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Generation Jihad Ep. 133 — Striking Houthi targets in Yemen
Bill and Behnam unpack the details they’ve been able to gather so far surrounding the U.S. and UK-led coalition strikes against Houthi targets inside Yemen and discuss 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 Houthis.”
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Generation Jihad Ep. 132 — Joe’s trip to Israel
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.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 131 — Terrorists will be terrorists
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, Iran for slain IRGC-QF commander Qassim Suleimani.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 130 — Million dollar missiles shooting down thousand dollar drones
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 the painful irony of a million dollar missile shooting down a thousand-dollar drone, AKA Iran’s asymmetrical warfare strategy.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 129 — Measuring the prosperity of Operation Prosperity
Bill is joined by Friday co-host Behnam Ben Taleblu to 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 going on the offensive to prevent Houthi attacks in the first place? Bill thinks he’s seen this movie before. It’s the one where they ignore the core of the issue.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 128 — Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Houthis, and CDR Salamander
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 in Houthi aggression and attacks in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 127 — Israel at War: December 18, 2023
Bill and Joe discuss the latest issues emanating from Israel’s defensive war in Gaza, including the tragic death of the three Israeli hostages mistakenly shot by IDF soldiers, the massive labyrinth of tunnels continuing to be discovered by the IDF and controversy surrounding the decision to flood them, and use by Hamas of suicide bombers — Joe explains why one case is different.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 126 — “They don’t pass out candy in war.”
Bill is back with FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu (now also a Generation Jihad co-host, you heard it here first) to unpack and contextualize this week’s headlines stemming from the Middle East. They discuss the politics of diplomacy and analyze recent trips and statements made by key players like Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and President Biden himself; whether U.S. support for Israel is at a crossroads, and what message this could send to U.S. partners and allies (and enemies) around the world; an apparent U.S. intelligence leak estimating that 45%…
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Generation Jihad Ep. 125 — Israel at War: December 11, 2023
Bill and Joe are joined by Seth Frantzman — FDD adjunct fellow and LWJ contributor as well as acting news editor and senior middle east correspondent for The Jerusalem Post — to get his first-hand account of goings on in Israel on and since the attacks on October 7, 2023.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 124 — Israel at War: December 8, 2023
Bill and Joe discuss the latest surrounding Israel at war after the resumption of fighting one week ago and since Israel’s expansion of its ground incursion into southern Gaza.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 123 — The Afghanistan affliction
Bill is joined by Stu Velasco and Zach Popp of The Boardwalk Podcast (also hosted by Kyle Reynolds who couldn’t make it, shoutout Kyle Reynolds) to discuss the trials and tribulations of their time in service to the U.S. during the long war.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 122 — Israel at War: December 4, 2023
Bill and Joe are joined again by FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu to discuss the latest regional updates surrounding Israel’s war against Hamas (and then some).
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Generation Jihad Ep. 121 — Israel at War: December 1, 2023
Bill and Joe are back with an update on Israel’s now-resumed war in Gaza, and they’re joined by FDD Senior Fellow and Hezbollah expert David Daoud. They discuss the latest activity from Hezbollah at Israel’s border with Lebanon, U.S. funding to the Lebanese Armed Forces (or as Bill calls it: “giving crack to a crackhead”), the pieces in play on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s regional chessboard, and more.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 120 — Yes, al Qaeda is still a threat
In a slight detour from our Israel coverage, Bill and Caleb are joined by counterterrorism expert Sara Harmouch to discuss her recent article that sounds like it was written for Long War Journal but was actually written for War on the Rocks, called “Al-Qaeda: A Defeated Threat? Think Again.” They debunk the latest example of President Biden’s insistence that al Qaeda no longer has a presence in Afghanistan and discuss how U.S. rejection of intelligence is neither new nor at odds with its dangerous habit of disconnecting dots pertaining not least of all to al Qaeda.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 119 — Israel at War: November 27, 2023
Bill and Joe are back with an update on the latest from Israel and Gaza, starting with the release by Hamas of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel amidst the backdrop of a still-holding ceasefire. They’re also joined again by FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu to unpack the latest regional aggression covered with Tehran’s fingerprints, including more missiles fired at U.S. and Israeli assets in the region (and why one incident last week was actually a “game-changer”) as well as the latest string of maritime hijackings off the coast of Yemen.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 118 — Israel at War: November 22, 2023
Bill and Joe discuss the ceasefire agreement and expected hostage exchange.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 117 — Israel at War: November 20, 2023
Bill and Joe are back for an update on the latest headlines stemming from Israel’s war in Gaza. They check in on where things stand with Shifa, do a multi-front around the horn to catch up on Gaza, the West Bank, and the northern front with Lebanon and Syria. They also discuss the insanity that is media coverage of Gaza.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 116 — Jihadis on Gaza, OBL on TikTok: “We are living in a South Park episode.”
