Will US Launch Ground Operation in Iran?

[0:00] it's monday march 30th the ground troops are there will they actually be deployed on the ground [0:06] we start here thousands more marines have arrived in the middle east the question is what is the [0:14] president planning on doing with them after a month of war with iran are we any closer to [0:19] ending it tsa workers are about to get their paychecks we think why did he wait until now to [0:26] make sure that these workers are paid no thanks to congress by the way we'll break down what's [0:30] next for security lines and it might have been the single most widespread protest in american [0:36] history but will the no kings movement translate to more congressional seats from abc news this [0:46] is start here i'm brad milkey this weekend the war in iran passed the four-week mark thus far [0:59] iran and lebanon have absorbed the vast majority of casualties thousands have been killed but u.s [1:05] troops have not been left unharmed six soldiers killed in the early hours of the u.s israeli [1:10] offensive at their base in kuwait the seventh u.s service member killed in action six u.s service [1:14] members killed in the crash of a refueling aircraft in iraq in addition to the 13 service [1:19] members killed in the early days of this war the injuries also continue to mount on friday [1:25] 15 american service members were injured when iran launched missiles and drones at a saudi airbase [1:31] that raises the toll to more than 300 american service members wounded over the course of the [1:36] war the vast majority of those have been traumatic brain injuries from the sheer force of these [1:41] constant explosions now casualties are a fact of war the question is how much each side is willing [1:48] to accept and if you thought the costs were already high well ground operations are significantly [1:54] riskier and this weekend thousands more americans arrived in the region these included marines [2:01] paratroopers another aircraft carrier is on the way the white house insists this is no [2:06] way for americans to be able to get to iraq in one of the most dangerous areas in the world [2:06] bluff so what is the plan for these troops let's bring in abc's matt rivers who's in [2:12] qatar right now staring across the strait of hormuz at iran matt you take a look at these [2:17] types of troops i mean is there a possibility right now of a ground operation in iran yes [2:23] there's there's no simpler way to put it the possibility of u.s ground troops grows [2:28] pretty much by the day if only because look what the united states military is doing [2:32] they are sending thousands of additional troops into this region you know the marine [2:36] expeditionary force which is equipped with amphibious assault capabilities it's the kind [2:41] of guys that would land on an island and take it over you know this is certainly a possibility with [2:46] thousands of u.s soldiers now in the region more set to come here the question is what is [2:52] the president planning on doing with them we have the best people we have by far the best [2:57] equipment we have weapons that nobody's ever seen before what we have seen in the past is [3:03] when the president moves military assets into a region which you always hear [3:06] from this administration is we're still negotiating we're moving troops in we like to [3:11] do gunboat diplomacy but peace is still a possibility that's happened in venezuela we [3:15] took out nicolas maduro you know when i went into venezuela i said because i campaigned on the fact [3:21] peace with strength you wouldn't have to use i built this great military i said you'll never [3:26] have to use it but sometimes you have to use it that happened before the iran war started now [3:30] we're a month into this war generally speaking when you see the military move lots of troops and [3:36] assets they usually end up being used in one way or another what's going to happen here we simply [3:43] don't know is it a possibility that all these troops come out here and they're not put on the [3:47] ground in any way shape or form in iran yes that's absolutely a possibility we simply don't know well [3:52] and iran clearly seems to think this could happen their speaker in parliament declared over the [3:55] weekend that the u.s is readying a ground invasion they said iran would quote rain fire on them in [4:01] response so say that president trump gives the green light i mean what operations are we even [4:06] out here what could they conceivably be used for really a wide range of things you've got marines [4:12] you've got airborne troops that are on the way and you also have special forces units [4:16] you could go a number of different routes you could invade karg island which is that key [4:20] oil exporting island that's really the cash cow for the iranian regime you could do that but it [4:25] sits just offshore from iran the troops going on that island would face heavy heavy fire more than [4:30] likely from the iranian mainland there would be casualties there almost undoubtedly could you have [4:36] then put troops on the iranian mainland and capture the high ground on the other side of [4:40] that island to lessen the threat to the troops that are holding the island that's a possibility [4:45] are you