Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at background briefing.

I'm me and Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We begin with an exploration of how the laws of war, international law and the right of self-defense

apply to the war in Gaza as a civilian death toll in Gaza mounts, and Prime Minister Netanyahu

castigates the world's human and women's rights organizations for not speaking out against the

rape and sexual mutilation of Israeli women by Hamas. Joining us is Samuel Moyne, the Henry

Alouse Professor of Jurisputants at Yale Law School and a professor of history at Yale University.

He has written several books in his fields of European intellectual history,

human rights history and law, including The Last Utopia, Human Rights in History, Not Enough,

Human Rights in an Unequal World, and Humane, How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War.

His latest book is Liberalism Against Itself, Cold War

Intellectuals in the Making of Our Times, and he has an article at the UK's Prospect magazine,

America's Undoing. Then with aid to Ukraine stalled in both the House and the Senate,

we are looking to how much the beleaguered country is falling victim to toxic

US politics and pro-Putin leaders in Europe as Hungary's Orban threatens to veto EU aid to Ukraine.

Joining us is William Arkin, a senior editor at Newsweek, and one of America's premier military experts

who has been a consultant

to wide-ranging organizations, including the United States Air Force, the United Nations Secretary

General, Human Rights Watch, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including The Generals Have No Clothes,

The Untold Story of Our Endless Wars.

His latest book is On That Day, the definitive timeline of 9-11, and his latest article in Newsweek is, Will Saudi Prince MBS become Biden's partner in containing Middle East conflict?

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