Today Al-Jolani visited the White House for another session of surreal optics:

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a shooting that took place along a local freeway on a Monday afternoon.

In the vein of Western institutions finally coming around to realities long-known to most of us, this new Economist piece braves the humiliation of having to admit some harsh truths about Western weapons:

Today’s newsletter is noticeably shorter in terms of the number of stories. For that reason, I’ve decided to explore each one in greater depth than usual, while still aiming to balance brevity with substance.

The Trump circus is off the rails this week—and maybe that’s not an altogether bad thing.

Interesting new pieces from think-tank-land vis-a-vis the war in Ukraine have made it over the transom this week which are worth dissecting.

The title of today’s newsletter is a direct quote from President Trump. It embodies his “Peace Through Strength” approach—what he promised and delivered.

It’s been two years since October 7, and the surviving hostages have finally returned home, with Israeli troops pulling back to the agreed-upon lines and releasing thousands of prisoners.

FT has broken a report that the US has been closely involved in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian energy grid and gas infrastructure in order to “weaken Putin’s economy and bring him to the negotiating table.”