Generation Jihad
184 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago -The war against Islamic Jihadism is defining generations. It was our father’s war, it’s our war, and will most likely be our children’s war. The FDD' s Long War Journal team has been researching and reporting for over two decades on the jihadists fueling this terror. “Generation Jihad” features LWJ Editors Bill Roggio and Caleb Weiss as they diagnose the black and white motivations behind the world’s most notorious terrorists, report on their expanding malign activities, and offer their prescriptions for confronting the multi-generational menace that is Islamic Jihadism.
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Episodes
Ep. 176 — Israel’s new normal with Hezbollah
June 04, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 65.7 MBBill is joined by his FDD colleague and GJ regular David Daoud for an update on Israel’s skirmish with Hezbollah at its northern border.
Ep. 175 — Afghanistan’s emerging resistance movement
June 03, 2024 02:00 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBThe botched U.S. withdrawal in 2021 left behind a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan with al-Qaeda running training camps using abandoned American military equipment. Terrorism confined by the borders of Afghanistan until history repeats itself and it isn’t. Luckily, a major resistance movement is taking shape in Afghanistan and attempting to organize against the Taliban. To learn about three groups that have emerged at the forefront Bill is joined by Will Selber, retired Middle East Foreign Ar...
Ep. 174 — Attrition Warfare
June 01, 2024 02:46 - 38 minutes - 35 MBBill and Behnam catch up on new Houthi activity, reports of the Iranian regime leveraging criminal groups in Sweden to target Israeli and Jewish interests, and an update on the most expensive piece of performance art in history, the floating humanitarian aid pier in Gaza.
Ep. 173 — Who was Ebrahim Raisi, AKA the Butcher of Tehran?
May 24, 2024 22:30 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBBill and Behnam discuss the helicopter crash in northern Iran that killed multiple regime officials, chief among them Ebrahim Raisi who was President of the Islamic Republic and a top contender to be the next Supreme Leader. Was it an accident? Given the Islamic Republic’s constitutional mandate that elections be held to replace Raisi, who might be the next president? What does the president even do? What will it mean for Iran’s foreign and security policy They also revisit Raisi’s history...
Ep. 172 — Afghanistan autopsy: General Miller
May 23, 2024 17:00 - 42 minutes - 39 MBBill is joined again by our most special guest, Long War Journal/Generation Jihad OG and now senior fellow at Just Security Thomas Joscelyn, to unpack another marathon, closed-door HFAC testimony. This time, the more than 200 pages of testimony they sifted through is from General Miller, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan during the botched withdrawal. They discuss testimony highlights, including when Gen. Miller throws shade at Bill and Tom but in the same breath admits that “they had it r...
Ep. 171 — Weekend update: more gasoline poured on dumpster fire
May 20, 2024 20:19 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBBill and Joe catch up on the last few days of headlines, including the helicopter crash that killed the Iranian president and foreign minister and whether this will impact Israel’s defensive war in Gaza; the International Criminal Court’s issuing of arrest warrants for Hamas leaders in addition to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant; the situation in Rafah; an airstrike in the West Bank; and Israel recovering the bodies of four hostages.
Ep. 170 — An update from the Department of What Could Go Wrong
May 17, 2024 20:20 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBBill and Behnam catch up on the latest round of American ambivalence in the face of vessels harassed, allies shot at, and drones dropping from the sky in addition to other headlines related to the Islamic Republic this week, including the regime’s willingness to share information concerning its nuclear advancements and a former IRGC commander with loose lips gave a precise breakdown of every single type of drone and missile fired at Israel last month.
Ep. 169 — The Houthi Origin Story
May 16, 2024 18:30 - 1 hour - 71.6 MBBill is joined by Long War Journal regular and long-time friend of the show Edmund Fitton-Brown to talk about the Houthis. If you're here, you've heard of them — but how much do you actually know about them? What is their relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran? Why are they in Yemen? Edmund previously served as the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Yemen, a role which required him to negotiate and spend a significant amount of time in close quarters with Houthi leaders. He details som...
Ep. 168 — The U.S.-Israel impasse
May 14, 2024 02:30 - 46 minutes - 42.7 MBBill and Joe discuss the current low lows of U.S.-Israel relations as Israel prepares to proceed with finishing its stated goal of defeating Hamas without the blessing of its closest ally.
Ep. 167 — Rafah red lines
May 10, 2024 19:45 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBIsrael’s operation in Rafah officially underway and met with the threat of pausing military aid from the Biden administration. Bill and Behnam discuss the potential consequences and ripple effects.
