Conway Waddington
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conwaywaddington.bsky.social
Conway Waddington
@conwaywaddington.bsky.social
52 followers 160 following 0 posts

Focused on African conflict and security - water wars, UAVs, mercenaries, OSINT stuff.

Videos
Political science 45%
Sociology 17%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Conway Waddington

prchovanec.bsky.social
Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 23h
I could be wrong, but I think a few US air strikes in Nigeria (a country of 237 million people that’s 30% larger than Texas) won’t change the situation on the ground at all. It could possibly make things worse.

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Conway Waddington, Simon Lester

wesleymorgan.bsky.social
Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 23h
First-ever US airstrikes in Nigeria put the second Trump admin’s 2025 combat actions at:

—Nigeria—tonight’s strikes
—Yemen—1,000+ strikes (Mar-Apr)
—Somalia—120 strikes, 1 ground raid
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Iran—3 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike

Reposted by Conway Waddington

reuters.com
Reuters @reuters.com · 4d
A small airport in southern Libya — controlled by a military commander allied to the United Arab Emirates — has become a vital conduit for weapons, fuel and mercenaries to a Sudanese paramilitary group, experts and officials say reut.rs/4aplNMv
How a remote airstrip in Libya reshaped Sudan’s civil war
A small airport in southern Libya – controlled by a military commander allied to the United Arab Emirates – has become a vital conduit for weapons, fuel and mercenaries to a Sudanese paramilitary grou...
reut.rs

Reposted by Conway Waddington, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

cthomasjamh.bsky.social
Charlie Thomas @cthomasjamh.bsky.social · 4d
Whatever else I might say about them, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Somalia all have long standing and mostly warm relationships with the United States. Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire are keystones in West Africa. All of this is incoherent from a strategic standpoint (because this isn’t about strategy).

Reposted by Conway Waddington, Seth Frey

specialkhersoncat.bsky.social
🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 @specialkhersoncat.bsky.social · 5d
Fiber optic hell forest

Reposted by Conway Waddington

sarahkirchberger.bsky.social
Sarah Kirchberger @sarahkirchberger.bsky.social · 13d
A (now fired) ISW employee appears to have manipulated a warzone map to influence online gambling bets:

„The Institute for the Study of War disavowed the edit, removed the employee, but is staying quiet, raising questions about the credibility of ISW and prediction gambling.“
Think tanker altered Ukraine war map before big Polymarket payout
The Institute for the Study of War disavowed the edit, removed the employee, but is staying quiet, raising questions about the credibility of ISW and prediction gambling
responsiblestatecraft.org

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Conway Waddington

apnews.com
The Associated Press @apnews.com · 13d
A drone strike on a U.N. facility in war-torn Sudan left six peacekeepers dead, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
UN chief says 6 peacekeepers killed in drone strike on a UN facility in Sudan
A drone strike on a U.N. facility in war-torn Sudan left six peacekeepers dead, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
bit.ly

Reposted by Conway Waddington

zakeriye.bsky.social
Zakeriye @zakeriye.bsky.social · 13d
#Eritrea withdraws from IGAD, accusing the bloc of "becoming a tool against" countries like itself, per FM statement.

After nearly 2 decades of freezing its membership from 2007 over alleged #Ethiopian dominance within the bloc, Eritrea rejoined #IGAD in June 2023.

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Conway Waddington

reuters.com
Reuters @reuters.com · 16d
Congo rebels enter strategic town as peace deal crumbles reut.rs/48L2Ykb
Congo rebels enter strategic town as peace deal crumbles
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have entered the eastern Congo town of Uvira, near the Burundian border, in the biggest escalation in months of the long-running war, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
reut.rs

Reposted by Conway Waddington

jeffrybazooka.bsky.social
Jeffry Bazooka @jeffrybazooka.bsky.social · Nov 16
Over the years I have watched many YouTube videos about military equipment and on military history.
For the last couple of months, they have been inundated with AI.
It is ruining the videos for me.
The AI looks artificial, and it makes many mistakes, especially on military equipment.

