A conversation with Michael Young - senior editor at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut and editor of Diwan, Carnegie's Middle East blog.

Covering latest Iranian and Israeli attacks, symbolism & psychological notions of victory, US policy vis-a-vis Israel and inherent obstacles towards Israeli-Palestinian peace, the lack of good options for Lebanon and an indefinitely stalled Baadba process.

Read his recent pieces for Diwan:

https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/experts/1258

Previously, Michael Young was opinion editor, as well as a columnist, for the Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon. He writes a biweekly commentary for the National (Abu Dhabi) and is author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle. The book was selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of its ten notable books of 2010, and won the Silver Prize in the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s book prize competition of 2010.

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0:00 Intro

1:12 Latest Iranian strike

5:54 Israel & escalation

8:12 Netanyahu’s positioning

10:32 Significance & symbolism

16:18 US posture vis-a-vis Israel

23:40 Hezbollah-Iranian relations

30:58 A two-front war

32:58 Lebanese front

35:10 Northern Israeli factors

37:20 Defeating Hamas?

38:52 Hezbollah & ‘victory’

43:16 Psychological gains

47:32 ‘Legitimization’

50:00 Drones above Israel

53:18 Machine functionality

55:31 US policy shifts

58:10 Biden & elections

1:04:51 Arab-Israeli ‘peace’

1:12:37 Possible partition

1:16:01 No options for Lebanon

1:18:45 US-led pressure

1:22:17 Lebanese Forces & Baabda

1:27:31 Record your voice