Trump did not even bother to make up lies to justify going to war with Iran — my latest for @theguardian.com | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Trump did not even bother to make up lies to justify going to war with Iran — my latest for @theguardian.com | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Surely, US bases are a liability and have proven to be completely useless in protecting the Gulf. Gulf states have been left to fend for themselves, intercepting multiple strikes and reassuring their populations.

“The last time the American people trusted a president intent on going to war, it ended in catastrophe. And yet Trump now risks sleepwalking the US into another war without even bothering to build a case based on a lie” — my latest for @theguardian.com on echoes of the 2003 Iraq war

The New York Times confirms what many people have speculated— Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked Donald Trump to sanction the UAE for its support of the RSF in Sudan. Donald Trump, for his part, instead simply turned around and called Mohammed bin Zayed and told him about what MBS asked.

A reminder that the Pahlavi pretender is a dime-store Ahmad Chalabi… who wasn’t worth a dollar, either. time.com/7344936/iran...

War with Iran would be illegal and stupid. How can we make Democratic leaders care? By Matt Duss foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/27/d...

“Pass the Stop Insider Trading Act without delay” — says Trump, whose family crypto business signed a secret deal for $500 million with a UAE royal days before Trump was inaugurated for his second term

I’m no public opinion expert, but I’m a wee bit skeptical that an illegal and unnecessary war on Iran—waged for kicks—is going to improve these numbers. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

90% of NYU’s contract faculty (full-time faculty who are not on a tenure-line) voted to authorize a strike — after trying to negotiate a first contract with the NYU administration for more than a year. They’re represented by Contract Faculty United-UAW

“For now, Trump failed to use the cudgel of federal funding to expand his presidential branding opportunity. But he’s still eager to satiate his impulse as a real estate mogul, trying to use his second term to slap his name on as many monuments and buildings as possible” — my latest @theguardian.com

Malinowski's op-ed was published this morning and within hours Schakowsky in Illinois rescinded an endorsement from an AIPAC-backed candidate in IL-02.

“Even by the standards that Trump set after a year back in the White House, when he has systematically dismantled anti-corruption laws built over decades and used the presidency to enrich himself and his family, trading naming rights as a political favor is a new low” — my latest @theguardian.com

Reposting my take on the Board of Peace just to feel something foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/27/t...

“When the Trump administration erased one of the nation’s bedrock scientific principles on climate change this week (the EPA’s endangerment finding) it set up a legal battle that’s all but certain to hinge on the Supreme Court” — important reporting by @karenzraick.bsky.social

Trump told @axios.com that he's considering sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East to prepare for a military attack if negotiations with Iran fail. “Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” Trump said.

Climate superfund bills are gaining momentum despite DOJ lawsuits against the only 2 states have passed them, NY and Vermont. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/c...

The official position of some members of Congress is now that peace with Iran requires Congressional approval, but war doesn't.

Great new reporting by @catebrown.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Starvation by design: How Israel turned food into a weapon of war in Gaza flip.it/n1QCfL

“How can Washington credibly pressure the UAE on its role fueling a civil war in Sudan, when the Emirates’ national security adviser is a business partner of the US president?” — my latest for @theguardian.com on a Trump corruption scandal that should be getting a lot more attention

“Under any other president, a UAE royal secretly paying $500 million to the Trump family’s crypto business would cause a political earthquake in Washington. There would be demands for an investigation by Congress, televised hearings, and months of damage control” — my latest @theguardian.com

This is a hard day for journalists at the Washington Post, as they reduce their sports/books and international teams. It also impacts us all as journalists. The ecosystem is being whittled down, paying jobs with benefits are disappearing, we're all scrambling or holding on for life to our jobs

“Shakir said that his experience illustrated that while public opinion has evolved on Israel in the last several years – with “concepts of apartheid, genocide and ethnic cleansing” increasingly voiced in mainstream circles – the right of return remains a third rail.”

“We hope to breach the silence that has descended around Gaza, and to do so by offering a microphone to some of the 2 million people whose stories demand to be told. We owe its people—and the hundreds of our fellow journalists who have given their lives to bring us the truth from Gaza—nothing less.“

I’m sorry but it’s morbidly funny how quickly Trump killed the Kennedy Center by putting his name on it. Everything he touches dies, rotting in shame, and he needs to know that every moment of what’s left of his life.

