- [Gary] Today from "The Global Lane,"

US troops leave Afghanistan.

The consequences forIsrael and the Middle East.

- When the US is strong, Israel is strong.

And when the perception isthat the US is getting weaker,

we are weaker.

- [Gary] Back on the homefront,

another battle for thosewho served in Afghanistan.

- A lot of veterans are looking at this

and thinking, "Oh, my goodness,my service was in vain."

- [Gary] Healthcare costs rising.

Time for the great American breakup?

- Breaking up with that costly system

and giving Americans choice.

- Left behind in Afghanistan.

Will anyone be held accountable?

And it's all right hereon "The Global Lane."

(tense music)

Consequences of a hasty withdrawal.

Now that US troops are out of Afghanistan,

what does the future hold forIsrael and the Middle East?

Well, joining us isIsrael's representative

at the United Nations,Ambassador Danny Danon.

Ambassador Danon, it's goodto talk with you again.

So, an emboldened Taliban nowin control in Afghanistan.

What does that mean for Israel?

- For us, when the US isstrong, Israel is strong.

And when the perception isthat the US is getting weaker,

we are weaker.

Those pictures that wesaw coming from Kabul,

actually giving more strengthto the radicals in Lebanon,

to the radicals in Gaza, andto the radicals in Tehran.

And I think the question iswhether the new administration

will now continue to negotiate with Tehran

and will try to reenterthe agreement with Iran

all over again.

- And many other Islamicterrorist groups see

that the most powerfulmilitary in the world

was defeated and embarrassed by the enemy

they fought against for 20 years.

The Taliban's now in control.

So, how about the terrorist group

on Israel's northern border.

Let's talk about Hezbollah first.

Do you expect them to make a move

or are they too weakfinancially and politically

to attack Israel right now?

- So the issue is the perceptionof strength and power.

You know, I served asdeputy minister of defense

and I learned that it's not about

the real strength you have,

about the number of tanks or submarines.

It's about the perception.

And I think today, theperception that the US is weaker

and those people are sitting in Beirut,

the heads of Hezbollah,

they know that we willretaliate, we will attack them,

and I think they know it very seriously,

so they will think twicebefore challenging the IDF.

And also politically, thatall of the people in Lebanon

will blame them for the consequences.

So I don't know what will happen.

And also, you have tounderstand that the people

in Hezbollah in Beirut don't decide.

They get orders from Tehran.

So the radicals in Tehran

will decide when the next conflict will be

here in the north.

- Well, that's the big concern, is it not,

what Iran is going to do?

And I know your PrimeMinister Naftali Bennett

recently met with PresidentBiden at the White House.

And Biden said he will not allow Iran

to possess a nuclear weapon on his watch,

but how can Israel trust his word on that

given that many of America'sallies feel abandoned,

they feel let down by the hastywithdrawal from Afghanistan?

Can you depend on his word?

- We have to trust ourselves.

History have taught usthat we have to be the ones

securing our future and our wellbeing.

And I think we have a reason to worry

because the new administration

actually acknowledgedthat they are willing,

they are eager to sign a deal

with the administration in Tehran.

I don't know why,

but now the only reasonthat we don't have agreement

is because the leadership in Tehran

are not willing to negotiate with the US.

I hope it will stay that situation

because the last thing wewant is another bad agreement

that will allow Iran to become nuclear

and allow them to send theirproxies, their weapons,

and their funding.

We don't want to seeit becoming a reality.

- Many Americans believe Israelmay be forced to act alone

against Iranian nuclear weapons.

Prime Minister Bennett suggestedthat Israel will take steps

against the Islamic Republica little bit at a time.

So how could you stop them

without US military backing and support?

Don't you need that?

- We have the capabilitiesto defend ourselves

and if we will have no choice,we will do it ourselves.

We did it in the past,I want to remind you,

where we destroyed thenuclear reactor in Iraq,

the nuclear reactor in Syria.

We hope it will not be the case

that it will be only Israelagainst the radicals of Iran,

but if nothing will stop them,

we will be there to stop them.

- And in Israel, DefenseSecretary Benny Gantz

recently met with Palestinian Authority

President Mahmoud Abbas and he made offers

of financial assistance to the PA.

So what and who's behind that offer?

- So we have some kind ofa dialogue with the PA.

You know, when we were in government,

we made sure that it willnot be in the highest levels

because we have to rememberthat President Abbas

still support terrorism.

They pay salaries to convicted terrorists.

And I don't think he deserves the respect

he got from Minister Gantz.

That's the decision of thenew government here in Israel.

And I think we should coordinatea few things with the PA,

but we should not givethe respect to Abbas

while he supports terrorism.

- Do you think this is designedto kind of negate Hamas

and kind of get them out of the picture

and get more Palestiniansto support the PA,

or what's behind that?

- No, I think, you know,

there are issues tocoordinate with the PA.

It may be the pressure comingfrom the new administration.

One cannot ignore that the meeting

between the defense minister and Abbas

took place a few hours afterPrime Minister Netanyahu

came back from Washington.

And I'm sure this issuewas also brought up

in the discussions between President Biden

and Prime Minister Bennett.

- [Gary] So do you thinkit helps or weakens Israel

negotiating with the PA?

- I don't think he shouldgive, negotiate directly

with the president of the PA.

And I think you should notgive him the legitimacy.

We should demand them tostop sponsoring terrorism.

And if we need to coordinate a few issues,

we know we have professionalson the ground who can do that.

- Well, we know the high holydays are coming on shortly

and Israel and all of ourviewers will be praying for you

and praying for Israel.

And we always pray forthe peace of Jerusalem.

Ambassador Danny Danon,

Israel's representativeto the United Nations,

thank you for sharing yourtime and your insights with us.

Shalom.

- Shalom Shalom.

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(tense music)

- After nearly 20 years, theUS military completed its exit

from Afghanistan this week.

The commander of the 82nd Airborne,

Army Major General Chris Donahue,

was the last American soldier out.

Much attention has beenplaced on the evacuation

of Americans and Afghans, butwhat about the US soldiers

returning home fromAfghanistan and the veterans

who served there for overmore than two decades?

What about them?

Well, here with more is Steele Brand.

He's associate professor ofhistory at the King's College.

Mr. Brand is a US Army veteranwho served in Afghanistan

as a tactical intelligence officer.

So Steele, US militaryinvolvement is done,

at least for now.

So how hard is it on thosetroops returning home,

especially those who survived Afghanistan

when 2,231 of theirbrothers in arms did not?

- Well, first of all, thanks a lot

for having me on the show.

You know, if you lookat what has happened,

there's this rapid turnaround,

a dramatic swing of militaryfortune that has just occurred.

A success that was highly imperfect,

but easy to hold with asmall number of troops,

minimal commitments in a diplomatic corps,

has now turned into an absolute failure.

I mean, there's no other wayto look at it than a failure.

We've broken our promises to the Afghans.

Biden broke his promisesto us and the Afghans.

It was not safe and orderly.

People have been left behind.

And now we don't evenhave diplomatic personnel

in the country.

So I think a lot ofveterans are looking at this

and thinking, "Oh, my goodness,my service was in vain.

Everything I've done, the livesthat I saw that were lost,

my buddies who are no longer here,

the wounds that I willalways carry with me,"

and not just physical, but also emotional.

All of these things feellike there were sacrifices

that were worthless.

These veterans need to be reminded

that their work was not in vain.

They represented a series of virtues

that are indispensable to aproper functioning republic:

discipline, loyalty, trust, courage,

self-sacrifice, serving your country.

These vets did that for 20 years.

Whether we win, whether welose, that is good, period.

- Yeah, they did a great job.

So what effect do you thinkit would have on the troops

if American political and military leaders

were to be held accountable

for the way the withdrawal was conducted?

- Yeah, I mean, this needs to happen.

There needs to be a reckoningthat comes both in the midterm

and then in the presidentialelection in three years.

Americans, I think, need tolook at what are the values

that we've tried to influenceother people to adopt abroad,

sometimes unsuccessfully.

But there are these goodvalues, and I mentioned them:

religious liberty, constitutionalgovernment, human dignity.

And then what are thevirtues that are needed

to actually push those values through?

And those are the things

that I think our vets know very well.

They're trained to do them.

They're trained to honor the flag.

They're trained to do their job.

Even if they feel like their leaders,

at that moment, aren'tdoing what's best for them,

they're trying to do what theycan do to fulfill their duty.

And they're trained to keeptheir word, to have trust,

to be trustworthy.

I mean, these are things

that we need to demand of our leadership.

It's not just about bad strategic choices.

It's about a failure of principles.

It's about a failure of morals

that has occurred at the national level.

- And it seems like it justkeeps happening and happening.

You're a history professorat the King's College,

so let's look back.

It seems since the Korean War,

ever since the Korean War actually,

the United States neverreally goes into war

and then wins it.

Truman wouldn't let General MacArthur

push the Chinese backacross the Yellow River

shortly after troopswere pulled from Vietnam.

The communists moved into Saigon,

then seized control and mattersgot worse in the region.

Remember, the Khmer Rougecame to power in Cambodia.

Two million people died.

And then Desert Storm.

