Reuters Exclusive "U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school." "The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the ​Middle East."

ICE has arrested and detained a Nashville journalist who reported stories critical of ICE. She’s married to a U.S. citizen and has been seeking asylum here after fleeing death threats in Colombia because of her journalism there. They’ve already sent her to Louisiana.

Hegseth says the U.S. has enough munitions to continue the war against Iran - with no defined endpoint and no clear public accounting of what victory would require. abcnews.com/Politics/heg...

the thing is... midget subs and missile-armed speedboats are still a threat, especially in a hormuz context. and there may be lots of mines and anti-ship missiles lying around undeployed as well

From me: Col. John Ripley, whose courage under fire beneath the Dong Ha Bridge is one of the Marine Corps' most hallowed stories of combat valor, will receive a posthumous Medal of Honor. The Senate OK'd it last week. Truly, an astounding American combat story. taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-...

Trump to Rubio: "Your next one is gonna be Cuba. He's waiting but he says, 'Let's get this one finished first.' We could do them all at the same time, but bad things happen."

There's a notable lack of amphibious ships in the Middle East. Big deck amphibs are essential for helicopter-borne raids or the evacuation of noncombatants. Here's a breakdown of the fleet there from CSIS:

New US weapons the US has used against Iran: -Ground-fired ballistic missiles -Large exploding drones @byjepstein.bsky.social has been closely tracking munitions used: www.businessinsider.com/iran-war-pro...

Most airlines' regular schedules to and from much of the Middle East remain suspended, @trainsonplanes.bsky.social reports: www.businessinsider.com/these-airlin...

"If you lose the battle in the spectrum, you're not going to win the war." via @chrispanella.bsky.social www.businessinsider.com/us-war-with-...

Great context from The Economist: "After America fully entered the second world war in 1942 its government repeatedly 'renegotiated' prices previously agreed in contracts with weapons firms—always downwards and by a lot." www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Operation Epic Fury, as well as Absolute Revolve in Venezuela earlier this year, are reinforcing that controlling the EM spectrum and denying an enemy’s use of it are “essential,” experts told me www.businessinsider.com/us-war-with-...

The White House just posted a video mixing real footage from the Iran strikes with a killstreak animation from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 x.com/WhiteHouse/s...

"Airstrikes alone cannot destroy the plans and know-how for building" missiles. @johnismay.bsky.social sets the record straight about the difficulties of eradicating Iran's missile arsenal: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/u...

Since 1991, Navy subs have launched scores of cruise missiles in combat, but the torpedo attack off Sri Lanka is a return to form after 80 years www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/u...

There’s nothing political about prominently covering fallen servicemembers www.cnn.com/2026/03/04/p...

EXCLUSIVE: The strike that destroyed a school in Minab, Iran was larger than has been previously reported. A nearby clinic was also hit. The evidence suggests a precision strike against an IRGC base that was adjacent to the school. www.npr.org/2026/03/04/n...

Gen. Caine: Epic Fury "launched with clear military objectives designed to dismantle Iran's ability to project power outside of its borders both today and in the future." This phrasing removes the tricky problem of Iran's intent to use IEDs or enrich uranium

"Russia has failed at much since it began its full-scale invasion in Ukraine, but it has had some success in creating the narrative that its victory in Ukraine is but a matter of time," historian Lawrence Freedman writes: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/o...

Hegseth today: "None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force." A lack of a ground force complicates the WH objectives of eliminating Iran's missile industry, its IED arsenal and ending its nuclear ambitions, leaving those solely to airpower alone.

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor was just days away from returning home to her husband and two children in Minnesota when a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait killed her and five other U.S. service members.

Last night, I spoke to former Army Pfc. Jeremy Watson who said this about Capt. Cody Khork: “[he] enjoyed being in the service…and was a great coach,” who taught him “Compassion, friendship, loyalty…[and] to always try to stay positive when you can.”

Former JAG: The law of war "permits the attack on legitimate military targets during an international armed conflict. If the warship was in fact an Iranian naval vessel, it was a legitimate target unless it had surrendered or was already sinking" www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-subm...

American submarines were devastatingly effective in World War II — and they weren't part of the War Department (Army and AAF) www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-subm...

SCOOP: A suspected Iranian drone attack hit the CIA’s station in Saudi Arabia in what would amount to a significant symbolic victory for the Islamic Republic as it lashes out at U.S. targets and personnel across the Middle East, sources tell Ellen Nakashima and me

Iran's Navy is rapidly losing new ships that it built to project power beyond the Persian Gulf. The Makran afloat forward staging base looks like it's aflame pierside at Bandar Abbas www.businessinsider.com/satellite-im...

A US wargame would have played out Iran's playbook, like missile and drone strikes, tanker attacks, SoH mining, drone attacks on oil infrastructure. Did US officials conduct one?

In 2012, Elbridge Colby and a co-author wrote an article about why not to attack Iran: -deterrence can work -cost Iran retaliation outweighs gains -challenges with preventing nuclear development: nationalinterest.org/feature/why-...

US naval escorts of tankers through Strait of Hormuz, should they start, would add to the strain on the US's deployed air defense missiles

If you are in the region, I cannot emphasize enough to enroll in the DoS STEP system. Here is some info:

white house releases objectives for operation epic fury. regime change not (any longer) a specific goal

Talk about a U-turn: (Bloomberg) - The Pentagon’s top strategy official acknowledged that the US operations against Iran are outside the scope of the Trump administration’s plans to have allies and partners pick up more burden-sharing of collective security. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

one-way attack drones are RUDIMENTARY CRUISE MISSILES shout it from the hilltops

The US's strategic pivot to Asia-Pacific, as USD Elbridge Colby has called for, has been repeatedly hamstrung by its operations in the Middle East

gulf states have been able to limit damage using air-defense interceptors, but they could run out of interceptors before iran runs out of drones and missiles.

[email protected] got proof that Russia has a harpoon-firing drone 🔱: www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-dr...

I learned a lot from my @brookings.edu colleagues here on the many implications of the Iran war. My own piece w/ O’Hanlon examines why the air campaign likely won’t produce democracy and stability. www.brookings.edu/articles/aft...

A quick primer on that dynamic with Noem & Lewandowski v. Miller open.substack.com/pub/straight...

"This isn't just an evolution in military affairs; it's a genuine revolution," a Russian commentator wrote of new US drones guided by Starlink. via BI's Matthew Loh and Sinéad Baker: www.businessinsider.com/russian-milb...

Trump warned that the US knew where Khamenei was last June and the NYT reported that these same sources and methods were used to target him Saturday. That's remarkable for its boldness and for the Iranian regime's failure to adapt: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/u...

Irony alert: X's new brand safety tool is — Grok! Details in leaked pitch deck ⤵️ www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-x-...

A flight path over Afghanistan is now the *safe* route via @trainsonplanes.bsky.social www.businessinsider.com/airlines-are...

Prof. Pape studied air campaigns including while at the US Air Force's School of Advanced Airpower Studies in the 1990s ->

Prof. Robert Pape: "I have studied every air campaign since WWI... I've modelled the bombing of Fordow and regime change in Iran for 20 years... We are now in the grip of the escalation trap... This has never worked in over 100 years... Trump is up against the weight of history".

First female US fighter pilot ever to be shot down in combat operations, I’m pretty sure. (By Kuwaiti air defenses, but still, a first is a first!)

Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence Rear Adm Mike Brookes testified today that the PLA Navy is moving from a hybrid diesel-nuclear submarine force to an all-nuclear submarine force. Notable. www.uscc.gov/sites/defaul...

"Nearly all the traffic cameras in Tehran had been hacked for years, their images encrypted and transmitted to servers in Tel Aviv and southern Israel, according to two people familiar with the matter." www.ft.com/content/bf99...

This is partly due to the widespread assumption of MDO planners that decapitation strikes at the outset of such a campaign can lead to the relatively rapid collapse of enemy resistance. There is no plan B if this does not happen, except to continue striking targets.

The US and Israel *together* lack armies even close to the range needed to occupy Iran, the Middle East's 2nd largest country.

We don't have 200,000 people to roll in there. It would take months to transfer all the equipment and personnel. We have, like, one 4,000 person armor brigade in Kuwait.