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Join Tony Perkins for compelling conversations about pressing issues facing both the United States and the global community. From concerns about Iranian drones potentially breaching American airspace to the significant geopolitical shifts occurring after the Syrian regime’s change, this episode offers rare insights. Stay tuned for an enlightening discussion with CBN’s Chris Mitchell, who shares a biblical perspective on these monumental events.
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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Israel’s security forces attacked and destroyed stockpiles of strategic weapons in Syria for the sole purpose of preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorists. The new leadership in Syria does not need chemical weapons.
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That was Israeli government spokesman David Mincer earlier today providing an update on the IDF’s ongoing actions in Syria following the overthrow of the government by Islamic rebels. Welcome to Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins. Thanks for tuning in today. Here’s what’s coming up on this Wednesday edition. New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney joins us to discuss the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and how official terminology surrounding the land of Israel is actually fueling the tensions. I’ll share an in-depth interview and conversation that I had with Chris Mitchell, Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN, for further insight on this unfolding situation in Syria. And the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has intervened to stop the city of Bryan, Ohio, from forcing a local church to remove the homeless from its property. Pastor Christopher Avell calls it a religious freedom issue. And the Attorney General of the state of Ohio, Dave Yost, filed a brief with the court in support of the church and the pastor. General Yost joins us later here on Washington Watch. And yesterday on Washington Watch, we covered the drone activity along the East Coast. Well, today the issue was addressed on Capitol Hill.
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I’ve learned for real that there is circumstantial evidence that there is an Iranian mothership off the east coast of the United States and that’s launching these drone incursions. It’s unacceptable and it’s frightening and our government has to act.
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That was Congressman Jeff Van Drew at the House Aviation Subcommittee hearing earlier today. Later, Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, will provide us with more insight into this story. Well, this Christmas season, the Family Research Council invites you to join us in shining the light of biblical truth here in Washington, D.C. During these challenging times for our nation and literally the entire world, FRC continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And thanks to a $1.5 million challenge match, every dollar you give before December the 31st will be doubled, amplifying your impact. So stand with FRC as a prophetic voice here in our nation’s capital for biblical truth by texting the word LIGHT, that’s L-I-G-H-T, to 67742, 67742. The word LIGHT, and together, let’s make an eternal impact. While Israeli officials revel in the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, they are also concerned about what the future might hold as the Islamist rebels now in charge work to rebuild a new political order in that country, which of course borders on the northeast of Israel. Since Saturday, Israeli troops have been positioned between Syria and it’s part of the Golan Heights. Now, that is a territory that is of major strategic importance to Israel. Now, critics of the move have condemned Israel for what they say is a dangerous land grab. But we’ve seen what happens before when terrorists are given an inch. With me now to talk more about this is Congresswoman Claudia Tinney, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on Space, Science and Technology. She represents the 24th Congressional District of New York. Congresswoman Tinney, welcome to the program. Good to see you.
SPEAKER 12 :
Great to see you, too.
SPEAKER 08 :
What do you make of what Israel is doing right now for its own security as it pertains to Syria?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, first of all, Israel is doing everything it can to try to bolster its borders against what’s happening in Syria. Look, it’s great that the Assad regime was removed largely through the efforts of Israel, but now we have what looks to be yet another terrorist regime led by someone who led al-Qaeda, who’s wanted by the U.S. on a terror watch list with Israel. This is going to be uncertain times, certainly going into the future for Israel. So Israel has been very smartly managing this difficult situation in the Middle East. And they need our support, of course. And we just passed a new NDAA that gives them a little bit more support as far as resupplying some of their arms that they have lost in waging this war against extreme Islamic terrorism, which they’re doing. for the rest of the world, I might add. So it’s a very complex area. Syria, of course, has been under Assad, but even before that, back when the Ottoman Empire left Syria, with this sort of tribal confusion there, and you have a lot of different warring factions supported by various enemies of ours, whether it’s Russia, Turkey, Iran. I hate to put Turkey in that category, but Turkey is unfortunately getting involved in this as well, in all the bordering areas. So It’s a very concerning part of the country or the region. And I’m just very concerned about the future of Syria under what looks to be the current leadership.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah. Well, I think you’re also concerned, you’re right to be concerned about Turkey and their involvement. As I understand it, there’s probably a little more involvement than has yet come to the surface about Turkey and some of these Islamist rebels. And we have a fairly large, it’s dwindled in recent years, a Christian population there in Syria, kind of the cradle of Christianity. I want to talk – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Jerusalem – they want to have a relationship with the new regime in Syria, but he said Israel would respond forcefully and exact a heavy price if the new regime allows Iran to reestablish itself or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons to the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. It’s a valid concern. that this new Syrian government could still be a seedbed for terrorism. Your thoughts?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, of course. Yeah. I mean, look, we’re talking about introducing Sharia law there, taking the rights away from women especially, not protecting the Christians that remain in that region. And again, the influence of Turkey, and I hate to bring it up again, but this is a NATO ally who is acting in a way that is… Contrary to what the interests of the United States are.
