The Castle Report

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Darrell Castle talks about plans by the European Council to send European troops into Ukraine on the Russian border.

Transcription/Notes

OPERATION BARBAROSSA ONCE AGAIN

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 13^th day of November in the year of our Lord 2026. I will be talking about plans by the European Council, which is made up exclusively of unelected bureaucrats, to send European troops into Ukraine. Perhaps I am a little dramatic by comparing that to Hitler’s invasion of Russia in June of 1941 but nevertheless I will attempt to make that argument.

First I have to talk a little about two notable dates that occurred this week and those were the Marine Corps Birthday on the 10^th. That is the 251^st birthday by my crude math and Veterans Day on the 11^th. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day and it marked the end of World War I, 108 years ago, on the 11^th of this month. The people breathed a sigh of relief that the killing and dying were over rather than the joyous celebration that marked the end of World War II.

I wonder what if the veterans of World War I could have seen the future that was to come for 108 years. The Great War that was fought to make the world safe for democracy led to almost continuous war for the next 108 years and counting. The Marine Corps birthday is special to Marines almost like their own birthday because whatever and whenever Marines are called on to go somewhere and kill or be killed they remain ready to go. Each new administration tries to disband the Marine Corps and fold it into the army but Marines are known as fighters and so far they have won each battle for survival.

Yes, folks Hitler thought he could conquer Russia in six weeks or so he advised his generals. They tried to tell him how to run the war but he was just too arrogant to listen because he thought of himself as a military genius although he was a corporal in the Great War. Hitler was not the only European to attack Russia since Nepoleon did it about a century earlier. The problem that kept them from Moscow was the vast distance a European army had to cover. That distance existed until a Western friendly government was installed in Ukraine and that is the concern Russia has with NATO moving to its border.

 No one asked the German people if they wanted to go to war with Russia just as no one asked them and the French people if they want to send troops to Ukraine. Macron can’t or won’t defend France from invaders, communists and anarchists but he is very willing to defend Ukraine.

For some reason the Europeans have lusted to make war on Russia for centuries. Why are they so anxious to get involved in that struggle when their own countries are torn by strife bordering on revolution. If you look at what they are planning perhaps it is not as dire as I’ve made it sound or perhaps it is worse. Let me back up for a moment and fill in the rest of the story.

This week in Abu Dhabi tripartite talks have been going on between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia to hopefully find some way to end the war in Ukraine. No peace yet, but it seems that progress has been made with prisoner exchanges and so forth. The U.S. negotiators Steve Wittkoff and Jared Kushner are in Russia as I record this to brief Putin on the negotiations. The Europeans sent representatives to the meeting but they were not invited in and that made them very angry. They do not want peace it seems and are determined to keep the war going.

So, the European Council decides to send troops into Ukraine, but only after a ceasefire is in place. Russia has said quite clearly that any European troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets. Surely they don’t think he is bluffing so I can think of only one reason and that is a tripwire to draw the U.S. into the war. If Russia attacked their troops I suppose they could call that an article 5 violation of the NATO charter and call on the U.S. to come to their aid and full-scale war would be on. Every European bureaucrat dreams of such things apparently. They are repeated experts at creating messes only U.S. blood and treasure can get them out of.

Some of the things the Russian negotiators said about the meeting and the willingness of both sides to show some flexibility is encouraging. “Together with the American side, we exchanged our views on this; on some points we reached a common understanding, whilst on others we did not. And this discussion will, of course, continue. The world needs a new modern, updated security system—one that is fair and does not disadvantage any particular countries.”

He went on to say that a bilateral meeting between Putin and Trump is currently being discussed and studied. Finally, he said openings and opportunities have been presented. That’s good, and any talk of peace is almost always good. The idea of war with Russia is as stupid now as it was in 1941. It didn’t work out so well for Hitler who failed to understand that getting to Moscow before winter was necessary for the survival of the German army. The arrogant Europeans don’t seem to understand Russia any more than Hitler did.

Before any European leader decides to put his nation on the border with Russia I would recommend he study a little history and he might also read Annie Jacobsen’s book Biological War. In that book the author traces the history of biological warfare in modern times. That means that after U.S, scientists discovered how to unravel DNA and splice together gene sequences from different viruses and pathogens to make them more deadly and unstoppable.