Ep, 166 — Bill and Tom's Excellent Debunking
May 10, 2024 01:00 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBOn November 8, 2023, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs conducted a closed-door interview with Zalmay Khalilzad, the Former Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation and master architect of the Doha Agreement which cemented the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. Many items of interest came up during the marathon meeting, including Long War Journal. If you know, you know. Bill poured over transcripts of the nearly ten hours-long interview, and he had help from none other tha...
Ep. 165 — Israel's boiling point (BONUS: Joe goes to a "protest")
May 06, 2024 23:30 - 44 minutes - 40.6 MBBill and Joe catch up on top Israel headlines, including this weekend’s attack by Hamas that killed four IDF soldiers and in which the Iron Dome was curiously not activated to intercept the rocket fire; the issues of humanitarian aid, pier, and port; the anticipated Rafah operation; the concept of a permanent ceasefire; the cycle of civilians being kidnapped and held hostage by armed Palestinian groups; reports of the U.S. withholding a shipment of military aid to Israel; an update on the ee...
Ep. 164 — Hezbollah Hold 'Em
May 02, 2024 02:30 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBBill is joined again by his FDD colleague and show regular David Daoud to unpack issues raised in David’s latest piece for The Wall Street Journal, “Hezbollah Stumbles Into a War of Attrition.” They also catch up on adjacent matters concerning Israel’s ground war in Gaza and the dumpster fire engulfing American "institutions of higher education.”
Ep. 162 — Something went boom in Isfahan
April 23, 2024 00:30 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBIs anything more on-brand than seismic geopolitical events co-occurring with Bill’s family vacation? No. Bill is back and leaning on co-host Joe Truzman to help him piece together the events of last week. He doesn’t want it to be “a what-the-hell-happened episode,” so we won’t call it that. They revisit Iran’s historic strike on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory strike in Isfahan, Iran — including what targets they hit, what message they wanted to send by hitting them, and whether this was t...
Ep. 161 — A Jihad for Knowledge
April 20, 2024 01:00 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBAnother co-host takeover ("Freaky Friday edition"): Behnam is joined by his friend, former FDD colleague, and top expert on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ali Alfoneh, now with The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. They discuss this week's historic conflagration between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel.
Ep. 160 — Slaughtering sacred cows
April 15, 2024 23:30 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBIn a special co-host takeover, Behnam and Joe discuss the Islamic Republic's unprecedented attack on Israel this weekend.
Ep. 159 — Six months of war in Gaza and Hamas still ≠ ISIS
April 12, 2024 20:00 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBBill is joined by LWJ’s Seth Frantzman just after the six-month mark of Israel’s defensive war in Gaza resulting from the October 7 attack by Hamas. They discuss Seth’s latest visit to border communities in Israel and whether there’s a realistic timeline for still-evacuated citizens to return, disturbing reports that Hamas has apparently lost track of which hostages are dead or alive, and Tehran’s possible response to Israel’s April 1 assassination of an IRGC-QF commander in Damascus as we e...
Ep. 158 — Gaza: Who's handcuffing whom?
April 08, 2024 23:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBBill and Joe read between the lines and try to make sense of the IDF's withdrawal from Khan Younis.
Ep. 157 — A Quds Day special
April 05, 2024 22:00 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBBill, Behnam, and Joe discuss the Israeli airstrike in Damascus that took out a senior IRGC-QF commander, Israel on high-alert after Iran vows revenge, Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s statement about the slain leader, whether the Biden administration has finally turned on Israel, and today’s holiday: Quds Day.
Ep. 156 — Is global jihad having a 'comeback'? "They never left, bro."
April 03, 2024 21:00 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBBill and co-host Caleb catch up on the latest goings on related to the global jihad, including why the Islamic State’s Moscow attack should surprise no one; Shabaab’s rampage in Somalia and the prospect for the state’s survival; rumors that Saif al-Adel’s son has died; and fireworks on the Af-Pak border when the Pakistanis launched airstrikes apparently targeting members of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.
Ep. 155 — Hamas in Turkey
April 01, 2024 21:00 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBBill and Joe are joined by their FDD colleagues Sinan Ciddi and Melissa Sacks to discuss Turkey's status as a permissive jurisdiction for terrorist organizations, particularly Hamas — and why the outcome of yesterday's elections in Turkey might signal that a change is coming.
Ep. 154 — The Islamic Republic of Iran's Axis of Resistance
March 28, 2024 18:30 - 1 hour - 77 MBBill, co-host Behnam, and long-time friend of the show Edmund Fitton-Brown preview and share insights from a project they’ve been working on concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran’s axis of resistance. They discuss Tehran’s extensive track record of not playing by the rules — and not paying a price for it — as well as the origins of conflict between Iran and the West from before the 1979 revolution to tapping their regional proxies on and after October 7, 2023 to target Israeli and American...
