Episode 254: A Global Reality Check with Stephen Bryen

In this candid and insightful episode of the "Bill Walton Show," Stephen Bryen, a seasoned expert with over half a century of experience in national security and arms trade, shares his incisive views on the current state of global geopolitics.

Stephen Bryen's been called the Yoda of the arms trade. He was the Pentagon's top cop, the man whose job it was to ensure that sensitive technology would be kept from enemies, potential enemies and questionable allies.

As both the wars for Ukraine and Gaza Strip have the potential to widen, even while Taiwan looms, Bryen warns about the United States' diminishing influence in global affairs that have led to a weakened strategic position, particularly in relation to China, Iran and even Russia.

Some excerpts:

• "We're not controlling events. Events are controlling us. And we're doing some things which are reckless."

• "Yes, we're a nuclear power. We have a strong air force, a less strong army and an even less strong Navy, except for submarines, but we're being challenged by Russia. We're being challenged by China. We're being challenged by countries like Iran, and we're letting them get away with it.

• "We're emptying our arsenal to support Ukraine, leaving NATO exposed, very exposed, if the Russians really chose to be troublesome in Europe"

• "One of the amazing truths about the US and its NATO allies supplying millions of tons of ammunition and hardware to Ukraine is that the allies paid almost no attention to contingencies and freely raided stockpiles that were put there for US and NATO national security defense needs."

• We're still sending billions of dollars to Iran, serving interests that are not our own. "Our national interest is not to allow Iran to conquer nearby countries. And to destabilize the Middle East because it's not in our interest, it's not in Europe's interest, it's not in the world's interest."

• "Iran's equation is different than ours. They think in terms of how they can destroy Israel, how they can take over that whole crescent of territory … Iraq, Lebanon, Syria."

• "In Asia, we're weak. There's no doubt about that. The Chinese have been building up and building up, and we have failed to set up any kind of defensive scheme or alliance that works to put pressure back on China. Taiwan has been simply left out of the equation. The only real hope against the China threat is that internally, it can't compete. China's biggest roadblock to global domination might just be itself."

• "It's got troubles, economic problems, political problems, internal clashes of interests. So maybe it'll implode, but if it doesn't, we're in for a hard time."

Tough words from a savvy and clear-eyed observer of global conflicts.

These are not what you're hearing from the national security state complex. All the more reason to listen in.