Abu Aardvark
LightNews LightNews
banner
abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark
@abuaardvark.bsky.social
7.8K followers 1.7K following 2.9K posts

Marc Lynch. GW Professor, POMEPS commander, Brewers fan. The one true Abu Aardvark. AMERICA’S MIDDLE EAST. Find me at https://abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io

Videos

Marc Lynch is a Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University, where he is also director of both the Institute for Middle East Studies and the Middle East Studies Program. .. more

Political science 59%
Sociology 30%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 20d
“An excellent, unflinchingly honest account of what every Arab knows: America's policies and dominance in the Middle East have provoked untold disasters based on a deep-rooted culture of racism and colonialism. The world needs this book now more than ever." Fida Jiryis
www.amazon.com/Americas-Mid...
America's Middle East: The Ruination of a Region
America's Middle East: The Ruination of a Region - Kindle edition by Lynch, Marc. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading America's Middle East: The Ruination of a Region.
www.amazon.com

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 9h
Gaza and El Fasher both
marklittle.bsky.social Mark Little @marklittle.bsky.social · 10h
“The massacres in El Fasher are among the most predicted slaughters in the history of atrocities … we should recognize it as a collective failure of civilization.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/o...
Opinion | This Is What the Murder of a Whole City Looks Like
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Bessma Momani

marklittle.bsky.social
Mark Little @marklittle.bsky.social · 10h
“The massacres in El Fasher are among the most predicted slaughters in the history of atrocities … we should recognize it as a collective failure of civilization.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/o...
Opinion | This Is What the Murder of a Whole City Looks Like
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch

aljazeera.com
Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 12h
Ceremony held at hospital destroyed by Israel highlights toll of two-year war on Gaza's medical system.
Palestinian doctors graduate in ruins of Gaza's destroyed al-Shifa Hospital
Ceremony held at hospital destroyed by Israel highlights toll of two-year war on Gaza's medical system.
www.aljazeera.com

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 22h
Utter lawlessness and contempt for rule of law. We will never recover from this. Thanks John Roberts.
robertscotthorton.bsky.social Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d
GOP operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, convicted election fraudsters, were paid $960,000 in the second quarter to secure a pardon for a former nursing-home operator who defrauded the government of $38 million. Trump pardoned the man, Joseph Schwartz, last month.
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Marc Lynch, Brendan Nyhan , and 5 more

robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d
GOP operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, convicted election fraudsters, were paid $960,000 in the second quarter to secure a pardon for a former nursing-home operator who defrauded the government of $38 million. Trump pardoned the man, Joseph Schwartz, last month.
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 3d
Who could ever have predicted that Gaza is heading to protracted conflict with maximal Palestinian suffering and not peace

www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/gazas...
Gaza’s New Normal
Persistent limited conflict is more likely than peace.
www.foreignaffairs.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 11 more

adamserwer.bsky.social
Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 3d
The “free speech” and “cancel culture” panics have led to overt state censorship because that was always their purpose. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
The reason so many of yesterday’s free-speech champions transitioned so easily into today’s pro-Trump censors is that their definition of free speech never included the right of others to talk back. They were not defending a universal right to freedom of speech; they were defending a right to monologue. They could say what they want, and you could shut up and like it. The cynicism of the effort can be known by its fruits: an administration that issues executive orders “protecting” free speech while engaging in the most sweeping campaign of state censorship since the Red Scare.

Reposted by Marc Lynch

ishaantharoor.bsky.social
Ishaan Tharoor @ishaantharoor.bsky.social · 4d
My latest
In Gaza, another winter of despair
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Column | In Gaza, another winter of despair
The grim conditions in Gaza exacerbate an already bleak status quo.
www.washingtonpost.com

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 4d
Over 70% of Israeli Jews oppose including Arab parties in the government according to new survey (Haaretz)

