War with Iran + Pentagon vs Anthropic with Under Secretary of War Emil Michael
In a Nutshell
US and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Khamenei and depleting 90% of its munitions in days, aimed at dismantling nuclear sites, drone/missile production, and terror funding without boots on ground; Trump leverages this alongside Venezuela raid to pressure China on oil supplies for trade/Taiwan deals. Pentagon cancelled $200M Anthropic contract after failed negotiations over AI restrictions on military uses like drone swarms and Golden Dome missile defense, deeming it a supply chain risk due to ideological guardrails—favoring flexible providers like Grok, Google, and OpenAI for lawful DoD needs. Defense shifts to AI-driven drones, relaxed ROE, requirements reform for startups (Anduril/Palantir as new primes), and DARPA innovations to counter China while rebuilding US supply chains.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Emergency podcast, Episode 263 of All-In. Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, working directly for Pete Hegseth. Emil Michael served as Travis Kalanick's right-hand man at Uber, raising $20 billion.
Chamath Palihapitiya and David Friedberg join. Jason Calacanis hosts. David Sacks is out, busy on Capitol Hill.
US and Israel launched joint attack on Iran on Saturday. Today is day six of Operation Epic Fury. Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed within hours. 40 senior officials killed. Death toll about 1,000 people. Six US Army Reserve soldiers killed in drone strike on base in Kuwait. US submarine sank Iranian ship off coast of Sri Lanka—first torpedo kill since World War II.
Explanations for war: Rubio said Israel was going to attack, US had no choice but to participate, later walked it back. Trump: not regime change, but to stop terrorism, ICBM development, nuclear bombs (blew up nuclear sites couple weeks ago). Trump: people of Iran should seize moment and take country back. Pete Hegseth: not regime change war, but regime did change, world better off.
Polymarket odds:
- US forces enter Iran (boots on ground) by end of March: 40%; by end of year: 59%.
- Iranian regime falls by June 30: 39%; by end of year: 51%.
Emil Michael: President said weeks not months operation, aimed at disarming regime from supplying Hezbollah, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood with weapons/money, plus nuclear program. Targeting depots, nuclear sites, prodigious drone production (one-way attack drones hundreds of miles), ballistic missiles aimed at Middle East countries.
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