SPEAKER 08 :
But consistent with what Turkey has been doing in recent years.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes, very consistent. This has been happening under absolutely, you know, considering that they’re a NATO member still, which I think that, you know, this is concerning and just the warring factions in Syria. Israel is doing everything it can to protect itself and to provide as much stability as they can do there. I mean, look, Israel under Netanyahu have taken bold actions under a lot of criticism, but have stood up for the region and maintaining and eradicating us from Hamas. Not completely, but at least the worst of it, the IRGC, countering some of the really incredibly questionable actions coming from Blinken and the Biden administration to prop up Iran, who is the largest state sponsor of terror and the biggest… disruptor in that region, these are all very concerning for us. But Israel has boldly stood up and really kept the world safe and kept a reasonable amount of stability, all while trying to maintain humanitarian support, all while being under siege by interests across the world, including colleges in my own district and places around the United States that are not understanding the real threat that we see there with our only democracy in the entire region and our greatest ally.
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Congressman Tinney, you said here just a few moments ago you want to be careful with your language and how you articulate things, and I think that’s wise. And speaking of that, when we talk about this region of the world, as you said, since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, it’s been kind of a free-for-all. But you’ve introduced legislation to require all official United States documents and materials to use the term Judea and Samaria instead of the West Bank. Now, this is something I talk about frequently on this program because the West Bank is such a misnomer and a misleading description of the heartland of Israel. Tell us about this legislation and your motivation.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, I agree with you, Tony, and it’s by design that it’s misleading. It’s a slap against the original homeland of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria. And, you know, under the Oslo Accords, this region was protected and part of the Israeli territory and reassigned as their sovereign territory for many years back. And look, this is a place where you still have rights and peace and And the misnomer of continuing to use the word West Bank undermines the sovereignty of Judea and Samaria, the homeland of the Jewish people. And I actually had an opportunity back in 2019, the first time I’d been there, to visit Judea and Samaria and see exactly what’s happening there. It’s far different than that kind of propaganda that you’re seeing around the world. And I think the U.S. government should take bold action, do the right thing, and recognize Judea and Samaria as sovereign territory of Israel. Stop using this pejorative term West Bank to undermine Israeli sovereignty, our great ally, and to continue to allow this sort of underpinning, say, undercoat of terrorism that is coming out of that region just to dismantle and disrupt the true sovereignty of Israel. And look, and I just felt like this was important to do. I’m really pleased that actually Senator Tom Cotton has now picked up this legislation and he’s introduced it in the Senate and will be actually reintroducing it in the next Congress and hope that we get the Senate. I’m sure we will get it done in the next Trump administration, especially with our new ambassador, Governor Mike Huckabee for Israel. And I’m really excited about that as well.