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Democracy index: Over 70 percent of Israeli Jews oppose Arab parties in gov't
Alongside a Decline in Public Trust in Israeli Democracy, the Report Also Reveals a Drop in Confidence in State Institutions Among All Respondents. Meanwhile, the Attorney General Enjoys the Trust of ...
www.haaretz.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch

jeetheer.bsky.social
Jeet Heer @jeetheer.bsky.social · 4d
The smear campaign against Mustapha Kharbouch -- falsely accused of the Brown shooting and MIT murder by powerful politicians, pundits and plutocrats -- is a prime example of how pervasive racism has become. It's also a story largely ignored by the mainstream media www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Islamophobic Elites Lied to Destroy the Life of a Palestinian Brown Student
Plutocrats, pundits, and government officials joined together in a racist smear campaign against a queer Palestinian student at Brown University.
www.thenation.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Robert C. Richards

nytimes.com
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 5d
“I carried him on my back. It took seven days.” A camp in eastern Chad is now home to more than 100,000 refugees of Sudan’s civil war, and is a key destination for those fleeing El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. Resources are strained as the number of newly displaced people increases.
Escape From the Abyss: Surviving the Atrocities in El Fasher
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Marc Lynch, Nancy Kanwisher

stelhami.bsky.social
Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 5d
Doctors Without Borders urges Israel to let critical aid into Gaza as children freeze to death. "At least 13 people, including two-week-old and one-month-old babies, have died from winter weather and a lack of adequate shelter and aid – blocked by Israel"
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12...
MSF urges Israel to let critical aid into Gaza as children freeze to death
At least 13 people in Gaza, including two-week-old and one-month-old babies, have died from winter weather.
www.aljazeera.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch

theintercept.com
The Intercept @theintercept.com · 5d
Users need to revolt against what will very likely be an even more widespread effort to censor voices critical of Israel.
Anti-Palestinian Billionaires Will Now Control What TikTok Users See
Under the TikTok deal, its Chinese owners will sell U.S. operations to a group of pro-Israel billionaires eager to censor critical content.
interc.pt

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 5d
Israel’s land seizures in the West Bank aren’t raising questions about the possibility of a two state solution, those questions were answered a long time ago. This is about what kind of one state reality there will be, and the answer to that is also pretty clear.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Land Grab: Inside Israel’s Escalating Campaign for Control of the West Bank (Gift Article)
Israeli seizure of Palestinian lands in the West Bank, often brutally, has accelerated, raising doubts about the prospects of a peaceful solution to the conflict.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch

joannehammond.bsky.social
Joanne Hammond @joannehammond.bsky.social · 5d
“There is desperation among Palestinian villagers and farmers as they watch the takeover of their lands at a pace never seen before… The Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank.” www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Land Grab: Inside Israel’s Escalating Campaign for Control of the West Bank (Gift Article)
Israeli seizure of Palestinian lands in the West Bank, often brutally, has accelerated, raising doubts about the prospects of a peaceful solution to the conflict.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch

deanobeidallah.bsky.social
Dean Obeidallah @deanobeidallah.bsky.social · 5d
Great in-depth Article in NY Times today about Netanyahu regime backing Israeli settlers who are driving Christian and Muslim Palestinians from their land to create Jewish only settlements. Ethnic cleansing in real time: Here is gift link to read: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Land Grab: Inside Israel’s Escalating Campaign for Control of the West Bank (Gift Article)
Israeli seizure of Palestinian lands in the West Bank, often brutally, has accelerated, raising doubts about the prospects of a peaceful solution to the conflict.
www.nytimes.com

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 6d
Sad that she had to inflict so much damage on higher education on her path to enlightenment
jamellebouie.net jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 7d
the main reward you are likely to get for total loyalty to trump is the destruction of your career and your reputation www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/n...
Elise Stefanik Drops Out of N.Y. Governor’s Race and Will Leave Congress
www.nytimes.com

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 6d
Why is it so impossible to write on Facebook now? The predictive AI is so intrusive and bad that I can’t complete simple words much less complete sentences. No lectures on how Meta is evil, I know- asking if there’s a specific tech thing that makes that so terrible now and worse than other apps

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Juan Cole

aljazeera.com
Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 6d
Israel launches new raids in Syria’s Quneitra, establishes checkpoints https://aje.io/hquvgy
Israel launches new raids in Syria’s Quneitra, establishes checkpoints

