He's forming a new government, war rages around him, America wants him to disarm renegade militias — and those militias put him in power. A glimpse at the unknown banker just put in charge of Iraq.

Iraq’s weak new prime minister faces a terrifying welcome: ongoing war, renegade militias, allies that undermine, and a fiscal cliff. @sajadjiyad.bsky.social charts Ali Zaidi’s perilous agenda on Order from Ashes @centuryintl.bsky.social

Iraq’s weak new prime minister faces a terrifying welcome: ongoing war, renegade militias, allies that undermine, and a fiscal cliff. @sajadjiyad.bsky.social charts Ali Zaidi’s perilous agenda on Order from Ashes @centuryintl.bsky.social

America started a war it couldn’t win. How does the world look without a dominant superpower? @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social previews our new era of asymmetric finance, trade, and warfare on Order from Ashes @centuryintl.bsky.social

"We're seeing Israel repeating this playbook in the war on Lebanon...Now the wholesale razing of border towns and villages in southern Lebanon, including my own hometown, Bint Jbail," @mbazzi.bsky.social tells @tcambanis.bsky.social. Listen for more: thecenturyfoundation.podbean.com/e/erasing-bi...

America started a war it couldn’t win. How does the world look without a dominant superpower? @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social previews our new era of asymmetric finance, trade, and warfare on Order from Ashes @centuryintl.bsky.social

Israel is trying to erase Bint Jbail. World powers could put a stop to the ethnic cleansing. What war looks like now with @mbazzi.bsky.social on Order from Ashes @centuryintl.bsky.social

How will the Arab monarchies in the Gulf deploy their wealth and power now they’ve learned the limits of America’s security umbrella? @rohadvani.bsky.social on Order from Ashes @centuryintl.bsky.social www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Fitful resumption of shipping in Hormuz shouldn't distract from long-term harm and shocks to global economy. We'll be tallying the costs of the elective Iran war for a generation.

Trump forces Netanyahu’s hand by saying Israel is “prohibited from bombing Lebanon,” despite mounting domestic pressure in Israel for the IDF to continue fighting Hezbollah. Featuring @tcambanis.bsky.social. soundcloud.com/user-8304426...

America’s war economy helps no one. Short term: ends lives, undermines democracy, makes daily life unaffordable. Long term, even worse: pitches world into recession and dystopia. @eamonka.bsky.social on Order from Ashes @centuryintl.bsky.social www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Trump announced a truce—then Israel accelerated attacks on Lebanon. Trump negotiated—then blockaded Hormuz. Trump declared victory—but it looks like America lost. Reality check from @chehayebk.bsky.social @mwhanna.crisisgroup.org @centuryintl.bsky.social Listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZAD...

Under extreme pressures — state collapse and war — Lebanon made an unplanned transition to solar energy. What can the rest of the world learn? @jnucho.bsky.social for @centuryintl.bsky.social tcf.org/content/comm...

Runaway war spending disfigures every aspect of the economy. Americans will be paying the costs of Trump’s reckless war on Iran for generations. @eamonka.bsky.social for @centuryintl.bsky.social tcf.org/content/comm...

Trump’s Middle East war has engulfed Iraq, which tried hard to stand aside. @centuryintl.bsky.social fellow @sajadjiyad.bsky.social on Iraq’s dangerous balancing act between Iran, the United States, and Iraqi militias. thecenturyfoundation.podbean.com/e/trump-open...

Israel and Hezbollah are crushing Lebanon. Israel is threatening genocidal, Gaza-model forever war and occupation. Hezbollah promises resistance that doesn't deter. What Lebanese need is a strong state. foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/16/l...

New Order from Ashes pod @centuryintl.bsky.social @abujamajem.com in Beirut and @dahliasc.bsky.social in Tel Aviv on the strains of another round of total Israeli war on Lebanon; Israel's aims; and why this cycle of violence is likely to continue. thecenturyfoundation.podbean.com/e/forever-wa...

The Iran war not only destroys lives — it burns money. On Order from Ashes, the author of The Trillion-Dollar War Machine begins the sad job of tallying the staggering costs of the war of choice on Iran. thecenturyfoundation.podbean.com/e/an-expensi...

The predictable regional fallout has begun from America's reckless war of choice against Iran. New roundtable from @tcambanis.bsky.social @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @sajadjiyad.bsky.social @yaelmiz.bsky.social @abujamajem.com tcf.org/content/comm...

Hezbollah escalated a war with Israel that had never ended, despite a nominal ceasefire. Renewed fighting will punish Lebanese civilians, but will probably also further weaken Hezbollah. @abujamajem.com in new roundtable tcf.org/content/comm...

Hey @tcambanis.bsky.social thanks for being on the pod w/ @petedominick.bsky.social. More newsy & clippy bits for your ears, plus this amazing expert guest for Wednesday world lunacy! Press play! standupwithpete.com/1547-prof-th...

Already just a few days into the conflict, the law of unintended consequences has kicked in. New @centuryintl.bsky.social roundtable features frontline analysis to spotlight the most clear and present dangers. tcf.org/content/comm...

We were joined by @tcambanis.bsky.social discussing his article at @centuryintl.bsky.social, “Attacking Iran Is a Guaranteed Disaster” as well as how the war has expanded into Lebanon. soundcloud.com/user-8304426...

