I was impressed that a show that seemed so culturally and linguistically specific proved so popular among an admittedly very specific segment of the population.
I don't think this is quite true. Yes, the Biden Administration was an utter failure.
That said, I don't think we can understate the relative power of Trump in this: a lock grip over his own party, an opposition that was trending increasingly against Israel. He had close to unprecedented freedom
Worth emphasizing that Trump's singular trick for facilitating a deal in Israel was just...being publicly frustrated with Netanyahu and threatening to walk. That's not a unique talent, it's just a thing Biden personally and ideologically was unwilling to do. Lowest bar cleared to great relief.
First, we'll see if it holds. Its entirely possible Israel agreed in part because they didn't expect Trump to actually enforce it. Moreover, as in many conflicts, the passage of time changed both sides' calculus. Both Netanyahu & Hamas also face more international pressure now than a year ago.
I will continue to vigorously condemn Biden's handling of Gaza, but analytically I don't think this weekend's agreement proves Biden could have done the same if he'd just applied more pressure...
I can already tell that "Trump may have been evil but he stopped a genocide Biden wouldn't!" is going to become an article of faith for the worst leftists alive for the next 70 fucking years or so, so I'm going to be clear. If you believe this, show yourself now so you can be blocked in advance.
The Antisemitic/Tankie Left is real and noxious and dangerous. Its influence has been compounded by more reasonable progressives who refuse to call it out and those on the right who want to exaggerate its presence to avoid talking about Israeli crimes.
it was obvious from the moment the attack happened that this was not only a tragedy for Israel but was going to become a tragedy for Palestine, and I still remember who was cheering it on.
If you were online on October 7, 2023, this is no surprise.
Overshadowed by the fact that Israel retaliated with a genocidal war is the reality that amid the attack seemingly professional/moral people spent days praising every report they found of Israelis, including children, being murdered.
The ceasefire in Gaza, now in effect, depends on the promise given by an inveterate liar and conman (Trump) to a ruthless terrorist organization (Hamas) that he will prevent another serial liar, conman, and war criminal (Netanyahu) from resuming the war:
Bitterly ironic that after years of anti-imperial posturing, Erdogan is now boasting about securing Hamas's signoff on an international mandate for Palestine.
To be clear, I hope to God this deal holds, as its far better than the realistic alternative. And I don't think Erdogan should have been championing Hamas in the first place. It's just incredible to see him trying to spin this as a heroic success after all of his rhetoric.
Bitterly ironic that after years of anti-imperial posturing, Erdogan is now boasting about securing Hamas's signoff on an international mandate for Palestine.
"Whoever wins, it is becoming harder to imagine a future where the Cyprus problem is settled peacefully in keeping with the interests of all stakeholders.
Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive, but sometimes it feels like there’s a school of thought that basically says implementing partial solution that helps some people proves you are a bad person because they imagined fixing everything.
In IR undergrad I had a VERY post-structuralist prof who argued that it was words and construction all the way down. I asked: but do you really think that’s useful to a kid living in war-torn Iraq? He can’t change his own reality. He said “Well, maybe he could” and that was just too Matrix-y to me.
