laura blumenfeld is the middle east on the list of the johns hopkins school for advanced international studies. i also with strategy as well as pursuing with the mass of palm springs and 11 on well, i'm like you guys are. there are no hostages, and there is a plan, a military plan that they've been working on for 18 years since the last year down with has fall. uh what you're looking at right now. i think is israel shredding you ron's insurance policy and it's nuclear program. they're trying to take out and blow up the they the stop piles of missiles that iran has loaded up over their 11 on and israel's population centers while at the same time, the ground operation and 11 on as well. border region is also continuing. is this the method incursion that as well called when it began, as they certainly would hope to borrow a page from hobbs, which is nasty, brutish and short war rather than a slab of 1982 and the kind of fight that was a fight to draw back uh you know, uh in 2006 already though is realize have seems heavy losses relative to their population with boots on the ground. some o

laura blumenfeld is former senior policy advisor on the state department's israeli—palestinian negotiatingred her reflections on the impact a letter like this could have. well, i think that the letter is one side of a coin, the other side of that coin being a missile—defense battery that's being deployed as we speak. i think they are both the same kind of currency, saying israel, we're going to put boots on the ground for your defence and we expect concrete conditions on the ground in gaza and also frankly in lebanon to change. i do think they have leverage. we've seen that, i think netanyahu's first target choice with iran, would have been to go after the nuclear facility, and second choice would have been the oil production sites. so, we are seeing some kind of leverage being exercised. it's not enough and i believe after the election, you will see a very different picture out of the us. we saw that after the election in 2016 where president obama was coming to the end of his second term, where there was a un security council resolution condemning israel on settlements and united states

i'm joined now by laura blumenfeld, who formerly served in the us state department as senior policy adviseranks forjoining me. you were at an event at the israeli embassy in washington tonight, where us national security adviserjake sullivan was speaking. was there anything he said tonight that stood out to you? a real sense of commemoration but no closure. there is no light at the end of hamas tunnels, and for those of us in diplomatic circles trying to find a way forward, it has been a year of frustration and setbacks. a couple of notable points national security adviser sullivan said that for israel and may be for all of us working in the region, the real challenge is to take some of the tactical successes on the battlefield and turn them into a long—term strategy for securing the peace. 0ne a long—term strategy for securing the peace. one thing he is talking about is the grand megadeal the administration was working on before hamas attacked israel a year ago today, to create a normalisation deal between israel and jordan, and then a defence pact between the us and saudi arabia, it was k

a short while ago i spoke about all of these latest developments with laura blumenfeld — a middle eastejohns hopkins university school of advanced international studies. i just want to get your reaction first of all to this massive series of explosions in the southern area of beirut tonight. i mean, i can't tell you specifically, but i would guess that what you're watching is israel shredding iran's insurance policy and their nuclear facilities, this has always been a deterrent to israel, the missile stockpiles that hezbollah was building and i think we are looking at a kind of race to the stockpiles. ever since israel eliminated hassan nasrallah last week, both hezbollah and israel have been trying to get to them first, where hezbollah feels like it is a "use it or lose it" situation and for israel it is to strike before it is deployed against themselves. what do you make of the way that hezbollah has been responding or maybe hasn't been responding, how we can to do you think the group might be after all these attacks of the last several days? israel has always referred to hezbollah a

thank you very much for giving us the i very much for giving us the contacts. joining me live is laura blumenfeldll center for strategic studies atjohns hopkins university. she previously served as a senior policy advisor on the us state department's israeli—palestinian negotiating team. before that, she was a longtime correspondent covering the middle east. good to speak to you about this and get your knowledge of the subject, i understand that you've just being at the israeli embassy event in dc and spoke to the ambassador, what's the message they are trying to get out? the message they are trying to net out? ., ~ ., .,, ., get out? you know, it was a very humbling _ get out? you know, it was a very humbling scene, - get out? you know, it was a very humbling scene, it - get out? you know, it was a very humbling scene, it wasj get out? you know, it was a i very humbling scene, it was a reception for the jewish new year, and they served honey cake but it was bittersweet and the amasa talked about the jewish new year is known as the days of all and it's a time for atonement and for reflection on t

a short while ago, i spoke about all of these latest developments with laura blumenfeld — a middle eastl of advanced international studies. ijust want i just want to get your reaction first of all to this massive series of explosions in the southern area of beirut tonight. i the southern area of beirut toniaht. . u, �* tonight. i mean, i can't tell ou tonight. i mean, i can't tell you specifically, _ tonight. i mean, i can't tell you specifically, but - tonight. i mean, i can't tell you specifically, but i - tonight. i mean, i can't tell| you specifically, but i would guess that what you're watching is israel shredding iran's insurance policy and their nuclear facilities, insurance policy and their nuclearfacilities, this is a insurance policy and their nuclear facilities, this is a a deterrent to israel, the missile stockpiles that hezbollah was building and i think we are looking at a kind of race to the stockpiles. ever since israel eliminated hassan nasrallah last week, both hezbollah and israel have been trying to get to them first, where hezbollah feels like it is a use it or lose

joining me live is laura blumenfeld — a middle east analyst at thejohns hopkins university school ofour reaction to this massive series of explosions in the southern area of beirut tonight. i cannot tell you specifically but i would guess that what you're watching is israel shredding iran's insurance policy under nuclear facilities this is deterrent israel and the stockpiles that israel and the stockpiles that israel was building and were looking of the stockpiles ever since israel eliminated hassan nasrallah last week. in both hezbollah and israel have been trying to get to them first where hezbollah feels like it's a use it or lose it situation and for israel, it is to destroy it before it's deployed against them.— destroy it before it's deployed auainst them. ~ ., ., .,~ against them. what do you make ofthe against them. what do you make of the way _ against them. what do you make of the way that _ against them. what do you make of the way that hezbollah - against them. what do you make of the way that hezbollah is - of the way that hezbollah is been responding or has not been res

let's get reaction from laura blumenfeld — former senior policy adviser on the state department's israeli—palestinian see you again. what do you think about the timing of this letter? why now? i think about the timing of this letter? why now?— think about the timing of this letter? why now? i think there's three interesting _ letter? why now? i think there's three interesting things- - letter? why now? i think there's three interesting things- the - letter? why now? i think there's i three interesting things- the who, three interesting things— the who, the what, and the win. i think the 30 days are significant. november the 5th is the presidential election and after that, what some may call a lame—duck biden presidency, hill have a free hand to exercise the leverage that will to take into account as much as these next three weeks. there have been conversations before, but they've never put it in writing, and as the italians say, la carta canta, the paper sings. i also think the who is important, that it came not only from the secretary of defence, but the secretary of state. it's important to show th

state of israel, iran acts to undermine regional stability and security, joining me live is laura blumenfeldcy advisor at the us state department, now a middle east analyst at thejohns hopkins school of international studies. thanks for taking the time to be with us on this developing news story and you would have heard the statement from israel saying they have wrapped up this retaliatory set of strikes, and attacks on iran. what do you make of the operation? figs what do you make of the operation?— what do you make of the oeration? a ,, . ., , operation? as the us officials have been — operation? as the us officials have been saying _ operation? as the us officials have been saying we - operation? as the us officials have been saying we have - operation? as the us officials i have been saying we have been looking for a day after and i would say this is the night before and i think the israelis think it will be a one day war and if so then we will be lucky and if so then we will be lucky and we have boots on the ground on the us has american soldiers operating missile defence systems which w