Ben Friedman
@benjaminfriedman.bsky.social
Policy Director at Defense Priorities. Columbia Heights resident. Supporter of restraint in US foreign policy and the Boston Celtics.
Reposted by Ben Friedman
This is the 16th strike of its kind this year — and at least 66 people are dead because of the government’s rash actions.
These extrajudicial strikes are illegal under both international and domestic law.
These extrajudicial strikes are illegal under both international and domestic law.
2 killed in U.S. strike on alleged drug boat in Eastern Pacific, Hegseth says
Two people on board an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific were killed by a U.S. military strike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday
www.nbcnews.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:32 PM
This is the 16th strike of its kind this year — and at least 66 people are dead because of the government’s rash actions.
These extrajudicial strikes are illegal under both international and domestic law.
These extrajudicial strikes are illegal under both international and domestic law.
See the promise and peril of the right's emerging anti-Israel politics here. This guy asks Vance why we support Israel, sensibly suggesting we shouldn't while flashing Christian Nationalism by saying they have a different religion than "us" and are hostile to ours. www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Bn...
JD Vance Responds To Man Who Says Israel's 'Religion... Openly Supports The Prosecution Of Ours'
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:30 PM
See the promise and peril of the right's emerging anti-Israel politics here. This guy asks Vance why we support Israel, sensibly suggesting we shouldn't while flashing Christian Nationalism by saying they have a different religion than "us" and are hostile to ours. www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Bn...
If we can't stop this shit, let's at least all call them stormtroopers.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Pentagon readying thousands of Guard ‘reaction forces’ as U.S. mission widens
The Defense Department’s newly established “quick reaction force” within the National Guard is being readied for civil unrest missions in U.S. cities.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:16 PM
If we can't stop this shit, let's at least all call them stormtroopers.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
A security guarantee by executive order is not much of a security guarantee. And even if it were a treaty, no US President can't he trusted to restrain Israel. Next president can and should ignore. www.axios.com/2025/10/08/t...
What to make of Qatar's diet Article 5 protections
Trump "may well have intended it one way, and the region could interpret it in another," said one expert.
www.axios.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
A security guarantee by executive order is not much of a security guarantee. And even if it were a treaty, no US President can't he trusted to restrain Israel. Next president can and should ignore. www.axios.com/2025/10/08/t...
The war on drugs keeps getting more literal.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told
www.nytimes.com
October 2, 2025 at 5:53 PM
The war on drugs keeps getting more literal.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
Reposted by Ben Friedman
This is extremely similar to what Duterte did in the Philippines. Killing of supposed drug dealers without due process. Dictator level stuff, scary.
September 17, 2025 at 6:32 PM
This is extremely similar to what Duterte did in the Philippines. Killing of supposed drug dealers without due process. Dictator level stuff, scary.
Reposted by Ben Friedman
I wrote in my book that "Trump had learned the foremost lesson of 9/11: the terrorists were whomever you said they were." Now "terrorism" is what he's using to apparently provoke a war with Venezuela.
Terror on The High Seas
In the latest migration of a term with lethal consequences, "terrorism" is a pretext for murdering 11 people in international waters
www.forever-wars.com
September 4, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I wrote in my book that "Trump had learned the foremost lesson of 9/11: the terrorists were whomever you said they were." Now "terrorism" is what he's using to apparently provoke a war with Venezuela.
I can't speak for Ukraine, but the fact that Europeans feel compelled to call their proposed force for post-war Ukraine a "reassurance" force suggests it is not gonna be backed by a credible threat and won't be reassuring at all.
apnews.com/article/russ...
apnews.com/article/russ...
Macron says 26 countries pledge troops as a reassurance force for Ukraine after fighting ends
French President Emmanuel Macron says that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for the war-torn country once fighting ends in the conflict with Russia.
apnews.com
September 4, 2025 at 4:34 PM
I can't speak for Ukraine, but the fact that Europeans feel compelled to call their proposed force for post-war Ukraine a "reassurance" force suggests it is not gonna be backed by a credible threat and won't be reassuring at all.
apnews.com/article/russ...
apnews.com/article/russ...
Blowing up a boat and killing 11 people and in the name of stopping a drug shipment is a depraved act of needless violence. If it's a drug shipment, stop it with the Coast Guard.
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
US military kills 11 people in strike on alleged drug boat from Venezuela, Trump says
The U.S. military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, President Donald Trump said, in the first known operation since his administration's recent deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean.
www.reuters.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Blowing up a boat and killing 11 people and in the name of stopping a drug shipment is a depraved act of needless violence. If it's a drug shipment, stop it with the Coast Guard.
