with the end of the iranian regime, and that's why i'm just puzzled why they are being as aggressive as they are, even though, of course, they have been isolated and strangled in some senses economically by what i regard as wrongheaded u.s. policy. >> republican leaders put out a statement, i'm quoting, there must be a measured response to these actions. do you agree that there should be a response? and what would you think a measured response would look like if you supported any kind of action? >> yeah, i do, anderson. as you probably know, i have been sounding the alarm for months now that the president's people, john bolton and mike pompeo, have been trying to get to precisely this moment, this moment when we are on the brink of a potential military conflict. they, of course, have been urged on by leaders in the middle east and saudi arabia and the uae and elsewhere. but, yes, so here's where we are. we are in a box right now because on the one hand, a