Al Jazeera Podcasts.

Today, how far will the U.S. let Israel go?

One of the largest attacks on Beirut in decades began as dusk fell over the city and continued long into the night.

The inner workings of the U.S.'s entanglement in another Middle East war.

I'm Malika Bilal and this is the take.

Events are moving quickly as the regional war that everyone feared encroaches in Tel Aviv the sound of sirens reverberated throughout the city and explosions lit up the night skies overhead

now we're hearing that there were reports of the first face-to-face fighting going on there.

Hezbollah, they pushed those Israeli forces back.

The United States has promised that it's standing by Israel,

and has over and over reiterated that it supports Israel's right to defend itself.

Israel has a right to defend itself. We have said from the very beginning, Israel has a right

to defend itself. We have been clear that we support Israel's right to self-defense.

Now, that defense includes sending an estimated additional 3,000 troops on top of the 40,000

U.S. troops already stationed in the Middle East, plus aircraft carriers, a nuclear-powered submarine,

fighter jet squadrons, and a variety of other military equipment.

My guest today is taking us behind the decisions that led us here.

I'm Akbar Shahid Ahmed. I'm the senior diplomatic correspondent at HuffPost, and I'm writing a book on the Biden administration and the war in Gaza.

Akbar, it's really good to have you back on the take.

Anyone who follows you on the social media platform X knows that one of the things that

you are best at is offering these behind-the-scenes admissions from government officials and

from diplomats about policies that sometimes have the rest of us

completely taken aback. So that's what I want to talk about today. And one of your latest

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