Joe Cirincione
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joecirin.bsky.social
Joe Cirincione
@joecirin.bsky.social
I've been working on national security in Washington for over 40 years. Government, think tanks and philanthropy. Now retired, I still write, lecture and do media interviews. And I'm still learning. On Substack at: joecirincione.substack.com
Pinned
After 13 years and more than 53K followers, I am moving from the wreck of Twitter over to BlueSky. I feel better already.

Nice to begin anew. I do nuclear policy and national security. Here’s a bit about me from one of the great groups I work with in DC. #NukeSky www.fp4america.org/joseph-cirin...
Joseph Cirincione - Foreign Policy for America
www.fp4america.org
I have been to and watched a lot of inaugurations. I have never seen one as moving, as substantive and as hopeful as that of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. I have never been prouder to have been born a New Yorker. Or to be a second generation immigrant.
Mamdani: "The cost of childcare will no longer discourage young adults from starting a family, because we will deliver universal childcare for the many by taxing the wealthiest few"
January 1, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
This is a brilliant line that should make a lot of folks…in both parties…very uncomfortable. Yes.
Good.
Mamdani: For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty
January 1, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
That's a falcon, not a bald eagle.
The windmill is in Israel.
The photo is from 2017. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2...
December 31, 2025 at 11:20 PM
How did DPRK go from an impoverished nation in 2000 lacking both nuclear weapons and missiles that could travel much beyond its borders, to a country with dozens of nuclear warheads & an arsenal of long-range ballistic missiles that can hit any part of the US? thebulletin.org/2025/12/four...
Four US presidents failed to stop North Korea's nuclear buildup. Trump still has a shot
A new book tracks four decades of failed US policy toward North Korea, making a strong case that solutions existed—and still exist.
thebulletin.org
December 18, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Policy leaves a track record. We can examine what officials promised compared to the outcome of their decisions. When we do, we see the only policy that has ever worked to restrain North Korea’s nuclear program has been engagement & diplomacy, not pressure & threats. thebulletin.org/2025/12/four...
Four US presidents failed to stop North Korea's nuclear buildup. Trump still has a shot
A new book tracks four decades of failed US policy toward North Korea, making a strong case that solutions existed—and still exist.
thebulletin.org
December 18, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
🚨 JUST IN: A new book explains how four US administrations had multiple opportunities to stop North Korea from getting nuclear weapons but failed, @joecirin.bsky.social writes in @thebulletin.org.

#nuclearweapons #NorthKorea #Trump #nukesky
Four US presidents failed to stop North Korea's nuclear buildup. Trump still has a shot
A new book tracks four decades of failed US policy toward North Korea, making a strong case that solutions existed—and still exist.
thebulletin.org
December 18, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
A retired general argued that the fool's Golden Dome is feasible using an image stating the US system would defend an area 16 times larger than Iron Dome does for Israel. As the map shows, the US is in fact over 450 times larger. Expect more of this type of analysis from Golden Dome supporters.
December 11, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
“Venezuela does not represent a national security threat to the United States. The drugs that are coming from Venezuela are not the opioids that are streaming into the US from other countries…There’s not a rational case for doing this.” My talk w/ Bill Press.
open.substack.com/pub/joecirin...
Looking for Wars in All the Wrong Places
Ukraine, Venezuela and Gaza, Oh My!
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:50 PM
John Pike demolishes Trump’s new white nationalist “National Security Strategy” unveiled yesterday. It is, as he says, “a geopolitical revolution in American foreign policy toward Russia, Ukraine and Europe.” It is a betrayal of American values.

