Hizballah has lost strength & support in recent years. That said, Israel’s current campaign, basically unanswered by the Lebanese gov’t & military, is seen in historical context. People don’t like being bombed & occupied. Israel has repeatedly done both. Remember: 82-00 was Israel’s Vietnam. 1/n

The Uncanny Echoes of Iraq in Trump’s War With Iran The president has often defined his foreign policy approach in opposition to the Bush administration’s, but he is following in its footsteps

“In perhaps the most revealing echo of all, the Trump administration said the Iranian regime would crumble or surrender under U.S. and Israeli bombardment, evoking the Bush fantasy of ‘shock and awe.’”

My piece for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on uncanny echoes of Iraq:
newlinesmag.com/essays/the-u...

İmamoğlu'nun casusluk yaptığına AKP seçmeninin sadece yüzde 28'i inanıyor - Medyascope CHP MYK'da, Ekrem İmamoğlu'na yöneltilen casusluk suçlamasının sorulduğu güncel anket verileri paylaşıldı. Ankete katılanların yüzde 70'i İmamoğlu'nun casusluk yaptığına inanmazken, AKP seçmenleri ara...

Turkish survey results on espionage charges against jailed Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu:

- Of all respondents across party lines 70% believe he is innocent

- Fewer than third of AKP voters believe he's guilty of espionage, while 56% say they're undecided

medyascope.tv/2025/11/04/i...

Press Conference: FM Elina Valtonen and FM Hakan Fidan YouTube video by Suomen ulkoministeriö

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Helsinki today, said his country wants a renewed push towards EU membership. At presser with Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen, both underlined importance of security cooperation (as agreed in a memorandum in June) 👇🏼 www.youtube.com/live/ov8AhOP...

The next time, I am asked what people can do with a degree in African Studies, I can finally say 'they can become mayor of New York.'

Just published. A Turkish-language history of the Soviet Union, written with @onurisci.bsky.social. Somewhat in the way that Dan Diner asked in Cataclysms how 20th-century history might be told looking out from Odesa, we approach Soviet history with Turkish connections/comparisons in mind.

To svenskere tiltalt for terror: Kastede håndgranater mod Israels ambassade Det er første gang i nyere tid, at der nu kommer en retssag, hvor de tiltalte er anklaget for en terrorhandling, som også er udført.

Two Swedish citizens (18 & 20yo) charged with terrorism for allegedly throwing grenades at Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, which exploded near the building. First trial in recent DK history for an executed terror attack, rather than just a plot or attempt.
www.dr.dk/nyheder/sene...

UK removes Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham from terrorist organisation list An order has been laid in Parliament to deproscribe Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), enabling closer engagement with the new Syrian government.

Late to this, but UK removes HTS from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations to enable "closer engagement with the new Syrian government."
www.gov.uk/government/n...

ICE Just Spent Millions on a Social Media Surveillance AI Program The digital surveillance software, known as Zignal Labs, is also used by the Israeli military and the Pentagon.

San Francisco-based Zignal Labs is aiding ICE’s crackdown on free speech.

Its AI surveillance program monitors 8 billion social media posts a day. Clients include the Israeli military and the Pentagon.

Surveillance as a service, authoritarianism as a business model.
truthout.org/articles/ice...

»Turkey plans to supply military equipment to Syria, including armored cars, drones, and air-defense systems, to be deployed in northern Syria.«
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Firing Squads and Forced Death Leaps: A Tipping Point in Syria Ten months after rebels toppled the long-entrenched Assad regime, little-checked bloodshed has led many Syrians to abandon hope that the years of brutality may be over.

»The Times verified that government security forces carried out at least one of the executions we documented. In two other executions, witnesses recounted that at least some of the fighters identified themselves as members of government security forces.«
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/w...

The Vanishing Act: How Assad’s Top Henchmen Fled Syria, and Justice

When Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in Syria, many of the officials who enabled and enforced his brutal regime disappeared. Our reporting uncovers who they are, what they did and where they fled. nyti.ms/3J1W5Cs

Members of Congress growing concerned over lack of information from administration about Venezuela strikes, sources say Republicans and Democrats say the administration is failing to share basic information with Congress about the intelligence, rationale and goals of its war on drug trafficking.

A worrying observation from @slotkin.senate.gov: “We’ve never had an instance where there’s a secret list of what I understand to be dozens of new terrorist organizations that the American public and certainly the oversight committees don’t get to know.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

Syrian Kurdish forces reach agreement with Damascus to merge with national army, commander says The Syrian government and the main Kurdish-led force in the country's northeast have agreed in principle to merge the U.S.-backed force into the national army.

The Syrian government and the main Kurdish-led force in the country’s northeast have agreed in principle on a plan to merge the U.S.-backed force as a cohesive group into the national army, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi told Hogir Abdo for @apnews.com

apnews.com/article/syri...

Spies, Burgers and Bombs: After a New War, Old Wounds Resurface in Tehran

»The authorities were jamming GPS signals in the city to make it harder for Israeli or American warplanes to locate potential targets. But that also made it near impossible for customers to hail his cab. Since June, his business was down 70 percent.«
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/w...

