Podcasts

Former US ambassador to Israel, assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs, special assistant to President Clinton and special envoy under President Obama for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations Martin Indyk speaks on his latest book, Master of The Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy, which is based on hours of conversations with the storied American diplomat and takes a deep dive into archival records to shed light on a watershed period in the history of the Middle East.

Amberin Zaman, senior correspondent for Al-Monitor, discusses her reporting from northeastern Syria, including the devastating effect of the worst drought in seven decades;  why SDF leader Mazloum Kobane doesn’t expect a Turkish attack, but is disappointed by US policy on Syria;  how increasing tensions between Turkey and Russia over Ukraine could impact Syria;  the tragedy of Syria’s camels; and more!

Links:

-Turkey's war of attrition against Syria's Kurds (Al-Monitor)

-Camels weep as their young perish in Syria's killer drought (Al-Monitor)

-Syrian Kurdish commander says Russia opposes further Turkish land grabs (Al-Monitor)

-Erdogan’s latest threats in Syria test limits with Biden, Putin (Al-Monitor)

Ben Caspit speaks this week with Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg. The minister explains that while Israel is a small country in terms of population and its contribution to global pollution, it is also very fragile in terms of the effects of climate change such as bush fires and floods. The latter are expected to increase heavily in the upcoming years, which is why Israel must react rapidly. Zandberg says that Israel must now invest most of its resources not in looking for more natural gas marine fields, but in developing renewable energy resources, with emphasis on solar energy. "We have to do this very quickly, because we are way, way behind," she notes.

Links:

-Israel, Jordan to sign solar/water cooperation deal in Dubai - Al-Monitor

-New environment minister has ambitious plans for Israel - Al-Monitor

-At OECD, Israel joins global battle against climate change - Al-Monitor

As the coronavirus crisis continues to grip the world, the markets have been on the shakiest ground yet since the 2008 economic recession - especially with regards to the price of oil. In the last few years, Saudi Arabia and Russia have developed a special relationship to stabilize oil prices in the face of growing competition from the Americans, who for the first time has begun to outpace both countries in terms of production. But when demand for oil began to fall precipitously in the face of COVID-19, the relationship ended in a messy way. Phil and Cooper break down the bad breakup and how it’s affected economies worldwide.

• Russia might not be ready for long-term OPEC commitment (Nikolay Kozhanov)
• Russia hoping to outdo Saudis over time in coronavirus-hit oil market (Max Suchkov)
• Does Moscow's withdrawal from OPEC-plus deal end Russia-Saudi honeymoon? (Nikolay Kozhanov)
• Intel: How the US is relying on Riyadh to reassure global markets (Elizabeth Hagedorn)

Extra Listening

• Episode #114, Double Double, Oil and Trouble (9/27/2019): Exploring the special relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia in the face of attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.

Music: Elman - “Антигерой” (Spotify)