We've already established that Chuck Schumer knows more about non-proliferation and Iran than trained diplomats, national security experts, arms control experts, nuclear scientists, and more diplomats. But did you know that Chuck Schumer also knows more about the military risks post by the Iran deal than actual military people? It must be true: Three dozen … Continue reading People who are obviously not as smart as Chuck Schumer: an ongoing series

The "Bomb Bomb Iran" network got a little smaller on Monday, when the anti-Iran deal group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) fired parted ways with (but really fired) their president, Gary Samore. Samore is a veteran non-proliferation expert who served as Barack Obama's first-term "Coordinator for WMD Counter-Terrorism and Arms Control," so you'd think his … Continue reading If you need an anti-Iran shill, why not call the best?

Over at LobeLog, I look at the phenomenon of Republican politicians, particularly the party's presidential candidates, eagerly praising Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Just last week in the debate, Ted Cruz hailed Sisi's "courage" when he "called out radical Islamic terrorists." You know, that's great, he gave a speech about the bad guys, cool. But … Continue reading Sisi’s very wealthy PR machine

Brookings' Bruce Reidel notes that it's been a while since anybody heard from Ayman al-Zawahiri: Zawahri designated Yemeni Nasir al-Wuhayshi—leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula—to be his successor in 2013. Then this June, al-Wuhayshi died in a drone attack in Yemen. Zawahri did not give a eulogy for his deputy. Then, the Afghan Taliban … Continue reading Have you seen this man?

After successfully negotiating with the US over a UN resolution opening an investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Vladimir Putin must have been feeling pretty good about himself. So good, in fact, that his government invited Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir to Moscow to try to reach a political settlement over the … Continue reading The tribulations of Vladimir Putin

Loyalist forces in Yemen, with the help of their Saudi-coalition backers, have reportedly taken the last Houthi-controlled town in Yemen's southern Abyan Governate. Added to the coalition's victories earlier this month in Aden and neighboring Lahij Governate and Al-Daliʿ Governate, and all of a sudden President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi's forces have control over most … Continue reading Most of south Yemen belongs to the government again

Yesterday amid all the Trump-Ailes-Kelly nonsense, I had a Deep Thought: https://twitter.com/dwdavison9318/status/630910477212733440 It's true, isn't it? If CNN or MSNBC, rather than Fox, had pioneered the idea that a news network should get to pick and choose which candidates would get to participate in a primary debate, Fox would never have stopped talking about it. … Continue reading Why is CNN picking Republican winners and losers too?

For a change, let's start today with a story that isn't about people killing other people or crazy people running for office, OK? The Turkish government has nominated the Stone Age site of Göbekli Tepe, located in Turkey's south-central Şanlıurfa Province, for a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Archeological work has been done … Continue reading Turkish archeological site shakes up prehistory

Something pretty fascinating is happening in Iraq, where in spite of the ongoing war with ISIS that must be consuming most people's thoughts, thousands of people in the Shiʿa south have been turning out for a couple of weeks now to protest the general awfulness of their government. A recent (and completely off the charts) … Continue reading Rebuilding Iraq’s government could be a risky proposition