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This week on Rational Security, co-hosts Quinta and Scott were joined by co-host emeritus Benjamin Wittes to talk over the week\u2019s big national security news, including:

• \u201cStalled and Appalled.\u201d Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive to try and reclaim Russia-held parts of eastern Ukraine appears to have stalled, triggering a degree of finger-pointing on both sides of the Atlantic\u2014just as U.S. and European support for their military campaign appears to be waning. What does this mean for the next stage of this conflict?
• \u201cParting the Red Sea.\u201d Since the start of the war in Gaza, U.S. and allied diplomatic and military presences have come under attack by Iran-backed proxies throughout the Middle East. Now the Iran-backed Houthi faction in Yemen is targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea with purported Israeli ties. What\u2019s motivating these actions? And how do they change the regional security picture?
• \u201cOne Day Soon, I\u2019m Gonna Tell My Goons, About the Blassingame.\u201d Former President Donald Trump suffered two big legal losses in cases relating to Jan. 6 this past week, as both the D.C. Circuit in the civil suit against him and the trial court in his criminal prosecution held that he was not immune for prosecution by virtue of being the president. What will these decisions mean moving forward on the civil and criminal fronts?

For object lessons, Quinta shared an amazing development in the Menendez case. Scott pulled a musical hat-trick and endorsed the newish venue The Atlantis, the phenomenal Lydia Loveless (who he just saw there), and (since it is December) Ingrid Michaelson\u2019s holiday album Songs for the Season\u2014and specifically the sob-inducingly melancholy song, \u201cHappy, Happy Christmas.\u201d And Ben plugged the Romanian Madrigal Choir show he attended at the National Cathedral while also logrolling for the new (non-Lawfare) podcast feature he rolled out on his substack Dog Shirt Daily and related podcast \u201cRead with Me,\u201d which features readings of major filings and opinions in the Trump trials. 

Also, we are beginning preparations for our end-of-year listener-submitted episode! If you have a topic you want us to cover, a question you want us to answer, or an object lesson you want to share, send it along to us at rationalsecurity@lawfaremedia.org no later than December 18!

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