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From: Mayraj Fahim <fmayraj@yahoo.com>
To: Chas Freeman via Salon <salon@listserve.com>
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Subject: [Salon] At the Reflecting Pool,
 Trump turns a serene oasis into a police zone
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/23/reflecting-pool-visible-decline-reflects-president-impulsive-nature/
At the Reflecting Pool, Trump turns a serene oasis into a police zone

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Subject: [Salon] Dead ducks add to Trump's reflecting pool drama
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https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/23/dead-ducks-trump-reflecting-pool-0=
0972529
Dead ducks add to Trump=E2=80=99s reflecting pool drama

A local wildlife organization is performing necropsies on ducks found dead
near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
[image: Ducks swim in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as workers scrub
and vacuum algae.]

Ducks swim in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as workers scrub and
vacuum algae in Washington, on June 18, 2026. | Kinnia Cheuk/POLITICO
By Heather Richards <https://www.politico.com/staff/heather-richards>06/23/=
2026
04:48 PM EDT

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   -
   -

The discovery of a trio of dead ducks has prompted worries that President
Donald Trump=E2=80=99s $16 million overhaul of the Lincoln Memorial Reflect=
ing Pool
has a fatal flaw.

A local wildlife organization collected two deceased ducks, found at a pond
adjacent to the pool Sunday. The same day, a *Washington Examiner*
 journalist documented another
<https://x.com/robcrilly/status/2068742817246060957> dead adolescent duck
floating in shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. The presence of deceased
waterfowl has sparked speculation of toxic algae, sometimes known as
blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, in the lime-green gunk that swiftly
proliferated after the Trump administration installed a commercial pool
liner earlier last month.

There is no confirmation of the potentially harmful algae in the pool, but
City Wildlife =E2=80=94 a leading local wildlife rehabilitation organizatio=
n that
collected the birds Sunday =E2=80=94 plans to perform necropsies to help ga=
uge if
the birds could have been affected by the pool renovation.

The duck discoveries come amid near-daily drama at the normally placid
memorial, where a no-bid renovation contract, an infusion of unsightly
algae, peeling paint and public arrests have captured public attention in
recent weeks. The president raises the issue of the renovation when he
speaks to the press and has asserted criminal actions are at fault for many
of the current problems at the pool.

=E2=80=9CWe appreciate everyone=E2=80=99s concern for the duck family and o=
ther ducks
currently visiting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as it undergoes
continued repairs,=E2=80=9D City Wildlife said in a statement posted to its
website. =E2=80=9CCity Wildlife=E2=80=99s Duck Watch team continues to moni=
tor the
situation closely, including daily dedicated checks on the Reflecting Pool.=
=E2=80=9D

City Wildlife did not respond to requests for an interview and said in its
statement posted online that it could not comment on the causes of the
birds=E2=80=99 death until after the necropsies are performed.

The Center for Biological Diversity asked the Fish and Wildlife Service on
Tuesday to investigate the deaths under a federal law that protects
migratory birds, criticizing the use of concentrated peroxide to kill algae=
.

Tara Zuardo, a senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity,
called the pool a =E2=80=9Cgiant duck death trap.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CInstead of letting this administration=E2=80=99s bizarre boondoggl=
e keep killing
innocent ducks, I hope the Fish and Wildlife Service steps in to do its job
and protect America=E2=80=99s wildlife,=E2=80=9D Zuardo said in a statement=
.

FWS did not immediately provide comment for this story.

The D.C. Department of Energy and Environment and the Interior Department
did not respond to requests for comment on the waterfowl. Interior has
previously said peroxide =E2=80=94 used to combat the green scum in the poo=
l =E2=80=94 is a
milder way to treat algae than chlorine and is used in spas and swimming
pools.

=E2=80=9CThere are no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environ=
ment,=E2=80=9D
the department said earlier this month.

Experts cautioned against jumping to conclusions on the bird deaths.

=E2=80=9CI know a few more dead ducks have been found, but hydrogen peroxid=
e
remains an extremely unlikely cause,=E2=80=9D said Brad Bortner, the former
national division chief of migratory bird management at FWS. =E2=80=9CThey =
[would]
have to pour hundreds or thousands of gallons of industrial-strength
hydrogen peroxide into the reflecting pool to reach a concentration that
would kill a bird.=E2=80=9D

The renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was supposed to be a
gleaming center point in the president=E2=80=99s patriotic celebrations on =
July
Fourth to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence, including as a launching pad for some of the more than
800,000 fireworks set to go off in a matter of weeks.

Instead, it=E2=80=99s become a public headache for the White House, followi=
ng the
president=E2=80=99s idea to cut government cost by renovating the leaking a=
nd
trash-filled pool with a rubber-like, commercial swimming pool liner,
painted =E2=80=9CAmerican Flag Blue.=E2=80=9D Days after the liner was appl=
ied, and the
pool refilled, algae swiftly infested its roughly 4 million gallons of
water.

As the National Park Service tried to treat the algae with peroxide and
ozone, as well as collecting and vacuuming the vegetation, pieces of the
pool=E2=80=99s liner began to peel off the bottom of the pool.

President Trump said Tuesday that the pool was looking =E2=80=9Cbeautiful=
=E2=80=9D but
acknowledged that some water will have to be drained from the pool to make
repairs. He blamed the degrading liner on vandalism. But a contractor
working on the pool said Monday that the federal government is still
actively investigating the cause of failure.

=E2=80=9CWas it manual intervention that made those few places peel, or was=
 that
the chemical composition of what was in the water? We don=E2=80=99t know un=
til we
have further results at this point,=E2=80=9D said Francois Rivard, vice pre=
sident
of Rhino Linings, the contractor that supplied the pool liner.

Bortner acknowledged the birds could have been harmed by ingesting the
liner or algae but said that couldn=E2=80=99t be confirmed without tests on=
 the
dead ducks.

The White House could be liable if it recklessly harmed native, wild ducks,
under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. But Bortner said the administration
doesn=E2=80=99t appear to have violated those protections.

=E2=80=9CA violation requires a reasonably foreseeable risk to birds and us=
ing
hydrogen peroxide at algae=E2=80=91control levels is a standard, low=E2=80=
=91risk
practice,=E2=80=9D he said.

Mike Selckmann, associate director of aquatic habitats at the Interstate
Commission on the Potomac River Basin, said potentially toxic algae is
certainly possible in the Lincoln Memorial pool. The shallow, warm and
still pool =E2=80=94 sitting in a sun-drenched location during the long day=
s of
summer =E2=80=94 is a perfect =E2=80=9CPetri dish=E2=80=9D for algae to gro=
w.
lgal blooms =E2=80=94 toxic species or potentially toxic species =E2=80=94 =
they can grow
alongside nontoxic filaments=E2=80=9D and it=E2=80=99s unpredictable what t=
ype of algae
will become dominant in the ecosystem, he said.

A water sample analysis would be needed to confirm a harmful algae bloom,
he said.

City Wildlife said in its statement that ducks often die in Washington from
attacks by other wildlife and natural causes.

=E2=80=9CWhile the loss of ducklings is always upsetting, many people are s=
urprised
to learn that in urban environments the leading cause of duckling mortality
is predation,=E2=80=9D the group wrote. =E2=80=9CDucklings may also die fro=
m injuries
sustained while attempting to follow their mother from elevated nesting
sites, or from drowning if they are unable to safely exit the water.=E2=80=
=9D

The group said it =E2=80=9Croutinely=E2=80=9D investigates duck deaths on t=
he National Mall.

The National Park Service did not respond to requests for information
Tuesday about algae, water testing and bird mortality at the pool.

More than 100-years-old, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has suffered
leaks for generations and often suffered from algae blooms. The Obama
administration did a massive renovation in 2012 for $34 million, installing
pylons to stop the heavy monument from sinking, replacing the pool=E2=80=99=
s base
with treated concrete and installing a new water filtration system that
pulls water from the Tidal Basin.

Trump said in May that his renovation of the pool with commercial swimming
pool products would cost far less than estimates by the park service for a
second extensive renovation to address the continued leaks.

*Kinnia Cheuk contributed to this report.*

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><div class=3D"gmail-pt-5 gmail-sm:pt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid=
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"gmail-mx-auto" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:borde=
r-box;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"><h1 class=3D"gmail-mt-2 gmail-tex=
t-2xl gmail-font-bold gmail-leading-[1.12] gmail-tracking-[-.02rem] gmail-s=
m:leading-none gmail-sm:tracking-[-.05rem] gmail-md:text-[1.75rem] gmail-lg=
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r-box;font-size:2.5rem;margin:0.5rem 0px 0px;line-height:1;letter-spacing:-=
0.05rem">Dead ducks add to Trump=E2=80=99s reflecting pool drama</h1><p cla=
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5);box-sizing:border-box"></span></button></li></ul></div></div><div class=
=3D"gmail-col-start-1 gmail-row-start-3 gmail-flex gmail-flex-col gmail-gap=
-1 gmail-md:col-start-1 gmail-md:row-start-2 gmail-lg:col-start-1 gmail-lg:=
row-start-2" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-b=
ox;display:flex"></div></div></div><p class=3D"gmail-is-first-paragraph gma=
il-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.87=
5rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;mar=
gin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;lin=
e-height:1.6">The discovery of a trio of dead ducks has prompted worries th=
at President Donald Trump=E2=80=99s $16 million overhaul of the Lincoln Mem=
orial Reflecting Pool has a fatal flaw.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmai=
l-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"b=
order:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px =
0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">A l=
ocal wildlife organization collected two deceased ducks, found at a pond ad=
jacent to the pool Sunday. The same day, a=C2=A0<i style=3D"border:0px soli=
d rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box">Washington Examiner</i>=C2=A0jour=
nalist=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://x.com/robcrilly/status/2068742817246060957" =
target=3D"_blank" class=3D"gmail-js-tealium-tracking" aria-label=3D"opens i=
n a new window" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:borde=
r-box;color:rgb(10,124,196);text-decoration:none">documented another</a>=C2=
=A0dead adolescent duck floating in shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. The pre=
sence of deceased waterfowl has sparked speculation of toxic algae, sometim=
es known as blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, in the lime-green gunk that=
 swiftly proliferated after the Trump administration installed a commercial=
 pool liner earlier last month.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-l=
g gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0p=
x solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font=
-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">There is no=
 confirmation of the potentially harmful algae in the pool, but City Wildli=
fe =E2=80=94 a leading local wildlife rehabilitation organization that coll=
ected the birds Sunday =E2=80=94 plans to perform necropsies to help gauge =
if the birds could have been affected by the pool renovation.</p></div></di=
v></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-hidden gmail-md:col-start-2 gmail-md:col-=
end-2 gmail-md:row-start-1 gmail-md:row-end-5 gmail-md:block gmail-lg:col-s=
tart-3 gmail-lg:col-end-3 gmail-lg:row-start-1 gmail-lg:row-end-3" style=3D=
"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"gma=
il-flex gmail-flex-col" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizi=
ng:border-box;display:flex"></div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-mx-auto g=
mail-max-w-[1350px] gmail-gap-x-[30px] gmail-px-5 gmail-text-center gmail-s=
m:px-[30px] gmail-md:grid gmail-md:grid-cols-[1fr,300px] gmail-lg:grid-cols=
-[300px,1fr,300px]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:b=
order-box;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;max-width:1350px;column-gap:30=
px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px;text-align:center;display:grid;colo=
r:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:din-2014,&quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;,Helvetica,Aria=
l,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><div class=3D"gmail-mx-auto gmail-w-full gmail=
-max-w-[630px] gmail-text-left" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);=
box-sizing:border-box;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:300px;max-wi=
dth:630px;text-align:left"></div><div class=3D"gmail-mx-auto gmail-w-full g=
mail-max-w-[630px] gmail-text-left" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,2=
35);box-sizing:border-box;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:630px;ma=
x-width:630px;text-align:left"><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gm=
ail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px so=
lid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-fam=
ily:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">The duck discov=
eries come amid near-daily drama at the normally placid memorial, where a n=
o-bid renovation contract, an infusion of unsightly algae, peeling paint an=
d public arrests have captured public attention in recent weeks. The presid=
ent raises the issue of the renovation when he speaks to the press and has =
asserted criminal actions are at fault for many of the current problems at =
the pool.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] =
gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,23=
5);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,=
serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">=E2=80=9CWe appreciate everyone=
=E2=80=99s concern for the duck family and other ducks currently visiting t=
he Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as it undergoes continued repairs,=E2=
=80=9D City Wildlife said in a statement posted to its website. =E2=80=9CCi=
ty Wildlife=E2=80=99s Duck Watch team continues to monitor the situation cl=
osely, including daily dedicated checks on the Reflecting Pool.=E2=80=9D</p=
><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 g=
mail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizin=
g:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-s=
ize:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">City Wildlife did not respond to requests for=
 an interview and said in its statement posted online that it could not com=
ment on the causes of the birds=E2=80=99 death until after the necropsies a=
re performed.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1=
.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,23=
1,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Ti=
mes,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">The Center for Biological Div=
ersity asked the Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday to investigate the de=
aths under a federal law that protects migratory birds, criticizing the use=
 of concentrated peroxide to kill algae.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gma=
il-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"=
border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px=
 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">Ta=
ra Zuardo, a senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, call=
ed the pool a =E2=80=9Cgiant duck death trap.=E2=80=9D</p><p class=3D"gmail=
-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875r=
em]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margi=
n:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-=
height:1.6">=E2=80=9CInstead of letting this administration=E2=80=99s bizar=
re boondoggle keep killing innocent ducks, I hope the Fish and Wildlife Ser=
vice steps in to do its job and protect America=E2=80=99s wildlife,=E2=80=
=9D Zuardo said in a statement.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-l=
g gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0p=
x solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font=
-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">FWS did not=
 immediately provide comment for this story.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text=
 gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=
=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem=
 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6=
">The D.C. Department of Energy and Environment and the Interior Department=
 did not respond to requests for comment on the waterfowl. Interior has pre=
viously said peroxide =E2=80=94 used to combat the green scum in the pool =
=E2=80=94 is a milder way to treat algae than chlorine and is used in spas =
and swimming pools.</p></div><div class=3D"gmail-content-center gmail-hidde=
n gmail-md:col-start-2 gmail-md:col-end-2 gmail-md:row-start-1 gmail-md:row=
-end-5 gmail-md:block gmail-lg:col-start-3 gmail-lg:col-end-3 gmail-lg:row-=
start-1 gmail-lg:row-end-3" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-=
sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"gmail-flex gmail-flex-col" style=3D"border=
:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;display:flex"></div></div=
></div><div class=3D"gmail-max-w-[100%] gmail-p-0" style=3D"border:0px soli=
d rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;max-width:100%;padding:0px;color:r=
gb(0,0,0);font-family:din-2014,&quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;,Helvetica,Arial,s=
ans-serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class=3D"gmail-mx-auto gmail-max-w-[13=
50px] gmail-gap-x-[30px] gmail-px-5 gmail-text-center gmail-sm:px-[30px] gm=
ail-md:grid gmail-md:grid-cols-[1fr,300px] gmail-lg:grid-cols-[300px,1fr,30=
0px]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;marg=
in-left:auto;margin-right:auto;max-width:1350px;column-gap:30px;padding-lef=
t:30px;padding-right:30px;text-align:center;display:grid;color:rgb(0,0,0);f=
ont-family:din-2014,&quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;f=
ont-size:16px"><div class=3D"gmail-mx-auto gmail-w-full gmail-max-w-[630px]=
 gmail-text-left" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:bor=
der-box;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:300px;max-width:630px;text=
-align:left"></div><div class=3D"gmail-mx-auto gmail-w-full gmail-max-w-[63=
0px] gmail-text-left" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing=
:border-box;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:630px;max-width:630px;=
text-align:left"><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1=
.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,23=
1,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Ti=
mes,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">=E2=80=9CThere are no harmful=
 side effects to marine life or to the environment,=E2=80=9D the department=
 said earlier this month.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmai=
l-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px soli=
d rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-famil=
y:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">Experts cautioned=
 against jumping to conclusions on the bird deaths.</p><p class=3D"gmail-fo=
nt-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]=
" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1=
.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-hei=
ght:1.6">=E2=80=9CI know a few more dead ducks have been found, but hydroge=
n peroxide remains an extremely unlikely cause,=E2=80=9D said Brad Bortner,=
 the former national division chief of migratory bird management at FWS. =
=E2=80=9CThey [would] have to pour hundreds or thousands of gallons of indu=
strial-strength hydrogen peroxide into the reflecting pool to reach a conce=
ntration that would kill a bird.=E2=80=9D</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gm=
ail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D=
"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0p=
x 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">T=
he renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was supposed to be a gleaming=
 center point in the president=E2=80=99s patriotic celebrations on July Fou=
rth to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Inde=
pendence, including as a launching pad for some of the more than 800,000 fi=
reworks set to go off in a matter of weeks.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text =
gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=
=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem=
 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6=
">Instead, it=E2=80=99s become a public headache for the White House, follo=
wing the president=E2=80=99s idea to cut government cost by renovating the =
leaking and trash-filled pool with a rubber-like, commercial swimming pool =
liner, painted =E2=80=9CAmerican Flag Blue.=E2=80=9D Days after the liner w=
as applied, and the pool refilled, algae swiftly infested its roughly 4 mil=
lion gallons of water.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-l=
eading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid r=
gb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:G=
eorgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">As the National Park=
 Service tried to treat the algae with peroxide and ozone, as well as colle=
cting and vacuuming the vegetation, pieces of the pool=E2=80=99s liner bega=
n to peel off the bottom of the pool.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-=
text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"bor=
der:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0p=
x;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">Presi=
dent Trump said Tuesday that the pool was looking =E2=80=9Cbeautiful=E2=80=
=9D but acknowledged that some water will have to be drained from the pool =
to make repairs. He blamed the degrading liner on vandalism. But a contract=
or working on the pool=C2=A0<span style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235=
);box-sizing:border-box">said Monday</span>=C2=A0that the federal governmen=
t is still actively investigating the cause of failure.</p><p class=3D"gmai=
l-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875=
rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;marg=
in:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line=
-height:1.6">=E2=80=9CWas it manual intervention that made those few places=
 peel, or was that the chemical composition of what was in the water? We do=
n=E2=80=99t know until we have further results at this point,=E2=80=9D said=
 Francois Rivard, vice president of Rhino Linings, the contractor that supp=
lied the pool liner.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-lea=
ding-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb=
(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Geo=
rgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">Bortner acknowledged t=
he birds could have been harmed by ingesting the liner or algae but said th=
at couldn=E2=80=99t be confirmed without tests on the dead ducks.</p><p cla=
ss=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md=
:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:borde=
r-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.1=
25rem;line-height:1.6">The White House could be liable if it recklessly har=
med native, wild ducks, under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. But Bortner sa=
id the administration doesn=E2=80=99t appear to have violated those protect=
ions.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmai=
l-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);b=
ox-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,seri=
f;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">=E2=80=9CA violation requires a reaso=
nably foreseeable risk to birds and using hydrogen peroxide at algae=E2=80=
=91control levels is a standard, low=E2=80=91risk practice,=E2=80=9D he sai=
d.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-m=
t-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-=
sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;f=
ont-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">Mike Selckmann, associate director of aq=
uatic habitats at the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, sai=
d potentially toxic algae is certainly possible in the Lincoln Memorial poo=
l. The shallow, warm and still pool =E2=80=94 sitting in a sun-drenched loc=
ation during the long days of summer =E2=80=94 is a perfect =E2=80=9CPetri =
dish=E2=80=9D for algae to grow.</p></div><div class=3D"gmail-content-cente=
r gmail-hidden gmail-md:col-start-2 gmail-md:col-end-2 gmail-md:row-start-1=
 gmail-md:row-end-5 gmail-md:block gmail-lg:col-start-3 gmail-lg:col-end-3 =
gmail-lg:row-start-1 gmail-lg:row-end-3" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,=
231,235);box-sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"gmail-flex gmail-flex-col gma=
il-w-[300px]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-=
box;display:flex;width:300px"><div class=3D"gmail-siteCollection gmail-mt-[=
1.25rem] gmail-flex gmail-w-full gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0p=
x solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:1.875rem;display:=
flex;width:300px"><div class=3D"gmail-w-full gmail-border-y gmail-border-vu=
lcan-35 gmail-py-5" style=3D"border-width:1px 0px;border-style:solid;border=
-color:rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;width:300px;padding-bottom:1.=
25rem;padding-top:1.25rem"><div style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);=
box-sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"gmail-flex gmail-overflow-x-hidden" st=
yle=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;display:flex=
;overflow-x:hidden"><div class=3D"gmail-relative gmail-flex gmail-w-[50%] g=
mail-shrink-0 gmail-flex-col gmail-px-[0.9375rem] gmail-w-full" style=3D"bo=
rder:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;width:30=
0px;padding-left:0.9375rem;padding-right:0.9375rem"><div class=3D"gmail-bor=
der gmail-border-gray-35 gmail-h-full" style=3D"border:1px solid rgba(181,1=
81,181,0.35);box-sizing:border-box;height:254.575px"><div class=3D"gmail-re=
lative" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box"><=
div class=3D"gmail-" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:=
border-box"><div class=3D"gmail-video-player" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb=
(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;padding-top:150.975px"><div class=3D"gm=
ail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-workingh=
over gmail-vjs-v7 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-x-small gmail-bc-p=
layer-r1WF6V0Pl_default gmail-bc-player-r1WF6V0Pl_default-index-0 gmail-vjs=
-mouse gmail-vjs-vpaid-controls-disabled gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-im=
a3-html5 gmail-vjs-dock gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-vjs-player-info gmail=
-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-custom-endscreen" id=3D"gmail-politicoPlayer_63987643=
31112" tabindex=3D"-1" role=3D"region" lang=3D"en" aria-label=3D"Video Play=
er" aria-labelledby=3D"politicoPlayer_6398764331112 vjs-dock-title-1" style=
=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;vertical-align:=
top;color:rgb(255,255,255);background-color:rgb(21,27,23);padding:0px;font-=
size:14px;line-height:1;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;word-break:i=
nitial;width:268.4px;height:150.975px;overflow:hidden;outline:0px"><div cla=
ss=3D"gmail-vjs-overlay gmail-vjs-overlay-bottom-right gmail-vjs-overlay-ba=
ckground" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:inherit;fon=
t-size:12px;line-height:14.4px;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.7);border-radi=
us:0px;padding:0.5rem;width:unset;letter-spacing:1.6px;text-transform:upper=
case"><span style=3D"font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;tex=
t-align:left;color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;background-color:transp=
arent">lgal blooms =E2=80=94 toxic species or potentially toxic species =E2=
=80=94 they can grow alongside nontoxic filaments=E2=80=9D and it=E2=80=99s=
 unpredictable what type of algae will become dominant in the ecosystem, he=
 said.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></=
div></div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-mx-auto gmail-max-w-[1350px] gmai=
l-gap-x-[30px] gmail-px-5 gmail-text-center gmail-sm:px-[30px] gmail-md:gri=
d gmail-md:grid-cols-[1fr,300px] gmail-lg:grid-cols-[300px,1fr,300px]" styl=
e=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin-left:au=
to;margin-right:auto;max-width:1350px;column-gap:30px;padding-left:30px;pad=
ding-right:30px;text-align:center;display:grid;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family=
:din-2014,&quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:1=
6px"><div class=3D"gmail-mx-auto gmail-w-full gmail-max-w-[630px] gmail-tex=
t-left" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;ma=
rgin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:630px;max-width:630px;text-align:lef=
t"><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5=
 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-siz=
ing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font=
-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">A water sample analysis would be needed to =
confirm a harmful algae bloom, he said.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmai=
l-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"b=
order:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px =
0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">Cit=
y Wildlife said in its statement that ducks often die in Washington from at=
tacks by other wildlife and natural causes.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text =
gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=
=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem=
 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6=
">=E2=80=9CWhile the loss of ducklings is always upsetting, many people are=
 surprised to learn that in urban environments the leading cause of ducklin=
g mortality is predation,=E2=80=9D the group wrote. =E2=80=9CDucklings may =
also die from injuries sustained while attempting to follow their mother fr=
om elevated nesting sites, or from drowning if they are unable to safely ex=
it the water.=E2=80=9D</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-l=
eading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid r=
gb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:G=
eorgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">The group said it =
=E2=80=9Croutinely=E2=80=9D investigates duck deaths on the National Mall.<=
/p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5=
 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-siz=
ing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,serif;font=
-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">The National Park Service did not respond t=
o requests for information Tuesday about algae, water testing and bird mort=
ality at the pool.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leadi=
ng-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(2=
29,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georg=
ia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">More than 100-years-old,=
 the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has suffered leaks for generations an=
d often suffered from algae blooms. The Obama administration did a massive =
renovation in 2012 for $34 million, installing pylons to stop the heavy mon=
ument from sinking, replacing the pool=E2=80=99s base with treated concrete=
 and installing a new water filtration system that pulls water from the Tid=
al Basin.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gmail-leading-[1.6] =
gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px solid rgb(229,231,23=
5);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-family:Georgia,Times,=
serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6">Trump said in May that his renova=
tion of the pool with commercial swimming pool products would cost far less=
 than estimates by the park service for a second extensive renovation to ad=
dress the continued leaks.</p><p class=3D"gmail-font-text gmail-text-lg gma=
il-leading-[1.6] gmail-mt-5 gmail-md:mt-[1.875rem]" style=3D"border:0px sol=
id rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.875rem 0px 0px;font-fami=
ly:Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6"><i style=3D"bord=
er:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);box-sizing:border-box">Kinnia Cheuk contribut=
ed to this report.</i></p></div></div></div></div>