talking about using special forces operators deep inside the country to try and [4:50] secure some of the enriched uranium that the iranian regime still has that's a possibility so [4:56] the president's being asked about this he continues to hedge his bets but you know [4:59] politicians were asked about this on the weekend is there going to be widespread support from [5:03] republicans for that well john we're not at that point yet i don't think we're going to be able to [5:06] do that obviously you're seeing troop movement house majority leader steve scalise was on abc's [5:10] this week with john carl he was asked about it and he didn't say no it wasn't going to happen [5:15] there are no boots on the ground today but we're having a lot of conversations about [5:19] what could happen next but does that mean that we commit ourselves to a much longer [5:23] war than we had already anticipated president trump came out early on and said yeah four to [5:26] six weeks should do it we just passed the month mark this weekend yeah we're old enough to remember [5:32] brad the early days of this uh where he said that so let's just do the math right president [5:36] trump said four to six weeks when he first started out we have now just started week five [5:40] so four weeks have been completed a few days ago secretary of state marco rubio sources told abc news [5:45] told g7 foreign ministers at their meeting in in france that it could last another two to four [5:51] weeks as the department of war has consistently outlined we are on or ahead of schedule on that [5:56] operation and uh expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here in a matter of weeks not [6:02] months so if we've already finished four weeks and rubio says it could be two to four more [6:06] weeks well at a minimum you're looking at six weeks there and at a maximum you're looking into [6:11] several months down the road and what seems to happen when the administration talks about this [6:15] stuff is that they're moving the goalposts consistently they continue to say they're [6:20] ahead of schedule and yet the schedule keeps getting pushed back you know and don't forget [6:23] there's been this pause on attacking some of the key energy infrastructure sites inside of iran [6:28] that the president put in to allow negotiations to take place that goes all the way up to the [6:33] end of this week on april 5th so you're already looking at a delayed deadline [6:36] so when this ends no one really knows what we do know is that there are some people trying to end [6:43] this so over the weekend we saw the foreign ministers from saudi arabia pakistan egypt and [6:47] turkey get together to try and build out a roadmap here and they all said they had a good meeting and [6:52] a positive meeting and then the pakistani foreign minister said he hopes that the u.s and iran [6:56] will meet in the coming days pakistan is very happy that both iran and the u.s have expressed [7:02] their confidence in pakistan to facilitate their talks you know who wasn't at those [7:08] meetings over the weekend the u.s iran or israel you would seem to need the countries at war to end [7:14] the war and so we're a long way away i think from negotiating our way out of this even as you know [7:19] these regional countries who are terrified of this going on for any longer are trying their best to [7:23] stop it all right in the meantime secretary marco rubio like you said two to four more weeks he said [7:28] we could do all that without any ground troops nobody's committing to ground troops and yet [7:32] no one's willing to put their foot down and say they're definitely not going in matt rivers there [7:36] in cutter right now thank you so much thanks brad [7:40] next up on start here congress wait for it wasn't able to find a compromise but tsa officers should [7:46] be getting paid anyway we're back in a bit when we last spoke lines at some airports were hours [7:56] long lines were literally wrapped around the building and outside tsa workers were still [8:01] calling out in droves president trump had announced he would sign an executive order to get them paid [8:06] but senators then agreed to pass a measure that would fund much of the department of homeland [8:11] security rendering some of this theoretically moot well here we go [8:15] we are on monday and guess what the lines have still been long the agents still haven't been [8:19] paid so where do things stand let's go to abc senior white house correspondent selena wang selena [8:25] can you just catch me up because early early on friday morning i was told the senate has [8:29] a compromise ready to end this whole debacle what happened yeah exactly and senators look [8:35] nothing motivates them more than knowing that they've got a recess coming up that they've got [8:39] flights to catch leaving for two weeks and so they really scrambled to get this bill passed [8:45] through the senate to reopen the department of homeland security so it would reopen that [8:49] department but it would strip out funding for ice and border patrol however both of those agencies [8:55] are already fully funded under president trump's mega bill passed last year but that was what the [8:59] senate bill entailed then it goes over to the house and house speaker mike johnson and other [9:05] republican members they flat out reject that and they end up plowing ahead with their own [9:12] option to reopen dhs to fully fund [9:15] the department for about two months the house stayed later than we were scheduled to stay [9:21] to take up a bill to fully fund the department and sent it back over to the senate so the bill [9:26] is over in the senate the senate's got options they've got to come back and deal with it and then [9:31] they also left town with ice with border patrol like the whole thing gets funded that's what the [9:36] house proposal is yes exactly they took issue with that again even though both of those agencies [9:41] are fully funded under trump's mega bill passed last year [9:45] let's not forget why we got into this in the first place democrats thought this fight was [9:50] worth it to pressure republicans to make real reforms to immigration enforcement after federal [9:55] officers killed americans renee goode and alex pretty in minneapolis and their demands include [10:00] ice agents wearing body cameras and obtaining judicial warrants before entering private homes [10:05] but so far they have gotten none of their demands and brad when it comes to that [10:11] house bill that was passed senate minority leader chuck schumer says [10:15] that's dead on arrival in the senate so the problem is you've got two plans to reopen [10:20] the government and this partial government shutdown but they can't [10:23] choose or decide what plan to go ahead with wow okay so then that's back in like a deadlock [10:28] scenario so do tsa workers get paid then or not because the president signed an executive order [10:33] like specifically to them i thought exactly so the president basically is going around congress and [10:38] he is ordering the department to start paying tsa workers so dhs said that tsa workers should start [10:45] paying back paychecks on monday we're talking about back pay right because they have been going [10:49] weeks now without pay but we've been talking to workers and they say you know i'll believe it when [10:55] i see it not to mention if this continues to drag out will they get their next paycheck but there [10:59] was nothing in there stating that we would be paid going forward so i have mixed emotions about that [11:05] on top of that we're just talking about tsa workers but there are tens of thousands of [11:10] other workers including with fema the coast guard personnel who are going to continue [11:15] to go without pay and there are workers i've been speaking to as well as lawmakers who have been [11:20] talking on the sunday shows who say look if the president had the authority to do this all along [11:25] why did he wait until now to make sure that these workers are paid president trump has said he has [11:32] the emergency authority to spend money for tsa and the question i have is why didn't he use that 45 [11:40] days ago and not to mention even with back pay coming many are going to continue to struggle [11:45] because of penalties and late fees that they've accumulated over the past several weeks [11:49] remember a lot of these people live paycheck to paycheck well and i can't imagine who would step [11:53] forward and be like no the president can't pay these tsa workers because then you'd be the person [11:57] being like let's not pay the tsa workers but i mean is it a given that the president has the [12:01] authority to do this and i guess how does this play out going forward yeah well brad will tom [12:05] home in the border czar said on sunday that tsa agents will quote hopefully receive their paychecks [12:11] by monday tuesday he said hope [12:15] right so there are still questions and concerns again from tsa agents about whether this money is [12:21] really coming and they're just over it because it wasn't very long ago when they dealt with [12:26] the last historic government shutdown where airports were full of chaos and tsa workers were [12:32] calling out sick struggling to make ends meet and and here they are again you know so the question [12:38] is are these ice agents going to stay at airports well on sunday borders are tom home and said it [12:43] depends how many tsa agents come back to work [12:46] they need to understand how many have quit and and don't plan to come back to know how much they [12:51] still need he later told cbs look we're going to continue a nice presence there and until the [12:57] airports feel like they're in they're 100 you know in a posture where they can do normal operations [13:04] ice agents would stay until the airports feel like they're 100 and normal operations resume [13:10] yeah and i mean even after this news broke about the executive order and everything i mean some of [13:14] these airports still had call-out rates this weekend [13:16] of 30 40 percent at other airports much much better but still a lot of travelers and tsa [13:22] officers confused about where things stand uh selena wang thank you so much thanks brad [13:27] now as the realities of washington were playing out at airports the realities of this political [13:35] moment were playing out in the streets across the country protesters gathered in huge numbers [13:44] for what has come to be known as a no kings protest abc's deputy political director ben [13:49] siegel joins us from washington