LIVE NOW: @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org, @atabatabai.bsky.social, Troy Edwards, and @sranderson.bsky.social are discussing the U.S. strikes on Iran, the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's response, and what may happen. Watch their conversation: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Tomorrow at 9am ET, @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org, @atabatabai.bsky.social, Troy Edwards, and @sranderson.bsky.social will discuss the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, Iran's response, and what may happen next. Subscribe to receive an alert when the live starts:

This is likely the first phase of counterattacks. The first two target-sets (US bases & energy) are part of the usual Iranian playbook, the third less so. As I said on NPR this morning, we should expect a second phase once this one is over, which will play out in the gray zone internationally.

Thanks to @npr.org for having me on Weekend Edition this morning to talk about the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, what we can expect from the Iranian regime, and what’s next. one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5726...

If current reporting is accurate, the US-Israel strikes in Iran are not (just) targeting the nuclear program, but also hitting key regime facilities associated with its decisions making bodies (the supreme leader and supreme national security council)—some located in very densely populated areas.

Excited to share “AI Cooperation under the Shadow of China’s Digital Silk Road” tinyurl.com/3jkap6x5 examining how the PRC advances AI ties across the Global South & offers actionable recs for democracies to compete through partner agency, interoperability, sustainable financing,& capacity-building.

Yesterday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to invoke the Defense Production Act to compel Anthropic to provide its technology on the Pentagon's terms. @alanrozenshtein.com analyzes what the DPA can actually do here and what exactly the government is demanding.

On Lawfare Daily, @atabatabai.bsky.social and @ebrewer.bsky.social joined @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org for a discussion of the likelihood of a U.S. strike on Iran, what the objectives would be, the legality of a strike, and more. youtu.be/IfNGVWjglL4

On Rational Security, @sranderson.bsky.social sat down with Daniel Byman, @michael-feinberg.bsky.social, and @atabatabai.bsky.social to talk through some recent big news stories around the world, including Marco Rubio's speech at the Munich Security Conference, U.S.-Iranian negotiations, and more.

Trump’s attempts to dominate allies come with many costs and few benefits, write @atabatabai.bsky.social and @j-dren.bsky.social.

Today's Lawfare Daily is a panel with @sranderson.bsky.social, Claire Finkelstein, Christopher Maier, Larry Lewis, and Geoffrey Corn on the challenges of civilian harm mitigation in urban warfare environments at a conference hosted by the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law. youtu.be/bexOMyFLaPg

The Washington Post—for which I wrote editorials for nearly a decade—has closed its Kyiv bureau. @lawfaremedia.org has not—and we will not. We now employ more people in Kyiv than the Washington Post. Let me tell you about what we have done in Ukraine over the past year and why we are not leaving

As Trump resumes negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program, we’re learning more about the horrifying scale of the regime's atrocities. We talk about all of that here. PS: Negotiating now w/ the regime is a mistake & emboldens it as it just killed more people than the CCP during Tiananmen.

For this second installment in our @lawfaremedia.org series on Trump's coercive approach to NATO, @j-dren.bsky.social & I look at how Russia views the tensions within the alliance. The acute phase of the Greenland crisis may be over (for now), but Russia will keep benefiting from it.

INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.

This is the first in a series of @lawfaremedia.org articles @j-dren.bsky.social and I have coming out that look at the implications of the administration's coercive approach to alliances in general and NATO in particular. Stay tuned:

On Lawfare Daily, @mollyroberts.bsky.social sat down with @atabatabai.bsky.social, and @j-dren.bsky.social to discuss the crisis over President Trump's threats to annex Greenland and its implications for the United States and NATO. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

"One feels ridiculous, coming from a society that is busily, proudly endeavoring to destroy itself, spending time in a society that is working under the toughest of circumstances to preserve itself." @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org reflects on the Situation from Kyiv.

On today’s #DogShirtTV, @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org & @hollybfletcher.bsky.social welcome Ari Tabatabai @atabatabai.bsky.social to walk us through the impact of Trump's deranged obsession with #Greenland on global power politics. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwss...

Today's world and domestic politics in the United States are no longer conducive to traditional methods of diplomacy in the context of nuclear nonproliferation. @atabatabai.bsky.social writes that Iran encapsulates this challenge—and provides an opportunity for the creation of a new toolkit.

On today’s #DogShirtTV, @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org welcomes Ari Tabatabai to answer questions from the #GreekChorus about the current situation in Iran. #IranProtests www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkhL...

On Rational Security, @sranderson.bsky.social, @tylermcbrien.com, @michael-feinberg.bsky.social, and @atabatabai.bsky.social talked through the week’s news in national security including the mass protests in Iran, ICE's increasingly provocative immigration enforcement, and more. youtu.be/vGQTeW9f3bI

Great conversation here with @richardmnephew.bsky.social—although I wish we were talking under different circumstances. Noting that we’re just starting to learn what happened during the internet shutdown with the death toll drastically going up. This round of protests seem different.

The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.

Coming up at 3 pm ET👇⬇️

yep, here we doh again

A lot happened in 2025–from the deployment of National Guard in cities across the country to airstrikes in the Caribbean to DOGE's incursion into executive agencies to the weaponization of the Justice Department—and we covered it all. Lawfare contributors reflect back on the year that was:

On Lawfare Daily, @atabatabai.bsky.social, @sranderson.bsky.social, and Loren Voss discuss the NDAA for 2026, its key provisions, and what it says for how Congress is reasserting itself vis-a-vis the Trump administration on matters related to the national defense. youtu.be/1Iy2a26r31k

Lawfare Public Service Fellow Ariane Tabatabai reflects on what occurred in U.S. foreign policy in 2025 in Lawfare's The Year that Was. youtu.be/e_kgbelGiMI

This year, multiple former national security officials–including James Pearce, @michael-feinberg.bsky.social, and @atabatabai.bsky.social–joined Lawfare through our Public Service Fellowship. The fellowship is made possible by the generosity of our supporters.

On today's Lawfare Daily, Lawfare contributors look back on the national security news events of the year and their coverage of it. In this episode, you’ll hear from @nkorpett.bsky.social, @annabower.bsky.social, @rparloff.bsky.social, @mollyroberts.bsky.social,

Even absent an order to “kill everybody,” @sranderson.bsky.social and @nkorpett.bsky.social write that the Trump administration’s second Sept. 2 airstrike on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean—like its broader military campaign—raise serious legal concerns that demand further scrutiny.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, I read a lot of comics this year and these were the best ones

NEW — I put together a list of independent journalism subscriptions that would make great holiday gifts. From music to politics, astronomy to alcohol, tech to social justice, there’s something for [almost] everyone. Support indie media *and* surprise and delight your loved ones! My guide:

Sorry for the mixed metaphor here, but this National Security Strategy puts the nail in the transatlantic coffin, and cedes the global floor to China.

On Dec. 3, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction issued the final report conveying findings from 17 years of oversight into Afghan reconstruction which chronicled how agencies spent the $148.2 billion appropriated for the reconstruction. Read the report, from Isabel Arroyo.

On Lawfare Daily, @atabatabai.bsky.social spoke to John Drennan and Matthew Sharp about New START, the last bilateral nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, the implications of its expiration in Feb. 2026, and where the arms control regime might go from here.

@tessbridgeman.bsky.social, @mikeschmitt.bsky.social, and @rgoodlaw.bsky.social on what you need to know about lethal strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats in their new expert Q&A. With a note to readers to email other Qs on your mind. www.justsecurity.org/126156/exper...

I’m biased because I am benefiting from this fellowship post-government, but it’s a deeply important one—especially in this environment where the very notion of public service is threatened. So please support this initiative by @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org and @lawfaremedia.org.

Absolutely devastating.

In October, French President Emmanuel Macron's approval rating dropped to just 19 percent. @atabatabai.bsky.social explains what has led to Macron's political troubles at home and how it has impacted his attempts to flex his country’s diplomatic muscle on the international stage.

@atabatabai.bsky.social compares Moscow's increasing gray-zone campaign against NATO allies to Beijing's pressure on Taiwan and looks at the implications of this enhanced adversary cooperation for the United States and its allies. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/russ...

Every winter since Russia launched its full scale invasion, it has tried–and mostly failed–to plunge Ukraine into darkness. @lapatina.bsky.social explains why this upcoming winter may be different with Russia deploying new tactics as Kyiv launches its own strikes against Moscow’s energy sites.

At @lawfaremedia.org, we spent a month tracking down public info on domestic deployments of National Guard, Reserve, and Active-Duty troops. What we found—and what we didn't—revealed a disturbing lack of transparency on how and why military forces are being used on U.S. soil.

Happy to have made my Rational Security debut with @tylermcbrien.com and @sranderson.bsky.social -- and the first of my (hopefully many) contributions to @lawfaremedia.org as the new Public Service Fellow!

I think it would be a huge public service if major media outlets interviewed people given RIF notices and let them explain in detail what their jobs are so that people can judge for themselves whether these positions are wasteful like Trump and Vought claim or whether they help the country prosper.

The key here is to understand what Hegseth means by "facility." At first glance, this framing makes it sound unusual and rather alarming. But it could be rather routine (we host allies and partners frequently, which is an important component of our cooperation with them).

Here it is. This is what it’s all about: Reshaping the military. Out: Anyone who disagrees with them on anything from climate to fitness standards, women, & Black people. In: Anyone accused of toxic behavior, sexual misconduct, etc This is not about readiness, it’s about loyalty to this admin.

Trump’s tariffs, sanctions, and attacks on the rule of law are putting the dollar’s dominance at risk, write Edward Fishman, @gautamjain.bsky.social, and @richardmnephew.bsky.social. “The true result of a declining dollar will be the demise of the very economic power Trump is attempting to wield.”