David Daoud and Ahmad Sharawi delve into the complexities of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s religious identity, its relationship with Iran, how Iran uses segments within a society to infiltrate them, and the implications of this for Jordanian and other Sunni societies.
Bill and Benham unpack the dynamic landscape of American foreign policy towards Iran, specifically how the region’s latest turmoil might challenge the incoming Trump administration. They also discuss the challenges of domestic politics muddying foreign policy decisions, the future of American military presence in Iraq and Syria, and the need for a coherent strategy to address Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Bill and Will unpack the implications of Trump’s win on the foreign and national security policies, particularly as they related to Ukraine, Israel, and Iran. They also analyze the second Trump administration’s potential strategies for addressing burden sharing amongst NATO members, the ongoing jihadist threat, and the challenges posed by China and North Korea.
Bill and Joe unpack the latest unfolding in the evolving conflict between Iran and Israel, particularly in light of recent retaliatory strikes by Israel and the anticipated Iranian response. They also discuss the current situation in the West Bank, Hezbollah’s operational status, and implications of tomorrow’s U.S. elections on regional stability and military strategies.
Last week, the New York Times ran an article(?) called “Is Afghanistan’s Most-Wanted Militant Now Its Best Hope for Change?” (spoiler: no) and with the subtitle: “Sirajuddin Haqqani has tried to remake himself from blood-soaked jihadist to pragmatic Taliban statesman. Western diplomats are shocked — and enticed.” Yes, really.
Bill, Joe, and Behnam unpack Israel’s retaliatory strikes on military targets in Iran, including the implications of Israeli strikes; the complexities of the Islamic Republic’s military strategies and challenges of disrupting its proxy networks; the broader geopolitical dynamics blanketing the Middle East — particularly the complexities of any regional military operations amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran; and the potential for Iran to accelerate its nuclear ambitions.
Bill and Joe discuss the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and its implications for Israeli strategy in the country’s ongoing defensive war in Gaza; for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ongoing, multi-front war on Israel; and for already-tense U.S.-Israel relations.
Bill and Behnam discuss Israel’s targeted killing of top Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, including this week’s successful assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Bill and Will discuss plots to target Western assets both inside and outside of combat zones, from the foiled attack targeting a Taylor Swift concert in Europe to credible threats on President Trump’s life made by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Bill is joined by friend of the show Edmund Fitton-Brown to discuss Edmund’s recent report for the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Commentary: The Global Jihadi Terror Threat in September 2024.
Bill and show regular David Daoud are joined by their FDD colleague Ahmad Sharawi, making his overdue Generation Jihad debut amidst rumors that today’s Israeli strike in Beirut may have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. They share what they know so far and unpack the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns.
Bill and Joe are joined by their FDD colleague Dr. Jonathan Schanzer to discuss his recent article for Commentary, “Hamas On The Ropes: A Progress Report.”
Bill is joined by Joe and David to discuss yesterday and today’s explosions of devices belonging to Hezbollah terrorists across Lebanon.
Bill and Joe unpack the latest concerning Iran-backed terrorist groups in the West Bank, Israel’s special ground operation in Syria last week, ceasefire negotiations, and whether Hamas is pulling a Taliban and playing Weekend at Bernie’s with its leadership.
Bill and his Wednesday co-host Will Selber are joined by their friend and colleague Beth Bailey of the Afghanistan Project podcast — she also previously served in the intelligence community — on the twenty-third anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. They reflect on where we were then and how we got to where we are now, twenty-three years later.
Bill and David Daoud unpack the latest details from the current clash between Hezbollah and Israel.
Subbing for Bill and Behnam this week are Joe and David Daoud. They catch up on the latest goings on with Hezbollah and its war of attrition against Israel.
Bill and Will recently attended a conference organized by the Afghanistan United Front resistance group (and with help from Will). They unpack what was on the docket, including the repercussions of the fall of Afghanistan three years ago and looking ahead to consider Afghanistan’s future.
Bill and Joe catch up on the latest headlines related to Israel’s defensive war, including a possible ceasefire, more terror tunnels uncovered and destroyed, the Hezbollah attack that killed an IDF soldier, and the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
Bill and Will Selber are joined by friend of the show Jerry Dunleavy. Jerry was the senior investigator for the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s investigation of the withdrawal from Afghanistan until he shared his letter of resignation on X earlier this week.
Why did Jerry resign? The answer requires revisiting how events leading up to the fall of Kabul and withdrawal from Afghanistan unfolded and played out — and the ever-expanding black hole of accountability.
Bill is joined by Long War Journal and Generation Jihad regulars Edmund Fitton-Brown and Caleb Weiss to discuss the latest report by the UN’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team on the status of jihadi groups in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Bill and Joe unpack Iran’s strategy of keeping Israel and partners on their toes in anticipation of some form of retaliation for Israel’s recent assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Social media influencer Preston Stewart joins Bill and Joe to discuss Preston’s experience both serving in and covering global conflicts and wars from serving in Afghanistan to multiple TikTok bannings as well as his take on Israel’s rapidly expanding war against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the conflict in Mali.
Bill and Joe are joined by David Daoud to unpack this weekend’s Hezbollah rocket attack on a Druze community in Israel’s Golan Heights that killed 12 Israeli children — and whether we should soon expect an all-out Israel-Hezbollah war.
Bill and Joe discuss Israel’s retaliatory strike against Houthi targets in Yemen following the Iranian-backed terror group’s drone strike in Tel Aviv, the CENTCOM Commander’s surprisingly honest letter to the Secretary of Defense, and the irony of Pakistan designating Prime Minister Netanyahu as a terrorist (congrats to him on his new villa in Abbottabad).
Bill and Behnam are joined by fellow FDD expert and friend of the show David David to talk about the drone strike in Tel Aviv — what we know so far and what it means for the broader war.
The UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team has released its latest report on Afghanistan and the myriad of jihadist activity therein. To discuss, Bill is joined by former director of this team at the UN and longtime friend of the show Edmund Fitton-Brown. Edmund is now a senior advisor to the Counter Extremism Project and previously served as the UK’s ambassador to Yemen.
Bill and Joe catch up on headlines related to the war in Gaza and the additional Iranian-backed conflicts at Israeli borders, including a status update on the latest round of hostage negotiations, action in the West Bank, and how Israel should handle Tehran’s noose-tightening. They also discuss the recent sighting of a top Hezbollah military official and specially designated global terrorist at the funeral of a Hezbollah commander.
Bill and Will Selber are joined by Lieutenant General Sami Sadat who among many other roles served as deputy commander of the Afghan ground forces and later the deputy chief of staff of the Afghan National Army. Now, he leads the Afghan United Front. They discuss America’s role in giving the Taliban the upper-hand that ultimately led to the collapse of Kabul; the vital role of morale during war; just how established Al Qaeda is inside Afghanistan and whether the Taliban-Al Qaeda relationship got stronger after U.S. withdrawal; and more.
Bill is joined by his colleague Bradley Bowman to talk about a new FDD monograph edited by Brad, “Cognitive Combat: China, Russia, and Iran’s Information War Against Americans.” They discuss ways in which America’s adversaries are waging information warfare against it, how the U.S. can defend itself in the information domain — and how it can go on the offensive.