New podcast just dropped with @abujamajem.com on harms, dangers and folly of the US-Israel war on Iran, as seen from Beirut

An American war of choice in Iran will unleash countless new threats and dangers, and leave the entire world worse off. U.S. decision-makers need to snap out of their trance before unleashing another generation of forever wars.

War with Iran would be extremely dangerous. Naysan Rafati from @crisisgroup.org outlines the risks, and the view from Iran, on the Order from Ashes podcast

Ended up with a free morning in the Netherlands and visited the ICC. Idealism, universalism and persistence of staff and prosecutors inspired me. They’re working under threat of US sanctions to hold war criminals accountable. I left determined to strive, with them, for a more just world.

Trump’s foreign policy has been a disaster. In tonight’s #SOTU he’ll spin a fantasy about American power. In reality, Trump’s policies have made the world a much more dangerous and unstable place for all. 🧵

If @aoc.bsky.social's comments on the hypocrisy and then dismantling of the international liberal order at Munich piqued your curiosity, listen to @nicholasdanfort.bsky.social. He gives the historical sweep of that order, why it hit a wall, and what a better replacement might look like.

How do the Houthis get their weapons? Join us Tuesday 10 February at 10 am to hear what what @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social & team learned about the astonishing sprint from dhows to drones in Yemen — and beyond.

Fresh from a trip to the Gulf, @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social reports on the risks of two emboldened regional powers: Saudi Arabia, flush with oil money, and Yemen's Houthis, flush with drone tech.

Bring back Congressional war powers! Illegal, secret, or undeclared wars have become the norm in the US. But Congress can — and should — reassert its power to decide when America goes to war. Order from Ashes episode 100 with Brian Finucane. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

Bring back Congressional war powers! Illegal, secret, or undeclared wars have become the norm in the US, but Congress can — and should — reassert its power to decide when America goes to war. Order from Ashes episode 100 with @bcfinucane.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

New from me: It is not just that the US is experiencing democratic backsliding. Authoritarianism has emerged more quickly than in other benchmark countries. This graph from John Burn-Murdoch sums it up. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/autocracy-...

Order from Ashes is back! After a hiatus, we're dropping new podcasts every Monday morning @centuryintl.bsky.social . We missed you. Links to latest episodes in this thread.

In the first year of Trump 2.0, the United States went from being a passing if imperfect democracy to sliding into authoritarianism: new Century Foundation findings from @nateschenkkan.bsky.social @tcambanis.bsky.social tcf.org/content/repo... (1/5)

Welcome back to the 19th Century!

In one week we’ve seen regimes violently stifle dissent and kill protesters in Venezuela (after Maduro), Iran—and the United States. “America First” has produced “America Next,” another sophisticated state where the regime uses its power to preserve itself, not to govern.

Trump has jacked up America’s Forever War and brought it to the Western Hemisphere. The results are sure to be a disaster for both Venezuela and the United States. 1/7

For now, attention has shifted away from America’s decision in late June to join an elective war against Iran. The disaster is still unfolding — though it’s not too late to correct course. 1/3

Israel and the United States aren’t after regime change in Iran. Their goal is to break the Iranian state, writes CI fellow @veenaa.bsky.social in a new commentary. That’s a huge problem—for the region, for the Iranian people, for U.S. interests, and even for Israel (1/3) tcf.org/content/comm...

Even when Trump makes good foreign policy moves (lifting Syria sanctions, proposing Iran deal), there's no policy process. Just unpredictable imperial caprice. That means we cannot count on implementation of the few good policies — or any strategic consistency.

In search of a Trump Doctrine: CI fellows analyze the president’s MENA trip & conclude that transactionalism is the only unifying credo—even when some outcomes are good. Read more from @aronlund.bsky.social @abujamajem.com @tcambanis.bsky.social @dahliasc.bsky.social‬ @rohanadvani.bsky.social

@centuryintl.bsky.social roundtable on Trump's Gulf tour, featuring @aronlund.bsky.social, @rohanadvani.bsky.social, @veenaa.bsky.social, @tcambanis.bsky.social and @dahliasc.bsky.social 👇🏻 With my take on Syria sanctions relief: "an entirely screwed up way to arrive at the ideal policy outcome."

Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs mean that the 1990s dream of peace and democracy in the Middle East through economic liberalization is dead—even if it was always illusory. My latest for @centuryintl.bsky.social @tcfdotorg.bsky.social tcf.org/content/comm...

Faced with the most serious threat in its history, the Iran-aligned “Axis of Resistance” is turning back to basics: local power. (1/6)

In 2023 and 2024, everyone including its own members overestimated the Iran-led Axis of Resistance. In 2025, maybe everyone underestimates it? Good @centuryintl.bsky.social read by @veenaa.bsky.social and @tcambanis.bsky.social: tcf.org/content/repo...

Syria's transition faces a thousand risks, but it still could provide an inspiration, if the new order enshrines rights that are universal, rather than sectarian or communal.

What is the biggest threat to a democratic transition in Syria after Assad? DAWN's new Democracy in Exile Roundtable featuring @loubnamrie.bsky.social @mbazzi.bsky.social @tcambanis.bsky.social @stevenhyde.bsky.social @abujamajem.com and many more:

Really excited to take bold progressive stands with the new president here at @tcfdotorg.bsky.social!