The Spectator magazine combines incisive political analysis with books and arts reviews of unrivaled authority. Absolutely free. Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher.

Hello and welcome to the Americano podcast, a series of discussions about American power, politics and society.

On each episode, I will talk to an American expert or an expert on America

about something that's going on in America in 2023. I am delighted to be joined today,

and I can say back by popular demand, because the last time we had these two on, their disputations caused a lot

of amusement and intrigue. So I thought we get them on again. I don't know if this topic

is going to be quite so controversial. I think we're going to talk about the Biden administration's

approach to the Middle East and whether it's been successful or disastrous.

I am joined by the laughing Charles Lipson, Professor Charles Lipson, who is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago,

and by Jacob Harbrun, who is a very regular on this podcast, and also editor of the national interest, and the author of a new book, which is out now, is it, Jacob?

February.

Pre-order on Amazon.

Sorry, you can pre-order it.

It's called a Christmas present that will arrive late.

It's called America Last, the right century-long romance with dictators.

Jacob, I will start with you.

You wrote a bit of a fan note for Jake Sullivan in the Washington Post the other day, I think it was.

And I think you're taking the typically contrarian line that the Biden administration seems to know exactly what it's doing in the Middle East and that its policies there have been effective.

Is that your line? Or am I being unfair?

I do not ascribe omniscience to the Biden administration. I do think that they handled it

in a fairly pragmatic fashion. The piece that you're referring to, Freddie, was a response to an

essay in tablet by Jeremy Stern, which flayed National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as a servile lackey of the

...