Travis
@someforeignfield.bsky.social
Former USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, former International Rescue Committee.
Humanitarian professional, missile and tank weirdo, posts stuff about missiles, the Middle East, and why it matters at https://substack.com/@someforeignfield
Humanitarian professional, missile and tank weirdo, posts stuff about missiles, the Middle East, and why it matters at https://substack.com/@someforeignfield
Pinned
Illicit Arms in Sudan
How foreign actors and lax arms export regimes are fueling genocide in Sudan
someforeignfield.substack.com
Using the Sterling Arms XLCR as an illustrative example, I discuss the web of money and guns that the UAE operates to fuel the RSF's activities in Sudan, where it has been credibly accused of committing genocide. Until something is done about this, the killing will only continue.
I think I became convinced that most of the United States is an anti-human hellscape when I worked in refugee resettlement. Seeing that Afghan family who went from rural Kandahar to the Red Roof Inn off the interstate. The look on their faces when I dropped them off. Dark fucking shit.
Listen, I was there when the first afghans evacuees got off the plane at Dulles in late July 2021. But a few months later we had nice liberals in the community asking us if they could host a Ukrainian family. "What about Afghan or Congolese?"
"Oh, no thanks"
Racist fucking country, man
"Oh, no thanks"
Racist fucking country, man
November 29, 2025 at 1:02 AM
I think I became convinced that most of the United States is an anti-human hellscape when I worked in refugee resettlement. Seeing that Afghan family who went from rural Kandahar to the Red Roof Inn off the interstate. The look on their faces when I dropped them off. Dark fucking shit.
The US military loves to act mysterious and say "CENTCOM area of responsibility" such as for this photo of two USAF A-10s armed with anti-drone weapons (such as APKWS guided rockets).
Stop playing coy, I recognized the village of al-Qayrawan in Ninewah governorate of Iraq from a mile away.
Stop playing coy, I recognized the village of al-Qayrawan in Ninewah governorate of Iraq from a mile away.
November 28, 2025 at 11:11 PM
The US military loves to act mysterious and say "CENTCOM area of responsibility" such as for this photo of two USAF A-10s armed with anti-drone weapons (such as APKWS guided rockets).
Stop playing coy, I recognized the village of al-Qayrawan in Ninewah governorate of Iraq from a mile away.
Stop playing coy, I recognized the village of al-Qayrawan in Ninewah governorate of Iraq from a mile away.
We need to get rid of JSOC and DEVGRU and salt the earth behind them. We don't need an organization/unit that's good for war crimes and nothing else. We shouldn't be involved in overseas illegal secret squirrel shit, and useful light infantry/recon elements can be folded into the regular Army.
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:15 PM
We need to get rid of JSOC and DEVGRU and salt the earth behind them. We don't need an organization/unit that's good for war crimes and nothing else. We shouldn't be involved in overseas illegal secret squirrel shit, and useful light infantry/recon elements can be folded into the regular Army.
After working with hundreds of young afghans attempting to rebuild their lives in the US, all I can say is that I'm surprised their suffering hasn't gotten national attention sooner. I know a dozen guys with almost identical stories to Rahmanullah. We've fucked them constantly since summer 2021.
November 28, 2025 at 3:36 AM
After working with hundreds of young afghans attempting to rebuild their lives in the US, all I can say is that I'm surprised their suffering hasn't gotten national attention sooner. I know a dozen guys with almost identical stories to Rahmanullah. We've fucked them constantly since summer 2021.
Spending Thanksgiving morning wondering about what would be different if Iran had employed the frog boiling strategy instead of Israel, with single Shahed drone launches every few days slowly escalating to normalize eventual Russia level strikes of hundreds every week.
November 27, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Spending Thanksgiving morning wondering about what would be different if Iran had employed the frog boiling strategy instead of Israel, with single Shahed drone launches every few days slowly escalating to normalize eventual Russia level strikes of hundreds every week.
Why is the "Blowback" intro music suddenly diegetic is that good
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard members blocks from the White House, worked with various United States government entities, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Afghanistan. -Fox News
Multiple law enforcement officials say the suspect in the shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C. today is 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, noting he entered the U.S. in 2021.-CBS News
November 27, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Why is the "Blowback" intro music suddenly diegetic is that good
The "humanitarian pier" visible on Google Earth - not functioning for its intended purpose of delivering aid in the least efficient way possible, but in fact languishing in Ashdod port on June 17, 2024 after being towed there on June 14.
