Background Briefing: December 16, 2024
Jordan Faces Collapse With Israel’s Proposed Annexation of the West Bank
We begin with the possible fallout from the Islamist takeover of Syria and statements about annexing the West Bank from Israeli leaders and calls for establishing Judea and Samaria from their Christian/Zionist supporters in the U.S. like Trump’s new Ambassador to Israel, his nominee for Secretary of Defense and his National Security Advisor along with Senator Tom Cotton and even former President Bill Clinton. Joining us is Annelle Sheline, a Research Fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. She previously served as a Foreign Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s Office of Near Eastern Affairs before resigning in March 2024 in protest over the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israeli military operations in Gaza. We will discuss her article at Responsible Statecraft, “Jordan braces as Israeli annexation of West Bank looms.”
An Alternative to Our Broken “Healthcare” System That Does Not Waste Trillions While Delaying and Denying Care
Then with simmering rage across the country at the so-called healthcare industry, we look into the alternative to our broken system that does not waste trillions while delaying and denying care. Joining us is Matt Bruenig, the founder and president of Peoples Policy Project. He previously worked as a lawyer at the National Labor Relations Board and as a policy analyst at the Demos Think Tank. His prior work primarily focused on inequality, poverty, and welfare systems and we will discuss his article at peoplespolicyproject.org, “Health Care Administration Wastes Half a Trillion Dollars Every Year.”
The Fall of the German Government and Whether Support For Ukraine Will Continue
Then finally we examine the collapse of the German government and the likely impact of new elections on continuing support for Ukraine and speak with Thomas Berger, Professor of International Relations at Boston University who specializes in German politics, Comparative Government in East Asia and Political Culture. He is the author of War Guilt and World Politics After World War II and Cultures of Antimilitarism: National Security in Germany and Japan.