SPEAKER 08 :
I wanna show, I like to show this map when I talk about, I’ve got a clip of a map where the region of the so-called West Bank, can we pull that map up? I know we’ve got it somewhere in there, but we get to it. I wanna show this, here it is. There’s the map. You see the kind of the blue colored area, light green area is so-called West Bank. That’s the heart of Israel. That’s where 80% of what we read about in our Bibles took place. And, Claudia, this is, when they talk about West Bank, this is what they talk about when they talk about the plan to solve the conflict, the two-state solution in Israel is to give up that portion of the land.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, it’s incredible that this is actually the most critical part for both the Jewish people and Christian people. This is where our heritage is in terms of Christians and what we believe in. This is where so many of the holy sites are, and yet we’ve allowed this to come under the dominion of the Palestinian Authority and be labeled in one of the designated areas that is not sovereign to Israel. And really, of all the places, it’s one of the most important. It’s where Abraham wrote the Psalms between the Dead Sea and Jerusalem and that region and the hills of Samaria and Judea. Judea stands for the Jewish people. I mean, obviously, these are really important issues. So it is critically important to… the Judeo-Christian ethics and Judeo-Christian history. And I think this attempt to call it the West Bank or to blot it out or to make sure that we don’t label these products, it’s another bill I have that requires the labeling of products that come from Judeo-Samaria as made in Judea or Samaria or made in Israel. not made in the West Bank. And, you know, we’ve got to stop letting them manipulate us with the language. And that’s why, you know, starting with some of these bills just to get us away from that and to get people to understand that the truth about history is the best way to find peace. And, you know, allowing the Pompeo doctrine that we had before be reinstated. It was taken out under the Biden administration where we went back to the West Bank language. And I think we need to continue to tell the truth because truthfully, when you look at Israel, That’s a place where all denominations, everyone, all religions, all races, everyone is represented democratically. Everyone has the right to religion, free expression. Everyone has the right to vote. Everyone can go to the Capitol. You would think this is some authoritarian regime, which it’s not. Voices are heard, but there’s always this attempt around the world to undermine, you know, the very important entities in Israel and the very important democracy that’s very fragile but being upheld, you know, courageously by the Israelis. And so important, not only, as I say, you know this as a Christian man, I mean, going to Israel and seeing Jerusalem and actually going and having the real opportunity to go to Judea, as I did, is one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had.
SPEAKER 08 :
I’ve been there many times, took the first congressional tour into the Judea and Samaria. In fact, spoke with the governor of Samaria last week. He’s excited about your bill. You’ve got a great cheerleader in Yossi Dagan. Claudia Taney, great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us. Great work. We’re going to help you with this as much as we can.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thanks so much, Tony.
SPEAKER 08 :
Great to be on. All right, folks, stick with us. We’re back with more after this.
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The throne of Jesus Christ is unchallenged. His name was never on the ballot to begin with, and it’s never gonna be on the ballot. He’s the King of Kings and He’s the Lord of Lords, and nothing’s gonna change that. And so our mission stays the same, preach the gospel, make disciples, get ready for heaven. In the meantime, that we’re to advance the concerns of the kingdom of God here on earth.
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America has entered a critical and vulnerable period from now until January the 20th. Join Family Research Council for Operation Prayer Shield, a 10 week prayer initiative for our nation. From now until January 20th, our country faces global challenges, a transition of leadership, and a lame duck session of Congress. This season calls for heightened spiritual vigilance, discernment, in prayer. Text the word SHIELD to 67742 to join us. You’ll have access to prayer points, scripture, prayer calls. Text SHIELD to 67742. Unite with us and pray for our nation.
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Let’s not be discouraged. Don’t lose heart. Don’t lose the faith. Stand now strong because the Lord has given us the great privilege of living in a time when our choices matter, when our lives matter, when our courage matters. So let’s stand together and save this great country. God bless the United States of America.
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The American Republic has a freedom like no other. It has roots in the scriptures far more than any other heritage. And if we as followers of Jesus and conservatives don’t defend it, who will?
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Neutrality is not an option. There are many Christians who believe that if we just keep our heads down, if we just don’t say the wrong thing, that somehow we will come out of this unscathed. You’re naive if you think that, because what they want from us is not our silence. What they want from us is our submission.
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Part of the dilemma of Christianity in our generation is that we’ve relied a little too much on human wisdom and human reasoning, human strength, human resource, and we’ve relied too little on the power of God and God’s ability to open doors that we can’t open and do things that we couldn’t even hope to begin to do.
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This may not be an easy task, But we are living in a moment of challenge, but also a great opportunity. And we know always that we are not alone, that his spirit empowers us and protects us, and that he can do the unimaginable. Dobbs, after all, was never supposed to happen.
