мориц

Die Welt ist groß und es gibt Platz für alle.

[Philipp Heimberger @heimbergecon]

Military spending in OECD countries has increased strongly. In more than two thirds of all OECD countries, military spending has been rising faster than GDP.

[Al Jazeera Breaking News @AJENews]

BREAKING: Fighting has broken out between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the Afar region, two humanitarian sources told AFP.

🔴 More on https://t.co/OwhgaIH6vP

[Nico | SGD ⚫️🟡 @nxco1953]

ist das krank

[мориц @vogt_moritz]

@sorenmau https://t.co/maL9UfRBeB

[мориц @vogt_moritz]

@5fragezeichen @taubentussi @mag_dalenab antibimperialist

[Ilan Goldenberg @ilangoldenberg]

This article is compelling and smart. I’ve seen it forwarded around a lot. Let’s walk through why it’s wrong. 

1. The author argues that Iran’s military infrastructure especially its drones and missiles are being systematically taken apart.  True. But in the aftermath who is going to keep it that way? After the 12 day war Israel and Trump declared Iran’s capacity to make war “obliterated” and set back for a generation. Less than a year later they went back to war because of how quickly Iran was rebuilding. This campaign is much more comprehensive, but the same problem still applies. How to avoid being stuck in the aftermath in a “mow the lawn” scenario where the US has to expend tremendous assets that could be directed elsewhere in the world - especially towards the Indopacific. And where the region operates at a new unstable normal where all previous taboos on military action are off.

2.  He argues that the nuclear infrastructure had to be disassembled because one president after another had just let Iran’s nuclear program grow. Not true. Obama had managed to dramatically and verifiably reduce Iran’s nuclear capacity through the JCPOA. Trump killed that.

3. He argues Iran is self harming by stopping its own oil from going through the Strait of Hormuz. This was always an assumption before the war, but they’ve managed to shut down the Strait for everyone else while still exporting 1 million bbls per day of their own stuff.  That makes this much more sustainable. 

4. He Argues that Iran’s proxy networks are dramatically weakened. True, but also as we’ve learned from previous conflicts they will regenerate and it’s impossible to root them out with a military strategy alone if there is no political follow up to create a better alternative. That is why Israel is on the verge of a major campaign in Lebanon only a year and a half after supposedly setting back Hezbollah for a generation. These fights are costly Pyrrhic victories that will just need to be fought again and again and again unless there is a political strategy to consolidate victory which both Israel and the US have failed at since October 7th. 

5. Finally, the author argues that we need to ignore the President’s own words about regime change and the Iranian people rising up and focus on what the military is doing.  But that’s not how war works. War is fought to achieve a political objective. If there is no clear objective set out by the political leadership it’s impossible to translate battlefield victories into a consolidated win.  By setting the bar at regime change Trump has made it extraordinarily hard for the US to be perceived as winning even if the military executes the plans. Perception is a big part of the battle in war. And again the costs are incredibly high. And as the author argues, the only way this works is if there is a plan to contain and keep Iran down in the aftermath. Do we have any faith in Trump to do that? Again that is going to be incredibly expensive and require a presence like what the US left in the Middle East after the first Gulf War to contain Saddam.  That’s something we could afford in 1991 when the US was a unipolar power. But not in 2026 when we have a real competitor in China that we need to manage. 

https://t.co/C5UAdJWwSr

[Österreich Wählt @Wahlen_AT]

GRAZ: Gewünschte/r Bürgermeister/in — Umfrage Peter Hajek/Kleine Zeitung

Kahr (KPÖ): 43%
Hohensinner (GVP): 18%
Apfelknab (FPÖ): 7%
Schwentner (GRÜNE): 3%
Pointner (NEOS): 3%
Kampus (SPÖ): 2%
Schönbacher (KFG): 2%
#Graz #Gemeinderatswahl

[Zack Polanski @ZackPolanski]

Dear @ShabanaMahmood,

Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

[Joel M. Curzon @JoelMCurzon]

If there were one thing that I could get people to fully grasp, it would be this. No one wants to hear it.

[Jonathan Fine @jonathanbfine]

There’s an essay by the German author Heinrich von Kleist that I think about whenever someone rhapsodizes about artificial intelligence. The title of the essay is “On the gradual completion of thoughts while speaking” (Über die allmähliche Verfertigung der Gedanken beim Reden).

[Jacobin Magazin @jacobinmag_de]

Nach den ICE-Morden in den USA ist das Abgrenzungsbedürfnis in Europa groß. Dabei ist die Migrationsabwehr der EU keineswegs humaner – der Unterschied ist, dass die rechtlose Gewalt ins Mittelmeer und nach Nordafrika ausgelagert wird, schreibt @BafiKush.
https://t.co/orXNvl88OX

[Jacobin Magazin @jacobinmag_de]

Ahmed Abed kandidiert für die Linke als Bürgermeister von Neukölln – und ist Ziel einer Hetzkampagne, weil er einen rechten israelischen Politiker als Völkermörder bezeichnet hat. Über die Angriffe und seine Pläne für den Bezirk sprach er mit @BafiKush.
https://t.co/YbrIHuvFaw

[мориц @vogt_moritz]

@shainreads take a look at some of elif shahaks books. the marked quote reminds me a lot of her style.

[Jason Hickel @jasonhickel]

In all seriousness, this is quite a revealing conversation from the perspective of world-systems theory. Macron is appealing to Trump by saying "hey were are both part of the imperial core, let's focus on our shared objective of subordinating the periphery". What he fails to understand, or just doesn't want to acknowledge, is that there is a hierarchy within the imperial core itself.

The US is the main imperial power and seeks to shape the rest of the core, including Western Europe, in its own interests. This has historically included interfering in European elections and even drafting plans for invasions. The US will not blink at the prospect of invading European territory in order to advance its geopolitical power.

Macron is foolish if he believes he can appeal to core-core solidarity, because from the perspective of the US no such thing exists. The correct approach is for Europe to break from the US and chart a more independent path.

[Matthäus Wehowski @MattheusWehowsk]

Interessant was so hinter der Fassade des "freundlichen Pazifisten" steckt. Der brave Osteuropäer hat sich gefälligst zu ergeben, um nicht zur "unbewohnbaren Shithole" zu werden. Koloniale deutsche Arroganz im Endstadium...

[мориц @vogt_moritz]

@embolognese negroni sbagliato falsch gemacht, da ist der name programm

[мориц @vogt_moritz]

@miquyl @cyclingsickos thanks!

[мориц @vogt_moritz]

@scenehe4rt that's too much tuna!