ben a lot to get to on either side of the aisle but i mean let's talk [13:53] about these protests organizers said they were at 3 300 different locations that is a modern record [13:59] according to almost any metric we can summon for sort of nationwide protests like how significant [14:04] were they this was a major day of mobilization and protest to the trump administration eight [14:10] million people across the country all across uh cities and states from coast to coast [14:21] voicing their opposition to president trump in this moment on a wide variety of fronts you had [14:27] people protesting the war in iran the looming possibility of troops on the ground the economic [14:33] impact and fallout of this war and you also had people in places like minnesota where where uh [14:39] governor tim walsh was out with protesters and bruce springsteen was out as well it was you [14:45] minnesota who stood up for your neighbors who stood up for decency who stood up for kindness [14:52] rallying around that community and solidarity against the deportation [14:57] and immigration enforcement efforts of the trump administration against ice and what ice has done [15:02] in that city billionaires rip off everyday people and wannabe dictators start illegal wars we will [15:09] not be silent so this was just sort of a variety of reasons that got people out into the streets [15:17] but it really shows that you know a year and a half into the president's second term there is a [15:21] lot of energy a lot of uh anger being directed at this administration and its actions but ben just so [15:28] yeah the volume is higher but does that translate into wins for democrats or for liberals or for [15:35] like whoever you know is protesting the president are they going to have their issues met in the [15:40] midterms the anger that we're seeing on the left in the streets this weekend and the intensity [15:44] from members of the democratic base that is a very critical measure going into the midterms because [15:50] very often elections boil down to who comes out to vote who is more motivated to vote [15:55] there are an awful lot of people who are not satisfied with what's [15:58] going on who are very unhappy with what's going on and are looking for a way to express that [16:04] unhappiness if you look at polls in this country the president is not popular the democratic party [16:09] however is also not popular but democratic voters are much angrier in this moment and much [16:15] more energized and that can make all the difference when it's about turnout [16:19] obviously the president has his iron grip on the republican party he still remains popular [16:23] with his base but if his base is not as motivated to vote as these democrats are [16:28] who are voting against trump against the gop that could be a real problem for republicans [16:34] uh heading into the fall and next november well yeah and i mean the governing party usually [16:39] is considered to have a more uphill climb in the midterms just because so is it sort of a zero-sum [16:44] game if democrats are feeling like they're on the upswing do republicans feel like they're on the [16:47] downswing in terms of the midterms well if you listen to party leaders like speaker mike johnson [16:52] uh you know you will hear them say that the party is in a good position heading into the midterms [16:57] that they do have energy over the midterms and they're going to have a good position in the midterms [16:58] on their side that there is support for the president and what he's doing from now until [17:03] november we're going to fight and i'm going to personally campaign for every one of you we're [17:08] going to go to win in midterms we're going to have even bigger majorities in the house and the senate [17:14] but there's another metric that tells a different story and it's the number of retirements of of [17:18] sitting members of congress in the house and senate now over the weekend republicans hit a [17:23] milestone uh 36 house republicans have said that they will not run for real [17:29] election next fall that is a modern record we have not seen a number that high uh from the [17:34] majority party from the gop since president trump's first term and why is that ben the 36 [17:39] like that's a ton of races now that you have to win without an incumbents usually do pretty well [17:44] so now you don't have that advantage brad incumbents almost always win their races [17:47] statistically so this is a problem some of them are ruby red districts a republican is going to [17:54] win that race in november but other districts are toss-up seats are purple seats and remember [18:00] there's a three-seat majority in the house so if democrats can keep all their seats and flip [18:05] three other seats at least they will win control of the house of representatives next year and if [18:10] you look at the reasons these members give to explain why they're retiring why they're not [18:15] running for reelection it really runs the gamut you have some members of congress who have been [18:20] there for decades in washington and are ready to spend time with their family you have some [18:24] are reporting shows who are battling illness and not running for reelection and you have others who [18:30] are running for re-election who are running for re-election who are running for re-election [18:34] so you have a combination of this political moment and the looming likelihood that they will be in [18:39] the minority next year means that this is not all that an attractive place to be uh for the next two [18:45] years so it's a whole range of of reasons that you're seeing democrats and republicans give but [18:49] obviously that big number is on the republican side everybody from committee chairman to younger [18:55] members to veterans to moderates to some conservatives in states where the maps have been [19:00] charted to be actually even more critical to re-election so you're thinking what do we have [19:06] to do um is it a good idea you know we're going to start seeing more of the blacklist action [19:13] the blacklist action that's kind of a bullshit that's kind of a whole new response we're all [19:17] about uh we're gonna have to try to keep the numbers up so that every single group of people [19:26] that's going to have to be in the top 30 or 35 or 36 may keep growing and that is a potential [19:32] flashing light for the gop all right ben siegel there in washington now thank you so much thank you [19:36] same as it was. Last year, the pop superstar announced he was trying a different type of tour. [19:50] Namely, he wasn't really touring at all. So the last time that Harry was here, he did like a mini [19:57] residency and I went to that. He did like an Airbnb. Exactly, exactly. It wasn't the full thing, but [20:02] yeah, he Airbnb'd it. This is ABC's Will Gans explaining that this summer, Styles is set to [20:08] visit only seven cities. He'll do 10 shows in Amsterdam, then a dozen in London, and then a 30-day [20:14] residency in New York City at Madison Square Garden. What's crazy about that is it's the only [20:20] city in the United States that he is performing at on this next tour. Recently, several stars have [20:29] announced similar plans, longer stints, one city at a time. Most of these are in Las Vegas. Residencies [20:36] this year include the Backstreet Boys, J-Lo, No Doubt. [20:40] And to hear musicians and tour managers explain it, it makes total sense. [20:45] He explained why he's doing a different style of tour when he was talking to Zane Lowe from [20:51] Apple Music. You can build something that doesn't have to travel every night. I think the show [20:57] itself is better. So instead of paying the guys to break down the set every single night and drive [21:03] from Kansas City to Dallas, like instead, you're keeping your set. Now, in theory, that sounds [21:10] great, right? [21:10] The artist is more rested. Their sets are better. There's not a new sound check to do every day. [21:15] The fan experience should be better. But for which fans? Will says, think about it. In a normal [21:22] concert, you pay that ticket price. The artist does the rest. They rent the bus. They haul the [21:27] equipment. They feed the roadies and come to your backyard. Well, now these artists are telling fans, [21:33] I'm not coming to you. You can come to me. [21:35] It really does defer the cost in a lot of ways to the fans who maybe, you know, wouldn't be [21:42] paying for it. [21:42] The effect of that could be a stratification of fans, the folks who listen to artists but never [21:49] get to see them in person, and the super fans who shell out to travel to Vegas or London or New [21:54] York. For those fans, it will be a premium show. In fact, Harry's, as they're known, are already [22:00] turning this into an excuse for a road trip. You might see Harry style super fans who are [22:05] going to split a hotel room, maybe sleep eight people to a bed or whatever they need to do [22:10] because there will be a tour bus, just not with Harry. [22:12] That's exactly right. And that is where like the community of fans really like shines. [22:21] But this is exactly the point. Music thrives on its hardcore fans, whoever they are. What would [22:27] the Grateful Dead be without their most adoring deadheads? The insane clown posse without their [22:32] juggalos? It's one thing to go on a road trip to different fairgrounds and amphitheaters. [22:36] It's another to pay for tickets to the Sphere over and over. These newer venues were built at [22:42] extraordinary rates. [22:42] Just because fans are now paying their own way doesn't mean ticket prices are going down. [22:48] Will says only the biggest stars will be able to guarantee to venues they can sell out these [22:52] places night after night. But for now, this model increasingly appears to be the future. [22:57] The bigger your favorite act gets, the less likely they are to hit the road. [23:01] Same with theater, right? You can be as snobby as you want about Broadway. If there were [23:08] no tours, you would not have the next generations of theater nerds. You gotta take the art out [23:13] to the people. [23:14] Hey, very exciting date just passed by. [23:15] I'm going to go check it out. [23:15] Saturday was the eighth birthday of Start Here. We have managed to bring this show to [23:20] you for the last eight years. Thank you so much, especially to our OG listeners who have [23:25] been around since the beginning. I feel like there's still news to cover, though, so maybe [23:28] let's keep it going. I'm Brad Milkey. I'll see you tomorrow.