Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Brian Castner Profile picture
Brian Castner
@Brian_Castner
Head of Crisis Research for @Amnesty. Weapons investigator. Former EOD officer. OIF/OEF x 3. Author of STAMPEDE, DISAPPOINTMENT RIVER, THE LONG WALK, etc.
Jun 8, 2023 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
Today we're publishing a new report on war crimes committed by the Taliban in Panjshir. @ZaSultani, @_stella_cooper, and I have been documenting cases of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary mass arrests, torture, and hostage taking. 1/ amnesty.org/en/latest/news… Image Each of these crimes are egregious on their own, but when combined, they also amount to the war crime of collective punishment. 2/
Apr 11, 2022 • 15 tweets • 10 min read
Last month, I was able to access the Rivne television tower complex, which was struck by Russian cruise missiles on 14 March. For everyone's benefit in weapons OSINT twitter, here's a photo thread (with additional expertise from @blueboy1969): 1/ First, on the legality: news reports say at least 20 were killed, but gov't officials aren't releasing names of dead, nor whether military or civilians. This makes it difficult for us at Amnesty to determine if this was a lawful strike. france24.com/en/europe/2022…
Apr 27, 2021 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Been listening to the new podcast on Gallagher's war crimes trial, and I need to take issue with the basic conceit: "the series explores just how blurred the line between right and wrong has become in the forever wars."
Wrong. The line isn't blurry. 1/ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… The series makes a dangerous fundamental misunderstanding of the law. Gallagher was accused of an extradjudical execution and targeting of civilians. That's not blurry or a grey area. That's a war crime. Under both IHL and the UCMJ. No ambiguity.
Mar 2, 2021 • 43 tweets • 19 min read
My new book, STAMPEDE, is coming out April 13th. (penguinrandomhouse.com/books/598588/s…)

A true joy of researching the Klondike gold rush was diving into the wealth of historical imagery. So every day between now & pub, I want to share a photo. Like this iconic shot of the Chilkoot Pass: 1/ Image Prior to the 1897 rush, few prospectors worked the creeks off the Yukon. The indigenous people knew of the gold but had little use for it. The Russians barely left the Alaskan coast. Americans didn't arrive until the 1870s. To me these guys look made of soot and frostbite. 2/ Image
Dec 16, 2020 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Important investigation here on the strike on the Shushi cathedral in October. The ordnance scraps collected at the scene remain a bit of a mystery, but to me they point to IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) as the likely manufacturer. (photos in thread below) There are photos in the HRW report that show a March 2019 manufacture date. They also show this same basic data plate pattern.
Dec 13, 2020 • 20 tweets • 5 min read
We've gotten a lot of feedback on this piece. Some is in bad faith, but some is legit and from researchers and journalists I respect, so let me answer a few concerns. 1/? (I don't feed trolls. And I ignore government bots. But if you have constructive thoughts, reply away, I'll leave it open)
Nov 27, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Interesting use of web design here to explain this painting. But the pieces misidentifies the man in green, who is (my opinion) the key to it. I wrote about him in my book DISAPPOINTMENT RIVER. Warraghiyagey, the bridge between whites and the Iroquois. 1/ nytimes.com/interactive/20… "Warraghiyagey" was Sir William Johnson, named by the Mohawk as "One Who Does Much." In the painting, he is the only main figure doing anything, running into the scene while everyone else sits and watches General Wolfe die.
Dec 16, 2019 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
On my run today, listening to @Tmgneff on this podcast, I thought about the various discussions I've been having with veterans since the Afghanistan Papers story came out.

I realized I had been conflating two things: was this wrong, and was this news? (1/?-book list to follow) I realized I have almost skipped past the wrongness, long ago having become accustomed to the official dissembling, what @AdrianBonenber1 calls "the absurdity and cravenness of this chartified process." It makes me angry, but it no longer surprises. newrepublic.com/article/155918…
Oct 31, 2019 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
Over the last week, protesters in Baghdad have died with some absolutely gruesome injuries. Every doc we talked to said it's trauma like they've never seen.

Here's a #thread about the new grenades being used, and why they are so deadly. amnesty.org/en/latest/news… Listen, there are videos out there of these horrific injuries at the moment of impact. Do yourself a favor and don't watch them - your sleep will thank you. The CT scans from hospital afterward are bad enough, as you can see.
Oct 22, 2019 • 17 tweets • 13 min read
In August we went to Tripoli to do post-blast investigations on civilian casualties. Full @amnesty report & cool interactive map at the link.

But for #osint & #weapons twitter here's a long #thread on what exactly we pulled out of the craters & bomb dumps amnesty.org/en/latest/news… We made it to 33 strikes, on both sides of the front line: Tarhouna, Qasr Bin Ghashir, Wadi al-Rabie, al-Swani, etc. Some of the craters were a month old. Others, like a slaughterhouse hit on Eid, were just struck that day. I managed to pull fresh frag out of nearly every spot
Oct 1, 2019 • 17 tweets • 7 min read
Today we are releasing a new investigation into an American airstrike that caused civilian casualties in Somalia.

With so much Trump impeachment news to keep up on, why should you spare a moment on 3 dead farmers in Somalia?

Give me a shot in this #thread to answer that. First, the facts: on 18 March 2019, the US launched an airstrike against 3 men driving in a Toyota SUV on their way back to Mogadishu. Everyone agrees on that.

@USAfricaCommand says they killed 3 "terrorists."

We say they don't know who they killed. amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
Feb 18, 2019 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
This senior French artillery officer says from inside the Coalition what many of us have been saying from outside: the destruction of ISIS didn't have to mean the rubblization of eastern Syria and northern Iraq. /thread thenational.ae/world/mena/top… Here are some choice quotes: "Yes, the Battle of Hajin was won, at least on the ground but by refusing ground engagement, we unnecessarily prolonged the conflict and thus contributed to increasing the number of casualties in the population." 2/
Aug 21, 2018 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Last night, the US admitted publicly that they killed al-Asiri in a drone strike. He was NOT a master bomb maker, & speaking now as a former EOD tech, the US obsession with al-Asiri embodies everything misguided about US natsec "strategy." (thread/) Quick recap: al-Asiri is the reason we have body-scanners and laptop checks in airports, though he was fundamentally a failed bomb designer. He was the "mastermind" of plots that didn't work, but he was on the FBI's Most Wanted List for years. (2/)