James Ryan

So Iran has the power to wreck the world economy, but that’s insufficient to deter the USA. Cool equilibrium

a man in a suit and tie is sitting in front of a blind ALT: a man in a suit and tie is sitting in front of a blind

Nah my choice is Steve Carrell. Make it a dark comedy, a sequel to Three Kings.

Except the guys the UK sent learned a lot more, a lot faster about the places they were ruling. That empire lasted that long for a reason.

So would I! Hell, give me enough money and I’d write it!

The thing about Middle East policy is we don’t actually spend that much money planning around it and this guy was so powerful pretty much because he was the only person with any power in FP who cared.

You could write the history of 21st century US foreign policy disasters in the Middle East as a biography of this one guy.

"A U.S. diplomat who was in the embassy when McGurk arrived found his steady advance astonishing. “Brett only meets people who speak English. … There are like four people in the government who speak English. And somehow he’s now the person who should decide the fate of Iraq? How did this happen?”"

Plenty of us out there doing the work. Yet, these neo-imperialist morons get play all the time.

Yeah I would not bet on any of this happening. There a million other stupid and crazy things that are more likely (probable even) to happen before we get there.

I should say, it went the other way for awhile when these guys were seduced into thinking RTE could bring peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Palestinian refugee camps of Burj Barajneh and Sabra and Shatila are being evacuated

These are the people who fled the Nakba and their descendants

The same state, Israel, is the cause of both

www.instagram.com/reel/DVgaM3u...

It is really not difficult to make the case that RTE is a malign regional actor without indulging Islamophobia or hallucinations about RTE’s ambitions or capabilities. And yet, these idiots make it harder.

Really scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

It’s Not Complicated The mainstream media failed the public during the genocide in Gaza. The Key's editor-in-chief shares her vision for what comes next.

Former LA Times managing editor @sarayasin.bsky.social launches The Key, a new publication about Palestine that will be "a home for journalists who have had their stories spiked in mainstream outlets."

Her opening essay is worth every second of your time: www.thekeymagazine.com/p/western-jo...

"Motjaba is not a Hojjat al Islam, they rigged the vote on that. It was the biggest steal since the 9th century when the Abbassids..."

Marja Donald Al Mar al Lago

Map showing Dahieh in red and orange

The IDF just ordered the forced evacuation of *all of Dahieh* a day after ordering the forced evacuation of all of South Lebanon.

Israel is taking advantage of the focus on Iran to destroy Lebanon

I’ve had the thought over the last few days that all this would make more sense if these millenarian Christians turned out to be correct.

Another lesson I learned in the Bush years is that armchair psychology on these people is its own kind of pathology. I think closer to the mark is social media’s polarizing and viral nature. People with these predispositions get the worst of those instincts reinforced on the regular.

Yes, and I’m not seeing it. Hardly at all.

One aspect (among many) of this war that concerns me is the Islamophobic racism of the war’s supporters in congress and the media is somehow more callous and virulent despite low public support for the war.

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.

WWII vet who became a chemist on the GI bill and worked forty some years at Merck. Owner of a construction firm in Cuba turned refugee and, eventually, manager of a construction firm here in the US.

The US and Israeli War on the Middle East Our recent work understanding the dynamics

Interested in following reliable news and credible analyses on the Iran war, but don't know where to start?

Here's "The US and Israeli War on the Middle East" from our friends @jdryan08.bsky.social and @merip.bsky.social:

www.merip.org/2026/03/the-...

I see we’re doing Sykes-Picot discourse again.

www.jadaliyya.com/Details/32140

Even better when you manage to provoke the committee into arguing with each other!

Indeed.

Most people only ever read it this way!

Urgent warning to residents of southern Lebanon: Hezbollah’s terrorist activities are forcing the Defense Army to act against it with force. The Defense Army does not intend to harm you. For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, its facilities, or its weapons puts his life at risk. Any house used by Hezbollah for military purposes may become a target. To the residents of southern Lebanon, you must go right away to the north side of the Litani River to ensure your safety—evacuate your homes immediately and move northward beyond the Litani River. Be aware that any movement southward will endanger your lives.

Quick translation of the IDF statement ordering all of south Lebanon's population to immediately leave.

Keep in mind that Israel has never stopped bombing south Lebanon since the 'ceasefire.' They are now taking the next step to destroy as much of the country as they can.

Not super related but a fun fact is that the PKK as it exists today owes a lot to the DFLP. This is an excellent story about the entwinement of the two national struggles which defined the region in the 20th century.