Vasabjit Banerjee
@vasabjit.bsky.social
Comparative civil-military relations, defense manufacturing, political violence, electoral politics, and foreign policy. Regional foci on South Asia and Latin America, but also the "global south."
Pinned
Vasabjit Banerjee
@vasabjit.bsky.social
· Jan 26
Don't make your U.S. foreign policy contingent on the average American's ability to tolerate material deprivation. That's been a losing proposition since the 1960s, despite all the rhetoric to the contrary.
Indians and Pakistanis are ethnically the same people. Thus, they should trade with each other and live in peace and harmony. lol
a man in a suit and tie is laughing and smiling .
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is laughing and smiling .
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Indians and Pakistanis are ethnically the same people. Thus, they should trade with each other and live in peace and harmony. lol
If there's stagflation, can we at least have a disco revival?
a man and woman are dancing on a dance floor with a disco sign in the background
ALT: a man and woman are dancing on a dance floor with a disco sign in the background
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:53 PM
If there's stagflation, can we at least have a disco revival?
Folks don't get this about chess, but 2 things about playing it are understanding strategic interactions, not players' intent, and 2nd , 3rd, ...n-th order effects.
If it doesn't get a credible guarantee for deterrence, Ukraine will get nukes. They have the human and material resources. The technology is like 80 years old. Delivery capability from cruise missiles to fighter jets ain't that hard to come by either. Then, Ukraine will not be a supplicant to NATO.
November 20, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Folks don't get this about chess, but 2 things about playing it are understanding strategic interactions, not players' intent, and 2nd , 3rd, ...n-th order effects.
If it doesn't get a credible guarantee for deterrence, Ukraine will get nukes. They have the human and material resources. The technology is like 80 years old. Delivery capability from cruise missiles to fighter jets ain't that hard to come by either. Then, Ukraine will not be a supplicant to NATO.
November 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
If it doesn't get a credible guarantee for deterrence, Ukraine will get nukes. They have the human and material resources. The technology is like 80 years old. Delivery capability from cruise missiles to fighter jets ain't that hard to come by either. Then, Ukraine will not be a supplicant to NATO.
This article does not mention the Latin American countries where the U.S. allegedly has support from the military but not civilian leaders; specifically two of Venezuela's neighbors.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/a...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/a...
November 20, 2025 at 12:14 AM
This article does not mention the Latin American countries where the U.S. allegedly has support from the military but not civilian leaders; specifically two of Venezuela's neighbors.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/a...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/a...
Reposted by Vasabjit Banerjee
Center for Countering Disinformation💙💛
⚡️ russian arms exports—one of the kremlin’s key tools of political influence and a major source of revenue—have collapsed to a historic low.
The head of "rostec," sergey chemezov, confirmed that arms export volumes have halved compared to 2022.
⚡️ russian arms exports—one of the kremlin’s key tools of political influence and a major source of revenue—have collapsed to a historic low.
The head of "rostec," sergey chemezov, confirmed that arms export volumes have halved compared to 2022.
November 19, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Center for Countering Disinformation💙💛
⚡️ russian arms exports—one of the kremlin’s key tools of political influence and a major source of revenue—have collapsed to a historic low.
The head of "rostec," sergey chemezov, confirmed that arms export volumes have halved compared to 2022.
⚡️ russian arms exports—one of the kremlin’s key tools of political influence and a major source of revenue—have collapsed to a historic low.
The head of "rostec," sergey chemezov, confirmed that arms export volumes have halved compared to 2022.
Reposted by Vasabjit Banerjee
"The announcement comes five months after Eastern reported it could not complete the OPC contract without taking an “unabsorbable loss,” and as a result the service issued stop work orders on hulls three and four."
news.usni.org/2025/11/18/e...
news.usni.org/2025/11/18/e...
Eastern Shipbuilding Halts Work on Coast Guard Cutter Program, Cites Financial Strain and Program Conditions - USNI News
Eastern Shipbuilding Group halted work on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter program, citing “significant financial strain” caused by the program’s conditions, USNI News has ...
news.usni.org
November 19, 2025 at 2:21 AM
"The announcement comes five months after Eastern reported it could not complete the OPC contract without taking an “unabsorbable loss,” and as a result the service issued stop work orders on hulls three and four."
news.usni.org/2025/11/18/e...
news.usni.org/2025/11/18/e...
Covert
Trump Said to Authorize C.I.A. Plans for Covert Action in Venezuela www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...
Trump Said to Authorize C.I.A. Plans for Covert Action in Venezuela
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Covert
The Carter Doctrine of Anglo-French style regional paramountcy continues to screw his successors on Middle East policy: they have to make an endless series of Faustian Bargains. GW and Obama tried to break it all and begin anew; both failed. It's back to the 1980s-1990s now. Somethings never change.