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Subject: [Salon] At the Reflecting Pool,
 Trump turns a serene oasis into a police zone
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At the Reflecting Pool, Trump turns a serene oasis into a police zone

The botched renovation and images of arrests strike at the heart of the
president=E2=80=99s supposed reputation for competence.
June 24, 2026
Visitors at a rainswept Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Tuesday. (Chip
Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Summary1,108
Column by Philip Kennicott
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/philip-kennicott/>

Nothing makes the scale of Washington more palpable than walking the length
of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. It is some 2,000 feet long, more
than a third of a mile, and when you follow the paved paths on either side,
it feels more like a small lake than a man-made urban amenity. Even with
the granite coping along the edges, which helps keep the water still and
reflective, it doesn=E2=80=99t take much wind for the surface to begin to r=
ipple
and wink in the light.

No matter how thronged with tourists and school groups, it is one of the
most serene places in Washington. If you live here, you know its many moods
through all four seasons, at dawn and twilight, and at night when the
Washington Monument is reflected like the hour hand of some giant celestial
clock.

It was anything but serene last week
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/06/19/blue-paint-is-peeling-off-=
reflecting-pool/>.
Giant pumps disgorged a torrent of Shrek-green water
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/06/24/why-trumps-a=
lgae-problem-is-much-bigger-than-reflecting-pool/>,
while tourists gawked, and authorities patrolled around the edges to
prevent vandalism
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/22/trump-says-vandals-slas=
hed-reflecting-pool-hasnt-shown-evidence/>
that,
as of this writing, seemed to exist only in the mind of the man who made
the whole mess, President Donald Trump. People were curious =E2=80=94 had T=
rump
really managed to spend at least $14 million on a shoddy pool job that was
already falling apart? =E2=80=94 and they followed their curiosity down to =
the
center of monumental Washington.
A chip of blue material mixes with algae at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting
Pool on Sunday. (Pete Kiehart/For The Washington Post)
National Guard troops shelter from the rain under a mobile camera trailer=
=E2=80=99s
solar panels Tuesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Some of them reached into the water to see if there really were scraps of
blue-colored coating floating in the muck =E2=80=A6 and suddenly they were =
accused
of vandalism and arrested
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/06/20/cyclist-arrested-reflecti=
ng-pool-denies-trump-vandalism-claims/>.
A place that was meant to amplify the ideals of our democracy by reflecting
an image of its sacred monuments was now a police zone, where cops carried
out what seem to be arbitrary arrests motivated by the president=E2=80=99s =
need to
blame his own mismanagement on an imaginary enemy.

This doesn=E2=80=99t reflect well on democracy.
The Reflecting Pool has been beset by algae blooms, as seen Monday. (Al
Drago for The Washington Post)

In architecture, there is always a balance between beauty and function, and
perhaps more than other types of built objects, reflecting pools skew to
pure beauty. They serve the buildings reflected in them. They bring the sky
and clouds down to earth and place them at our feet. The reflections they
capture make the pool itself seem to disappear.

The delight of a reflecting pool is the illusion that there are two
buildings framed in the picture, the real one built on terra firma, and the
watery one that may seem on several glances to be just as substantial. The
doubling can be scattered with the faintest trace of wind. And in that
there is poetic conceit of transience, a reminder that everything we build
and make and do is fleeting.

The urge to put your hand in the water is almost overwhelming. If a
reflection in water hints at the ephemeral nature of all man-made things,
it also gives the visitor a curious power, the ability to dispel the image
with a stone or the flick of a finger. Nature has offered us a double, but
we can make that double disappear; it=E2=80=99s mesmerizing, which explains=
 why
characters in our myths and narratives often lose themselves entirely in
contemplation of reflections.
National Guard troops patrol the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on
Tuesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Now, the pool *is* the story
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/22/trump-says-vandals-slas=
hed-reflecting-pool-hasnt-shown-evidence/>:
Its environmental quirks, a common frustration for past administrations,
have soured into a fiasco.

There are good reasons not to swim or wade in the pool =E2=80=94 and both a=
ctions
are forbidden by law =E2=80=94 but arresting people for putting their hand =
in the
water is grotesque. And it repeats a now familiar and maddening pattern of
events during Trump=E2=80=99s second presidency
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/23/reflecting-pool-visible=
-decline-reflects-president-impulsive-nature/>,
alienating Americans from cherished institutions and beloved places.
Touching water is innocent, but now it is a Trumpian crime, proving
Trumpian conspiracy theories.

All of this might be funny, if it didn=E2=80=99t take up so much of the col=
lective
bandwidth. When I visited the Lincoln Memorial last week, I was pleasantly
surprised that the old magic still works, even with the pool looking like a
kale smoothie. People had come to see Lincoln, to stand where the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. gave his =E2=80=9CI Have a Dream=E2=80=9D speech, wh=
ere Marian
Anderson=E2=80=99s voice soared above hate and division on a spring day in =
1939.
The view from the memorial=E2=80=99s inner chamber is one of the finest man=
-made
vistas in the world, full of promise and possibility and just enough of the
sublime to make you think that perhaps humanity can rise above tawdry
things like greed and cruelty and chaos.

When the air is calm, particularly just after sunrise, and the pool offers
its most pristine surface, the pool suggests another kind of power, and one
too often dismissed or ignored. It is easy to disturb the surface of the
water, which suggests one kind of agency. But we also have the power to
leave it alone, to let it reflect back at us this fragile sense of perfect
beauty.
The Reflecting Pool at sunrise on Sept. 24, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/For The
Washington Post )

In that, there is perhaps an even more telling metaphor. So much depends,
in life and in government, on the collective agreement to preserve and
protect, to leave beautiful things alone if they are self-sufficient in
their beauty. Collectively, we can stand back and let everyone enjoy it.

It only takes one person immune to the magic to disturb the image. And
Donald Trump knew a pool guy.
------------------------------

What readers are saying
The comments overwhelmingly criticize President Trump, focusing on his
perceived incompetence and mismanagement, particularly regarding the
Reflecting Pool renovation. Many commenters express disbelief at the notion
of Trump's "reputation for competence," citing his history of... Show more
This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not
a replacement for reading the comments.

