nuclear weapons, to the prospects of a palestinian israeli piece deal today we're talking with steven cook, senior fellow at the council on foreign relations and author of false dawn, protests, democracy and violence in the new, middle east. steven, it's great to be with you and i want to play for you a short sound by president biden on this trip. let's listen to the president. we will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by china. russia were ran. we'll seek to build on this moment with active principle mercury leadership. and then at the, at the end of this, the president says, and the united states is not going anywhere. now, typically when somebody is making a big declaration that they're not going anywhere, they're usually means that there's fears that they are leaving. what's, what's going on with the u. s. in the, in the region before. so thanks for having me. and i think that the, the biden administration really hasn't decided what it's pastor is in the middle east after now 18 months in office. you'll recall that when bitin 1st took the oath of office, there was lots of d

steven cook, senior fellow for the middle east in north africa, counts on foreign relations. thanks so much for being with us today. to great pleasure, be with you soon. so what's the bottom line? the middle east is full of both promise and of danger. the legacy of colonialism, superpower, proxy wars, and rivalries between leaders make the region one that struggles with its place in the world. for things to change, we need to see things like the palestine. israel stand off being resolve or relations with iran, normalizing with the rest of the world. but neither of those things have happened for decades. how would we actually know if there's progress when social and political visionaries in the middle east rise and rebuff? russia, china and the u. s. at their efforts to control and show that there's a better way forward for their citizens. then we'd know that's not to say that the great powers won't be around. they will be, and both the u. s. in china, both have a lot to offer, but as long as these powers see the region only through a military sales lens, or is a security thre

i've been reading reading, steven cooks books and council on foreign relations papers. a thank you wrangle and, and i think that this, the sense i have is that when america wanted to do something in the middle east, that, that the big anchor nations in that region largely fell into line to day. it feels as if you know, that, that whole kind of quid pro quo, even the transactions are up for grabs, that saudi arabia is looking as much to china and russia to hedge its bets against the united states. are the big stakeholder countries you've written about like egypt, like saudi arabia, the other, you know, the main weather vanes in the middle east looking at the u. s. as the great power and the way they did 2 decades ago. definitely not. um lets keep in mind that between the defeat of saddam hussein's forces, after the invasion of kuwait in 191991. and then 6 months later, the fall of the soviet union up until very recently the united states was the only major external power in the middle east. it could drive events in the region, the saudis, the egyptians, even israelis did

ok, that was steven cook with the council on foreign relations in washington. steven, thank you for your very clear analysis. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. the us senate has passed a sweeping climate tax and health plan. democrats approve president joe biden, $430000000000.00 spending bill, which now goes to the house of representatives. republicans have criticized the cost of the plan, which is america's biggest climate investment. nearly a 1000 people were stranded after flooding in death valley in the us. one of the hottest and dry places in the world floods not unusual in the area, but these are some of the largest in the last 20 years. belief in brazil's capital have arrested a german diplomat on suspicion of killing his husband. the soft, big told brazilian authorities that his partner a belgian national fill and hit his head off to becoming ill. but investigative, say the victim was severely beaten. columbia has ashi and a new chapter in its history way. the form i left a rebel being sworn in

ok, that was steven cook with the council on foreign relations in washington. steven, thank you for your very clear analysis. a 2nd, a convoy carrying ukrainian grain has left ports on the black sea. the 4 ships carrying nearly 170000 tons, a complex multinational agreement allows grain to travel to countries where it's desperately needed. but the 1st vessel to leave ukraine has not yet reached its destination in lebanon. tripoli, port. people are eager to see the rezone, but the ship carrying grain from ukraine is nowhere to be seen. it is not certain whether it will reach the lebanese port at all. an unwelcome surprise for the ukrainian ambassador, who travelled here specially politically, it was ready, clear decision. first russell coming from odessa to tripoli to lebanon. but there are other components or m like business to business relations, and maybe take some time to finalize the situation. there was only unexpectedly changed course while at sea, and is now anchored near turkey. it's loaded with 26000 tons of mace. tripoli has been waiting for months, b

ok, that was steven cook with the council on foreign relations in washington. steven, thank you for your very clear analysis. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. today. the u. s. senate passed a sweeping climate tax and health plan. democrats approved president joe biden, $430000000000.00 spending bill, which now goes to the house of representatives. republicans have criticized the cost of the plan, which is america's biggest climate investment. and nearly a 1000 people were stranded off to flooding in death valley in the us. one of the hottest and dry places in the world floods not unusual in the area, but these are some of the largest in 20 years to columbia now, which is awesome in a new chapter in its history. with a former leftist rebel being warning as president, gustavo petro has pledged to fight inequality, achieve pace, and rethink the war on drugs. columbia new vice president also represents a new start, a black woman from an underprivileged community. you've got a devil, it's an inaugurated like no ot

steven ballard whose widow luis cummings continues to lead law enforcement efforts in delaware to respect our state police, her husband was an exceptional patrolman killed in the line of duty. corporal katy cook from delmar whose funeral earlier this year excuse me last year you have brought to this hearing today the sort of quiet dignity and determination that is so important as we try to come together to address this issue as a nation. i will tell you, whether it is working together to try and keep in dangerous weapons out of the hands of those who would do harm to law enforcement, making sure that we have got bullet proof vest for agencies large and small that are appropriately fitting, state-of-the-art, something i have worked hard for over 12 years of senator leahy to make sure we sustain bulletproof vest partnership. or investing in mental health resources, training and support to make sure officers have the resources they need to continue to serve or to go on and lead productive lives. there is a solemn obligation on us not to turn this into a show would be serious and deliberate about the work we do with you. i am a delaware ian, i succeeded on this committee and in the senate our pre