
The Bottom Line
A weekly take on US politics and policies and how they affect the world.
Latest episodes

Dec 16, 2023 • 24min
John Mearsheimer: Israel is choosing 'apartheid' or 'ethnic cleansing' | The Bottom Line
Israel has gone far beyond “going after Hamas” in the first 10 weeks of its war on Gaza, according to one of the United States' leading political scientists, John Mearsheimer.He tells host Steve Clemons that murdering hundreds of civilians daily and starving the rest is a “punishment campaign” and “should be unacceptable to decent people all over the world”.In this episode, Mearsheimer, who teaches international relations at the University of Chicago, looks into Israel’s long-term strategies and explains why the elites in the US, Europe and the Arab world are not taking concrete steps to stop Israel’s bombing campaign.Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

Dec 14, 2023 • 24min
Are Biden’s warnings to Israel sparked by fears of 2024 election? | The Bottom Line
University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami says US President Joe Biden is making his decisions on Palestine and Israel “based on personal beliefs, personal preferences, personal emotions,” and “not necessarily driven by a considered assessment of American interests at stake”.Telhami tells host Steve Clemons that Biden’s “inability to show empathy” for the Palestinians is shocking, and that the president’s recent warnings to Israel were driven in part by his calculations for next year’s election.All the talk about plans for “the day after” the war are distractions from the real-time death and destruction in Gaza, Telhami says.

Dec 9, 2023 • 24min
Gaza war unleashes anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim sentiment in the US | The Bottom Line
For expressing their opinions on the Israel-Palestine, many Muslim Americans and Arab Americans have paid a hefty price, including the loss of jobs and suspension from college.Universities across the US are also cracking down on student activism.Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has received double the usual amount of reports of bias and requests for help, according to the executive director, Nihad Awad.Speaking to host Steve Clemons, Awad warns that as the Israeli narrative continues “falling apart”, more attempts to dehumanise the Palestinian people will be seen.Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

Dec 7, 2023 • 24min
Are Israel’s attempts to demoralise the Palestinians backfiring? | The Bottom Line
Some US officials have talked about the need to protect innocent Palestinian lives, but US President Joe Biden has said almost nothing.Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Steven Cook says it was a mistake for Biden to have offered the “bear hug” - full, unconditional support for Israel.Now Biden is stuck in a position of supplying Israel with the means to kill more Palestinians while asking Israel to allow basic food and water into Gaza.Join host Steve Clemons in his wide-ranging conversation with Cook about where the war on Gaza is heading.

Dec 2, 2023 • 24min
On Palestine, the gap between the US right and left is huge | The Bottom Line
For many on the American right, the Palestinians are a proxy for Iran and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel are "criminals".On the left, the Palestinian issue is about a nation striving for freedom.The only thing both sides agree on is that peace and stability are highly unlikely anytime soon.In this episode, host Steve Clemons gets two diametrically opposed takes on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The first is from former US National Security Advisor John Bolton. The second is from the former executive director of Human Rights Watch in the Middle East and North Africa, Sarah Leah Whitson.Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

Nov 29, 2023 • 24min
Is Biden's two-state plan for Israel and Palestine a fantasy? | The Bottom Line
After the war on Gaza, US President Joe Biden says he wants to “reinvigorate” the attempts to create a Palestinian state alongside Israel.But the devil is in the details. After the Hamas attack on Israel, and Israel’s scorched-earth war on Gaza, will either side want to talk about peace and stability? Are Israelis willing to make the compromises that Palestinians would find acceptable, and vice versa?Mara Rudman worked as a Middle East envoy in the Clinton and Obama administrations. She tells host Steve Clemons that US national security interests will force Washington to impose a resolution.

Nov 22, 2023 • 24min
US General Petraeus: Israel's war on Gaza to last for ‘months, not weeks’ | The Bottom Line
Israel has not explained what it seeks to accomplish in its war on Gaza beyond the destruction of Hamas, according to US General David Petraeus, the former director of the CIA and former commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.Petraeus tells host Steve Clemons that the US has no choice but to remain a “steadfast ally” of Israel, lest China and other countries point to Washington’s abandonment of its friends.In this wide-ranging conversation, the former CENTCOM commander added that “there are no hands going up in the region” to volunteer to manage Gaza after the war.Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

Nov 18, 2023 • 24min
Is Biden's stance on Israel out of sync with mainstream America? | The Bottom Line
President Joe Biden's rigid pro-Israel stance would have been considered convention for United States policy 50 years ago."It's not a mainstream position any more," says Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.Alterman tells host Steve Clemons that Hamas's surprise attack on Israel, and Israel's continuing destruction of the Gaza Strip, will force major changes in the political leadership of Palestinians and Israelis.There will be no progress unless Israel makes way for a solution "that gives dignity and some sense of self-determination to the Palestinians," says Alterman.Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

Nov 15, 2023 • 24min
Can the US have an honest debate about Palestine and Israel? | The Bottom Line
When the US Congress voted to censure the only Palestinian-American member of the House, congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, it argued that she was “promoting false narratives” on the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.Journalists Ryan Grim and Katie Halper tell host Steve Clemons that if Congress cannot bear to hear different views on Palestine, it is a worrying sign for American society at large.Many Americans have been fired from their jobs for expressing their opinions, and pro-Palestinian student groups have been banned around the country.But the debate endures as Israel’s war on Gaza rages on.

Nov 11, 2023 • 24min
Should Israel learn from US mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan? | The Bottom Line
In Afghanistan, United States General Stanley McChrystal referred to “insurgent math” to explain how every civilian killed by US forces led to 10 new insurgents.This is the same problem Israel is creating for itself by killing massive numbers of innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to US Representative Seth Moulton, a Marine veteran who fought in Iraq.“I want Israel and Palestine to have peace,” Moulton tells host Steve Clemons. But for that to happen, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to put forth a political solution and “explain to the Palestinians what their future is”.Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News