Generation Jihad

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 131 — Terrorists will be terrorists Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

Bill and Behnam unpack this week's headlines from the Middle East, including the assassination of Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri; the U.S. strike that killed Iran-backed militia commander Abu Taqwa Al-Saedi in Iraq (and subsequent drama with the Iraqi government); the U.S.-led coalition dubbed Prosperity Guardian’s “final warning” to the Houthis; and the ISIS bombings at a memorial in Kerman, Iran for slain IRGC-QF commander Qassim Suleimani.

Ep. 130 — Million dollar missiles shooting down thousand dollar drones Dec 30, 2023

Show notes

Bill and Behnam are back for what has been dubbed by Behnam as the first and last Freaky Friday of 2023 to discuss news of an alleged Israeli assassination of an IRGC general, context of U.S.-launched strikes against the Hezbollah Brigades after the group targeted U.S. forces at an airbase in Erbil, the latest string of Houthi maritime attacks (remember Operation Prosperity Guardian… yeah…), and the painful irony of a million dollar missile shooting down a thousand-dollar drone, AKA Iran’s asymmetrical warfare strategy.

Ep. 129 — Measuring the prosperity of Operation Prosperity Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

Bill and Behnam check in on the U.S.-led coalition formed earlier this week in response to increased maritime aggression from the Iran-backed Houthis — spoiler: France seems to already be backing out. They examine countries noticeably absent from the bloc, like Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. They also ponder the strategic nature of Operation Prosperity Guardian — is it only defensive? How about going on the offensive to prevent Houthi attacks in the first place?

Bill thinks he's seen this movie before. It's the one where they ignore the core of the issue.

Ep. 128 — Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Houthis, and CDR Salamander Dec 20, 2023

Show notes

Bill is joined by CDR Salamander to discuss the coalition announced today by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during his trip to the Middle East. The coalition — made up of the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain in partnership with the US — was formed with the objective of “ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea” following the recent uptick in Houthi aggression and attacks in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area.

Ep. 127 — Israel at War: December 18, 2023 Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

Bill and Joe discuss the latest issues emanating from Israel's defensive war in Gaza, including the tragic death of the three Israeli hostages mistakenly shot by IDF soldiers, the massive labyrinth of tunnels continuing to be discovered by the IDF and controversy surrounding the decision to flood them, and use by Hamas of suicide bombers — Joe explains why one case is different.

Ep. 126 — "They don't pass out candy in war." Dec 15, 2023

Show notes

Bill is back with FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu (now also a Generation Jihad co-host, you heard it here first) to unpack and contextualize this week's headlines stemming from the Middle East.

They discuss the politics of diplomacy and analyze recent trips and statements made by key players like Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and President Biden himself — and whether U.S. support for Israel is at a crossroads, and what message this could send to U.S. partners and allies (and enemies) around the world; an apparent U.S. intelligence leak estimating that 45% of Israeli munition used in Gaza has not been precision-guided; and more.

Ep. 125 — Israel at War: December 11, 2023 Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

Bill and Joe are joined by Seth Frantzman — FDD adjunct fellow and LWJ contributor as well as acting news editor and senior middle east correspondent for The Jerusalem Post — to get his first-hand account of goings on in Israel on and since the attacks on October 7, 2023.

Ep. 124 — Israel at War: December 8, 2023 Dec 09, 2023

Show notes

Bill and Joe discuss the latest surrounding Israel at war after the resumption of fighting one week ago and since Israel's expansion of its ground incursion into southern Gaza.

Ep. 123 — The Afghanistan affliction Dec 08, 2023

Show notes

Bill is joined by Stu Velasco and Zach Popp of The Boardwalk Podcast (also hosted by Kyle Reynolds who couldn't make it, shoutout Kyle Reynolds) to discuss the trials and tribulations of their time in service to the U.S. during the long war.

About the guests

Stu, Zach, and Kyle met in 2016 while working in the Kandahar Intelligence Fusion Cell (KIFC) at TAAC-S. Stu was the Uruzgan Provincial Analyst, Zach the Kandahar Provincial Analyst, and Kyle the Political-Military (Green and White) Analyst. They created The Boardwalk Podcast in May 2021. Support their show here — and check out their recent episode with Bill here.

Stu Velasco

Stu joined the Army as an All Source Intelligence Analyst in 2011 and upon completion of Airborne school was assigned to 1^st BN, 3^rd SFG at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), North Carolina. Stu deployed to Afghanistan 3 times, supporting SOTF-E, SOTF-NE, and SOTF-A operations in Afghanistan. After leaving the Army in 2016, returned to Afghanistan as a contractor, providing intelligence support to conventional operations at Kandahar Airfield and FOB Lightning in Paktiya. He switched contracts in late 2017 to a Forward Supporting Engineer role providing training and upkeep with intelligence systems (mainly Palantir) with Special Forces, Rangers, and conventional forces throughout Afghanistan until March 2020.

Zach Popp

Zach joined the Army as an All Source Intelligence Analyst in 2008 and was assigned to XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Zach deployed to Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq with XVIII Airborne Corps in 2010 in support of Operation New Dawn. Upon redeployment, he was assigned to I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Zach left the Army in 2015 and went to Afghanistan in 2016 as a contractor, providing intelligence support to Train, Advise, Assist Command-South and TF Warhawk at Kandahar Airfield.

Ep. 122 — Israel at War: December 4, 2023 Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Bill and Joe are joined again by FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu to discuss the latest regional updates surrounding Israel's war against Hamas (and then some).

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