Freelance journo working on security & geopolitics in MidEast & South Asia. Bylines: Newsweek, Spectator, Nikkei Asia, AJE, Prospect et al. RT ≠ endorsements.
Turkey
Joined December 2012
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The Taliban takeover has not been good for Pakistan. Drug-trafficking from Afghanistan has increased under Taliban rule, my new piece shows, with frequent large seizures of opiates and crystal meth, the latter feeding a domestic 'ice' epidemic.
atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/so…
Rupert Stone retweeted
Following Trump’s playbook from 2024 and since, a once pro-life Republican senate candidate says that abortion “should be handled with [a woman's] family and her doctor. Period” and pledges that he “will never… overturn” a “woman’s right to choose.” As some of us have warned, the GOP is becoming a second pro-choice party.
I have been clear about this issue time and time again and I will not allow Abdul to lie about my position.
This decision is one of the hardest decisions a woman will make in her entire life and it should be handled with her family and her doctor. Period.
The Michigan voters went to the ballot box and made a woman’s right to choose part our State Constitution and as Michigan’s next Senator I will never go to Washington and overturn the will of the Michigan people.
Rupert Stone retweeted
Mike Rogers will be another rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda. We can’t afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November. #MISEN
Rupert Stone retweeted
Haley Stevens has chosen to dangerously betray Michigan families’ healthcare, freedoms and future with her horrific endorsement of Mike Rogers.
@AbdulElSayed must win — because Michigan and our country deserve better. -NP
Rupert Stone retweeted
Early voting forecast suggests blue wave, Dems could exceed 2018 turnout advantage. Republicans need highest-ever Election Day vote to meet 2022/24 levels
gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-11…
Rupert Stone retweeted
A few takeaways from a gloomy @IISS_org Manama Dialogue this weekend:
- Very real sense of dread about another, more destructive round of war in the coming weeks, which is unsurprising
- Gulf states are clear and unanimous that they don't want it, a difference from February, when messages to Washington were rather more mixed
- At the same time, there was a feeling of resignation: no one willing to criticize the Trump administration in public, nor to talk in private about what sort of pressure they might bring to bear on America
- There were even some bizarro-world discussions about opportunities for growth and connectivity in the Gulf. Trump is driving a car with no brakes, Gulf states are strapped on the roof, and people are somehow still talking about, like, IMEC and data centers
- Barely any American representation, at a moment when America is deciding the fate of its Gulf allies
- No clarity on what sort of deal (sequencing, nuclear concessions, etc.) the Trump administration would actually be willing to accept. And a broad consensus that Trump himself may not be clear
- Lots of upbeat talk about the Mecca pact, middle powers playing a role in maritime security and so on; little evidence any of this is making a difference yet
- Gargash offered some well-founded criticism of Gulf states failing to work together this year; everyone else offered paeans to Gulf solidarity that seem disconnected from reality
In general, the feeling was a world in torpor: nobody wants this, and nobody has any great ideas for how to stop it
Rupert Stone retweeted
Michigan Democratic Party Curtis Hertel kicks Haley Stevens out of the Democratic Party
“Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party.
Rupert Stone retweeted
Major blunder in Maine blowing up tonight after Susan Collins inexplicably released an ad Thursday ridiculing loggers.
One logging association has already pulled their endorsement, with others expected to follow.
Jackson claiming it shows just how out of touch Collins has become after 30 years in DC..
Rupert Stone retweeted
Wow… what an absolute charlatan. Three days ago, Stevens said she was voting for El-Sayed. I hate politicians who switch sides at the last minute before elections. And everyone else always ends up hating them too. Just the ultimate political treachery.
Rupert Stone retweeted
New: Statement from Haley Stevens’ chief of staff Justin German confirms many of her team have resigned & they back Abdul El-Sayed for #MISen
“We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens’ decision to support Mike Rogers.”
Rupert Stone retweeted
I’ve known Haley Stevens for a long time. Until now, she has always had staff to protect her, prop her up, and keep her safe from her own irrational behavior. What we’re seeing now? This is just raw, unfiltered Haley.
The Haley who flip-flops and goes from thought to thought without rhyme or reason. The Haley that calls you at 3 AM to yell at you, and then calls you back at 5 AM oblivious to the fact that she even spoke with you at 3 AM. The Haley who bends to the last and loudest voice that tells her something.
