Politics Theory Other

On March 2nd, in the early stages of the ongoing attack on Iran by Israel and the United States, and following the assassination of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah launched missile strikes on northern Israel. Hezbollah described the attack as a defensive act after more than a year of near-daily Israeli strikes. Israel has since launched major attacks on Lebanese territory that have killed hundreds, and its evacuation orders have caused a massive displacement of Lebanese civilians.

Nathaniel George returns to PTO to talk about the background to the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the current situation in the country, and about the history of Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

Richard Seymour on the widening war in West Asia. We talked about the current military situation, the confusion around what US and Israeli objectives are, and the divergent responses of European states to the attack. We also talked about how to situate Operation Epic Fury in the context of gradual US decline, and what the prospects are for a revival of the US anti-war movement.

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If you'd like to listen to the rest of this episode of PTO Extra! please consider becoming a £5 supporter at https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

On the ongoing crisis within the Labour Party following the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, over the appointment of Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson to the position of US ambassador. We talked about why the parliamentary Labour party has stepped back from trying to oust Keir Starmer, and whether or not a left turn from the government is now conceivable. We went on to discuss just how devastating the ongoing revelations about Peter Mandelson might prove to be for the government, and about the broader crisis of legitimacy facing the British state and its key institutions.