Syria is entering a new phase, and the regional balance of power is shifting. Gulf states, Turkey, and Israel are recalibrating their strategies, while the U.S., Russia, and China assess their next moves. Iran and Hezbollah, once deeply entrenched in Syria, are now facing new challenges. Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its presence in the occupied Golan Heights, and Trump is pressuring Egypt and Jordan to accept Palestinians expelled from Gaza.

Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, joins Rania Khalek to break down these developments and what they mean for the region.

📢 Full episode available for Breakthrough News members. Support the show and access exclusive content at Patreon.com/BreakthroughNews.

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For decades, U.S. imperialism has operated not just through military force but through a vast system of economic coercion, media manipulation, and covert operations. The World Bank, IMF, and USAID present themselves as tools of development, but in reality, they enforce American dominance under the guise of aid.

Now, with Trump and Musk cutting USAID, many see this as a shift, but in reality, it’s just a restructuring of the empire. What does this tell us about the evolving strategies of imperialism? How does economic warfare, soft power, and media complicity allow the U.S. and its allies to maintain control with minimal backlash?

Investigative journalist Matt Kennard, co-founder of Declassified UK and author of The Racket: A Rogue Reporter vs. The American Empire, joins Rania Khalek to expose how U.S. and British intelligence operations, including spy flights over Gaza, are deeply entangled with global imperial control.

🔹 The truth about USAID & soft power

🔹 How the UK secretly enables Israel’s war on Gaza

🔹 U.S. special operations & the role of Keir Starmer

🔹 The media’s complicity in empire’s lies

🔹 What Gaza has exposed about the West

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Following the Gaza ceasefire, Israel is already preparing for its next round of ethnic cleansing with full Western backing. Pro-Palestine activists are facing escalating repression, Trump is pushing a new ethnic cleansing plan, and Israel’s increasing resemblance to fascist regimes is impossible to ignore.

Rania Khalek speaks with Tony Greenstein, a Jewish anti-Zionist, Marxist, and anti-fascist activist, about the historical roots of Zionism, the weaponization of the Holocaust, and the imperialist crackdown on Palestine solidarity.

🚨 The full interview is available exclusively to Breakthrough News members. Support our work and access the full episode by becoming a member at Patreon.com/BreakthroughNews.

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The Palestinian resistance has defied overwhelming military force in Gaza, adapting and surviving despite Israel’s strategy of genocide and starvation. What does this war teach us about asymmetric warfare, military resilience, and the future of anti-colonial resistance? Why has Israel failed to eliminate Palestinian fighters despite its apocalyptic destruction of Gaza? And how has the regional Axis of Resistance, from Yemen to Lebanon, reshaped the battlefield?

To discuss all this and more, Rania Khalek is joined by author and host of the Anti-Empire Project Justin Podur on Dispatches.

💡 Full episode available exclusively to Breakthrough News patrons. Support independent media at Patreon.com/BreakthroughNews.

In this episode of Dispatches, Rania Khalek is joined by author, historian, and journalist Vijay Prashad to discuss how the West’s increasing reliance on violent repression, from Gaza to Cuba, signals not strength, but desperation. Prashad dissects the moral collapse of Western imperialism and the challenges facing the Global South as they navigate an era of “hyperimperial” aggression.

👉 Listen to the full episode by becoming a Breakthrough News member at https://www.patreon.com/BreakthroughNews 

Rania Khalek was joined by historian Ussama Makdisi to discuss 15 months of genocide in Gaza. They explore academic complicity, Gaza’s “scholasticide” (the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s educational institutions), Israel’s expansion into Syria and the Golan Heights, the history of Arab Jews, and the future of resistance in the region.

The full interview is available to Breakthrough News Members only. You can become a member at Patreon.com/BreakthroughNews. 

Ussama’s article discussed in the episode: https://newfascismsyllabus.com/opinions/the-catechism-debate/atonement-at-the-expense-of-another/

Follow the Makdisi Street Podcast, co-hosted by Ussamma, here: https://youtube.com/@makdisistreet?si=lMFydkP1PuQ-PHOo

Rania Khalek hosts a special live episode of Dispatches w/ Ali Abunimah, executive director of the Electronic Intifada and author of “The Battle for Justice in Palestine.” 

The year 2024 has seen so much loss from Gaza to Lebanon, it can be easy to fall into despair. Despite its recent gains, Israel still cannot win, says Palestinian writer Susan Abulhawa. Abulhawa is a novelist, poet, activist and author of many books, including "Mornings in Jenin." 

This is just part of this episode. The full interview with Rania Khalek is available for Breakthrough News Members only. Become a member at https://www.Patreon.com/BreakthroughNews to access the full episode and other exclusive content.

Seismic shifts accross the middle east over the last year, from the genocide in Gaza, to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria to the killing of Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, will reshape the region and force changes in the way resistance operates. 

Rania Khalek was joined by Bashir Saade, an Interdisciplinary Lecturer in Politics and Religion at the University of Stirling and author of the book “Hizbullah and the politics of remembrance.” 

To discuss developments in Syria and the region, Rania Khalek is joined by veteran war correspondent and analyst Elijah Magnier for a special live episode of Dispatches.