Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 12h

Who is this “we”?

IDF has been trying to dismantle and disarm Hamas for 2 years. Still hasn’t succeeded (although did cause immense damage both to Hamas and to civilians).

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

Trump: "We have told Hamas we want disarm. And they will disarm. And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently. But they will disarm. Do you understand me?"

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Senator Ed Markey @markey.senate.gov · 12h

Trump just bombed six more people in the Caribbean, for a total of 27 civilians who have been killed so far by the US military. It’s illegal for the military to target civilians who do not pose an immediate threat. This is murder.

U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says
In a social media post, the president said the people aboard a boat were suspected of smuggling drugs for an unspecified group his team had labeled terrorists.

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Euromaidan Press @euromaidanpress.bsky.social · 12h

Russia’s Pokrovsk offensive is grinding to a halt
Ukraine’s counterstrikes and drones expose deep cracks in the Russian command

#Ukraine #WarInUkraine #MilitaryAnalysis

Ukrainian counterattacks disrupt Russian offensive near Pokrovsk

Kyiv's precision strikes and drone warfare expose deep cracks in Russia's battlefield coordination

euromaidanpress.com

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Admiral James Stavridis, USN, Ret. @admiralstav.bsky.social · 17h

A powerful personal testament from Tom Bowman of NPR about the Pentagon attempt to exert complete control over all information. Protecting classified is of course fine. But when neither Fox News nor NY Times sign up to your policy, you should ask yourself if you are getting something very wrong.

Opinion: Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass

Tom Bowman has held his Pentagon press pass for 28 years. He says the Pentagon's new media policy makes it impossible to be a journalist, which means finding out what's really going on behind the scen...

www.npr.org

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 14h

Further premeditated, lawless killing in the Caribbean.

Making at least five such US strikes.

Against unidentified "narcoterrorists" affiliated w/ an unspecified "designated terrorist organization" allegedly trafficking unspecified narcotics.

POTUS is asserting a license to kill outside the law.

Under my Standing Authorities as Commander-in-Chief, this morning, the Secretary of War, ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility — just off the Coast of Venezuela. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known DTO route. The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike. No U.S. Forces were harmed. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!

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Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 4d

A five-point-five billion Trump golf course in Qatar, and Qatar gets an air base in Idaho.

New Trump Golf Course, $5.5 Billion Beachside Project Announced for Qatar

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 13h

Like I said, Trump is turning the "war on drugs" from a metaphor into an actual war--and without any Congressional authorization. wapo.st/4o9ZEVW

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 13h

Yet another lethal attack by the US military that was not authorized by Congress. www.cnn.com/2025/10/14/p...

Six killed after US strikes another boat off coast of Venezuela | CNN Politics

The US military conducted yet another strike on a boat alleged to be trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people on board, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.

www.cnn.com

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 14h

Given the now fifth U.S. strike in the Caribbean, reposting my recent essay in @justsecurity.org.

There’s a word for premeditated killing outside of armed conflict.

www.justsecurity.org/120568/carib...

Asserting a License to Kill: Why the Caribbean Strike is a Dangerous Departure from the “War on Terror”

An absence of credible legal basis for the Caribbean strike suggests the Trump admin is asserting a prerogative to kill outside the law.

www.justsecurity.org

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 13h

The policy says reporters cannot obtain or solicit any information the Defense Department does not explicitly authorize.

Media members that don't sign the policy by its deadline have 24 hours to turn in their media credentials and clear out of Pentagon facilities.
https://wapo.st/3KOrokC

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 16h

Sadly confirms my column from yesterday arguing that this ceasefire will not lead to a long-lasting peace. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

Netanyahu refuses to release Marwan Barghouti, the most popular Palestinian leader—and the one most likely to bring about a two-state solution. Hamas refuses to disarm. The two enemies are united in opposition to a two-state solution. That makes lasting peace unlikely. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

Opinion | Why the Gaza ceasefire won’t lead to lasting peace

“A new Middle East” will require sacrifices that Israelis and Palestinians show no sign of making.

wapo.st

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Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 16h

Unbelievable story of Afghan refugee, a highly vetted fluent English speaker who helped the US against the Taliban and now lives here with his US citizen kids, declared “illegal” and perhaps about to be shipped home by the Trump admin to his likely death

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 17h

He supported America’s war, escaped Afghanistan and started a family in the U.S.

Then ICE arrested him.

If he is deported, he expects the Taliban to kill him.