November 26, 2025 at 11:38 PM
The "humanitarian pier" visible on Google Earth - not functioning for its intended purpose of delivering aid in the least efficient way possible, but in fact languishing in Ashdod port on June 17, 2024 after being towed there on June 14.
Join the US Military! Do exciting things like:
-Get shot for political theater in DC
-Get crushed to death by a floating dock for political theater in Gaza
-Drown in the Red Sea for political theater on behalf of Israel
-Get blown up by a drone in Jordan for political theater on behalf of Israel
-Get shot for political theater in DC
-Get crushed to death by a floating dock for political theater in Gaza
-Drown in the Red Sea for political theater on behalf of Israel
-Get blown up by a drone in Jordan for political theater on behalf of Israel
November 26, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Join the US Military! Do exciting things like:
-Get shot for political theater in DC
-Get crushed to death by a floating dock for political theater in Gaza
-Drown in the Red Sea for political theater on behalf of Israel
-Get blown up by a drone in Jordan for political theater on behalf of Israel
-Get shot for political theater in DC
-Get crushed to death by a floating dock for political theater in Gaza
-Drown in the Red Sea for political theater on behalf of Israel
-Get blown up by a drone in Jordan for political theater on behalf of Israel
If you can point to a single government program that's inefficient due to genuine bureaucratic failure rather than being forced to be inefficient through congressional mandate or lobbyist malfeasance, maybe I'd listen to you
We all believe in improving efficiency, and a team genuinely focused on that could do a world of good.
But the DOGE we could have had is a far cry from the DOGE we actually got.
But the DOGE we could have had is a far cry from the DOGE we actually got.
November 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
If you can point to a single government program that's inefficient due to genuine bureaucratic failure rather than being forced to be inefficient through congressional mandate or lobbyist malfeasance, maybe I'd listen to you
This is the best post I've ever done btw
Or as we say (said 😭) in the business,
"if you only see MiG-21s, it's not big sums. If you see MiG-23s, you'll be busy bees. If MiG-21s and MiG-23s, big per diems you shall seize."
"if you only see MiG-21s, it's not big sums. If you see MiG-23s, you'll be busy bees. If MiG-21s and MiG-23s, big per diems you shall seize."
November 26, 2025 at 5:10 PM
This is the best post I've ever done btw
Oh my God did the Navy really cancel the Constellation program? I mean it was a fucking mess of a program but like ... Do we really believe they'll unfuck the next ship procurement?
Will the Navy even have *any* ships in 10 years?
Will the Navy even have *any* ships in 10 years?
November 26, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Oh my God did the Navy really cancel the Constellation program? I mean it was a fucking mess of a program but like ... Do we really believe they'll unfuck the next ship procurement?
Will the Navy even have *any* ships in 10 years?
Will the Navy even have *any* ships in 10 years?
Your paper advocated slapping them with felony charges and putting them on terrorist watch lists and violently deporting them because they wanted their universities to not give their tuition dollars to Elbit systems.
My @nytimes.com op-ed: The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o... (gift link)
The key point: "The absence of young people from conventional protests is both a problem and a warning."
The key point: "The absence of young people from conventional protests is both a problem and a warning."
Opinion | The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z?
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Your paper advocated slapping them with felony charges and putting them on terrorist watch lists and violently deporting them because they wanted their universities to not give their tuition dollars to Elbit systems.
All the ones who touched USAID almost certainly violated numerous laws wrt handling of classified material, among other things. I'd guess they would be immune to civil suit by wronged employees/etc but they absolutely should be prosecuted.
'Suddenly exposed' DOGE employees fear prosecution after Musk abandoned them: report
www.rawstory.com/doge-employe...
www.rawstory.com/doge-employe...
'Suddenly exposed' DOGE employees fear prosecution after Musk abandoned them: report
Current and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are growing increasingly concerned that the work they did slashing government programs and eliminating jobs will come back to hau...
www.rawstory.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:18 PM
All the ones who touched USAID almost certainly violated numerous laws wrt handling of classified material, among other things. I'd guess they would be immune to civil suit by wronged employees/etc but they absolutely should be prosecuted.
