Background Briefing: January 21, 2024
A Defiant Netanyahu Will Drag Out His War to Hurt Biden and Help Trump
We begin with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s defiance in his public rejection of the US administration’s case for a Palestinian state following Biden’s call for a two-state solution and the ending of Israel’s war in Gaza. We go to Israel to discuss how Iran through its proxies seems to be in the driver’s seat in the Middle East and appears to be in a symbiotic relationship with Netanyahu who is all in with Trump and will drag his war out to hurt Biden who clearly does not want the US to be sucked into another war in the region. Joining us is Haggai Matar, an award-winning Israeli journalist and political activist. He is the executive director of +972 Magazine.
A Failing State Lebanon Poised to Fail Completely Should War Between Israel and Hezbollah Break Out
Then, with Hamas more popular than ever in the region, we assess the possibility of a new front opening in Lebanon which is a failing state poised to fail completely should war break out between Israel and Hezbollah. Joining us to discuss Lebanon’s descent into dysfunction as warlords continue to act with impunity is Dalal Mawad, an independent award-winning Lebanese journalist based in Paris, France. She is working as freelance producer for CNN in Paris and as a journalism professor at Sciences Po. Previously she was a senior producer with the Associated Press based in Lebanon when twin blasts rocked Beirut on August 4th 2020 and covered the explosion and its aftermath as well as Lebanon’s economic and financial crisis since 2019. She is author of the new book, All She Lost: The Explosion in Lebanon, the Collapse of a Nation and the Women who Survive.
Uvalde: So Much For the NRA Refrain That The Only Way to Stop a Bad Guy With a Gun Is a Good Guy With a Gun
Then finally we examine the DOJ’s scathing report on the law enforcement mishandling of the 2022 Uvalde massacre of school children which had 381 armed Texas police standing by for 77 minutes as 19 kids and 2 teachers were shot and bled out. Joining us to discuss how the parents and relatives of the victims want someone to be held responsible is Brandon Formby, who leads the news desk at The Texas Tribune. Based in Austin, he was previously the night news editor through the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic and the deadly 2021 winter storm.