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
This news is a throwback to the aughts, with Marco Rubio doing his best to resurrect the dumbest parts of the war on terror, conflating Islamism and terrorism.
www.jns.org/muslim-broth...
www.jns.org/muslim-broth...
Muslim Brotherhood terror designation ‘in the works,’ Rubio says
“As long as Hamas exists, there will be no peace in Gaza,” the U.S. secretary of state told the radio host Sid Rosenberg.
www.jns.org
August 19, 2025 at 5:47 PM
This news is a throwback to the aughts, with Marco Rubio doing his best to resurrect the dumbest parts of the war on terror, conflating Islamism and terrorism.
www.jns.org/muslim-broth...
www.jns.org/muslim-broth...
Despite everything autocratic thing that's happened this year, it's still shocking to me that these huge law firms are agreeing to be subordinated to Trump: working pro bono on an insane protectionist agenda. Corrupt, autocratic, and barely even a scandal.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/u...
Law Firms That Settled With Trump Are Pressed to Help on Trade Deals
www.nytimes.com
August 14, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Despite everything autocratic thing that's happened this year, it's still shocking to me that these huge law firms are agreeing to be subordinated to Trump: working pro bono on an insane protectionist agenda. Corrupt, autocratic, and barely even a scandal.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/u...
This article asserts baselessly that Putin is already reordering the world in Russia's favor just by having a summit with Trump. The implication is Russia isn't a major power unless we treat it as one, an idea Ukraine war should have disabused people of.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Even before Alaska summit, Putin is redrawing global order to his liking
The Alaska summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin represents a return to great-power politics in which big countries call the shots.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 14, 2025 at 10:06 AM
This article asserts baselessly that Putin is already reordering the world in Russia's favor just by having a summit with Trump. The implication is Russia isn't a major power unless we treat it as one, an idea Ukraine war should have disabused people of.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Reposted by Ben Friedman
For @forward.com, I wrote about how we know that Israel has been withholding food as a military tactic because Israeli officials have said versions of “we are withholding food as a military tactic” for the entirety of the war and pretending otherwise is willful ignorance forward.com/opinion/7586...
Is starvation in Gaza really Israel's fault? The facts are clear
Rising starvation in Gaza may have a number of factors. But Israel's wartime policies on humanitarian aid are inarguably among them.
forward.com
July 28, 2025 at 7:46 PM
For @forward.com, I wrote about how we know that Israel has been withholding food as a military tactic because Israeli officials have said versions of “we are withholding food as a military tactic” for the entirety of the war and pretending otherwise is willful ignorance forward.com/opinion/7586...
Both the US strikes on Iran and their retaliation today seem partly theatrical. The US didn't do the sustained campaign likely in the can to really cripple Iranian nuclear weapons program, and the Iranians shot at well-defended bases with warning.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...
Live Updates: Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Base in Qatar
www.nytimes.com
June 23, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Both the US strikes on Iran and their retaliation today seem partly theatrical. The US didn't do the sustained campaign likely in the can to really cripple Iranian nuclear weapons program, and the Iranians shot at well-defended bases with warning.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...
This binary view is wrong. The third choice is to live with Iran as a nascent nuclear weapons state, as we've been doing for a while, or fully nuclear one, and pressure Israel to not destabilize the situation by bombing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...
Trump’s Iran Choice: Last-Chance Diplomacy or a Bunker-Busting Bomb
www.nytimes.com
June 17, 2025 at 12:35 AM
This binary view is wrong. The third choice is to live with Iran as a nascent nuclear weapons state, as we've been doing for a while, or fully nuclear one, and pressure Israel to not destabilize the situation by bombing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...
Under no circumstances should we get sucked into Israel's preventive war on Iran, which will likely prove counterproductive. The question is how bad it gets.
June 13, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Under no circumstances should we get sucked into Israel's preventive war on Iran, which will likely prove counterproductive. The question is how bad it gets.
If Israel bombs Iran in an attempt to kibosh US negotiations and drag us into a war, can we stop underwriting their military? Or at least acknowledge we shouldn't pay them to screw us? www.timesofisrael.com/us-begins-ev...
US begins evacuating Mideast embassies, army bases as Iran nuclear talks come to a head
CENTCOM chief shelves Senate testimony as nonessential embassy staff, troops' dependents depart region; Iranian defense minister threatens to strike US bases amid stalled talks
www.timesofisrael.com
June 11, 2025 at 11:03 PM
If Israel bombs Iran in an attempt to kibosh US negotiations and drag us into a war, can we stop underwriting their military? Or at least acknowledge we shouldn't pay them to screw us? www.timesofisrael.com/us-begins-ev...
Long and short of this is Israel is considering striking Iran in order to screw up US diplomacy and expecting US help if they do. What is stronger than chutzpah? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...
As Trump Seeks Iran Deal, Israel Again Raises Possible Strikes on Nuclear Sites
www.nytimes.com
May 28, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Long and short of this is Israel is considering striking Iran in order to screw up US diplomacy and expecting US help if they do. What is stronger than chutzpah? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...
News article advocating endless US war in Somalia, in part by overstating Al Shabab's threat to the west. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
How U.S. cuts in Somalia could imperil the fight against al-Shabab
Somalia’s government has increasingly turned to Turkey to repel al-Shabab, as America’s diminished focus on Africa scrambles global power dynamics.
www.washingtonpost.com
May 27, 2025 at 12:35 PM
News article advocating endless US war in Somalia, in part by overstating Al Shabab's threat to the west. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
If Trump indeed agreed to get the last US hostage freed in exchange for getting the blockade of Gaza lifted and then ignored the obligation, it's no favor to the remaining hostages. If the US won't honor its own agreement, who will push Israel to honor theirs? www.dropsitenews.com/p/witkoff-ha...
Hamas Says Witkoff Personally Promised to Lift Gaza Blockade in Exchange for Edan Alexander
The U.S. immediately broke the deal, senior Hamas official Basem Naim tells Drop Site. “They threw it in the trash” and there has been “zero” progress on a Gaza ceasefire.
www.dropsitenews.com
May 16, 2025 at 7:15 PM
If Trump indeed agreed to get the last US hostage freed in exchange for getting the blockade of Gaza lifted and then ignored the obligation, it's no favor to the remaining hostages. If the US won't honor its own agreement, who will push Israel to honor theirs? www.dropsitenews.com/p/witkoff-ha...
Is Trump being bribed by Qatar good because it somewhat reduced the odds of a war with Iran? www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Trump administration will accept a luxury jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One
Trump is expected to discuss arrangements for the plane during his visit to Qatar this week, one source said.
www.nbcnews.com
May 12, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Is Trump being bribed by Qatar good because it somewhat reduced the odds of a war with Iran? www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Seems like Trump either jumped the gun, prematurely announcing Houthi deal before it was finalized or threw Israel under the bus by making a separate peace with the Houthis just as their fight with the Houthis escalates, or both.
www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/p...
www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/p...
US to stop strikes on Houthis in Yemen | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the US would “stop the bombings” against the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen, after the Houthis told the US that “they don’t want to fight anym...
www.cnn.com
May 6, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Seems like Trump either jumped the gun, prematurely announcing Houthi deal before it was finalized or threw Israel under the bus by making a separate peace with the Houthis just as their fight with the Houthis escalates, or both.
www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/p...
www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/p...
Reposted by Ben Friedman
A political prisoner in other words.
Amid all the other news, it's easy to become inured to the basic facts here. Öztürk:
-Is not accused of committing any crime
-Is nonviolent
-Was in this country legally
-Merely engaged in speech that the administration objects to
-Has been locked up for six weeks
-Is not accused of committing any crime
-Is nonviolent
-Was in this country legally
-Merely engaged in speech that the administration objects to
-Has been locked up for six weeks
Now from Öztürk’s ACLU lawyer Esha Bhandari:
“Rümeysa Öztürk’s case is unprecedented and shocking. She has been held behind bars for six weeks while her health deteriorates for writing an op-ed.”
“Rümeysa Öztürk’s case is unprecedented and shocking. She has been held behind bars for six weeks while her health deteriorates for writing an op-ed.”
May 6, 2025 at 2:51 PM
A political prisoner in other words.
Some real Kenny Powers energy from Hegseth here.
youtu.be/vf7-d9mIGvA?...
youtu.be/vf7-d9mIGvA?...
BREAKING NEWS: Hegseth Blasts Media Over Signal Story At White House Easter Egg Roll
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
youtu.be
April 21, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Some real Kenny Powers energy from Hegseth here.
youtu.be/vf7-d9mIGvA?...
youtu.be/vf7-d9mIGvA?...
Is there anyone in or out of the Trump administration who truly believes that drone strikes on cartels would work to limit fentanyl flows or really in any sense beyond just showing that we remain committed to illegal and unpredictable violence?
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
Trump administration weighs drone strikes on Mexican cartels
The administration has increased surveillance flights over Mexico as it tries to track the powerful cartels that dominate the fentanyl trade.
www.nbcnews.com
April 8, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Is there anyone in or out of the Trump administration who truly believes that drone strikes on cartels would work to limit fentanyl flows or really in any sense beyond just showing that we remain committed to illegal and unpredictable violence?
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...