As always the only way Israel will abide by the ceasefires it has signed on to is if the United States imposes real costs on it for not doing so. Since the IDF is 100% reliant on active support by the US military, the US president is uniquely positioned to impose those costs.
BREAKING: At least 24 people are dead and 54 wounded after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, testing the ceasefire that began in October, officials say.
Israel launches strikes in Gaza ceasefire's latest test as hospitals say 20 killed
Israel's military says it has launched new airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza, testing the ceasefire that began on October 10.
bit.ly
November 22, 2025 at 6:20 PM
As always the only way Israel will abide by the ceasefires it has signed on to is if the United States imposes real costs on it for not doing so. Since the IDF is 100% reliant on active support by the US military, the US president is uniquely positioned to impose those costs.
Reposted by Travis
Always learning from Travis here below, as someone who is not well versed in military science or the equipment or particulars of the flow of weaponry. If you're interested in this (and other things such as genuine analysis of Lebanon for example) give a subscription.
Using the Sterling Arms XLCR as an illustrative example, I discuss the web of money and guns that the UAE operates to fuel the RSF's activities in Sudan, where it has been credibly accused of committing genocide. Until something is done about this, the killing will only continue.
Illicit Arms in Sudan
How foreign actors and lax arms export regimes are fueling genocide in Sudan
someforeignfield.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Always learning from Travis here below, as someone who is not well versed in military science or the equipment or particulars of the flow of weaponry. If you're interested in this (and other things such as genuine analysis of Lebanon for example) give a subscription.
A certain crowd loves to use Sudan as a cudgel against people opposed to the genocide in Gaza.
Are those people talking about Khalifa Haftar? Fly Sky Air IL-76s flying to Chad? Small Canadian arms dealers?
No. But I am. Read more here.
Are those people talking about Khalifa Haftar? Fly Sky Air IL-76s flying to Chad? Small Canadian arms dealers?
No. But I am. Read more here.
Using the Sterling Arms XLCR as an illustrative example, I discuss the web of money and guns that the UAE operates to fuel the RSF's activities in Sudan, where it has been credibly accused of committing genocide. Until something is done about this, the killing will only continue.
Illicit Arms in Sudan
How foreign actors and lax arms export regimes are fueling genocide in Sudan
someforeignfield.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:06 PM
A certain crowd loves to use Sudan as a cudgel against people opposed to the genocide in Gaza.
Are those people talking about Khalifa Haftar? Fly Sky Air IL-76s flying to Chad? Small Canadian arms dealers?
No. But I am. Read more here.
Are those people talking about Khalifa Haftar? Fly Sky Air IL-76s flying to Chad? Small Canadian arms dealers?
No. But I am. Read more here.
Reposted by Travis
How in the hell did these guns, sold by a bespoke hunting rifle dealer in Canada, end up in Sudan, wielded by the genocidal Rapid Support Forces? Of course, the answer is the UAE - and the world's lack of care about arms proliferation.
November 21, 2025 at 9:41 PM
How in the hell did these guns, sold by a bespoke hunting rifle dealer in Canada, end up in Sudan, wielded by the genocidal Rapid Support Forces? Of course, the answer is the UAE - and the world's lack of care about arms proliferation.
How in the hell did these guns, sold by a bespoke hunting rifle dealer in Canada, end up in Sudan, wielded by the genocidal Rapid Support Forces? Of course, the answer is the UAE - and the world's lack of care about arms proliferation.
November 21, 2025 at 9:41 PM
How in the hell did these guns, sold by a bespoke hunting rifle dealer in Canada, end up in Sudan, wielded by the genocidal Rapid Support Forces? Of course, the answer is the UAE - and the world's lack of care about arms proliferation.
There's a lot of talk about what Dems should do when they take power. Since a new administration is capable of two things at once, they should prosecute or sideline every prominent foreign policy advisor/official from the Biden admin.
They won't, because they'll hire them instead, but they should.
They won't, because they'll hire them instead, but they should.
Under Biden, General Erik Kurilla was closer to Israel than almost anyone else in government.
Under Trump, he delivered on Israeli + US hardliners' dream of joint US-Isr attacks on Iran.
Now he's joining the hawkish Washington Institute for Near East Policy to continue shaping US discourse & choices
Under Trump, he delivered on Israeli + US hardliners' dream of joint US-Isr attacks on Iran.
