👇 Unless Congress affirmatively voted to authorize Trump admin strikes against suspected drug cartel affiliates (which are already illegal under domestic and international law), another law kicks in on Monday that requires the President to withdraw the U.S. military:

In my job as US anti-corruption coordinator, I spent a lot of time talking to partners about the importance of accountability. A lot of people couldn't hold their leaders accountable; they asked us to do what we could via sanctions. Thinking of those people right now, amid another betrayal.

Try reading this without your jaw dropping. Yes, even now, my jaw dropped. Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...

Protest is patriotic.

This is interesting but my main thought in reading is: yeah, maybe? I don't know, the reality is that inertia is real, as the US has found with its financial sanctions, OPEC found with oil, etc, etc. Cheap/accessible will always find clients. www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

New from @richardmnephew.bsky.social: "The United States and its partners should look carefully at the UN Security Council resolutions and identify similar ways to harness their measures toward preventing Iran from reconstituting its nuclear and missile programs."

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

Treasury removed sanctions on former president of Paraguay Cartes yesterday without an explanation. I guess I can say that I'm not surprised, just disappointed. Cartes was corrupt and is a corrupting influence in Paraguay. Removal of these sanctions doesn't change that.

Worth noting: the modality may be a little baroque, but the sanctionability of all of this is absolutely clear under US law and has been for over a decade.

Important story: U.S. sanctions make it nearly impossible to pay Iran for its oil. China has figured out how to do it anyway, in an arrangement that has largely been secret. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

A very interesting experience. Thanks for folks who participated. Hope you found it interesting too.

It's a vital moment for the challenge presented by Iran's nuclear program -- so I'm trying something new. Swing by and ask me anything on @Reddit today at 3:30PM ET. Thanks to the @Reddit team & moderators at r/IAmA for helping to organize. www.reddit.com/r/AMA/commen...

Don't sleep on the issues of corruption...corruption is an enabler of crime that debilitates government and poisons society. And people HATE corruption so it may also have some potency in public messaging.

Re-upping this too: www.wsj.com/opinion/snap...

Re-upping in light of snapback www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/back-to-basi...

Vote on UNSCR 2231 extension: 4 in favor 9 against 2 abstentions Snapback is happening. All pre-JCPOA UN sanctions on Iran will be reinstated at 00:00 GMT tomorrow.

I know a little something about military spending. I'd be shocked if this stunt didn't cost the taxpayer millions of dollars. So much for "government efficiency."

No deal. First of all, this isn't the only access required. Second, the CSA attaches to all safeguarded material, not just Natanz. Third, accepting the conditioning of CSA obligations generally is a mistake. Iran signed the safeguards agreement. It should fulfill it. amwaj.media/en/article/i...

Fellow American citizens and public workers, pursuing a "noble calling" -- www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3by... -- treated like this. Despicable and unforgivable.

These are all good questions but I'll add two more: 1) If he's convinced Ukraine can win (as I am), then will he put his back into supporting Ukraine? This sounds like not. 2) Is he aware that we are part of NATO?

[Goes back in time to say to wife, "dear, you need to tough it out a little" when pregnant with three children. Returns to this timeline with, somehow, three black eyes.] Yeah, maybe let's listen to the doctors instead on this one.

There are more than enough ideas. What we lack is the political will and leadership.

Don't believe people when they say there aren't ideas that we can try to put more pressure on Moscow and Putin. fsi9-prod.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/...

Pleasure doing this with Matt and thanks to @francoisdm.bsky.social and @thebulletin.org for putting it out.

⬇️

This @washingtonpost.com editorial doesn’t make it past the second paragraph without a glaring (and telling) factual error. President Washington didn’t create the War Department in 1789; *Congress* did: www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...

I will give credit when due: this is a good idea. It probably won't stop such detentions from happening, but it can/should/ought be part of the package. Strengthening Efforts to Protect U.S. Nationals from Wrongful Detention Abroad www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

An honor and a pleasure to join Perry World House as a 2025-26 Distinguished Visiting Fellow perryworldhouse.upenn.edu/news-and-ins...

Iran’s leaders have four primary paths to restoring or reconfiguring their nuclear program. @richardmnephew.bsky.social examines the different scenarios: 1/5

As @richardmnephew.bsky.social notes, Washington and its partners should be guided by four essential priorities: 🔹Detection 🔹Prevention 🔹Education 🔹Diplomacy 2/2

Iran has four primary options for restoring or reconfiguring its nuclear program, so Washington and its partners should focus on trying to shape Tehran’s choice rather than discounting the possibility altogether, writes @richardmnephew.bsky.social. 1/2 www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analy...

"It’s back to the future on Iran policy," write @richardmnephew.bsky.social and Michael Singh in @wsj.com. Here's why enforcing snapback sanctions on Iran will require hard work by Western diplomats and experts in the face of opposition from Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow:

New from @richardmnephew.bsky.social and Michael Singh in @WSJopinion: Last week, the U.K., France, and Germany initiated the process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran. Enforcing these will require hard work in the face of opposition from Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow.

Pros: we need to sort out our approach to drone warfare, how many ships we need, and managing theater missile defense. Admin: Let's rename DoD the Dept of War, give MacArthur a sixth star, and offer to settle the issue of Taiwan as a push-up contest between DefMins.

Latest from me and my Washington Institute colleague, Mike Singh, on Iran sanctions snapback. www.wsj.com/opinion/snap...

Interesting (and troubling) all round, but this bit screamed out at me. I'm sure he hasn't had someone tell him he missed something. This Admin fires anyone who dares question its brilliance (or are standing in the wrong place) and people do have mortgages to pay. www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

This is interesting. We'll have to see what it says, but if this holds, the differentiation between 1 and 3 strongly implies that they're going to try to "voluntary offer" their way through safeguards, likely to deal with Bushehr and try to manage perceptions. 1/3

Beyond outrageous and negligent.

Drove by there in my convertible a little while ago. I guess I'm lucky I made it home?

Just read this bit. I also made the concession that my neighbor doesn't have to hand over his car keys and let my kids sleep in his bed. I deserve to have half of his backyard as a chicken coop; he may have the rest and control of his tv remote. abcnews.go.com/Politics/van...

Unsurprisingly excellent. Oh, by the way, I was there and this bit is/was true. It was a true strength of those teams. I was unafraid to tell Bill what I thought and he insisted that we do so. I made the same demand, explicitly, of my teams subsequently.

Pretty appalling stuff.

Tremendous opportunity: Columbia SIPA and Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo announce New Public Service Scholarship for Fall 2026 Applicants www.sipa.columbia.edu/news/columbi...

Sounds good to me.

This is truly indefensible. In my last job in government as State's anti-corruption coordinator, this is the exact sort of thing we'd be upset about. But, that job has also been eliminated so I guess it's not a problem any more. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...