Ankit Panda

You know, I do think there should be more public dialogue about nuclear weapons in a world where stockpiles are expanding and arms control is all but gone. But not like this, man come on
#Nukesky

I contain multitudes, Matt!

(Genuinely surprised this is getting any engagement.)

Imminentize the eschaton.

Good plan, there’s no way that the US would ever betray Kurds who fought on their behalf, or that Turkey would be upset by and seek to frustrate any US-backed Kurdish forces, or that an invasion from Iraq would trigger Iranian nationalist opposition. None of those things have ever happened.

YouTube video by Carnegie Endowment Where Did Iran's Deterrence Go Wrong?

Iran made several missteps in its deterrence strategy in the leadup to war. @nktpnd.bsky.social broke them down: youtube.com/shorts/KX1Vh...

After Hegseth Cut Ties, Harvard Offers Workarounds for Troops

Jeremy Weinstein, dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, gives admitted members of the miltary the option to defer for several years, but also arranges expedited review of their application at other schools if they don't want to postpone, in response to Hegseth's foolish Harvard cutoff.

South Korea's Cheongung-II Intercepts Iranian Missiles in UAE Combat Debut South Koreas Cheongung-II Intercepts Iranian Missiles in UAE Combat Debut Domestically developed M-SAM system achieved over 90% interception rate in first combat use, part of $3.5 billion UAE contract

"Cheongung-II (M-SAM) was deployed in combat in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and intercepted multiple Iranian missiles, it was revealed on the 3rd. This marks the first instance where South Korea’s exported weapon system has been deployed in combat" www.chosun.com/english/nati...

I have a pit in my stomach thinking through the many ways in which this goes very, very wrong.

These quotes are actually very revealing about modern American civil-military relations

A bar chart showing results to the following survey question: Based on what you know, how likely is it that US military action against Iran will spark a broader regional war? Likely: 71% overall, 65% Republicans, 84% Democrats, 68% Independents Unlikely: 25% overall, 33% Republicans, 16% Democrats, 26% Independents From a Chicago Council on Global Affairs/Ipsos poll fielded February 27-March 1, 2026, among a random national sample of 1,018 adults.

New @global-affairs.bsky.social /@ipsosus.bsky.social poll finds that most Americans—including majorities across party lines—see US strikes on Iran as likely leading to a wider regional war.

Full analysis with my colleagues @roguepollster.bsky.social and Lama El Baz: bit.ly/4b1tg2N

Macron's speech available in English now. The official translation is "forward deterrence." us.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/speech-pr...

We had a very good set of questions about alliances and extended deterrence, which I was happy to answer frankly. It matters what kind of country the United States chooses to be.

(Very fun to ask cadets about the Kuwaiti Hornet-on-F-15 action on the sidelines.)

Enjoyed speaking to a very inquisitive group of US Air Force Academy cadets today on the more dangerous and complex nuclear environment facing the United States.

This was a very enjoyable deep dive on the state of AI-nuclear discourse and the analogy often drawn between transformative AI and the bomb.

The ‘AI as Nuclear Weapons’ Obsession AI enthusiasts love to say that the technology is as revolutionary and important as nuclear weapons.

thanks to @nktpnd.bsky.social for talking to me about the current obsession with seeing AI as nuclear weapons. A strange and useful (?) metaphor

I think war is serious business, real life-and-death stuff, and should be taken seriously by people who initiate and prosecute it.

Sorry to get so partisan, but that’s how I feel.

Consistent with a latency approach. bsky.app/profile/nuke...

Restarting tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is not going to be quick even with US military escorts and government insurance schemes, experts tell the FT www.ft.com/content/e006...

The USAF test-launched a Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg into the Pacific. The missile carried three unarmed Mk12A reentry vehicles for the 335-kiloton W78 warhead. The MIRV test comes as US is considering increasing deployed warheads. www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article...

And this: "Any military engagement by Pakistan against Iran would be fraught with risk, due to widespread support for Tehran among its population, most fervently from its 40mn-strong Shia minority."

And complicated for Pakistan given the war with the Taliban.

Pakistan urges Iran not to attack Saudi Arabia Foreign minister highlights how Islamabad has a mutual defence pact with Riyadh

Interesting given the 2025 Saudi-Pakistani pact www.ft.com/content/3f67...

Kuwaiti Fighter Jet Mistakenly Shot Down American F-15s, Initial Reports Say A Kuwaiti F/A-18 fighter jet was the cause of the accidental shootdown of three American F-15s on Sunday, according to three people familiar with initial reports of the incident. One F/A-18 pilot laun...

It was a fighter! "A Kuwaiti F/A-18 fighter jet was the cause of the accidental shootdown of three American F-15s on Sunday, according to three people familiar with initial reports of the incident." www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

Per the NY Post, it's actually way dumber than that

Omg, he used the phrase!!!

"Arab countries are probably using more interceptors each day or two than America can churn out each year."

Military questioned use of makeshift office space in Kuwait where U.S. troops were killed The first American service members to die in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran were killed in an apparent Iranian drone attack on a makeshift office space in Kuwait, sources told CBS News.

This is pretty outrageous. Entirely preventable KIAs www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-st...

This is such a sick burn if you know you know.