November 19, 2025 at 2:10 AM
The Carter Doctrine of Anglo-French style regional paramountcy continues to screw his successors on Middle East policy: they have to make an endless series of Faustian Bargains. GW and Obama tried to break it all and begin anew; both failed. It's back to the 1980s-1990s now. Somethings never change.
Show me a humanitarian Middle Eastern leader to do business with. I'll wait.
Syria is ruled by an ex-ISIS guy. Iran has the mullahs; Afghanistan the Talibs. The Gulf States are under petro-feudals using unfree South Asian labor. Various dictators in other places. Saudi Arabia is just another one.
Syria is ruled by an ex-ISIS guy. Iran has the mullahs; Afghanistan the Talibs. The Gulf States are under petro-feudals using unfree South Asian labor. Various dictators in other places. Saudi Arabia is just another one.
November 19, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Show me a humanitarian Middle Eastern leader to do business with. I'll wait.
Syria is ruled by an ex-ISIS guy. Iran has the mullahs; Afghanistan the Talibs. The Gulf States are under petro-feudals using unfree South Asian labor. Various dictators in other places. Saudi Arabia is just another one.
Syria is ruled by an ex-ISIS guy. Iran has the mullahs; Afghanistan the Talibs. The Gulf States are under petro-feudals using unfree South Asian labor. Various dictators in other places. Saudi Arabia is just another one.
If Pakistan can be a Major Non-NATO Ally, so can Saudi Arabia. The Trump admin should make no bones about it.
November 19, 2025 at 1:18 AM
If Pakistan can be a Major Non-NATO Ally, so can Saudi Arabia. The Trump admin should make no bones about it.
Reposted by Vasabjit Banerjee
Well, only this type of thing – that Maduro just announced he is ready for direct talks. 🤷🏼
Venezuela's president says he's ready for direct talks with Washington
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has offered talks with Washington as President Trump refuses to rule out sending troops into the country, raising tensions across the region.
www.npr.org
November 18, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Well, only this type of thing – that Maduro just announced he is ready for direct talks. 🤷🏼
Reposted by Vasabjit Banerjee
It's not on the current FAA status advisory.
November 18, 2025 at 10:29 PM
It's not on the current FAA status advisory.
This may indicate that air operations against Venezuela have begun.
I am looking for more confirmation on this. If you have read/seen one, please tag me.
I am looking for more confirmation on this. If you have read/seen one, please tag me.
New NOTAM (A0010/25):
The United States has issued a security advisory warning of a potentially hazardous situation in the San Juan Flight Information Region (TJZS).
Operators are advised to exercise extreme caution due to a significant increase in state aircraft operations in the area.
The United States has issued a security advisory warning of a potentially hazardous situation in the San Juan Flight Information Region (TJZS).
Operators are advised to exercise extreme caution due to a significant increase in state aircraft operations in the area.
November 18, 2025 at 10:25 PM
This may indicate that air operations against Venezuela have begun.
I am looking for more confirmation on this. If you have read/seen one, please tag me.
I am looking for more confirmation on this. If you have read/seen one, please tag me.
Time for another photo of Peron from his 1973-1974 presidency.
November 18, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Time for another photo of Peron from his 1973-1974 presidency.
Reposted by Vasabjit Banerjee
#skystorians – a colleague is asking for recommendations for reading on the British industrial crisis of the 1970s and early 80s – any recommendations?
November 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM
#skystorians – a colleague is asking for recommendations for reading on the British industrial crisis of the 1970s and early 80s – any recommendations?
They are renaming this store, Olivia's.
November 18, 2025 at 1:24 PM
They are renaming this store, Olivia's.
Seriously, "stepping back from public life" when you are 70, instead of retiring and just going away where nobody can remember your scandal, is the core problem of the post-Cold War American policy elites: the total inability to accept responsibility and age gracefully.
November 18, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Seriously, "stepping back from public life" when you are 70, instead of retiring and just going away where nobody can remember your scandal, is the core problem of the post-Cold War American policy elites: the total inability to accept responsibility and age gracefully.
W. M. Thackeray was born in my hometown, and I appreciate the Vanity Fair reference. In that vein, there must be a Sir Pitt Crawley in this here plot, and dare I say a Capt. Rawdon Crawley, too . They have yet to be revealed; but I suspect certain things.
Olivia Nuzzi is basically a New Jersey Becky Sharp, but without the style.
oh my god you have to read this until the end www.telos.news/p/part-1-how...
November 18, 2025 at 2:03 AM
W. M. Thackeray was born in my hometown, and I appreciate the Vanity Fair reference. In that vein, there must be a Sir Pitt Crawley in this here plot, and dare I say a Capt. Rawdon Crawley, too . They have yet to be revealed; but I suspect certain things.