Reposted by Marc Lynch, David Darmofal

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 6d
Ungated version www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Reposted by Marc Lynch

marcowenjones.bsky.social
Marc Owen Jones @marcowenjones.bsky.social · 6d
New Analysis on my Substack: I Detected Over 5,000 Bot-Like Accounts Amplifying UAE-Aligned STC Narratives in Southern Yemen open.substack.com/pub/marcowen...
Analysis: I Detected Over 5,000 Bot Accounts Amplifying UAE-Aligned STC Narratives on Southern Yemen
A network and anomaly analysis of 56,000 tweets pushing Southern Yemen independence
open.substack.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Will Jennings, Scott L. Greer , and 13 more

robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 7d
BREAKING: RFKJr directs that the US instantly stop recommending all vaccinations for children. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Under RFK Jr., U.S. plans to stop recommending most vaccines, defer to doctors
The plan, which is not finalized, suggests children get fewer shots and shifts to a model telling parents to consult doctors to make their own vaccine choices.
www.washingtonpost.com

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 7d
It’s time for Abu Aardvark’s Best of 2025! Find out my top five Middle East political science books, my top ten albums, and my favorite question in Denmark.

abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/best-of-2025/
Best of 2025
I've just returned from a whirlwind trip to Denmark and Norway, where I gave four book talks – a million thanks to the University of Copenhagen and DIIS, Aarhus University, NUPI and the University of ...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io

Reposted by Marc Lynch

mwhanna.crisisgroup.org
Michael Hanna @mwhanna.crisisgroup.org · 7d
Looks like the consultants from The Line have more free time these days.

www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Exclusive | U.S. Pitches ‘Project Sunrise’ Plan to Turn Gaza into High-Tech Metropolis
The Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff drafted blueprint could see the U.S. commit to roughly 20% of some reconstruction costs over 10 years.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch

faineg.bsky.social
Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 7d
Great piece from Paul Musgrave on how Trump is, in essence, taking America private:
Taking America Private
The political-economic consequences of Mr. Trump
musgrave.substack.com

Reposted by Shibley Telhami, Marc Lynch, Nora V. Demleitner , and 2 more

jamellebouie.net
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 7d
the main reward you are likely to get for total loyalty to trump is the destruction of your career and your reputation www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/n...
Elise Stefanik Drops Out of N.Y. Governor’s Race and Will Leave Congress
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Michael D. McDonald, Dunlap

samtlevin.bsky.social
Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 7d
NEW: The FBI has launched "domestic terrorism" investigations into anti-ICE activity across the US. Some cases are under Trump's NSPM-7 order to crackdown on "anti-fascism" and "anti-Americanism."

Docs obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org + shared w/ Guardian include FBI map of cases in 30+ states:
Revealed: FBI opened domestic terrorism investigations into anti-ICE activity across US
Internal report shared with Guardian shows FBI has launched cases in 23 regions, some linked to Trump memo on thwarting ‘terroristic activities’
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch

diplomatofnight.com
Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 7d
The advocacy group founded by the late Jamal Khashoggi, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), has published a report which unveils the senior leadership of AIPAC— most of whom have not been previously disclosed.
The Faces of AIPAC
Unlike comparable organizations of its size and influence, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) does not maintain a public leadership page identifying the individuals who govern and direct...
dawnmena.org

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Marc Lynch, Steve Peers , and 3 more

propublica.org
ProPublica @propublica.org · 7d
NEW: A Texas district in which Black students were allegedly taunted with monkey noises.

An Arizona school where students admitted saying “slavery is good.”

These are some of the incidents Trump’s Education Department has ignored:
Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...
www.propublica.org

Reposted by Marc Lynch

mcsweeneys.net
McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 7d
"I miss the craftsmanship of the Bush years, you know? George W. Bush and his team didn’t just point to Iraq and go 'I wanna!' like a toddler about to throw a tantrum. They WORKED to get all those soldiers and civilians killed."
Whatever Happened to the Art of Brainwashing America Before Plunging It into an Unnecessary War?
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday assailed his White House predecessors for not pushing back against Venezuela earlier and stated that his inten...
buff.ly