Hagar Chemali (Former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) is back in studio with host Ron Steslow to map the widening gap between the Trump Administration's declared aims in the Iran war, and the murky reality now shaping the region and the world.

First they discuss the state of the war with Iran and the supposed negotiations in which the two governments are describing opposite realities—and what it would mean for the US to “finish the job.”

Then, they widen the lens to China, tracing the argument that the campaigns against Iran and Venezuela are less about those countries than about choking off Beijing's energy supply.

Finally, they turn to the information domain and the Singham network, a Chinese Communist Party-aligned financing infrastructure that has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into American left-wing protest infrastructure and the deeper question it raises: how can a liberal society defend itself against foreign information warfare without surrendering the values it is fighting to protect?

In Politicology+, they discuss Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte—a political enforcer with zero intelligence experience—as interim Director of National Intelligence and why it’s essential to understand what was going on behind the scenes in the lead up to Tusli Gabbard’s resignation.

POLITICOLOGY+

Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus.

Watch Oh My World!: https://www.youtube.com/c/ohmyworldwithhagarchemali

SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8

Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com or leave a voicemail at ‪(703) 239-3068‬

Follow this week’s panel on X (formerly Twitter):

https://x.com/RonSteslow

https://x.com/HagarChemali

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices