Podcast appearances and mentions of rob malley

Donate (no account necessary) | Subscribe (account required) Join Bryan Dean Wright, former CIA Operations Officer, for The Wright Report: Friday Headline Brief—heavy on news, light on analysis—to kick off your weekend with the stories shaping America and the world. Trump's Middle East Tour Draws Unlikely Praise – Top Obama and Biden officials, including Ben Rhodes and Rob Malley, applaud Trump's bold diplomacy in Syria, Gaza, and with Arab partners. Even Democratic Rep. Jim Himes admits Trump “played the Middle East pretty darn well.” Gaza “Freedom Zone” and a Rift with Apple – Trump floats the idea of the U.S. taking over Gaza. He also blasts Apple CEO Tim Cook for moving production to India, accusing the company of betraying American workers. China Floods U.S. with Goods While Hoarding Minerals – Despite the tariff truce, China withholds critical rare earth exports while ramping up production of consumer goods—especially for Halloween and Christmas. Xi Jinping mocks America's dependency on cheap imports and takes shots at Trump in front of Latin diplomats. Germany Bows to Trump's NATO Demands – In a surprise move, Germany pledges to meet Trump's 5% defense spending target, shocking European allies and boosting defense stocks. GOP Pushes Remittance Tax, Mexico Furious – A new Republican proposal would tax wire transfers to fund a $5T tax package. Mexico's president and senate condemn the idea as discriminatory and fear it will push money transfers underground. Supreme Court Grills Trump Admin on Citizenship Case – Justices express skepticism over Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship and the broader issue of universal injunctions. Medical Breakthroughs: Fentanyl Deaths Decline, GLP-1 Drugs Help Alcoholics and Liver Disease – CDC data shows overdose deaths are down. Semaglutide shows promise in treating alcoholism, liver disease, and may reduce Alzheimer's risk. Prostate Cancer Treatments Improve, Exercise Lowers Risk and Aids Recovery – New research supports shorter, safer radiation schedules, while exercise helps reduce complications, dementia risk, and cognitive decline. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." – John 8:32

