@maxboot.bsky.social
CFR fellow, Washington Post columnist. Pulitzer finalist for biography. Author: REAGAN: HIS LIFE AND LEGEND, NYT bestseller and NYT 10 best books of 2024. Man of many hats. Repost ≠ endorsement. maxboot.net.
So Iran’s military is “100% destroyed,” yet somehow it’s able to keep attacking with drones, mines and missiles. 🤔
Jared Kushner, one of the U.S. government’s chief negotiators in the Middle East, is trying to raise more money for his private equity firm from governments in the region. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/b...
A thoughtful foreign policy agenda for Democrats from Rahm Emanuel. He should be a strong contender for Secretary of State in a Democratic administration. www.wsj.com/opinion/oppo...
So much hubris.
www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
The U.S. is trapped in a war of choice that Trump started. And what’s Trump focused on?
“The White House said that Trump was personally driving the project in an effort to provide ‘the best experience possible’ for White House guests.”
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Russia is reveling in the Trump administration’s decision to lift U.S. sanctions on Russian oil at sea, a move Moscow hopes will lead to further relief from penalties that had only recently begun to bite deep. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
As George Packer said, Trump and his team have all the hubris of the George W Bush administration with none of the idealism.
More excuses for Putin.
Imagine what Trump’s reaction would be if Zelensky were helping Iran!
“One Gulf leader told a European counterpart on a recent call that they privately despaired at what Trump was doing and thought he didn’t have a plan but did not want to communicate those concerns directly to the Americans.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Devastating, in-depth indictment of Witkoff's handling of the Iran negotiations: "Witkoff did not have sufficient technical expertise or diplomatic experience to engage in effective diplomacy." www.armscontrol.org/blog/2026-03...
You know the war is going well when JD Vance’s allies are leaking that he was opposed to it all along. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
Like something out of “Catch 22.”
You can tell the war isn’t going Trump’s way.
Pete Hegseth is spending a lot of his press conference attacking the media for accurate coverage.
“Don’t need to worry about it.”
So says Pete Hegseth about Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes.
More over Kari Lake. Here comes Sarah Rogers to run the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Elliott Abrams: The Trump administration’s removal of Maduro opened the door for Venezuela to return to democracy. But the White House doesn’t seem anxious to push the country through it. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
This is the person who has his finger on the nuclear button.
Like I said, Russia and China are likely to be the big winners of Trump’s ill-advised “war of choice” with Iran. wapo.st/4ui9QzJ
Not The Onion.
www.wsj.com/opinion/iran...
Like I said, Russia and China are likely to be the big winners of Trump’s ill-advised “war of choice” with Iran. wapo.st/4ui9QzJ
Like I said, the big winners of the US-Iran war are likely to be China and Russia. wapo.st/4ui9QzJ
Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave the G7 the White House’s position Tuesday morning: A massive intervention in oil markets was premature. Less than two hours later, U.S. officials reversed their earlier position. The 180 degree turn was due to a change of heart by Trump. www.wsj.com/business/ene...
Canadians have increasingly bypassed U.S. travel for more than a year, and the boycott shows no sign of slowing down.
Russia enters Viktor Orban's election campaign, providing consultants who will flood social media with messages designed, ironically, to frame Orbán, a Russia puppet, as "the only candidate who can keep Hungary sovereign"
From @financialtimes.com
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
According to the president, the war in Iran is "ahead of schedule." To which you likely responded: there's a schedule? The answer, almost certainly, is no; this is just something he says, having internalized it as a positive metric back in his developer days.
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
From a CIA veteran: Right now it looks like the Gulf—especially the UAE—is spending something like 28 dollars in defense for every dollar Iran spends on offense. Despite the strong performance of the UAE’s military, that's not a long-term equation anyone wants.
open.substack.com/pub/argonaut...
Scoop: The Pentagon barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed "unflattering."
NEW: The Iranian drone strike that killed 6 U.S. troops in Kuwait at the start of the war was far more devastating than previously disclosed.
Dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries, burns, and shrapnel wounds. At least one required an amputation. More than 30 remain hospitalized. (CBS News)
Iran on Wednesday said that the Strait of Hormuz was fully under its control and that any ships seeking to transit would need its permission.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
Seizing Kharg Island (as some advocate) may not do as much damage to Iranian oil exports as expected…