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n:0px;font-family:Postoni,garamond,serif;line-height:1.1">At the Reflecting=
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wpds-c-ckOSsQ gmail-wpds-c-ckOSsQ-iPJLV-css" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
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t:1.25">The botched renovation and images of arrests strike at the heart of=
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=3D"gmail-wpds-c-bEimne gmail-wpds-c-bEimne-dyECYW-theme-default" style=3D"=
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=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex">Visitors at a rainswept Lincoln Mem=
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span class=3D"gmail-" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;font-size:14px">1,108<=
/span></button></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-ffLlrl gmail-wpds-c-f=
fLlrl-WxNPu-isVisible-true gmail-wpds-c-ffLlrl-iPJLV-css" style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;display:flex;margin-bottom:24px;max-width:640px"><div class=
=3D"gmail-wpds-c-kkHkJQ" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;width:=
600px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-cNdzuP gmail-wpds-c-cNdzuP-hSmMVC-isLive-=
false gmail-wpds-c-cNdzuP-igKRIQW-css" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color=
:rgb(42,42,42);margin-bottom:0px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-wpd=
s-c-PJLV-kxYKtF-isLive-false gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyl=
es" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:4px"><div class=3D"gmail-w=
pds-c-PJLV gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-UazGY-isMultiple-false" style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box;display:flex"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-cEPQfw" style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;display:flex;line-height:0;margin-right:8px"><div class=3D"gm=
ail-wpds-c-iMISAP" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:40px;height:40px"><=
img src=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=3Dhttps://au=
thor-service-images-prod-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub/washpost/91c5231a=
-cade-41bb-9f71-98257e77ff19.png&amp;h=3D196&amp;w=3D196" alt=3D"" width=3D=
"196" height=3D"196" class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-jwLfnj" style=3D"box-sizing: bor=
der-box; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 9999px;"></div></div=
><span class=3D"gmail-PJLV" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"g=
mail-wpds-c-dhzjXW" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex"><div class=
=3D"gmail-wpds-c-byuVAJ gmail-wpds-c-byuVAJ-iPJLV-css" style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;display:inline-block;font-size:16px"><span class=3D"gmail-PJLV" =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">Column by=C2=A0</span><a class=3D"gmail-wpd=
s-c-PJLV gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-ktcktv-isLink-true gmail-overrideStyles gmail-js=
-itid-click" href=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/philip-kennicott=
/" rel=3D"author" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(42,42,42);text-d=
ecoration:underline 1.12px">Philip Kennicott</a></div></div></span></div></=
div></div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-meteredContent gmail-grid-center"=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"gmail-teaser-content" style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-bo=
dy gmail-type-text gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box;max-width:640px;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmai=
l-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null=
" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Times=
 New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.25re=
m">Nothing makes the scale of Washington more palpable than walking the len=
gth of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. It is some 2,000 feet long, mo=
re than a third of a mile, and when you follow the paved paths on either si=
de, it feels more like a small lake than a man-made urban amenity. Even wit=
h the granite coping along the edges, which helps keep the water still and =
reflective, it doesn=E2=80=99t take much wind for the surface to begin to r=
ipple and wink in the light.</p></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV=
 gmail-article-body gmail-type-text gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body" styl=
e=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-w=
pds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyles gmail-font-=
copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;font-family:ge=
orgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;line-height:1.6=
;font-size:1.25rem">No matter how thronged with tourists and school groups,=
 it is one of the most serene places in Washington. If you live here, you k=
now its many moods through all four seasons, at dawn and twilight, and at n=
ight when the Washington Monument is reflected like the hour hand of some g=
iant celestial clock.</p></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-wpds-c=
-PJLV-frkFWN-isCenteredLayoutAd-true gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-bHCGeL-isStandardLay=
outAd-true gmail-article-body gmail-type-inline-ad gmail-subtype-desktop gm=
ail-grid-full-bleed" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:2048px;max-width:=
none;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px"></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJL=
V gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-frkFWN-isCenteredLayoutAd-true gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-bHCGeL=
-isStandardLayoutAd-true gmail-article-body gmail-type-inline-ad gmail-subt=
ype-mobile gmail-grid-full-bleed" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:2048=
px;max-width:none;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px"></div><div class=3D"gma=
il-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-text gmail-grid-center gmail-g=
rid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640px"><p cl=
ass=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyl=
es gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;=
font-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;l=
ine-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">It was=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.washin=
gtonpost.com/style/2026/06/19/blue-paint-is-peeling-off-reflecting-pool/" r=
el=3D"" target=3D"_self" title=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026=
/06/19/blue-paint-is-peeling-off-reflecting-pool/" class=3D"gmail-js-itid-c=
lick" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(17,17,17);text-decoration:un=
derline 0.0625em rgb(17,17,17);border-bottom:0px">anything but serene last =
week</a>. Giant pumps disgorged a torrent of=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.wa=
shingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/06/24/why-trumps-algae-problem-is=
-much-bigger-than-reflecting-pool/" rel=3D"" target=3D"_self" title=3D"http=
s://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/06/24/why-trumps-algae-=
problem-is-much-bigger-than-reflecting-pool/" class=3D"gmail-js-itid-click"=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(17,17,17);text-decoration:underli=
ne 0.0625em rgb(17,17,17);border-bottom:0px">Shrek-green water</a>, while t=
ourists gawked, and authorities patrolled around the edges=C2=A0<a href=3D"=
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/22/trump-says-vandals-slash=
ed-reflecting-pool-hasnt-shown-evidence/" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_bla=
nk" title=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/22/trump-says-=
vandals-slashed-reflecting-pool-hasnt-shown-evidence/" class=3D"gmail-js-it=
id-click" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(17,17,17);text-decoratio=
n:underline 0.0625em rgb(17,17,17);border-bottom:0px">to prevent vandalism<=
/a>=C2=A0that, as of this writing, seemed to exist only in the mind of the =
man who made the whole mess, President Donald Trump. People were curious =
=E2=80=94 had Trump really managed to spend at least $14 million on a shodd=
y pool job that was already falling apart? =E2=80=94 and they followed thei=
r curiosity down to the center of monumental Washington.</p></div><div clas=
s=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-image gmail-subtype-St=
affPhoto gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body gmail-grid-tablet-full-bleed gma=
il-size-undefined" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640=
px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-klfsiG" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div=
 id=3D"gmail-BMCKSDCLXRBHDLZPMO7HYAWRII" width=3D"600" height=3D"399" class=
=3D"gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc-dvUqIX-hasCaption-true" style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:0;height:auto;width:640px;max-width:1=
00%;margin-bottom:8px"><img alt=3D"" height=3D"399" width=3D"600" class=3D"=
gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg-iATbLU-css" style=3D"box-sizing: bo=
rder-box; background-position: center center; background-size: cover; objec=
t-fit: cover; height: auto; width: 640px; max-width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 60=
0 / 399;"></div>A chip of blue material mixes with algae at the Lincoln Mem=
orial Reflecting Pool on Sunday. (Pete Kiehart/For The Washington Post)</di=
v></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-image=
 gmail-subtype-WireImage gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body gmail-grid-table=
t-full-bleed gmail-size-undefined" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width=
:640px;width:640px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-klfsiG" style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box"><div id=3D"gmail-KL2H6Q64POZR3PEXLOJVGJNUGU" width=3D"600" heig=
ht=3D"900" class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc-dvUqIX-hasCapti=
on-true" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:0;height:auto;width:640=
px;max-width:100%;margin-bottom:8px"><img alt=3D"" height=3D"900" width=3D"=
600" class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg-ifPyEMq-css" style=3D=
"box-sizing: border-box; background-position: center center; background-siz=
e: cover; object-fit: cover; height: auto; width: 640px; max-width: 100%; a=
spect-ratio: 600 / 900;"></div>National Guard troops shelter from the rain =
under a mobile camera trailer=E2=80=99s solar panels Tuesday. (Chip Somodev=
illa/Getty Images)</div></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article=
-body gmail-type-text gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF g=
mail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"n=
ull" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Ti=
mes New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.2=
5rem">Some of them reached into the water to see if there really were scrap=
s of blue-colored coating floating in the muck =E2=80=A6 and=C2=A0<a href=
=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/06/20/cyclist-arrested-refle=
cting-pool-denies-trump-vandalism-claims/" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_bl=
ank" title=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/06/20/cyclist-arre=
sted-reflecting-pool-denies-trump-vandalism-claims/" class=3D"gmail-js-itid=
-click" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(17,17,17);text-decoration:=
underline 0.0625em rgb(17,17,17);border-bottom:0px">suddenly they were accu=
sed of vandalism and arrested</a>. A place that was meant to amplify the id=
eals of our democracy by reflecting an image of its sacred monuments was no=
w a police zone, where cops carried out what seem to be arbitrary arrests m=
otivated by the president=E2=80=99s need to blame his own mismanagement on =
an imaginary enemy.</p></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-wpds-c-P=
JLV-frkFWN-isCenteredLayoutAd-true gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-bHCGeL-isStandardLayou=
tAd-true gmail-article-body gmail-type-inline-ad gmail-subtype-desktop gmai=
l-grid-full-bleed" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:2048px;max-width:no=
ne;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px"></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV =
gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-frkFWN-isCenteredLayoutAd-true gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-bHCGeL-i=
sStandardLayoutAd-true gmail-article-body gmail-type-inline-ad gmail-subtyp=
e-mobile gmail-grid-full-bleed" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:2048px=
;max-width:none;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px"></div><div class=3D"gmail=
-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-text gmail-grid-center gmail-gri=
d-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640px"><p clas=
s=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyles=
 gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;fo=
nt-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;lin=
e-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">This doesn=E2=80=99t reflect well on democr=
acy.</p></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type=
-image gmail-subtype-StaffPhoto gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body gmail-gri=
d-tablet-full-bleed gmail-size-undefined" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;ma=
x-width:640px;width:640px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-klfsiG" style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box"><div id=3D"gmail-3SERHBINOP3OBKEN2M6QX3Q5A4" width=3D"60=
0" height=3D"400" class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc-dvUqIX-h=
asCaption-true" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:0;height:auto;wi=
dth:640px;max-width:100%;margin-bottom:8px"><img alt=3D"" height=3D"400" wi=
dth=3D"600" class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg-iioKctP-css" s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing: border-box; background-position: center center; backgro=
und-size: cover; object-fit: cover; height: auto; width: 640px; max-width: =
100%; aspect-ratio: 600 / 400;"></div>The Reflecting Pool has been beset by=
 algae blooms, as seen Monday. (Al Drago for The Washington Post)</div></di=
v><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-text gmail-=
grid-center gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px=
;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css=
 gmail-overrideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;margin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;pa=
dding-bottom:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">In architecture, there=
 is always a balance between beauty and function, and perhaps more than oth=
er types of built objects, reflecting pools skew to pure beauty. They serve=
 the buildings reflected in them. They bring the sky and clouds down to ear=
th and place them at our feet. The reflections they capture make the pool i=
tself seem to disappear.</p></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-art=
icle-body gmail-type-text gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFN=
VF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=
=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;font-family:georgia,&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;line-height:1.6;font-siz=
e:1.25rem">The delight of a reflecting pool is the illusion that there are =
two buildings framed in the picture, the real one built on terra firma, and=
 the watery one that may seem on several glances to be just as substantial.=
 The doubling can be scattered with the faintest trace of wind. And in that=
 there is poetic conceit of transience, a reminder that everything we build=
 and make and do is fleeting.</p></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmai=
l-wpds-c-PJLV-frkFWN-isCenteredLayoutAd-true gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-bHCGeL-isSta=
ndardLayoutAd-true gmail-article-body gmail-type-inline-ad gmail-subtype-de=
sktop gmail-grid-full-bleed" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:2048px;ma=
x-width:none;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px"></div><div class=3D"gmail-wp=
ds-c-PJLV gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-frkFWN-isCenteredLayoutAd-true gmail-wpds-c-PJL=
V-bHCGeL-isStandardLayoutAd-true gmail-article-body gmail-type-inline-ad gm=
ail-subtype-mobile gmail-grid-full-bleed" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;wi=
dth:2048px;max-width:none;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px"></div><div clas=
s=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-text gmail-grid-center=
 gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640p=
x"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-over=
rideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;mar=
gin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-botto=
m:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">The urge to put your hand in the =
water is almost overwhelming. If a reflection in water hints at the ephemer=
al nature of all man-made things, it also gives the visitor a curious power=
, the ability to dispel the image with a stone or the flick of a finger. Na=
ture has offered us a double, but we can make that double disappear; it=E2=
=80=99s mesmerizing, which explains why characters in our myths and narrati=
ves often lose themselves entirely in contemplation of reflections.</p></di=
v><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-image gmail=
-subtype-WireImage gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body gmail-grid-tablet-full=
-bleed gmail-size-undefined" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px=
;width:640px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-klfsiG" style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box"><div id=3D"gmail-OREI4BXNXW7B6VII6M5JIKCVT4" width=3D"600" height=3D"=
399" class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc-dvUqIX-hasCaption-tru=
e" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:0;height:auto;width:640px;max=
-width:100%;margin-bottom:8px"><img alt=3D"" height=3D"399" width=3D"600" c=
lass=3D"gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg-iATbLU-css" style=3D"box-si=
zing: border-box; background-position: center center; background-size: cove=
r; object-fit: cover; height: auto; width: 640px; max-width: 100%; aspect-r=
atio: 600 / 399;"></div>National Guard troops patrol the Lincoln Memorial R=
eflecting Pool on Tuesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</div></div><div =
class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-text gmail-grid-ce=
nter gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:=
640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-=
overrideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;margin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-b=
ottom:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">Now,=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://=
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/22/trump-says-vandals-slashed-refle=
cting-pool-hasnt-shown-evidence/" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" titl=
e=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/22/trump-says-vandals-=
slashed-reflecting-pool-hasnt-shown-evidence/" class=3D"gmail-js-itid-click=
" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(17,17,17);text-decoration:underl=
ine 0.0625em rgb(17,17,17);border-bottom:0px">the pool=C2=A0<i style=3D"box=
-sizing:border-box">is</i>=C2=A0the story</a>: Its environmental quirks, a =
common frustration for past administrations, have soured into a fiasco.</p>=
</div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-text gm=
ail-grid-center gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:6=
40px;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV=
-css gmail-overrideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing=
:border-box;margin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,seri=
f;padding-bottom:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">There are good rea=
sons not to swim or wade in the pool =E2=80=94 and both actions are forbidd=
en by law =E2=80=94 but arresting people for putting their hand in the wate=
r is grotesque. And it repeats a now familiar and maddening pattern of even=
ts=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/23/refle=
cting-pool-visible-decline-reflects-president-impulsive-nature/" rel=3D"" t=
arget=3D"_self" title=3D"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/23=
/reflecting-pool-visible-decline-reflects-president-impulsive-nature/" clas=
s=3D"gmail-js-itid-click" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(17,17,17=
);text-decoration:underline 0.0625em rgb(17,17,17);border-bottom:0px">durin=
g Trump=E2=80=99s second presidency</a>, alienating Americans from cherishe=
d institutions and beloved places. Touching water is innocent, but now it i=
s a Trumpian crime, proving Trumpian conspiracy theories.</p></div><div cla=
ss=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-frkFWN-isCenteredLayoutAd-true gm=
ail-wpds-c-PJLV-bHCGeL-isStandardLayoutAd-true gmail-article-body gmail-typ=
e-inline-ad gmail-subtype-desktop gmail-grid-full-bleed" style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box;width:2048px;max-width:none;margin-left:0px;margin-right:0px">=
</div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-frkFWN-isCenteredLa=
youtAd-true gmail-wpds-c-PJLV-bHCGeL-isStandardLayoutAd-true gmail-article-=
body gmail-type-inline-ad gmail-subtype-mobile gmail-grid-full-bleed" style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:2048px;max-width:none;margin-left:0px;margi=
n-right:0px"></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail=
-type-text gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;max-width:640px;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c=
-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Ro=
man&quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">All =
of this might be funny, if it didn=E2=80=99t take up so much of the collect=
ive bandwidth. When I visited the Lincoln Memorial last week, I was pleasan=
tly surprised that the old magic still works, even with the pool looking li=
ke a kale smoothie. People had come to see Lincoln, to stand where the Rev.=
 Martin Luther King Jr. gave his =E2=80=9CI Have a Dream=E2=80=9D speech, w=
here Marian Anderson=E2=80=99s voice soared above hate and division on a sp=
ring day in 1939. The view from the memorial=E2=80=99s inner chamber is one=
 of the finest man-made vistas in the world, full of promise and possibilit=
y and just enough of the sublime to make you think that perhaps humanity ca=
n rise above tawdry things like greed and cruelty and chaos.</p><p class=3D=
"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyles gma=
il-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;font-f=
amily:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;line-he=
ight:1.6;font-size:1.25rem"><span style=3D"font-size:1.25rem;background-col=
or:transparent">When the air is calm, particularly just after sunrise, and =
the pool offers its most pristine surface, the pool suggests another kind o=
f power, and one too often dismissed or ignored. It is easy to disturb the =
surface of the water, which suggests one kind of agency. But we also have t=
he power to leave it alone, to let it reflect back at us this fragile sense=
 of perfect beauty.</span></p></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-a=
rticle-body gmail-type-image gmail-subtype-StaffPhoto gmail-grid-center gma=
il-grid-body gmail-grid-tablet-full-bleed gmail-size-undefined" style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c=
-klfsiG" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div id=3D"gmail-5JGP3YQ5OMI6ZPVIG=
CHKCNCZJ4" width=3D"600" height=3D"400" class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-hQNCQc gmail-=
wpds-c-hQNCQc-dvUqIX-hasCaption-true" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-h=
eight:0;height:auto;width:640px;max-width:100%;margin-bottom:8px"><img alt=
=3D"" height=3D"400" width=3D"600" class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-fCbEVg gmail-wpds-=
c-fCbEVg-iioKctP-css" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; background-position:=
 center center; background-size: cover; object-fit: cover; height: auto; wi=
dth: 640px; max-width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 600 / 400;"></div>The Reflecting=
 Pool at sunrise on Sept. 24, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/For The Washington Po=
st )</div></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-ty=
pe-text gmail-grid-center gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;m=
ax-width:640px;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-he=
FNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-overrideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"=
box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&=
quot;,serif;padding-bottom:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">In that,=
 there is perhaps an even more telling metaphor. So much depends, in life a=
nd in government, on the collective agreement to preserve and protect, to l=
eave beautiful things alone if they are self-sufficient in their beauty. Co=
llectively, we can stand back and let everyone enjoy it.</p></div><div clas=
s=3D"gmail-wpds-c-PJLV gmail-article-body gmail-type-text gmail-grid-center=
 gmail-grid-body" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:640px;width:640p=
x"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF gmail-wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css gmail-over=
rideStyles gmail-font-copy" dir=3D"null" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;mar=
gin:0px;font-family:georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;padding-botto=
m:24px;line-height:1.6;font-size:1.25rem">It only takes one person immune t=
o the magic to disturb the image. And Donald Trump knew a pool guy.</p></di=
v></div><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-gVGMge gmail-wpds-c-gVGMge-ijVZkQg-css g=
mail-article-footer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;list-style:none;border-=
radius:8px;margin-bottom:16px;padding:0px 16px 16px;min-height:600px;max-wi=
dth:1024px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:1024px"><hr class=3D"gm=
ail-wpds-c-czFuUx" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:inherit;height:0px;=
border-width:0.8px 0px 0px;border-style:solid none none;border-color:rgba(0=
,0,0,0.1) currentcolor currentcolor;line-height:1.25;margin:0px auto 24px;w=
idth:640px;max-width:640px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-dhzjXW gmail-wpds-c-=
dhzjXW-ivSGRq-css gmail-footer-sm gmail-overrideStyles gmail-test gmail-art=
icle-bottom-action-bar" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;clear:l=
eft;margin-bottom:24px;max-width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;w=
idth:640px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-rPmfy" style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;margin:0px auto;width:640px"><p class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-esEUdQ gmail-wpds-c=
-esEUdQ-hyvuql-isBold-true gmail-wpds-c-esEUdQ-igDDRwa-css gmail-headingSty=
leOverrides" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 8px;font-weight:=
700;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:Franklin,=
arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.25">What readers are saying</p><div class=3D=
"gmail-wpds-c-bHXelH gmail-wpds-c-bHXelH-erqBZw-maxWidth-md gmail-wpds-c-bH=
XelH-ijLYHBl-css" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;margin:0px au=
to;width:640px;max-width:1280px;padding:16px 20px;border-color:rgba(0,0,0,0=
.1);border-style:solid;border-width:0.8px;border-radius:8px"><div class=3D"=
gmail-wpds-c-bHXelH gmail-wpds-c-bHXelH-erqBZw-maxWidth-md gmail-wpds-c-bHX=
elH-iiSpORC-css" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;margin:0px aut=
o;width:598.4px;max-width:1280px"><div class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-bHXelH gmail-w=
pds-c-bHXelH-erqBZw-maxWidth-md gmail-wpds-c-bHXelH-igoXVOL-css" style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box;display:flex;margin:0px auto;width:598.4px;max-width:1=
280px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.25"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"=
>The comments overwhelmingly criticize President Trump, focusing on his per=
ceived incompetence and mismanagement, particularly regarding the Reflectin=
g Pool renovation. Many commenters express disbelief at the notion of Trump=
&#39;s &quot;reputation for competence,&quot; citing his history of...=C2=
=A0<span class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-gMYSpI" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color=
:rgb(89,89,89);margin-bottom:16px;margin-left:8px;text-decoration:underline=
">Show more</span></div><span class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-sifOj" style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;overflow:hidden;color:rgb(89,89,89);font-family:Franklin,ari=
al,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:1.25;margin-top:8px">This summary =
is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement=
 for reading the comments.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>=
</div>

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https://www.juancole.com/2026/06/doged-usaid-million.html

*I was DOGEd from USAID: 14 Million Will Die*

*Alex Poppe <https://www.juancole.com/author/alex-poppe> 06/25/2026*

*Tulsa, OK (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) =E2=80=93 JD Vance recent=
ly sat
down with =E2=80=9CInteresting Times=E2=80=9D podcast host Ross Douthat. Wh=
en Ross Douthat
pointed out that the Trump administration had been =E2=80=9Cmore hostile th=
an any
prior Republican administration=E2=80=A6to the way we do humanitarian aid,=
=E2=80=9D the
vice president argued that conservative or centrist parties =E2=80=9Ckeep w=
inning
landslide elections in Latin America=E2=80=9D because [before President Tru=
mp
retook office] aid dollars =E2=80=9Cwent to fund a left-wing NGO complex th=
at
actually tilted Latin American elections in favor of the far-left parties.
Now, maybe that was the policy preference of the Biden administration, but
those things, those biases in the way that we distributed international
aid, were so built into the very bureaucratic structure of those aid
programs, that we got in and said: We have to stop all of this and rebuild
it from scratch.=E2=80=9D*

*The vice president concluded his argument by charging that =E2=80=9Cbecaus=
e this
NGO complex, nongovernmental organization complex, had built up around this
money, what you saw in our foreign aid program is remarkable inefficiency.=
=E2=80=9D*

*From March 18, 2024 until I was DOGEd on February 7, 2025, I served as the
strategic communications advisor for USAID=E2=80=99s Democracy Delivers Ini=
tiative,
set up by former USAID Administrator Samantha Power under President Joe
Biden in 2022. Believing that democracy and development work best
hand-in-hand, Administrator Power argued that political reform alone was
not enough to keep voters galvanized to support democracy. It takes time to
root out corruption, re-establish the rule of law, hold free and fair
elections, establish a robust free press and rebuild civil society. And in
that time, if you can=E2=80=99t feed your kids, or you don=E2=80=99t have c=
lean water, or
you=E2=80=99re freezing in winter because a bullying neighbor has cut off y=
our
energy supplies, you may be tempted to vote for a strongman who promises a
lot but delivers little.*

*When there is a moment of democratic opportunity, say, a reformer is
elected to office, there should be support to help that reformer meet their
citizens=E2=80=99 most pressing needs. That support has to come quickly so =
that a
moment of democratic opportunity opens, takes root, and holds.*

*Democracy Delivers would mobilize fast, multi-stakeholder support (so the
burden was shared among our bilateral partners) and concentrate that
support so it became catalytic, to help reformers tackle issues such as
judicial corruption, debt restructuring, food insecurity, economic
empowerment, digital threats such as surveillance, spyware, and
disinformation, or energy independence through cross-sectoral investment.
The goal was to show people that their lives are better under democratic
rule.*

*On my second day in my new role, a woman very high up in the State
Department met me for coffee. She very clearly and seriously told me that
our foreign assistance was seldom motivated by purely altruistic
intentions. Everything we did had a geostrategic intention behind it, and
this was especially truly for the Democracy Delivers Initiative, which
spanned four geographic regions and included the following countries:*

   - *Moldova, a critical line of defense for NATO=E2=80=99s eastern flank =
and
   counters Russian expansionism in Europe.*
   - *Armenia, which connects Europe to Central Asia and the Middle East,
   important for trade, energy routes, and military logistics.*
   - *Fiji, a regional leader and a founding member of the Pacific Islands
   Forum, with one of the largest and most capable militaries in the Pacifi=
c.*
   - *Maldives, with proximity to key shipping lanes through which 30% of
   global oil shipments and much of Asia=E2=80=99s trade travels. The 1,200=
+ islands
   stretch across a critical swath of maritime space, offering potential fo=
r
   military, commercial, or surveillance access.*
   - *Nepal, sitting between China and India, is key to regional stability
   in southeast Asia.*
   - *Zambia, is a global leader in copper and cobalt, critical minerals
   for green technology such as EV batteries and solar panels. Zambia is pa=
rt
   of the Lobito Corridor, a U.S.-EU-supported project to challenge
   Chinese-dominated transport networks*
   - *Malawi, which contains critical minerals such as lithium, graphite,
   cobalt, and nickel, and rare earth minerals.*
   - *Ecuador, bordering Columbia and Peru, is an important transit country
   for trafficking cocaine.*
   - *Dominican Republic, a major transit and origin point for migration
   flows to the U.S., including irregular migration and trafficking. It is
   also key to new near-shoring projects to enhance supply chain capacity.*
   - *Guatemala, a key partner for controlling migration flows, narcotics
   trafficking, and transnational crime, including money laundering and arm=
s
   trafficking.*

   *During my tenure, Tanzania was stripped of its Democracy Delivers
   designation (which translated into a loss of resources) due to its
   repression of human rights and government-sponsored violent crackdown on
   political opposition. Fiji and Guatemala became part of the initiative i=
n
   2024.*

   *The initiative didn=E2=80=99t have its own pot of funds, yet, by workin=
g with
   like-minded partners, we made great gains in democratic reform and
   development projects. USAID=E2=80=99s reputation and relationships, forg=
ed over 60
   years of being a trustworthy partner, were key to mobilizing bilateral a=
nd
   multi-lateral, philanthropic and private sector support and resources. T=
he
   Vodafone Foundation, Ford, and the Rockefeller Foundation were key
   collaborators as were Google, Amazon Web Services, and Cisco, among othe=
rs.*

   *Some democratic reform accomplishments included the following, grouped
   by theme:*

   *Anti-corruption: improved the vetting of judges, made judicial
   processes more transparent, prosecuted high profile corruption cases,
   instituted and enforced asset forfeiture laws in corruption cases,
   encouraged decentralization through capacity building of local councils,
   and promoted transparency in budgeting.*

   *Elections: facilitated the holding of municipal elections, trained poll
   workers, ran voter education campaigns, combatted disinformation during
   elections, monitored for election fraud, expanded voter access, encourag=
ed
   women to run for office, made voter facilities differently-abled
   accessible, and allowed people to vote under their colloquial name inste=
ad
   of requiring an ID to match a birth certificate.*

   *Human rights: granted citizenship to marginalized groups for whom it
   had been denied, which meant marginalized people could now open bank
   accounts, get a drivers license, and get sim cards.*

   *Independent press: strengthened press freedoms, trained journalists,
   and repealed restrictions on journalists and publishers.*

   *Public Domain. Via Picryl
   <https://picryl.com/media/usaid-55-3b-30115697203-c35995>*

   *Information resiliency: combatted mis/dis/mal information, strengthened
   cyber security, taught media literacy, and passed laws that afford freed=
om
   and access to information.*

