The Saudi govt's decision to spike oil prices to simultaneously help Russia and hurt @POTUS is reigniting a debate in DC about just why the US has such a close relationship with the Saudi monarchy. Gonna start a 🧵to capture some of what's happening in one place. First up, Rep @Malinowski, who has been a steadfast champion of human rights, is introducing legislation to withdraw all US troops from Saudi and the UAE. Here's his thread explaining why:

https://twitter.com/Malinowski/status/1577818825877344257?s=20&t=wJ1blHIH9OUC0nrkTpI0pg

A few quick thoughts on no fly zones (NFZ). Just to be clear, no fly zones don't just happen, they're declared and then must be enforced. In this case, enforcing a NFZ over Ukraine would mean shooting down Russian military planes that refused to comply. 1/ There is zero reason to believe that Russian military aircraft would comply, which means someone has to shoot them down. The Ukrainian military is already doing what they can to shoot them down, so you're talking about outside intervention. In this case, presumably US or NATO. 2/

I’m truly baffled by the number of folks on this website who seem not to grasp that if you manage to temporarily avert a conventional attack only to then have everyone on the planet die in a nuclear war, you haven’t actually saved the lives you thought you were saving. It’s not at all that I don’t understand the horror that these Russian convoys portend. I do. It is horrific and terrifying. But it’s also pure delusion to think that US military action to “take it out” would not quickly escalate towards nuclear war.

There’s an emerging right wing narrative that somehow @POTUS energy policy is the real culprit on #Ukraine. It’s absurd but nonetheless having to refute absurdity is where we’re at in 2022, so let’s dig in. 🧵 The argument goes like this, Trump had a policy of “energy independence” and Biden is ending that which means that now since Russia exports oil and gas, we’re now strengthening them and Putin. Again, this is absurd in multiple ways. 2/

I really shouldn't be shocked at the disingenuous lies by House Republicans anymore at this point, but here we are. This statement by HASC RM Rogers is a real doozy though, and it actually shows a lot about how things have gotten so f*ed up. So let's dig in. 🧵 Let's start with Rogers claim at this airstrike was 'ordered by President Biden.' That is a lie & Rogers knows it. Here's the CENTCOM Cmdr confirming as much that same day. 2/

If you're a natsec analyst/commenter/purveyor of hot takes I'm asking today that you be careful about how you discuss the confirmation that the Kabul drone strike in fact only killed innocent victims. Quick thread. It's important to be honest in our commentary that this kind of thing has been common throughout the entirety of America's drone wars. Commenting in this moment in ways that implies this was simply an unusual mistake risks creating a false narrative of this being unusual.

.@POTUS just finished his remarks laying out his plans for a complete drawdown of the US war in Afghanistan. I'll link to the full text once it's live, but I think it's REALLY important for progressives and anti-war advocates to show up in this moment. Let me explain why. 🧵 First, let's start with the obvious. @POTUS is doing what many, many of us have LONG called for. Yes, details matter. Yes, he's also doing a LOT we disagree with. And yes, this all should have happened a decade ago. But he's also still doing what we've called for. 2/

A disappointing whitewash from the @DoD_IG as their report on Trump's abuse of active duty military personnel at the southern border came out today. A few thoughts on context and what comes next. <thread> For starters, you can read the full report here: dodig.mil/reports.html/A… 2/

Just how twisted is the Senate GOP #coronavirus bill you ask?

It includes $686 million for new #F35 fighter jets. As you know, fighter jets are well known for their pandemic fighting abilities.

🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 Oh yeah, they have 2+ years to spend the money on these new fighter jets. Nothing says responding to the urgency of this current crisis like buying a fighter jet in 2022, amiright?!

Watching the stock market soar today as the worst job numbers in history are reported is beyond infuriating. The delusion happening on Wall Street right now is incredibly deep. <short rant in the form of a thread> The stock market bounce seems to be based on a series of delusional thoughts. Chief among these is the notion that the economy was strong in February and will soon bounce back to where it was. That's just beyond absurd. 2/

Last year the United States dropped 7,423 bombs on #Afghanistan. That's a fairly incomprehensible number. So to help you understand, here's 7,423 bombs. Then imagine how the US would respond if another country dropped one single bomb on us. 💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣 💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣

A lot of friends and colleagues have asked me over the past few days how worried I am about the current situation with Iran. The short answer is, very. Let me explain. <thread> In the nearly 9 years I have been working @WinWithoutWar and working on these issues, this is by far the closest the United States has been to a major military conflict with Iran. Neither side has reason or intention to back down at this point, and all signs point to war. 2/

Wanna know how broken and captured Washington is by the Pentagon and the corruption of our nation's "defense" budget? Well, look no further than the soon to be enacted budget "deal." Let me explain. <long thread> You're no doubt hearing a lot of crowing from Democrats about how the deal they struck with Trump gives more money to "non-defense" spending than to "defense." Let's be clear that by every measure, save the one they're using, that's simply not true. 2/

A few quick thoughts on the rapidly escalating crisis we're seeing with #Iran. Many of us have been warning since day 1 about the recklessness of Donald Trump. Since they joined the Admin, we've been warning about the lust for war with Iran from Pompeo and Bolton. 1/ THIS right here is why we have been saying that. Trump walked into office with no crisis. He inherited a functioning nuclear deal that was working as advertised. Yes, there were other concerns, but we have concerns with nearly every country, and were not in crisis w/ Iran. 2/

An important read by @KatieBoWill for @DefenseOne on the state of play with #2020 Dems and foreign policy. A few thoughts worth pulling out of the piece, and some that are missing. <thread> defenseone.com/politics/2019/… First and foremost, always good to see @MiekeEoyang giving her thoughts on this stuff. Mieke and I don't agree on everything, but if you aren't listening to her, even when you disagree with her, you're doing Dem foreign policy wrong. 2/

Moments ago the Senate voted (once again) to cut off US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. We are inches away from a historic rebuke not just of Donald Trump but also of the belief that we can bring peace by waging war. 1/ Now, this legislation goes back to the Senate, where previously Republicans cynically used this bill to try and launch an attack on Democrats over antisemitism. You can see what happened by watching this amazing video from @jstreetdotorg

https://twitter.com/jstreetdotorg/status/1104110192613122049

2/

To those rushing to condemn @Ilhan based on reports of what she allegedly said, I implore you to watch the video of her actual remarks. She simply did not say what she is accused of saying and what she did say needs to be heard. facebook.com/busboysandpoet… Rep Omar says “So for me I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is ok for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country. And I want to ask, why is it ok for me to talk about the influence of the NRA...

This is a fascinating and important story. 👇👇👇 <thread>

https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/1088822095168131077

One of the most interesting and perhaps illuminating questions is why Trump cares so much about #Venezuela. According to this story, Trump requested a briefing on Venezuela on his 2nd day in office. To state the obvious, that's odd. Why did he care so much?

Really important to understand the 3 part crisis we're about to see unfold when Donald Trump claims a fake "emergency" and forces the military to build the wall. <thread> 1) This is a constitutional crisis, plain and simple. The constitution gives Congress solely the power to appropriate funds. They have done so and Trump is planning to unilaterally take those funds and use them for another purpose for his own political agenda. 2/

Want to know what corruption and foreign influence looks like in practice? Here ya go. <thread> 1/ Earlier today, 13 days after he went missing, the good folks at @MiddleEastInst put out the below statement. To the best of my knowledge (though they should correct me if I'm wrong), this is their first public statement on the matter. 2/