Drop Site Livestream

Ryan Grim interviews Yemeni journalist Hussain Al-Bukhaiti on the state of the conflict in Yemen. Al-Bukhaiti told Drop Site that Saudi-backed forces in eastern areas of Al-Jawf are essentially driving around empty desert for the cameras and presenting it as an advance.“They just go to an open area and keep shooting at a hill or a small mountain, and there’s no one there,” he said, adding that the forces are also “sitting ducks” for Ansarallah fighters who hold all the key high ground in the west of the province.Albukhaiti also predicted that oil- and gas-rich Marib province will fall “exactly like Mocha,” saying it “could be easier” because Ansarallah has already sharply limited Saudi air cover.
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00:00–01:01 — Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah Escalate
01:02–03:09 — Advice for MBS & Why Saudi Arabia Broke the 2022 Truce
03:10–05:52 — Ansarallah’s New Demands for Riyadh
05:53–09:22 — What’s Happening in Al-Jawf
09:23–16:10 — Why Saudi-Backed Forces Collapsed on Yemen’s West Coast
16:11–20:41 — Why Ansarallah Went on the Offensive
20:42–26:00 — The Battle for Marib and Ansarallah’s Strategy
26:01–34:39 — Could Saudi Arabia Lose Territory?
34:40–35:52 — Iran, the U.S. and Ansarallah’s Regional Strategy
35:53–38:19 — Red Sea Shipping and Bab al-Mandab
38:20–43:17 — Why Ansarallah Is Detaining UN Aid Workers
43:18–43:42 — Journalism and Closing Remarks


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In the first episode of War Brief, Murtaza Hussain and Sarmad Jawad dig into the latest military updates from around the world, including China's positive overtures to Iran, Donald Trump once again threatening Iran with tactical nuclear weapons, Iran's successful attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan, and more.
We then deep dive into what went into making Ansarallah's drive to capture western Yemen successful. The War Brief is a new show by Drop Site News that covers all things related to major armed conflicts and wars around the world.
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Twenty-five years after 9/11, the United States is again fighting a major war in the Middle East. Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain speak with Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS and a former senior adviser in the Obama administration, and Rob Malley, a senior fellow at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, former U.S. special envoy for Iran, longtime Middle East peace negotiator, and head of the Middle East program at the International Crisis Group.
The conversation covers Ansarallah’s advance in Yemen, the battle over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran and the US duel strategies of economic pressure, the future of U.S. military bases in the Gulf, the collapse of the JCPOA, Iran’s nuclear calculations, and whether Washington has learned the lessons of Iraq, Afghanistan and the broader post-9/11 wars.
0:00 Intro: Oil Tops $105, Saudi-Backed Forces Collapse in Yemen2:35 How Ansarallah Swept Western Yemen, and Why Now5:23 Vali Nasr: Iran Will Break Trump’s “New Normal” Before the Midterms10:50 Can Trump Sustain a Low-Grade War for Two More Years?17:05 Gulf Disillusionment, From the Iraq War to the JCPOA20:45 Is American Protection in the Gulf Breaking Down?23:17 The Gulf’s Two Failed Wagers: U.S. Bases and Détente With Iran28:55 The Lessons of Losing Wars: Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran30:05 Who Warned Trump? A Broken Decision-Making Process33:44 What Iran Would Accept to End the War39:16 Why the 14-Point MOU Collapsed42:53 Malley: Failed Wars Have Heavier Consequences47:16 25 Years After 9/11: Has Washington Learned Anything?52:22 Malley: Why Iran May Now Want a Bomb54:45 Nuclear Debate Inside Iran 58:06 Is the U.S. Basing System in the Gulf Coming to an End?1:03:23 Closing Thoughts and Book Recommendations


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Jeffrey Sachs joins Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain to discuss how Washington’s delusions about American power are fueling wars abroad and a financial bubble at home.
Drawing on his firsthand experience advising Russia at the Soviet Union’s collapse and decades studying Asia’s economic rise, Sachs traces the roots of America’s belief that it can dominate the world. He explains why efforts to isolate Iran and Russia are failing, how U.S. sanctions are pushing countries toward alternatives to the dollar, and what he saw on a 15,000-kilometer road trip from Rome to Hong Kong this summer.
Sachs also argues that soaring U.S. stock valuations rest on a dangerous assumption: that American technological supremacy will endure. With China challenging that dominance, he warns of a “major financial correction” as Washington’s “geopolitical bubble” fuels a financial bubble that he argues is destined to burst.
0:00 Sitting Across From Yeltsin in 19911:44 The Gap Between Washington and Reality6:00 European Dominance: A 200-Year Fluke15:15 Yeltsin and the Unipolar Moment17:00 Watching Asia Catch Up: From Rome to Hong Kong32:07 Why Europe Rose & America’s Inherited Grandiosity38:10 You Can’t Isolate Iran or 42% of the World47:23 The Weaponized Dollar Is a Wasting Asset58:07 The Global Bond Selloff: Where Is the Money Going?1:00:13 The Geopolitical Bubble and the Coming Financial Correction



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Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan was recently taken from prison to hospital for medical treatment amid reports of his failing health in custody, including continued loss of eyesight in his right eye. The fate of Khan, the country’s most popular politician, has held politics in limbo in the nuclear-armed country of 240 million for the past three years. While the ruling military junta has expanded its ties with Washington, and begun building new alliances with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, domestic political and economic conditions continue to deteriorate within Pakistan itself—including brutal military crackdowns on protests in the province of Kashmir, insurgencies in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and rampaging inflation nationwide triggered in part by the ongoing Iran War.
On this week’s episode of the Drop Site News livestream, host Murtaza Hussain discusses the fate of Khan and the future of Pakistan with Drop Site reporter Waqas Ahmed.
Later in the episode, Murtaza is joined by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, head of the Bourse and Bazaar Foundation economic think tank to discuss the status of the Iran War, including the dueling blockades over the Strait of Hormuz and economic impact of U.S. sanctions on civilians in Iran. Batmanghelidj also provides a prognosis on the future of the conflict, which has shifted to an economic siege amid the U.S. Treasury declaration of an “Economic D-Day” against Iran this week, while giving an analysis of whether these measures will lead to compromise or escalation in the current standoff.



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