In AJC's signature AJC Global Forum session, the Great Debate, Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and Morgan Ortagus, former Spokeswoman for the Department of State under the Trump administration, engaged in a debate on the 2024 presidential election and its impact on the global Jewish community, Israel, and the future of democracy. Listen to this session, moderated by AJC's Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson, recorded live on the AJC Global Forum 2024 stage in Washington, D.C. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. AJC is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization and does not endorse political candidates for elective office. Episode Lineup:  (0:40) Jason Isaacson, Morgan Ortagus, Halie Soifer Show Notes: Listen – People of the Pod: Seven Months In: What Israelis Think About the War Against Hamas, Campus Antisemitism in America, and More What Does it Mean to be a Jewish American Hero? A Jewish American Heritage Month Conversation with AJC CEO Ted Deutch Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Transcript of Debate with Morgan Ortagus and Halie Soifer: Manya Brachear Pashman: In AJC's signature AJC Global Forum session, the Great Debate, Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and Morgan Ortagus, former Spokeswoman for the Department of State under the Trump administration, engaged in a debate on the 2024 presidential election and its impact on the global Jewish community, Israel, and the future of democracy.  Moderating the debate was AJC's Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson. Here's Jason now to explain the format. Jason Isaacson:   We had a coin toss, and Morgan won the coin toss, and will go first. Each of them will have two minutes to provide opening statements. There will be the opportunity for a minute of rebuttal afterwards, then we'll plunge into a series of questions that I'll be posing to each of them. Morgan, you're up. Morgan Ortagus:   Thank you so much for having me. I want to start this discussion today really telling a few stories from my time in the Trump administration, but also talking about this from a policy perspective.  For those of you who don't know me, I've actually served in multiple administrations, including in the Obama administration, as well. And I say that to provide the context that I think the State of Israel cannot have a relationship with just one political party in the United States, just as we pray for the success of Israel. I pray for the success of our leaders, whomever wins in November. And I think no matter what happens today, in this debate in November, we must stand with our ally, we must stand with the State of Israel.  You know, what's amazing is, I think about four years ago, I was standing in the Oval Office after many, many months of having worked with Secretary Pompeo, Jared Kushner, and the entire team on something that you all came to learn about called the Abraham Accords. And in that moment, I was pregnant with my daughter Adina Ann, this beautiful Jewish baby. And I thought to myself, the Middle East has entirely changed for her. This is going to be so radically different.  Fast forward three and a half years later, to see October 7th and what happened that day, the worst killing of the Jewish people in any single day since the Holocaust. It felt like everything I had worked on in Abraham Accords had been shattered. But I am here to say that there is hope, with the right president, with the right policies.  And that's what I really want to talk about today. With the right policies, we can get back to an era, not only have a strong America, a strong Israel, and a much stronger Middle East, happy to debate the policies. I'm not a campaign person.  But I do believe that under the Trump administration, under Mike Pompeo, we had the right policies that were best for Israel, and best for the Middle East. So I guess as the famous song goes, all I'm here to say is give Trump a chance. Jason Isaacson:   Morgan, thank you. Halie Soifer. Halie Soifer:   Jason, Morgan, AJC, thank you for having me. And thank you for your efforts advocating for the Jewish people for Israel and defending democratic values. I'm grateful for your work, which has made a difference, and particularly grateful for the leadership of your CEO, my friend, Ted Deutch.  This is the third time I've joined AJC's Great Debate in advance of an election with Joe Biden and Donald Trump on the ballot. The first was in 2019. The second was 2020. But 2024 is different for three reasons. First, the stakes of this election are higher. Second, the positions of the two candidates have never been more clear or divergent. And third, both candidates have been president before and can and should be judged on their records.  Unlike the last debate, this is no longer a hypothetical in terms of what kind of President Joe Biden or Donald Trump would be. We know the answer. Joe Biden has sought to restore the soul of America by taking unprecedented steps to combat antisemitism and bigotry, while Donald Trump has emboldened, echoed and aligned with dangerous extremists and antisemites.  Joe Biden is a self declared Zionist who has stood with Israel for more than five decades, including after October 7, when he pledged his staunch support of Israel and the Jewish people. While Donald Trump is a self declared dictator on day one, who marched Israel's leaders and praised Hezbollah after October 7.  Best summarized by his former national security adviser John Bolton, who told the New York Times, Trump's support of Israel is not guaranteed in a second term. Joe Biden is an ardent defender of democracy, while Donald Trump incited a deadly insurrection in order to stop the peaceful transfer of power in the last election, and is preparing to weaponize the US government as an act of political retribution. If he wins the next one. And let's not forget, he's also a twice impeached 34 Time convicted felon. So three times is clearly a charm. There's plenty to debate and I'm happy to be here. Thanks. Jason Isaacson:   Very good. Thank you, Halie. You can each rebut the others statements. Morgan, would you like to say a word?  Morgan Ortagus:   I think the only response I would have to that is do you feel safer as a Jew in America today than you did four years ago? That's it. Jason Isaacson:   Halie, would you like to say anything in response? Halie Soifer:   Sure. Four years ago, I mentioned I joined this debate. We did so via zoom, where we were in our home stuck for more than a year. It was an unprecedented pandemic that really epitomized Donald Trump's leadership. He was ignorant, chaotic or erratic, and demonstrated a reckless disregard for a fundamental Jewish value pickoff nephesh. The sanctity of life. Since Joe Biden has become president, we emerged from this dark period, the economy has grown. Unemployment is at a 50 year low. And yes, anti semitism has risen, including after the horrific attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, and our unequivocal condemnation of this violence and of rising anti semitism is something on which I'm sure we agree, Morgan, and you know, who else agrees with us, Joe Biden. On May 2, he said in response to the campus protests, there should be no place on any campus or any place in America for antisemitism. It's simply wrong. Jason Isaacson:   Thank you. Okay. Let's get into the questions if I could begin with you, Morgan. As you know, in election after election over the last century, a substantial majority of Jews have voted for Democratic presidential candidates over Republican candidates, the sharpest differences were under FDR in the 1940s and the Johnson Goldwater election of 1964, when Democrats were reported to have scored 90% of the Jewish vote, but Harry Truman, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Barack Obama weren't far behind, and Joe Biden was reported to have led Donald Trump four years ago, according to Pew by 70%, to 27%. AJC's latest polling shows a somewhat narrower gap, but still has President Biden beating former President Trump by more than two to one among American Jews. If these numbers are predictive and accurate, how does the Republican Party break through that traditional Democratic predisposition among Jewish voters and why does it matter? Morgan Ortagus:   I think there's a couple ways to unpack that first, I think there's a big difference between saying the right thing and doing the right thing. There's no doubt that the Biden administration, the Biden-Harris administration is great on the rhetoric. But I would say that the policy is lacking. First of all, I think most Jewish voters care about Israel care about antisemitism in this country. But let me just also say that I think Jewish voters, Jewish moms and grandmas in this audience, Jewish parents, you care about things that I care about in Nashville, Tennessee, which is the price of groceries, which is filling up your car with gasoline, which is all of the things that matter to all of us as consumers.  And it is not a good time in America for the American family. People are making real decisions, whether to fill up their gas tank or whether to fill up their cart full of groceries. That happens in real America in Nashville, Tennessee, where I live. I would also say that, you know, Lindsey Graham said this to me once and it really made me laugh. He said about Trump, I've never seen somebody so willing to cut off their own arm just to spite him. And he certainly incites a lot of heated emotion and passion.  But again, I would get back to the question that I asked you, do you feel more safe as a Jew in America today than you did four years ago? Do you think our policies are stronger at protecting Israel, with standing with our ally than they were four years ago, I would argue that we have turned the Middle East on its head in the past four years by beginning at the beginning of this administration to spend the past three and a half years, chasing the Islamic Republic around the world, begging and cajoling and pleading with them to get back into a nuclear deal, giving them billions of dollars in sanctions relief by not enforcing those sanctions. That was three and a half years of policies that led to events like October 7. We also saw multiple times at the UN, including yesterday, ways in which that I think the Biden administration has sold Israel down the river. has not stood up for them at the United Nations or on the world stage. And so I'm quite simply argue that the Middle East is chaotic today, specifically from the policies of the past three years that were put in place by the Biden Administration.  Jason Isaacson:   Thank you, Morgan. Halie, you can respond if you wish. You have a minute.  Halie Soifer:   Well, as a Jewish mom, I can say I absolutely feel safer knowing that Joe Biden is in the White House because he shares our values, our fundamental values, our Jewish values, defending democracy, and of course, support of Israel.  A lot of Republicans mentioned Donald Trump's move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2017. Something we agree with–Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. What we don't mention enough is that in August of 2020, Donald Trump said he did that for the evangelicals, which demonstrates two things.  One, Donald Trump's Israel policy has always been based on his self interests. His own former national security adviser has revealed that in an article in The New York Times in early April, and also it's clear that Donald Trump has great animus toward the vast majority of Jewish Americans, those who vote for Democrats because of it.. He has called us disloyal. He has called us uninformed. He has said we hate Israel, we hate our religion, we should be ashamed of ourselves. We're loyal to our values, which is why the overwhelming majority of us support Democrats. Jason Isaacson:   Halie, I want to ask you a different version, or the pretty much the same version of the question that I asked Morgan at the beginning, why it matters where the Jewish vote is. Remembering that the Israeli newspaper Haaretz had a piece after the 2020 election, that maintained it was Jewish voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona who actually made the crucial difference in that tight race moving those swing states and their deciding Electoral College votes into the Biden column. Although polling and voting history is obviously on your side, there are signs of slippage for President Biden in our own polling and in other samples. Some of that may have to do with the President's being seen as inappropriately pushing the Israeli government in ways that didn't want to go in the conduct of the war against Hamas. And in a post conflict path to Palestinian statehood. Some of it may be factors that have nothing to do with Israel or with the Jewish community, but reflect attitudes in the general population. Why the slippage and how are you addressing it? Halie Soifer:   Well, Jason, you're right. The Jewish vote absolutely matters. The states you mentioned, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona determined the outcome of the 2020 election and may do so again in 2024. Joe Biden won those three states in total by just over 100,000 voters. And in those states the Jewish vote, and even more said the Jewish vote that supported Joe Biden was exponentially higher than the margin by which he won. So where are Jewish voters in 2024? Well, 74% of Jewish voters supported Democrats in our last election in the 2022 midterms. It's the same amount approximately three quarters who have supported Democrats historically, and it's the amount I predict will support Joe Biden in this election for two reasons. One, Joe Biden represents the vast majority of Jewish voters on every key issue, domestic policy, democracy, abortion, access, guns, climate change the economy, antisemitism, and foreign policy, Israel, Ukraine and defending democracy abroad. And too, Jewish voters overwhelmingly disapprove of and oppose Donald Trump in 2016, in 2020, and they're going to do it again in 2024. Because there's even more reasons to oppose him now, going into a potential second term.  AJC's new poll only confirms this. The poll indicates that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have essentially the same amount of support–61%/23%--among Jewish voters as they did among that same group of voters in 2020, when it was 64%/21%. Donald Trump has not broken 25%. It also shows that Jewish voters trust Biden more than Trump on Israel by a two to one margin and on antisemitism by three to one margin.  So AJC is consistent in its polling, and it's consistent with what we've seen in other polling as well that Jewish voters will continue to overwhelmingly support Democrats and Joe Biden, especially with Donald Trump on the ballot. Jason Isaacson:   Morgan, you may respond. Morgan Ortagus:   Again, you know, I'd say there's a big difference between rhetoric and policy action. The truth is, the reality is, there has never been a more unsafe time in America, for Jews, especially young Jews on college campuses. Today, the antisemitism unveiled and unchecked during the Biden administration should scare all of us. The fact that Jewish students have to make decisions if they want to wear a yarmulke, if they want to wear a Star of David, if they want to openly embrace Judaism in the United States of America is a stain on the Biden administration.  And something that I think that there has been no real action. In 2019, again, I'm going to keep going back to policy because when you have bad policy, you have to run on rhetoric. When you have good policy, you can talk about things that we did like the executive order to combat antisemitism in 2019. That executive order focused on criminalizing antisemitism, basically bringing it up to the level of any other persecution against, you know, sex, gender. We could go through everything in Title Six. That's incredibly important because we have real world ramifications for antisemitism that this administration has ignored.  Jason Isaacson:   Thank you, Morgan. Let me ask you another question. And I'm going to turn to a foreign policy issue again. Since President Trump in May 2018 pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, calling it a horrible one-sided deal that should never ever have been made. Iran has marched closer and closer to becoming a nuclear threshold state with a stockpile of enriched uranium calculated to be more than 6000 kilograms as of last month, more than 20 times the limit that was set in the nuclear deal. But enough of that uranium enriched to a near weapons grade level to fuel at least three atomic weapons.  