   *The development projects shored up energy security, diversified export
   markets, increased information and communication technology (ICT)
   capability, improved food security, supported health, water and sanitati=
on,
   and climate resiliency projects, initiated medical projects which reduce=
d
   maternal mortality rates by 38% in the areas where they were implemented=
,
   implemented malaria prevention projects, supported education projects to
   bring gender parity in primary education, facilitated large scale
   infrastructure projects such as the construction of roads, dams, and
   undersea cables to improve internet connectivity, developed electricity
   transmission lines in rural communities, set up microfinance programs to
   grow small and medium-sized businesses, with an emphasis on female-owned
   businesses, developed E-commerce platforms to foster economic empowermen=
t,
   and linked smallholder farmers to large supermarkets to increase
   smallholder farmers=E2=80=99 market access.*

   *I struggle to understand how the vice president could categorize USAID
   as a left-wing, remarkably inefficient NGO complex.*

   *Without USAID funding, researchers predict 14 million people will die
   by 2030. The exit of USAID leaves room for our strategic competitors to
   exercise soft diplomacy and gain influence. The private sector might be
   less likely to invest in countries without a democratic playing field,
   which affects the exploration for and mining of rare earth and critical
   minerals. The U.S. loses access to potential new markets; 11 of our top =
15
   trading partners were once recipients of foreign aid.*

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"font-family:georgia,serif;font-size=
:small"><a href=3D"https://www.juancole.com/2026/06/doged-usaid-million.htm=
l" target=3D"_blank">https://www.juancole.com/2026/06/doged-usaid-million.h=
tml</a><br></div><div style=3D"font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><=
br></div><div><h1 style=3D"line-height:1.2141em;margin-top:0px;margin-botto=
m:0.5em;max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000" siz=
e=3D"4"><i>I was DOGEd from USAID: 14 Million Will Die</i></font></h1><div =
style=3D"margin-bottom:1.45em;max-width:100%"><p style=3D"margin:0px;max-wi=
dth:100%;display:inline"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b=
><span style=3D"margin:0px;max-width:100%;clear:both;display:inline"><a hre=
f=3D"https://www.juancole.com/author/alex-poppe" rel=3D"author" style=3D"te=
xt-decoration:none;margin:0px;max-width:100%;display:inline" target=3D"_bla=
nk"><span style=3D"margin:0px;max-width:100%">Alex Poppe</span></a></span><=
span>=C2=A0</span><span style=3D"margin:0.07em 0.45em 0px;padding:0px;max-w=
idth:100%;display:inline"></span>06/25/2026</b></font></p></div><div style=
=3D"max-width:100%;margin-bottom:1.15em;line-height:1.5em"><img src=3D"http=
s://media.juancole.com/images/2026/06/usaid-55-3b-30115697203-c35995.jpg" a=
lt=3D"" style=3D"margin:auto 0px auto auto;display:block;clear:both" width=
=3D"412" height=3D"207"></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"geo=
rgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Tulsa, OK (Special to Informed Comment; F=
eature) =E2=80=93 JD Vance recently sat down with =E2=80=9CInteresting Time=
s=E2=80=9D podcast host Ross Douthat. When Ross Douthat pointed out that th=
e Trump administration had been =E2=80=9Cmore hostile than any prior Republ=
ican administration=E2=80=A6to the way we do humanitarian aid,=E2=80=9D the=
 vice president argued that conservative or centrist parties =E2=80=9Ckeep =
winning landslide elections in Latin America=E2=80=9D because [before Presi=
dent Trump retook office] aid dollars =E2=80=9Cwent to fund a left-wing NGO=
 complex that actually tilted Latin American elections in favor of the far-=
left parties. Now, maybe that was the policy preference of the Biden admini=
stration, but those things, those biases in the way that we distributed int=
ernational aid, were so built into the very bureaucratic structure of those=
 aid programs, that we got in and said: We have to stop all of this and reb=
uild it from scratch.=E2=80=9D</b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><f=
ont face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>The vice president conclud=
ed his argument by charging that =E2=80=9Cbecause this NGO complex, nongove=
rnmental organization complex, had built up around this money, what you saw=
 in our foreign aid program is remarkable inefficiency.=E2=80=9D</b></font>=
</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000=
000"><b>From March 18, 2024 until I was DOGEd on February 7, 2025, I served=
 as the strategic communications advisor for USAID=E2=80=99s Democracy Deli=
vers Initiative, set up by former USAID Administrator Samantha Power under =
President Joe Biden in 2022. Believing that democracy and development work =
best hand-in-hand, Administrator Power argued that political reform alone w=
as not enough to keep voters galvanized to support democracy. It takes time=
 to root out corruption, re-establish the rule of law, hold free and fair e=
lections, establish a robust free press and rebuild civil society. And in t=
hat time, if you can=E2=80=99t feed your kids, or you don=E2=80=99t have cl=
ean water, or you=E2=80=99re freezing in winter because a bullying neighbor=
 has cut off your energy supplies, you may be tempted to vote for a strongm=
an who promises a lot but delivers little.</b></font></p><p style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>When there is =
a moment of democratic opportunity, say, a reformer is elected to office, t=
here should be support to help that reformer meet their citizens=E2=80=99 m=
ost pressing needs. That support has to come quickly so that a moment of de=
mocratic opportunity opens, takes root, and holds.</b></font></p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Demo=
cracy Delivers would mobilize fast, multi-stakeholder support (so the burde=
n was shared among our bilateral partners) and concentrate that support so =
it became catalytic, to help reformers tackle issues such as judicial corru=
ption, debt restructuring, food insecurity, economic empowerment, digital t=
hreats such as surveillance, spyware, and disinformation, or energy indepen=
dence through cross-sectoral investment. The goal was to show people that t=
heir lives are better under democratic rule.</b></font></p><p style=3D"max-=
width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>On my second=
 day in my new role, a woman very high up in the State Department met me fo=
r coffee. She very clearly and seriously told me that our foreign assistanc=
e was seldom motivated by purely altruistic intentions. Everything we did h=
ad a geostrategic intention behind it, and this was especially truly for th=
e Democracy Delivers Initiative, which spanned four geographic regions and =
included the following countries:</b></font></p><ul><li style=3D"max-width:=
100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Moldova, a critica=
l line of defense for NATO=E2=80=99s eastern flank and counters Russian exp=
ansionism in Europe.</b></font></li><li style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=
=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Armenia, which connects Europe to =
Central Asia and the Middle East, important for trade, energy routes, and m=
ilitary logistics.</b></font></li><li style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=
=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Fiji, a regional leader and a foun=
ding member of the Pacific Islands Forum, with one of the largest and most =
capable militaries in the Pacific.</b></font></li><li style=3D"max-width:10=
0%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Maldives, with proxi=
mity to key shipping lanes through which 30% of global oil shipments and mu=
ch of Asia=E2=80=99s trade travels. The 1,200+ islands stretch across a cri=
tical swath of maritime space, offering potential for military, commercial,=
 or surveillance access.</b></font></li><li style=3D"max-width:100%"><font =
face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Nepal, sitting between China a=
nd India, is key to regional stability in southeast Asia.</b></font></li><l=
i style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000">=
<b>Zambia, is a global leader in copper and cobalt, critical minerals for g=
reen technology such as EV batteries and solar panels. Zambia is part of th=
e Lobito Corridor, a U.S.-EU-supported project to challenge Chinese-dominat=
ed transport networks</b></font></li><li style=3D"max-width:100%"><font fac=
e=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Malawi, which contains critical m=
inerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, and nickel, and rare earth miner=
als.</b></font></li><li style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, ser=
if" color=3D"#000000"><b>Ecuador, bordering Columbia and Peru, is an import=
ant transit country for trafficking cocaine.</b></font></li><li style=3D"ma=
x-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Dominican =
Republic, a major transit and origin point for migration flows to the U.S.,=
 including irregular migration and trafficking. It is also key to new near-=
shoring projects to enhance supply chain capacity.</b></font></li><li style=
=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Guat=
emala, a key partner for controlling migration flows, narcotics trafficking=
, and transnational crime, including money laundering and arms trafficking.=
</b></font><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=
=3D"#000000"><b>During my tenure, Tanzania was stripped of its Democracy De=
livers designation (which translated into a loss of resources) due to its r=
epression of human rights and government-sponsored violent crackdown on pol=
itical opposition. Fiji and Guatemala became part of the initiative in 2024=
.</b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" c=
olor=3D"#000000"><b>The initiative didn=E2=80=99t have its own pot of funds=
, yet, by working with like-minded partners, we made great gains in democra=
tic reform and development projects. USAID=E2=80=99s reputation and relatio=
nships, forged over 60 years of being a trustworthy partner, were key to mo=
bilizing bilateral and multi-lateral, philanthropic and private sector supp=
ort and resources. The Vodafone Foundation, Ford, and the Rockefeller Found=
ation were key collaborators as were Google, Amazon Web Services, and Cisco=
, among others.</b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"geo=
rgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Some democratic reform accomplishments in=
cluded the following, grouped by theme:</b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width=
:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Anti-corruption: =
improved the vetting of judges, made judicial processes more transparent, p=
rosecuted high profile corruption cases, instituted and enforced asset forf=
eiture laws in corruption cases, encouraged decentralization through capaci=
ty building of local councils, and promoted transparency in budgeting.</b><=
/font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=
=3D"#000000"><b>Elections: facilitated the holding of municipal elections, =
trained poll workers, ran voter education campaigns, combatted disinformati=
on during elections, monitored for election fraud, expanded voter access, e=
ncouraged women to run for office, made voter facilities differently-abled =
accessible, and allowed people to vote under their colloquial name instead =
of requiring an ID to match a birth certificate.</b></font></p><p style=3D"=
max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Human ri=
ghts: granted citizenship to marginalized groups for whom it had been denie=
d, which meant marginalized people could now open bank accounts, get a driv=
ers license, and get sim cards.</b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><=
font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Independent press: streng=
thened press freedoms, trained journalists, and repealed restrictions on jo=
urnalists and publishers.</b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><i styl=
e=3D"max-width:100%"><small style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia,=
 serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Public Domain. Via<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=
=3D"https://picryl.com/media/usaid-55-3b-30115697203-c35995" style=3D"text-=
decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">Picryl<span>=C2=A0</span>=
</a></b></font></small></i></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"ge=
orgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Information resiliency: combatted mis/di=
s/mal information, strengthened cyber security, taught media literacy, and =
passed laws that afford freedom and access to information.</b></font></p><p=
 style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><=
b>The development projects shored up energy security, diversified export ma=
rkets, increased information and communication technology (ICT) capability,=
 improved food security, supported health, water and sanitation, and climat=
e resiliency projects, initiated medical projects which reduced maternal mo=
rtality rates by 38% in the areas where they were implemented, implemented =
malaria prevention projects, supported education projects to bring gender p=
arity in primary education, facilitated large scale infrastructure projects=
 such as the construction of roads, dams, and undersea cables to improve in=
ternet connectivity, developed electricity transmission lines in rural comm=
unities, set up microfinance programs to grow small and medium-sized busine=
sses, with an emphasis on female-owned businesses, developed E-commerce pla=
tforms to foster economic empowerment, and linked smallholder farmers to la=
rge supermarkets to increase smallholder farmers=E2=80=99 market access.</b=
></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=
=3D"#000000"><b>I struggle to understand how the vice president could categ=
orize USAID as a left-wing, remarkably inefficient NGO complex.</b></font><=
/p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#0000=
00"><b>Without USAID funding, researchers predict 14 million people will di=
e by 2030. The exit of USAID leaves room for our strategic competitors to e=
xercise soft diplomacy and gain influence. The private sector might be less=
 likely to invest in countries without a democratic playing field, which af=
fects the exploration for and mining of rare earth and critical minerals. T=
he U.S. loses access to potential new markets; 11 of our top 15 trading par=
tners were once recipients of foreign aid.</b></font></p></li></ul></div></=
div>
</div>
</div></div>

--000000000000fb0f29065512989c--

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*https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260624-the-illusions-of-western-virtue=
-ursula-von-der-leyen-and-europes-moral-bankruptcy/
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260624-the-illusions-of-western-virtue=
-ursula-von-der-leyen-and-europes-moral-bankruptcy/>*

*The Illusions of Western Virtue: Ursula von der Leyen and Europe=E2=80=99s=
 Moral
Bankruptcy*
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/authors/178473/>
by Dr Ramzy Baroud <https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/authors/178473/>
<https://twitter.com/RamzyBaroud>

[image: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a speech
in Brussels, Belgium, on June 09, 2026. [Dursun Aydemir - Anadolu Agency]]


*European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has every right to
condition European relations with any other country or bloc on respect for
human rights. That, of course, would hold true if she genuinely cared about
such values herself.*

*In response to the June 19 signing
<https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gy700j0eko> of the memorandum of
understanding between the United States and Iran=E2=80=94intended to bring =
an end
to a destructive war=E2=80=94von der Leyen declared that the European Union=
 does
not intend to lift its sanctions on Tehran.*

*Speaking on June 15, ahead of the G7 summit, she firmly conditioned any
diplomatic thawing on domestic changes within the Islamic Republic.*

*=E2=80=9CThe principle of sanctions is that we need real change on the gro=
und
before we can think about lifting them,=E2=80=9D she stated
<https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/no-lifting-of-iran-sanctions-without-behav=
ior-change-eu-commission-chief/3967802>,
adding: =E2=80=9CAs long as there is no behavioral change, you cannot lift =
the
sanctions because of human rights violations.=E2=80=9D*

*Viewed in isolation, the European position might appear principled, even
commendable. In its broader geopolitical context, however, it exposes a
staggering level of hypocrisy.*

*On that very same day, the European Union=E2=80=99s duplicity was laid bar=
e.
During a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, Europe
effectively refused
<https://www.reuters.com/world/no-consensus-eu-sanctions-against-israels-be=
n-gvir-top-diplomat-says-2026-06-15/>
to
take a unified stand on imposing trade sanctions on Israel, despite its
ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip and unchecked colonial violence and
expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank.*

*The discussion itself would not have taken place had it not been for the
persistent efforts of Spain and Ireland, which have repeatedly urged
<https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-divided-suspension-israel-pact-spain-push=
es-action-2026-04-21/>
the
bloc to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement over Israel=E2=80=99s f=
lagrant
violations of international law. *

*The initiative failed because the EU remains deeply divided
<https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-divided-suspension-israel-pact-spain-push=
es-action-2026-04-21/>,
constrained by the requirement of unanimity on foreign policy and
repeatedly blocked by pro-Israel governments.*

*READ: Israeli foreign minister severs ties with EU foreign policy chief
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260618-israeli-foreign-minister-severs=
-ties-with-eu-foreign-policy-chief/>*

*While Europe continues to engage Israel=E2=80=94providing Israeli Prime Mi=
nister
Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist coalition with desperately needed
political and economic lifelines=E2=80=94the European public has increasing=
ly moved
in the opposite direction.*

*Recent polling across numerous countries has revealed
<https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/06/04/most-people-across-36-c=
ountries-have-negative-views-of-israel-and-little-confidence-in-netanyahu/>
growing
opposition to Israel=E2=80=99s war and genocide in Gaza and increasing supp=
ort for
Palestinian rights. Across Europe, mass demonstrations, consumer boycotts,
campus mobilizations, and divestment campaigns have reflected a widening
gap between public opinion and official policy.*

*This reality appears entirely irrelevant to von der Leyen, who remains
preoccupied with the human rights records of states viewed as Western
adversaries. Such concern is not motivated by solidarity with victims, but
by the desire to maintain political leverage that can be invoked when
convenient and ignored when necessary.*

*Lest we forget, von der Leyen was among the first Western leaders to visit
<https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-247773> Israel following
the events of October 7, arriving in Tel Aviv on October 13, 2023. Standing
alongside Israeli leaders, she offered unconditional backing, declaring
<https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/pt/speech_23_5069> that
=E2=80=9CEurope stands with Israel.=E2=80=9D She did so as Palestinians in =
Gaza were
already being subjected to a devastating military assault that would soon
claim tens of thousands of lives.*

*Although her rhetoric became somewhat more cautious as international legal
institutions began investigating Israel for genocide and pursuing war
crimes cases against its leaders, her fundamental political alignment never
truly changed.*

*For anyone to believe that von der Leyen has suddenly discovered that
human rights should occupy center stage in any responsible foreign policy
is simply delusional. This is especially true given how restrained she
remained, both in language and action, as the US-Israeli war
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/1/us-israel-attacks-on-iran-death-to=
ll-and-injuries-live-tracker>
on
Iran expanded into a regional catastrophe that should never have been
allowed to unfold.*

*READ: No lifting of Iran sanctions without behavior change: EU Commission
chief
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260615-no-lifting-of-iran-sanctions-wi=
thout-behavior-change-eu-commission-chief/>*

*None of that matters to von der Leyen, of course, since such immense human
suffering does not neatly fit within her geopolitical priorities.*

*It is tempting to conclude that, for von der Leyen and many Western
leaders, some human rights matter more than others. Yet even that
assessment grants too much credibility to their position, because it
assumes that human rights are the actual basis of policy. More often than
not, they are merely invoked when politically convenient.*

*Even the Catholic Church appears to be moving away from this selective
moral framework. Since his election in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV has
repeatedly emphasized
<https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-ma=
gnifica-humanitas-ai.html>
a
vision of =E2=80=9Cjust peace=E2=80=9D over the traditional doctrine of =E2=
=80=9Cjust war,=E2=80=9D warning
against the use of moral and religious language to legitimize military
aggression. During his Palm Sunday homily earlier this 2026, he stressed
<https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-leo-says-god-rejects-prayers-leaders-wh=
o-wage-wars-2026-03-29/>
that
=E2=80=9CGod rejects the prayers of those who wage war,=E2=80=9D a direct c=
hallenge to the
normalization of violence by political leaders.*

*But von der Leyen cannot help herself. The instrumentalization of human
rights has long been a staple of Western foreign policy, despite mounting
evidence that such commitments are rarely applied consistently. In that
sense, Europe appears increasingly bankrupt=E2=80=94not only morally, but
politically as well.*

*The war involving Iran, the subsequent US-Iran agreement, and the major
geopolitical shifts surrounding both unfolded largely without meaningful
European involvement. Reduced to the role of spectator=E2=80=94or occasiona=
l
cheerleader=E2=80=94the EU exerted little influence over events, underscori=
ng its
diminishing relevance in Middle Eastern and global affairs.*

*This helps explain why von der Leyen resorted to familiar rhetoric about
human rights in Iran while remaining largely silent on Israel=E2=80=99s dev=
astating
actions in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere in the region. With
Europe=E2=80=99s influence steadily shrinking
<https://www.reuters.com/world/europe-no-longer-washingtons-centre-gravity-=
shift-is-structural-eus-kallas-says-2026-01-28/>,
moral posturing has become a substitute for meaningful diplomacy.*

*Will the EU continue along this path of growing irrelevance, or will it
finally heed the views of its own citizens, challenge Israel=E2=80=99s impu=
nity,
and pursue a foreign policy genuinely independent of Washington? The answer
may determine whether Europe can reclaim political relevance=E2=80=94or con=
tinue
its slide into long-term decline.*

