Welcome to The McGrady Group: “The Best Questions, The Best Answers.” This episode is probably the best explanation of forces at work throughout the Mideast in Western media, bar none. If you had one episode to circulate to your friends and/or students to share a deeper understanding of present challenges in the Mideast, this would be it. As the world looks to an increasing likelihood of war in the Mideast, The McGrady Group’s Jeffrey Bolden takes us on an enlightening tour of the Mideast conflicts and interests, treating each state as a rational actor.  This is no mere survey, but a tour de force of insight that will allow you to see the situation much more clearly.   What’s the meaning of Donald Trumps visit to Israel?  Jeff takes us on a brief by hard-hitting history of Israel and its position in the world.  Trump’s recognition of the capital could create conflicts as he basically takes a Chinese / Norway position on where the boundaries of Jersualem lie.  We objectively draw lines of interest throughout the mideast so we can see each state as a rational actor — a view rarely portrayed in Western Press.  What’s the obvious compromise with Iran and Israel that we haven’t heard much about in the US?   What motivates Saudi Arabia in this conflict?   What’s behind the coup in Saudi Arabia?      Why might Saudi Arabia draw the United States into this conflict? What does Hamas see and what in this?  What’s going on in Egypt?  What’s the best way to look at the Mideast situation from the perspective of US policy and what’s the best policy for the US? Did you know Hezbollah has now graduated to a full-out Army status? What’s Lebanon’s role in this? And what does all these disparate interests signal? A power vacuum that needs to be filled?  Given the absence of Israel’s rhetoric about this conflict… how can we tell what Israel is thinking it can or should do? Why there’s a clear path to no war and why there’s still a diplomatic chance to dodge war? What is Israel’s role in possibly facilitating a concession with Iraq? And why does that obvious compromise help avoid a war?  What’s the best policy for the United States? How should the security agreements be arranged?    How well will Kirschner’s plan go over with Palestine?   How soon will conflict break out?   Who’s most likely to break conflict — and which state reminds Gennady about the Russian Monarchy? What could happen internally in Saudi Arabia in  What role does US President Donald Trump play in all this? And if there is a war coming: how soon, how wide, and what would instigate it? What’s a realistic policy for the US now that it no longer has a strategic interest in oil, what questions does that raise?   Please support our hosts by visiting the following websites:   www.BlueLotusSIDC.com https://www.academia.edu/33908283/The_Civilization_at_a_Crossroads_Constructing_the_Paradigm_Shift