Alex גדעון בן װעלװל
Columnist for the Forward. U.S. Foreign Policy and Jewish communal concerns. Bylines in The Atlantic, Washington Post, & Tablet Mag. All bad takes are mine alone.
- Reposted by Alex גדעון בן װעלװלholy shit -- one of Trump's toadies just passed out and the White House event is brought to an abrupt end
- Now that the dust is settling and a broader war looks increasingly unlikely, it’s worth discussing how decades of bipartisan consensus on the consequences of striking Iran’s nuclear program were upended by an orange fool. Why did so many get it so wrong?
- Blocking on site any person whose brain is so cooked by negative partisanship they can't admit that this was a decisive win.
- A ceasefire is good, but the long-term struggle with Iran will continue until their foreign policy changes. Israel and the U.S. have likely set its nuclear program back by years, maybe decades. Iran’s “ring of fire” has been degraded, and Middle East geopolitics has changed.
- I find in many situations that when assessing if something is good or bad, other people come at it with "it could have been so much better" and are upset. I come at most things with "it could have been so much worse" and feel more grateful.
- So it is with the U.S. strikes on Iran. I was concerned about the execution of an op and about the risk of mission creep into another long war in the Middle East. The first risk has been averted. The second is becoming less likely by the day.
-
View full threadThe Iranians, who have spilled far more blood across the Middle East and world than the average American realizes, are seeing thirty years of their strategy collapsing in real time. I don't know what comes next. I do know Israel is stronger and Iran is weaker heading into it.
- After Iran chose ro de-escalate, Trump followed suit and announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Good development. Risk of a wider regional war and American mission creep is going down precipitously. www.axios.com/2025/06/23/t...
- Iran chose to save face and deescalate. Trump accepted the deescalation. This is a good outcome. Iran's nuclear program was destroyed without a wider war that many feared would come with such an endeavor.
- Anyway the war, or at least American involvement in it, is probably over also
- Per the NYT, Iran gave the U.S. a heads up about the strike in Qatar. No casualties are being reported. Iran chose to save face rather than escalate. So much for all the obnoxious WW3 shrieks on this site, but good choice by Iran.
- So to recap some of the politics around the Iran strikes: -Germany and France supported Israel, many elected Democrats don't -Trump is currently feuding with Russia and pro-Russia MAGA -Iran is reportedly bombing an American base in Qatar, the country which funds Hamas & is friendly w Iran
- Reposted by Alex גדעון בן װעלװלMy only real NYC mayor's race take is that it seems very unwise to treat it as primarily a vehicle for factional fights -- a lot of people live in that city and deserve a good mayor, and it is famously easy to be bad at the job.
- Reposted by Alex גדעון בן װעלװלKids too young to speak are being forced to navigate our immigration system alone—often in a language they don’t understand. Trump’s attempt to stop funding legal aid for unaccompanied minors has put thousands at risk. I led 77 colleagues demanding transparency on these proceedings.
- Everyone on this website is dumber for being here
- Reposted by Alex גדעון בן װעלװלExactly. This is literally EXACTLY what we told you would happen. You screamed “they are the same and it couldnt be worse”. Well welcome to reality 🤷🏻♀️
- I love that leftists can't pick their narrative about what they did in the election. For the record, if you behave this way, I'm going to argue Dems are better off getting centrist votes than work with you.
- Uncommitted spent the *general election* protesting Harris. You pricks are the ones retconning history instead of admitting you got played to help elect the orange fascist.
- A new Yiddish curse was born
- This site is unbearable today. Every pathology on the left on full display. There is no nuance, no shades of grey, only sloganeering by people who are too educated to be this dumb.
- Reposted by Alex גדעון בן װעלװלGreat analysis.
- A lot of people who supported the Uncommitted activists or stayed silent about them when many of us warned that Trump and Harris are in fact different on foreign policy are now big mad at Trump. What are you mad about? You got the outcome you wanted. Harris lost and Trump is doing what we expected.