Ep. 153 — Why is the U.S. helping Hamas?
March 25, 2024 22:00 - 36 minutes - 33 MBBill and Joe catch up on a few important headlines related to Israel’s defensive war in Gaza, including U.S. claims that a senior leader of Hamas has been killed while Israel and Hamas have both remained mum; the Rafah operation hold-up; the ramifications of abstaining from the UN Security Council vote on a ceasefire and other recent actions by the U.S. that ultimately help Hamas.
Ep. 152 — About that Afghanistan hearing yesterday...
March 20, 2024 18:00 - 18 minutes - 17.4 MBFlying solo for this episode, Bill shares his thoughts on yesterday's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing with Generals Milley and McKenzie — including the questions they *should* have asked (but failed to).
Ep. 151 — They don't pass out candy in war, but they do air-drop meals
March 15, 2024 23:30 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBBill and Behnam catch up on recent headlines, including the statement made by a U.S. senator pushing for regime change (spoiler: he was not talking about Iran), reports of a high-level meeting between Iranian and Hezbollah officials, the Houthis continuing their maritime attacks, and more.
Ep. 150 — Red lines, ceasefires, and humanitarian aid piers
March 11, 2024 23:30 - 37 minutes - 34 MBBill and Joe unpack the undertaking of the pier to be built by the U.S. off the coast of Gaza for the purpose of distributing aid (but without boots on the ground?) including some of their general concerns like, "Who is the aid handed off to, Hamas? Who the hell is going to secure this thing?" They also discuss President Biden's statement that Israel operating inside Rafah would be "a red line," how Ramadan has started with no ceasefire in sight, and details surrounding a high-value target ...
Ep. 149 — Welcome to Port Gaza?
March 08, 2024 20:30 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MBDavid Daoud joins Bill to discuss President Biden’s announcement that the U.S. military will establish a functional port off the coast of Gaza for the purpose of distributing aid (what could possibly go wrong) as well as the state of Israel’s (increasingly multi-front) war.
Ep. 148 — Ceasefire fallacies
March 06, 2024 20:05 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBBill and Joe discuss Hezbollah continuing to turn up the heat at Israel's northern border with an uptick in cross-border attacks amidst foreign fighters also emerging in Lebanon and while the U.S. increases its pressure on Israel to enter a ceasefire before Ramadan.
Ep. 147 — Tehran slowly tightens its noose around the Middle East
March 01, 2024 22:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBBill, Behnam and Joe discuss a few of this week’s biggest headlines including reports of Israel assassinating an IRGC advisor in Syria, escalation by Hezbollah at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and the results of Iran’s parliamentary elections.
Ep. 146 — Update from Israel
February 29, 2024 01:30 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBSeth Frantzman is back on the show with Bill to provide an update from his perspective on the ground in Israel.
Ep. 145 — Israel is winning, but it hasn’t won yet.
February 26, 2024 22:00 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBBill and Joe discuss the latest updates from Israel’s defensive war in Gaza, including a potentially dwindling supply of ammunition for Hamas and its subsequent cooperation with other Palestinian terror groups; Egypt “fortifying” its border (but only above-ground and only because they want to keep Gazans out); whether Yahya Sinwar is still hiding out in a tunnel somewhere under Khan Younis (“with pneumonia”); the possibility and consequences of a ceasefire during Ramadan; and why Israel is i...
Ep. 144 — Battlefield innovation by Iran and proxy: “Expect more not less”
February 23, 2024 23:00 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBBill and Behnam discuss reports of Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia and the potential for subsequent U.S. sanctions on Tehran (and why that’d be insufficient); why the head of the IRGC Quds Force allegedly paid a recent visit to Iraq; an update on the Houthi-Gulf of Aden-Bab al Mandeb-Red Sea theater, including a new underwater drone threat and why if we happen to see the Iranians “de-escalate” in one theater it’s because they’re preparing to escalate in another (and not because the...
Ep. 143 — Biden’s Crippling Fear of Escalation, Part 387
February 16, 2024 20:30 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MBBill and Behnam discuss the status of U.S. posture in the Middle East, including whether deterrence has been restored and how the U.S. could be more proactive in Syria and Iraq (but wait, do we even have a partner in Baghdad?); the unclaimed rocket attack (by Hezbollah) on the northern Israeli city of Safed; Iran’s recent missile launches (speaking of… just how close are they to being able to build and launch a nuclear weapon?); and why the cyberattack just conducted by the U.S. on an allege...
Ep. 142 — With Israel's friends like these...
