Frank Talbot

Nonresident Senior Fellow @ACMideast | Former State Department

[Atlantic Council Middle East Programs @ACMideast]

💡🇩🇿 "Reforms to the integrity of Algeria’s financial systems included cash restrictions, statutory overhaul, and supervisory enforcement. Algeria’s 2025 Finance Act banned cash payments for real estate transactions, luxury goods, and insurance premiums, addressing the informal channels that had made supervision challenging," notes @talbotfd in his new piece analyzing Algeria's financial reforms and where the US can step in.

🔗Read his full piece below⬇️
https://t.co/c29BEdc104

[Atlantic Council @AtlanticCouncil]

The Financial Action Task Force recently removed Algeria from its grey list.

@ACMideast’s @talbotfd examines how Washington can use the moment to rebuild US-Algeria economic cooperation:
https://t.co/A0x0rlmhRK

[Atlantic Council Middle East Programs @ACMideast]

🇱🇾💡"Implementing a unified budget without accountability, transparency, and independent oversight will likely only produce short-term monetary stability, not the long term prosperity Libyans demand," note @shalghoum87 and Frank Talbot in their new piece on the systemic issues facing the Libyan economy.

🔗Read their full analysis here⬇️ https://t.co/wt4rxlzaMD

[Atlantic Council @AtlanticCouncil]

“Increased [oil] revenue will not fix Libya’s economy if it continues to flow into a political economy still shaped by parallel spending, institutional fragmentation, and weak oversight,” argue Ahmed Shalghoum and Frank Talbot.

Read more ⤵️
https://t.co/O7UmE52WbP

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

https://t.co/OL1xXKmHrO

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

In December, @ACMideast predicted #Libya would be a rising U.S. regional priority. Led by @US_SrAdvisorAF, a unified budget agreement + @USAfricaCommand's Flintlock exercise are producing results — just as Libyan energy exports grow more critical for global markets.

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

Last December I wrote #Libya hosting a spoke of @USAfricaCommand’s #Flintlock would be a tangible step to countering Russian influence. But security cooperation must come with expectations: professionalism, accountability, and respect for human rights.
🔗 https://t.co/1UOdgk5Slv

[Atlantic Council @AtlanticCouncil]

NATO’s 2011 campaign in Libya highlights “three intervention design challenges that remain relevant as policymakers assess the trajectory of the Iran campaign,” writes @ACMideast’s Frank Talbot.

Read more:
https://t.co/GBAo7pfYg5

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

Escalation traps are a real concern as @ProfessorPape notes. I raise the same point in my recent article for @AtlanticCouncil: Three lessons from #Libya for the war in #Iran https://t.co/gcgHeQlcOo

[Robert A. Pape @ProfessorPape]

President Donald Trump is escalating the Iran war in the belief that greater force will produce victory

History suggests the opposite

When the stronger state that started a war keeps climbing the escalation ladder, it often falls into what I call the Escalation Trap

That is the path this war may now be taking

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

“Whether Iran resembles Libya is ultimately beside the point. What matters is whether policymakers have absorbed the intervention design lessons from the Libya experience.” My take in a recent piece for @AtlanticCouncil

[Atlantic Council @AtlanticCouncil]

NATO’s 2011 campaign in Libya highlights “three intervention design challenges that remain relevant as policymakers assess the trajectory of the Iran campaign,” writes @ACMideast’s Frank Talbot.

Read more:
https://t.co/GBAo7pfYg5

[The Arab Weekly @ArabWeekly]

US-Italy-Turkey alignment revives Libya’s stalled peace efforts amid fragile balance https://t.co/DP0WgZJt3p

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

First piece out in my new role as Nonresident Senior Fellow with the @ACMideast

It looks at how the US, Italy, and Turkey are converging on a balanced approach in #Libya—and why American diplomacy still matters.

Read here 👉 https://t.co/NioP7rrmzg

[Atlantic Council Middle East Programs @ACMideast]

In August, @RTErdogan and @GiorgiaMeloni welcomed Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah in Istanbul for a trilateral summit addressing challenges in Libya.

@talbotfd and @MezranK explain why new convergence in strategy on Libya could help the stalemate.
https://t.co/Dfi8QHICg3

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

A new triangle is shaping Libya’s future: U.S., Turkey & Italy.

Summer meetings from Naples to Istanbul signal deeper coordination across commerce, migration & security.

My breakdown here 👇
👉 https://t.co/leDqUO8M1j

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

What if this all ends with Iran getting a nuclear weapon in 2-4 years?

In my latest post, I break down the 4 pillars for managing a nuclear Iran, shifting from prevention to strategic management.

👇 Read here:
https://t.co/ZgLwL1omuR

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

Is “malign” still useful in foreign policy—or just a vague label?

In this Substack, I break down why the term obscures more than it reveals, and why “destabilizing” offers a sharper, more strategic lens.
https://t.co/6cryT1SBIR

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

Most protests stay local. Some become national movements. What makes the difference?

I unpack the mechanics of protest escalation using the LA anti-ICE demonstrations as a case study

https://t.co/qkhtKWDbfy

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

Looking forward to this! “The discussion will explore his report’s findings and the need to calibrate DDR efforts to local contexts in Libya”

[Tim Eaton @el_khawaga]

Looking forward to this @USIP seminar with @myacoubian & @drepalermo on Tuesday @ 9:30EST to talk about our latest @CH_MENAP research on armed factions in Misrata, Zawiya and Zintan!

https://t.co/Hx9tdA2k8D

[Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations @StateCSO]

Free and fair Libyan elections, strong and transparent economic institutions, and implementation of the ceasefire are the foundation for long-term stability. The U.S. Strategy will #PromoteStability in partnership with the Libyan people. @USAEmbassyLibya https://t.co/H85vI5Iuze

[Frank Talbot @talbotfd]

Apparently getting a free meatball sub for voting is a thing in DC these days!