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Father, we thank you. You have entrusted us with this moment in history, and I pray that we would be found faithful, and that as a result of our faithfulness to you, that thousands, millions would come into the kingdom as they would experience the forgiveness of sin and the new life that is found only in Jesus Christ. Amen. Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Good to have you with us. And let me invite you once again to join us in our prayer effort, Prayer Shield, as we pray for our country and our allies. You know, as I predicted right after the election, it was going to become extremely volatile worldwide, and we’re seeing it. Unbelievable, unprecedented. We need to be praying, and so we have daily prayer points, various resources available, and you can join with literally tens of thousands of others praying. We’ve already seen prayers answered. We were just discussing with Claudia Tinney. She mentioned the NDAA, National Defense Authorization Act. That’s one of the things we were praying about because there was a lot of bad stuff in that. It was all taken out, almost all of it, and it passed within the last hour, 281 to 140. And so these things, we’re seeing the results of praying. So join us in this prayer effort. Text the word SHIELD to 67742, that’s SHIELD to 67742, and join with tens of thousands of others in praying for our country in this very volatile time. Well, earlier this month, a pastor, a pastor in Ohio was put on trial facing criminal charges His crime? Helping the homeless in his community by giving them a warm place that’s open 24-7 so that they can get out of the elements as winter closes in. He says he’s doing what the church has been called to do. Yes, but the city of Bryan, Ohio says otherwise. Here now to share about this case is Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. General Yost submitted an amicus brief, or what’s called a friend of the court brief, in this case in support of the pastor and the church. Attorney General Yost, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 06 :
Good to see you, Tony.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, tell us more about this case.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, let’s start with the basics. Of course, if you’ve got a public building, you have to comply with the same rules as everybody else. But what the law interpreting the First Amendment says is the government’s not allowed to treat the church worse than anybody else. Dad’s Place, I visited there and met Chris Evel, the pastor. Love the work that they’re doing there. They take Matthew 25 seriously. The problem is they’re in an old building right downtown. The city and the powers that be don’t much like them having folks that are down on their luck hanging out right there. But they are coming in and throwing a book at them on building code violations. Here’s the problem. On the stand, the fire chief admitted that they give waivers all the time to these kinds of building code violations. if the building is old and it would be too expensive to comply, or if there’s some other reason that just the cost of the thing to the business is untenable. They’ve actually given a waiver to a hotel where people sleep overnight in beds. This is just like that case during COVID where the government tried to shut down all the schools, including the Christian schools, and left the casino open. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said, you can’t treat churches worse than you treat other businesses. And I’m very hopeful that when this is completely litigated, that Dad’s Place will still be standing.
SPEAKER 08 :
So General Yost, are there other factors here? I mean, this would suggest, since they’re giving waivers to others, that there could be some animus here on behalf of the city toward this church.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and that’s a question for the court. But regardless of whether they’re against this church or simply don’t want, quote unquote, those people, what Jesus called the least of these, hanging around their downtown, the bottom line is under the law, you’re not allowed to treat the church worse than you treat everybody else.
SPEAKER 08 :
Religious freedom would also, I would think, under the First Amendment, expression of faith, give the church the benefit of the doubt to even have more latitude, because this is a clear expression of the Christian faith.
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s a core function of a core belief of Christianity. In fact, Jesus talks in Matthew 25 about separating the sheep from the goats on the basis of how they act toward the hungry, toward the homeless. Here’s another thing. They’re trying him last week. They tried him on criminal charges. He might be the first guy in Bryan ever to have been tried on criminal charges. Usually a code violation means you get a ticket. If you ignore the ticket, they might take you to court to get a court order to say you gotta fix it or even padlock the front door. But to put somebody in jeopardy of their liberty, They’re trying to send a message here, and I’m hearing it at least.
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s why it sounds like to me there’s animus as I’ve read through the actions that they’ve taken. But we’ve also seen hostility from local governments toward churches, and I’m not suggesting it’s the case here, but I’ve seen it clearly in others, where increasingly city governments do not like churches because they’re tax exempt when it comes to property taxes. And they would rather see, and this is a former storefront, which I’m sure, I assume that at some point in time generated tax revenue for the city, is that they don’t like churches because they don’t make money off of them.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we don’t have that in the record. And as a former prosecutor, I live and die by the evidence I can produce on the record. What is on the record is that they’re treating this church differently than they treat other people in their town. And that’s a violation not only of the United States Constitution, but I would argue Section 7 of the Ohio Constitution.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, and I’m a radio talk show host, so I probe and try to stir things up a little bit because I think there’s more here than meets the eye. But I want to say thank you, as you have historically done, stepping in in defense of the First Amendment and here a clear, what I see as a clear violation of the rights of this church to help those who are down and out there in the city. So I thank you for stepping in. I thank you for joining us as always. General Yost, always great to see you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Good to see you. Let me give a quick shout out to First Liberty. This is a privately funded group that is donating their legal expertise along with a couple of local firms to defend Dad’s Place.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes, thank you for bringing that up because First Liberty frequent guests on here do great work. We’re grateful for our partners like them and ADF that step in and do some of the heavy lifting on these cases. General Yost, have a Merry Christmas if I don’t see you before Christmas. Merry Christmas to you. Attorney General Dave Yost of Ohio. And yes, this is more evidence of why it’s so important that we have, you know, we’re a policy organization. We work here in our nation’s capital and state legislatures on policy. But we need these public interest law firms like First Liberty and Alliance Defending Freedom and Liberty Council that are in the courts fighting for your rights and freedoms. All right, don’t go away. More Washington Watch straight ahead. It begins here. and here and here every day before you stand you need solid ground standing in a culture that wants you to surrender the truth won’t work unless you have a firm foundation at family research council we have that firm foundation and you can find us standing we stand for the value of all human life We stand for the right of families to flourish. And every day we stand for your freedom to believe and to live out those beliefs both at home and abroad. We work with government officials, educating them on the issues from a biblical worldview, and when necessary, we hold them accountable. We equip Christians across America to be informed and to take action in their communities. With our daily radio program, television appearances, and vast online presence, we reach people where they are. We envision an America where all human life is valued, families flourish, and religious liberty thrives. And that won’t be realized if we’re not standing. Stand for faith. Stand for family. Stand for freedom. Stand with us at FRC.