America saved him from the Taliban. Trump wants to send him back.

He supported America’s war, escaped Afghanistan and started a family in the U.S. Then ICE arrested him. If he is deported, he expects the Taliban to kill him.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 17h

I'm sorry, is the Trump Administration talking to a tech platform?

Is it...requesting content moderation?

Today following outreach from @thejusticedept, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago.
The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 20h

While the war has been raging in Gaza, the right-wing Netanyahu government has been doing everything short of formal annexation to extend Israeli control over the West Bank—and it might well have done the formal annexation if Trump had not blocked it. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

Opinion | Why the Gaza ceasefire won’t lead to lasting peace

“A new Middle East” will require sacrifices that Israelis and Palestinians show no sign of making.

wapo.st

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

Trump deserves credit for this deal. But is this really “the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” as Trump told the Knesset, with “a Holy Land that is finally at peace"? Unfortunately, all signs suggest there is nothing final about the peace that Gaza is belatedly enjoying. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

Opinion | Why the Gaza ceasefire won’t lead to lasting peace

“A new Middle East” will require sacrifices that Israelis and Palestinians show no sign of making.

wapo.st

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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 1d

⚡️Military aid to Ukraine declines sharply in recent months, report says.

Military aid to Ukraine has fallen dramatically in recent months, a report by the Kiel Institute published on Oct. 14 has found.

Military aid to Ukraine declines sharply in recent months, report says

In July and August, total military aid to Ukraine fell 43% lower than the amount received in the first half of the year, a report by the Kiel Institute finds.

kyivindependent.com

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

Joe Biden is a class act. Trump reviles him nonstop yet Biden praises Trump for the hostage release.

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 1d

Some CDC layoffs from last week have been reversed. But not for the analysts responsible for monitoring and protecting the United States from biological, chemical and nuclear threats www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Hundreds of CDC layoffs reversed, but biodefense preparedness staff hit

More than half of the roughly 1,300 CDC layoff notices have been rescinded, but workers at health agencies who work on biodefense and mental health still lost their jobs.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

Trump deserves credit for this deal. But is this really “the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” as Trump told the Knesset, with “a Holy Land that is finally at peace"? Unfortunately, all signs suggest there is nothing final about the peace that Gaza is belatedly enjoying. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

Opinion | Why the Gaza ceasefire won’t lead to lasting peace

“A new Middle East” will require sacrifices that Israelis and Palestinians show no sign of making.

wapo.st

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

While the war has been raging in Gaza, the right-wing Netanyahu government has been doing everything short of formal annexation to extend Israeli control over the West Bank—and it might well have done the formal annexation if Trump had not blocked it. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

Opinion | Why the Gaza ceasefire won’t lead to lasting peace

“A new Middle East” will require sacrifices that Israelis and Palestinians show no sign of making.

wapo.st

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

The first precondition for making progress toward lasting peace would be for Hamas to disarm leading to the “demilitarization of Gaza.” Far from giving up its weapons, however, Hamas has reemerged in the wake of the latest ceasefire to take vengeance against its foes. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

Opinion | Why the Gaza ceasefire won’t lead to lasting peace

“A new Middle East” will require sacrifices that Israelis and Palestinians show no sign of making.

wapo.st

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

While the Trump peace plan slightly opens the door to Palestinian statehood — it speaks of creating conditions “for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” — both Israel and Hamas appear intent on slamming that door shut. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

Opinion | Why the Gaza ceasefire won’t lead to lasting peace

“A new Middle East” will require sacrifices that Israelis and Palestinians show no sign of making.

wapo.st

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

Netanyahu refuses to release Marwan Barghouti, the most popular Palestinian leader—and the one most likely to bring about a two-state solution. Hamas refuses to disarm. The two enemies are united in opposition to a two-state solution. That makes lasting peace unlikely. wapo.st/3W5yhAx

Opinion | Why the Gaza ceasefire won’t lead to lasting peace

“A new Middle East” will require sacrifices that Israelis and Palestinians show no sign of making.

wapo.st

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 1d

Beijing has allowed a sharp increase in the components that are enabling Russian manufacturers to build fiber-optic drones, which are operated through superthin cables of glass. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Behind Russia’s battlefield drone surge in Ukraine? Chinese factories.

Chinese sales of fiber-optic cable and lithium-ion batteries to Russian drone makers surged over the summer, underscoring Beijing’s “no limits” ties with Moscow.

www.washingtonpost.com

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