Wisdom of Crowds: War in the Middle East, Again

Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic’s “Wisdom of Crowds” podcast invited Matt Duss on to discuss the unfolding crisis in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Duss outlines his expectation that Biden would leverage initial strong support for Israel, support reaffirmed following Hamas’ October 7th attack on Israel and Israeli civilians, into getting Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire. That has not happened, and as the hosts discuss, this is a tragedy, a domestic political failure, and even a failure along the lines of realpolitik, which at least expects some meaningful stability in exchange for permitting cruelty.

“What Israel has achieved over the past few weeks, I think no one would argue is impressive. But… it was no secret that Israel has impressive capabilities,” said Duss.  

“The question is how you turn these tactical successes into strategic gains. And that is where Israel has always failed us. Remember, Hezbollah was created in the wake of a previous special military operation in Lebanon. My concern is what comes out of this one both in Gaza and in Lebanon and potentially elsewhere in the region. Because, not to be cliche, but these are not overall military problems. These are political problems.“

You can listen to the full episode below: