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Michael Weiss Profile picture
@michaeldweiss
May 16, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
Great investigation by @meduzaproject on how Russia's FSB has recruited ex-ISIS fighters to try to infiltrate Chechen and Tatar military units fighting for Ukraine: meduza.io/feature/2023/0…
More here: themoscowtimes.com/2023/05/16/rus…
Several years ago I did a long piece on how Russia instrumentalizes (back then one might have even said 'weaponizes') the very jihadists it claims to be fighting. thedailybeast.com/russias-double…
The FSB established a 'green corridor' to allow migration of known Islamists from the Caucasus to Syria via Turkey, knowing these fighters would join Jabhat al-Nusra (HTS) or ISIS.
The scheme was intended to alleviate threats during the Sochi Winter Olympics, drum up the terrorist quotient in Syria (thereby making Assad look more amenable to the West), and of course to create an agent network.
Former KGB spymaster Oleg Kalugin said this was a tried-and-true method for the Soviet/Russia services going back decades. Holy war is a problem, until it's useful.

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More from @michaeldweiss

Michael Weiss Profile picture
Dec 8
Suggest European friends and allies read not only the National Security Strategy but also the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2026, which was published last night. It's very long, so skip to this section: rules.house.gov/sites/evo-subs…Image
Here, for instance, we see several amendments written in direct response to what Elbridge Colby has been doing at DoD while Pete Hegseth does chin-ups and tequila shots. Note the provision about reclassifying aid to Ukraine as needed U.S. stocks -- this cannot be done, per this draft, unless the kit is so badly needed for a contingency op, its absence could result in mission failure or loss of American lives:Image
Let's say Trump wants to punish Zelensky again for not wanting to forfeit Donbas by cutting intel sharing to Ukraine. He would have two days to notify Congress on this decision. And he'd have to explain why he did it and what the anticipated consequences to Ukraine would be. "Because I'm an asshole and I don't care" might not even suffice in this fast-changing political environment!Image
Read 8 tweets
Michael Weiss Profile picture
Nov 22
U.S. officials now confirmed what I wrote yesterday -- this whole thing was a Russian active measure, leaked to the press to sow panic and confusion and be conflated with U.S. policy in an administration where incompetence and dysfunction are evidently features, not bugs. macspaunday.substack.com/p/he-got-this-…
Utter fucking embarrassment for the United States, and it certainly explains the muted/cautious response by the Kremlin. I do hope Europe is paying close attention. *This* is the government they think they need to kowtow to.
Question now is who was pushing this "Russian wish-list" as a do-or-die plan of action to the Ukrainians from the American side? I think we know the answer. And why is the admin suddenly backing away from this thing?
Read 9 tweets
Michael Weiss Profile picture
Oct 28
New: I acquired the private memoir of Gen. Alexander Zorin, a senior GRU officer who was Putin's envoy to Syria and is now leading POW exchanges with Ukraine. A feature film, "Porcelain Soldier," is set to debut in Russia next month, all about Zorin's adventures -- sort of a Stierlitz meets Bourne production, which was green-lit by former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-…Image
In all, I've acquired over a thousand pages of documents: Zorin's 186-page memoir, which he titled "The Negotiator" (watch your back, Sam Jackson), some of the ancillary production material for the movie, and five iterations of the screenplay, each more cartoonish in plot and dialogue than the last. The first draft is actually rather nuanced and ends with Zorin weeping upon learning a rebel commander he persuaded to evacuate was subsequently killed by the Russian army after Zorin gave his word that would not happen. (Who says the GRU is a heartless organization?)
The memoir is a fascinating portrait of the life of a still-active Russian spy, made more fascinating because in his pursuit of self-aggrandizement Zorin inadvertently reveals things his masters in Moscow might not like. These include the sorry state of the Russian Air Force in Syria (as in Ukraine, jet pilots used store-bought Garmin GPS devices to navigate, causing near-miss mid-air collisions and much else). The shoot-first-ask-questions-never disposition of racist Russian military commanders. And the Mad Hatter illogic of Russian disinformation schemes about Syrian chemical weapons attacks.Image
Read 9 tweets
Michael Weiss Profile picture
Oct 22
Re: Trump's denial of the WSJ story, read this paragraph twice. Transferring authorization from Hegseth to Grynkewich is almost the scoop itself. Cuts Elbridge Colby out of the process, and one wonders how and why this decision was taken -- note, taken before the Ze visit to the WH -- given all Cheese's unflattering press. Trump recently called him "J.D.'s guy." (Second screenshot from prior WSJ piece on Colby pausing deep strike authorization under this review process.) wsj.com/politics/natio…Image
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Not the first time Grynkewich v. Colby has popped up. When PURL was announced, Grynkewich was the guy named running point with DoD (logical enough given he's SACEUR). This was around the time of the Colby memo diverting USAI kit meant for Ukraine back into U.S. stockpiles. cnn.com/2025/08/08/pol…Image
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Which led to articles such as this one in The Hill: Image
Read 4 tweets
Michael Weiss Profile picture
Oct 22
Suspected the timing of Storm Shadows over Bryansk wasn’t a coincidence. Image
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Story: wsj.com/politics/natio…
“The unannounced U.S. move to enable Kyiv to use the missile in Russia comes after authority for supporting such attacks was recently transferred from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon to the top U.S. general in Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO commander.”
Read 4 tweets
Michael Weiss Profile picture
Sep 20
Steve Witkoff's Public Financial Disclosure form, which he filed late, is unsigned by any ethics official. It also falsely states Witkoff held no federal position before June of this year. He did not divest from relevant assets before he started his diplomatic job, as he was supposed to. And note the company at the heart of the big @nytimes investigation into his questionable business dealings with the Emiratis concerning World Liberty Financial, "a cryptocurrency start-up founded by the Witkoffs and Trumps." On page 23 of Witkoff's disclosure, World Liberty Financial is given with no value listed. nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/…Image
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Why is this document unsigned or certified by any government ethics official? Does this mean that no one has actually conducted the conflict of interest assessment and associated divestitures normally required before an official can start the job?
Why does it only cover the period from 6/30 through now? Where is the disclosure for January through the end of June?
Read 6 tweets

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