Show Notes
We break down Israel’s deadlocked election and coalition fight, what a possible change in government could mean for Iran policy, and the growing counterintelligence concerns around foreign influence, personnel cuts, and recent Iran-linked activity in Europe. We also discuss whether America has lost the initiative in the Middle East, the debate over restrictive rules of engagement during the War on Terror, and what lessons the U.S. military should actually take from 20 years of war.
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Support the show on Patreon:⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse Jack's news outlet:⬇️ https://thehighside.substack.com/ Find Jon Hackett here:⬇️ Jon's Twitter: https://x.com/jonathanhackett Jon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett Jon's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0C5L659N5?ccs_id=e11a2062-f8d3-498e-bfd7-7d2f3869caf6 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett Twitter: https://x.com/jonathanhackett Find Marc P here: https://x.com/Mpolymer Find Andy Milburn here: Twitter ⬇️ https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fandymilburn8 LinkedIn ⬇️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmilburn2023 Substack ⬇️ https://amilburn.substack.com/ Andy’s book ⬇️ https://www.amazon.com/When-Tempest-Gathers-Mogadishu-Operations
00:00 – Start 00:58 – Israel’s Election Ends in a Deadlock 02:18 – How Israel’s Coalition System Works 03:27 – Could Israel Be Headed for Another Election? 04:16 – Arab Parties Suddenly Hold Major Bargaining Power 05:03 – What Arab Israelis Actually Want From the Government 06:19 – Israel’s Basic Law & the Question of Equality 07:16 – Can Either Side Build a 61-Seat Coalition? 08:48 – What Would an Eisenkot Government Actually Change? 09:37 – Netanyahu vs. Eisenkot on Iran 10:08 – Jared Kushner’s Role in Middle East Policy 11:04 – Inside the U.S. Security Relationship With the Palestinians 12:06 – Netanyahu’s Relationship With Kushner 12:42 – U.S. Military Officers & Foreign Influence Concerns 14:06 – How Does This Happen Without Counterintelligence Scrutiny? 14:27 – Strava, Wearables & Modern OPSEC Failures 17:33 – What Happens When FBI Counterintelligence Teams Get Cut? 18:04 – Offensive vs. Defensive Counterintelligence 19:14 – How Technology Has Changed Counterintelligence Operations 20:32 – Cutting Personnel With a Machete Instead of a Scalpel 21:30 – Losing Mandarin Speakers Inside the Government 22:41 – Iranian-Americans & the Failure to Use Native Expertise 24:14 – Why the U.S. Struggles to Identify Real Regional Experts 24:45 – The Books Intelligence Analysts Should Actually Be Reading 26:44 – What a New Iran Analyst Should Learn First 27:18 – Why Analysts Need to Read the Other Side’s Literature 29:02 – The Ugly American & Understanding Foreign Cultures 30:00 – The RAF Fairford Plot Returns to the News 30:21 – Suspects Go on Trial in the UK 31:16 – The Wider Network Behind the Fairford Case 32:04 – Iran-Linked Operations Across Europe 32:28 – Did a New IRGC Handler Rush the Operation? 33:36 – How the UK Network Was Structured 34:18 – Has Iran Lost Too Many Experienced Intelligence Officers? 34:59 – Sometimes Just Breaching the Base Is the Victory 35:24 – What World War I German Sabotage Can Teach Us 35:57 – Immigration, Brain Drain & America’s Talent Problem 37:05 – Why the U.S. Should Keep Iranian Scientists Here 37:43 – Operation Paperclip & Recruiting Enemy Talent 38:38 – Has America Lost the Initiative in the Middle East? 39:02 – The USS Abraham Lincoln as a Symbol of Strategic Failure 39:31 – “Escalate to Deescalate” & the Failure of Policy 40:14 – The New York Times on Special Operations Podcasts 40:58 – Why The Team House Avoids the Culture-War Trap 41:52 – Did America Lose Because We “Didn’t Take the Gloves Off”? 43:00 – When Rules of Engagement Really Were Too Restrictive 44:04 – The Eight-Hour Targeting
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original airdate 11-3-23
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