Many of our troops wanted to chase Saddam

all the way back toBaghdad and the US withdrew

and then we returned a decade later

and then we withdrew again from Iraq.

ISIS came to power,killing tens of thousands

and establishing a caliphate in Syria.

Now the Taliban take over Afghanistan.

Why does this keep happening?

- You've got two totallyincompatible ideas.

One is that America, from itsfounding, is anti-colonial.

It opposes a sort ofoccupation and empire.

Okay?

And you know, there are merits to that.

But then there's this other desire,

and that is to spread democracy.

And George W. Bush's idea was

spread it through building up nations.

That's a really tricky thing to do.

There may be kind of a reason to try it.

But when you put those two together,

that's what creates whatwe've had since the Cold War.

The average, when I was in Afghanistan,

the number one lessonI learned in 2012 was

I can't control everything.

There are things

that are just way beyondmy capacity to direct.

And I was in the know.

I was a tactical intelligence officer.

But what I did realize is I can do my job.

And that is what we need average citizens

to try to do at home.

We need to bring these values

and we need to practicethem on the homefront.

We need to be loyal to our neighbors.

That's a military virtueapplied to everyone.

We need to speak the truth.

We need to serve other people

and be willing to sacrifice for them.

And we also need to beable to serve our country.

But if we emphasize civic vices,

the kinds of things thatwe've been doing right now

with our top leadershipin the United States,

America's not gonna succeedmilitarily or even domestically,

and that's what we've seenin the last two years.

But instead, if weemphasize civic virtues,

the kinds of thingsI've been talking about,

every single citizen doing that,

and then demand that of our leadership,

that's when we can seeus picking the right path

to go where we want to go.

- And thank those veterans,those soldiers returning home

for doing their duty.

Okay, Steele Brand,

associate professor ofhistory of the King's College,

thanks for providing those insights.

We appreciate it.

- Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

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(tense music)

- Healthcare costs aresqueezing American pocketbooks.

Today, the average American ispaying nearly $500 per month

for health insurance.

And rising costs forhospitalizations, surgeries,

and catastrophic illnessesare causing many people

to turn to bankruptcyas their only way out.

But there are some alternatives.

Here with more is Evelio Silvera,

vice president of communications

and government affairs ofChristian Care Ministry.

Evelio, thank you for being with us.

So, what's happened tohealthcare costs and insurance

since the implementationof the Affordable Care Act?

- Well, the Affordable Care Act, Gary,

was meant to provide a standard basis

of healthcare coverage toall Americans, for whosoever.

Unfortunately, when you havea government subsidized,

one size fits all approach to healthcare,

the opposite historically tends to happen.

And while we've seen so many

negative headlines during COVID,

there is a silver lining breakingup with that costly system

and giving Americans choice,choice for individual decisions

to control costs, alternativeslike direct primary care,

healthcare sharing, and others

that have been 50% less expensive

than traditional healthinsurance in the marketplace.

- So, I want to talkabout that in a minute,

but, you know, we were toldthat costs would be lower

and healthcare would be betterfor Americans with Obamacare.

What happened?

- Well, you have what I like to call

the health insurance cartel.

This is the big names

that spent over $1 billion last year alone

lobbying our elected officials.

And so in order to get Big Pharma

on board with Obamacare and the ACA,

you have to have some carve-outsand some benefits for them.

In order to have the hospital networks

and the specialtyproviders to come on board

with this government mandatedcontrolled healthcare,

you have to have some carve-outsand some benefits for them.

And so what we have isso many different layers

to medical costs versus anactual decision being made

by a physician with their patient

and the costs beingdriven by market forces.

That's why cash pay programsand direct care programs

are so much less expensivethan traditional healthcare.

And any time, economistswill tell you, Gary,

that you subsidize something,the cost becomes inflated

and increases versus beingmanaged and controlled.

- Well, you had mentionedthat the COVID pandemic

has certainly changed our society.

Many people changing careers,

small businesses haveactually shut their doors

because they just can'tafford the rising labor costs.

And then state budgets are being squeezed

by expanded Medicaid coverage.

So tell us a little bit about Medi-Share

and cost sharing as an alternative.

Tell us a little more about that.

- You know, so many people in this,

what some economists have talked about

as the great resignation.

You know, many of themwere working from home,

reprioritized how they wanted to do life.

They liked being home.

They liked caring forparents and for children.

And they started seeing thatthey had other opportunities.

And so where you had forcedbankruptcy in businesses

that shuttered because of the pandemic

and these lockdowns and shutdowns,

you also have a rising group,

as high as 40% some surveyssay, of individuals saying,

"You know, I'm gonnastart my own business.

I'm gonna do my own type of work.

I'm gonna reset my priorities."

And they've gotten stuck inthis healthcare purgatory

where they have to choosebetween pursuing their dreams

of a new business orfinding a new career path

and being locked in toemployer mandated healthcare.

And it's that rising cost.

I was speaking to acouple just last weekend.

He's about to retire,

actually consideringearly retirement at 62,

and he wants to pursue abusiness with his wife.

Yet even with advancedsubsidies for ACA plans,

the out-of-pocketexpense was astronomical.

And so the alternativethat he's sought out

and that so many have soughtout over the last 27 years

is medical cost sharing, orhealthcare sharing ministries,

where like-minded individuals,in the case of Medi-Share,

like-minded Christians come together

to live out the book ofActs in medical cost sharing

and sharing each other's burden,

last year alone, sharing over$1 billion in medical costs.

But there's otheralternatives as well, Gary,

like Direct Primary Care,which is a throwback

to the old family doctor.

You'd go to see yourprimary care physician

and you pay a monthly fee.

You can go as many times as you want.

Cash pay services for thingslike imaging and specialty.

And what so many have found

is that their out-of-pocketcosts are dramatically lower

because they're in controlof making the decision

on what they spend and how they spend it

versus all the layers of bureaucracy

between the pharmaceuticals, the provider,

the health insurance companies themselves.

There are so many layers,one on top of the other,

that it does put people in a situation

like they don't have achoice, but they very well do.

- Okay, giving peoplechoices on their healthcare,

Evelio Solvera, vicepresident of communications

and government affairs ofChristian Care Ministry.

Thank you, Evelio, for sharingyour time and insights.

We appreciate it.

- Thank you. It was a pleasure, Gary.

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(tense music)

- Only hours after theUnited States military

concluded its withdrawal from Afghanistan,

the Taliban and their supporters

were out in the streetsholding a mock funeral

for the United States,Britain, and France.

After 20 years, the Talibanare claiming victory

over the West.

Meanwhile, at the homes of Afghans

who helped the allied powers,

spasmodic knocks on thedoor, and then this.

(gunshots blast)

- Gunfire on the porch.

Frightening, isn't it?

What would you do?

And Taliban enemies aren'tthe only ones at risk.

Afghan Christians arealso in grave danger.

My colleague, George Thomas,obtained an exclusive interview

with Christians hidingat a safe house in Kabul.

Here's what one of them had to say.

- [Interpreter] Every day,I receive a phone call

from a private numberand the person warns me

that if he sees meagain, he will behead me.

We are praying for each other

that the Lord would putHis angels around our house

for our protection and safety.

- Two days earlier, PresidentBiden and other officials

attended a solemn ceremonyat Dover Air Force Base

as the fallen troops fromthe Kabul airport attack

were honorably returned to American soil.

But there was one big problem.

It looked like the US presidenthad somewhere better to be.

According to some of theparents of the fallen,

the commander in chiefkept looking at his watch.

Maybe Mr. Biden was checking to see

when he might receive word onthe 250 Americans left behind

in his hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Well White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

has yet to explain why the president

kept looking at his watch.

Fox News contributor Bret Baier

explained that Biden may not have been

checking his watch at all.

He may have been looking at the rosary

of his deceased son, Beau.

The president apparentlywears the rosary on his wrist.

Regardless, days earlier,

President Biden pledgednot to leave Afghanistan

until all Americans were out,but then he did the opposite.

He left some behind.

When the president of the United States

is sworn into office, he takesan oath to preserve, protect,

and defend the Constitutionof the United States,

and that includes protectingthe American people.

That is his primary duty, andon this, Joe Biden has failed.

And so have our military leaders.

They may argue that they werejust following the orders

of the commander in chiefwhen they hastily abandoned

Bagram Air Force Base, thebest place, by the way,

for American and Afghan evacuations.

But they and President Bidenmust be held to account

for abruptly leavingAmericans and Afghans at risk

and for the recklessness,which led to the death

of 13 service men andwomen at Kabul airport.

A group of 87 retired US generals

are calling on DefenseSecretary Lloyd Austin

and Joint Chiefs ChairmanGeneral Mark Milley to resign.

That would be a good start.

Also, Congress should hold hearings

to determine what happened,

investigating the intelligence received

and the decision-making process

that led to the hasty withdrawal.

Our nation has been humiliated.

Accountability and apologies are a must.

The future morale of our troops

and the restoration ofAmerican dignity are at stake.

Well, that's it todayfrom "The Global Lane."

Be sure to follow us on theCBN News and NRB channels,

social media, and ourbroadcast affiliates.

And until next time, be blessed.

(dramatic music)