Akbar Shahid Ahmed
@akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com
Senior Diplomatic Correspondent at HuffPost // Writing a book on Gaza and the Biden administration for W. W. Norton // he/him
Say hi: akbar.58 on Signal or [email protected]
Say hi: akbar.58 on Signal or [email protected]
"It is appropriate for President Biden to insist that Israel comply with the international law of armed conflict & comply with the Leahy Law + US laws that require that the recipients of our weapons act appropriately. I believe Israel is meeting these standards"
sherman.house.gov/media-center...
sherman.house.gov/media-center...
Congressman Sherman: "War is Bloody Chaos. Israel is Doing Better than most in Avoiding Casualties."
“President Biden is working tirelessly to persuade the House of Representatives to pass the Senate bill, which would provide aid to Ukraine and Taiwan, and also provide $14.1 billion military aid to I...
sherman.house.gov
November 21, 2025 at 8:30 PM
"It is appropriate for President Biden to insist that Israel comply with the international law of armed conflict & comply with the Leahy Law + US laws that require that the recipients of our weapons act appropriately. I believe Israel is meeting these standards"
sherman.house.gov/media-center...
sherman.house.gov/media-center...
Big policy change won't come from 1 House panel/replacing Cherfilus-McCormick. But Dems giving Sherman this role (despite views + tensions with colleagues) is significant for:
-bounds of discourse/bills on Isr-Palestine
-their view of whether frustration over Gaza can/should be reflected in Congress
-bounds of discourse/bills on Isr-Palestine
-their view of whether frustration over Gaza can/should be reflected in Congress
November 21, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Big policy change won't come from 1 House panel/replacing Cherfilus-McCormick. But Dems giving Sherman this role (despite views + tensions with colleagues) is significant for:
-bounds of discourse/bills on Isr-Palestine
-their view of whether frustration over Gaza can/should be reflected in Congress
-bounds of discourse/bills on Isr-Palestine
-their view of whether frustration over Gaza can/should be reflected in Congress
Sherman voted against Obama's nuclear deal+ supported Trump's strikes on Iran. Post-October 7, he's argued against trusting casualty numbers from the Gaza health ministry & was not among the House Dems who began to endorse ideas like halting US offensive weapons for Israel.
November 21, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Sherman voted against Obama's nuclear deal+ supported Trump's strikes on Iran. Post-October 7, he's argued against trusting casualty numbers from the Gaza health ministry & was not among the House Dems who began to endorse ideas like halting US offensive weapons for Israel.
Note: bsky.app/profile/jame...
This is a very good essay from the @ACLU’s Brett Kaufman making the case that Trump’s boat strikes should be viewed as the logical end point of legal arguments normalized by OLC lawyers during the war on terror. Highly recommend. www.justsecurity.org/124776/secre...
November 21, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Note: bsky.app/profile/jame...
My profile of Kurilla, arguably one of the most influential players in the last several years of US Middle East policy — and a key reason for its militaristic bent:
www.huffpost.com/entry/erik-k...
www.huffpost.com/entry/erik-k...
The Pro-Israel U.S. General Quietly Influencing Trump On Iran
Gen. Erik Kurilla “had better information about what [Israel was] up to ... than anyone else in our government,” a former U.S. official told HuffPost.
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
My profile of Kurilla, arguably one of the most influential players in the last several years of US Middle East policy — and a key reason for its militaristic bent:
www.huffpost.com/entry/erik-k...
www.huffpost.com/entry/erik-k...
At the end of the Biden admin, rather than acknowledging growing proof of violations of US+international law, officials kicked the can to Trump, an advocate of impunity: www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
It was a trademark failure to "build back better." Doing so after Trump 2 will take more honesty
It was a trademark failure to "build back better." Doing so after Trump 2 will take more honesty
Biden Discussed Potential Israeli War Crimes In Gaza. He Kicked The Can To Trump.
New intelligence shocked officials in late 2024, spurring heightened fear of U.S. liability, HuffPost has learned. The period saw Secretary of State Antony Blinken ask if Israel’s actions constituted ...
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM
At the end of the Biden admin, rather than acknowledging growing proof of violations of US+international law, officials kicked the can to Trump, an advocate of impunity: www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
It was a trademark failure to "build back better." Doing so after Trump 2 will take more honesty
It was a trademark failure to "build back better." Doing so after Trump 2 will take more honesty
..which makes pushing back harder when situations grow scarier. The lack of a reckoning over the War on Terror eroded institutions+public trust. The period/trends helped create the nightmare of Gaza—a new, urgent impetus for reflection to limit danger/brutality from the Middle East to the Caribbean.
November 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
..which makes pushing back harder when situations grow scarier. The lack of a reckoning over the War on Terror eroded institutions+public trust. The period/trends helped create the nightmare of Gaza—a new, urgent impetus for reflection to limit danger/brutality from the Middle East to the Caribbean.
..driving the conditions understood as fueling 10/7 brutality + the Gaza war
Still, Biden aides dodged reflection on their Saudi approach, doubling down on it thru the war rather than considering a course correction that could have mitigated moral+strategic disaster
www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
Still, Biden aides dodged reflection on their Saudi approach, doubling down on it thru the war rather than considering a course correction that could have mitigated moral+strategic disaster
www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
A Top Biden Official Is Pushing An Alarming Plan For Gaza After The War
Brett McGurk is pursuing a proposal to rebuild the Palestinian territory that focuses on a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, U.S. officials told HuffPost. Many say that plan would sow seeds of fut...
www.huffpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM
..driving the conditions understood as fueling 10/7 brutality + the Gaza war
Still, Biden aides dodged reflection on their Saudi approach, doubling down on it thru the war rather than considering a course correction that could have mitigated moral+strategic disaster
www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
Still, Biden aides dodged reflection on their Saudi approach, doubling down on it thru the war rather than considering a course correction that could have mitigated moral+strategic disaster
www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
..as his team (primarily McGurk+Sullivan) fixated on US-Saudi ties + the dream of a US-Saudi-Israel deal
That soft touch avoided accountability for Khashoggi's killing, enabled the rehabilitation of MBS (in turn boosting Trump/Kushner) & meant Isr-Palestine policy was seen thru the lens of Riyadh..
That soft touch avoided accountability for Khashoggi's killing, enabled the rehabilitation of MBS (in turn boosting Trump/Kushner) & meant Isr-Palestine policy was seen thru the lens of Riyadh..
November 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM
..as his team (primarily McGurk+Sullivan) fixated on US-Saudi ties + the dream of a US-Saudi-Israel deal
That soft touch avoided accountability for Khashoggi's killing, enabled the rehabilitation of MBS (in turn boosting Trump/Kushner) & meant Isr-Palestine policy was seen thru the lens of Riyadh..
That soft touch avoided accountability for Khashoggi's killing, enabled the rehabilitation of MBS (in turn boosting Trump/Kushner) & meant Isr-Palestine policy was seen thru the lens of Riyadh..
Daniel Magaziner at Yale is great! (My old prof)
November 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Daniel Magaziner at Yale is great! (My old prof)