*The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.*

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"lt=
r" class=3D"gmail_attr"><b style=3D"background-color:transparent"><font fac=
e=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260624-=
the-illusions-of-western-virtue-ursula-von-der-leyen-and-europes-moral-bank=
ruptcy/" target=3D"_blank">https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260624-the-i=
llusions-of-western-virtue-ursula-von-der-leyen-and-europes-moral-bankruptc=
y/</a></font></b></div><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><b><font face=
=3D"georgia, serif"><br></font></b></div><div><h1 style=3D"line-height:1.21=
41em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"=
><font face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4"><i>The Illusions of Western Virtu=
e: Ursula von der Leyen and Europe=E2=80=99s Moral Bankruptcy</i></font></h=
1><div><div class=3D"gmail-memo-news-author-img" style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;float:left;width:50px;overflow:hidden;margin-right:10px;color:rgb(0,0,=
0);font-family:Inter,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(254,245,236)"><a href=
=3D"https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/authors/178473/" style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;color:rgb(203,0,0);text-decoration:none;outline:none"><font size=
=3D"2"><img src=3D"https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/201=
8/03/104A1259-scaled.jpg" alt=3D"" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; vertica=
l-align: middle; height: 50px; width: 50px; border: 0px; float: left; borde=
r-radius: 50%; object-fit: cover; object-position: center center;"></font><=
/a></div><div class=3D"gmail-memo-news-author-neme" style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;float:left;font-weight:700;margin-right:10px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-=
family:Inter,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(254,245,236)">by=C2=A0<a href=
=3D"https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/authors/178473/" style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;outline:none">Dr Ramzy Bar=
oud</a></div><div class=3D"gmail-memo-news-author-twitter" style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;float:left;font-weight:700;margin-right:10px;color:rgb(0,0,0=
);font-family:Inter,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(254,245,236)"><a href=
=3D"https://twitter.com/RamzyBaroud" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;outline:none"><font size=
=3D"2"><span class=3D"gmail-memo-news-author-twitter-icon" style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;display:inline-flex;width:30px;height:30px;background:rgb(94=
,169,221);border-radius:50%;color:rgb(255,255,255)"></span></font></a></div=
><br class=3D"gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></div><div style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%;margin-bottom:1.15em;line-height:1.5em;color:rgba(0,0,0,0.65)"><img =
src=3D"https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/=
06/AA-20260609-41622291-41622267-EU_UNVEILS_PROPOSED_21ST_SANCTIONS_PACKAGE=
_AGAINST_RUSSIA.jpg?fit=3D920%2C619&amp;ssl=3D1" alt=3D"European Commission=
 President Ursula von der Leyen gives a speech in Brussels, Belgium, on Jun=
e 09, 2026. [Dursun Aydemir - Anadolu Agency]" style=3D"margin:auto 0px aut=
o auto;display:block;clear:both" width=3D"412" height=3D"277"></div><div st=
yle=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><d=
iv style=3D"max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><br></p></div></div=
></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><span style=3D"max-w=
idth:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b>European Commission President U=
rsula von der Leyen has every right to condition European relations with an=
y other country or bloc on respect for human rights. That, of course, would=
 hold true if she genuinely cared about such values herself.</b></font></sp=
an></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgi=
a, serif"><b><span style=3D"max-width:100%">In response to the June 19<span=
>=C2=A0</span></span><a href=3D"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gy700j0=
eko" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" ta=
rget=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width:100%">signing</span></a><span styl=
e=3D"max-width:100%"><span>=C2=A0</span>of the memorandum of understanding =
between the United States and Iran=E2=80=94intended to bring an end to a de=
structive war=E2=80=94von der Leyen declared that the European Union does n=
ot intend to lift its sanctions on Tehran.</span></b></font></p><p style=3D=
"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font f=
ace=3D"georgia, serif"><b>Speaking on June 15, ahead of the G7 summit, she =
firmly conditioned any diplomatic thawing on domestic changes within the Is=
lamic Republic.</b></font></span></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(2=
7,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b><span style=3D"max-width:100%">=
=E2=80=9CThe principle of sanctions is that we need real change on the grou=
nd before we can think about lifting them,=E2=80=9D she<span>=C2=A0</span><=
/span><a href=3D"https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/no-lifting-of-iran-sanctio=
ns-without-behavior-change-eu-commission-chief/3967802" style=3D"text-decor=
ation:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank"><span st=
yle=3D"max-width:100%">stated</span></a><span style=3D"max-width:100%">, ad=
ding: =E2=80=9CAs long as there is no behavioral change, you cannot lift th=
e sanctions because of human rights violations.=E2=80=9D</span></b></font><=
/p><blockquote style=3D"color:rgba(0,0,0,0.65);margin-left:2px;margin-right=
:6px;padding-left:16px;border-left-width:3px;border-left-style:solid;border=
-left-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><sp=
an style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b>Viewed in isol=
ation, the European position might appear principled, even commendable. In =
its broader geopolitical context, however, it exposes a staggering level of=
 hypocrisy.</b></font></span></p></blockquote><p style=3D"max-width:100%;co=
lor:rgb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b><span style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%">On that very same day, the European Union=E2=80=99s duplicity was l=
aid bare. During a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, Europe ef=
fectively<span>=C2=A0</span></span><a href=3D"https://www.reuters.com/world=
/no-consensus-eu-sanctions-against-israels-ben-gvir-top-diplomat-says-2026-=
06-15/" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%"=
 target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width:100%">refused</span></a><span s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%"><span>=C2=A0</span>to take a unified stand on impos=
ing trade sanctions on Israel, despite its ongoing genocide in the Gaza Str=
ip and unchecked colonial violence and expansionist policies in the occupie=
d West Bank.</span></b></font></p><blockquote style=3D"color:rgba(0,0,0,0.6=
5);margin-left:2px;margin-right:6px;padding-left:16px;border-left-width:3px=
;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);max-width:100%">=
<p style=3D"max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"ge=
orgia, serif"><b>The discussion itself would not have taken place had it no=
t been for the persistent efforts of Spain and Ireland, which have repeated=
ly<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-divided-su=
spension-israel-pact-spain-pushes-action-2026-04-21/" style=3D"text-decorat=
ion:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">urged</a><=
span>=C2=A0</span>the bloc to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement o=
ver Israel=E2=80=99s flagrant violations of international law.<span>=C2=A0<=
/span></b></font></span></p></blockquote><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:r=
gb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b><span style=3D"max-width:100=
%">The initiative failed because the EU remains deeply<span>=C2=A0</span></=
span><a href=3D"https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-divided-suspension-israel-=
pact-spain-pushes-action-2026-04-21/" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:r=
gb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width:1=
00%">divided</span></a><span style=3D"max-width:100%">, constrained by the =
requirement of unanimity on foreign policy and repeatedly blocked by pro-Is=
rael governments.</span></b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb=
(27,27,27)"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b=
>READ:=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260618-israeli-f=
oreign-minister-severs-ties-with-eu-foreign-policy-chief/" style=3D"text-de=
coration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">Israe=
li foreign minister severs ties with EU foreign policy chief</a></b></font>=
</span></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><span style=3D"m=
ax-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b>While Europe continues to e=
ngage Israel=E2=80=94providing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an=
d his extremist coalition with desperately needed political and economic li=
felines=E2=80=94the European public has increasingly moved in the opposite =
direction.</b></font></span></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,=
27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b><span style=3D"max-width:100%">Recent=
 polling across numerous countries has<span>=C2=A0</span></span><a href=3D"=
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/06/04/most-people-across-36-co=
untries-have-negative-views-of-israel-and-little-confidence-in-netanyahu/" =
style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=
=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width:100%">revealed</span></a><span style=
=3D"max-width:100%"><span>=C2=A0</span>growing opposition to Israel=E2=80=
=99s war and genocide in Gaza and increasing support for Palestinian rights=
. Across Europe, mass demonstrations, consumer boycotts, campus mobilizatio=
ns, and divestment campaigns have reflected a widening gap between public o=
pinion and official policy.</span></b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%=
;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia,=
 serif"><b>This reality appears entirely irrelevant to von der Leyen, who r=
emains preoccupied with the human rights records of states viewed as Wester=
n adversaries. Such concern is not motivated by solidarity with victims, bu=
t by the desire to maintain political leverage that can be invoked when con=
venient and ignored when necessary.</b></font></span></p><p style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b><span style=
=3D"max-width:100%">Lest we forget, von der Leyen was among the first Weste=
rn leaders to<span>=C2=A0</span></span><a href=3D"https://audiovisual.ec.eu=
ropa.eu/en/media/video/I-247773" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65=
,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width:100%">=
visit</span></a><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><span>=C2=A0</span>Israel fo=
llowing the events of October 7, arriving in Tel Aviv on October 13, 2023. =
Standing alongside Israeli leaders, she offered unconditional backing,<span=
>=C2=A0</span></span><a href=3D"https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner=
/detail/pt/speech_23_5069" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,2=
10);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width:100%">declar=
ing</span></a><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><span>=C2=A0</span>that =E2=80=
=9CEurope stands with Israel.=E2=80=9D She did so as Palestinians in Gaza w=
ere already being subjected to a devastating military assault that would so=
on claim tens of thousands of lives.</span></b></font></p><p style=3D"max-w=
idth:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D=
"georgia, serif"><b>Although her rhetoric became somewhat more cautious as =
international legal institutions began investigating Israel for genocide an=
d pursuing war crimes cases against its leaders, her fundamental political =
alignment never truly changed.</b></font></span></p><p style=3D"max-width:1=
00%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b><span style=3D"ma=
x-width:100%">For anyone to believe that von der Leyen has suddenly discove=
red that human rights should occupy center stage in any responsible foreign=
 policy is simply delusional. This is especially true given how restrained =
she remained, both in language and action, as the<span>=C2=A0</span></span>=
<a href=3D"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/1/us-israel-attacks-on-ira=
n-death-toll-and-injuries-live-tracker" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color=
:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width=
:100%">US-Israeli war</span></a><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><span>=C2=A0=
</span>on Iran expanded into a regional catastrophe that should never have =
been allowed to unfold.</span></b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;col=
or:rgb(27,27,27)"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, ser=
if"><b>READ:=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260615-no-=
lifting-of-iran-sanctions-without-behavior-change-eu-commission-chief/" sty=
le=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"=
_blank">No lifting of Iran sanctions without behavior change: EU Commission=
 chief</a></b></font></span></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,=
27)"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b>None o=
f that matters to von der Leyen, of course, since such immense human suffer=
ing does not neatly fit within her geopolitical priorities.</b></font></spa=
n></p><blockquote style=3D"color:rgba(0,0,0,0.65);margin-left:2px;margin-ri=
ght:6px;padding-left:16px;border-left-width:3px;border-left-style:solid;bor=
der-left-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%">=
<span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b>It is tempt=
ing to conclude that, for von der Leyen and many Western leaders, some huma=
n rights matter more than others. Yet even that assessment grants too much =
credibility to their position, because it assumes that human rights are the=
 actual basis of policy. More often than not, they are merely invoked when =
politically convenient.</b></font></span></p></blockquote><p style=3D"max-w=
idth:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b><span style=
=3D"max-width:100%">Even the Catholic Church appears to be moving away from=
 this selective moral framework. Since his election in May 2025, Pope Leo X=
IV has repeatedly<span>=C2=A0</span></span><a href=3D"https://www.vaticanne=
ws.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas-ai.h=
tml" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" ta=
rget=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width:100%">emphasized</span></a><span s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%"><span>=C2=A0</span>a vision of =E2=80=9Cjust peace=
=E2=80=9D over the traditional doctrine of =E2=80=9Cjust war,=E2=80=9D warn=
ing against the use of moral and religious language to legitimize military =
aggression. During his Palm Sunday homily earlier this 2026, he<span>=C2=A0=
</span></span><a href=3D"https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-leo-says-god-re=
jects-prayers-leaders-who-wage-wars-2026-03-29/" style=3D"text-decoration:n=
one;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"=
max-width:100%">stressed</span></a><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><span>=C2=
=A0</span>that =E2=80=9CGod rejects the prayers of those who wage war,=E2=
=80=9D a direct challenge to the normalization of violence by political lea=
ders.</span></b></font></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)">=
<span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b>But von der=
 Leyen cannot help herself. The instrumentalization of human rights has lon=
g been a staple of Western foreign policy, despite mounting evidence that s=
uch commitments are rarely applied consistently. In that sense, Europe appe=
ars increasingly bankrupt=E2=80=94not only morally, but politically as well=
.</b></font></span></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><spa=
n style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b>The war involvi=
ng Iran, the subsequent US-Iran agreement, and the major geopolitical shift=
s surrounding both unfolded largely without meaningful European involvement=
. Reduced to the role of spectator=E2=80=94or occasional cheerleader=E2=80=
=94the EU exerted little influence over events, underscoring its diminishin=
g relevance in Middle Eastern and global affairs.</b></font></span></p><p s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><=
b><span style=3D"max-width:100%">This helps explain why von der Leyen resor=
ted to familiar rhetoric about human rights in Iran while remaining largely=
 silent on Israel=E2=80=99s devastating actions in Palestine, Lebanon, Syri=
a, and elsewhere in the region. With Europe=E2=80=99s influence steadily<sp=
an>=C2=A0</span></span><a href=3D"https://www.reuters.com/world/europe-no-l=
onger-washingtons-centre-gravity-shift-is-structural-eus-kallas-says-2026-0=
1-28/" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" =
target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"max-width:100%">shrinking</span></a><span =
style=3D"max-width:100%">, moral posturing has become a substitute for mean=
ingful diplomacy.</span></b></font></p><blockquote style=3D"color:rgba(0,0,=
0,0.65);margin-left:2px;margin-right:6px;padding-left:16px;border-left-widt=
h:3px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);max-width:1=
00%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"><font face=
=3D"georgia, serif"><b>Will the EU continue along this path of growing irre=
levance, or will it finally heed the views of its own citizens, challenge I=
srael=E2=80=99s impunity, and pursue a foreign policy genuinely independent=
 of Washington? The answer may determine whether Europe can reclaim politic=
al relevance=E2=80=94or continue its slide into long-term decline.</b></fon=
t></span></p></blockquote><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><=
font face=3D"georgia, serif"><b>The views expressed in this article belong =
to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle=
 East Monitor.</b></font></p></div></div>
</div>
</div></div>
</div>

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Watch now (17 mins) | After news emerged that the US and Iran had finally
reached an agreement to cease hostilities, thousands of civilians raced to
return to their homes in Southern Lebanon.
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Under Israeli fire, Lebanese struggle to return home
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Jun 25
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After news emerged that the US and Iran had finally reached an agreement to
cease hostilities, thousands of civilians raced to return to their homes in
Southern Lebanon.

Days later, Israel responded to the elimination of its occupying soldiers
by carrying out some of the worst massacres in its war on Lebanon, forcing
civilians back to an uncertain future in the north =E2=80=94 and forcing Ir=
an to
close the Strait of Hormuz again.