Reposted by Elizabeth Stokoe, Alan Richardson, Els Torreele , and 9 more

carlbergstrom.com
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Oct 24
Yet again, we can't afford to let LLMs become a source of epistemic grounding for society.
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory
An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Richard Price, Brett Christophers, Conway Waddington

iwriteok.bsky.social
Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) @iwriteok.bsky.social · Oct 17
dawg we are gonna lose a war because ChatGPT has this guy mobilizing divisions that don't exist and tasking real troops with holding mountain passes and ports an LLM hallucinated
Top US Army general says he’s using ChatGPT to help make key command decisions

Reposted by Conway Waddington

cruickshank.bsky.social
Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · Oct 1
Looks like the FIRMS satellite fire detection system is offline due to the US government shutdown.

Just one more reminder that anyone involved in OSINT or disaster response cannot rely on US space-based assets in any critical role, given the current state of the governing regime in the country.

Reposted by Conway Waddington

snoeck.bsky.social
Mark Snoeck @snoeck.bsky.social · Aug 6
We traced an armoured vehicle used in a violent attack in Sudan, all the way back to a location in the middle of Libya's desert.

There it was parked, at a location where we found hundreds of other vehicles parked in rows.

Watch our investigation here:
youtu.be/umaFPlwJUKM

#KeepEyesOnSudan
How we found an RSF military camp in the Libyan desert
YouTube video by CIR - Centre for Information Resilience
youtu.be

Reposted by Conway Waddington

conflictwatch.bsky.social
Conflict Research @conflictwatch.bsky.social · Jul 28
@warmatters.bsky.social @jamesstout.bsky.social
War in Ukraine influence, first images of an optical fiber drone in the Sahel.

Reposted by Conway Waddington

salisbot.bsky.social
Dr Emma Salisbury @salisbot.bsky.social · Jul 24
Tanks don't need to think!

(Also ARGH)

www.politico.com/news/2025/07...
Pentagon suspends participation in think tank events
The move comes a week after the Defense Department pulled out of the Aspen Security Forum due to “the evil of globalism.”
www.politico.com

Reposted by Conway Waddington

rikefranke.bsky.social
Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.bsky.social · Jun 26
Such a crucially important essay that, honestly, I’ve kinda been waiting for.
Read, read, read!
#drones

warontherocks.com/2025/06/i-fo...
I Fought in Ukraine and Here’s Why FPV Drones Kind of Suck – War on the Rocks
warontherocks.com

Reposted by Conway Waddington

conflictwatch.bsky.social
Conflict Research @conflictwatch.bsky.social · Jun 14
14.06 #Mali
According to a government communique, while returning from a mission yesterday (presumably taking part in the airstrike against FLA fighters near Aguelhok) the Su-24 was forced to ditch in the Niger river near Gao due to "adverse atmospheric conditions"

Reposted by Conway Waddington

criticalthreats.bsky.social
Critical Threats Project @criticalthreats.bsky.social · Jun 13
NEW | Al Shabaab’s 2025 central Somalia offensive is reshaping the conflict’s dynamics.

Recent territorial gains reflect a campaign to reconnect support zones in central and southern Somalia. 1/6

Reposted by Conway Waddington

rikefranke.bsky.social
Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.bsky.social · Jun 13
An Israeli security official told The Times of Israel, that Mossad *build a #drone base inside Iran*!