 Some of the weapons she describes have been built or invented by very smart people who have programmed the genetics of deadly pathogens to avoid all human defenses such as the immune system. Although they apparently got the technology from U.S. scientists who first developed it at Stanford University as with nuclear technology the Russians have adopted it and apparently are still working on it. Just the other day there was some kind of leak at a lab in Siberia which apparently specializes in weaponized plague.

 What I’m saying is be careful and leave Russia alone whenever possible. Europe should be buying their natural gas instead of sending troops. One last glimpse at history tells us that in the five years between 1347 and 1352 plague killed 150 million people or one-third to one half the population of Europe. Most of those people could have been saved with today’s antibiotics but no more. This plague is genetically engineered to escape all known antibiotics as well as the human immune system. Who would create such a diabolical living weapon. Insane monsters I guess but remember the technology was developed at Stanford University.

Hear in America voters voiced their extreme disapproval of this warfare system that our politicians have developed. Voters went to the polls and empowered Democrats like they never have before because they want them to do something about it. Did they get the message. I see no evidence that they did. Thomas Massie brought his articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth back to the house for a vote.

I admit that attacking Hegseth is a back handed way to get at the President because he was undoubtably carrying out the orders of the President. Nevertheless, Congress had a chance to voice its disapproval at the way the war against Iran was started and is being conducted. It’s so bad now that the President even ignores the war powers act and acts as the sole decider and then the entire nation goes to war. The House of Representatives had a chance to stop the accumulation of executive power over the nation and take back its war making authority but it didn’t.

The impeachment resolution contained eight articles any one of which could have set the stage for the Secretary’s removal from office. If that had happened it would have dominated the rest of Trump’s term and would have made it almost impossible to get a new secretary approved by such a hostile congress. The House clerk read the eight articles which took an hour and 16 minutes. Every member knew the vote was coming as members in their offices are constantly updated on how many minutes before the vote and they had over an hour’s notice on this one.

There was a motion to refer the articles back to the impeachment committee for further consideration. That motion passed 211 to 204 with 11 Democrats not voting. So, you can do the math which shows that if they had voted in favor of impeachment it would have passed. I won’t list all eleven of those not voting but it turns out that all eleven have been large recipients of AIPAC money.

The vote on impeachment could be the first item on the agenda for the new Congress on January 27^th. It might come out of committee and be presented or it might not but all 11 of those Democrats are incumbents who should be tracked by leadership and expected to vote. Whether or not they ever vote on it they will be without its presenter Thomas Massie who will be out of the new Congress. There are many other votes coming up in Congress which are directly related to the Iran war such as the vote to merge critical intelligences resources with the Israeli government. If the impeachment vote passed then the Secretary would be tried in the Senate and with the new majority he would likely be removed from office.

A chance for the Congress of the United States to stop aggressive, unnecessary wars and defend the sovereignty of the United States. I think so but we will see if they take the people seriously.

Finally, folks, this would not be complete without a quote from Ron Paul. “The wars are always the same, governments against the people.”

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

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Darrell Castle talks about the election and gives his thoughts on why the Republican Party suffered such a crushing defeat.

Transcription / Notes

ISRAEL FIRST IS DEAD

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 6^th of November in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat is politics because this is election week in America so that is the subject for this week. My position is that the Republican disaster in the mid term election was caused by Trump’s war on Iran and the resulting fallout from that war. Yes, I agree the real issue that was foremost on the minds of voters was how much things such as food and fuel cost but that cost has been driven much higher by the war and I believe people can see that.

From the title of this Report you might think that because of the election the war is over but no that’s not what I’m saying. In fact, both parties love war so much that I doubt if anything of substance in the war changes. I’m saying that this election was so bad for Republicans that the only way a Democrat could lose is if he or she was proven to have said something positive about Israel at some point in their lives. In an act of obvious desperation Trump announced two days before the election that he was cutting the $4 billion in aid to Israel each year. Obvious nonsense but my point is that he thought that would be a positive for Republicans.

The economy is so bad for people of modest means that they even elected candidates that stand in opposition to their own best interests. In Texas for example the people screamed about Joe Biden’s open borders, but not just open he fought to get illegals into Texas. The people screamed but only Governor Abbott stood in opposition and he still lost. There hasn’t been a Democrat governor in Texas in 30 years but there is now.

What I mean by Israel first is dead is that the idea that members of congress and the senate would put the interests of Israel over those of the United States is over. Trump insists that the election was not a referendum on his term because as he said he was not on the ballot but he certainly knows that this was the clearest rejection of the policies of any administration in my lifetime. The only one that comes close was LBJ being forced to refuse to run for a second term because of the Vietnam War. Once again the people are trying to reject stupid, pointless wars that are Israel first and America not at all.