In this on-the-ground report for The Grayzone, Wyatt Reed traveled to
Southern Lebanon to speak to the families in the line of fire, and see the
destruction wrought by Israel firsthand.
A guest post by
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line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden">Wat=
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mail&amp;play_audio=3Dtrue&amp;r=3D1eogb&amp;utm_campaign=3Demail-play-on-s=
ubstack&amp;token=3DeyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyMzY0NDkxLCJwb3N0X2lkIjoyMDM0ODA2NzUsIml=
hdCI6MTc4MjM4MjM0NiwiZXhwIjoxNzg0OTc0MzQ2LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItNDc0NzY1Iiwic3ViIj=
oicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.SL7ivKWhM0yqqwpQ0ghnyDjv6Ktqlw0Sk3IQ0JXnexg&amp;utm_=
content=3Dwatch_now_button" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;min-h=
eight:40px;padding-left:0;padding-right:0;font-family:system-ui,-apple-syst=
em,BlinkMacSystemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,=
&#39;Apple Color Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Symbol&#=
39;;font-size:14px;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:-.15px;border-radius:8px;=
padding:12px 24px;line-height:1;text-decoration:none;display:inline-block;c=
olor:#363737;border:none" target=3D"_blank"><img src=3D"https://substackcdn=
.com/image/fetch/$s_!VZkH!,w_26.046511627906977,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,f=
l_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FPlayIcon%3Fv%3D4%26=
height%3D32%26fill%3D%2523363737%26stroke%3D%2523363737%26strokeWidth%3D2" =
width=3D"13.023255813953488" height=3D"16" style=3D"border:none;vertical-al=
ign:middle;max-width:13.023255813953488px" alt=3D""><span style=3D"margin-l=
eft:8px;vertical-align:middle;color:#363737">Watch now</span></a></td></tr>=
</tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr height=3D"8"><td></=
td></tr><tr><td><div style=3D"font-size:16px;line-height:26px;height:16px">=
=C2=A0</div></td></tr></tbody></table><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"padding:32=
px 0 0 0;font-size:16px;line-height:26px"><div role=3D"region" aria-label=
=3D"Post header" style=3D"font-size:16px;line-height:26px"><h1 dir=3D"auto"=
 style=3D"direction:auto;text-align:start;unicode-bidi:isolate;color:rgb(54=
,55,55);font-family:&#39;SF Pro Display&#39;,-apple-system-headline,system-=
ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helvetica,Ari=
al,sans-serif,&#39;Apple Color Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Emoji&#39;,&#39;Seg=
oe UI Symbol&#39;;font-weight:bold;margin:0;line-height:36px;font-size:32px=
"><a href=3D"https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=3D474765&amp=
;post_id=3D203480675&amp;utm_source=3Dpost-email-title&amp;utm_campaign=3De=
mail-post-title&amp;isFreemail=3Dtrue&amp;r=3D1eogb&amp;token=3DeyJ1c2VyX2l=
kIjoyMzY0NDkxLCJwb3N0X2lkIjoyMDM0ODA2NzUsImlhdCI6MTc4MjM4MjM0NiwiZXhwIjoxNz=
g0OTc0MzQ2LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItNDc0NzY1Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.SL7ivKWh=
M0yqqwpQ0ghnyDjv6Ktqlw0Sk3IQ0JXnexg" style=3D"color:rgb(54,55,55);text-deco=
ration:none" target=3D"_blank">Under Israeli fire, Lebanese struggle to ret=
urn home</a></h1><table role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" c=
ellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" style=3D"margin:1em 0;height:20px"><tbod=
y><tr><td><table role=3D"presentation" width=3D"auto" border=3D"0" cellspac=
ing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td><table role=3D"presentation" wid=
th=3D"auto" border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td=
 style=3D"vertical-align:middle"><div style=3D"list-style:none;font-size:11=
px;line-height:20px;text-decoration:unset;color:rgb(54,55,55);margin:0;font=
-family:&#39;SF Compact&#39;,-apple-system,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMac=
SystemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,&#39;Apple =
Color Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Symbol&#39;;font-we=
ight:500;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.2px"><a style=3D"list-sty=
le:none;color:rgb(54,55,55);margin:0;font-size:11px;line-height:20px;font-f=
amily:&#39;SF Compact&#39;,-apple-system,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSy=
stemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,&#39;Apple Co=
lor Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Symbol&#39;;font-weig=
ht:500;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.2px;text-decoration:none" h=
ref=3D"https://substack.com/@thegrayzone" target=3D"_blank">The Grayzone</a=
> and <a style=3D"list-style:none;color:rgb(54,55,55);margin:0;font-size:11=
px;line-height:20px;font-family:&#39;SF Compact&#39;,-apple-system,system-u=
i,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helvetica,Aria=
l,sans-serif,&#39;Apple Color Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Emoji&#39;,&#39;Sego=
e UI Symbol&#39;;font-weight:500;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.2=
px;text-decoration:none" href=3D"https://substack.com/@wyattreed" target=3D=
"_blank">Wyatt Reed</a></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><t=
able role=3D"presentation" width=3D"auto" border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" ce=
llpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td style=3D"vertical-align:middle"><div style=
=3D"list-style:none;font-size:11px;line-height:20px;text-decoration:unset;c=
olor:rgb(119,119,119);margin:0;font-family:&#39;SF Compact&#39;,-apple-syst=
em,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Hel=
vetica,Arial,sans-serif,&#39;Apple Color Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Emoji&#39=
;,&#39;Segoe UI Symbol&#39;;font-weight:500;text-transform:uppercase;letter=
-spacing:.2px">Jun 25</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></ta=
ble></td><td align=3D"right"><table role=3D"presentation" width=3D"auto" bo=
rder=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td style=3D"vert=
ical-align:middle"><a href=3D"https://substack.com/@thegrayzone" target=3D"=
_blank"><img src=3D"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mLjW!,f_auto,q_=
auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazona=
ws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F15e04114-a6e6-443c-803e-9023c60d65bc_1024x1024.p=
ng" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;max-width:550px;border:none;vertical-ali=
gn:middle;width:32px;height:32px;min-width:32px;min-height:32px;object-fit:=
cover;margin:0px;display:inline;border-radius:50%" width=3D"32" height=3D"3=
2"></a></td><td width=3D"4" style=3D"min-width:4px"></td><td style=3D"verti=
cal-align:middle"><a href=3D"https://substack.com/@wyattreed" target=3D"_bl=
ank"><img src=3D"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Iors!,f_auto,q_aut=
o:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518=
-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa14817b-b1ce-4cb2-95c8-=
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n-height:32px;object-fit:cover;margin:0px;display:inline;border-radius:50%"=
 width=3D"32" height=3D"32"></a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody=
></table><table role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellspaci=
ng=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" style=3D"border-top:1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);bord=
er-bottom:1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);min-width:100%"><tbody><tr height=3D"16">=
<td height=3D"16" style=3D"font-size:0px;line-height:0">=C2=A0</td></tr><tr=
><td><table role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellspacing=
=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td><table role=3D"presentation" width=
=3D"auto" border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td s=
tyle=3D"vertical-align:middle"><table role=3D"presentation" width=3D"38" bo=
rder=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td align=3D"cent=
er"><a href=3D"https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=3D474765&a=
mp;post_id=3D203480675&amp;utm_source=3Dsubstack&amp;isFreemail=3Dtrue&amp;=
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coration:none;color:rgb(119,119,119);min-width:38px;box-sizing:border-box;w=
idth:38px" target=3D"_blank"><img src=3D"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetc=
h/$s_!PeVs!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F=
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/tbody></table></td><td width=3D"8" style=3D"min-width:8px"></td><td style=
=3D"vertical-align:middle"><table role=3D"presentation" width=3D"38" border=
=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td align=3D"center">=
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il" style=3D"font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&#39;Se=
goe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,&#39;Apple Color Emoji&#39;,&=
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orm:uppercase;font-size:12px;line-height:1;padding:9px 0;text-decoration:no=
ne;color:rgb(119,119,119);min-width:38px;box-sizing:border-box;width:38px" =
target=3D"_blank"><img src=3D"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!x1tS!=
,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack=
.com%2Ficon%2FLucideComments%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3=
D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2" width=3D"18" height=3D"18" style=3D"border:=
none;vertical-align:middle;max-width:18px" alt=3D""></a></td></tr></tbody><=
/table></td><td width=3D"8" style=3D"min-width:8px"></td><td style=3D"verti=
cal-align:middle"><table role=3D"presentation" width=3D"38" border=3D"0" ce=
llspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td align=3D"center"><a href=
=3D"https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=3D474765&amp;post_id=
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zY0NDkxLCJwb3N0X2lkIjoyMDM0ODA2NzUsImlhdCI6MTc4MjM4MjM0NiwiZXhwIjoxNzg0OTc0=
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pQ0ghnyDjv6Ktqlw0Sk3IQ0JXnexg" style=3D"font-family:system-ui,-apple-system=
,BlinkMacSystemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,&#=
39;Apple Color Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Symbol&#39=
;;display:inline-block;font-weight:500;border:1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);borde=
r-radius:9999px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:12px;line-height:1;paddi=
ng:9px 0;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(119,119,119);min-width:38px;box-siz=
ing:border-box;width:38px" target=3D"_blank"><img src=3D"https://substackcd=
n.com/image/fetch/$s_!_L14!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:s=
teep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FLucideShare2%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36=
%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2" width=3D"18" heigh=
t=3D"18" style=3D"border:none;vertical-align:middle;max-width:18px" alt=3D"=
"></a></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td width=3D"8" style=3D"min-width:8px=
"></td><td style=3D"vertical-align:middle"><table role=3D"presentation" wid=
th=3D"38" border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr><td a=
lign=3D"center"><a href=3D"https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6=
Ly9vcGVuLnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbS9wdWIvdGhlZ3JheXpvbmUvcC91bmRlci1pc3JhZWxpLWZpcmU=
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k-h8tXegpAAADOq4NRfvHHKyF9ze-yHBI?&amp;utm_source=3Dsubstack&amp;utm_medium=
=3Demail" style=3D"font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&=
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k;font-weight:500;border:1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius:9999px;text-=
transform:uppercase;font-size:12px;line-height:1;padding:9px 0;text-decorat=
ion:none;color:rgb(119,119,119);min-width:38px;box-sizing:border-box;width:=
38px" target=3D"_blank"><img src=3D"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_=
!ubXF!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsu=
bstack.com%2Ficon%2Fnotes__NoteRestackIcon%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dn=
one%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2%26strokeLinecap%3Dround%26stro=
keLinejoin%3Dround" width=3D"18" height=3D"18" alt=3D"" style=3D"max-width:=
550px;border:none!important;vertical-align:middle"></a></td></tr></tbody></=
table></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td align=3D"right"><table role=3D"pre=
sentation" width=3D"auto" border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0">=
<tbody><tr><td style=3D"vertical-align:middle"><table role=3D"presentation"=
 width=3D"auto" border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0"><tbody><tr=
><td align=3D"center"><a href=3D"https://open.substack.com/pub/thegrayzone/=
p/under-israeli-fire-lebanese-struggle?utm_source=3Demail&amp;redirect=3Dap=
p-store&amp;utm_campaign=3Demail-read-in-app" style=3D"font-family:system-u=
i,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helvetica,Aria=
l,sans-serif,&#39;Apple Color Emoji&#39;,&#39;Segoe UI Emoji&#39;,&#39;Sego=
e UI Symbol&#39;;display:inline-block;font-weight:500;border:1px solid rgb(=
0,0,0,.1);border-radius:9999px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:12px;line=
-height:12px;padding:9px 14px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(119,119,119)" =
target=3D"_blank"><div style=3D"font-size:16px;line-height:26px;display:inl=
ine-block;vertical-align:middle;max-width:0;min-height:18px"></div><span st=
yle=3D"vertical-align:middle;margin-right:4px">READ IN APP</span><img src=
=3D"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ET-_!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto=
:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FLucideArrowU=
pRight%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeW=
idth%3D2" width=3D"18" height=3D"18" style=3D"min-width:18px;min-height:18p=
x;border:none;vertical-align:middle;margin-right:0;margin-left:0;max-width:=
18px" alt=3D""></a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td=
></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr height=3D"16"><td height=3D"16" style=
=3D"font-size:0px;line-height:0">=C2=A0</td></tr></tbody></table></div></di=
v><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"padding:32px 0 0 0;font-size:16px;line-height:=
26px"><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"text-align:initial;font-size:16px;line-hei=
ght:26px;width:100%;word-break:break-word;margin-bottom:16px"><p style=3D"m=
argin:0 0 20px 0;color:rgb(54,55,55);line-height:26px;font-size:16px;margin=
-top:0;margin-bottom:0"><span><span>After news emerged that the US and Iran=
 had finally reached an agreement to cease hostilities, thousands of civili=
ans raced to return to their homes in Southern Lebanon.</span><br><br><span=
>Days later, Israel responded to the elimination of its occupying soldiers =
by carrying out some of the worst massacres in its war on Lebanon, forcing =
civilians back to an uncertain future in the north =E2=80=94 and forcing Ir=
an to close the Strait of Hormuz again.</span><br><br><span>In this on-the-=
ground report for The Grayzone, Wyatt Reed traveled to Southern Lebanon to =
speak to the families in the line of fire, and see the destruction wrought =
by Israel firsthand.</span></span></p></div></div><div style=3D"margin-top:=
16px;font-size:16px;line-height:26px"><div style=3D"margin:32px 0 0;width:1=
00%;box-sizing:border-box;border-top:1px solid #191919;font-size:16px;line-=
height:26px"></div><div style=3D"line-height:26px;margin:28px 0;font-family=
:system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&#39;Segoe UI&#39;,Roboto,Helve=
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Subject: [Salon] Study Finds Immigration Greatly Boosts Economic Growth in
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https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/wealthy-nations-reap-huge-benefits-=
immigration-study-finds/
Wealthy nations reap huge benefits from immigration, study finds

Published by Global Banking & Finance Review
<https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/author/global-banking-and-finance-=
review/>

Posted on June 25, 2026
Quick Summary

A new study by UC Davis economist Giovanni Peri shows that wealthy OECD
nations with high immigration over the last 35 years gained significantly
in labour productivity and GDP per worker=E2=80=94by up to one third in cou=
ntries
like Spain and the UK. Further gains remain possible for countries like
Canada a
Study Finds Immigration Greatly Boosts Economic Growth in Wealthy Nations K=
ey
Findings on Immigration and Economic Growth

FRANKFURT, June 25 (Reuters) - Wealthy nations with the highest rate of
immigration over the past 35 years reaped a large economic benefit and many
could still absorb more workers, according to research to be presented at a
top European Central Bank conference next week.

Political tensions over immigration have been on the rise in recent years
as far-right, anti-immigrant parties have helped drive the issue to near
the top of the political agenda while making headway in countries including
the U.S., Germany and Britain.
Impact of Immigration on Growth and Productivity

The study, which looked at data in dozens of rich countries in the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said growth and
productivity were both likely to have been boosted sharply by the influx of
immigrants, most of whom were highly skilled, despite any political claims
to the contrary.

"Receiving countries' labour productivity grew significantly during and
after periods of higher immigration rates," said the paper, authored by
University of California, Davis professor Giovanni Peri.

"The predictive coefficients are often significant, economically large and
a significant portion of such growth in GDP per worker is realized through
strong growth in investments," the paper to be presented at the ECB Forum
on Central Banking in Sintra said.
Productivity Gains in OECD Countries

PRODUCTIVITY GAINS

The total number of immigrants arriving in OECD countries from outside the
bloc increased to about 100 million in 2024 from about 25 million in 1990,
while native population growth turned negative in many countries.

Peri and his co-authors found that an increase of immigrants equal to 1% of
a country's population is associated with an increase in growth of GDP per
worker =E2=80=94 a measure of productivity =E2=80=94 of 1.2% within five ye=
ars and 1.9%
over 10 years.

The findings are especially relevant for the European Union, where the
natural change of population has been negative since 2015 and the drop
accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Country-Specific Examples

The study concluded that as much as one third of economic growth per worker
in countries including Spain, Italy or Britain may have been generated by
immigration between 1990 and 2024.

In Spain, the share of immigrants increased by 15 percentage points of the
adult population from 1990 to 2024, a change that could result in a 28%
higher growth of GDP per worker.

Actual GDP per worker grew by about 75% in this period, suggesting that up
to one third of the increase could be associated with the inflow of
immigrants, the paper said.

In the UK, the number of immigrants as a share of the total population rose
by 10 percentage points, suggesting that immigration accounted for about
19% of GDP per person growth out of the total 60% increase, the paper said.
Long-Term Benefits and Future Potential

The benefits from immigration do not fade as inflows rise, the paper found.
The experience of Canada and Australia, which have large foreign-born
populations, suggests there is room to absorb more workers without
sacrificing the positive response of productivity and investment, it said.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
Key Takeaways

   - An influx of immigrants equivalent to 1% of a country=E2=80=99s popula=
tion
   boosts GDP per worker by about 1.2% within five years and 1.9% over ten
   years, boosting investment-led productivity. (oecd.org
   <https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/economic-impact-of-migration?utm_source=
=3Dopenai>
   )
   - Spain=E2=80=99s 15-percentage=E2=80=91point increase in immigrant shar=
e from 1990 to
   2024 could explain up to 28% of its GDP=E2=80=91per=E2=80=91worker growt=
h; in the UK, a
   10=E2=80=91point rise accounts for roughly 19%. (oecd.org
   <https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/economic-impact-of-migration?utm_source=
=3Dopenai>
   )
   - Countries with long-standing high immigrant populations like Canada
   and Australia show no saturation effect=E2=80=94there remains scope to a=
bsorb more
   immigrants without reducing productivity or investment gains. (
   propfirmscan.com
   <https://propfirmscan.com/news/ecb-forum-2026-lagarde-sets-stage-for-inn=
ovation-and-stability-discussions-in-si?utm_source=3Dopenai>
   )

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div><a href=3D"https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/we=
althy-nations-reap-huge-benefits-immigration-study-finds/">https://www.glob=
albankingandfinance.com/wealthy-nations-reap-huge-benefits-immigration-stud=
y-finds/</a></div><div>
<div class=3D"gmail-z-10 gmail-relative gmail-flex gmail-flex-col gmail-ite=
ms-start gmail-leading-tight gmail-text-black gmail-font-semibold gmail-pt-=
6"><h1 class=3D"gmail-w-full gmail-font-bold gmail-leading-tight gmail-mt-2=
 gmail-text-3xl gmail-md:text-4xl gmail-lg:text-5xl"> Wealthy nations reap =
huge benefits from immigration, study finds </h1> </div>  <div class=3D"gma=
il-flex gmail-flex-col gmail-justify-center gmail-gap-1 gmail-text-base gma=
il-font-medium gmail-w-full gmail-border-gray-400 gmail-pt-2 gmail-pb-8"> <=
p class=3D"gmail-border-b-[.1rem] gmail-pb-1">
Published by  <a href=3D"https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/author/glo=
bal-banking-and-finance-review/" class=3D"gmail-capitalize" style=3D"color:=
rgb(169,18,31)"> Global Banking &amp; Finance Review </a> </p> <div class=
=3D"gmail-flex gmail-items-center gmail-justify-between gmail-flex-wrap gma=
il-gap-3"> <div class=3D"gmail-flex gmail-items-center gmail-gap-x-3 gmail-=
gap-y-1 gmail-flex-wrap"> <p class=3D"gmail-whitespace-nowrap">Posted on Ju=
ne 25, 2026</p></div></div></div> <h2 class=3D"gmail-text-lg gmail-font-bol=
d gmail-mb-2 gmail-text-gray-800 gmail-flex gmail-items-center gmail-gap-2"=
>=20
Quick Summary
</h2> <p class=3D"gmail-text-gray-700 gmail-leading-relaxed">A new study by=
 UC Davis=20
economist Giovanni Peri shows that wealthy OECD nations with high=20
immigration over the last 35 years gained significantly in labour=20
productivity and GDP per worker=E2=80=94by up to one third in countries lik=
e=20
Spain and the UK. Further gains remain possible for countries like=20
Canada a</p>    <div class=3D"gmail-toc-container"></div>  <div class=3D"gm=
ail-post-body gmail-pt-6">   <div class=3D"gmail-html-block gmail-my-4"><h2=
>Study Finds Immigration Greatly Boosts Economic Growth in Wealthy Nations<=
/h2>
<h2>Key Findings on Immigration and Economic Growth</h2>

<p>FRANKFURT, June 25 (Reuters) - Wealthy nations with the highest rate=20
of immigration over the past 35 years reaped a large economic benefit=20
and many could still absorb more workers, according to research to be=20
presented at a top European Central Bank conference next week.</p>

<p>Political tensions over immigration have been on the rise in recent=20
years as far-right, anti-immigrant parties have helped drive the issue=20
to near the top of the political agenda while making headway in=20
countries including the U.S., Germany and Britain.</p>

<h3>Impact of Immigration on Growth and Productivity</h3>
<p>The study, which looked at data in dozens of rich countries in the=20
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said growth and=20
productivity were both likely to have been boosted sharply by the influx
 of immigrants, most of whom were highly skilled, despite any political=20
claims to the contrary. </p>
<p>&quot;Receiving countries&#39; labour productivity grew significantly du=
ring=20
and after periods of higher immigration rates,&quot; said the paper, author=
ed
 by University of California, Davis professor Giovanni Peri.</p>
<p>&quot;The predictive coefficients are often significant, economically=20
large and a significant portion of such growth in GDP per worker is=20
realized through strong growth in investments,&quot; the paper to be=20
presented at the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra said.</p>

<h4>Productivity Gains in OECD Countries</h4>
<p>PRODUCTIVITY GAINS</p><p>The total number of immigrants arriving in OECD=
 countries from=20
outside the bloc increased to about 100 million in 2024 from about 25=20
million in 1990, while native population growth turned negative in many=20
countries.</p><p>Peri
 and his co-authors found that an increase of immigrants equal to 1% of a
 country&#39;s population is associated with an increase in growth of GDP=
=20
per worker =E2=80=94 a measure of productivity =E2=80=94 of 1.2% within fiv=
e years and=20
1.9% over 10 years. </p>
<p>The findings are especially relevant for the European Union, where=20
the natural change of population has been negative since 2015 and the=20
drop accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>

<h5>Country-Specific Examples</h5>
<p>The study concluded that as much as one third of economic growth per=20
worker in countries including Spain, Italy or Britain may have been=20
generated by immigration between 1990 and 2024. </p>
<p>In Spain, the share of immigrants increased by 15 percentage points=20
of the adult population from 1990 to 2024, a change that could result in
 a 28% higher growth of GDP per worker. </p>
<p>Actual GDP per worker grew by about 75% in this period, suggesting=20
that up to one third of the increase could be associated with the inflow
 of immigrants, the paper said. </p>
<p>In the UK, the number of immigrants as a share of the total=20
population rose by 10 percentage points, suggesting that immigration=20
accounted for about 19% of GDP per person growth out of the total 60%=20
increase, the paper said.</p>

<h4>Long-Term Benefits and Future Potential</h4>
<p>The benefits from immigration do not fade as inflows rise, the paper=20
found. The experience of Canada and Australia, which have large=20
foreign-born populations, suggests there is room to absorb more workers=20
without sacrificing the positive response of productivity and=20
investment, it said.</p>

<p> (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Aidan Lewis)</p></div>   </div=
>   <h2 id=3D"gmail-key-takeaways-heading" class=3D"gmail-text-lg gmail-fon=
t-bold gmail-mb-3 gmail-text-gray-800 gmail-flex gmail-items-center gmail-g=
ap-2">=20
Key Takeaways
</h2> <ul class=3D"gmail-list-disc gmail-pl-5 gmail-space-y-1 gmail-text-gr=
ay-800 gmail-[&amp;_a]:underline gmail-[&amp;_a]:text-red-700 gmail-[&amp;_=
a]:hover:text-red-900 gmail-[&amp;_a]:break-words"><li>An
 influx of immigrants equivalent to 1% of a country=E2=80=99s population bo=
osts=20
GDP per worker by about 1.2% within five years and 1.9% over ten years,=20
boosting investment-led productivity. (<a href=3D"https://www.oecd.org/en/t=
opics/economic-impact-of-migration?utm_source=3Dopenai" target=3D"_blank" r=
el=3D"noopener noreferrer">oecd.org</a>)</li><li>Spain=E2=80=99s
 15-percentage=E2=80=91point increase in immigrant share from 1990 to 2024 =
could
 explain up to 28% of its GDP=E2=80=91per=E2=80=91worker growth; in the UK,=
 a 10=E2=80=91point=20
rise accounts for roughly 19%. (<a href=3D"https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/e=
conomic-impact-of-migration?utm_source=3Dopenai" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"n=
oopener noreferrer">oecd.org</a>)</li><li>Countries
 with long-standing high immigrant populations like Canada and Australia
 show no saturation effect=E2=80=94there remains scope to absorb more immig=
rants
 without reducing productivity or investment gains. (<a href=3D"https://pro=
pfirmscan.com/news/ecb-forum-2026-lagarde-sets-stage-for-innovation-and-sta=
bility-discussions-in-si?utm_source=3Dopenai" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noop=
ener noreferrer">propfirmscan.com</a>)</li></ul>=20

<br></div></div>

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Safety Is When There=E2=80=99s No One Dying
Mary Turfah <https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/mary-turfah/>

June 24, 2026
Israel=E2=80=99s assault on Palestine and Lebanon has reconfigured how chil=
dren
understand the world.

Abed Al Kadiri

Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al
Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative *Today I Would Like to Be a Tree*, 2026

The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children=E2=80=99s Fund is based in the Blue Buildin=
g, a
medical center across from the American University of Beirut, in the city=
=E2=80=99s
Hamra district. Many of the children whose care it sponsors have come to
Lebanon from Gaza, mostly by way of Egypt, after an intensive vetting
process involving the Israeli state and the Palestine Children=E2=80=99s Re=
lief
Fund. They require surgeries currently unavailable in Gaza, where Israel=E2=
=80=99s
genocide has obliterated large swaths of the health care sector. Some have
lost limbs; others have neurological injuries; most have lost family; all
carry the effects of the violence that has fractured their worlds.

Israel has created something unprecedented: the largest population of
traumatic pediatric amputees in modern history. (A traumatic amputation is
one caused by the force of an accident or attack=E2=80=94say, that of a bla=
st.)
These children=E2=80=99s injuries=E2=80=94physical, mental, emotional=E2=80=
=94are complex, and
require a complex response; there are many hospitals in the United States
that would be unable to tend to them. Waking up from hemorrhagic shock to
find yourself maimed, to watch your sister bleed out in front of you, to
learn your whole family is gone, to try to fathom what this means when you
cannot yet steady a pencil enough to write out your name=E2=80=94all of thi=
s takes
a psychological toll, by design. The mission of the fund is not only to
gather the necessary medical experts, both surgical and nonsurgical, but
also to ensure that the child is cared for as a whole human being, by
people with whom they feel safe.

