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

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

We'll begin with Israel's intensifying attacks on Lebanon as the IDF flattens villages in the south,

creating a scorched earth buffer zone while striking a Christian village in the north, killing 18.

Joining us from the UK is for Waz Gersh's, Professor of International Relations

at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and holder of a professorship in

contemporary Middle East studies. He was also the inaugural director of the London School of

Economics Middle East Centre, and his latest book is Making the Arab world, NASA, Katoub, and the clash that shaped the Middle East Center, and his latest book is Making the Arab World, NASA, Khatub, and the clash

that shaped the Middle East. We'll discuss Hezbollah's miscalculation in supporting Hamas,

Netanyahu's delusion that he can reshape the Middle East by eliminating Hezbollah as an Iranian

proxy. Then we'll look into how much Biden and his top officials like Amos Hostin and Brett

McGurk believe that the Middle East can be reshaped by Israeli military power,

along with what kind of retaliation is planned against Iran and how much the Biden

administration is trying to limit the

scope of targets. Joining us is Dr. Trita Parsi, the Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for

Responsible Statecraft. He has served as a professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins

University, New York University, Georgetown University, and George Washington University,

and he's the co-founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council.

His books include Tretcherous Alliance, The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel, and the United States,

and losing an enemy, Obama, Iran, and the triumph of diplomacy.

Then finally, we'll look into reports that armed militias, motivated by disinformation from

Trump and Vance's lies about FEMA's response to the devastation from Hurricane

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