If I thought that this new Democrat House and Senate would do something to reign in the insistence on making war against Iran I would be more at peace with it. I don’t think that will be the case but we will see. I’ve heard more Democrat victory talk about making war on those who supported Trump than making peace in the Middle East. My fear is that the Democrats are a lot more interested in war against Russia than Trump is. He almost seems a little sad to spend $100 billion in Europe’s proxy war against Russia. We will see but I would wager they will be eager to join Europe’s obvious preparations for war.

If I’m right about that and the Democrats cannot resist their obsession with war then nothing has been accomplished, but if they try to reign in the President and get America out of that boondoggle well then O.K. The two parties love war so much that even politics is war to them. They can’t wait to regain power so they can make war on their political opponents. I heard Hillery Clinton on video say they will go after the President, his administration, his family, and my favorite, his supporters. That is political warfare for sure so no more loyal opposition in this day and age.

No matter what Trump says now, this was a stinging rebuke for him, his war, and his economy. Exit polls across the country reflected that sentiment. In 2024 voters trusted him and he turned his back on them. He had so much promise to end forever wars, root out corruption, control the deficit, deliver job growth and return manufacturing to the U.S. but the voters found themselves poorer.

The great majority, 75% said they thought the economy was in rough shape, and 65% said they believed Trump’s policies made it worse. Specifically, 87% said they were very or somewhat concerned with the cost of gas and diesel fuel. 88% said they were concerned about the price of food and groceries. 86% mentioned the price of utilities as a concern.

So, his inexplicable decision to launch a war against Iran caused the extreme inflation in food and fuel and that is obvious for anyone to see. I called it inexplicable but I guess the explanation is in his relationship with Bibi Netanyahu, whatever that is. American voters can see what Israel is doing in Gaza and the Palestinian territories and no matter how much the administration wanted us to shut our eyes to it there were a few who refused to let us ignore it.

Tucker Carlson’s continuous reporting on the war and his constant holding the Gaza attacks up to the light kept people from just ignoring it. I guess if you think about it no president with the record of war that this one has should be affirmed in the midterms. When he was campaigning in 2024 the statement that he would be known for the wars he didn’t start was a very appealing one. I bought into it and I hoped for the best but it just never arrived. Exit polls showed 62% believe attacking Iran was the wrong decision. I am surprised that figure is that low because I think even Trump privately wishes he had not sold himself to Bibi’s demands.

If you still wonder about the results and why it was so overwhelming consider what the Consumer Price Index reported to us. The last one-year increase in prices overall 3.7% while wages fell 0.6% for private industry workers when adjusted by the rise in prices. To put it in simple terms every time a gallon of gas jumps in price working people take a cut in pay and it was completely unnecessary. The worst part for working people was that no one seemed to care that they were suffering and no one was working on a plan to help them. They noticed and they vented their anger the only way they have to do so.

Some people in the Republican Party seem to understand better than others what was happening. Take Vice President J.D. Vance for example. His analysis was pretty much on target as were the four reasons he listed for the results. His four were the four main things Trump promised to do but was unable or unwilling to do. 1. End the war. 2. Focus on the cost of living and inflation. 3. Put America first. 4. Change our relationship to Israel.

Vance went on to point out that it wasn’t a matter of Republican voters not showing up because they did show up but they voted for Democrats. This President was given a mandate by the people to accomplish the things Vance mentioned and he failed miserably to do it. Instead of stopping forever wars, making America energy self sufficient he launched Bibi’s war and left his party in ruins.

Now virtually all Republican politicians can see the ship as sinking and they want off the war ship before that happens. I am anxious to see how Marco Rubio handles it since he has been the President’s point man for conducting diplomacy related to the war. This democrat landslide would seem to make diplomacy impossible. Why would the Iranians want to talk and perhaps concede anything after such a rebuke by the American people.

Trump has said that he could work with Democrats if they want to work with him so we will see if that happens. I certainly have doubts about whether today’s Democrats want anything more than punishing Trump for beating Hillary. There are subjects that the American people seem solidly behind which would give them something to cooperate on. Stock trading by members who obviously are trading on inside information while in office. Enacting federal legislation to help their own stock trades would certainly be hard to argue against banning.

