Tom Mowle - Chaos in the Green Zone
@tommowle.bsky.social
Editor, dissertation coach, hiker, explorer, trail builder, author (Chaos in The Green Zone, April 2026), retired military, retired public official, gardener, cat lover, atheist, Purdue fan-Boiler Up! Free Substack at https://fromtheramparts.substack.com/
When the marriage counselor is a division sign, I don’t think they will be able to make their union whole
February 10, 2026 at 9:11 PM
When the marriage counselor is a division sign, I don’t think they will be able to make their union whole
But wouldn’t Canada have to win a Stanley Cup before it can be taken away from them?
I...
The President of the United States thinks China is going to ban hockey in Canada and take away the Stanley Cup.
I...
Wha...
Will somebody with the ability to actually do something about this DO SOMETHING?
The President of the United States thinks China is going to ban hockey in Canada and take away the Stanley Cup.
I...
Wha...
Will somebody with the ability to actually do something about this DO SOMETHING?
Trump: “The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup.”
February 10, 2026 at 5:27 PM
But wouldn’t Canada have to win a Stanley Cup before it can be taken away from them?
Here in Colorado Springs too. coloradotimesrecorder.com/2026/02/el-p...
February 10, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Here in Colorado Springs too. coloradotimesrecorder.com/2026/02/el-p...
People thought it was as a love story rather than a warning? Must be the same people who think it he message of Gatsby is that rich people throw fabulous parties
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was never a love story. It was a warning
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was never a love story. It was a warning
Watching Michel Gondry’s 2004 time-twister as a hard sci-fi film, we might heed its advice – on technology and its futility against our romantic woes
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:22 PM
People thought it was as a love story rather than a warning? Must be the same people who think it he message of Gatsby is that rich people throw fabulous parties
This week in my free Substack, I conclude my 5-part series on lessons from my time as an Iraq War strategist. The final lesson is how our lack of diversity impeded our ability to understand our adversary. Share and subscribe -- link in the reply
February 10, 2026 at 1:17 PM
This week in my free Substack, I conclude my 5-part series on lessons from my time as an Iraq War strategist. The final lesson is how our lack of diversity impeded our ability to understand our adversary. Share and subscribe -- link in the reply
This week in my free Substack, I conclude my 5-part series on lessons from my time as an Iraq War strategist. The final lesson is how our lack of diversity impeded our ability to understand our adversary. Share and subscribe -- link in the reply
February 10, 2026 at 1:12 PM
This week in my free Substack, I conclude my 5-part series on lessons from my time as an Iraq War strategist. The final lesson is how our lack of diversity impeded our ability to understand our adversary. Share and subscribe -- link in the reply
p. 106
Why the f'g motherf'ing f, the two-star wanted to know, had the militia policy handoff package, including the talking points offered to Ambassador Negroponte and PM Allawi, not been coordinated with other offices yet?
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in the reply to find out
Why the f'g motherf'ing f, the two-star wanted to know, had the militia policy handoff package, including the talking points offered to Ambassador Negroponte and PM Allawi, not been coordinated with other offices yet?
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in the reply to find out
February 10, 2026 at 1:03 PM
p. 106
Why the f'g motherf'ing f, the two-star wanted to know, had the militia policy handoff package, including the talking points offered to Ambassador Negroponte and PM Allawi, not been coordinated with other offices yet?
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in the reply to find out
Why the f'g motherf'ing f, the two-star wanted to know, had the militia policy handoff package, including the talking points offered to Ambassador Negroponte and PM Allawi, not been coordinated with other offices yet?
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in the reply to find out
Contrast w/the 5th last week: "The government’s past practice has little to do with the statute’s text. The text says that it says, regardless of the decisions of prior Administrations. Years of consistent practice cannot vindicate an interpretation that is inconsistent with a statute’s plain text."
This is a super smart take on Bruen. SCOTUS has essentially declared that because a state declined to enact a particular gun regulation in the past, it’s constitutionally barred from enacting that regulation today. Impossible to square with the 10th Amendment.
The clash is clear--Bruen says every law today must find support in past positive law. It erases past powers simply because they went unexercised, infringing on the 10th Am's express reservation of those same powers.
February 9, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Contrast w/the 5th last week: "The government’s past practice has little to do with the statute’s text. The text says that it says, regardless of the decisions of prior Administrations. Years of consistent practice cannot vindicate an interpretation that is inconsistent with a statute’s plain text."
