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The John Batchelor Show

The American Empire, Israeli Ethos, and the Carthaginian Peace Gaius (John Batchelor) and Germanicus (Michael Vlahos) discuss the enduring influence of the Roman Empire on the American Empire. Their immediate topic is the situation in Gaza, which Gaius de

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

Society & Culture, Arts, News, Books

4.52.8K Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The American Empire, Israeli Ethos, and the Carthaginian Peace

Gaius (John Batchelor) and Germanicus (Michael Vlahos) discuss the enduring influence of the Roman Empire on the American Empire. Their immediate topic is the situation in Gaza, which Gaius defines as a "Carthaginian peace"—total destruction of the enemy, mirroring Rome's leveling of Carthage in 146 B.C.E. Germanicus posits that this outcome results from the convergence of Israeli and U.S. sensibilities. Israel is driven by the axiom Carthago delenda est (Cato the Elder's decree that Carthage must be destroyed), viewing a successful Palestinian state as intolerable. The U.S. is similarly steeped in the ruthless Roman way of war, pursuing victory to complete destruction, a tradition reflected in conflicts like World War II and the destruction of Mosul against the Islamic State. The Israeli ethos, rooted in narratives of destruction visited upon them by figures like Titus and Hadrian, now embraces the spirit of destruction itself. The American imperial ruthlessness, exemplified by historical figures like Robert McNamara, stems from a fierce Calvinist wrath that aligns well with the Zionist narrative. Although the result appears visually and structurally to be a Carthaginian peace, the survival of some Gazans is attributed to a countervailing American vision of the U.S. as a "redeemer nation." The speakers plan to next discuss revenge lawfare, which Cicero practiced.
1907 CARTHAGE

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:02.0

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0:18.0

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0:20.0

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0:28.8

Good evening. I am Caius and I'm joined by Germanicus and our favorite wine bar by the Thames.

0:35.3

We are enjoying ourselves, so the centurians here, reflecting upon not only our century, the first century common era, sometimes called the Americans in

0:41.1

the 20th century have these ways of changing things. We call it AD. We're 91 AD. But we are looking

0:49.2

to the future, to the 21st century, for some observations that apply to Roman times,

0:56.7

but have apparently been transformed in some fashion in American times.

1:02.4

The basis here for our criticism is that Rome is the empire.

1:07.4

This is it.

1:08.9

It lasts 2,000 years and is adopted by subsequent empires after that, using our institutions, our language, our architecture, our understanding of engineering.

1:22.6

Everything is used properly by subsequent empires.

1:31.1

The last to handle it before the American Empire was the British Empire. And the American Empire absorbed that, and it's very good at it. The laws, the

1:37.8

proper understanding of property, understanding of the power of the media conveying information. Certainly the Senate, although the

1:47.7

Americans have two bodies, but it's all one Senate. Certainly the understanding of people being

1:53.7

too powerful to a challenge. Certainly the understanding of the cognizante divided into the omnipresent all-powerful and the plebs.

2:04.4

We understand all that.

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