{"podcast":{"title":"The Bureau Podcast","slug":"the-bureau-podcast-6621098","podcast_index_feed_id":6621098,"rss_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1444443.rss","website_url":"https://www.thebureau.news/podcast","image_url":"https://substackcdn.com/feed/podcast/1444443/af362ce518384109799fdd03117a63b4.jpg","author":"Sam Cooper","episode_count":93,"summary":"Investigative Journalism. Anti-Corruption. Whistleblowers. Sunlight.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-16T00:18:15.334161+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bureau-podcast-6621098"},"episode":{"title":"The Fog of War: Does Trump's Iran Campaign Deter Xi Jinping's Taiwan Invasion Threat — or Increase the Danger?","slug":"the-fog-of-war-does-trump-s-iran-campaign-deter-xi-jinping-s-taiwan-invasion-threat-or-increase-the-danger","published_at":"2026-03-11T14:00:14+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bureau-podcast-6621098/the-fog-of-war-does-trump-s-iran-campaign-deter-xi-jinping-s-taiwan-invasion-threat-or-increase-the-danger","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bureau-podcast-6621098","url":"https://www.thebureau.news/p/the-fog-of-war-does-trumps-iran-campaign","audio_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/190610345/deebb0b3989aa519a3ee9244af762795.mp3","summary":"OTTAWA — In this conversation with BNN's Jason James, I wrestle with the central confusion surrounding the United States-Israel campaign in Iran. Is the objective regime change, the retrieval of enriched uranium, Israel's own objectives, or something deeper and more indirect — the culmination of a pivot from the Middle East, and a strategic warning to Xi Jinping and his axis partners in Russia and North Korea? My view is that the United States military would not have launched this campaign without a rigorous analysis of what it means for Taiwan. I open by recounting a reporting trip to Taiwan in 2023 — the same year, we now know, that the Central Intelligence Agency director privately warned Silicon Valley executives that Xi could move on Taiwan by 2027. I left that trip with several firm convictions. Xi Jinping was not a popular leader among his Red princeling cohort, and has vulnerabilities little understood in the West, including a coup-like challenge from within, prior to 2020. The current military upheaval under Xi has only deepened that assessment. And in 2023, I gathered that the United States, likely supported by Japan, Taiwan, and Australia, will not allow Beijing to blockade or invade Taiwan — and the U.S.-led coalition believes it can defeat China’s military, a conviction that holds regardless of who occupies the White House. The conversation ranges widely, from confusion surrounding Prime Minister Mark Carney’s position on Iran, to a potential trade resolution between Washington and Ottawa. The Bureau is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thebureau.news/s…","meta_description":"OTTAWA — In this conversation with BNN's Jason James, I wrestle with the central confusion surrounding the United States-Israel campaign in Iran. Is the o…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3918,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bureau-podcast-6621098/episodes/the-fog-of-war-does-trump-s-iran-campaign-deter-xi-jinping-s-taiwan-invasion-threat-or-increase-the-danger/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bureau-podcast-6621098/the-fog-of-war-does-trump-s-iran-campaign-deter-xi-jinping-s-taiwan-invasion-threat-or-increase-the-danger.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}