Recorded Thursday, 5 December 2024. Three days before the Assad regime's fall.

An episode for Syria & Lebanon. Hosted by Ralph Baydoun (founder of Influeanswers) with George Wardini (director of PolyBlog) and Ronnie Chatah (host of The Beirut Banyan).

Ralph Baydoun leads the discussion and posits 'resistance'-focused counter narratives to neutrality and sub-state disarmament discourse. The conversation includes the potential for Israeli settlements in southern Lebanon, communities allegedly abandoned by the state, liberation as a so-called just means for continued armed struggle, the Lebanese army's limits in offensive and defensive measures, and how ideology and misinformation leads to false assumptions.

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Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

2:48 Up to the Litani

8:17 Ultranationalism

13:03 Settlement literature

17:25 Vulnerability

22:18 Dreams & religion

28:40 Constant war in Lebanon

30:02 Indefensible borders

37:13 Abandoned by the state

42:27 Sectarianism & sacrifice

51:45 The Syrian regime

53:47 Foreign involvement

1:00:21 Expansion & retreat

1:03:51 Liberation in itself

1:07:14 In the name

1:11:59 Warlike reasons to fight

1:14:45 The Lebanese army

1:16:41 A winning argument

1:21:51 Resistance