# The Forever War Machine Shifts Its Sights to Cuba. Hegseth and Trump Want the Focus Off of Iran.

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/the-forever-war-machine-shifts-its-sights-to-cuba-hegseth-and-trump-want-the-focus-off-of-iran
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/the-forever-war-machine-shifts-its-sights-to-cuba-hegseth-and-trump-want-the-focus-off-of-iran.md
Podcast: [Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff](https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737)
Published: 2026-05-04T11:32:52+00:00
Episode link: https://bleav.com/shows/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff/episodes/the-forever-war-machine-shifts-its-sights-to-cuba-hegseth-and-trump-want-the-focus-off-of-iran/
Audio file: https://pdrl.fm/c39fb6/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1385/injector.simplecastaudio.com/c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626/episodes/a154b78b-4637-4e16-b4d2-64f7cd882e2c/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626&awEpisodeId=a154b78b-4637-4e16-b4d2-64f7cd882e2c&feed=8GTvjwcf
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Duration seconds: 281

## Resource

Two months in, $25 billion spent, more than a dozen Americans dead, gas at 4.30 a gallon — and now Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump want to change the subject from Iran to Cuba. This is the forever war machine in real time: shift the target, claim the win, drag allies along, and hope the country doesn't notice. The angry middle is noticing. And they don't feel safer.

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## Transcript

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