Howard Eissenstat

One was a sweatshop worker who died before he was forty; the other owned a diner named "Harry's Place"

On that note, a lot of "well it's not happening after all" talk about ground incursions misses how desperate many Iranian Kurdish and Balochi factions are after decades of military failure and doesn't really explain what exactly the concentration of airstrikes in Western Iranian provinces are for

Destroying the Iranian state with the IRGC still around as a substantial armed actor in whatever hollowed out husk remains would generate levels of instability that will inevitably drag in the forces of most of Iran's neighbours long after the Americans and Israelis have declared victory and left

Amberin is a journalist I trust on this beat

Pogroms in the West Bank continue, each day a little more.

Israeli map showing all of southern Lebanon in red with yellow arrows pointing to north of the Litani river

The IDF just ordered the *entirety of south Lebanon* to be forcibly displaced.

They are emptying the land of its population, creating a massive crisis, and will now proceed to further annihilate large parts of Lebanon.

The very nation state of Lebanon is being destroyed.

Much talk about "The Kurds" in Iran today

For Ankara, whether the CIA does or does not support the PJAK in Iran is mostly a side-show

Ankara's chief concern is a destabilized Iran, a failed state.

And there's not much that Ankara can do about it either way.

I know that the people who need to read this aren’t here, but here goes:

Rules of engagement aren’t for the enemy. They’re for you. They’re for your soldiers when they’re captured or wounded. They’re for your civilians when they’re in range of the enemy. They’re for your allies, to reassure.

Useful thread

How the Damascus Dossier Investigation Failed Families of Syria’s Forcibly Disappeared The landmark international effort has been nominated for a prestigious award, but those living with the effects of Assad’s killing machine called it a media stunt

"I wish these journalists had thought of me as a mother before they thought of their scoop." | Melvyn Ingleby and Hazar Yazji on how the Damascus Dossier investigation failed the families of Syria’s forcibly disappeared

My initial reaction to the US attack on Iran In lieu of an analysis and in a total communications blackout

Worth reading this brief essay from @naghmehs.bsky.social on watching the Iran war from abroad

truethings.naghmehs.com/p/my-initial...

starting to see destruction porn here and elsewhere which, as always, shows hegseth's 'destruction' but hides all the horrible 'death'

Conflicting reports regarding whether the Iranians intentionally targeted Turkey.

Jasmine Crockett concedes to James Talarico and calls for Democrats to “rally around our nominee.” The GOP, meanwhile, has nearly three months to go before the ugly runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton is resolved.

I worry less about a repeat of Iraq in 2003 than a repeat of Syria in 2012, but, of course, on a much larger scale.

I worry less about a repeat of Iraq in 2003 than a repeat of Syria in 2012, but, of course, on a much larger scale.

Ankara summons Iranian ambassador after Iranian missile shot down over Turkish territory.

Much talk about "The Kurds" in Iran today

For Ankara, whether the CIA does or does not support the PJAK in Iran is mostly a side-show

Ankara's chief concern is a destabilized Iran, a failed state.

And there's not much that Ankara can do about it either way.

The mark of true fluency in Turkish - which I will never achieve - is to be able to converse exclusively in deyim and atasozleri

My initial reaction to the US attack on Iran In lieu of an analysis and in a total communications blackout

Worth reading this brief essay from @naghmehs.bsky.social on watching the Iran war from abroad

truethings.naghmehs.com/p/my-initial...

As you know, it is very much mine. Turkey is effectively a status quo power. Israel is a rogue state.

Dün dündür; bugün bugündür

It also strikes me as a particularly foolish step by the Iranians... Tehran has nothing to gain and a lot to lose if Turkey shifts from politely condemning the US/Israeli strikes to joining in!

Again, this is the first Iranian attack on Turkish soil.

It was a step I didn't expect, for a good number of reasons, and one that Ankara clearly was hoping to avoid.

This is an interesting framing in that it specifically credits NATO rather than Turkish forces.

Significant because it highlights the utility of the NATO alliance.

Also, and perhaps I am reading too much in here, "NATO" is probably more politically palatable than "US"

Congress confirmed as SecDef an unqualified Islamophobe w/ Crusader & white supremacist tattoos, a raging disdain for the professional military & civ-mil relations, & unchecked gender issues and is now shocked that he's at a podium speaking like a commander in the Uruk Hai a/b "warfighters"

An Iranian ballistic missile was shot down by NATO air defences over the Hatay province in Turkey's Southeast. The Turkish government says that all hostile acts will be dealt with in accordance with international law and that allies will be consulted. Unclear if this means invoking Article 4.

Israel has ordered all villages/towns/cities south of the Litani River (which runs across south Lebanon).

This means hundreds of thousands of people.

Honestly, I have a hard time understanding Iran's strategy, which seems as likely to cement regional support for the US campaign as it is to create pressure to stop it.

Seems unlikely

That's... not a strategy. But thanks