It's been said that the maximum pressure campaign waged in the last year and a half of the Trump administration had little effect on Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons capability. How would you answer the charge that pulling the US out of an unsatisfactory nuclear deal actually made the problem worse? How would a second Trump administration approach this threat from Iran? Morgan Ortagus:   Thanks, now we're getting to my favorite subject. So you don't even have to listen to President Trump on this. You can look at Senator Schumer, Majority Leader at the time in his speech and his debate why he did not support the JCPOA. We know of course, that the JCPOA was never brought before the Senate because it was a bad deal that would never get passed, including by Democrats. Let's also remember that under the JCPOA, we left the deal in 2018 in the Trump administration, at the time and during the entire Trump administration. Iran never exceeded the 5% enrichment. In fact, it didn't happen until the Biden administration and under Biden, they've gone up to an 84% enrichment strategy with zero ramifications. That's enough material to get a bomb within eight months if we wanted to.  More importantly, Americans and Israelis are dying at the hands of Iran. And why is that? Because once again, you have a Democratic administration who have not enforced sanctions, they got billions of dollars in sanctions relief. About three weeks before October 7, this administration negotiated a deal that I didn't think that could be worse than the JCPOA. But they actually managed to top themselves by promising to give Iran $6 billion for returning five American hostages home. Now, I love getting American hostages home. In fact, in the Trump administration, we got two American hostages home from Iran, guess how much we paid for those hostages, zero. And so there is a way to negotiate to be tough with Iran and to protect Americans.  But Americans are dying in places like Jordan, from Iranian made drones. We know that American ships are being taxed on a daily basis, again, from material that is supplied to the Hussein's by Iran. And so whenever you reward enemies, like the Islamic Republic of Iran and punish friends like Israel, the Arab states, then you end up with a chaotic Middle East. So the Middle East is on fire today principally because of the appeasement of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran will likely get a nuclear weapon in the next administration, if it isn't stopped. President Trump will stop it. President Biden will just beg and plead them to stop. Jason Isaacson:   Thank you, Morgan. Halie, you may respond. Halie Soifer:   We talked a lot about, of course, the horrific acts of what happened on October 7. What I don't think we talked enough about is what happened on April 13, when Iran launched over 300 projectiles at Israel and an unprecedented direct attack. In the end, Israel survived that attack relatively unscathed. Miraculously, because Joe Biden had deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean preparing for such attacks, and had encouraged a coalition, Arab partners, to stand with Israel and directly intercepted over 100 ballistic missiles. It was the first time the US military had been deployed to prevent a direct attack on Israel.  Following the attack, Biden took steps to hold Iran accountable, including imposing new sanctions and exports control on Iran. The sanctions targeted leaders and entities connected to the IRGC, the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps. During the Biden administration, the US has sanctioned over 600 individuals and entities including Iran and its proxies. And the President has directed the administration to continue to impose sanctions that further degrade Iran's military. This is on top of the Trump era sanctions against Iran that Biden kept in place. So Joe Biden has demonstrated great strength in defending against the threat of Iran, especially as it relates to the threat posed by Israel. Jason Isaacson:   There are increasingly loud and influential voices in the Democratic Party, expressing harsh criticism of Israel's conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza and among constituencies on which democratic election victories have often depended. There's opposition to Israel more generally, not just to the current war, but to the legitimacy of the Jewish state. Over the last two years, according to Gallup sympathy for Israelis over Palestinians has slipped among Democrats from a majority to a minority position, although there is still a plurality with more favorable views of Israel versus Palestinian Authority. For comparison among Republicans sympathy for Israelis earlier this year was recorded by Gallup is more than 10 times that for Palestinians. How can President Biden and the party counter the critics and assure that US support for the Middle East's sole democracy remains bipartisan. And how do you respond to the charge that Trump criticism of Israel in progressive circles contributes to attacks on supporters of Israel and incidents of antisemitism?  Halie Soifer:   Antisemitic and anti-Israel views have been expressed by elected officials on both sides of the aisle. Neither party is homogenous in their view on either issue. When antisemitism and or anti-Israel views have emerged among Democrats in Congress, JDCA, our organization has condemned it, and in some cases endorsed a primary opponent to anti Israel, Democratic incumbents.  There are two such primaries that we're engaged in right now as we speak in New York and in Missouri, to elect Democrats who share our values. There are some Democrats who have opposed or proposed conditioning aid to Israel, something which JDCA opposes. But House Republicans, including their entire leadership, recklessly delayed essential military aid for Israel that Joe Biden pledged in October for six months, at a time when it could not have been needed more.  When it comes to antisemitism, there is a sharp difference between how it is handled by the two parties. The Democratic Party marginalizes those who have used antisemitic rhetoric, while the Republican Party has elevated extremists and antisemites, one of whom is at the top of the ticket in the past three election cycles, including this one. Leadership matters, and the words and actions of our leaders matter.  When the American people were faced with the same choice for president in 2020, on the debate stage, President Biden implored Donald Trump to condemn white supremacy, we all remember it. Trump blatantly refused, he could not, would not condemn this insidious ideology that motivated the perpetrator of the worst massacre of Jewish Americans in our history two years earlier at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. What did he do instead, he incited dangerous right wing extremists, the Proud Boys to stand back and stand by from the debate stage. And less than four months later, they heated his call on January 6. This election is a binary choice. There are two names on this ballot, two men vying to be leader of the free world. One has been a staunch friend and ally of the Jewish people in Israel, since he was first elected to the Senate in 1972. And the other who has always done and will continue to only do what is good for himself.  Jason Isaacson:   Morgan, I think you may want to respond. Morgan Ortagus:   You know, I will concede, I don't watch MSNBC. And maybe they're just not covering what I see going on in America on a daily basis, which is a Charlottesville every single day in this country, which is the calling for not only supporting Hamas and other terrorist organizations, but calling for the genocide and the extermination of the Jewish people blatantly and openly every single day in this country. You also see yesterday in New York City, while there was a memorial to what happened on October 7, people there openly demonstrating support for more October 7, support for more terrorism.  And while that was happening, the United States was shamefully at the United Nations calling for a ceasefire resolution that made us look like we were Hamas' personal lawyer. If you're a party that doesn't have the moral clarity, to stand by the Jewish faith to just stay defending itself against terrorism, how can you claim to have the moral clarity on anything. I was in Israel three weeks ago Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu told me that in fact, the Biden administration is slow walking military aid that he needs. Just last week in the Congress, the Biden administration was whipping votes against bipartisan ICC sanctions, which are undermining again the leadership of a democratic elected Jewish state.  We'll remember famously that after the attack that he talked about a few minutes ago from Iran, Biden famously told Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for Israel just to take the win essentially. At every turn, then not only tie one hand behind Israel's back, they tie both hands behind the back as they tried to defeat the terrorists that invaded them and by the way, killed Americans on October 7, and the last time I checked, we still have five Americans that are held captive eight months later by a terrorist organization behind enemy lines. Bring them home. Jason Isaacson:   Morgan, you're up. Your last question and President Trump and other leaders of your party had been harshly critical of a range of diversity and equity programs, affirmative action and college admissions and educational curricula that cast a negative light on aspects of American history. And these stances have earned the support and loyalty of among others, individuals and groups with extremist views on race and ethnicity. How do you answer critics, including President Biden, who charge that this so-called anti-woke agenda lends legitimacy and support to forces of intolerance? As you know, there are also accusations that divisive rhetoric can fuel antisemitism. And the example of Charlottesville, which we've been talking about is often cited. How do you counter that, in a minute, if you may. Morgan Ortagus:   I'll be very quick and say that I agree with Halie that there is antisemitic problems that happen on both the left and the right, and we must be countering them. And every time it happens, again, I'm a foreign policy professional. I look at the policies. I don't necessarily get involved in domestic politics. But I will say that what we have seen, especially on college campuses, is that DEI and intersectionality are the parents of antisemitism and fostering intolerance. Can anybody look at our college campuses and say this isn't true. I don't think President Biden and vice president Harris are doing enough to rein in anti-Jewish Jewish violence in this country.  Let's look at Biden's so-called efforts, is there more or less antisemitism in our universities? Are there fewer encampments? How about what's happening to the American flag? The last I've seen, the Iranian people have more respect for the American flag and the Israeli flag than liberals on university campuses today. Many students who had to start college online and COVID have gone back to going online because it's unsafe to be Jewish in America in an American university today. Jason Isaacson:   Thank you, Morgan. And Halie, we're not going to have rebuttals to these questions.  Halie, your last question: the Iranian threats, foreign policy question. The Iranian threat isn't confined to its accelerated nuclear program. Iranian proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq firing missiles and drones at Israel sometimes with deadly effect. The Iranian supported Hutus in Yemen regularly attack ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. In recent years, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have come under attack from Iran or its proxies and vessels of many nations, including the US Navy, have been targeted or damaged or seized. Iranian agents abroad from the IRGC, Hezbollah, Hamas and other groups have been implicated in assassination plots, including in our own country.  Critics charge the Biden administration, which yearned from day one to return to the 2015 nuclear deal has failed to confront Iran forcefully over these multiple threats. What's your response? In a minute, if you could?  Halie Soifer:   Ok, in order to answer this, you have to go back to May of 2018 when President Trump against the advice of many in the US intelligence community and Israeli security establishment, withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement. While the JCPOA was not a perfect agreement, Iran was in compliance with it. According to international observers and American intelligence officials. It was effectively verifying restrictions on Iran's nuclear development, as AJC itself said at the time in its own press release, despite our many reservations, we had hoped to see the deal fixed, not next. It was with the same objective. And given the fact that Iran was at that time weeks away from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.  The Biden administration explored whether it was possible to reenter the JCPOA and reach a better deal if Iran came back into compliance. In the end, it wasn't possible because Joe Biden refuse to capitulate to Iranian demands, including lifting the terrorists designation on the IRGC, Joe Biden should be praised, not criticized, for working with our allies to explore whether the resumption of a multilateral deal that would contain Israel's nuclear aspirations was possible, and for standing up to Iran, not just by refusing to give in to their demands, but by continuing to implement sanctions against Iran. And as I mentioned, in an unprecedented act, defending Israel against an unprecedented direct attack by the Iranians on April 13. Jason Isaacson:   Halie, thank you. We're gonna go directly to closing statements and Morgan, having won the coin toss, you go first. Morgan Ortagus:   Okay. You know, Halie just talked about working with allies. How about last week at the IAEA, whenever the E three, the UK, France, Germany, had to actually go and beg and plead us to stand up against Iran at the IAEA which we didn't do. We just talked about the ICC in which bipartisan sanctions are before the Congress that the Biden administration is not only not supporting, they're whipping against and the multiple votes at the UN either abstaining or actually working on ceasefire, right. solutions that undermine the State of Israel.  Listen, I would say there's a far big difference between bad rhetoric and bad policy. If you want pretty tweets, vote for Biden, if you don't want dead Israelis and dead Americans vote for Trump. When you look at the people that Biden has empowered in his administration look no further than his Iran envoy, Rob Malley, who was fired, who was under FBI investigation, and also the State Department inspector general investigation because of his leaking of classified information and potential ties to Hamas.  These are not the people that we will promote and support in the Trump administration. President Trump will defend Israel, he will stand by Israel and things like October 7 won't happen under President Trump. You will have peace like under the Abraham Accords and you will have an Iran that is curtailed because we will actually stand up to them and we will stop them from getting a nuclear weapon. Jason Isaacson:   Morgan, thank you. Halie Soifer, your closing comment? Halie Soifer:   Well, you will soon hear from Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, there is no stronger champion of the US Israel relationship. You will see that Maya Angelou famously said when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. Whether it's acquainting Neo Nazis with peaceful protesters declaring very fine people on both sides as Donald Trump did after Charlottesville, dining with white supremacists, Nick Fuentes and Kanye West in Mar-a-Lago, quoting Hitler, and reportedly saying he did some good things. Donald Trump has shown us exactly who he is, time and time again. Don't believe me listen to his own words. As has President Biden. And the contrast could not be more stark. This past weekend, President Biden welcomed the heroic rescue of four Israeli hostages and pledged to not stop working until all the hostages are home.  Donald Trump also mentioned those who he refers to as hostages. Are they the more than 100 Israelis and Americans and others being held by Hamas? No. He's referring to incarcerated January 6 insurrectionists. That's who he is. And the American people, the Jewish people, and Israel, deserve far better from a US president and we have far better. He's currently in the White House. President Biden recently said that democracy begins with each of us. He's right. It could also end with each of us. And we each have a responsibility to defend it at the ballot box in November. Jason Isaacson:   Halie, Morgan, thank you. That closes our great debate. Our community, our country have a big decision to make this November. AJC will continue to provide information on the issues that are at stake. And we thank you guys very much and we thank all of you for your attention to this important debate.