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Did you know there are many faithful Christians on Capitol Hill fighting alongside Family Research Council for Faith and Family and Freedom? Download the Stand Firm app today to view the latest video series from FRC, Defending the Faith, Profiles in Leadership. The series features exclusive sit-down interviews with our nation’s leaders that go beyond the policies and politics to the events that brought them to Washington, D.C. Download the Stand Firm app today.
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, get the Stand Firm app, and you can watch Washington Watch right there on your smartphone, or you can also have access to the Stand feed, which is the Washington Stand, which is our news feed, as well as the Stand on the Word, coming out our devotional every morning. Well, the swarms of large, mysterious drones that have been menacing New Jersey and New York have now spread to Pennsylvania. No one, no one, including the FBI, knows where these drones came from or who is piloting them. Now, this is unbelievable. We were discussing this yesterday with New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, who met with officials and said they didn’t know where they were coming from. But even though they don’t know where these car-sized drones are coming from, they say they’re no threat, no reason to be worried. Well, how do they know that? Here now to share what he knows is Congressman Scott Perry. He serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Intel Committee. He represents the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. Congressman Perry, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, well, Tony, it’s great to be with you. And I wish I could report something to you. I requested a briefing over a week ago. I got that briefing early this week. Unfortunately, it didn’t inform me much more from what I already know from what we call open source reporting, which is what everybody else knows that these drones are. pretty prolific around much of New Jersey, flying over airports, the president’s resort out there, and people’s homes. And we don’t know where they’re from. We don’t know who’s piloting them. We don’t know their intentions. And unfortunately, the law doesn’t really provide For anybody to do much about it right now, you know, it’s it’s illegal to shoot one of these things down. So your your listeners and your viewers must know that it’s considered an aircraft. So you can’t shoot at it if it’s over your house and or that would be a federal crime. And and so, you know, depending on the jurisdiction, local law enforcement isn’t doesn’t have any tools to combat it. And, you know, if the FBI is not present there with the right equipment, the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, you can’t determine who’s flying it, where it’s from. Now, I did understand I didn’t see it directly, but I understand there were questionings today, questions today at the White House. at the briefing at which there was a revelation that these are not. And so this is what I’ve heard. I haven’t seen it with myself, so I need to characterize it that way. But essentially, these are not known to be just local, random, individual actors, which I think is, A, concerning, and B, is more information than we’ve had prior to this.
SPEAKER 08 :
I’m not on the Intelligence Committee, Congressman, but I would think that if our government There’s only one of two things that could be happening. They have to know. Our government cannot be that incompetent to not know that an aircraft is flying over, and not just one, I mean dozens of them, flying over vital installations. We don’t know about it. We don’t know where it’s coming from. We can’t track it with all of our sophisticated technology. From a satellite, we can read a license plate on a car. So either either we’re totally incompetent or we’re not telling the American people the truth.
SPEAKER 04 :
And that includes the representatives of the American people. I just left. I was down in the intelligence, what we call the skiff. That’s where I just was before I came here. They’re not telling us anything at the moment. Now I have a briefing again next week. So. So maybe I’ll find out something then or before then. And I think that we are able, well, I agree with you, Tony. We are able to track them. They can see them. They probably, I’m sure they show up on radar. We can pick up birds and things like that on radar. So I’m sure they show up. I don’t understand how they’re not being tracked to their final destination and how they’re not being associated with some individual that is controlling them or individuals. That’s what I don’t understand. And either they don’t know that and that’s incompetence or they do know that and they’re not telling us and that’s something else.
