Mary Kissel

Board director, strategist, thinker @HudsonInstitute. Previously: @Stephens_Inc, Senior Advisor to @SecPompeo, Editorial Board @WSJopinion.

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

@zriboua Thank you for your work! 👏

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

The intelligent, informed opinion on the goings-on in Ceuta & what’s driving the illegal immigration to Spain, via the great @zriboua. You won’t find this depth of analysis in U.S. media outlets, alas.

[Zineb Riboua @zriboua]

My latest

Ceuta, Morocco, Understanding the Situation

The Islamists have launched a new front

Since the Arab Spring, Morocco's Islamists have struggled to offer a credible governing agenda. Instead, they have spent years convincing young Moroccans that their country has no future. Through alliances with NGOs, partnerships with European activist networks, and relentless claims that Morocco's ties to Israel and the United States make it a conspirator or aggressor, they have pursued a single political objective: to delegitimize the state, deepen public disillusionment, and convert that resentment into votes in September.

https://t.co/sR2fyqMzrY

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

In other words, Beijing is breaking its promise - again - to honor trade contracts. We knew this in Trump I. We even made "China's broken promises" a messaging theme. When & how was this knowledge lost?

[Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent @SecScottBessent]

Today, @USTradeRep Greer and I spoke with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng ahead of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and President Xi's meeting in September.

In our discussion, I emphasized that we expect Beijing to fully meet its commitments on rare earths and U.S. agricultural products. We also discussed implementation of the Trade and Investment Boards as a mechanism to secure concrete progress toward a more balanced, fair, and constructive U.S.-China economic relationship.

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

If @SecWar Hegseth's @DeptofWar thinks talking is a sign of "progress," then we're back to the Obama era, when we talked & Beijing built illegal, militarized islands in the South China Sea. Now we're talking & Beijing is arming Russia & Iran. This is good?

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

Also: If "the U.S.-China military relationship is stronger than it has been in years," then how is this happening? https://t.co/S3gO2gNG5g

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

So, a U.S. @DeptofWar official goes to China's DC embassy (to mark the PLA's anniversary - can't make this up) & "reiterates" that the U.S. "does not seek conflict" with Beijing. This is not Trumpian "practical realism." This is appeasement -- the opposite of realism. https://t.co/nHBQh3TN6r

[Hudson Institute @HudsonInstitute]

"Successful diplomacy relies on leverage."

The US–Ukraine relationship is strengthening because Kyiv is proving to be a useful partner.

Ukraine is creating new defense tech, hitting Russian and Iranian supply lines, and gaining an advantage over Russia, @marykissel explains.

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

The Islamic Republic of Iran has no interest in a lasting peace with @POTUS -- which should be blindingly obvious. John & I discuss this and more on this week's @batchelorshow. https://t.co/E1uyholQfY

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

@MarkSimonHK @POTUS @SecRubio @SecScottBessent @ChineseEmbinUS @MFA_China Maybe. You'd think that lesson would be learned already. One more diplomatic humiliation really necessary?

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

Here's another example of giving Beijing a propaganda victory for absolutely nothing. And this meeting came within days of China threatening U.S. treaty allies Japan & the Philippines with live-fire exercises off their coasts.

[Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby @USWPColby]

It was an honor to host Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu of the People’s Republic of China at the Pentagon yesterday. Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership, we deal with our Chinese counterparts in a spirit of respect, candor, and realism. In that vein, I had a direct discussion with Minister Ma, and we look forward to further exchanges with our Chinese counterparts in the coming months.

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

Exactly.

[Tim Culpan @tculpan]

Jensen: The Chinese should use our tech so they get addicted

Also Jensen: We should use Chinese tech, but we won’t get addicted

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

Hard to see the utility in giving Beijing a propaganda victory for doing something they never should've done in the first place; i.e. actively promote the fentanyl trade and kill Americans.

[FBI Director Kash Patel @FBIDirectorKash]

Back in Beijing to continue the extraordinary work under the Trump Administration- shutting off fentanyl precursor pipelines, expanding our joint operations on scam centers, violent crimes against children and the already successful fugitive task force.

These historic results have been possible through my direct engagements with Vice Minister Xu Datong of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Also, State Councilor, Minister Wang Xiaohong – himself provided me with an audience- marking the first such meeting for the FBI in our history- demonstrating the resolve of this relationship.

Under President Trump’s leadership, America’s national security team has the ability to engage directly with our counterparts to deliver law enforcement successes never before seen - we are saving lives, protecting children, shuttering scam centers, and bringing fugitive justice.

Special thanks to Ambassador Perdue and his team for once again being a tremendous teammate.

-DKP🇺🇸

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

So secret that it was publicly reported by the @WSJ.

[unusual_whales @unusual_whales]

BREAKING: Bahrain and Kuwait secretly sent jets to attack sites inside Iran, their first direct retaliation against Tehran, per WSJ

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

On this week's @batchelorshow, John & I talked about the conflicting strategic goals of our Gulf allies -- and implications for U.S. policy in the region. Listen here on @ApplePodcasts: https://t.co/77NTgOJOIl

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

Bravo. Nothing more threatening to rogue states than the truth. Now @StateDept should write the same report for Communist China & the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://t.co/DNiGTlU9qY

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

I talked with @batchelorshow this week about Iran's calculations & American political constraints in prosecuting the war. Listen here on @ApplePodcasts: https://t.co/met03gUEzl.

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

RIP, Sen. Graham. A great friend to @WSJopinion (where I first met him), to his Senate colleagues, friends & family, his country, and ultimately, to the cause of freedom.

[Mary Kissel @marykissel]

Of note.

[Chris McGuire @ChrisRMcGuire]

NEW: The Department of Commerce just removed all export controls on AI chips on the UAE government and its AI national champion, G42. This is a HUGE deal, poses massive national security risks, will slow the US AI buildout, and will cause the largest data centers in the world to be built in the UAE instead of the US.

These license requirements were in place because of significant national security concerns related to the UAE government and G42 in particular, which are well documented in public reporting. The UAE government and G42 can now buy as many AI chips as they want.

Here's what will likely happen as a result of AI chips being uncapped to the UAE:
(1) The UAE/G42 will buy millions of Blackwell chips (~6 million Blackwells are being made this year, so this would be a big chunk of global capacity);
(2) UAE-owned G42 will build AI data centers globally, and be the first global competitor to U.S. hyperscalers, which currently dominate that market;
(3) The UAE will build the largest data centers in the world, will become the world's second largest hub for AI compute, and leading AI models will be hosted in the UAE.

This will pose enormous national security risks, as the UAE will become one of the most important AI compute hubs in the world, just as it now is for oil, but also a backdoor for China. It will create a massive foreign-owned competitor to the most important US companies. It will provide one of the few countries in the world with the money and interest to build AI models that rival the United States, with the tools to do it. And most importantly, it will exacerbate the already extreme supply shortage for AI chips in the United States, slowing the U.S. AI buildout.

How does the United States benefit from this? How is this America First? This policy just seems like it's Steve Witkoff first, given G42 purchased 49% of World Liberty Financial in 2025 in an effort to convince the administration to let them buy large numbers of AI chips. That seems to have worked.

It is hard to overstate how far-reaching the implications of this decision could be for the global AI infrastructure buildout, which was previously dominated by the US--but now has legitimate non-US competitors that have extensive ties to China. And the AI chip supply crunch for US firms will get tighter, making it even harder to build data centers in the US. Why are we doing this? Who benefits?