Grace welcomes Senior Contributor at the Federalist Ben Weingarten to the show to discuss the latest out of the Middle East. Visit the Howie Carr Radio Network website to access columns, podcasts, and other exclusive content.

On today's show, I first open with an explanation that even the closest loved ones in your own lives are not going to agree with you 100% of the time. We have difference and that's part of being a human being. The idea of looking for a “perfect” Speaker of the House is sophistry. That doesn't mean we don't need some basic core principles in place. For me, I want a Constitutionalist. I know I won't agree with every policy decision they hold, but if they are guided by the Constitution, that's a mighty fine start. Next we need to get back to discussing new payments made directly to Joe Biden from his brother. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and his committee continue their due diligence and have found another troubling payment. Even Jonathon Turley had to weigh-in on the latest piece of damning evidence. And, supposedly, Comer is set to release more evidence next week. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) reveals, beyond Rob Malley, who had his security clearance revoked while investigating the possibility he is an Iranian spy in the State Department, that there are at least three others who may also be spies. Yet one still holds a clearance. Anti-Semitism has exploded in this country and it's no shock that is belongs to the Left. Our college campuses are inundated with an anti-Israel/pro-Hamas culture. Victor Davis Hanson penned a piece entitled, “The Sickness of Our Universities – and the Cure.” I follow this up with a concern that the Biden regime is going to try to find a loop-hole to bring Palestinians into our own country. We must not allow this. If the other Arab nations surrounding the Gaza Strip want nothing to do with the culture of death they hold, why should we? To go along with this, Customs and Border Patrol was just found to have released intelligence expressing concern that Islamist Jihadists, members of Hezbollah and members of Hamas may try to enter our open southern border. To add one more layer to the debate over Palestinian “culture”, I play a recording from U.S. Marine Steven Gern. It's a short moment illustrating just how dangerous it is to think we can change their culture simply by changing their surroundings. It's going to take generations to accomplish. Onto the positive stories. An X (formally Twitter) user by the name of Yael Bar tur (@yaelbt) has been sharing stories from October 7. One focuses on a hero by the name of Yigal, who is an Israeli police officer. His actions saved over 500 people. When an interviewer asked him if he was aware of how many he saved, his responded, “I understand I could have saved more.” Talk about an unassuming hero! Speaking of the hate and ills tied with DEI, a former DEI director on a college campus, Tabia Lee, penned a piece in the New York Post. The title says it all. “I was a DEI director – DEI drives campus anti-Semitism.” People are starting to wake up to the fact that these woke, virtue-signaling policies are meant to divide and stoke hatred, rather than create harmony. And, as a final element to that point, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AK) just signed an Executive Order banning woke words/phrases from government. We all need to stop allowing those with serious mental health issues tell us we need to accept their demands to redefine truth to make them feel better about their own illness. That's not our responsibility and we need to challenge it every time it shows itself. Take a moment to rate and review the show and then share the episode on social media. You can find me on Facebook, X, Instagram, GETTR and TRUTH Social by searching for The Alan Sanders Show. You can also support the show by visiting my Patreon page!

