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Category Archives: Iran
The Iran War Is Partly About Punishing Iran For Its Support Of Hamas’s 10-7 Attack
All punishment contains an element of vengeance. I realize these are dirty words from an elite perspective, but part of what is going on right now with Iran war is punishment as deterrence. As a Zionist, I was outraged after … Continue reading
Four!
The top story on BBC News the past few hours is that the UK is sending four fighter jets to Cyprus. The BBC’s decision to lead with the deployment of four fighter jets—when set against the backdrop of an actual … Continue reading
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Decoding Iran Expert Nate Swanson
He is a career Iran specialist who moved through the government–think tank–media circuit, the exact pipeline that produces most Washington foreign-policy experts. Here is how his alliance position works. 1. The “Professional Iran Hand” Alliance Swanson’s core identity is not … Continue reading
The Most Important Variable In The Iran War
Michael Doran posts: What’s the most important factor that will determine who wins the war with Iran? Not whatever is in the headlines and not what the pundits on TV are talking about the loudest. The U.S. military released the … Continue reading
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Decoding The Center for Strategic & International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a hub in the blob (Washington foreign policy ecosystem). It is less a neutral research institution than a coordination node where several elite coalitions within the blob (the foreign policy establishment) meet … Continue reading
The Economist: ‘The Iran war has been a stunning operational success’
The article says the current logic of the campaign emphasizes speed and the total suppression of Iranian retaliation. “The military campaign evinces careful planning, massive firepower and overwhelming success.” Air Superiority: On March 4th, an Israeli F-35 pilot recorded the … Continue reading
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Academics on the Iran War: ‘I Would Like To Think That Trump Did X, Y, Z’
When academics say something like “I would like to think that Trump did X, Y, Z…” in discussions of the Iran war, they are using a very specific rhetorical move. Through David Pinsof’s Alliance Theory, that phrase is a prestige-protecting … Continue reading
Decoding The Middle East Studies Network
To decode the academic Middle East studies network through David Pinsof’s Alliance Theory, it helps to see universities as a separate prestige market from the Washington think-tank world. They interact constantly, but the incentives are different. First is the coalition … Continue reading
Decoding The Middle East Institute
What looks like policy analysis coming out of Washington’s Middle East think tanks is actually a prestige contest. Different alliances are competing to define what the Iran war means and who gets to interpret the post-Khamenei Middle East. The Middle … Continue reading
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Military Analyst Patricia Marins Tries To Salvage Her Reputation
Patricia Marins shift in tone is a classic example of reputation hedging by a middle-tier analyst who realized that her initial “independent” status was becoming a liability as the military reality on the ground diverged from her early “disaster” narrative. … Continue reading
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