👉 Hvorfor er Trump lykkedes med en våbenhvile mellem Israel og Hamas netop nu?
👉 Hvordan har amerikanernes syn på Israel ændret sig de seneste år?
👉 Hvordan harmonerer Trumps fredsdiplomati i Mellemøsten med hans America First agenda?

Det talte jeg om i Deadline.

www.dr.dk/drtv/se/dead...

Inside the West’s Race to Defend the Arctic Sailors scanned for icebergs on a nine-day journey to the U.S.’s northernmost military installation this summer—part of an effort to erode Russia’s vast advantage in the region.

I spent 3 weeks on a cargo ship in the Arctic, from Canada to Greenland. Our only company was blizzards, killer whales, thick fog and icebergs. Here is my story about how the West is lagging seriously behind Russia in the Arctic, and why it's so difficult to catch up

www.wsj.com/world/inside...

This is the first time in my adult life that Israeli media mention end-of-conflict scenarios. Suddenly no more pundit nonsense about 'total victory'. There is worry about disarming hamas, enforcement, etc. I don't remember this level of optimism since i was a kid.

Congrats Dimitar! Very timely.

Adjunkt om valget i Syrien: Kritikere kalder det "intransparent og nær-nepotistisk" | Globalnyt For første gang siden den tidligere diktator Bashar al-Assad blev væltet i december sidste år har der været valg i Syrien. Det var dog ingen traditionel fol ...

Efter søndagens valg i Syrien er en tredjedel af parlamentets medlemmer nu på plads. Valget har undervejs været præget af uvished, så Globalnyt har bedt adjunkt og Syrien-kender @hetavrojan.eu om at forklare, hvad den historiske valghandling betyder for landet. globalnyt.dk/adjunkt-om-v...

Syria on ‘knife-edge’ in wake of sectarian clashes, warns UN envoy Slow place of reform adds to pressure on Ahmed al-Sharaa’s fragile new government

In valedictory @financialtimes.com interview, outgoing UN envoy Pedersen very critical on state of Syrian transition and Shara's management of process: www.ft.com/content/0af9...

Minorities had hoped to break into Syria's new political order in the weekend vote but few succeeded Syria's first parliamentary elections since the ouster of former President Bashar Assad have revealed deep divisions among the country's minority communities.

TL;DR
Most seats went to Sunni men.
Only 6 women and 10 minorities were elected nationwide.
apnews.com/article/syri...

Turkey extends airspace closure to flights to and from Sulaymaniyah Airport until January 6, 2026. The ban was initially imposed in April 2023.
www.basnews.com/en/babat/896...

New paper out with the CoE exploring how and how quickly terrorists adopt new technologies. It identifies factors inhibiting or encouraging new tech adoption - with two case studies on virtual assets and drones - and analyses the impact of new tech on terrorism in Europe rm.coe.int/report-on-th...

Tak for at sende forbi, Søren! Spændende læsning.

Druze seek Sweida autonomy and turn toward Israel, adding new twist to Syria's tensions When Syrian government forces entered the minority Druze enclave of Sweida this summer, it backfired.

Rich in detail: this report traces how July’s violence in Sweida pushed Druze factions toward seeing autonomy as a viable political option.
apnews.com/article/syri...

Druze Factions in al-Suwayda' after the National Guard Merger: Interview with a Constituent Group Since late August, virtually all Druze armed factions in the southern Syrian province of al-Suwayda’ have merged into the ‘National Guard’ initiative that is endorsed by Hikmat al-Hijri (one of the th...

Rare primary-source look at Druze groups in Suwayda w/ Hijri endorsements. This interview with a National Guard constituent group offers valuable insight into local dynamics often missing from broader analyses.
www.aymennaltamimi.com/p/druze-fact...

Turkey-Syria Relations: The Outcome of Long-Term Cooperation  | ISPI Turkey’s swift embrace of Syria’s new leadership has transformed Damascus from a security file into a partner in diplomacy, trade, and reconstruction, reshaping regional dynamics and testing internati...

This is a well-sourced report on Turkey’s evolving Syria policy, drawing on Turkish-language material that’s often missing from English-language debates.

www.ispionline.it/en/publicati...

German police arrest Syrian man suspected of crimes against humanity German police arrested on Tuesday a Syrian man suspected of committing crimes against humanity, including killing and torturing, as a militia leader in 2011 in Aleppo, prosecutors said.

As Syria holds its first election since Assad’s exit, Syrians must look to European courts for accountability.

www.reuters.com/world/middle...

The Women Who Helped Defeat ISIS Are Fighting for Their Place in the New Syria Kurdish forces that have elevated women are wary of the Islamist values of Syria’s new governors.

In Syria, a new generation has been shaped by competing political projects as much as by war. On the eve of the first election in 50 years, their exclusion risks reinforcing the very divides the vote is meant to bridge.

www.wsj.com/world/middle...