Today opens with a look at the call from the leader of Hamas for a day of Jihad and it seems woefully lacking where I live. Not that I am complaining. But I wonder if the atrocities committed by Hamas have changed the typical lather-rinse-repeat narrative that usually follows? As a microcosm of this, we see these college students who thought it would be cool and woke and progressive to side with Hamas and blame Israel. Now that they are seeing the consequences, they are begging for mercy. In some ways, there is a distinct parallel to Islamists and Wokeism. They both look to crush/cancel their enemies, they live in a world of self-righteous superiority and when they find themselves in trouble, suddenly beg for a cease fire. But, they don't want a cease fire because of a change of heart. They just want to regroup and then look to attack/cancel once again. But, thanks to the stark brutality and the parades of joy others have thrown as a result, there are sub-sections within the Left who are wondering if they have aligned with the correct people. NBC News says the White House has been shaken to its core. Soft on Iran thinking from Antony Blinken to Rob Malley and others have led us to this moment in time. Now, Victor Davis Hanson wonders, “How will the world react to Gaza?” Much like what he thinks, I believe we will see a shift, and even if the elites around the world return to their old playbook of “ending the cycle of violence” or “proportionality”, I don't Israel will listen until they have finished the job of eradicating Hamas in it's entirety. For the sympathizers out there, worried about innocent Palestinians, I have a sound bite of several K-12 students being interviewed about their views of Israel and the Jews. As I said earlier this week, you don't have to pull the trigger to be a terrorist. I immediately follow with the sad story of a father how lost his 8 year old daughter, but he expressed joy that she had been killed rather than taken to Gaza as a hostage. There are some calling to expel Illhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from Congress. No! Leave them to keep spewing their vile rhetoric. Let it be an example of what the Left now considers an acceptable part of their party. And the same can be said for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Their utter ignorance and equivocation need to be shown to the rest of the country. I then play a bite from when Donald Trump addressed the United Nations. It's amazing what clarity someone has who lives in Realville versus the La La Land of the Left. By the way, why does no one seem curious enough to ask why know other neighboring Arab countries want to take in an Palestinian refugees? Why do they have walls? Seems like there is a reason fellow Arabs want nothing to do with them. Even CNN”s Jake Tapper wondered why this is the case? On a positive, someone rented a billboard box truck as is driving all around the Harvard campus reminding everyone of the names of those who sided with Hamas. Once again, cancel culture has come full circle and now the snake is eating it's own tail. And, we get a brand new installment of Deep Thoughts with VP Kamala Harris. She never fails to deliver cringe-worthy drivel and stupidity. Take a moment to rate and review the show and then share the episode on social media. You can find me on Facebook, X, Instagram, GETTR and TRUTH Social by searching for The Alan Sanders Show. You can also support the show by visiting my Patreon page!

On today's show we start with today's inflation numbers for September and combine that with the labor numbers released last week. No matter how many times Joe Biden whispers “it's working” into a microphone, Bidenomics is nothing short of a disaster. And, like clockwork, the ferret-like Paul Krugman once again says that as long as you don't spend money on food, energy, shelter or transportation, we've beaten inflation. I then spend more time explaining how all of you who were convinced (or emotionally blackmailed) to send money to Black Lives Matter have likely had some of that money flow directly to Hamas. The information has always been there, but only now are people really looking into who they have been “siding with” when it comes to true terrorism. The Joe Biden classified documents scandal deepens. It seems, after new testimony, they were aware of the problem for well over a year before saying anything. And, to top it off, more people were involved in the movement and cover-up of those documents. The Supreme Court is getting ready to hear a round of cases and it's that time of year for the Left to start crying over Judicial activism. The reality is, based on the cases, the Left is about to be told that the Executive Branch has over-stepped their Constitutional bounds and will need to be reined in from their power-grabs. Onto two examples of the children we have working in the Administration. First up, we have State Department spokesman Matt Miller who tries to pretend he has no idea what fungible means when it comes to given Iran back $6 billion dollars. Then, NSC spokesman John Kirby tries to do the same thing with Fox News's Brett Baier, only Kirby goes even deeper in his best Michael from “The Office” impersonation. There are many who don't believe the depraved savagery and butchery that took place in Israel over the weekend. Today, our Charge to the US Embassy in Israel went on scene and could barely hold it together. On top of that, host Ben Shapiro released two images, one of a murdered infant and another infant that was nothing but a charred corpse. Back to John Kirby now, who says that “now is not the time” to figure out what went wrong with our intelligence gathering. Well, maybe, based on the failure, NOW is the perfect time. Plus, we may already have the answer. Former State Department Advisor on Iran tells us that once Joe Biden took office, he dissolved the CIA Iran Mission Center and then hired Rob Malley, a known Iranian sympathizer, to be the Iran envoy. On a positive note, some students who went all-in on the Hamas/Palestine bandwagon and showed their anti-Semite leanings are finding out the jobs they thought they were getting after college are no longer being offered. These Ivy League institutions of indoctrination and grooming are not readying these children for the real world. Maybe this is the wake-up call they, and the rest of us, need to realize just how badly our nation has strayed. Take a moment to rate and review the show and then share the episode on social media. You can find me on Facebook, X, Instagram, GETTR and TRUTH Social by searching for The Alan Sanders Show. You can also support the show by visiting my Patreon page!

Black Lives Matter and other leftist organizations just showed what they really are. In this episode, I address their shocking support for terrorist savages. Suspicion surrounds ex-Iran envoy Rob Malley after Israel attack: ‘Worst State Department scandal' Eric Adams warns of terror attack on NYC by 'lone wolves' radicalized by Hamas Black Lives Matter co-founder describes herself as ‘trained Marxist' Copyright Bongino Inc All Rights Reserve Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's show opens with me looking back to the start of the Biden presidency. I think it's highly illustrative to look at the initial team of his cabinet. When he first introduced them, he prided himself on the diversity, equity and inclusion put into assembling his team. Maybe he should have also looked at whether or not they believed in the US Constitution. By putting demographics ahead of qualification, we have ended up with one of the largest anti-American and anti-Semite group of people to ever staff the White House. When people are asking how we could have had such a massive failure from our intelligence community regarding the planning and execution of the Hamas attack on Israel, I think we have to be open to the fact that we likely had that information. However, the current regime is staffed with too many pro-Iranian members who likely looked the other way. One of them, currently under initial investigation and now seems has always been an Iranian spy is Rob Malley who was in the State Department. It doesn't take long to find his anti-Israel/pro-Hamas views and positions. Yet, he was put in charge of the Biden regimes foreign policy as it relates to Iran and removing sanctions. Building on what I reported yesterday, Israel's National Security Minister Ben Gvir is not only relaxing gun laws, but also giving 10,000 assault rifles to civilians for security teams. They have rapidly come to understand the crucial importance of our own Second Amendment. While our National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, still wants us to believe there is no direct evidence of Iran's involvement in the attacks on Israel, the Ayatollah put on X that the Zionist state was going to fall and so would all who supports her. Israel responded to that post saying, “It's easy to be brave when you're hiding behind a keyboard. You and your Hamas friends will regret your barbaric actions very soon.” I am also finding myself amazed to see a handful of Leftists and progressives finally awake from their stupor and realize who else is part of the modern-day Democrats. CEO of the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, once again blasted the Left and the Legacy/mainstream media for even mentioning trying to “reason with Hamas.” Even White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted member of the Squad, now the Hamas Squad, for how wrong, repugnant and disgraceful their positions and comments have been. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) could not even renounced the beheading of infants and burning children alive. To prove my earlier assessment that Hamas and other Islamists don't see anything evil or barbaric in their actions, I have a clip of a Palestinian reporter talking to cheering mobs about the attack. They all said any non-believer is nothing more than an animal meant for slaughter. There is no way to consider a two-state solution when one party is consumed by death and destruction. When Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, with Senator Elizabeth Warren by his side, told a crowd of Democrats that both sides needed to “de-escalate” he was booed for several seconds and was clearly rattled. On some positive news, Black Lives Matters has begun to show the rest of the world what we already knew. They are a hate-fueled, militant, Marxist organization filled with rampant fraud. They have made it clear they are pro-Palestine and anti-Israel. Finally, two more uplifting stories. American Legal First had a FOIA request filled on the emails Joe Biden was hiding behind when he was VP. Seems he wrote nearly 30,000 to Hunter's businesses, to Hunter, to his brother Jim and to the LLC Jim created. That's a lot of emails to just talk about the weather. And, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he has the evidence to go after Dr. Anthony Fauci and to nail him to the wall for his lies, corruption and involvement in the creation of COVID-19 via the Wuhan Lab in China. Take a moment to rate and review the show and then share the episode on social media. You can find me on Facebook, X, Instagram, GETTR and TRUTH Social by searching for The Alan Sanders Show. You can also support the show by visiting my Patreon page!