More often than not that last voice is now her fiancé. And as you can see by what one of her former staff people posted earlier here on X, that appears to potentially be a really troubling relationship.
Up until this point, other than a joke I made on X a few days ago, I wasn't going to say anything public about Haley Stevens or how she has comported herself since the primary. It not only wasn't appropriate, I would never, ever want anyone to think I was speaking for or on behalf of my wife. But Haley's erratic choices mean I can no longer be silent about my interactions with her since the primary ended.
I approached Haley in the middle of September about putting her name to an Op-Ed attacking Mike Rogers for his unwillingness to denounce the antisemitic members of his own team, the $10 million in support he's received from Christian nationalist Tim Dunn, and his steadfast opposition to a woman's right to choose. The goal of the Op-Ed was to remind members of the Jewish community that Mike Rogers doesn't align with our values. The proposed Op-Ed never mentioned Abdul. The only thing it asked for was to not vote for Mike Rogers.
Initially she was very interested in it.
Then she wasn't.
Then she was again.
Then she wasn't.
She never signed it.
Literally the bare minimum - attack MAGA Mike Rogers, the guy who would have been running against you had you won the primary. And that was over a month ago. This is nothing new. This is just who Haley is. By the way, here's the Op-Ed that she wouldn't let me publish.
Former German foreign minister heckled loudly and repeatedly by students in Sweden for her approach to Gaza
Rupert Stone retweeted
The chair of Michigan’s Democratic Party has issued a scathing statement against Congresswoman Haley Stevens.
The statement says she has “abandoned everything she claims to care about.”
And the party rejects attempts by Stevens “and bad-faith actors” to undermine their momentum.
ALT Statement card. Header: Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel. Quoted statement criticizing Mike Rogers as Trump’s hand-picked Senate candidate and supporting Abdul El-Sayed. It says Haley Stevens’ decision to campaign with Rogers shows she has abandoned everything she claims to care about, and that the party rejects attempts by Stevens and bad-faith actors to divide the party. Second paragraph: laser-focused on winning on Tuesday to lower costs, end corruption, check Trump administration chaos, and put Michigan first.
Rupert Stone retweeted
This is the single most unproductive, selfish thing a Democratic candidate has done all cycle and likely many cycles before that.
Having misjudged candidates in the past myself, I hope everyone who tried to recruit, support, and defend Haley can now admit what a mistake it was.
Rupert Stone retweeted
For the first time in 30 years of @NBCNews polling, more voters say they are dissatisfied with their financial situation (51%) than satisfied (49%).
🔗 nbcnews.com/politics/2026-el…
Rupert Stone retweeted
A shock moment in the Michigan Senate race: Haley Stevens, who lost to Abdul El-Sayed for the Dem nomination, publicly endorses the Republican candidate after falling out with El-Sayed over Israel.
Rupert Stone retweeted
Breaking and very sad news -- Sen. Chris Murphy is hospitalized following a stroke, an aide to the Connecticut Democrat confirmed Sunday.
His staff began notifying people Saturday afternoon of the hospitalization and stroke, a person told POLITICO at the time.
“Yesterday afternoon, Senator Murphy started experiencing numbness in his arm while at his son’s hockey game. He was taken to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had experienced a stroke,” Allison Herwitt, Murphy’s chief of staff, said in a statement.
“He was transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring and is responding well to treatment. The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery,” she added.
Murphy, who is viewed as a potential 2028 White House candidate, has been traveling the country to campaign for candidates, including recent stops in Michigan, Minnesota and Florida. He had been previously scheduled to attend campaign events in New Hampshire on Sunday.
more w/ @jordainc
politico.com/news/2026/11/01…
Rupert Stone retweeted
Iran's rhetoric on the war has hardened considerably over the past two days. From Mojtabai Khamenei to Rezaie, to senior have all said that if war resumes Iran will react with massive, disproportionate and unrestricted retaliation. This shows that Iran thinks that despite the last minute diplomatic activity war is becoming more likely, and its threats are aimed at deterring war or at least the more massive war plan options Trump is looking at. Iran's hardened rhetoric is not because diplomacy is succeeding but because likely it is not.