Who will deal the final blow? Israel, Lebanon and Hizbullah
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As attention has focused on war in Iran, Israel sees an opportunity to crush a weakened Hizbullah in Lebanon. Our correspondent says it would be far better for the Lebanese state to do so. As south-east Asia is modernising, Islam is counterintuitively gaining greater primacy in civic life. And a tribute to Jürgen Habermas, Germany’s and perhaps Europe’s most prominent intellectual.
Guests and host:
- Gareth Browne, Middle East correspondent
- Sue-Lin Wong, Asia correspondent
- Ann Wroe, obituaries editor
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Lebanon, Hizbullah, Israel, Iran war
- Islam, south-east Asia
- Jürgen Habermas, obituaries
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:08.3 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:13.8 | And I'm Rosie Bloor. |
| 0:15.0 | And I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 0:16.5 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:21.6 | Thank you. Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:29.6 | Many in the West used to think that as people got richer, they'd become less religious. Recent history suggests that may be wrong. |
| 0:32.6 | Our correspondent considers the rise of Islam in Southeast Asia. |
| 0:36.6 | And for seven decades, Jürgen Habermas considers the rise of Islam in Southeast Asia. |
| 0:42.9 | And for seven decades, Jürgen Habermas worried about democracy, |
| 0:48.0 | how to align the fickle needs of polity through civil, rational discourse. |
| 0:50.9 | Our obituaries editor reflects on his life. |
| 1:03.0 | First up, though. |
| 1:16.6 | In Beirut, Lebanon's capital this week, an Israeli strike took down an entire building. Israel obviously has one eye on Iran, its biggest regional foe for decades. |
| 1:23.6 | But while that war rages, it has another eye on Hezbollah, a loyal proxy of the Iranian regime just over its northern border. |
| 1:31.3 | Hezbollah has been weakened, its top ranks thinned out, and now its patron Iran has embroiled in war. |
| 1:38.3 | By now, more than 900 Lebanese people have been killed by Israeli bombardment. A million more have fled the south of the |
| 1:46.0 | country. |
| 1:46.4 | Adakia, you'll see him, Chahuehunis, Toshavei the Fon Shonunuch, Israel's finance minister, |
| 1:56.0 | promised that Dahl, a southern suburb of Beirut would look like Khan Yunus in Gaza when we're done. |
| 2:01.7 | Let's be clear. |
| 2:03.0 | No one will allow Hizbollah to get out of this alive. |
... |
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