In the second hour of The Vince Coglianese Show, Vince speaks with Morgan Ortagus, Founder of POLARIS National Security and former State Department spokeswoman about Biden's top envoy for Iranian affairs, Rob Malley being suspended amid spy ring allegations. Democrats start pretending that they care about protecting the border. Donald Trump followers are being targeted by the FBI. Democrats are trying to eliminate all norms.       For more coverage on the issues that matter to you visit www.WMAL.com, download the WMAL app or tune in live on WMAL-FM 105.9 from 3-6pm.     To join the conversation, check us out on social media: @WMAL @VinceCoglianese   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#Iran: The continuing mystery of Special Envoy Rob Malley. Behnam ben Taleblu, FDD https://qoshe.com/politico/nahal-toosi-and-joe-gould/an-iran-mouthpiece-s-scoop-draws-republican-ire/164665377 Photo:  1950 Baghdad No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow

For Washington, the negotiations with Iran are about making sure Tehran does not create nuclear bombs.For Tehran, the negotiations are about easing the Western sanctions that have been holding back Iran's economy.And with elections being held in the United States and Iran next year, politicians are eager to reach a deal. So what is preventing an agreement?The Bottom Line host Steve Clemons asks Iran experts Roxane Farmanfarmaian and Eli Lake about the chances of an Iran-US deal, the repercussions of the sidelining of veteran US negotiator Rob Malley, and the continuing protests in Iran.Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

THE TIM JONES AND CHRIS ARPS SHOW 0:00 SEG 1 Wray not sure if there were undercover agents on January 6th | Cori Bush calls Trump followers a cult | The treatment of whistleblowers | Rob Malley has security clearance taken from him 16:28 SEG Jay Ashcroft, Secretary of State for Missouri and candidate for Governor of Missouri, talks about the FBI interfering with elections | How to improve election integrity | Abortion in Missouri | Libraries | Not being named in Mayor Tishaura Jones' hateful texts | His campaign for governor | Anti-ESG rule https://ashcroftformissouri.com  34:48 SEG 3 Chris' Corner is about Richard A. Gephardt planning to launch a new bipartisan group next week to oppose the No Labels third-party presidential effort. Third-Party Candidates Never Work   NewsTalkSTL is turning 2 years old and you are invited to the party at Johnny's Hideout on Thursday, July 20th. Click for more information. https://newstalkstl.com/newstalkstls-second-birthday-party-happening-july-20th/  https://newstalkstl.com/   FOLLOW TIM - https://twitter.com/SpeakerTimJones   FOLLOW CHRIS - https://twitter.com/chris_arps   24/7 LIVESTREAM - http://bit.ly/newstalkstlstream   RUMBLE - https://rumble.com/NewsTalkSTL  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been five years since the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal. What followed: the U-S re-imposed crushing sanctions, over time, Iran stopped adhering to the limits the deal had set and day-by-day its nuclear program crept forward.So how close is Iran to a bomb? What can the U.S. do to stop Iran, if it chooses to pursue one? And how are regional and global shifts changing the equation?NPR's Mary Louise Kelly puts these questions to the U.S. special envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, and to Vali Nasr with the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

The Biden administration has been populated from its inception by individuals playing for the other team. Joe Biden's compromise by the Chinese Communist Party and his record of policies that advance its agenda is the most egregious example, but hardly the only one. Robert Malley used to promote the interests of Iran during the Obama presidency, including negotiating a seriously defective nuclear deal. Malley has been doing the same under Biden, offering reckless and humiliating concessions that have only emboldened the mullahs further. Fortunately, the Iranian people's expanding revolt against those tyrants is a showstopper for Malley's negotiations that serve to legitimate the regime the uprising explicitly seeks to overthrow. So, Malley recently denied that reality, falsely claiming that the revolutionaries simply seek greater official recognition of human rights. We must stop negotiating with the ayatollahs and Rob Malley must go.     This is Frank Gaffney.

In this episode, Ambassador Ron Dermer and Dr. Michael Makovsky discuss U.S. intelligence leaks, Rob Malley's Senate testimony on Iran, and the media's attacks on Israel.

In this week's show, Caroline was joined by David Wurmser in Washington, DC to discuss the ramifications of Joe Biden's brinksmanship with Russia on Ukraine for America's continued superpower status and for NATO. They then moved from Ukraine to Iran and the implications of the administration's abandonment of all red lines in favor of a deal at all costs. They spoke in detail as well about former Iranian Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif's recent claim that Rob Malley's underling laundered Iran's draft nuclear deal, presented it as his own work and then had Malley get the Obama administration to adopt it as the basis for negotiations. Watch, listen, share and subscribe! To Watch : https://youtu.be/L-m5eu6luFw (https://youtu.be/L-m5eu6luFw)

Photo: Malley and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in June 2015 CBS Eyes on the World with John Batchelor CBS Audio Network @Batchelorshow Why Rob Malley doubts the Iran deal. @RichGoldberg Benham ben Taleblu @FDD https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/top-us-iran-envoy-having-doubts-about-nuke-deal-675519

While Joe Biden has faced some mild Congressional pushback for bombing the Iraq-Syria border, Tulsi Gabbard says her former colleagues are ignoring the larger issue: the ongoing US dirty war on Syria. After a decade of proxy warfare that empowered Al Qaeda and ISIS, the US is now occupying one-third of Syria and imposing crippling sanctions that are crushing Syria's economy and preventing reconstruction. While Gabbard has been vilified for her stance on Syria, many top White House officials -- including Joe Biden himself -- have already acknowledged the same facts that she has called out. Aaron Maté plays clips of Biden and some of his most senior aides admitting to the horrific realities of the US dirty war on Syria, and argues that Gabbard only stands apart in being wiling to criticize it. Featuring clips from: Tulsi Gabbard, former Democratic Congressmember; President Joe Biden; Brett McGurk, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa; Martin Dempsey, former Joint Chiefs chairman; Rob Malley, Special Envoy for Iran; John Kerry, Special Envoy for Climate & former Secretary of State; former President Donald Trump; Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur on Sanctions; Dana Stroul, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East; Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mickey snags a vaccination appointment ... Bob speculates wildly about coronavirus mutations ... What's missing from the Democrats' case against Trump ... How Mickey (almost) launched Bruce Springsteen's career ... Who will inherit the Republican Party? ... Dueling scandals at the New York Times and the Lincoln Project ... Bob and Mickey find common cause in Venezuela ... Parrot Room preview: Marty Peretz disses Rob Malley, the week in cancellation, and the next vast right wing conspiracy. ...

