Josh Hammer
👤 PersonAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
That's why I mentioned the Trump foreign policy from the first term, this idea. that you will embolden Israel, that you will strengthen U.S.-Israel ties, bring Israel into these peace accords with, in that case, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, and then essentially pass them the baton and say, okay, you know, you guys do your thing because your enemies are our enemies there.
That's why I mentioned the Trump foreign policy from the first term, this idea. that you will embolden Israel, that you will strengthen U.S.-Israel ties, bring Israel into these peace accords with, in that case, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, and then essentially pass them the baton and say, okay, you know, you guys do your thing because your enemies are our enemies there.
When you're knocking off this jihadist or that jihadist, you're basically doing both of us a favor there. And last year, there were actually some very important concrete examples of this. This is actually in chapter six of my book there. So for instance,
When you're knocking off this jihadist or that jihadist, you're basically doing both of us a favor there. And last year, there were actually some very important concrete examples of this. This is actually in chapter six of my book there. So for instance,
There were a few months, Andrew, last year where Israel kind of went on this Michael Corleone kind of godfather-esque, you know, revenge killing spree. And among the leading jihadists that they killed there, they basically took off the entirety of the Hezbollah leadership up to and including Hassan Nasrallah, the longstanding leader itself.
There were a few months, Andrew, last year where Israel kind of went on this Michael Corleone kind of godfather-esque, you know, revenge killing spree. And among the leading jihadists that they killed there, they basically took off the entirety of the Hezbollah leadership up to and including Hassan Nasrallah, the longstanding leader itself.
But before they got Nasrallah, they knocked off two individuals who I like to mention. One guy named Fuad Shakur, the other named Ibrahim Akil. Why do I mention these two guys by name? They were the ones who were responsible for the 1983 Beirut-Lebanon bombings of the U.S. Marine barracks and the U.S. embassy. In fact, the U.S.
But before they got Nasrallah, they knocked off two individuals who I like to mention. One guy named Fuad Shakur, the other named Ibrahim Akil. Why do I mention these two guys by name? They were the ones who were responsible for the 1983 Beirut-Lebanon bombings of the U.S. Marine barracks and the U.S. embassy. In fact, the U.S.
State Department had a $5 and $7 million bounty on those two jihadis' head for over four decades until Israel literally did the job for us there. So this notion that America does not in any way benefit here, this notion that we don't have the same enemies, it's ludicrous. We have exactly the same enemies there. And this is frankly a realist way
State Department had a $5 and $7 million bounty on those two jihadis' head for over four decades until Israel literally did the job for us there. So this notion that America does not in any way benefit here, this notion that we don't have the same enemies, it's ludicrous. We have exactly the same enemies there. And this is frankly a realist way
to focus our resources on the Far East while essentially securing our interests in the region. So it's a perfect fit for a foreign policy realism. This notion that Israel is kind of this antiquated Bush administration neoconservative issue, it's total nonsense. Frankly, actually, a lot of the neocons aren't actually even particularly stalwart supporters.
to focus our resources on the Far East while essentially securing our interests in the region. So it's a perfect fit for a foreign policy realism. This notion that Israel is kind of this antiquated Bush administration neoconservative issue, it's total nonsense. Frankly, actually, a lot of the neocons aren't actually even particularly stalwart supporters.
of the state of Israel there because they're obsessed with the idea of nation building. They're obsessed with the idea of trying to democratize, and they oftentimes get too involved in trying to carve out a brand-new Palestinian Arab state and all the same failed experiments that ultimately met their ruination in Baghdad, Iraq, and so forth there.
of the state of Israel there because they're obsessed with the idea of nation building. They're obsessed with the idea of trying to democratize, and they oftentimes get too involved in trying to carve out a brand-new Palestinian Arab state and all the same failed experiments that ultimately met their ruination in Baghdad, Iraq, and so forth there.
So it's actually the neoconservatives, frankly, who are oftentimes not great supporters there. I happen to think that U.S.-Israel relations are – a perfect fit for a foreign policy realist, MAGA, America first paradigm approach there.
So it's actually the neoconservatives, frankly, who are oftentimes not great supporters there. I happen to think that U.S.-Israel relations are – a perfect fit for a foreign policy realist, MAGA, America first paradigm approach there.
But the broader book, and pardon my filibuster there, but the broader book, Andrew, is making this fundamental case that Jews and Christians also have to be lockstep, arms to arms, linking arms, shoulder to shoulder here. We say the Western civilization is at a crossroads. We're at an inflection point. And I totally agree with that. But I'm also a lawyer, Andrew, and I like to define terms.
But the broader book, and pardon my filibuster there, but the broader book, Andrew, is making this fundamental case that Jews and Christians also have to be lockstep, arms to arms, linking arms, shoulder to shoulder here. We say the Western civilization is at a crossroads. We're at an inflection point. And I totally agree with that. But I'm also a lawyer, Andrew, and I like to define terms.
What is the West? Well, I mean, you know, we kind of sort of know, you know, it's Jerusalem, it's Athens there. But to me, when we say the West, we're really talking above all about the Bible. We're talking above all about the Judeo-Christian heritage. I argue going back all the way to God's revelation to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai, so much of what we take for granted today
What is the West? Well, I mean, you know, we kind of sort of know, you know, it's Jerusalem, it's Athens there. But to me, when we say the West, we're really talking above all about the Bible. We're talking above all about the Judeo-Christian heritage. I argue going back all the way to God's revelation to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai, so much of what we take for granted today