103: Jonathan Schanzer Jonathan Schanzer discusses Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), calling him a deeply flawed but essential leader driving Saudi modernization and normalization with Israel, with a "pathway to a Palestinian state" as the current diplom
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 November 2025
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
Jonathan Schanzer discusses Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), calling him a deeply flawed but essential leader driving Saudi modernization and normalization with Israel, with a "pathway to a Palestinian state" as the current diplomatic objective, emphasizing that resolving the Gaza situation and achieving broader peace hinges on eliminating Hamas, while the region faces long-term challenges from Iran and Turkey, the latter complicating Israel's security operations in chaotic Syria, with the UN endorsement of the Trump 20-point plan for Gaza reconstruction considered a landmark win.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is CBS I at the world. |
| 0:08.1 | I'm John Batchar. |
| 0:09.1 | I welcome my good colleague, |
| 0:10.4 | Johnson Shanzer, |
| 0:11.4 | Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. |
| 0:14.8 | We go immediately to the White House. |
| 0:17.5 | Times of Israel headline. |
| 0:19.4 | Trump meeting with MBS, |
| 0:21.3 | Muhammad bin Salman, |
| 0:22.2 | the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom, |
| 0:26.2 | touts potential for normalization, does the president. |
| 0:30.0 | The Saudi leader responds, |
| 0:31.6 | according to the reporting in Jerusalem, |
| 0:34.2 | must have a path to two states. |
| 0:37.2 | In the course of this meeting, there was an opportunity for |
| 0:41.9 | both men to go outside and watch a flight of F-35s go over the Washington Monument, either in |
| 0:49.6 | tribute or in authority. I can't tell which, but it was quite a ceremony. |
| 0:55.4 | However, Jonathan, a very good evening to you. |
| 0:58.2 | Muhammad bin Salman has a checkered past. |
| 1:01.3 | The Khashogian Senate is not forgotten. |
| 1:03.3 | In fact, it was asked, I believe, of the president. |
| 1:06.9 | And the quote that I see in the London papers is, |
... |
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