The subject that has come up before which is wall street companies buying single family homes thus driving up the cost of housing for ordinary families. The pharmaceutical industry advertising directly to consumers thus driving up the cost of medicine and making every problem one that only their drugs could solve. I’m sure there are many other things they could agree on but will they. I certainly doubt it but we will see. I miss the days which I admit were a long time ago when a party lost and a party won but they both tried to serve the nation.

Of all the people who commented on the election I like what Ron Paul had to say. His commentary on Liberty Report said that the Republicans deserved to lose but the Democrats didn’t deserve to win. That was well said Dr. Paul and I could not do any better. He pointed out that Trump was supposed to address the cost of living but a gallon of gas is now a dollar more than when he was elected. He added about $2 trillion of debt in the last year and seems to be doing nothing to slow what appears to be a debt day of reckoning on the horizon.

In conclusion, I will close with a quote from Dr. Paul which also sums up my own view pretty well.

“A choice between the Republicans’ corporatism and the Democrats’ socialism is a sad choice. The bright side is that the continued failure of both left and right-wing authoritarianism will lead more people to embrace the only path to peace and prosperity. Liberty.”

Finally, folks, as the Wall Street Journal said rarely has a president traded away so much political support so quickly. Right now, Republicans feel fear, not the politicians, the voters. Fear of open borders, fear of men in little girls’ locker rooms, fear of the destruction of women’s sports, fear of new language and the reassessment of English especially pronouns, among other fears.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

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Darrell Castle discusses his belief that the riots, especially in France but now also spreading across Europe, spell doomsday for the economic state that has been building in Europe since World War II.

Transcription / Notes

DOOMSDAY IN EUROPE

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 30^th day of October in the year of our Lord 2026. The title sounds a little alarmist I know but is it true and  I will endeavor to make my case for my belief that the riots especially in France but now also spreading across Europe spell doomsday for the economic state that has been building in Europe since World War II.

The end of World War II left a devastated world and only the United States was somewhat exempt from the damage to its infrastructure. Vast sums would have to be spent on rebuilding not just the allied nations but Germany and Japan as well. The victorious nations met at Bretton Woods in the U.S. to discuss the post war economy and they decided that the U.S. dollar would have reserve currency status and all trade would be conducted in dollars.

The U.S. as the most powerful surviving nation would provide virtually all defense obligations and Europe would then be able to use its own revenue for rebuilding and caring for their populations. The situation shifted a little with the formation of NATO in 1948 when the Europeans agreed to spend about 3% of GDP on their own defense but almost none of them ever lived up to the agreement.

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Darrell Castle discusses the riots engulfing France that are spreading across Europe and how that relates, at least partially, to American foreign policy especially the war against Iran.

Transcription / Notes

MOUNTAINS OF VIOLENCE ACROSS FRANCE

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 23^rd day of October in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat is violence, chaos, disorder, and the destruction of the existing world order as I talk about the riots engulfing France and spreading across Europe as well as how that relates at least partially to American foreign policy especially the war against Iran.

Yes, it seems that the riots engulfing Paris have spread across Europe to Portugal, Germany, Albania, and the list is growing. The open-borders policy of the last few years explains everything or so we are told and that is a convenient explanation because it puts the blame on others. The French people are not to blame they say, only the immigrants but many of the rioters have been in Europe for years.

 When you read or hear the man on the street comments from French people whose businesses are being burned and looted they find it difficult to place any blame despite the tears of losing their life’s work. That is a civilization unable and unwilling to defend itself. It brings to mind Robert Frost’s definition of a liberal as someone who refuses to take his on side in an argument.

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Darrell Castle discusses the deployment of a 3rd U.S. aircraft carrier as well as a 2nd marine expeditionary unit to the Middle East region.

Transcription / Notes

AIRCRAFT CARRIERS HEADED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. Due to technical difficulties this report is dated Monday, the 12th day of October in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat is war again as I will be discussing the deployment of a 3^rd aircraft carrier as well as a 2^nd marine expeditionary unit to the Middle East region. From the title you may deduce that my view is that the other two should be heading home rather than sending a 3^rd to join them.

Yes folks the USS Theodore Roosevelt has departed its home base of San Diego and is on its way to join the George HW Bush and the George Washington in the Middle East conflict zone. Sailing with the Ted as the sailors call the Roosevelt is the USS Makin Island which contains a 2^nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MAU). The USS Boxer already on station contains a MAU which brings the total number of Marines to around 11,000 or that’s the number being reported.