SPEAKER 08 :
Now, there are reports that these drones could have actually come from an Iranian ship off the coast. Is there any evidence of that to either confirm or deny that?
SPEAKER 04 :
I haven’t seen any evidence. That doesn’t mean it’s not true. However, according to what I understand, the White House denied that today. So for whatever that’s worth.
SPEAKER 08 :
So how can they not know the origins, where they’re going, and tell us that they’re not a threat?
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s fair enough. I mean, if they don’t know the origin, if they don’t know who’s piloting them, how can they also be so sure to tell us that it’s not controlled by somebody from Iran and it’s not from someone on a ship? If they don’t know where they’re coming from, allegedly, how can they say that with any confidence? And why would we have any confidence in believing that? So right now, I think it’s a wide open conversation.
SPEAKER 08 :
And these are not, just for those that have not been tracking this, these are not like the drones that you get off of Amazon. I mean, these are the size of cars.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s the reports that I’m getting as well. And like I said, I’ve asked over a week ago to get a briefing on it. I got it first thing this week when we got in here, but it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. So that was not very helpful.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it’s really bad with those guys briefing you or kind of flipping through the pages of the newspaper telling you what you already know. Final question for you, Congressman Scott Perry. If, you know, our viewers, listeners spot one of these, you know, larger than usual drones, a car, looks like a car flying above their house, what should they do?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, they should definitely call their local police. That’s the right thing to do. They should dial 911, call the police, give them the, and if you can, I would say get some pictures of it with your phone or anything else. If you can get the photographic evidence and the timestamp on it, I think that would be helpful in determining what it is, who’s doing it and where they’re using it.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right. We’ll do that and we’ll follow back up with you when you get more intel.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yes. All right. Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania. Great guy. Good. Thank you. Thank you. All right. After the break, I’ll share what I discussed with CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell regarding the unfolding situation in Syria. That’s next. Don’t go away. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council here in Washington, D.C. Behind me is one of the most recognizable buildings in all the world, the U.S. Capitol. What does it stand for? Well, most people say government. But do you know the Bible talks about four institutions of government? Do you know what they are? And do we have a republic or a democracy? Well, what do you say? Also, what about this thing, separation of church and state? Does that mean Christians shouldn’t be involved in government? Guess what? We address those issues and more in our new God and Government course. I invite you to join us to see what the historical record and the Bible has to say about government. Join us for God and Government.
SPEAKER 02 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you are the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting, and we have the solution. We can’t do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That’s what we’re working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more. That’s S-A-G-E-C-O-N, SageCon, to learn more.
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Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. Well, the situation continues to unfold in Syria, where the Islamist rebel coalition that ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is working to build a new political order. Well, yesterday I interviewed CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell in Jerusalem during a special event that FRC hosted for some of our key supporters here in Washington. And he and I talked about the bigger picture and how we need to look at what is unfolding through the lenses of scripture. And it was a really enlightening conversation that we have with Chris as he’s on the ground there and understands what is taking place. And so I wanted to share a portion of that interview with you today. And we’ll begin with Chris’s dive into the goals of the Islamist group that is leading this rebel coalition. It’s referred to as HTS. which is trying to present itself as more moderate, at least for the time being. Here’s our conversation.
