James Ryan's Avatar

James Ryan

@jdryan08.bsky.social

Executive Director, Middle East Research and Information Project (www.merip.org | @merip.bsky.social). Adjuncting at Rowan University. Historian interested in Turkey, Prodigal Son of Philadelphia. Usual caveats.

4,345 Followers  |  1,772 Following  |  2,564 Posts  |  Joined: 22.06.2023
Posts Following

Posts by James Ryan (@jdryan08.bsky.social)

Plenty of us out there doing the work. Yet, these neo-imperialist morons get play all the time.

05.03.2026 22:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah I would not bet on any of this happening. There a million other stupid and crazy things that are more likely (probable even) to happen before we get there.

05.03.2026 21:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I should say, it went the other way for awhile when these guys were seduced into thinking RTE could bring peace between Russia and Ukraine.

05.03.2026 21:23 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

Palestinian refugee camps of Burj Barajneh and Sabra and Shatila are being evacuated

These are the people who fled the Nakba and their descendants

The same state, Israel, is the cause of both

www.instagram.com/reel/DVgaM3u...

05.03.2026 16:31 β€” πŸ‘ 90    πŸ” 70    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 5

It is really not difficult to make the case that RTE is a malign regional actor without indulging Islamophobia or hallucinations about RTE’s ambitions or capabilities. And yet, these idiots make it harder.

05.03.2026 21:21 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Really scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

05.03.2026 21:07 β€” πŸ‘ 121    πŸ” 20    πŸ’¬ 10    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
It’s Not Complicated The mainstream media failed the public during the genocide in Gaza. The Key's editor-in-chief shares her vision for what comes next.

Former LA Times managing editor @sarayasin.bsky.social launches The Key, a new publication about Palestine that will be "a home for journalists who have had their stories spiked in mainstream outlets."

Her opening essay is worth every second of your time: www.thekeymagazine.com/p/western-jo...

05.03.2026 16:55 β€” πŸ‘ 399    πŸ” 170    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 2

"Motjaba is not a Hojjat al Islam, they rigged the vote on that. It was the biggest steal since the 9th century when the Abbassids..."

05.03.2026 17:15 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Marja Donald Al Mar al Lago

05.03.2026 17:13 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 1
Map showing Dahieh in red and orange

Map showing Dahieh in red and orange

The IDF just ordered the forced evacuation of *all of Dahieh* a day after ordering the forced evacuation of all of South Lebanon.

Israel is taking advantage of the focus on Iran to destroy Lebanon

05.03.2026 12:47 β€” πŸ‘ 344    πŸ” 223    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 33

I’ve had the thought over the last few days that all this would make more sense if these millenarian Christians turned out to be correct.

05.03.2026 03:19 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Another lesson I learned in the Bush years is that armchair psychology on these people is its own kind of pathology. I think closer to the mark is social media’s polarizing and viral nature. People with these predispositions get the worst of those instincts reinforced on the regular.

05.03.2026 03:18 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, and I’m not seeing it. Hardly at all.

05.03.2026 02:41 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

One aspect (among many) of this war that concerns me is the Islamophobic racism of the war’s supporters in congress and the media is somehow more callous and virulent despite low public support for the war.

05.03.2026 02:35 β€” πŸ‘ 24    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Good plan, there’s no way that the US would ever betray Kurds who fought on their behalf, or that Turkey would be upset by and seek to frustrate any US-backed Kurdish forces, or that an invasion from Iraq would trigger Iranian nationalist opposition. None of those things have ever happened.

04.03.2026 21:42 β€” πŸ‘ 890    πŸ” 263    πŸ’¬ 30    πŸ“Œ 13

WWII vet who became a chemist on the GI bill and worked forty some years at Merck. Owner of a construction firm in Cuba turned refugee and, eventually, manager of a construction firm here in the US.

05.03.2026 00:32 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The US and Israeli War on the Middle East Our recent work understanding the dynamics

Interested in following reliable news and credible analyses on the Iran war, but don't know where to start?

Here's "The US and Israeli War on the Middle East" from our friends @jdryan08.bsky.social and @merip.bsky.social:

www.merip.org/2026/03/the-...

04.03.2026 22:01 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I see we’re doing Sykes-Picot discourse again.

www.jadaliyya.com/Details/32140

04.03.2026 18:27 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Even better when you manage to provoke the committee into arguing with each other!

04.03.2026 16:58 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

Indeed.

04.03.2026 16:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Most people only ever read it this way!

04.03.2026 13:12 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Urgent warning to residents of southern Lebanon: Hezbollah’s terrorist activities are forcing the Defense Army to act against it with force. The Defense Army does not intend to harm you. For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, its facilities, or its weapons puts his life at risk. Any house used by Hezbollah for military purposes may become a target. To the residents of southern Lebanon, you must go right away to the north side of the Litani River to ensure your safetyβ€”evacuate your homes immediately and move northward beyond the Litani River. Be aware that any movement southward will endanger your lives.

Urgent warning to residents of southern Lebanon: Hezbollah’s terrorist activities are forcing the Defense Army to act against it with force. The Defense Army does not intend to harm you. For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, its facilities, or its weapons puts his life at risk. Any house used by Hezbollah for military purposes may become a target. To the residents of southern Lebanon, you must go right away to the north side of the Litani River to ensure your safetyβ€”evacuate your homes immediately and move northward beyond the Litani River. Be aware that any movement southward will endanger your lives.

Quick translation of the IDF statement ordering all of south Lebanon's population to immediately leave.

Keep in mind that Israel has never stopped bombing south Lebanon since the 'ceasefire.' They are now taking the next step to destroy as much of the country as they can.

04.03.2026 10:42 β€” πŸ‘ 425    πŸ” 172    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 13

Not super related but a fun fact is that the PKK as it exists today owes a lot to the DFLP. This is an excellent story about the entwinement of the two national struggles which defined the region in the 20th century.

04.03.2026 00:41 β€” πŸ‘ 143    πŸ” 26    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi | The dry and the wet burn together The war launched against Iran by the United States and Israel is a war of choice and of hubris. There is scarcely even...

One constant in this moment for Iran is that @eskandarsadeghi.bsky.social is a must read. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ma...

03.03.2026 23:27 β€” πŸ‘ 33    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 6

We’ve done a whole lot at MERIP over the last year that helps explain how we got here.

03.03.2026 22:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

As the laid off Middle East News Editor, I concur. Management eliminated the positions of every single staff correspondent and bureau chief in the Middle East.

02.03.2026 20:39 β€” πŸ‘ 8042    πŸ” 2215    πŸ’¬ 122    πŸ“Œ 71

It wasn’t any of the Arab countries it neighbors, nor the central asians. It wasn’t Martians. Who was actually looking for a fight?

02.03.2026 23:27 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

You knew they were going to be attacked by whom, Marco?

02.03.2026 23:20 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Wow

02.03.2026 20:55 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0