Twenty-five years after 9/11, the United States is again fighting a major war in the Middle East. Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain speak with Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS and a former senior adviser in the Obama administration, and Rob Malley, a senior fellow at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, former U.S. special envoy for Iran, longtime Middle East peace negotiator, and head of the Middle East program at the International Crisis Group.
The conversation covers Ansarallah’s advance in Yemen, the battle over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran and the US duel strategies of economic pressure, the future of U.S. military bases in the Gulf, the collapse of the JCPOA, Iran’s nuclear calculations, and whether Washington has learned the lessons of Iraq, Afghanistan and the broader post-9/11 wars.
0:00 Intro: Oil Tops $105, Saudi-Backed Forces Collapse in Yemen
2:35 How Ansarallah Swept Western Yemen, and Why Now
5:23 Vali Nasr: Iran Will Break Trump’s “New Normal” Before the Midterms
10:50 Can Trump Sustain a Low-Grade War for Two More Years?
17:05 Gulf Disillusionment, From the Iraq War to the JCPOA
20:45 Is American Protection in the Gulf Breaking Down?
23:17 The Gulf’s Two Failed Wagers: U.S. Bases and Détente With Iran
28:55 The Lessons of Losing Wars: Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran
30:05 Who Warned Trump? A Broken Decision-Making Process
33:44 What Iran Would Accept to End the War
39:16 Why the 14-Point MOU Collapsed
42:53 Malley: Failed Wars Have Heavier Consequences
47:16 25 Years After 9/11: Has Washington Learned Anything?
52:22 Malley: Why Iran May Now Want a Bomb
54:45 Nuclear Debate Inside Iran
58:06 Is the U.S. Basing System in the Gulf Coming to an End?
1:03:23 Closing Thoughts and Book Recommendations