Mickey snags a vaccination appointment ... Bob speculates wildly about coronavirus mutations ... What’s missing from the Democrats’ case against Trump ... How Mickey (almost) launched Bruce Springsteen’s career ... Who will inherit the Republican Party? ... Dueling scandals at the New York Times and the Lincoln Project ... Bob and Mickey find common cause in Venezuela ... Parrot Room preview: Marty Peretz disses Rob Malley, the week in cancellation, and the next vast right wing conspiracy. ...

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Naz Modirzadeh and Richard Atwood bid farewell to Rob Malley, who has left Crisis Group to join the Biden administration, and discuss trends on the African continent in 2021 with Crisis Group’s Africa Program Director and interim Vice President Comfort Ero. Comfort points out the rising violent jihadist threat in the Sahel, the Lake Chad basin, Somalia and Mozambique, the risky political transitions and tense elections in Uganda and Ethiopia, and the role of African powers in the continent’s crises.

Bob Rosner and Sharon Squassoni of the Science and Security Board at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists join Press the Button to discuss why the Doomsday Clock is still at 100 seconds to midnight, and what must happen before the time is moved backwards. Early Warning features Ploughshares Fund's deputy director of policy Mary Kaszynski on the appointment of Rob Malley as special US envoy for Iran, and the complexities behind US and Iran efforts to re-enter the Iran nuclear agreement.

Tommy and Ben discuss President Biden’s first call with Vladimir Putin as President and the US-Russia relationship, Rob Malley and the fight over Biden’s Iran policy, Biden’s approach to Venezuela, Chinese sanctions on former Trump officials, why Google might be leaving Australia, chaos in the Italian government and more. Then Russian journalist Alexey Kovalev joins to talk about the mass protests in support of Alexey Navalny and how the Kremlin is reacting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and Naz Modirzadeh host Sheera Frenkel, New York Times cybersecurity reporter and author of An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination, to discuss the role that social media platforms played in the mob assault on the U.S. Capitol and the response, or lack thereof, to online disinformation by Big Tech companies. They also talk to Peter Salisbury, Crisis Group’s Yemen Senior Analyst, who warns of dire consequences for Yemen if the U.S. does not quickly overturn its recent designation of the Huthis as a terrorist group.  Background readings: Sheera Frenkel: An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination Crisis Group: The U.S. Should Reverse Its Huthi Terror Designation

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and Naz Modirzadeh host Crisis Group’s Chief of Policy Richard Atwood in a special episode on Crisis Group’s flagship publication “10 Conflicts to Watch in 2021”,  discussing the hot-spots we chose to feature, the opportunities for conflict resolution and the legacy of Donald Trump’s foreign’s policy, as well as debating the conventional wisdom that there is no military solution to political conflict.  Background readings: 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2021.  How to Hide an Empire. A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr. The Man Who Ran Washington. The Life and Times of James A. Baker III by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and guest host Richard Atwood unpack the normalization of relations between Israel and Morocco with Century Foundation Fellow Dahlia Scheindlin and talk with Crisis Group’s North Africa Project Director Riccardo Fabiani about how U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara could affect the conflict over this territory. They also address the elections in Venezuela and what the rollout of the first COVID-19 vaccine could mean for conflict prevention as well as Richard’s 100-year-old grandmother.

This week marks two years of detention in China for our colleague Michael Kovrig, for no reason other than being a Canadian in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rob Malley and guest host Brittany Brown dedicate this episode of Hold Your Fire! to Michael’s case and talk with his wife Vina Nadjibulla about Michael’s resilience in prison, the conditions there, the letters they have exchanged, the geopolitical intricacies of his case and her relentless fight at the highest levels of government to get him out and safely home.     

In this week’s episode of Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and guest host Richard Atwood take on the U.S. “forever wars” with Phil Gordon, a former adviser to President Barack Obama and author of the acclaimed book Losing the Long Game: The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East (St. Martin's Press, October 2020). Rob also addresses one of the most pressing foreign policy decisions the incoming Biden administration will face: should the U.S. simply go back to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal or should it aim for a more ambitious agreement with Tehran?  Background reading: Losing the Long Game: The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East, Philip H. Gordon. St. Martin's Press. 

In this week’s episode of Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and guest host Richard Atwood unpack the state of talks among the U.S., and Afghan governments and the Taliban about a peace deal, along with Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director Laurel Miller, who served as acting U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. They also address the expulsion of Crisis Group Senior Analyst Will Davison from Ethiopia and reflect on how the organization does its work in wartime. Background readings by Crisis Group: Afghanistan's Peace Process Will Be Long, Incremental, and in Need of a Mediator Ethiopia Expels Crisis Group Senior Analyst

In this week’s episode of Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and guest host Richard Atwood talk about the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh with Crisis Group Europe Program Director Olya Oliker. Then they speak with Crisis Group expert Richard Horsey about Myanmar’s identity crisis as it emerges from the second democratic elections in its history.  Background readings by Crisis Group: Another Landslide Victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s Party in Myanmar – But at What Cost? - November 2020 Q&AIdentity Crisis: Ethnicity and Conflict in Myanmar - August 2020 report

In this week’s episode of Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and guest host Brittany Brown compare their own experience with presidential transitions to the Trump administration’s refusal thus far to pave the way for Joe Biden’s arrival at the White House. They then explore what a Biden foreign policy could look like with Matt Duss, foreign policy adviser for Senator Bernie Sanders, evoking the motto: “First, do no harm”.  Background readings by Crisis Group: Staving off Violence around Somalia’s Elections - 2020 Briefing Ethiopia: Not too Late to Stop Tigray Conflict from Unravelling Country - 2020 Op-Ed Algérie: un air de déjà vu? - 2020 Q&A

In this week’s episode of Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and guest host Richard Atwood try to make sense of a very convoluted electoral map, with no clear winner, the day after the U.S. election. They then turn to the protests against police brutality that have shaken Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, with Crisis Group Senior Adviser Nnamdi Obasi and Africa Program Director Comfort Ero. Lastly, they offer an update on the sadly predictable military escalation in Ethiopia.  Background readings by Crisis Group:Nigeria’s #EndSARS Protest: De-escalate Tensions, Start Deep Police Reform The Islamic State Franchises in Africa: Lessons from Lake Chad Facing the Challenge of the Islamic State in West Africa Province Violence in Nigeria’s North West: Rolling Back the Mayhem Video: The Fate of Women Who Lived With Boko Haram

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and guest host Steve Pomper talk about a bizarre Oval Office meeting that enraged Ethiopia and a must-watch documentary about social media. Then they take a deep dive into the risks of election-related violence in the United States with Carnegie Senior Fellow Rachel Kleinfeld. She unpacks the combination of risks that place the 2020 presidential contest in a category apart from any other in memory. Background readings by Crisis Group:The U.S. Presidential Election: Managing the Risks of ViolenceToo Much to Lose: Steering the U.S. Away from Election-Related Violence