Now he's joining the hawkish Washington Institute for Near East Policy to continue shaping US discourse & choices
November 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM
There's a lot of talk about what Dems should do when they take power. Since a new administration is capable of two things at once, they should prosecute or sideline every prominent foreign policy advisor/official from the Biden admin.
They won't, because they'll hire them instead, but they should.
They won't, because they'll hire them instead, but they should.
Halo Covenant ship name ass movie title.
Hunger Games: Long Night of Solace
Hunger Games: The Pious Inquisitor
Hunger Games: Unyielding Hierophant
Hunger Games: Long Night of Solace
Hunger Games: The Pious Inquisitor
Hunger Games: Unyielding Hierophant
First look at Ralph Fiennes as President Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.’ Out November 20, 2026.
November 20, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Halo Covenant ship name ass movie title.
Hunger Games: Long Night of Solace
Hunger Games: The Pious Inquisitor
Hunger Games: Unyielding Hierophant
Hunger Games: Long Night of Solace
Hunger Games: The Pious Inquisitor
Hunger Games: Unyielding Hierophant
6'2" 185 with "low body fat" is like... Brad Pitt in Fight Club physique. Being generous and saying "low" is like 15-20% and that's still a very lean physique, probably 31-32 inch waist.
Now let me Google image search "Elon Musk physique" while taking a sip of coffee ....
Now let me Google image search "Elon Musk physique" while taking a sip of coffee ....
this thread is unbelievable
November 20, 2025 at 2:22 PM
6'2" 185 with "low body fat" is like... Brad Pitt in Fight Club physique. Being generous and saying "low" is like 15-20% and that's still a very lean physique, probably 31-32 inch waist.
Now let me Google image search "Elon Musk physique" while taking a sip of coffee ....
Now let me Google image search "Elon Musk physique" while taking a sip of coffee ....
My experience at USAID was that there was literally 0 internal resistance to anything Trump or DOGE were doing so take that as you like
it is so frustrating that we have to infer the degree of internal resistance within the federal government rather than being able to see it clearly but obviously that’s how it has to work
November 19, 2025 at 11:44 PM
My experience at USAID was that there was literally 0 internal resistance to anything Trump or DOGE were doing so take that as you like
The bottom line is that Israel would have likely been struck by hundreds of drones and missiles from Iran and Yemen, and the apparent failure of Iran's attacks was solely due to the massive deployment of US military assets - all to ensure the continuation of Israel's genocide in Gaza.
I will be writing another "Myth of Israeli Military Independence" entry soon. The hits keep piling up, and the more we disabuse the general public of the idea that the US was only indirectly involved in the war Israel unleashed across half the planet, the better.
Thread of The Myth of Israeli Military Independence: you want to know how much Israel needs the active, constant, and unquestioning support of the United States, and how that relationship is unique and irreplaceable? Read on (and more coming, as there's so much to talk about!)
November 19, 2025 at 4:57 PM
The bottom line is that Israel would have likely been struck by hundreds of drones and missiles from Iran and Yemen, and the apparent failure of Iran's attacks was solely due to the massive deployment of US military assets - all to ensure the continuation of Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Allegedly 2 Sukhoi Su-57s have now been delivered to the Algerian Air Force, part of an order of 12, which would make it the first Arab and first vaguely anti-Israel country to receive 5th generation fighter aircraft with stealth features.
November 19, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Allegedly 2 Sukhoi Su-57s have now been delivered to the Algerian Air Force, part of an order of 12, which would make it the first Arab and first vaguely anti-Israel country to receive 5th generation fighter aircraft with stealth features.
I will be writing another "Myth of Israeli Military Independence" entry soon. The hits keep piling up, and the more we disabuse the general public of the idea that the US was only indirectly involved in the war Israel unleashed across half the planet, the better.
Thread of The Myth of Israeli Military Independence: you want to know how much Israel needs the active, constant, and unquestioning support of the United States, and how that relationship is unique and irreplaceable? Read on (and more coming, as there's so much to talk about!)
The Myth of Israeli Military Independence (Part 1)
They need us more than you think
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I will be writing another "Myth of Israeli Military Independence" entry soon. The hits keep piling up, and the more we disabuse the general public of the idea that the US was only indirectly involved in the war Israel unleashed across half the planet, the better.