Podcast / American Prestige / Jan 16, 2024

The White House, Gaza, and the NSC’s Lies with Akbar Shahid Ahmed

On this special episode of American Prestige, a discussion of the post-Gaza plans of a Biden official to rebuild the Palestinian territory through a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

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The White House, Gaza, and the NSC’s Lies with Akbar Shahid Ahmed | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Recorded Monday, January 15, 2024:

Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior foreign affairs reporter at HuffPost, returns to the American Prestige podcast to discuss his recent pieces covering the post-Gaza plans of top White House official Brett McGurk and the imminent departure of the White House’s special Middle East envoy on humanitarian issues.

Then, for American Prestige subscribers, the group gets into the NSC’s attempts to discredit Akbar’s reporting, the media backlash, how this compares to treatment of reporters under Trump, and more.

Subscribe to American Prestige for the full interview!

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Brett McGurk, US National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, and Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Saudi ambassador to the US, look on during an investment agreement signing ceremony between the US and Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022.

(Amer Hilabi / AFP via Getty Images)

On this episode of American Prestige, Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior foreign affairs reporter at HuffPost, returns to the podcast to discuss his recent pieces covering the post-Gaza plans of top White House official Brett McGurk and the imminent departure of the White House’s special Middle East envoy on humanitarian issues.

The Nation Podcasts
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.

News: Netanyahu Rejecting ICC, US-Saudi Security Deal, US Sanctioning Chinese Companies | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Antony Blinken might claim to play the blues, but Danny and Derek have to deliver…the news. This week: in Palestine/Israel, the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks (0:42), Netanyahu panics over a potential International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant (6:54), and Blinken backs off of a threat to use the Leahy Law against IDF troops despite evidence of human rights abuses (10:39); Colombia announces that it will cut diplomatic ties with Israel (15:26); Saudi Arabia pushes for a security deal with the US (18:58); in Sudan, an imminent RSF attack on El Fasher in North Darfur (24:01); the US agrees to withdraw forces from Chad (25:26); Dutch PM Mark Rutte may be in line to become secretary general of NATO (28:33); new US sanctions will target Chinese firms supplying Russia (30:46); Ukrainian forces are falling back in Donetsk (33:10); in Haiti, a surprise PM appointment sparks dispute (35:04); and a New Cold War update featuring the potential addition of South Korea and New Zealand to AUKUS (37:09) and the Solomon Islands parliament’s election of a new PM friendly to China (39:50).

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Daniel Bessner

Daniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.

Derek Davison

Derek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.

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