This is one of the lessons I take from my experience in Iraq as well
When our military becomes politicized, we all lose. The National Guard and Armed Forces must serve the nation, not partisan agendas. Read my piece in @newsweek.com and learn more about the new @thecountryfirst.bsky.social education campaign
www.newsweek.com/adam-kinzing...
www.newsweek.com/adam-kinzing...
Adam Kinzinger: Depoliticize the National Guard | Opinion
Some public officials have floated the idea of using the National Guard or even the military to “secure” polling places.
www.newsweek.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:50 PM
This is one of the lessons I take from my experience in Iraq as well
Reposted by Tom Mowle - Chaos in the Green Zone
Antisemitic Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon gripes that the United States sided with the communists in Russia during WWII instead of backing the "Christian nation" of Nazi Germany, likening it to the crowd freeing Barabbas while condemning Jesus to death in the Gospels.
February 9, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Antisemitic Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon gripes that the United States sided with the communists in Russia during WWII instead of backing the "Christian nation" of Nazi Germany, likening it to the crowd freeing Barabbas while condemning Jesus to death in the Gospels.
It’s not such a turn of events. As I noted in Allies at Odds, 7 countries voted against the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 1998 during the Clinton presidency: the USA, China, Israel, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, and Yemen (though the last 4 haven’t confirmed their secret ballot).
Trump is apparently worried the ICC could someday prosecute him or his aides. That’s unlikely. But that this could even be a concern highlights a dispiriting turn of events: The U.S. has gone from siding with the law-abiding nations of the world to standing with the rogue regimes. wapo.st/3MsWi3c
Opinion | Trump has a strongman’s contempt for international law
The president’s indifference to domestic legal constraints is reflected in his actions outside the U.S.
wapo.st
February 9, 2026 at 5:29 PM
It’s not such a turn of events. As I noted in Allies at Odds, 7 countries voted against the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 1998 during the Clinton presidency: the USA, China, Israel, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, and Yemen (though the last 4 haven’t confirmed their secret ballot).
Reposted by Tom Mowle - Chaos in the Green Zone
Breaking someone's skull in eight places is not law enforcement. It's attempted murder.
apnews.com/article/immi...
apnews.com/article/immi...
Immigrant whose skull was broken in eight places during ICE arrest says beating was unprovoked
A Mexican immigrant whose skull was broken during his arrest by immigration officers last month in Minnesota says the beating was unprovoked.
apnews.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Breaking someone's skull in eight places is not law enforcement. It's attempted murder.
apnews.com/article/immi...
apnews.com/article/immi...
This takes a nasty antisemitic turn
February 9, 2026 at 3:36 PM
This takes a nasty antisemitic turn
Reposted by Tom Mowle - Chaos in the Green Zone
“Lying in feces, throw up, urine… like animals in a cage at the zoo.”
A whistleblower recounts the horrific ICE detention center conditions in Baltimore — a similar story everywhere.
A whistleblower recounts the horrific ICE detention center conditions in Baltimore — a similar story everywhere.
February 9, 2026 at 1:41 PM
“Lying in feces, throw up, urine… like animals in a cage at the zoo.”
A whistleblower recounts the horrific ICE detention center conditions in Baltimore — a similar story everywhere.
A whistleblower recounts the horrific ICE detention center conditions in Baltimore — a similar story everywhere.
p. 105
As September ended, I sent yet another revision of the campaign plan strategy review to the Vortex—I'd thought I was done with it, but I was wrong—and the revised withdrawal announcement proposal went to Washington for more senior review.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
As September ended, I sent yet another revision of the campaign plan strategy review to the Vortex—I'd thought I was done with it, but I was wrong—and the revised withdrawal announcement proposal went to Washington for more senior review.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
February 9, 2026 at 1:17 PM
p. 105
As September ended, I sent yet another revision of the campaign plan strategy review to the Vortex—I'd thought I was done with it, but I was wrong—and the revised withdrawal announcement proposal went to Washington for more senior review.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
As September ended, I sent yet another revision of the campaign plan strategy review to the Vortex—I'd thought I was done with it, but I was wrong—and the revised withdrawal announcement proposal went to Washington for more senior review.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
And 21st century breakdown!!
Reminder that you should listen to American Idiot in full this week, it absolutely holds up.
