Wednesday NatSec Roundup

Men walking ‘long the railroad tracks
Going someplace, there’s no going back

• Turkish operations against the Kurds are apparently beginning now. The Kurds are tough, but obviously in a very bad situation. It’s fair to say that while I’m skeptical of an endless commitment to the Kurds in Syria, there were certainly better ways to manage withdrawal than what we’re seeing right now.
• Nice short piece on India’s role in the future of Afghanistan. Obviously it seems like there should be people here who know what they should be doing, but if so it’s not in full evidence.
• Quick reference sheet on Iranian rockets and ballistic missiles! If, y’know, you’re into that kind of thing…
• Hope that worked out for you, Lindsey. The thing is, there’s no payoff for selling out your dignity to serve Trump. He betrays and humiliates everyone, his servants most of all.
• Interesting stuff from Theresa Squatrito on Shaming without Naming, the practice of calling our human rights violations without actually calling out the perpetrators. My guess is that there’s some post-colonial politics going on, as well as concern that Naming puts the perpetrators in the crosshairs of the West.
• I don’t have too much to say at this point about the New York Times piece on GRU activities in Europe, other than to note that the claims are perfectly plausible while also being subject to overstatement. I do find it interesting that we are finally seeing a bit of a shift on the part of the Tankie Left from Russia advocacy to China advocacy.