This week on Hold Your Fire!, former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos takes Rob and Naz behind the scenes of the negotiations with the FARC guerrillas that achieved a peace deal and won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Santos, also a Crisis Group Trustee, explains that making peace was much harder than leading the war effort. Beth Dickinson, Crisis Group’s analyst for Colombia, joins the conversation to give an update on how the peace agreement is working out.  Background reading by Crisis Group:Leaders under Fire: Defending Colombia’s Front Line of Peace - 2020 report mentioned by Rob in the interviewThe Missing Peace: Colombia’s New Government and Last Guerrillas - 2018 reportColombia’s Armed Groups Battle for the Spoils of Peace - 2017 report

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob and Naz talk with Nigar Göksel, Crisis Group’s Turkey director, about how Turkey is flexing its muscles in its near abroad — Syria, Iraq, the eastern Mediterranean, and now Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as farther afield in Libya. Then they get an update on the Azerbaijani side of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh from Zaur Shiriyev, Crisis Group’s analyst in Baku.  Background readings by Crisis Group: Crisis Group Statement (October 14): Reducing the Human Cost of the New Nagorno-Karabakh War

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob and Naz question the efficacy of international sanctions, as the European Union wields this overused tool against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. They are then joined by Olesya Vartanyan, Crisis Group’s senior South Caucasus analyst, for a very personal conversation about the toll the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh has taken on her friends on both sides as well as an analysis of the role played by Turkey, Russia, and other external actors in the conflict.  Background reading by Crisis Group on the war in Nagorno-Karabakh: De-escalating the New Nagorno-Karabakh War - statement on the most recent escalation Digging out of Deadlock in Nagorno-Karabakh - 2019 report mentioned by Olesya in the interview Nagorno-Karabakh’s Gathering War Clouds - 2017 report mentioned by Olesya in the interview The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Visual Explainer

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob reminisces about his recent trip to Azerbaijan, where he saw warning signs of a “frozen conflict” ready to thaw. Naz explains why the U.S. might regret trying to designate the Huthis as a terrorist organization if it cares about helping Yemen make peace. They are joined by Aaron Miller, a veteran U.S. diplomat and Carnegie senior fellow, who examines the successes and shortcomings of President Trump’s unconventional diplomacy, and explains how the phrase “nobody ever washes a rental car” applies to conflict prevention. 

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob pays a very personal homage to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and confides about what keeps him up at night. Naz explains the convoluted legal argument laid out by the U.S. to try and justify its snapback of UN sanctions against Iran. They then turn to the complexity of the war in Libya, torn between foreign proxies and militias, with Crisis Group Senior Analyst Claudia Gazzini. 

In the third episode of Crisis Group's new podcast Hold Your Fire!, our Ethiopia Senior Analyst Will Davison joins host Rob Malley, our President, and co-host Naz Modirzadeh, a Crisis Group Trustee and Harvard professor of international law and conflict. Together they discuss the enormous challenges facing Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed amid rising ethnic tensions.

Naz and Rob reflect on U.S. support for the Yemen war and the conspicuous absence of the Palestinian issue from the normalisation agreement among Israel, the UAE and Bahrain. Crisis Group's senior analyst for Ethiopia, Will Davison, then joins them to discuss the enormous challenges facing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed amid rising ethnic tensions in Africa's second-most populous country. 

Naz and Rob discuss French President Emmanuel Macron's dive into the murky waters of Lebanese politics and the Trump administration's stunning decision to impose sanctions on the staff of the International Criminal Court. They also speak with Andrew Watkins, Crisis Group's senior analyst for Afghanistan, about what to expect from the country's pending peace talks. Do the Taliban have the upper hand? 

In this first episode of Hold Your Fire, Naz and Rob talk about the role foreign policy played, or didn’t, at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and explain why the U.S. attempt to snap back UN sanctions on Iran met with an international, collective shrug. They welcome Crisis Group’s former Arab-Israeli project director, Nathan Thrall, to discuss the Israel-UAE agreement, what it means for Palestinians, and whether he believes there can be a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In this episode of Policy, Guns & Money, Lisa Sharland speaks to Rob Malley, President and CEO of International Crisis Group, about conflicts during Covid-19 and prospects for peace in Afghanistan. They also discuss Crisis Group’s annual ‘10 Conflicts to Watch’, including what’s changed since the last edition, and what might feature in the next edition later this year. The Strategist’s Brendan Nicholson and Anastasia Kapetas discuss the recently released US Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Russian Interference in the 2016 Election and foreign interference in the US. (Hint - there was plenty) Finally, Tom Uren and John Coyne continue the conversation on Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020, where it falls short, and the challenges for policing cyber criminals. In this episode: Lisa Sharland: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/lisa-sharland Robert Malley: https://www.crisisgroup.org/who-we-are/people/robert-malley-0 Anastasia Kapetas: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/anastasia-kapetas Brendan Nicholson: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/brendan-nicholson John Coyne: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/john-coyne Tom Uren: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/tom-uren Background music: "Sydney's Skyline" by ALBIS via the You Tube Audio Library.

What was so significant about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and how important was Europe’s contribution? Why has U.S. President Trump’s ripping up of the accord and “maximum pressure” strategy not worked? Amid the standoff between the U.S. and Iran, what role can the EU and Russia play in salvaging the deal and averting a military confrontation? Rob Malley, a key negotiator of the Iran deal, joins Olya and Hugh to explore these questions. 

U.S. officials this week accused Iran of orchestrating “sabotage” attacks on Saudi tankers near the Persian Gulf, escalating an already tense situation between the two countries. President Trump ramped up his own rhetoric, telling reporters that “It's going to be a bad problem for Iran if something happens… they're not going to be happy." With the notoriously hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton whispering in Trump’s ear, are these signs that the administration is putting the U.S. on a path to war? On this week’s Deconstructed, Mehdi Hasan discusses the prospects for another illegal and bloody regime change war in the Middle East with National Iranian American Council president Trita Parsi, and with Rob Malley, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group.

In our first segment, we look at critical areas of conflict around the world, and identify options world leaders have to address them. Rob Malley, CEO of the International Crisis Group, seeks to prevent global crises before they turn deadly, or to help resolve conflicts once they do. He is in conversation with Markos Kounalakis, Visiting Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution. In the second half, Guardian reporter Rory Carroll shares his perspective on how the once wealthy, oil-rich nation of Venezuela devolved into its current state of economic chaos, first under President Hugo Chavez and now under President Nicolás Maduro. He speaks with Jonathan Visbal, chairman of World Affairs. We want to hear from you! Please take part in a quick survey to tell us how we can improve our podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWZ7KMW

Robert Malley, president of the International Crisis Group, discusses ICG's annual list of the 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2018.  He cautions against Donald Trump’s bluster about decertifying the Iran Nuclear Deal, warns that the stakes in North Korea are too high to be ignored, and speculates on what will happen in Syria once ISIS has been defeated militarily.  He reveals why he thinks a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unlikely and how his childhood practically destined him for a life in crisis resolution. Visit www.crisisgroup.org to learn more about the International Crisis Group, and follow Robert Malley and ICG on twitter at @Rob_Malley and @CrisisGroup.  This podcast was sponsored by Grasshopper, Squarespace, and Google Cloud Platform.

Press Conference USA host Carol Castiel and VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin discuss ten major conflicts to watch in 2018 with Rob Malley, CEO of the International Crisis Group. Malley previously worked as a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama, and talks about Afghanistan, Syria and the DRC among other major hot spots around the world.

Tommy talks with Middle East and ISIS expert Rob Malley about the resignation of Lebanon’s Prime Minister and how it plays into a broader middle east proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Then they talk about the fight against ISIS and the major NYT magazine story about civilians casualties in Iraq.