“According to the official, Mossad agents set up a drone base on Iranian soil near Tehran. The drones were activated overnight, striking surface-to-surface missile launchers aimed at Israel.”
Israel said to renew strikes on Iran as Trump warns attacks will only get worse
US president calls on Tehran to make nuke deal 'before it's too late' * IDF details strike on underground centrifuge facility at Natanz * Mossad publishes video showing covert actions after activating...
www.timesofisrael.com

Reposted by Conway Waddington

propublica.org
ProPublica @propublica.org · May 29
THREAD 🧵

Internal State Department records show that months of warnings have become a reality: The Trump administration’s sudden withdrawal of foreign humanitarian aid has brought about death, violence and unrest. 1/

Reposted by Conway Waddington

chrisosieck.bsky.social
Chris Osieck @chrisosieck.bsky.social · May 4
A summary worth reading which offers an opportunity for retrospection in the open source research community, as well as to the online behaviour shown in response to this, as harmful words and death threats that have been made, are so not done.

www.404media.co/u-s-denies-p...
U.S. Denies Picking Bombing Targets From Random Twitter Accounts
An anonymous OSINT sleuth mis-identified a quarry as an underground Houthi base. Days later, the Pentagon allegedly struck the site and killed eight people.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Conway Waddington

sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com
Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · Mar 19
abolishing the office of net assessment in favor of (checks notes) white supremacy and Operator Culture™️ is... completely fucking insane. these people are going to lose us a goddamn war

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/u...
Hegseth Closes Pentagon Office Focused on Future Wars (Gift Article)
The Office of Net Assessment opened more than 50 years ago and developed concepts for possible conflict with U.S. adversaries, including China.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Conway Waddington

michelawrong.bsky.social
Michela Wrong @michelawrong.bsky.social · Mar 14
Fascinating investigtion into the mercenary outfits Congo hired to fight the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Supermarket guards, truck drivers and ‘very big mistakes’: the failed role of western mercenaries in the fall of Goma
An investigation into the DRC’s use of hundreds of hired Romanian fighters reveals how a disorganised operation with untrained recruits became a deadly ‘circus’
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Conway Waddington

yguichaoua.bsky.social
Yvan Guichaoua @yguichaoua.bsky.social · Feb 27
Conspiracists in Nigeria have enjoyed very much US Congressman Scott Perry's allegations that USAID was financing Boko Haram. Sahel military regimes love this theory, too, and the story has eventually been picked and presented as "look, even America says it, our suspicion is vindicated!" 1/

Reposted by Conway Waddington

criticalthreats.bsky.social
Critical Threats Project @criticalthreats.bsky.social · Feb 25
NEW Congo War Security Review | The UK sanctioned Rwanda and both the EU and UK suspended defense cooperation with Rwanda due to Rwandan support for M23. 1/3

Reposted by Conway Waddington

adamwelz.bsky.social
Adam Welz @adamwelz.bsky.social · Feb 25
Head up: A massive mine waste spill is currently killing virtually everything in one of #Zambia's major rivers.

A 🧵: On the 18th of February (1 weeka go) a large mine waste dump (aka tailings dam) began to collapse at the Sino Metals mine in #Chambishi, in Zambia's copperbelt. Huge volumes of...

Reposted by Conway Waddington

shipwreck75.bsky.social
Shipwreck @shipwreck75.bsky.social · Feb 24
Trump admin considering eliminating U.S. Africa Command as part of downsizing, per two U.S. officials & someone familiar with the discussions. Considering moving AFRICOM to a subcommand position under EUCOM.-NBC

Reposted by Conway Waddington

hillarymonahan.bsky.social
Hillary Monahan @hillarymonahan.bsky.social · Feb 24
There is a certain subgroup of Gen X/Elder Millenials who grew up when the novelty orangutan pets started attacking their owners and eating their faces off. And those Xennials?

Never forget the news stories.

Ever.

Reposted by Conway Waddington

shashj.bsky.social
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · Feb 20
“A key finding is that tactical drones are inflicting roughly two-thirds of Russian losses…twice as effective as every other weapon in the Ukr arsenal put together…remarkable…for weapons which did not officially exist in the Ukr mil at start of the war” www.forbes.com/sites/davidh...
New RUSI Report: Drones Now Inflicting Two Thirds Of Russian Losses
A report from UK thinktank RUSI acknowledges — slightly grudgingly — that tactical drones are the most lethal weapon in the Ukrainian arsenal and are transforming warfare
www.forbes.com