This is Trump level stupidity. Arming Iranian Kurds in the north as part of a ground operation? For fuck's sake. With what aim in mind? Kurds in Iran's north, about 60-65% of a minority that totals at best 10% www.cnn.com/2026/03/03/p...

Deep irony here. One reason prior presidents downgraded the ME as a US priority was their sense that Arab leaders always tried to drag the US into their conflicts. Yet it's Bibi who is pulling the strings now, while Trump desperately tries to cover it up. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/u...

We have students who’ve been entirely on their own to get back to the U.S.

US military is going to need a serious deep clean to scrub this shit out of the services. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Expert analysis from @stephanietwilliams.bsky.social, @sharangrewal.bsky.social, @stevenhyde.bsky.social, and other Middle East experts @brookings.edu. www.brookings.edu/articles/aft...

Yanar Mohammed, a leading Iraqi feminist and co‑founder of the Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, was assassinated outside her home in Baghdad on March 2, 2026. For more than two decades, Yanar was one of Iraq’s most courageous advocates for women’s rights.

A bushel of quick take reactions on Trump’s and Netanyahu’s ( and MBS’) Iran war. Including one from me. @brookings.edu After the strike: The danger of war in Iran www.brookings.edu/articles/aft...

And it seems that MBS and Bibi were singing a duet to Trump.

Just last week I won my lawsuit against DC MPD with the judge ruling they must release all body cam footage from the response to DOGE's raid on the US Institute of Peace. Wonder if it's related?

Ballistic missiles that can reach the US is the mushroom cloud of 2026. In fact, Rubio made this precise, dishonest, claim in a SFRC committee hearing 12 years ago! He said Iran is "developing a long-range rocket that will be able to reach the United States and other places in Europe."

BREAKING Islamic Republic state media says the following three officials will act collectively as a temporary leadership council exercising the powers of the Supreme Leader. - President Masoud Pezeshkian - Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei - A jurist from the Guardian Council

Not a surprise that the hardliners are filling up the vacuum.

Times have changed. sana.sy/en/syria/229...

Security situation remains precarious in Sweida. Druze clans that benefited during years of conflict have become spoilers, threatening efforts to find a pathway to integration. syrianobserver.com/syrian-actor...

These reconciliation deals with Assad regime cronies don't pass the smell test. Samer Foz is, in theory, still subject to potential prosecution. In reality? Very unlikely. syrianobserver.com/syrian-actor...

The failure of Syria's interim government to activate the general assembly raises serious questions about the intentions of al-Sharaa and his associates. syrianobserver.com/syrian-actor...

bsky.app/profile/prem... you never have to hand it to Claire Shipman but this is is interesting. There’s maybe a world where DHS is being maliciously accurate—representing yourself as the police isn’t the same as saying you’re the NYPD—in ways that depend on everyone just assuming you’re the NYPD

How many Democrats have condemned the news that the US Embassy in Jerusalem will be offering consular services to citizens who live in settlement blocs?

Just why Iranians are facing death, detention, and torture by a repressive, corrupt regime. To pave the way for the restoration of a corrupt, repressive autocracy under Pahlavi junior.

Marylanders don't want Trump’s ICE on our streets or their facilities in our backyards. A few weeks ago, I joined hundreds in Washington Co to say that loud & clear. I'm glad to see @oagmaryland.bsky.social is acting to block ICE’s construction of a detention center in Washington County.

My assessment of the damage Trump and Hegseth are doing to the DOD legal culture. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...

Skip Trump’s lies tomorrow night and tune into the People’s State of the Union with @moveon.org and @meidastouch.com: www.mobilize.us/moveon/event...

It’s telling 1) the discrepancy between what Dems say behind closed doors vs. what they say in public 2) this came out because one of the groups spoken to behind closed doors leaked it only after asking the DNC to say it publicly and being rebuffed 3) this group will probably be punished for it

This is correct. I've been interviewing some Israeli diplomats recently... three basic take-aways: 1. Iran is still the priority. 2. As Steven says, Turkey is the second big concern, and they often shorthand it as "Muslim Brotherhood allied" 3. They completely understate the repercussions of Gaza.

Ramadan series in Syria spotlight abuses of the Assad regime. doc.afp.com/982Z7NQ

By radical Sunni axis Netanyahu is referring to Turkey and, by extension, Syria's interim government. Clear intent to escalate tensions and justify potential military operations. The US has told Bibi to climb down before to no avail. A more forceful approach is needed.

🚨 ONE WEEK TO GO! Next Friday, Feb 27 at 11:59 pm EST applications close for @timep.bsky.social 's nonresident fellowship program. Don't miss this unique opportunity to spend one year getting the tools, platform, and network you need to engage in the MENA policy space: timep.org/2026/02/02/o...

"You now live in a country where volunteers deliver babies at home, in secret, off the books, because mothers fear that if they go to the hospital, they will be abducted by masked, armed agents of the state while giving birth. This is not a hypothetical."

Trojan horse.

"We still don’t know when Hind’s life ended. She feared the dark, and for all the heroism and sacrifices of the PRCS, the darkness found her."  @idreesahmad.bsky.social reviews the Oscar-nominated feature “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”

A Ban on Makeup in Syria Has Some Red in the Face www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/w...

A Fatal ICE Shooting Occurred in Texas Months Before Renee Good’s Killing www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/u...

Potentially important indicator of the willingness of the interim government to expand the scope of local governance in Syria. syrianobserver.com/syrian-actor...

Syria's judicial system at risk of capture by hard line Islamist elements of al-Sharaa's ruling coalition. The judiciary has also adopted rules for prosecution of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity that violate international law. syrianobserver.com/syrian-actor...

If we add the departure of the al-Atrash Emir to Damscus and yesterday his implicit denouncement of the corrent course Suwayda had taken under Hijri, these are clearly signals of a not so subtle splitting.

Objective, strategy and legal justification still TBD.

The building had a name you debauched piece of shit. It also had a dedicated staff, effective programs, and important mission. Doge thugs stole the fucking building and its endowment. There will be an accounting, and your name will no longer sully a once fine institution.

Surprising no one. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Does not bode well. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

🎯 'Incredibly Damaging to Jews': Calls to Expel Far-right Republican Rep. Randy Fine Over anti-Muslim Post www.haaretz.com/us-news/2026... 🧵🚨