Have received a number of challenges and pushback to my equation of Putin's horrific Ukraine blunder with George W. Bush's Iraq one. Here’s my answer (forgive me: it’s a quiet morning) 1. This isn’t a moral contest, which I wouldn’t begin to know how to measure. It’s not ethical math. One’s invasion is a narcissistic swing for history based on bad intel bullied out of nervous professionals. The other is what Putin is up to. 2

The more Rittenhouse sinks in, the more unhinged today's America seems. Leave aside the debate over race narrative. No other democratic system would let teenagers, or citizens of any age, go where they please with ultra-lethal weapons, discharge, then claim self-defence. Thread There’s no parallel universe in which an adolescent with a military-designed assault weapon is making their own life safer, or anyone else’s. The fact that at least one of Rittenhouse’s victims was armed reinforces the point. People with guns attract and create violence.(2)

Worth emphasising the scale of the disaster Trump has wrought in the week since his call with Erdogan. 1. Revived Isis. 2. Cemented Assad’s grip on Syria. 3. Handed Russia yet another geopolitical windfall. 4. Betrayed the Kurds. 5. Immeasurably harmed US power. Thread 1. Of these, the last is the worst. I grew up in a world where, for all its faults, America was the last line of defence against barbarism. It took a long time to build that reputation, and it was often breached (Vietnam etc). It was nevertheless real. Trump is destroying it. 2.

Worth elaborating on the level of incompetence Trump showed today on Kashmir. Those unfamiliar with Indo-Pak situation may not realise that his offer to mediate on Kashmir dispute ranks among the most consequential mistakes he has made. But that's the least of it (1). He lied in the most idiotic way possible - one that would e immediately refuted by a fellow leader. "I was with Modi two weeks ago and we talked about this subject. And he actually said, would you actually like to be a mediator or arbitrator? I said, where? He said Kashmir." (2)

Those downplaying #Khashoggi's murder are practising serial whatabouttery: Why don't you care Saudi's bombing of Yemeni civilians? What about the hypocrisy of those who supported the Iraq war? Or Khashoggi's support for the Muslim Brotherhood? Here is why it matters. Thread 1. 2. Khashoggi’s murder is a key insight into the methods of a crown prince who wants to trigger a US war with Iran. The Iraq war was a disaster. An Iranian one could be worse. MBS’s support for Trump, Khushner et al was contingent in part on Trump pulling out of the Iran deal.