www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops...
Trump Doctrine
www.globalsecurity.org
December 6, 2025 at 6:48 PM
“Venezuela does not represent a national security threat to the United States. The drugs that are coming from Venezuela are not the opioids that are streaming into the US from other countries…There’s not a rational case for doing this.” My talk w/ Bill Press.
open.substack.com/pub/joecirin...
Looking for Wars in All the Wrong Places
Ukraine, Venezuela and Gaza, Oh My!
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:50 PM
“We now have US military implementing these illegal orders in the Caribbean. And the fear is that if he gets away with this, well, his next step is to do this in US cities. And that’s why people such as those six Democrats are sounding the alarm bells.” open.substack.com/pub/joecirin...
Looking for Wars in All the Wrong Places
Ukraine, Venezuela and Gaza, Oh My!
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:46 PM
“The US military does not have the authority, does not have the right, does not have the standing to use military force against drug smugglers. It simply doesn’t. These are extra judicial killings. These are murders.” My talk with @billpress.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/joecirin...
Looking for Wars in All the Wrong Places
Ukraine, Venezuela and Gaza, Oh My!
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
Trump drops 11 points - 11 points! - in the past month in Gallup. Just a staggering decline. 1/
Gallup poll | 11/3-11/25

President Trump approval
Disapprove 60% (+6)
Approve 36% (-5)

news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
November 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
I'm pretty sure most of you were upset about Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in the "Golden" Oval Office. The man Donald Trump's own CIA determined ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
@joecirin.bsky.social was, too.
bit.ly/Click-2-Listen
YouTu.be/ipLOofMZPwY
November 25, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
With so much going on with Donald Trump's domestic disasters, it's hard to keep track of Trump's foreign disasters. But today we tackle Ukraine, Venezuela, Gaza and Saudi Arabia.
bit.ly/Click-2-Listen
YouTu.be/ipLOofMZPwY
November 25, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
When you are drawing up war plans and starting to implement them, it can be hard to stop the march to war. There's historical precedent for this. @joecirin.bsky.social with the history and the flashing red lights today.
bit.ly/Click-2-Listen
youtu.be/ipLOofMZPwY
November 25, 2025 at 6:30 PM
The Washington consensus is that Trump will attack soon. Military forces are surging into the region. But will Trump really launch an unnecessary, unpopular new war when his popularity is at an all-time low and his party splintering? My analysis:
open.substack.com/pub/joecirin...
Will Trump Attack Venezuela?
Trump may launch an unnecessary war to distract from his domestic woes. Or not.
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
What happens in the Caribbean stays in the Caribbean? Not so fast. If Donald Trump can get the military to follow his illegal orders there, his next step could be in US cities. @joecirin.bsky.social makes the connection.
bit.ly/Click-2-Listen
YouTu.be/ipLOofMZPwY
November 25, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
While the chaotic U.S. diplomatic effort continues in Ukraine, don't sleep on the murders in the Caribbean.
National Security Analyst @joecirin.bsky.social weighs in.
bit.ly/Click-2-Listen
YouTu.be/ipLOofMZPwY
November 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I am a big proponent of Grandparent Power.
Page One in Cincinnati:

“.. I need to be able to look my grandkids in the eye and say I did not remain silent.”

#ICE
November 25, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Joe Cirincione
A cure for news whiplash with Jason Dick, Editor-in-chief, CQ-Roll Call, @ktullymcmanus.bsky.social, Congressional Reporter @politico.com, @ledyardking.bsky.social, Editor, @nationaljournal.com Daily and @bennettjohnt.bsky.social, WH for CQ-Roll Call.
Bit.ly/Click-2-Listen
YouTu.be/fVHZWmb4lSI
November 21, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Now he’s gone too far.
November 21, 2025 at 4:58 PM
A UK far-right leader is now in jail for taking money from Russia to “advanced narratives advantageous to Russian interests concerning Ukraine.”

We can only hope the same will someday be true for US far-right leaders, whether it’s bribes or blackmail. www.theguardian.com/politics/202... be
Reform UK’s former Wales leader jailed for taking bribes for pro-Russia speeches
Police say Nathan Gill received at least £30,000 while he was an MEP from Oleg Voloshyn, an alleged Russian asset
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
No money for health care but unlimited checks for this nuclear lunacy.
The Trump administration will give Constellation Energy a $1 billion federal loan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania that suffered a partial core meltdown in 1979. on.wsj.com/4padJTK
U.S. Backs $1 Billion Loan to Restart the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant
Constellation Energy aims to bring mothballed plant back to life to power Microsoft AI agreement
on.wsj.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:12 PM