When a person has been permanently disfigured, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah
explained to me, the goal of surgery isn=E2=80=99t to make them look how th=
ey did
before, which is often impossible, but to restore a kind of recognition=E2=
=80=94to
make them feel once again that their body belongs to them. Abu Sittah is a
plastic and reconstructive surgeon who, before 2023, was mostly based in
London, traveling to Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere to see
patients wounded in various wars. Since the start of the genocide in Gaza
he has focused his attention on treating children injured by Israeli
attacks. In 2024 he cofounded the fund in Beirut, historically a hub for
medical care in the region. With the extension of Israel=E2=80=99s ethnic c=
leansing
campaign into Lebanon, the fund has begun providing this care to Lebanese
children as well.

Two days before I sat down with Abu Sittah, I spoke to a boy from Gaza with
a spinal cord injury that had left him unable to move his legs. He was
staying with his mother in a hotel a short distance from the fund that
hosts many of the families who are in Beirut for treatment. At one point he
pulled up a photo on his phone of what looked like the inside of a tent and
a mattress covered in blood. This was where he=E2=80=99d been when the miss=
ile
struck. His mother told me that others had taken him to the morgue and
pronounced him dead. She had found him there and insisted that no, her son
was alive.

Later in our conversation the boy talked about how he had been super into
cars, fixing them, driving them, everything. He showed me a video of a boy
driving a car, shot from the passenger seat. The face on the screen was
full, looking from road to camera with a relaxed smile. I asked the boy
earnestly who that was in the video. That=E2=80=99s me, he answered, beamin=
g. I
felt uncomfortable, as if I had inadvertently pointed out how much he had
changed, and in an attempt to redirect his attention I said that I meant
who was recording and talking in the background, who had added those two
heart emojis to the corner of the frame? My friend took it, he answered,
and then: he=E2=80=99s a martyr.

Abu Sittah had just seen the boy in clinic the day before; he was happy
with how much weight he had gained. He was skin and bones when he got to
Beirut, he said. The boy was, as far as I could tell, still quite thin.
Still, the fact that he had shown me that video indicated that he was
beginning to be able to recognize himself again.

I spoke with Abu Sittah about an aspect of the conversation with the boy
and his mother that weighed on me. In an effort to begin with an open-ended
question, I had asked the mother to tell me what happened to them, how they
ended up in Beirut. She responded with her own question: =E2=80=9CWhat hasn=
=E2=80=99t
happened to us?=E2=80=9D I didn=E2=80=99t know what to say, so we waited in=
 silence until
she was ready to pick up the conversation again. At some point I asked her
if she was still in touch with family in Gaza and she responded that,
really, they had no one left.

Was Abu Sittah familiar with this kind of strained communication, I asked,
with what felt like the lack of a common scaffolding on which to build a
conversation? The architecture of their lives is totally gone, he said. In
a recent essay for* The London Review of Books*, the human rights
researcher Eyal Weizman writes about the disorientation imposed by Gaza=E2=
=80=99s
total destruction, how it leaves people with no point of reference. Weizman
quotes an Israeli bulldozer operator who says that if a Palestinian tries
to return home, they =E2=80=9Cwill be returning to nowhere=E2=80=A6. They w=
ill not know
where their home is. All they will find is sand.=E2=80=9D He then writes of=
 one
Palestinian asking another, =E2=80=9CIf we survive this war=E2=80=A6what wo=
uld be our
meeting point?=E2=80=9D

Reading the article, I recalled a family friend=E2=80=99s description of he=
r return
to southern Lebanon at the end of 2024, after the cease-fire that
wasn=E2=80=99t=E2=80=94how she arrived in Bazouriyeh, the town where she gr=
ew up, and found
that everything familiar was gone. Not just her parents=E2=80=99 house but =
the
other houses, the street signs, the shops, the trees, anything that could
tell her she was here and not there. She called out for help orienting
herself. Someone from the town whose eyes had already adjusted came to her
side and guided her.

War=E2=80=94and the influx into hospitals of casualties in different degree=
s of
extremis=E2=80=94taxes a country=E2=80=99s medical system. When patients co=
me in
unresponsive, doctors must decide at what point to give up on
resuscitation, a judgment call that is harder to make the younger the
person is. A patient with complex injuries requires consultation with
multiple surgical and nonsurgical teams, and interventions must be triaged
based on acuity, which increases the possibility of delays. This comes at a
cost to the hospital, which only has so many beds to offer to those who
need them. And it has implications for the patient, who grows more prone to
infection, delirium, and physical deterioration the longer they remain in
the hospital. Healing happens best in the outside world. But what about
when the outside world, or more specifically Israel, is hostile to the body
trying to heal?

The wars in southern Lebanon and Gaza are exceptional in the degree to
which Israel has been directly targeting medical infrastructure
<https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/03/22/the-gaza-doctrine-iran-lebanon/>=
=E2=80=94not
to strain it but to literally flatten it. In Gaza this pattern was noted
early on: Israel dropped its bombs closer and closer to medical facilities,
then switched to carrying out direct strikes with impunity. When I sent in
the first draft of this essay less than a month ago, Israel was already
bombing in the immediate vicinity of hospitals
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/03/lebanese-hospitals-hit-by-is=
raeli-forces>
in
the south. Since then the radius these attacks leave around health
facilities seems to have narrowed further, judging by the rising number of
casualties from inside medical centers, and the gravity of the damage done
to them. In one recent attack near a hospital in Lebanon, in Sur on June 1,
thirty-nine health care workers were injured
<https://www.msf.org/lebanon-testimony-injured-nurse> from the force of the
blast.

Another way to neutralize a hospital is to keep people from being able to
reach it. At the time of writing Israel has martyred 130 first responders
<https://www.moph.gov.lb/en/Media/view/85753/4/updated-total-toll-of-the-ag=
gression-4106-martyrs-and-12153-wounded#/en/Media/view/85753/updated-total-=
toll-of-the-aggression-4106-martyrs-and-12153-wounded>
in
Lebanon. They are targeted for saving lives. One medic with whom I spoke in
Nabatiyeh had lost his forefoot; the bomb landed on his dispatch facility
in the middle of the night while he and his colleagues were asleep. *We
were not even going to help anyone*, he clarified. Despite their injuries,
many paramedics who have been targeted continue to volunteer if they are
able, moved by a sense of commitment to their people and their land.

There are strains on the social infrastructure as well as the medical.
Injured children who arrive in Beirut from Gaza are accompanied by
someone=E2=80=94sometimes a parent, sometimes a more distant relative if th=
e
parents have been killed or refused exit by Israel. The caregiver has left
behind everything and everyone remaining to them in order to be here. Often
they have children who are still in Gaza, and they struggle to parent
remotely; I spoke with a social worker at the fund who told me that she and
her colleagues counsel caregivers on how to be present for their loved ones
via Facetime and Zoom.
<https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah202606_6.jpg>

Abed Al Kadiri

Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al
Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative *Today I Would Like to Be a Tree*, 2026

The children who make it to Beirut are the lucky few. When I was working on
this essay, I read <https://x.com/RepMcGovern/status/2065194675355447577> a=
bout
a boy who died of leukemia while waiting for permission to leave Gaza for
treatment, as the chemotherapy he needed was not allowed in. Anyone who has
passed their eighteenth birthday has an infinitely harder time getting
care. The boy with the damaged spinal cord told me that his mother was
helping a relative in Gaza manage a similar injury by sharing what they
were learning in Beirut; because the relative was an adult when a missile
fell on him, he was stuck.

Meeting the needs of any single person who has been severely wounded
requires reorganizing the world around them, sometimes for a short time,
sometimes for longer. Abu Sittah and I discussed the case of my cousin, on
whom he had recently performed an initial reconstructive surgery to cover
exposed skull. This intervention, this hospital stay, was the first of many
to come. Israel had bombed my cousin=E2=80=99s home and destroyed his face.=
 He had
lost his eyes. He was a medical student before, and now he was lucky to be
alive. An injury like this permanently alters not just the life of the
injured person, but those of the people who will become their caregivers.
At the hospital at least one or two members of my cousin=E2=80=99s family w=
ere at
his bedside every day, often for the entire day. Where their days were once
governed by something like the sun=E2=80=99s progression across the sky, fo=
r the
foreseeable future he would be their center.

My father, a surgeon, has traveled back and forth to Lebanon since my
cousin=E2=80=99s injury to help coordinate his nephew=E2=80=99s medical car=
e and to support
his brother and the rest of our family. He told me how a family friend
visited my cousin in the hospital and wondered aloud whether it might have
been easier if he had been martyred. I found the man=E2=80=99s statement cr=
ass, but
I have not lived as close to the possibility of earth-shattering loss as he
has. I imagine it hardens you, changes the way you measure what is
unsayable and what has to be said. Still, my father disagreed with him
about my cousin: it will be the honor of our lives, he said, to take care
of him.

Those who love the injured person will sacrifice their time. Sometimes they
sacrifice their careers or choose new paths: my cousin=E2=80=99s sister, al=
so a
medical student, recently decided to pursue ophthalmology. Among the goals
of using permanent disfigurement as a weapon of war is to induce *ihbat*, a
sort of psychological collapse, and to isolate the person from their social
world. It falls to that same world, then, to make sure there remains room
for them.

Israel=E2=80=99s assault on Palestine and Lebanon has reconfigured how our =
children
understand their lives. I interviewed a clinical psychologist who works
with many of the children treated through the fund. One day, she said, a
boy asked if she had toy soldiers, the little plastic figures. She promised
him she would get some. The following week the request had slipped her mind
but not his; he asked again, and again she promised. By the next session,
she had gotten toy soldiers in several colors. From then on, in all her
sessions, all the kids=E2=80=94boys and girls=E2=80=94reached for them. The=
 blue ones
signified the same thing to everyone. The children attacked the blue
soldiers with the red and green and brown ones, with toy dragons and trucks
and helicopters, with everything they could reach. Sometimes the kids gave
the other soldiers names and sometimes they didn=E2=80=99t; sometimes they =
made
some of the other soldiers die; always the focus was on defeating, by the
end, the blue soldiers.

Later I met with an epidemiologist based at the American University of
Beirut who studies the causes and effects of injury in Lebanon. This
includes research on things like traffic accidents, but lately much of her
work has focused on how children are processing the war. Many have faced
internal displacement due to Israel=E2=80=99s sweeping =E2=80=9Cevacuation=
=E2=80=9D orders and lost
loved ones as a result of its self-given right to bomb anyone who chooses
to stay in their home in a part of Lebanon that it seeks to control.

One of her projects explores the importance of play in helping children
make sense of their experiences. I remember a video
<https://www.instagram.com/reels/DWi6bWZiMZX/> from Gaza that shows
children lifting a doll on a makeshift stretcher, mimicking a funeral
procession. The ways children play reflect the things they know. In this
study, Lebanese children between the ages of six and eight from areas of
the country targeted by Israeli bombs were given a blank sheet of paper
with a folded, colored piece attached to represent a home; they were
encouraged to draw whatever they liked both inside and outside. Some
children drew missiles falling from the sky; others drew themselves
spending time with family in gardens overflowing with bright, thickly
scribbled color. Sometimes a single depiction of home held both idyllic and
menacing images. One child, asked why they=E2=80=99d chosen to draw themsel=
ves
playing with family, responded, =E2=80=9CWe love each other.=E2=80=9D

As part of her research, the epidemiologist had distributed disposable
cameras to children from areas affected by Israeli attacks. She sent the
cameras to two schools, one in the south and one in Beirut, with the
instruction that the children should document whatever aspects of their
lives they wanted. But she had not considered the legacy of Israel=E2=80=99=
s pager
attack, and some children refused to accept the cameras, especially when
they heard that the project was affiliated with an American university. If
they brought the devices home, in many cases their parents threw them out,
or took them apart to see what might be inside. Parents called the school,
demanding to know what they were thinking. The researcher explained to me
that she is herself from the south=E2=80=94a way of saying that she should =
have
known better. Of course people reacted like this, she said, adding that
they have every right to. She ended up redesigning the project. The older
kids took pictures of their worlds using their own phones. The younger
children were given the drawing exercise as a way into a series of
questions=E2=80=94about what family means to them, what places make them fe=
el safe,
what they do when they feel unsafe, what comes to mind when they think of
=E2=80=9Chope=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cresilience.=E2=80=9D

To the question =E2=80=9CWhat makes you scared?=E2=80=9D children said thin=
gs like, =E2=80=9CI get
scared when my dad tells me we are safe, and I know we are not safe=E2=80=
=9D
because they could hear nearby explosions or whirring drones. Most answered
the question =E2=80=9CWhat makes you feel safe?=E2=80=9D with versions of =
=E2=80=9Cbeing close to
other people.=E2=80=9D Some children defined safety in a negative sense, as=
 the
absence of violence or simply as distance from it, with statements like,
=E2=80=9Cjust when there=E2=80=99s no one dying,=E2=80=9D or when =E2=80=9C=
they are striking far away.=E2=80=9D One
child, asked who protected them, said, =E2=80=9CGod and Mom.=E2=80=9D More =
often children
responded =E2=80=9CHezbollah=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94the people, they elaborated, =
=E2=80=9Cwho defend me=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cwho
defend us.=E2=80=9D (In the manuscript, the epidemiologist translated =E2=
=80=9CHezbollah=E2=80=9D
as =E2=80=9Cthe resistance,=E2=80=9D to avoid inevitable censorship by acad=
emic journals.)
Several older children took pictures of their bedrooms, where photos of
martyrs, some famous and others ordinary, decorated their walls. To the
question =E2=80=9CWhat makes you happy?=E2=80=9D several of the younger chi=
ldren responded,
=E2=80=9Cresistance against Israel.=E2=80=9D
<https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah202606_7.jpg>

Abed Al Kadiri

Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al
Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative *Today I Would Like to Be a Tree*, 2026

The epidemiologist told me that one child used the word *baaqoon *to
describe his commitment to staying on his family=E2=80=99s land. *Baaqoon* =
means,
literally, *we are staying*. It is different from *saamidoun*, the Arabic
word for *we remain steadfast*, in that the line it draws from present to
both past and future is explicitly tied to place. The child, no more than
seven years old, she said, spoke on behalf of a =E2=80=9Cwe=E2=80=9D many t=
imes his size.
She was taken aback by the gravity of this word coming out of his mouth.
Where did he learn to speak like this=E2=80=94and to mean it?

I recently came across a video on X showing the child of a martyred
paramedic in the south of Lebanon. The boy, who looks to be about nine or
ten years old, sits on the lap of one of his father=E2=80=99s colleagues, a=
 leader
of the political group Amal, which oversees Al-Risala, one of the main
medical rescue organizations currently serving this part of the country.
The man tells the boy, =E2=80=9COne day we=E2=80=99re all going to go. You?=
 They took your
dad. And me, they took my friend.=E2=80=9D He does not have to say who =E2=
=80=9Cthey=E2=80=9D are.
The boy knows. =E2=80=9CI want to defeat=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94*bidde kassir*, l=
iterally =E2=80=9Cbreak=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94=E2=80=9Call
the Israelis,=E2=80=9D the child says. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ll continue on t=
his path,=E2=80=9D the man
responds. =E2=80=9CMe, my son was martyred, and my brother was martyred, an=
d my
uncle was martyred. We=E2=80=99re in this together [*Mitli mitlak*]. But th=
is path,
we need to continue on it [*Bidnan kamlo*].=E2=80=9D I interviewed paramedi=
cs in
the south who repeated this same phrase, have heard many men and women, in
the face of loss, speak it. The boy responds with words that belong to
someone much older: =E2=80=9CMy heart burns knowing my dad is gone [*Har2it=
 albi
inno bayyi fal*].=E2=80=9D I wonder where he learned this phrase.

While I was in Beirut another doctor told me the story of a child from Gaza
who, after coming to Lebanon, learned that a man had died a natural death.
The child did not understand. He did not know that death could come this
way. It had to be explained to him, that people die of old age. The only
cause of death the child knew was Israel. And he knew it well.
Mary Turfah <https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/mary-turfah/>

Mary Turfah is a writer and resident physician.