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give you an idea. I know H.T.S. is sort of presenting themselves as quote unquote moderate. The leader has been on CNN already. But they are Islamists. They have a design. And there was a video on memory Middle East Media Research Institute of in some of these jihadists inside the Grand Mosque in Damascus. And that’s not their only goal. They’re saying quite openly they want to take over the alexa mosque here in jerusalem uh this is only a stepping stone to take over the uh a greater part of uh of the middle east another big factor tony is the fact that turkey uh is behind hts apparently has armed them funded them and uh all part of uh uh President Erdogan’s goal, greater goal, to be sort of restore the Islamic caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, he being the great sultan. But he’s using proxies to go ahead and do that. HTS and the Syrian National Army is two of those proxies. And the other big issue, I think, here, Tony, is there has been for many years in northeast Syria, A administration area that really had been self-governing and had one of the most democratic regions in the entire Middle East. And that region is now under attack, we understand, by members of the Syrian National Army. Now, this is the Syrian Democratic Forces. part of the alphabet soup, but these are the good guys. And I’ve been there many times or several times back a number of years ago, and I’ve seen for myself, this is a group of Kurds, Christians, Yazidis, Arabs working together. In fact, in their charter, they require that 40% of the representation in the government is by women. So that is under attack right now. And also, I know you were talking to Randy about the persecution of Christians. Just a couple of hours ago, I know our mutual friend, Dean Mayenza, and you served with her, Tony, as well. She came out with a report of what some of these members of the SNA are doing. Now, these are of veterans of ISIS, some of these members. So, and this is part of what she’s saying, what she’s heard from people that have escaped that region right now, women beheaded in front of their families and communities, mass shootings of civilians, dead bodies on the road, children kidnapped from their families. And they’re having firsthand accounts of some of these people that have escaped that area. I think as well, we’re going to see sort of a maybe a deceptive facade right now on what’s happening in places like Aleppo. Al-Jahani, the Mohammed Al-Jahani is the leader of HTS. He is a veteran of Al-Nusra, which is an affiliate of Al-Qaeda. He’s presenting himself as a moderate. And I believe he’s asking people not to put anything on social media like ISIS used to do. But the SNA being a separate group is responsible for some of these atrocities. And I think the HDS is trying to present itself in a more favorable light, at least for the time being. If you go back a few years, when they were in charge of Idlib, which is further north, a region that they had controlled, they employed Sharia law. So I think Sharia law is on its way to much of this area in Syria. But I think we might see a sort of an interim period of, quote, unquote, moderation. So that’s some of what’s been happening here. And just a huge, huge time. for that wise strategy and policy and prayer, prayer for the Christians in this region that are under threat, as well as Kurds, Yazidis, and other ethnic minorities, that they would be protected, and also that this group This northeast Syria autonomous region would be protected and supplied so that this democratic good news story can be preserved and that they can be a refuge for many of these people that are seeking asylum and safety from some of these Islamist groups. Chris, a lot there to unpack.
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Let me just ask you a few questions on that, in particular, the northeast area of Syria. That was the one issue I disagreed with President Trump in his first term and spoke with him when the U.S. withdrew from that area, because you’re right, it is the one place in the Middle East where we saw Yazidis, Christians, many former Muslims actually came to Christ in that region because the gospel was able to go forth. They had peace. They were living together in a very democratic, pluralistic society. But when the US pulled out Turkey, Erdogan began attacking them. So I could see his proxies moving in even more so. So when you look at the alignment of HCS Is it primarily Turkey, or are there other potential suitors that are going to come after them that could remake Syria?
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s possible, Tony, and I want to agree with you. That was the one foreign policy initiative by President Trump I disagreed to as well because actually being there, meeting these people, seeing what had been established by these groups, these ethnic groups, was just remarkable. And I thought just the presence of the U.S. forces there, small as they were, was a deterrent to President Erdogan. meant a lot to those people, and withdrawing them really did make a difference. In terms of other actors coming in, there is a sense that this short-lived peace between some of these groups, that there may be some infighting between them, but I think right now at least In the short-term future, HTS seems to be the governing authority. They’re going to work with some of the remaining vestiges of the Assad regime to make a quote-unquote transition of power. But apparently what happened is that the HTS is taking over the Assad regime. The SNA is heading east to attack this region that we admire so much and think should be preserved.
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Just to put a fine point on this, because I think we’re going to hear more about Turkey in the coming days for some reason. There seems to be a little more trust in the Trump team with Turkey than I am comfortable with. Turkey, Erdogan is a bad actor. Yes or no?
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Oh, I think so. Yeah, I do. I think he uses proxies. He’s very smart in that regard. But I think he’s behind what this is. And I think in a grander sense, he does have regional ambitions that go back to his Islamist ideology and dreams of restoring the Ottoman Empire. There’s even maps. We reported on that several years ago of a greater Turkey, and that includes some of this land in Syria. And one of the big obstacles is that northeast region, why he’s attacking that now. He doesn’t have Turkish forces on the ground, but he uses proxies like the Syrian National Army, which is a really misnomer, but he provides artillery and air cover. for both of them. But yeah, a bad actor. And I think we need to understand the greater ideological, theological reasons for doing what he’s doing, as well as many of these Islamists. I mean, they’re on their way here to Jerusalem. That’s the great goal, to take over the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the Turkish President Erdogan.
