Generation Jihad

Flying solo for this episode, Bill shares his thoughts on yesterday's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing with Generals Milley and McKenzie — including the questions they *should* have asked (but failed to).

Bill and Behnam catch up on recent headlines, including the statement made by a U.S. senator pushing for regime change (spoiler: he was not talking about Iran), reports of a high-level meeting between Iranian and Hezbollah officials, the Houthis continuing their maritime attacks, and more.

Bill and Joe unpack the undertaking of the pier to be built by the U.S. off the coast of Gaza for the purpose of distributing aid (but without boots on the ground?) including some of their general concerns like, "Who is the aid handed off to, Hamas? Who the hell is going to secure this thing?" They also discuss President Biden's statement that Israel operating inside Rafah would be &#3...

David Daoud joins Bill to discuss President Biden’s announcement that the U.S. military will establish a functional port off the coast of Gaza for the purpose of distributing aid (what could possibly go wrong) as well as the state of Israel’s (increasingly multi-front) war.

Bill and Joe discuss Hezbollah continuing to turn up the heat at Israel's northern border with an uptick in cross-border attacks amidst foreign fighters also emerging in Lebanon and while the U.S. increases its pressure on Israel to enter a ceasefire before Ramadan.

Bill, Behnam and Joe discuss a few of this week’s biggest headlines including reports of Israel assassinating an IRGC advisor in Syria, escalation by Hezbollah at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and the results of Iran’s parliamentary elections.

Seth Frantzman is back on the show with Bill to provide an update from his perspective on the ground in Israel.

Bill and Joe discuss the latest updates from Israel’s defensive war in Gaza, including a potentially dwindling supply of ammunition for Hamas and its subsequent cooperation with other Palestinian terror groups; Egypt “fortifying” its border (but only above-ground and only because they want to keep Gazans out); whether Yahya Sinwar is still hiding out in a tunnel somewhere under Khan Younis (“with...

Bill and Behnam discuss reports of Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia and the potential for subsequent U.S. sanctions on Tehran (and why that’d be insufficient); why the head of the IRGC Quds Force allegedly paid a recent visit to Iraq; an update on the Houthi-Gulf of Aden-Bab al Mandeb-Red Sea theater, including a new underwater drone threat and why if we happen to see the Iranians “de-esc...

Bill and Behnam discuss the status of U.S. posture in the Middle East, including whether deterrence has been restored and how the U.S. could be more proactive in Syria and Iraq (but wait, do we even have a partner in Baghdad?); the unclaimed rocket attack (by Hezbollah) on the northern Israeli city of Safed; Iran’s recent missile launches (speaking of… just how close are they to being able to buil...

Bill and Joe catch up on the latest headlines from the war in Gaza. They discuss the IDF's operation along Gaza's border with Egypt in Rafah, which last night included the rescuing of two hostages; how Hamas fighters are resurfacing in Khan Younis; and the uncomfortably palpable uptick in international pressure on Israel as it continues its defensive war, most notably from the U.S. They al...

This episode features the most special guest to join Generation Jihad in two years: Thomas Joscelyn. Bill's OG partner in crime is back on the show to discuss the newest variant of Disconnect-the-Dots Disease and its primary benefactor — who also happens to be the arsonist behind the dumpster fire currently engulfing the Middle East — and the dangerous cost of American ambivalence. 

Bill and Caleb are joined again by Edmund Fitton-Brown — former coordinator of the UN’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team — to discuss the group’s latest report on the threat posed by al Qaeda and the Islamic State.  They unpack the report’s highlights and key takeaways, including uncertainty surrounding the new IS leader and why the reason behind it could be “earth-shattering;” Wes...

Bill is joined again by FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power CMPP) senior director Bradley Bowman to discuss broader U.S. military posture in the Middle East amidst the the death of three American service members last weekend in Jordan. Housekeeping note: This was (naturally) recorded just hours before the U.S. announced that retaliatory strikes are in fact underway in Iraq and Syria on Fr...

Bill and Joe are joined by their FDD colleague Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power, to discuss yesterday's tragic news of three U.S. service members killed in Jordan.

Bill is joined again by his FDD colleague and expert on all things Lebanon and Hezbollah, David Daoud. They discuss the latest Israeli strikes against Iranian assets in Lebanon, the status of fighting in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, the pervasiveness of the IRGC in Lebanon, why Iran's master proxy strategy is so successful — and why it's so difficult for Washington to understand.

Bill and Joe catch up on the latest news from the Middle East, including U.S. pressure on Israel (led by Secretary of State Blinken) to come to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza while the U.S. also considers withdrawing its own troops from Syria; Israeli casualties in Gaza (including suffering the recent historic loss of 24 IDF reservists); Israeli strikes inside Lebanon; and, yes, more Houthi drama.

Bill and Behnam discuss the recent attacks in Iraq as well as the latest string of Houthi incidents and U.S.-led coalition's response. 

Bill and Joe discuss stats released this week by the IDF pertaining to its operations in Gaza and why escalation at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is "just a matter of time.”

Bill and Behnam unpack the details they’ve been able to gather so far surrounding the U.S. and UK-led coalition strike against Houthi targets inside Yemen and whether this will restore deterrence.  Accurate preview courtesy of Behnam: “We like to say ‘freaky Fridays’ here [we do not] — it can’t get freakier than the first-ever, historic use of force since October 7 by the U.S. and UK against the H...

Joe just returned from Israel and joins Bill to share insights from his trip which included a sobering visit to Nir Oz, one of the kibbutz communities along the Gaza border that was brutally attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023.  Included in Joe’s haunting description of a scene “almost untouched since October 7” and frozen in time: “There’s still blood on the ground. There’s still blood on the wa...

Bill and Behnam unpack this week's headlines from the Middle East, including the assassination of Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri; the U.S. strike that killed Iran-backed militia commander Abu Taqwa Al-Saedi in Iraq (and subsequent drama with the Iraqi government); the U.S.-led coalition dubbed Prosperity Guardian’s “final warning” to the Houthis; and the ISIS bombings at a memorial in Kerman, Ir...

Bill and Behnam are back for what has been dubbed by Behnam as the first and last Freaky Friday of 2023 to discuss news of an alleged Israeli assassination of an IRGC general, context of U.S.-launched strikes against the Hezbollah Brigades after the group targeted U.S. forces at an airbase in Erbil, the latest string of Houthi maritime attacks (remember Operation Prosperity Guardian… yeah…), and t...

Bill and Behnam check in on the U.S.-led coalition formed earlier this week in response to increased maritime aggression from the Iran-backed Houthis — spoiler: France seems to already be backing out. They examine countries noticeably absent from the bloc, like Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. They also ponder the strategic nature of Operation Prosperity Guardian — is it only defensive? How about...

Bill is joined by CDR Salamander to discuss the coalition announced today by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during his trip to the Middle East. The coalition — made up of the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain in partnership with the US — was formed with the objective of “ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea” following the recent uptick i...