Adam Mount

Cannot repeat the Obama-era dodge of saying "we tortured some folks" and not holding accountable the torturers and especially the chain of command. You want to stop state-sanctioned crimes? Trials not words are the only way.

Nuremberg trials for ICE is the moderate position

Presidents have said and done many terrible things: imperialist violence, regime change, and human rights violations. Trump unprecedented power that lets him act at speed, at home and abroad, in the digital age. Hobbes all the way down. @dandrezner.bsky.social
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Join me Monday to discuss "Conventional Deterrence of Nuclear Use" at Harvard Belfer MTA with @matthew-bunn.bsky.social! The piece always leads to fascinating conversations.

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Of course we can win, over time. But so much has been lost.

It's Leftenant Reginald "Trip" Wier III.

The unemployment rate for Black workers soared to 8.3% in November. That's more than double the rate for white workers.

Don’t Move On Just Yet Could a truth and reconciliation commission help the country heal?

It is boorish and unflattering to say I told you so, and yet at a certain point honesty does require it every now and then

NEW: www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

I'm really glad to see someone like Kelly finally saying this. bsky.app/profile/atru...

The first strike was also murder. You can’t just up and kill civilians on the high seas and then claim you were at war with them.

Here are US military lawyers stating clearly that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's "kill everybody" orders are either (1) war crimes or (2) murder.

Either way, expect prosecutions in the future.

www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/u...

Report Launch: Project Atom 2025 | CSIS Events Please join the Project on Nuclear Issues for a launch event for the Project Atom 2025 report on escalatory risk in the Indo-Pacific.

PONI is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of its Project Atom 2025 report. Please join us on December 10, 2025 at 9:00 AM ET for a discussion with authors @kschake.bsky.social, Rebecca Shrimpton, Kyle Balzer, and @ajmount.bsky.social.

Register to attend:

White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.

Democracy will not be restored in this country until all of the political leaders responsible for these unlawful actions are prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law. These should be prosecuted for murder, among other things. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Literally yesterday he threatened Democratic members of Congress with sedition and death for reminding the military of their duty to refuse to follow illegal orders.

The rule is: do not collaborate with fascists. There's actually no exception if you're a democratic socialist, you got to call him a fascist to his face, or you've got a killer smile.

The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.

The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.

People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.

And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.

Tracking Anticipated Deaths from USAID Funding Cuts Brooke Nichols has launched online tracking tools that capture estimated increases in mortality and disease spread for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases as a result of the near-total...

By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000.

More than 260,000 will be children.

Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...

So bad.

one of the most insane thing about partisan politics is that Republicans are allowed to say "these four million American citizens shouldn't get the representation they are entitled because it would be politically inconvenient for us" and nobody bats an eye

Graph showing life expectancy trends in 23 higher income countries between 1980 and 2024. Life expectancy increased over time in all countries. In 1980, the US is in the middle of the pack, but their life expectancy gains were slower than that of other countries, and by around 2002, the US had the lowest life expectancy of all countries. Over the next 20 years, US life expectancy increasingly tracks away from the trajectories of other countries, as their life expectancy stalls while other countries life expectancy continues to climb

This graph never fails to be shocking: "The US has experienced the earliest and greatest slowdown in life expectancy improvements among higher-income countries, reported Eileen Crimmins. “We have horrible life expectancy—and it’s getting worse and worse”"

www.prb.org/resources/se...

84% of political science experts said creating such a force poses a threat to democracy, including 65% who said the threat was extraordinary or serious brightlinewatch.org/violence-red... However, it is overwhelmingly popular among Republicans brightlinewatch.org/violence-red...

If the goal of the trip was to demolish the last remnants of nuclear order, I'd rate the last six hours a tremendous success.

NNSA reaping:
NNSA sowing:

6. The other articles in the issue look fascinating, so be sure to have a look.

As always, if you have trouble accessing my work, please get in touch (ajmount.com).

5. My takeaways:
• US officials consider conventional deterrence of nuclear use to be a valuable option.
• There is no consensus about how conventional (or nuclear!) deterrence could work.
• The US and allies should stop denigrating its credibility and start enhancing it.