Moshe Ya'alon is an important man. You don't get to become Israeli defense minister without already being important, and being Israeli defense minister makes you far more important than that. So when Moshe Ya'alon has something to say or write, it must be important. It was with that in mind that I read his op-ed … Continue reading Keep beating that talking point until we’re sure it’s dead

Limiting food choices for people on SNAP isn't about "nutrition," it's about control. It's about the deeply ingrained right-wing belief that poor people are poor because of some moral failure rather than the normal outcome of the unequal economic and political system we've concocted for ourselves. That moral failure, whatever we're imagining it to be, … Continue reading It’s all about control, not “nutrition”

The good news in Iraq is that the Iraqi army, with outside assistance, was finally able to dislodge ISIS from the city of Tikrit last week in what is easily the paramilitary group's worst defeat since its major Iraqi offensive began early last year. It's almost always better to win a battle than to lose … Continue reading Winning a battle at the cost of the war

Well, the big news while I was traveling was obviously the announcement of a framework agreement, the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," between Iran and the P5+1 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Moreover, for a negotiation that looked to be puttering toward some kind of incredibly vague, hastily cobbled together statement of principles thrown together at the … Continue reading Iran: getting from a “deal” to THE deal

So as the title says, it's Spring Break this week. Not for me, but for my daughter, which effectively means it's Spring Break for me, too, but not in the fun way. I'm kidding; we're actually planning on doing a little family traveling this week, which will be fun. The upshot as far as you're … Continue reading Your Spring Break Iran Update

Tomorrow is Election Day in Nigeria, the end of a long campaign that has already been delayed once, ostensibly due to Boko Haram-caused violence but, well, who knows, and in which President Goodluck Jonathan's re-election is by no means a sure thing. Earlier today, in the happiest of total coincidences, the Nigerian army apparently destroyed … Continue reading What a lucky break!

Laura Rozen is quoting a "senior State Department official" in Switzerland for the current round of Iran nuclear talks, who says "we can see a path forward here to get to an agreement" on Iran's nuclear program by March 31. That sounds great, but maybe a little vague seeing as how that March 31 deadline … Continue reading Iran talks: over-abundance of deadlines causing problems, and France holding out?

John Boehner rolls out a bizarre new talking point: "The world is starving for American leadership. But America has an anti-war president," the Ohio Republican told reporters. "We have no strategy, overarching strategy, to deal with the growing terrorist threat. And it's not just ISIS or Al-Qaeda or all of their affiliates. We've got a … Continue reading So, does that make John Boehner “pro-war”?

Yesterday in Politico, Adam Baron, who knows a thing or two about Yemen, wrote this: The truth is far more complex, and the solution right now should be more along the lines of: Just stay out of it. While the chief combatants in the civil war are certainly playing the sectarian card to some degree, … Continue reading Saudi airstrikes push Yemen from “civil war” to “whatever’s worse than civil war”

Regular readers will recall that I'm skeptical that the current Iraqi campaign to drive ISIS back is sustainable, but I'll confess that I didn't expect things to bog down so quickly. The offensive to retake Tikrit has "stalled": The Iraqi offensive on the city, supported by the Shia-majority Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), had initial success, … Continue reading Today in “things that happened faster than expected”