
Columnist @ForeignPolicy. Insomniac, naturalist, frequenter of diners. Ex-WaPo, ex-Newsweek. Own worst enemy.
Washington, DC
Joined January 2011
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I firmly believe that Putin has miscalculated, and that his war will only lead to the outcomes he didn't want. Here's why
washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
Yikes
Israel's Channel 12 Reporting (English translation of their report:)
Breaking news in this edition
An unprecedented confrontation between the Chief of Staff and the Prime Minister has reached a critical—or perhaps disastrous—turning point over the last 24 hours.
At the heart of the matter: the Iranian issue.
There is concern on the part of [Chief of Staff] Zamir that Netanyahu and the political leadership might trigger a scenario of miscalculation vis-à-vis Iran, just ahead of the elections.
A defense official states that the action in question could lead to a rapid confrontation with Iran at a highly sensitive and dramatic moment, potentially resulting in a miscalculation.
Sources familiar with the details indicate that the military leadership fears an attempt to exploit the Iranian issue for political gain—a claim that political figures deny, labeling it an outright lie.
Regardless, two sources tell me that the situation has escalated to the point where, during a visit to the Palmachim Airbase today, the atmosphere in the discussion was extremely tense.
In recent days, Zamir received a directive from the political leadership but requested an in-depth discussion before taking any action.
He also demanded formal, signed legal authorization from the political echelon for the proposed move.
A senior defense official remarked: "History will not forget the role Zamir has played here over the last few days."
In short: an exceptionally intense confrontation between Zamir and Netanyahu regarding the Iranian issue, occurring just before the elections.
It should be noted: all details in this report have been approved by the Military Censor.
Yaron Avraham
Christian Caryl retweeted
This would seem a great story. But puzzling anyone would take the word of Putin's close Stasi buddy on Putin's claimed willingness to withdraw from regions he just annexed over the view of US government, & give such weight to Putin's nuclear sabre-rattling ft.com/content/dcb57f30-bbfe…
Christian Caryl retweeted
The great Oleksandra Matviichuk is absolutely right to draw attention to the horrible humanitarian crisis in Oleshky. All Putin, Witkoff, and Kushner can do is invert and traduce the meaning of “humanitarianism,” in the best traditions of Russian propaganda. For the Americans the war is just an element of a grift; they are, sadly, not negotiators in any sense, just men seeking to make more money from the bloodshed their actions enable.
I have read dozens of outraged posts because the US special envoy Witkoff called Putin a "humanist." But no one is writing about the fact that the American negotiators are simply not doing their job. Let me explain.
Peace negotiations are important in their own right. Even if they do not lead to a lasting peace, the process itself is an opportunity to resolve urgent humanitarian issues. If, of course, the human dimension is a priority for the negotiators. But it is entirely obvious that neither Witkoff nor Kushner cares about people's fates in this war.
The Pope calls on Putin to save thousands of people from starvation in occupied Oleshky and the surrounding villages. The UN speaks about a humanitarian catastrophe and asks Russia to allow the evacuation of the civilian population. European Parliament Vice-President Pina Picierno goes on a hunger strike to draw attention to this tragedy unfolding before the eyes of the whole world.
And what are Witkoff and Kushner doing?
That's right, almost nothing.
Except for passing along greetings from Putin’s aide to the First Lady.
Thousands of people are already eating grass to survive and begging to save their lives. The Ukrainian side raises the issue of Oleshky at every meeting. And I can name dozens of such urgent humanitarian issues off the top of my head where American negotiators must be proactive.
Trump’s peace negotiations have already gone down in history as the deadliest years for Ukraine’s civilian population since the start of the full-scale invasion.
I don’t know if anyone will remember the names of Witkoff and Kushner.
But history will certainly record how American negotiators, who had the opportunity to save a huge number of people, refused to raise uncomfortable questions before "humanist Putin."
Christian Caryl retweeted
Top global job coming free.
Only unemployed vandals need apply .
New: Sources from three countries confirm that the Trump Administration has advocated Viktor Orbán for UN Secretary-General.
The US has encouraged Orbán to enter the race, even bringing him the initial idea of a joint U.S.-Russia-China candidacy.
