Biden’s Bear Hug Disaster
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Yousef Munayyer on the folly of America’s Israel policy.
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Biden’s Bear Hug Disaster | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, I talked to Yousef Munayyer, a Palestinian-American analyst who heads the Palestine/Israel Program at the Arab Center in Washington, DC. He offered an informed perspective on the ideological origins of the bear hug strategy and how it has manifestly failed in its stated goal of trying to restrain Israel from excessive violence. We also discuss the way Biden’s strategy is bad for American national interest and hurts Biden’s re-election chances. We also take up the repression of free speech as a result of the conflict.
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Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hugs US President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on October 18, 2023.
(Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images)The current war in Gaza has few parallels in recent decades in terms of the pace of killing. New York Times columnist Nick Kristof argues that one needs to go back to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda to find a parallel. Amid the carnage, Joe Biden’s full-throttle support for Israel has been constant. He has on occasion offered a few cautionary words about the excessive death of civilians, but in practice he has followed a ‘bear hug’ strategy of giving Israel a blank check.
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, I talked to Yousef Munayyer, a Palestinian-American analyst who heads the Palestine/Israel Program at the Arab Center in Washington, DC. He offered an informed perspective on the ideological origins of the bear hug strategy and how it has manifestly failed in its stated goal of trying to restrain Israel from excessive violence. We also discuss the way Biden’s strategy is bad for American national interest and hurts Biden’s re-election chances. We also take up the repression of free speech as a result of the conflict.
The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
The Imperial Presidency and the Iran War w/ Matt Duss | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
Writing in Foreign Policy, Matt Duss argues that Donald Trump’s rush to war is both
stupid and illegal. It is also wildly unpopular with the public. But he also observes that
congress has been reluctant to challenge Trump’s policy, although some progressives
have now forced the issue to a vote. Matt is a frequent guest of the show and foreign
policy expert. I talked to him about the dangers of a new war and also the larger
systematic problems of the imperial presidency.
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