Colombian insurgency group ELN, which is now largely based in Venezuela, allegedly will be part of a Venezuelan fight against the U.S.. Part of it will be forcing Colombia to refuse support to the U.S..
www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/...
www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/...
ELN sería una “primera línea” de Maduro en la ofensiva de Trump contra Venezuela, dicen analistas
Expertos afirman que los ataques que la guerrilla está perpetrando en Arauca son una estrategia para reforzar su control en el departamento.
www.elespectador.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Colombian insurgency group ELN, which is now largely based in Venezuela, allegedly will be part of a Venezuelan fight against the U.S.. Part of it will be forcing Colombia to refuse support to the U.S..
www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/...
www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/...
Pacted transitions have their own drawbacks: just ask the Guatemalan and Chilean left.
Venezuela is unique in the Americas. Cuba and Nicaragua are authoritarian, but there's a strong state. Haiti has a failed state. Maduro has an authoritarian failed state.
www.foreignaffairs.com/venezuela/gr...
Venezuela is unique in the Americas. Cuba and Nicaragua are authoritarian, but there's a strong state. Haiti has a failed state. Maduro has an authoritarian failed state.
www.foreignaffairs.com/venezuela/gr...
A Grand Bargain With Venezuela
American force won’t dislodge Maduro, but American diplomacy might.
www.foreignaffairs.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Pacted transitions have their own drawbacks: just ask the Guatemalan and Chilean left.
Venezuela is unique in the Americas. Cuba and Nicaragua are authoritarian, but there's a strong state. Haiti has a failed state. Maduro has an authoritarian failed state.
www.foreignaffairs.com/venezuela/gr...
Venezuela is unique in the Americas. Cuba and Nicaragua are authoritarian, but there's a strong state. Haiti has a failed state. Maduro has an authoritarian failed state.
www.foreignaffairs.com/venezuela/gr...
I am sure negotiations with Maduro will fail because the Trump admin wants him to leave. We can blame Trump and all, but the Maduro regime has created a bubble of alternative reality for itself. With each failed attempt at removal, it gets smaller but tighter.
www.latintimes.com/trump-offici...
www.latintimes.com/trump-offici...
Trump Officials Reportedly Considering Exiling Maduro And Top Venezuelan Regime Officials In Turkey, Russia
Trump administration officials are reportedly considering exiling Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro and other top officials in different countries including Turkey, Russia and Cuba
www.latintimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:06 PM
I am sure negotiations with Maduro will fail because the Trump admin wants him to leave. We can blame Trump and all, but the Maduro regime has created a bubble of alternative reality for itself. With each failed attempt at removal, it gets smaller but tighter.
www.latintimes.com/trump-offici...
www.latintimes.com/trump-offici...
Reposted by Vasabjit Banerjee
BREAKING Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa on Sunday vowed to respect voters who roundly rejected his plans to reestablish a US military base in the country and reform the constitution
November 17, 2025 at 2:39 AM
BREAKING Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa on Sunday vowed to respect voters who roundly rejected his plans to reestablish a US military base in the country and reform the constitution
Venezuelan opposition leader Corina Machado asks security forces to lay down their arms and not follow orders. The other quotes indicate she's willing to forgive and forget elements of the Chavista regime to move on.
This nuance is why in-country opposition matters.
www.infobae.com/venezuela/20...
This nuance is why in-country opposition matters.
www.infobae.com/venezuela/20...
Nuevo mensaje de María Corina Machado a las fuerzas de seguridad del régimen de Maduro: “La hora decisiva es inminente”
“Lo que va a pasar, ya está pasando (...) La posición que cada uno tome marcará su vida para siempre”, agregó la líder opositora venezolana y Premio Nobel de la Paz, quien instó a los uniformados a “b...
www.infobae.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Venezuelan opposition leader Corina Machado asks security forces to lay down their arms and not follow orders. The other quotes indicate she's willing to forgive and forget elements of the Chavista regime to move on.
This nuance is why in-country opposition matters.
www.infobae.com/venezuela/20...
This nuance is why in-country opposition matters.
www.infobae.com/venezuela/20...
It was a pleasure to be invited for this podcast by @thehindu.com
on the recent @erep.csis.org article on India-Russia relations by Tina Dolbaia and myself.
youtu.be/BcMQNI5Cr_U?...
on the recent @erep.csis.org article on India-Russia relations by Tina Dolbaia and myself.
youtu.be/BcMQNI5Cr_U?...
November 16, 2025 at 7:01 PM
It was a pleasure to be invited for this podcast by @thehindu.com
on the recent @erep.csis.org article on India-Russia relations by Tina Dolbaia and myself.
youtu.be/BcMQNI5Cr_U?...
on the recent @erep.csis.org article on India-Russia relations by Tina Dolbaia and myself.
youtu.be/BcMQNI5Cr_U?...