapon, why haven't Russia or China handed it one?
Also in this episode: the FBI stops a planned attack on the Mall of America, a Colorado police sergeant on how traffickers target vulnerable kids, and a tropical storm heading for the Gulf Coast.
Do you agree with Mike, or should the U.S. stay? If you say stay, tell us what winning looks like to you. Comment below. Mike reads them.
Timestamps
0:00 U.S. forces pull back as Iran's oil keeps flowing
0:25 Seven months in: is it working?
1:15 Iran's leaders taken out, but the regime didn't change
1:45 B-1 bombers pulled from Britain
2:20 What does winning look like?
2:30 Decades of U.S. bases in the Middle East
3:20 Iraq, WMDs and what Mike saw on the ground
3:45 Who a nuclear Iran really threatens
4:45 Afghanistan and Iraq: better off?
6:00 Mike's answer: bring every troop home
7:30 Make the region step up
8:10 Why haven't Russia or China given Iran a nuke?
9:30 Are the lives lost worth it?
10:10 What real victory would take
11:45 FBI stops a Mall of America attack
13:55 How traffickers target kids
15:00 Tropical storm heads for the Gulf
15:25 Wrap-up
Former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland reads the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times so you don't have to. No cable news spin, no recycled talking points, just the actual front pages and a straight take on what they mean for you.
On Mike Drop Newsroom, Mike picks the day's biggest headlines, compares how two of the country's largest papers cover them, and says what he thinks. That covers everything from AI and national security to the economy, foreign policy and the stories cable TV skips. He's not here to push a party line. As Mike puts it, if you want to put a label on him, he's an American who wants to see America succeed.
Every episode ends with a question for you. Tell us where you land in the comments, because Mike reads them and your answers shape what we cover next. Subscribe so you don't miss a morning.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The USS Abraham Lincoln comes home after a record Iran war deployment.
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[SPEAKER_00]: U.S. sailors who fought Iran's Navy for nearly a year are finally hugging their kid, 64 fathers met newborns for the first time, while Washington argues over how they were treated, and another carrier is already heading back out.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The U.S. Abraham Lincoln returned a naval air station North Island, 322 days deployed, including a record stretch of more than 260 straight days at sea and two extensions.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And a Navy letter to lawmakers confirming eight suicide attempts, Trump called the report, say, CNN fake report, and Hegseff announced the presidential unit citation.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I've actually been on the Abraham Lincoln.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We did a two week, two and a half week fleet exercise.
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[SPEAKER_00]: in preparation for a deployment with an amphibious readiness group, we were on the Duluth that was the deployment that we responded to the coal, but, you know, wartime extensions and super long deployments of course the thing, I think we all either understand or should understand that when enlisting and realizing that the Navy being the first response or kind of
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[SPEAKER_00]: that is part of the gig.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I do think that, I was on that ship 25 years ago and it felt old then.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I go back to, if we're gonna send our men and women to war, give them the tools and retrofit the ships and have it be from an experience and what they're up against standpoint as best as we can provide as possible.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, sounds like a pretty rough deployment.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I don't like the fact that, you know, our administration is saying that that's fake and none of that actually happened.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, at least be honest and say, yeah, hey, you know, what we needed you guys, you know, I know it wasn't the best deployment.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We do the best we can and you know, don't dismiss, you know, you know, any of the allegations or, you know, complaints that these guys have, I mean, eight suicide attempts on a deployment that's pretty significant.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But hats off to the Abraham Lincoln for doing such an amazing job, I mean, 64 Iranian ship sank and 450 Tomahawk, I mean, that's putting in some work for the U.S. government.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Amazing, amazing work USA Abraham Lincoln.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I hope I hope the ship's going to get retrofitted when it comes back.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Next story is Pentagon Reddy's options to restart the Iran war.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Trump says not before November 3rd.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now this talked about this, you know, politics influencing foreign policy and military action decisions.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I just I don't understand the thought process, I understand the thought process, I disagree with the thought process of you know essentially
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[SPEAKER_00]: Playing politics is usual in saying that we're not going to restart any combat operations until after the elections.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, one, why would you give that up?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, why would you let anyone know that that's the case?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Even if that's your intended goal and kind of your agenda, the fact that that's pushed and being even talked about.
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[SPEAKER_00]: To me, he tells me that it's like they don't even care that we know or that that's a thing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They're willing to just be wide out in the open about it and this says U.S. forces are loaded waiting with a date on the calendar, Trump himself said strikes could come after the midterms or maybe before.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It seems pretty vague, but multiple bullet points talking about nothing happening until
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[SPEAKER_00]: a strike fighter stage on a carrier deck ready to launch, I mean, you know, to me, I'm going to get your guys to take, you know, the elections are obviously a factor.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But when we're asking our young men and women to put their lives in harm's way, you know, number one, don't delay that if it needs to happen right now to wait for an election.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, we saw that
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[SPEAKER_00]: Clinton and Obama era, that was a considerable impact on both the actions on the ground and the decisions that were made, decisions that were not made, politics played a huge role in that and people lost their lives to really good friends of mine, Glenn Dorty, and Ty Woods,
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[SPEAKER_00]: The fact that that still continues to be a huge component into the decision-making process for our politicians should infuriate everyone.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And this sounds like it's basically the same thing, even in the Wall Street Journal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So Trump says U.S. won't resume strikes on Iran before the mid-terms.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's just unacceptable.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Love to get your guys to take.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Anybody think that that's acceptable to wait on that?
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[SPEAKER_00]: The next headline is the Fort Hood Shooter's firing squad execution will be live streamed.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That mixed feelings on this one.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'd love to get your guys to take.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Pentagon says December 3rd firing squad execution at Fort Hood of Nadal Hassan, a former armoured major army major who killed 13 people in wounded 32 in the 2009 attack will be live streamed.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Heggsath will make sure that people are able to watch it that it's public.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It would be the first U.S. military executions since 1961, you know, it's guy murdered soldiers down at Fort Hood.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I remember, you know, living in Texas, had just moved to Texas when that happened and no one that had happened to a couple hours away.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It was a pretty shocking attack, you know, on that base, you know, the whole live streaming thing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think ultimately, I don't know that it's necessarily a good idea, be curious to get your guys to take.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Do you think live streaming an execution on a military base is something that should be done?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I can probably, or were ascertained, maybe assumed, the goal behind what they're trying to accomplish by live streaming it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I just think that there's a
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[SPEAKER_00]: a tact component that maybe is missing in live streaming, you know, the whole thing is terrible.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He for sure, I think deserves to be executed and I think that that's a just punishment given what he did.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I just don't know that it needs to be live streamed, I don't know that that's necessarily helpful.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'd love to get your guys to take on it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Those are the three big top headlines for today.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I do want to
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[SPEAKER_00]: ask you guys thinking about live streaming some of these you know maybe not every day, but maybe a few times a week so that as as I'm covering some of these headlines, you guys can interject with questions and comments and I can respond We've obviously be recorded and then you know kept up and posted the same way any of these videos are but
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[SPEAKER_00]: Considering doing that, I want to get your guys's take is that something that you'd want to take part in where we live stream it and get some real time feedback from you guys.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So if that's something you want to see, let me know.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Otherwise, hope you guys have a great day.
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[SPEAKER_00]: God bless, and we'll see you all tomorrow.