The Wars in Ukraine and Gaza Have Changed. America's Policy Hasn't.
About this episode
Klein interviews Richard Haass about how the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have changed while American policy has not. Haass argues Washington has grown too captive to allies whose goals it does not share. On Gaza, he says quiet persuasion of Netanyahu has failed: the US should pursue a more independent policy, condition the use of American weapons, enforce ordinary arms rules, oppose settlements, and speak directly to Israelis, while preserving the alliance and pursuing a conditional, staged, demilitarized two-state solution. On Ukraine, he contends full military liberation is no longer realistic; America should back Kyiv's defense and eventual diplomacy instead of repeating Zelensky's maximal aims. They discuss Republican aid opposition, Trump and Putin affinity, isolationism, and how both wars expose America's weak playbook for disagreeing with friends — and create domestic political risks for Biden.