I suppose if you're opposed to banning Israel from international sports competition because of its state conduct it only makes sense to also demand that Russia be allowed back in. Perhaps this will force some who are on the fence about banning Israel to realize the issues are actually linked.

NYT lets DHS off easy in this particular story: Needed to drill down on the legality of what DHS is doing. Also, with DHS claiming adverse rulings are from "rogue" judges, some data on how many hundreds of judges ruled against it (and how few didn't). www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...

“As popular discontent with the Trump administration’s actions deepens, Americans should brace for heightened militarized domestic repression and more imperialist aggression abroad” — excellent NYT essay by my colleague @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social

An NYU administrator took an active threat training completion certificate from his co-worker’s office, went to a gun range, and fired 8 bullets at it. Then he returned the certificate to the front desk of an NYU building | nyunews.com/news/2026/01...

My analysis for Foreign Policy on the Board of Peace (gift link) Tl;dr it's a dangerous gift, putting it mildly foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/27/t...

Iran football great Ali Karimi leads call for Infantino to speak up on protest deaths www.theguardian.com/football/202...

As @washingtonpost.com international & local correspondents, we have risked our lives, side by side, because we believe reporting from the ground serves the public good. To choke that engine of brave, committed colleagues would be devastating. If you value our work, tell Jeff Bezos to #SaveThePost.

Tom Friedman never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity

Occupation ideology holds that the occupation is necessary to protect the majority population, since the people being occupied are inherently violent and irrational and any leniency in their treatment will simply allow them to kill and act savagely. www.juancole.com/2026/01/minn...

"Weapons continue to flow from Libya to Sudan despite Saudi and Egyptian pressure on Khalifa Haftar to stop Emirati military support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Middle East Eye has learned." www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusi...

The @nytimes.com is capable of writing an active voice headline that clearly identifies the perpetrator — as long as it's not the Israeli military

if you’re in Minneapolis and want some of these to give out, DM me

The largest socialist organization in the US (which, notably, does have a council-level presence in the Twin Cities) really ought to return to the kinds of discussions it was earnestly having during Trump's 1st term: constitutional overhaul. How can we be the parliamentary agitators for new law?

“Greenland is the latest example of how Trump, the first convicted felon elected president, unleashed his basest instincts in his second term: the state exists to serve the ego of its leader, and if the world refuses to validate him, the world will pay a price” — my latest for @theguardian.com

Substantial US military escalation around Iran. Experts are again predicting strikes /n x.com/ianellisjone...

An account of Iran’s protests from someone who just returned to the U.S. —“I write here as a person with a deep love for the country and the people, and after decades of research into its culture and history. I ask that you hold all of the pieces below together, not in opposition to each other….”

”Trump is transforming the US from a superpower into a protection racket ruled by his whims. For the past year, he has grown more vindictive, narcissistic and erratic – and a greater danger not just to America, but to the world” — my latest for @theguardian.com

Does @nytimes.com really need to sprawl this story at the top of its homepage? Just let Mamdani use his bidet in peace

Netanyahu and his government are very upset that Trump has allowed Qatari and Turkish ministers to serve on high level committees in the "Board of Peace". Erdogan himself is expected to be on the Board, and his right hand man Fidan is on an important executive subcommittee.

Send Trump Your Old Trophies

“While some of Trump’s acolytes argue that he’s making effective use of Richard Nixon’s ‘madman theory’ of foreign relations, Trump doesn’t have an overarching strategic policy or goal. He is motivated by showmanship, vengeance and self-aggrandizement” — my latest for @theguardian.com

“Trump’s warmongering ignores the exhaustion of his own electorate – not to mention the constitutional reality that the power to declare war rests with Congress, rather than a presidential post on Truth Social” — my latest for @theguardian.com

Overshadowed by Gaza, Venezuela and Iran but US designation of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon as "terrorist organizations" is one of the more blatant and nakedly antidemocratic actions taken by USG abroad in a while.

The image of people wandering among black body bags looking for the corpses of their missing loved ones is just devastating.