Since the war against Iran started President Trump has deployed about 120 strike aircraft to the region including F-35 stealth attack fighters, F-22 air superiority fighters along with old standbys the F-16 and F-15 Strike Eagles. These troops currently deployed will be joining the roughly 50,000 already there deployed on ships and on bases across the region. The U.S. maintains 19 bases in the Middle East with eight of them permanently located in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.

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Darrell Castle talks about the September 29, 2026 26-page letter written to the American people by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The title of this Castle Report comes from the neocon description of the Islamic Republic of Iran as the head of the snake.

Transcription / Notes

THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE SPEAKS

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 2^nd day of October in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat once again is war, more or less because I will be talking about a 26-page letter written to the American people by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and delivered on September 29. The title of this Castle Report comes from the neocon description of the Islamic Republic of Iran as the head of the snake.

People have wondered during this entire war if the US is fighting the Mullahs or the Iranian military and those who command it and this letter seems to answer that question. It also is an effort to take the Iranian case to the American people in order to influence the upcoming Mid-Terms. To me this letter is a sign of perceived weakness, division, and disorder. It appeals to logic in an effort to influence an already divided and anti-Israel mood in the American public.

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Darrell Castle talks about the President’s speech, last Tuesday, to the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City. He also discusses the administration’s decision to sell advanced F-35 stealth jets to Saudi Arabia.

Transcription / Notes

PRESIDENT TRUMP SPEAKS TO THE UN

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 25^th day of September in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat today is not war although there is some war in it. I will be talking about the President’s speech last Tuesday to the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City. In addition, I will say a few words about the administration’s decision to sell advanced F-35 stealth jets to Saudi Arabia and the Israeli reaction to that decision.

His speech was more of a campaign speech than a statesmanlike address to the world’s diplomats. He listed many of the things he claims to have accomplished during his term and if they we were all true I would be a reasonably happy man at least foreign policy wise. He said that when he left office the first time the country was a peaceful and prosperous place but when he returned he found it to be a mess he had to fix.

I’m just giving my own take on what he said but to me he seemed to be pleading his case to them that if they and the other decision makers of the world would just listen to him and do what he demands we would all be happy, peaceful, and prosperous. For example, he spent quite a bit of time explaining to the members that before he was President his company tried to get the contract to remodel the UN building in which he was speaking.

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Darrell Castle gives his thoughts on the Iran War and asks the question what has 200 days of war accomplished for the United States. He reminds us that yesterday, September 17th, was the 239th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution.

Transcription / Notes

TWO HUNDRED DAYS OF WAR

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 18^th day of September in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat is war once again as the United States of America passes two milestones this week. Yesterday the 17^th was Constitution Day and this week the US passed 200 days in its war against Iran. So, our subject is what has been accomplished in those 200 days.

Yes, we are 200 days into the war against Iran and just on a brief inventory I will list a few of the things it has accomplished. It seems to me that war has torn the U.S. and much of the world apart in the last few days. Here’s an excellent quote from the London Times via Bill Bonner.

“The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cost more than 7000 American lives, hundreds of thousands of civilian ones and trillions of dollars, turning that surplus into a debt of more than $40 trillion. Seeing the world’s sole superpower flounder for a decade against roadside bombs and soviet-era rifles wrecked American self-esteem and drained Washington’s international authority. But the deeper damage was to Americans’ faith in their government and in themselves.”

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Darrell Castle shares his thoughts about murder and mayhem as he looks back at the anniversary of 9-11 and the 1st anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Transcription / Notes

9-11 PLUS TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 11^th day of September in the year of our Lord 2026. My beat is murder and mayhem today as we look back at the anniversary of what the media tells us is the worst terrorist attack in American history. Along with the 25^th anniversary of 9-11 we look at the 1^st anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Yes, folks I am sorry to have to report to you that in the last 25 years things have gotten worse in America as murder has gone mainstream and more sympathy is often generated for the murderers than for their victims. For example, just look at the trial of Lindsay Clancy, also this month, a trial in which a jury could not convict a woman who admitted to strangling her 3 children. Her daughter was 5 years old and there were two sons aged 3 and two. She strangled them one at a time with her bare hands but she generated a lot more sympathy, especially from mothers than her children were able to generate.

I’m afraid that as a society we are sinking further and further into the abyss as cold-blooded murder goes mainstream and simple respect for human life as something created by God in his image disappears. I knew something was desperately wrong and that this nation and its people had changed radically when in December of 2024 a man named Luigi Mangione on a street in Washington D.C. shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He shot Mr. Thompson in the back and the murder was videotaped by security cameras.