Bill is back with, plot twist, his long-lost cohost Caleb. They tell you how they really feel about Gen Zs lionizing Osama bin Laden on TikTok and then do an around the horn update on how jihadi groups around the world have (or have not) responded to the war in Gaza.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 115 — Israel at War: November 13, 2023
Bill and Joe are back for an update on Israel’s ground incursion into Gaza, and they’re again joined by their FDD colleague and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu to provide a deeper, more nuanced analysis on Tehran’s role as puppet master to the various terrorist groups in play.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 114 — Israel at War: November 9, 2023
Bill and Joe are back with an update on Israel’s ground offensive inside Gaza. They’re joined by FDD’s David May to discuss international pressure on Israel, trajectories and timelines, rumors about reporters from western outlets receiving tips and then traveling into Israel alongside Hamas on October 7, and more.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 113 — Israel at War: November 7, 2023
Bill and Joe are back to discuss the latest from Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza, including the established civilian corridor. They talk about Netanyahu’s recent remarks — and Nasrallah’s. They also debunk the latest “attempted Abbas assassination” rumors.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 112 — Israel at War: November 1, 2023
Bill and Joe provide a mid-week update on Israel and Gaza — including Joe’s key takeaway from today’s IDF conference call, IDF tactics on the ground inside Gaza (particularly related to the tunnels), Hezbollah propaganda ahead of Hassan Nasrallah’s Friday speech, and more.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 111 — Israel at War: October 30, 2023
The war goes on; rockets are still raining down on central Israel (including Jerusalem) while Israel continues targeting Hamas leaders in Gaza. But… Breaking today and over the weekend: Israeli boots are now on the ground inside Gaza. There was also some IDF activity in Jenin inside the West Bank. Iran’s President Raisi gaslit said on X that, “the Zionist regime’s crimes have crossed the red lines which may force everyone to take action.” While Lebanese Hezbollah is still keeping things at a simmer just below the threshold of all-out war, other Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria are very…
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Generation Jihad Ep. 110 — Israel at War: October 27, 2023
Bill and Joe are back with an update on the latest from Israel and Gaza. Today they’re also joined by their FDD colleague and Turkey expert, Sinan Ciddi, to unpack just how deep Turkey’s relationship is with Hamas.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 109 — Israel at War: October 25, 2023
Bill and Joe are joined again by FDD’s Behnam Ben Taleblu to catch up on and unpack the latest from Israel and Gaza as of mid-afternoon (ET) on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 108 — Israel at War: October 23, 2023
Bill and Joe talk through the latest headlines surrounding Israel and Gaza as of late afternoon (ET) on Monday, October 23, 2023.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 107 — Israel at War: October 20, 2023
At almost two weeks (!) into the war, we remain on standby for Israel’s anticipated ground invasion of Gaza and continue to watch Israel’s northern border for more activity from Hezbollah. And to complicate the already complicated: an incident yesterday on the Red Sea marked the first active engagement by the U.S. in this ongoing war, when the USS Carney shot down missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthis. So for today’s briefing, Bill and Joe called in their FDD colleague and top expert on Iran, Behnam Ben Taleblu.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 106 — Israel at War: October 18, 2023
Bill and Joe convene (plot twist: in-person) to discuss the latest from Israel at war — including the explosion at the hospital in Gaza. (Episode material up to date as of late morning/early afternoon ET on Wednesday, October 18.)
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Generation Jihad Ep. 105 — Israel at War: October 15, 2023
Bill and Joe give an update on the latest from Israel as of later morning/early afternoon (ET) on October 15, 2023.
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Generation Jihad Ep. 104 — Israel at War: October 13, 2023
Bill and Joe give another update on the latest developments from Israel almost one week into the war.