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Which, by the way, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was the impetus for Hamas in their attack on October 7th of 2023. I mean, that was their battle cry, the Al-Aqsa flood. So it really does come back to Temple Mount. That’s where the Islamists have set their targets. And this so happens to be in Jerusalem, which puts Israel at risk no matter what Islamist force is on the move.
SPEAKER 07 :
Exactly, exactly. And they will probably be reporting in our story tomorrow. You know, some of these jihadists staying to the camera, you know, we’re here in the Grand Mosque in Damascus. We’re on our way to Al-Aqsa and then they’re on their way to Medina, too. So or Mecca. So they have a regional ambition. That’s why it was so important. for Israel to be proactive and take over the Syrian part of Mount Hermon, to take over this buffer zone and be just maybe 8 to 10 miles away from Damascus itself. So they understood how important it was to get the high ground and also to decimate as much as they could the Assad army, which, God forbid, would get into the hands of these Islamists and whatever they could try to do against Israel.
SPEAKER 08 :
That brings in another question or brings up another question. You’re talking about to Medina, to Mecca. Could this then facilitate what was on the the cusp of happening prior to October 7th and the normalizations of relations between Israel and and and Saudi Arabia. Could that be with this mutual threat? Could that and the Trump administration coming in facilitate that?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, one would hope so, that the Abraham Accords could expand, as many had hoped, to Saudi Arabia and perhaps with these mutual enemies. And it’s interesting now that when Hamas attacked on October 7th, that was trying to usurp or try to be an obstacle to this normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Now that Iran is sort of sidelined by now, perhaps this mutual threat, because these Islamists, they’re enemies of these quote-unquote moderate Sunni nations. These Islamists consider the nations like UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia to be not the kind of Muslims that they think they should be. So that could be an impetus for the expansion of the Abraham Accords under the Trump administration.
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All right, Chris Mitchell, two final questions for you. And I appreciate you joining us. And I know you probably prefer this time rather than Washington Watch time, which is midnight Israel time. So I’m giving you a break today. I appreciate that. When we look at, you may have heard this conversation when we had Congressman Weber in here, but when we look at what is happening in the Middle East, all that you’ve just described, how do we see that through the lenses of Scripture? What is happening? What is unfolding? How do we need to be praying into that right now and preparing?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I asked that question of or a similar question to a lady named Charmaine Hedding earlier today. She’s head of the Shai Fund, helping Christians, by the way, inside Syria right now and other minorities. You know, she said, you know. And my question was, why should we care? Why should people in the United States care? And she said, well, 2,000 years ago, this was the cradle of Christianity. The gospel spread to Aleppo and other places in Syria and Lebanon and throughout this region. So this is the ancestral homeland of our faith. And many of the believers right now are in harm’s way because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Prophetically and biblically, I think many people have been referring to Isaiah chapter 17, verse 1, when the prophet said that one day Damascus would become a heap of ruins. Perhaps we’re one step closer to that unfolding. When and how, I don’t know. But that will one day be fulfilled. The other thing, Tony, I think is that You know, when Jesus said when all these things happen, when the signs of the times, when nation would rise up against nation and wars and rumors of wars and was right in the middle of that, he said to look up for our redemption draw nigh. So I think it’s a time to strengthen our faith individually individually. to continue the spread of the gospel as much as we can, and to be watching and praying about the times that we live in. There’s also a scripture in Isaiah 62, verses six and seven, that the Lord says, give me no rest. until I make Jerusalem a praise in all the earth. And as we mentioned before, Jerusalem is really the final goal. And some people call the Mount of Olives the finish line when Jesus comes back. And it says in Matthew 24 that this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness, and then the end shall come. strengthen our faith individually, spread the gospel as much as we can, to be watchful and prayerful during these days, to be praying for our brothers and sisters, and to advocate as you do. so well on Family Research Council, you know, wise and biblical policy for such a time as this. So the United States could be that good actor, not only in the Middle East, but around the world. So I think that’s important.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, that was part of my interview yesterday with CBN Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell during a special FRC event here in Washington, D.C. And now you’re tuned in to Washington Watch. As Chris shared, these are days in which we need to be watchful and we need to be prayerful. So I want to encourage you to be praying for our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. Be praying. Be a part of our Operation Prayer Shield. Simply text the word SHIELD to 67742. That’s SHIELD to 67742 as we pray during this vulnerable time, not just for America, but the entire world. All right. That’s all we have time for today. But again, I want to thank you for joining us. And until next time, I leave you once again with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul, found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared,
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And when you’ve taken your stand, by all means, keep standing. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family, and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
