FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?
05.03.2026 07:15
👍 17076
🔁 5955
💬 512
📌 493
FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?
By a mostly party-line vote of 47 to 53 (Rand a yes, Fetterman a no), the Senate has failed take back authority over war. The mad king keeps getting to do what he wants!
Still, this is no 2001 AUMF (98-0 in the Senate) or 2002 Iraq War AUMF (77-23 in the Senate). We're at the low ceiling of the war
"It is against this backdrop that Khamenei’s actions leading up to the American and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 that cost him his life must be seen."
@ericlob.bsky.social
theconversation.com/ayatollah-al...
Screenshot that says: Amid the open-ended war that the United States and Israel kicked off this weekend, each of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states has been targeted—and in some cases hit—by Iranian drone and missile strikes. The strikes sparked fires near luxury hotels in Dubai, caused panic at Kuwait’s international airport, and put Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery out of commission. In an interview with CNN, President Donald Trump called the attacks on the Gulf “probably the biggest surprise” of the war so far. It shouldn’t have been surprising. During the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran in the president’s first term, the Islamic Republic backed attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf as well as Saudi oil infrastructure, each of which dampened GCC support for overt confrontation of Iran.
Wrote up initial observations on the war & what Pres. Trump called its "biggest surprise"* for
@carnegieendowment.org
*(it won't surprise you that he shouldn't have been surprised)
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
And an earlier profile from 2013
www.foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/r...
From Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji last year for @foreignaffairs.com on Khamenei and what comes next (1/2, gift links)
www.foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/r...
“The MESA/AAUP report documents in vivid detail the cost of both Biden’s and Trump’s weaponization of antidiscrimination law... The immediate victims are pro-Palestinian activists and critics of Israel. The ultimate victims will be everyone.” Important piece by Mohammed Fadel
archive.ph/8tbOM
From @financialtimes.com (2/23), Israeli intelligence warning that the United States can only sustain a week of military strikes despite buildup:
www.ft.com/content/0408...
Similar article today from Barak Ravid/Axios suggesting Caine, Vance, Kushner, Witkoff are main voices of caution.
www.axios.com/2026/02/23/i...
NYT (2/23), Gen. Caine warning of "a potentially high risk of American casualties" (per "people briefed on internal administration deliberations").
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/u...
Lindsey Graham frets to Axios/Barak Ravid (2/21) about "voices who counsel against getting entangled" and his sense that "voices opposing entanglement and the risk associated with decisive action are getting louder."
www.axios.com/2026/02/22/g...
A surge of recent reporting about internal concerns over U.S. strikes on Iran:
From NYT (2/22), per "officials with knowledge of the meeting," Trump's lack of a clear strategy and military officials' concerns about readiness & supplies.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/u...
My article with @andrewleber.bsky.social is out now in @govjournal.bsky.social!
Evaluating Authoritarian Performance: Historical Legacies and Contemporary Attitudes in Saudi Arabia
doi.org/10.1111/gove...
U.S. war on/with Iran looking v likely based on troop positioning, Trump's statements, lack of overlap in bargaining positions, and more.
Decision-making is very much down to Trump himself, with his thinking heavily informed by a belief that his Middle East/military "gambles" have paid off before.
In a new article for @govjournal.bsky.social, @draege.bsky.social & I examine labor-market views in Saudi Arabia to argue that "historical legacies of development substantially affect perceptions of regime [policy] performance in the long run." [Open Access]
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Worst of both worlds in that case.
The other site is evil but it doesn't turn your brain into mush like this site seems to.
Thread of great coverage of MN
If you are in the DC area and interested in discussing US policy toward Iran (and related concerns) in on off-site/offline capacity DM/reach out!
Laissez les bons temps rouler ⚜️
Last week, the UAE hosted talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States. It’s the latest example of Gulf monarchies positioning themselves as important venues for diplomacy. But what do they get out of hosting talks like these?
@andrewleber.bsky.social explains: youtube.com/shorts/U9qqE...
Spoke with @eoinhiggins.bsky.social for @eko.org about what the Clintons (and Tucker Carlson) are doing in Riyadh for a real estate conference:
ekonews.substack.com/p/whats-saud...
Every Dem who voted for more ICE funding voted for this.
Every pundit spinning reasons why ICE can't be abolished condones this.
bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...
Gosh, the university funded by the Palantir exec turned out to be a right-wing infuence op rather than a paragon of free speech and open inquiry?
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
At the end of 2025, tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE came to a head over conflict in Yemen. What exactly happened, and what does it mean for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the region?
@andrewleber.bsky.social explains: youtube.com/shorts/URKId...
Kevin this is an extremely immature and irresponsible thing to post for anybody, let alone a tenured academic, and further demonstrates how this site rots people's brains in a distinct but very real way.
New York Times article that begins: "From the rubble and the ruin, the torture and the terror, the dust and the debris, something is stirring in the Middle East, a spirit that says no to endless cycles of violence and values a future for the region’s children above past feuds."
Fun thing to publish right as we're kicking off the New New New Middle East Cold War
New Analysis on my Substack: I Detected Over 5,000 Bot-Like Accounts Amplifying UAE-Aligned STC Narratives in Southern Yemen open.substack.com/pub/marcowen...
Yemen’s civil war is back in the news. Why? @andrewleber.bsky.social unpacks what’s going on in Yemen (and beyond): youtube.com/shorts/sIQBF...
