Ben Rhodes served as deputy national security adviser in Barack Obama’s White House for eight years. He was working with President Obama as Benjamin Netanyahu continued to pressure the US, time and time again, to attack Iran. Obama, says Rhodes, resisted the Israeli prime minister’s pressure campaign, but now under President Donald Trump’s second term, it’s clear that “Netanyahu essentially bullied him [Trump] into this war.”
“Trump’s the first president who couldn’t say no to Netanyahu,” Rhodes, now co-host of ‘Pod Save the World,’ tells Mehdi.
In this wide-ranging interview, Mehdi and Rhodes discuss Israel’s role in provoking this war with Iran, the Democratic Party leadership’s weak response to the conflict, and the events that led up to this disaster during the Obama and Biden presidencies, with Mehdi pressing Rhodes on the following topics:
What Israel’s ultimate objective for Iran is (“They want a failed state.”)
The accusation that calling this “Israel’s war” is antisemitic (“It’s asking us to not see what we’re seeing with our own eyes.”)
Former President Joe Biden’s failure to restore a nuclear deal with Iran (“That was incredibly short-sighted.”)
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s refusal to align with voters on foreign policy (“90% of the Democratic Party doesn’t want to go along with this anymore.”)
The Obama administration’s disastrous decision to do regime change in Libya in 2011, without congressional approval (“I acknowledge the mistakes made.”)
Paid subscribers can watch the whole interview. Free subscribers can watch a 3-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to Zeteo to unlock this episode and the rest of our award-winning content.
Check out Zeteo’s other recent stories:
