Caroline Scullin

Comms professional on issues large & small.Proud Obama alum. Connect culturally thru arts, travel, literature & humor. Kitchen guru extraordinare.Tweets my own.

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

NEW: Pope Leo XIV's top three American cardinals just gave their first joint television interview.

They condemned the Iran war, called out ICE, and revealed that Spanish-language Mass attendance has dropped 30% because of fear.

And they made clear that Leo's decision to spend America's 250th birthday on Lampedusa — where migrants drown — instead of the country where he was born is a deliberate message about where moral authority lives. https://t.co/fMGR7veqnt

[NASA Artemis @NASAArtemis]

"Planet Earth: You. Are. A. Crew."

Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch reflects on what it means to be a "crew."

[Caroline Scullin @CScullini]

Every detail matters on the front end.The rush over and to what seems a foregone conclusion.Not consulting the US Congress.
Every detail matters before taking action.What are the goals?Are people who want change inside Iran in a position to enact change?Every detail matters.

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart.

We had a very good month.

Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace.

By mid-February, we had something.

Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green.

That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma.

Here is what they said, in the order they said it.

February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday.

February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive.

I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach.

February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses.

February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters.

Not happy with the pace.

We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway.

Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years.

Not happy with the pace.

February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens.

I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses.

February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications.

February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump.

Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production."

Rejected.

Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman.

The President said they rejected it.

I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed.

February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment.

February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school.

I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that.

February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold.

The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning.

February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse.

February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement.

The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."

[Mike Nellis @MikeNellis]

So apparently, J.D. Vance flew to the Vatican to invite Pope Leo to the United States for America’s 250th birthday, but he declined and will instead spend July 4th standing with migrants. As a practicing Catholic, I can’t put into words how meaningful it is to watch the Church meet this moment with an American as pope.

[Caroline Scullin @CScullini]

A sad day. An amazing resource.

[Frank Luntz @FrankLuntz]

The CIA has shuttered The World Factbook.

It had been published and used as a reference source by journalists, teachers, students, and travelers since 1962.

https://t.co/5dvyN9CHDg

[Senator Thom Tillis @SenThomTillis]

A sycophant is more than just a "yes-man."

It refers to someone who acts excessively servile toward someone important in order to gain an advantage. They aren't just being nice, they are using excessive flattery, often insincerely, to get what they want, whether that's a promotion, social status or favor.

Some characteristics: The motive is self-interest. They aren't praising you because they like you; they're doing it because you have something they want. The behavior is over the top fawning, or constant agreement (including when you're wrong).

Common Synonyms: toady, flunky, bootlicker.

Some parallels for movie buffs:

Grima Wormtongue (the Stephen Miller of Lord of the Rings) is an advisor to King Theoden. He uses whispers and false flattery to control the King’s decisions, all while secretly serving Saruman. He is a classic example of a sycophant who uses his position to poison a leader's standing for his own benefit.

Dolores Umbridge (the Kristi Noem of Harry Potter) is an example of a bureaucratic sycophant. She is terrifyingly sweet while she is around those she considers her superiors and she sucks up to authority to gain the power she needs to bully those "beneath" her.

[Bill Clinton @BillClinton]

Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come.  This is one of them.

[Kevin Baron @DefenseBaron]

In the last hour, "T2" posted this same photo five times, replying to Pete Hegseth, Steven Miller, Bondi, etc. Just this photo, no text. Retired 4-star Gen. Tony Thomas led the nation's Special Operations Command.

[Olga Nesterova @onestpress]

Sky News: Danish PM Mette Freideriksen’s note in the visitors book when she visited UK today

[Caroline Scullin @CScullini]

@sbg1 Throwing shade the Norwegian way!

[Susan Glasser @sbg1]

The Nobel committee reminding Americans what an actual prize winner sounds like:

[Caroline Scullin @CScullini]

This is NOT normal.

[Nick Schifrin @nickschifrin]

NEW: @potus letter to @jonasgahrstore links @NobelPrize to Greenland, reiterates threats, and is forwarded by the NSC staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. I obtained the text from multiple officials:

Dear Ambassador:

President Trump has asked that the following message, shared with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, be forwarded to your [named head of government/state]

“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT”

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading. The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined. #Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself. Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.
https://t.co/LZ9hxddaS1

[Amanda Gorman @TheAmandaGorman]

For Renee Nicole Good
Killed by I.C.E. on January 7, 2026

by Amanda Gorman

They say she is no more,
That there her absence roars,
Blood-blown like a rose.
Iced wheels flinched & froze.
Now, bare riot of candles,
Dark fury of flowers,
Pure howling of hymns.

If for us she arose,
Somewhere, in the pitched deep of our grief,
Crouches our power,
The howl where we begin,
Straining upon the edge of the crooked crater
Of the worst of what we’ve been.

Change is only possible,
& all the greater,
When the labour
& bitter anger of our neighbors
Is moved by the love 
& better angels of our nature.

What they call death & void,
We know is breath & voice; 
In the end, gorgeously, 
Endures our enormity. 

You could believe departed to be the dawn
When the blank night has so long stood.
But our bright-fled angels will never be fully gone,
When they forever are so fiercely Good.

[Henrik Dahl @SociologenHD]

Danish Member of the European Parliament here.

Dear Governor Landry,

I am pleased that you intend to remain at home in Louisiana.

You and your administration have no business in Greenland. Your imperialist fantasies of taking over Greenland have no place in the twenty-first century.

We will regard you as an enemy of both the Danish state and the Danish and Greenlandic peoples should you persist in these notions of unilaterally altering the international legal status of sovereign countries.

That having been said, allow me, in closing, to wish both you and your family a blessed Christmas and a prosperous 2026.

[Susan Glasser @sbg1]

Quiet part, out loud

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

Thoughtful piece by my @nytopinion colleague @DouthatNYT about how the Trump administration's interest in Christianity is largely decorative--like Pete Hegseth's tattoo of a cross--rather than substantive or concerned with morality. https://t.co/6e01PPEgir

[George F. Will @GeorgeWill]

A sickening moral slum of an administration
https://t.co/1eJ2dQ5cPV