Emma Ashford

If Trump Is Neither Hawk nor Dove, What Is He? The president’s recent moves don’t fit the usual binary of U.S. foreign policy—but there is a historical precedent.

Trump’s strikes on Iran don’t fit neatly into the usual binary of U.S. foreign policy, which tends to see isolationism as the only alternative to engagement, writes columnist @emmamashford.bsky.social.

So much we don’t know yet. But generally agree with @emmamashford.bsky.social thus far.

Europe has a weaker hand than it thinks on Ukraine The ‘coalition of the willing’ sounds impressive but remains paper thin

Europe has a weaker hand than it thinks on Ukraine—By constantly shifting the goalposts — downsizing potential troop deployments and issuing mostly empty threats to Russia — EU leaders have instead signalled their weakness. www.ft.com/content/677e... @emmamashford.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Defeatism or survival?

SignalGate Isn't About Signal The Trump cabinet’s shocking leak of its plans to bomb Yemen raises myriad confidentiality and legal issues. The security of the encrypted messaging app Signal is not one of them.

“Signal is a tool. If you misuse a tool, bad things are going to happen. If you hit yourself in the face with a hammer, it’s not the hammer’s fault. It’s really on you to make sure you know who you’re talking to.”

Like there are lots of things wrong with using Signal to discuss blowing up "the missile guy" in a house with 15 civilians in it, and the "using Signal" bit is very much only one of the ways that sentence is wrong, and a teeny tiny bit disturbing that it's the only way that seems to connect

Screenshot of the Atlantic Signal exchanges, including Michael Waltz saying "the first target - their top missile guy - we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed".

Not to be a wide-eyed naïf about such things but... am I right in thinking that they levelled an entire building to get to one guy and *that* is not controversial to anyone in the American media or political class, only that this information was recklessly shared in an unsecured chat?

And with the context, it's EXACTLY the same as the guy trying to explain why his ex-girlfriend's number is still in his phone contacts. 😂

Mike Waltz denouncing Goldberg resembles nothing so much as a guy trying to frantically explain to his wife why his ex-girlfriend's number is still in his phone contacts. 😂

What You Gonna Do When DOGE Comes for You? Cutting wasteful spending is useful, but Elon Musk’s outfit is targeting nonprofits and undermining key arms of U.S. soft power.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/21/t...

What will you do when DOGE comes for you? In the new It's Debatable for @ForeignPolicy, @MatthewKroenig and I debate whether DOGE cuts to USIP, VOA, and USAID will impact US foreign policy for good or ill. 👇

The Tanker Wars with Ambassador Barbara Bodine • Stimson Center Amb. Bodine speaks about the effort to coordinate an international response to attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf

The first episodes talk about ways US diplomacy helped to prevent the use of force, or facilitate international cooperation.

More to come!

www.stimson.org/2025/the-tan...

My @stimsoncenter.bsky.social colleague @evancooper.bsky.social has a new series out: Diplomacy Wins, focusing on the success stories of US diplomats.

Particularly as US soft power is being degraded, we must remember that diplomacy is a vital counterpart to military force in US foreign policy.

Results from : s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

Looks like the reaction to the blowout in the oval office has moved the needle a little on Americans' perceptions of Ukraine, but along highly partisan lines.

Omg is it Time to Bomb Iran Day again already? It seems to get earlier every year. I didn’t even remember to buy a cake.

Nordstream was always the best example of the divergence between Ukrainian interests and broader European ones -- and it will probably continue to be so if a peace is signed.

I know @vgr.bsky.social loves a good 2x2 and this is one of the best I’ve seen in a while

Donald Trump is every undergrad who forgot to study for the midterm and only barely remembers the lecture, but now they’re on a roll.

Opinion | How Do You Like the Trade War Now? Trump is furious that Canada won’t take his tariffs lying down.

From: www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-tr...

Wall Street Journal not mincing words this morning: "We said from the beginning that this North American trade war is the dumbest in history, and we were being kind."

DOGE can help close empty, useless military bases across US If Elon is up for disruption, we have a BRAC logjam for him

Maybe we could try to redirect DOGE at something more productive, like BRAC.

@capreble and @nick_clevelands make the case.

responsiblestatecraft.org/dog...

As a few people have asked, a thread on the MV Solong/MV Stena Immaculate collision from your friendly neighbourhood maritime expert.

A big ol' caveat that this is all still developing, but this is what we know.

Please treat all "act of war" talk you see online very carefully at this stage!

The first amendment should apply, but those on visas and green cards have always had to watch their speech and associations or risk being denied renewal in the future. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to pledge to USCIS that I'm not a communist over the years!

As an immigrant to the US after 9/11, I find the idea that immigrants don't have more reason to fear state power to be laughable.

The Khalil case is chilling for free speech, but let's not pretend that US immigration rules have ever been anything other than arbitrary on this question.

Never thought I'd see this sentence in Foreign Affairs, tbh.

Jason, I have always found your writing to be thoughtful & enlightening, even when I disagreed. Your writing & stewardship of Cato Unbound is one reason why I consider myself to be a classical liberal.

I know we all have moments like this, but you're selling yourself and your life far too short.

Why Putin is finally negotiating Moscow could soon struggle to finance the war, and fiscal breathing room may well be what the Russian leader’s looking for.

🗣️ As Trump and Putin consider meeting, @agathedemarais.bsky.social explores why Moscow’s shrinking fiscal reserves could be pushing the Kremlin to the negotiating table.

With no Plan D to fund its budget deficit, is Putin seeking a financial lifeline?

via @politico.eu 📰

Ukraine agrees US minerals deal after Washington drops toughest demands Kyiv hopes agreement on jointly exploring resources will improve relations with Trump administration

Reporting from: www.ft.com/content/1890d104-1...

Looks like we have a finalized "rare minerals" deal with Ukraine. It doesn't seem to have changed much from the interim version. While it could have implications for reconstruction if fleshed out, as it stands, it's probably a bit of a nothingburger.