When the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973, the Canadian musician Leonard Cohen rushed to Israel from the Greek island where he was living, hoping to find some way to help his people in their moment of danger. Two of the country’s leading pop stars soon found him in a Tel Aviv café and urged him to accompany them to the frontlines to perform for the troops. In a wide-ranging conversation with Dan Senor, Matti Friedman discusses his recent book on Cohen’s experience, what the Yom Kippur War was like for Israelis, the context of the recent fighting in Gaza, and his own insights from a career reporting on the Middle East. (Audio, 52 minutes.)

In 2003, the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, spooked by the American display of might in Iraq, decided to destroy or surrender his entire nuclear program. Informed observers have suggested that the deal he made with the U.S. should serve as a model for any agreement with Iran. Robert Joseph provides some useful background:

Gaddafi had convinced himself that Libya would be next on the U.S. target list after Iraq. There was no reason or need to threaten Libya with bombing as Gaddafi was quick to tell almost every visitor that he did not want to be Saddam Hussein. The images of Saddam being pulled from his spider hole . . . played on his mind.

President Bush’s goal was to have Libya serve as an alternative model to Iraq. Instead of war, proliferators would give up their nuclear programs in exchange for relief from economic and political sanctions.

Any outcome that permits Iran to enrich uranium at any level will fail the one standard that President Trump has established: Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Limiting enrichment even to low levels will allow Iran to break out of the agreement at any time, no matter what the agreement says.

Iran is not a normal government that observes the rules of international behavior or fair “dealmaking.” This is a regime that relies on regional terror and brutal repression of its citizens to stay in power. It has a long history of using negotiations to expand its nuclear program. Its negotiating tactics are clear: extend the negotiations as long as possible and meet any concession with more demands.