February 12, 2024 21:30 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBBill and Joe catch up on the latest headlines from the war in Gaza. They discuss the IDF's operation along Gaza's border with Egypt in Rafah, which last night included the rescuing of two hostages; how Hamas fighters are resurfacing in Khan Younis; and the uncomfortably palpable uptick in international pressure on Israel as it continues its defensive war, most notably from the U.S. They also start to unpack some of this UNRWA baggage, like the newly-discovered Hamas operations hub found be...
Ep. 141 — PSA: "Iran + Iran ≠ anything other than Iran"
February 09, 2024 23:30 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBThis episode features the most special guest to join Generation Jihad in two years: Thomas Joscelyn. Bill's OG partner in crime is back on the show to discuss the newest variant of Disconnect-the-Dots Disease and its primary benefactor — who also happens to be the arsonist behind the dumpster fire currently engulfing the Middle East — and the dangerous cost of American ambivalence.
Ep. 140 — New UN report on al Qaeda and Islamic State: here's what to know
February 06, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 79.3 MBBill and Caleb are joined again by Edmund Fitton-Brown — former coordinator of the UN’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team — to discuss the group’s latest report on the threat posed by al Qaeda and the Islamic State. They unpack the report’s highlights and key takeaways, including uncertainty surrounding the new IS leader and why the reason behind it could be “earth-shattering;” West Africa’s slide into even deeper chaos; how only one ‘member state’ (🤔) denied that al Qaeda’s...
Ep. 139 — A little less conversation, a little more targeting (please)
February 02, 2024 19:30 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBBill is joined again by FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power CMPP) senior director Bradley Bowman to discuss broader U.S. military posture in the Middle East amidst the the death of three American service members last weekend in Jordan. Housekeeping note: This was (naturally) recorded just hours before the U.S. announced that retaliatory strikes are in fact underway in Iraq and Syria on Friday, February 2. Keeping this in mind while listening, all points are still relevant. Stay ...
Ep. 138 — The Iran-backed murder of three Americans in uniform
January 29, 2024 22:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBBill and Joe are joined by their FDD colleague Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power, to discuss yesterday's tragic news of three U.S. service members killed in Jordan.
Ep. 137 — Lebanese Hezbollah 101
January 27, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBBill is joined again by his FDD colleague and expert on all things Lebanon and Hezbollah, David Daoud. They discuss the latest Israeli strikes against Iranian assets in Lebanon, the status of fighting in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, the pervasiveness of the IRGC in Lebanon, why Iran's master proxy strategy is so successful — and why it's so difficult for Washington to understand.
Ep. 136 — H is for Hamas... and Hezbollah (and Houthi)
January 24, 2024 22:30 - 42 minutes - 38.5 MBBill and Joe catch up on the latest news from the Middle East, including U.S. pressure on Israel (led by Secretary of State Blinken) to come to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza while the U.S. also considers withdrawing its own troops from Syria; Israeli casualties in Gaza (including suffering the recent historic loss of 24 IDF reservists); Israeli strikes inside Lebanon; and, yes, more Houthi drama.
Ep. 135 — The Houthis are not deterred
January 20, 2024 00:30 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBBill and Behnam discuss the recent attacks in Iraq as well as the latest string of Houthi incidents and U.S.-led coalition's response.
Ep. 134 — The IDF's competing priorities
January 18, 2024 00:30 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBBill and Joe discuss stats released this week by the IDF pertaining to its operations in Gaza and why escalation at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is "just a matter of time.”
Ep. 133 — Striking Houthi targets in Yemen
January 12, 2024 21:30 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBBill and Behnam unpack the details they’ve been able to gather so far surrounding the U.S. and UK-led coalition strike against Houthi targets inside Yemen and whether this will restore deterrence. Accurate preview courtesy of Behnam: “We like to say ‘freaky Fridays’ here [we do not] — it can’t get freakier than the first-ever, historic use of force since October 7 by the U.S. and UK against the Houthis.”
Ep. 132 — Joe's trip to Israel
January 10, 2024 21:30 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MBJoe just returned from Israel and joins Bill to share insights from his trip which included a sobering visit to Nir Oz, one of the kibbutz communities along the Gaza border that was brutally attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Included in Joe’s haunting description of a scene “almost untouched since October 7” and frozen in time: “There’s still blood on the ground. There’s still blood on the walls. There’s glass everywhere. You can still smell burnt wood; a lot of these homes were burned...
Ep. 131 — Terrorists will be terrorists
January 05, 2024 22:30 - 49 minutes - 45 MBBill 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
December 30, 2023 02:00 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBBill 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 a...
Ep. 129 — Measuring the prosperity of Operation Prosperity
December 22, 2023 22:30 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBBill 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 th...
Ep. 128 — Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Houthis, and CDR Salamander
December 20, 2023 00:30 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBBill 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
December 18, 2023 22:30 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBBill 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."
December 15, 2023 21:00 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MBBill 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 messa...