Steven Heydemann

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?

After Fifteen Years Cut Off, Syria Reclaims a Place in Global Finance - The Syrian Observer This doesn't means Syria’s economic crisis is over, Ultra Syria writes

syrianobserver.com/society/afte...

2/
It was BS then and it's BS now. Which is not to say that the Iranian regime was negotiating in good faith, or that Trump was either, for that matter. It is to say that when an autocrat starts thumping his chest, waving the flag, and crying about imminent threats, keep your bullshit meter handy.

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.

Syria condemns Iranian strikes on several Arab countries Damascus, Feb. 28 (SANA) Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned Iranian strikes on a number of Arab countries, describing them as violations of their

Times have changed.

sana.sy/en/syria/229...

Syrian Government Shakeup Expected To Diffuse Presidential Power and Integrate Minorities In Syria, a significant government reshuffle is anticipated in the coming weeks, primarily aimed at integrating minority groups and distributing the myriad roles currently held by President Ahmad al-S...

newlinesmag.com/running-note...

Deadly Clashes Rock Suweida as Armed Group Storms Security Branch, Highway Attack Leaves Driver Dead - The Syrian Observer According to local sources, the unrest began early in the day when an armed group from the village of Lubein in Suweida’s western countryside—affiliated with the Abu Sarhan clan—stormed the Criminal S...

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...

Anti-Illicit Gains Authority Seizes 80% of Samer Fawwaz’s Assets Under Settlement Deal - The Syrian Observer According to individuals familiar with the negotiations speaking to Zaman al-Wasl, the arrangement constitutes a purely financial settlement with the state and does not shield Fawwaz from future crimi...

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...

Syrian Rights Group Challenges Legality of Amnesty Decree, Citing Constitutional Violations - The Syrian Observer SNHR expressed alarm over the decree’s substantive content—specifically its exclusion of “gross violations against the Syrian people.”

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...

Ghassan Alian: The Man, the Moment, and the Mission - The Syrian Observer Alian’s appointment is less a sign of Israeli strength than of strategic unease, Majed Azzam writes for Syria TV.

syrianobserver.com/foreign-acto...

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.

Maryland AG Brown sues Trump administration over ICE facility Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown sued the Trump administration on Monday in an effort to stop plans to convert a Washington County warehouse into an immigration detention facility.

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.

The Decaying Legal Culture in the Defense Department Trump and Hegseth will leave the uniformed military damaged by illegality, and Congress will be complicit

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

US military moves forces and equipment out of northeast Syria base U.S. forces are pulling out of a key base in northeastern Syria as part of an apparent larger drawdown.

apnews.com/article/us-f...

State Department orders nonessential US diplomats to leave Lebanon as tensions with Iran soar The United States has ordered nonessential diplomats to leave Lebanon as tensions over Iran rise with the threat of a potentially imminent military strike.

apnews.com/article/unit...

Meidas Touch Network & MoveOn present the PEOPLE'S STATE of the UNION FEB 24 8:00 PM est MOVEON.ORG/LIVE SEN. ED MARKEY SEN. JEFF MERKLEY SEN. CHRIS MURPHY SEN. TINA SMITH SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN REP. YASSAMIN ANSARI REP. BECCA BALINT REP. GREG CASAR REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR REP. JIM HIMES REP. SARA JACOBS REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL REP. JOHN B. LARSON REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE REP. CHELLIE PINGREE REP. EMILY RANDALL REP. MARY GAY SCANLON REP. DELIA RAMIREZ REP. BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN & MORE HOSTED BY KATIE PHANG & JOY REID

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

The Syrian oil sector's year zero By driving the Kurds out of northeastern Syria, the central government has regained control over all of the country's oil resources. However, given the poor condition of the wells, damaged by fighting...

www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/a...

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...

Yes. Israeli media is pushing out all kinds of content about historic Jewish claims not just to the areas in Syria Israel now occupies but the entire Syrian Hawran.

Special Saturday Triad: What I Saw at the Battle of Minneapolis The national media has moved on. Minnesota is still under siege.

"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.