WSJ:
wsj.com/opinion/viktor-orban…
Christian Caryl retweeted
For the @ResistBureau, I spoke with #Kenya's former Chief Justice @dkmaraga about protecting the integrity of the 2027 election, his candidacy, fighting corruption, and his lifelong commitment to 'never accept a bribe.' His insights are worth hearing.
🔗 youtube.com/watch?v=eVCG0C71…
Christian Caryl retweeted
A senior Ukrainian commander told me he lost more than $1 million in drones the first night StarShield went out. The next 3 days, speeds remained so unstable they canceled almost all ops striking RU logistics to protect Ukrainian infantry in the kill zone nytimes.com/2026/10/21/world…
Christian Caryl retweeted
Steve Witkoff's an imbecile. In addition to the million plus dead, Putin hunts and kills Russian dissidents & has abducted thousands of children from their families.
Christian Caryl retweeted
Churchill could have shortened WW2 by years if he had just “done a deal” with Hitler. George Washington could have done a deal to end the American Revolution. Zelenskyy is in good company.
Christian Caryl retweeted
“The Ukrainians are not going to fold. They're not going to surrender. You can cut off their Patriots, you can cut off their intelligence. But people don't like to live on their knees. Ukrainians are not going to give up their territory because doing so would condemn all the people in that territory to torture, rape and murder. So it's not going to happen.”
“So what President Trump has actually done is he's undermined his own objective, to get to a quick resolution of the war, which I think he really wants, by pursuing a strategy which is to lower pressure on Putin and to raise pressure on Ukraine, which is going to achieve the opposite result.”
“So, it's not going to work, because you can't choose a country's fate without including that country and its people. 44 million people who have a right to dignity and sovereignty and a say over how they live. And none of those people want to live under the cruel rule of Vladimir Putin, no matter what President Trump thinks about it.”
“And then you add the fact that Trump is actively aiding Putin, by promoting a narrative of the war that is false, exactly matches Russian propaganda, and places Zelensky in a terrible position where he's got to either decide to live in Trump's reality, which is a bunch of lies about how the war started and how how it's going, or to defend his people and do his job as the president of the country.”
“You add all those things together, it's a perfect storm of toxicity whereby the president is putting America on the side of the aggressor and the war criminals and against the side of the victims of this conflict. And it's bizarre. And there's no way to to look at that and to say that's anything that America has ever stood for in the past. Yet, here we are.”
“And the result is very predictable and predicted. He's going to get a lot of Ukrainians killed without actually solving the problem. And that's a tragedy.”
Christian Caryl retweeted
You gotta hand it to Trump: he holds the consistent position that, Republican OR Democrat, bribery is not a crime.
He'll cook up any number of bogus charges to take down his political enemies. But he'll never go after bribery, even if it's his enemies doing it.
Christian Caryl retweeted
"Ukrainians who have offered democracies a beacon of light in a world where the forces of authoritarian evil dim our hopes for a better future. The Ukrainians have given us more than we could ever repay." Responding to Trump's "Ukraine has given us nothing" statement. mickryan.substack.com/p/what…
Christian Caryl retweeted
Pointed & powerful from @DanCrenshawTX. Trips to Ukraine (which he made earlier this month) tend to focus the mind.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
Christian Caryl retweeted
I have long since given up believing in conspiratorial explanations of the Trump-Putin relationship. If evidence for some nefarious tie existed, it would’ve been uncovered by now, especially after four years of Democratic control of the executive branch. Zelensky had a more compelling theory when he said that Trump simply has a fondness for autocrats and the uber-wealthy—and Putin is both. wapo.st/47o44SX
Christian Caryl retweeted
Donald Trump has abandoned the Western order, turning America into a Russian ally, @RadioFreeTom argues: theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1…
My latest for @ForeignPolicy : "At this point, few political observers in Washington would be surprised to see Hegseth become Trump’s fall guy for the Iran debacle. Impeachment might not even be needed in the end." foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/14…
I think that all of Trump's opponents should think start thinking seriously about this possibility. No one should assume that this is beyond Trump's capacity.
axios.com/2026/10/16/trumps-…
Christian Caryl retweeted
This has been Putin's dream for years: That his country, with GDP per capita lower than Poland, unable to conquer Donbas since 2014, will be treated as an equal to the US and China.
wsj.com/world/russia/putin-f…