February 8, 2026 at 11:07 PM
And 21st century breakdown!!
p. 104
The 2nd risk was that the announcement might look like we were admitting defeat. This was met with the suggestion that it be held off until after something that looked like a victory, much as Lincoln did with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
The 2nd risk was that the announcement might look like we were admitting defeat. This was met with the suggestion that it be held off until after something that looked like a victory, much as Lincoln did with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
February 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
p. 104
The 2nd risk was that the announcement might look like we were admitting defeat. This was met with the suggestion that it be held off until after something that looked like a victory, much as Lincoln did with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
The 2nd risk was that the announcement might look like we were admitting defeat. This was met with the suggestion that it be held off until after something that looked like a victory, much as Lincoln did with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
Happy Superb Owl Sunday to those who celebrate
February 8, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Happy Superb Owl Sunday to those who celebrate
That’s Howard county executive Calvin Ball the Third, mind you. Older than the game but Wikipedia will disambiguate en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_...
February 7, 2026 at 5:25 PM
That’s Howard county executive Calvin Ball the Third, mind you. Older than the game but Wikipedia will disambiguate en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_...
p. 103
This seemed to encourage the insurgency, which was supported by neighboring Yemen; the two countries would merge in 1990. This suggested that announcing a departure plan would not bring peace.
Malaya offered more optimism.
Preorder for April from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
This seemed to encourage the insurgency, which was supported by neighboring Yemen; the two countries would merge in 1990. This suggested that announcing a departure plan would not bring peace.
Malaya offered more optimism.
Preorder for April from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
February 7, 2026 at 2:29 PM
p. 103
This seemed to encourage the insurgency, which was supported by neighboring Yemen; the two countries would merge in 1990. This suggested that announcing a departure plan would not bring peace.
Malaya offered more optimism.
Preorder for April from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
This seemed to encourage the insurgency, which was supported by neighboring Yemen; the two countries would merge in 1990. This suggested that announcing a departure plan would not bring peace.
Malaya offered more optimism.
Preorder for April from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
p. 102
This analogy was of course too outrageous to advance other than in quiet comments to Simon or to Neal, who seemed happy to have moved out of Assessment to join me in Strategy.
The Soviet analogy also had flaws.
Book publishes Apr 14 - preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
This analogy was of course too outrageous to advance other than in quiet comments to Simon or to Neal, who seemed happy to have moved out of Assessment to join me in Strategy.
The Soviet analogy also had flaws.
Book publishes Apr 14 - preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
February 6, 2026 at 12:57 PM
p. 102
This analogy was of course too outrageous to advance other than in quiet comments to Simon or to Neal, who seemed happy to have moved out of Assessment to join me in Strategy.
The Soviet analogy also had flaws.
Book publishes Apr 14 - preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
This analogy was of course too outrageous to advance other than in quiet comments to Simon or to Neal, who seemed happy to have moved out of Assessment to join me in Strategy.
The Soviet analogy also had flaws.
Book publishes Apr 14 - preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
p. 101
Simon’s plan, which was becoming my plan, offered a solution. If we announced we'd leave soon after the seating of the ICG in early 2006, we might undermine the rationale behind the resistance to the occupation and contain the insurgency.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
Simon’s plan, which was becoming my plan, offered a solution. If we announced we'd leave soon after the seating of the ICG in early 2006, we might undermine the rationale behind the resistance to the occupation and contain the insurgency.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
February 5, 2026 at 1:20 PM
p. 101
Simon’s plan, which was becoming my plan, offered a solution. If we announced we'd leave soon after the seating of the ICG in early 2006, we might undermine the rationale behind the resistance to the occupation and contain the insurgency.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
Simon’s plan, which was becoming my plan, offered a solution. If we announced we'd leave soon after the seating of the ICG in early 2006, we might undermine the rationale behind the resistance to the occupation and contain the insurgency.
Preorder from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social in reply
Reposted by Tom Mowle - Chaos in the Green Zone
Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.
DHS Hunts Down 67-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Who Criticized Them in Email
The Department of Homeland Security is using a little-known tool to go after its critics.
newrepublic.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.
When they said “Democracy dies in darkness,” we thought it was a warning rather than the oligarch’s plan. Oops
February 4, 2026 at 3:38 PM
When they said “Democracy dies in darkness,” we thought it was a warning rather than the oligarch’s plan. Oops