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail-container" style=3D"box-sizing:border-=
box;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);mar=
gin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:2032.8px;max-width:100%;font-family:&=
quot;Ivar Text&quot;;font-size:20px"><div class=3D"gmail-row" style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;max-width:1=
00%"><div class=3D"gmail-col-12" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;=
padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-width:100%"><div=
 class=3D"gmail-article-col" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padd=
ing:0px;background:transparent"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:=
0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;=
width:60vw"><img class=3D"gmail-windows_logo_fallback gmail-mt-xs-6" alt=3D=
"" src=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/themes/nyrb_2020/img/icon/NYRB=
.png" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; padding: 0px; backgroun=
d: transparent; vertical-align: middle; height: auto; width: 860.15px; marg=
in-top: 30px;"></div></div></div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-color-bloc=
k-content gmail-pt-xs-6 gmail-pb-lg-12" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bord=
er:0px;padding:30px 0px 60px;background:transparent"><div class=3D"gmail-co=
ntainer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;backgro=
und:transparent;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:2032.8px;max-width=
:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-row" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;p=
adding:0px;background:transparent;max-width:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-col-1=
2 gmail-article-col" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px =
30px;background:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-width:100%"><h1 class=3D"gma=
il-mb-xs-2" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgroun=
d:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;font-weight:500;line-height:1.2em;font-s=
ize:24pt;font-family:Giza;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Safety Is When There=
=E2=80=99s No One Dying</h1><div class=3D"gmail-author gmail-semi-bold gmai=
l-text-xs-16" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgro=
und:transparent;font-weight:600;margin:0px auto 10px;max-width:100%;width:6=
0vw;font-size:16pt;line-height:1em"><a href=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/cont=
ributors/mary-turfah/" class=3D"gmail-semi-bold gmail-text-decoration-none"=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transpare=
nt;color:rgb(153,1,1)"><span class=3D"gmail-semi-bold gmail-text-decoration=
-none" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:tra=
nsparent;color:black;text-decoration:none"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;font-weight:bolder">Mary=
 Turfah</span></span></a><p class=3D"gmail-text-label gmail-mb-xs-6 gmail-m=
b-lg-0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:tr=
ansparent;margin-top:0px;font-family:&quot;Suisse Int\000027l&quot;;font-si=
ze:12px;line-height:16px;margin-bottom:0px">June 24, 2026</p></div></div><d=
iv class=3D"gmail-col-12 gmail-article-col" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;=
border:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-width=
:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-dek gmail-mt-xs-6 gmail-mb-xs-2" style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;font-size:24p=
x;line-height:32px;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Israel=
=E2=80=99s assault on Palestine and Lebanon has reconfigured how children u=
nderstand the world.</div></div></div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-color=
-block-wrapper gmail-position-relative" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bord=
er:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent"><div class=3D"gmail-container" s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transp=
arent;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:2032.8px;max-width:100%"><di=
v class=3D"gmail-row" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px=
;background:transparent;max-width:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-col-12 gmail-co=
l-md-10 gmail-offset-md-1 gmail-mb-xs-8" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bor=
der:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;width:1644px;max-width:83.3=
333%;margin-left:164.4px;margin-bottom:40px"><img src=3D"https://www.nybook=
s.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah062026_3.jpg?w=3D1140" class=3D"gmai=
l-w-100 gmail-h-auto" alt=3D"" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px=
; padding: 0px; background: transparent; vertical-align: middle; width: 158=
4px; height: auto;"><p class=3D"gmail-color-gray gmail-mb-0 gmail-text-labe=
l-sm gmail-mt-xs-2" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;b=
ackground:transparent;color:rgb(104,104,104);font-family:&quot;Suisse Int\0=
00027l&quot;;font-size:10px;line-height:14px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:1=
0px">Abed Al Kadiri</p><p class=3D"gmail-color-gray gmail-mb-0 gmail-text-s=
mall gmail-mt-xs-1 gmail-img-caption" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border=
:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(104,104,104);font-size:16=
px;line-height:22px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:5px">Drawings on paper rol=
l by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al Kadiri=E2=80=99s initia=
tive=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgro=
und:transparent;color:black">Today I Would Like to Be a Tree</em>, 2026</p>=
</div></div></div></div><div id=3D"gmail-main-content" style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);f=
ont-family:&quot;Ivar Text&quot;;font-size:20px"></div><div class=3D"gmail-=
container" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;backg=
round:transparent;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width:2032.8px;max-wid=
th:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-row gmail-position-relative" style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;max-width:100%"=
><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:tran=
sparent"><div class=3D"gmail-share-link" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bor=
der:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent"></div></div><div class=3D"gmail=
-col-12" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;backgro=
und:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-width:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-sidebar-=
item gmail-article-sidebar" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;paddi=
ng:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60v=
w;float:none"></div><div class=3D"gmail-article-col gmail-article-main-cont=
ent gmail-paywall-article gmail-has-tombstone" style=3D"box-sizing:border-b=
ox;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent"><p style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px=
;max-width:100%;width:60vw">The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children=E2=80=99s Fund =
is based in the Blue Building, a medical center across from the American Un=
iversity of Beirut, in the city=E2=80=99s Hamra district. Many of the child=
ren whose care it sponsors have come to Lebanon from Gaza, mostly by way of=
 Egypt, after an intensive vetting process involving the Israeli state and =
the Palestine Children=E2=80=99s Relief Fund. They require surgeries curren=
tly unavailable in Gaza, where Israel=E2=80=99s genocide has obliterated la=
rge swaths of the health care sector. Some have lost limbs; others have neu=
rological injuries; most have lost family; all carry the effects of the vio=
lence that has fractured their worlds.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-wid=
th:100%;width:60vw">Israel has created something unprecedented: the largest=
 population of traumatic pediatric amputees in modern history. (A traumatic=
 amputation is one caused by the force of an accident or attack=E2=80=94say=
, that of a blast.) These children=E2=80=99s injuries=E2=80=94physical, men=
tal, emotional=E2=80=94are complex, and require a complex response; there a=
re many hospitals in the United States that would be unable to tend to them=
. Waking up from hemorrhagic shock to find yourself maimed, to watch your s=
ister bleed out in front of you, to learn your whole family is gone, to try=
 to fathom what this means when you cannot yet steady a pencil enough to wr=
ite out your name=E2=80=94all of this takes a psychological toll, by design=
. The mission of the fund is not only to gather the necessary medical exper=
ts, both surgical and nonsurgical, but also to ensure that the child is car=
ed for as a whole human being, by people with whom they feel safe.</p><p st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;=
margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">When a person has been perm=
anently disfigured, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah explained to me, the goal of sur=
gery isn=E2=80=99t to make them look how they did before, which is often im=
possible, but to restore a kind of recognition=E2=80=94to make them feel on=
ce again that their body belongs to them. Abu Sittah is a plastic and recon=
structive surgeon who, before 2023, was mostly based in London, traveling t=
o Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere to see patients wounded in=
 various wars. Since the start of the genocide in Gaza he has focused his a=
ttention on treating children injured by Israeli attacks. In 2024 he cofoun=
ded the fund in Beirut, historically a hub for medical care in the region. =
With the extension of Israel=E2=80=99s ethnic cleansing campaign into Leban=
on, the fund has begun providing this care to Lebanese children as well.</p=
><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transp=
arent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Two days before I sat=
 down with Abu Sittah, I spoke to a boy from Gaza with a spinal cord injury=
 that had left him unable to move his legs. He was staying with his mother =
in a hotel a short distance from the fund that hosts many of the families w=
ho are in Beirut for treatment. At one point he pulled up a photo on his ph=
one of what looked like the inside of a tent and a mattress covered in bloo=
d. This was where he=E2=80=99d been when the missile struck. His mother tol=
d me that others had taken him to the morgue and pronounced him dead. She h=
ad found him there and insisted that no, her son was alive.</p><p style=3D"=
box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:=
0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Later in our conversation the boy =
talked about how he had been super into cars, fixing them, driving them, ev=
erything. He showed me a video of a boy driving a car, shot from the passen=
ger seat. The face on the screen was full, looking from road to camera with=
 a relaxed smile. I asked the boy earnestly who that was in the video. That=
=E2=80=99s me, he answered, beaming. I felt uncomfortable, as if I had inad=
vertently pointed out how much he had changed, and in an attempt to redirec=
t his attention I said that I meant who was recording and talking in the ba=
ckground, who had added those two heart emojis to the corner of the frame? =
My friend took it, he answered, and then: he=E2=80=99s a martyr.</p><p styl=
e=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;ma=
rgin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Abu Sittah had just seen the =
boy in clinic the day before; he was happy with how much weight he had gain=
ed. He was skin and bones when he got to Beirut, he said. The boy was, as f=
ar as I could tell, still quite thin. Still, the fact that he had shown me =
that video indicated that he was beginning to be able to recognize himself =
again.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgrou=
nd:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">I spoke with=
 Abu Sittah about an aspect of the conversation with the boy and his mother=
 that weighed on me. In an effort to begin with an open-ended question, I h=
ad asked the mother to tell me what happened to them, how they ended up in =
Beirut. She responded with her own question: =E2=80=9CWhat hasn=E2=80=99t h=
appened to us?=E2=80=9D I didn=E2=80=99t know what to say, so we waited in =
silence until she was ready to pick up the conversation again. At some poin=
t I asked her if she was still in touch with family in Gaza and she respond=
ed that, really, they had no one left.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-wid=
th:100%;width:60vw">Was Abu Sittah familiar with this kind of strained comm=
unication, I asked, with what felt like the lack of a common scaffolding on=
 which to build a conversation? The architecture of their lives is totally =
gone, he said. In a recent essay for<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bord=
er:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">=C2=A0The London Review of Books=
</em>, the human rights researcher Eyal Weizman writes about the disorienta=
tion imposed by Gaza=E2=80=99s total destruction, how it leaves people with=
 no point of reference. Weizman quotes an Israeli bulldozer operator who sa=
ys that if a Palestinian tries to return home, they =E2=80=9Cwill be return=
ing to nowhere=E2=80=A6. They will not know where their home is. All they w=
ill find is sand.=E2=80=9D He then writes of one Palestinian asking another=
, =E2=80=9CIf we survive this war=E2=80=A6what would be our meeting point?=
=E2=80=9D</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backg=
round:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Reading t=
he article, I recalled a family friend=E2=80=99s description of her return =
to southern Lebanon at the end of 2024, after the cease-fire that wasn=E2=
=80=99t=E2=80=94how she arrived in Bazouriyeh, the town where she grew up, =
and found that everything familiar was gone. Not just her parents=E2=80=99 =
house but the other houses, the street signs, the shops, the trees, anythin=
g that could tell her she was here and not there. She called out for help o=
rienting herself. Someone from the town whose eyes had already adjusted cam=
e to her side and guided her.</p><p class=3D"gmail-has-drop-cap" style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0=
px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">War=E2=80=94and the influx into hos=
pitals of casualties in different degrees of extremis=E2=80=94taxes a count=
ry=E2=80=99s medical system. When patients come in unresponsive, doctors mu=
st decide at what point to give up on resuscitation, a judgment call that i=
s harder to make the younger the person is. A patient with complex injuries=
 requires consultation with multiple surgical and nonsurgical teams, and in=
terventions must be triaged based on acuity, which increases the possibilit=
y of delays. This comes at a cost to the hospital, which only has so many b=
eds to offer to those who need them. And it has implications for the patien=
t, who grows more prone to infection, delirium, and physical deterioration =
the longer they remain in the hospital. Healing happens best in the outside=
 world. But what about when the outside world, or more specifically Israel,=
 is hostile to the body trying to heal?</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-wi=
dth:100%;width:60vw">The wars in southern Lebanon and Gaza are exceptional =
in the degree to which Israel has been=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.nybooks.=
com/online/2026/03/22/the-gaza-doctrine-iran-lebanon/" style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)=
">directly targeting medical infrastructure</a>=E2=80=94not to strain it bu=
t to literally flatten it. In Gaza this pattern was noted early on: Israel =
dropped its bombs closer and closer to medical facilities, then switched to=
 carrying out direct strikes with impunity. When I sent in the first draft =
of this essay less than a month ago, Israel was already bombing in the=C2=
=A0<a href=3D"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/03/lebanese-hospit=
als-hit-by-israeli-forces" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;=
color:rgb(153,1,1)">immediate vicinity of hospitals</a>=C2=A0in the south. =
Since then the radius these attacks leave around health facilities seems to=
 have narrowed further, judging by the rising number of casualties from ins=
ide medical centers, and the gravity of the damage done to them. In one rec=
ent attack near a hospital in Lebanon, in Sur on June 1, thirty-nine health=
 care workers were=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.msf.org/lebanon-testimony-in=
jured-nurse" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,=
1,1)">injured</a>=C2=A0from the force of the blast.</p><p style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto=
 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Another way to neutralize a hospital is to=
 keep people from being able to reach it. At the time of writing Israel has=
 martyred=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.moph.gov.lb/en/Media/view/85753/4/upd=
ated-total-toll-of-the-aggression-4106-martyrs-and-12153-wounded#/en/Media/=
view/85753/updated-total-toll-of-the-aggression-4106-martyrs-and-12153-woun=
ded" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)">13=
0 first responders</a>=C2=A0in Lebanon. They are targeted for saving lives.=
 One medic with whom I spoke in Nabatiyeh had lost his forefoot; the bomb l=
anded on his dispatch facility in the middle of the night while he and his =
colleagues were asleep.=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;=
padding:0px;background:transparent">We were not even going to help anyone</=
em>, he clarified. Despite their injuries, many paramedics who have been ta=
rgeted continue to volunteer if they are able, moved by a sense of commitme=
nt to their people and their land.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bor=
der:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:1=
00%;width:60vw">There are strains on the social infrastructure as well as t=
he medical. Injured children who arrive in Beirut from Gaza are accompanied=
 by someone=E2=80=94sometimes a parent, sometimes a more distant relative i=
f the parents have been killed or refused exit by Israel. The caregiver has=
 left behind everything and everyone remaining to them in order to be here.=
 Often they have children who are still in Gaza, and they struggle to paren=
t remotely; I spoke with a social worker at the fund who told me that she a=
nd her colleagues counsel caregivers on how to be present for their loved o=
nes via Facetime and Zoom.</p><div class=3D"gmail-image-caption-wrapper" st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;=
display:table;margin:0px auto;width:1593.99px"><a href=3D"https://www.nyboo=
ks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah202606_6.jpg" class=3D"gmail-d-bloc=
k" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transpa=
rent;color:rgb(153,1,1);display:block"><img src=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/=
wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah202606_6.jpg?w=3D1150" alt=3D"" style=3D"b=
ox-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; padding: 0px; background: transparent; =
vertical-align: middle; height: auto; width: 1593.99px; max-height: 100%; c=
olor: black;"></a><p class=3D"gmail-text-label-sm gmail-mb-xs-1 gmail-color=
-gray gmail-text-center" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:=
0px;background:transparent;margin-top:0px;font-family:&quot;Suisse Int\0000=
27l&quot;;font-size:10px;line-height:14px;margin-bottom:5px">Abed Al Kadiri=
</p><p class=3D"gmail-text-xs gmail-color-gray gmail-text-center gmail-mb-0=
" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transpar=
ent;margin-top:0px;line-height:20px;margin-bottom:0px">Drawings on paper ro=
ll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al Kadiri=E2=80=99s initi=
ative=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgr=
ound:transparent;color:black">Today I Would Like to Be a Tree</em>, 2026</p=
></div><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:=
transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">The children wh=
o make it to Beirut are the lucky few. When I was working on this essay, I=
=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://x.com/RepMcGovern/status/2065194675355447577" targ=
et=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bo=
rder:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)">read</a>=C2=
=A0about a boy who died of leukemia while waiting for permission to leave G=
aza for treatment, as the chemotherapy he needed was not allowed in. Anyone=
 who has passed their eighteenth birthday has an infinitely harder time get=
ting care. The boy with the damaged spinal cord told me that his mother was=
 helping a relative in Gaza manage a similar injury by sharing what they we=
re learning in Beirut; because the relative was an adult when a missile fel=
l on him, he was stuck.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;pad=
ding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:6=
0vw">Meeting the needs of any single person who has been severely wounded r=
equires reorganizing the world around them, sometimes for a short time, som=
etimes for longer. Abu Sittah and I discussed the case of my cousin, on who=
m he had recently performed an initial reconstructive surgery to cover expo=
sed skull. This intervention, this hospital stay, was the first of many to =
come. Israel had bombed my cousin=E2=80=99s home and destroyed his face. He=
 had lost his eyes. He was a medical student before, and now he was lucky t=
o be alive. An injury like this permanently alters not just the life of the=
 injured person, but those of the people who will become their caregivers. =
At the hospital at least one or two members of my cousin=E2=80=99s family w=
ere at his bedside every day, often for the entire day. Where their days we=
re once governed by something like the sun=E2=80=99s progression across the=
 sky, for the foreseeable future he would be their center.</p><p style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0=
px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">My father, a surgeon, has traveled =
back and forth to Lebanon since my cousin=E2=80=99s injury to help coordina=
te his nephew=E2=80=99s medical care and to support his brother and the res=
t of our family. He told me how a family friend visited my cousin in the ho=
spital and wondered aloud whether it might have been easier if he had been =
martyred. I found the man=E2=80=99s statement crass, but I have not lived a=
s close to the possibility of earth-shattering loss as he has. I imagine it=
 hardens you, changes the way you measure what is unsayable and what has to=
 be said. Still, my father disagreed with him about my cousin: it will be t=
he honor of our lives, he said, to take care of him.</p><p style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px aut=
o 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Those who love the injured person will sa=
crifice their time. Sometimes they sacrifice their careers or choose new pa=
ths: my cousin=E2=80=99s sister, also a medical student, recently decided t=
o pursue ophthalmology. Among the goals of using permanent disfigurement as=
 a weapon of war is to induce=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;borde=
r:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">ihbat</em>, a sort of psychologic=
al collapse, and to isolate the person from their social world. It falls to=
 that same world, then, to make sure there remains room for them.</p><p cla=
ss=3D"gmail-has-drop-cap" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding=
:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw"=
>Israel=E2=80=99s assault on Palestine and Lebanon has reconfigured how our=
 children understand their lives. I interviewed a clinical psychologist who=
 works with many of the children treated through the fund. One day, she sai=
d, a boy asked if she had toy soldiers, the little plastic figures. She pro=
mised him she would get some. The following week the request had slipped he=
r mind but not his; he asked again, and again she promised. By the next ses=
sion, she had gotten toy soldiers in several colors. From then on, in all h=
er sessions, all the kids=E2=80=94boys and girls=E2=80=94reached for them. =
The blue ones signified the same thing to everyone. The children attacked t=
he blue soldiers with the red and green and brown ones, with toy dragons an=
d trucks and helicopters, with everything they could reach. Sometimes the k=
ids gave the other soldiers names and sometimes they didn=E2=80=99t; someti=
mes they made some of the other soldiers die; always the focus was on defea=
ting, by the end, the blue soldiers.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;b=
order:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width=
:100%;width:60vw">Later I met with an epidemiologist based at the American =
University of Beirut who studies the causes and effects of injury in Lebano=
n. This includes research on things like traffic accidents, but lately much=
 of her work has focused on how children are processing the war. Many have =
faced internal displacement due to Israel=E2=80=99s sweeping =E2=80=9Cevacu=
ation=E2=80=9D orders and lost loved ones as a result of its self-given rig=
ht to bomb anyone who chooses to stay in their home in a part of Lebanon th=
at it seeks to control.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;pad=
ding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:6=
0vw">One of her projects explores the importance of play in helping childre=
n make sense of their experiences. I remember a=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www=
.instagram.com/reels/DWi6bWZiMZX/" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"noopener norefe=
rrer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:tran=
sparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)">video</a>=C2=A0from Gaza that shows children li=
fting a doll on a makeshift stretcher, mimicking a funeral procession. The =
ways children play reflect the things they know. In this study, Lebanese ch=
ildren between the ages of six and eight from areas of the country targeted=
 by Israeli bombs were given a blank sheet of paper with a folded, colored =
piece attached to represent a home; they were encouraged to draw whatever t=
hey liked both inside and outside. Some children drew missiles falling from=
 the sky; others drew themselves spending time with family in gardens overf=
lowing with bright, thickly scribbled color. Sometimes a single depiction o=
f home held both idyllic and menacing images. One child, asked why they=E2=
=80=99d chosen to draw themselves playing with family, responded, =E2=80=9C=
We love each other.=E2=80=9D</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0p=
x;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;wi=
dth:60vw">As part of her research, the epidemiologist had distributed dispo=
sable cameras to children from areas affected by Israeli attacks. She sent =
the cameras to two schools, one in the south and one in Beirut, with the in=
struction that the children should document whatever aspects of their lives=
 they wanted. But she had not considered the legacy of Israel=E2=80=99s pag=
er attack, and some children refused to accept the cameras, especially when=
 they heard that the project was affiliated with an American university. If=
 they brought the devices home, in many cases their parents threw them out,=
 or took them apart to see what might be inside. Parents called the school,=
 demanding to know what they were thinking. The researcher explained to me =
that she is herself from the south=E2=80=94a way of saying that she should =
have known better. Of course people reacted like this, she said, adding tha=
t they have every right to. She ended up redesigning the project. The older=
 kids took pictures of their worlds using their own phones. The younger chi=
ldren were given the drawing exercise as a way into a series of questions=
=E2=80=94about what family means to them, what places make them feel safe, =
what they do when they feel unsafe, what comes to mind when they think of =
=E2=80=9Chope=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cresilience.=E2=80=9D</p><p style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px =
auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">To the question =E2=80=9CWhat makes yo=
u scared?=E2=80=9D children said things like, =E2=80=9CI get scared when my=
 dad tells me we are safe, and I know we are not safe=E2=80=9D because they=
 could hear nearby explosions or whirring drones. Most answered the questio=
n =E2=80=9CWhat makes you feel safe?=E2=80=9D with versions of =E2=80=9Cbei=
ng close to other people.=E2=80=9D Some children defined safety in a negati=
ve sense, as the absence of violence or simply as distance from it, with st=
atements like, =E2=80=9Cjust when there=E2=80=99s no one dying,=E2=80=9D or=
 when =E2=80=9Cthey are striking far away.=E2=80=9D One child, asked who pr=
otected them, said, =E2=80=9CGod and Mom.=E2=80=9D More often children resp=
onded =E2=80=9CHezbollah=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94the people, they elaborated, =E2=
=80=9Cwho defend me=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cwho defend us.=E2=80=9D (In the ma=
nuscript, the epidemiologist translated =E2=80=9CHezbollah=E2=80=9D as =E2=
=80=9Cthe resistance,=E2=80=9D to avoid inevitable censorship by academic j=
ournals.) Several older children took pictures of their bedrooms, where pho=
tos of martyrs, some famous and others ordinary, decorated their walls. To =
the question =E2=80=9CWhat makes you happy?=E2=80=9D several of the younger=
 children responded, =E2=80=9Cresistance against Israel.=E2=80=9D</p><div c=
lass=3D"gmail-image-caption-wrapper" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:=
0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;display:table;margin:0px auto;width:=
1593.99px"><a href=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Tu=
rfah202606_7.jpg" class=3D"gmail-d-block" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bo=
rder:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1);display:bloc=
k"><img src=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah202=
606_7.jpg?w=3D1150" alt=3D"" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; =
padding: 0px; background: transparent; vertical-align: middle; height: auto=
; width: 1593.99px; max-height: 100%; color: black;"></a><p class=3D"gmail-=
text-label-sm gmail-mb-xs-1 gmail-color-gray gmail-text-center" style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin-to=
p:0px;font-family:&quot;Suisse Int\000027l&quot;;font-size:10px;line-height=
:14px;margin-bottom:5px">Abed Al Kadiri</p><p class=3D"gmail-text-xs gmail-=
color-gray gmail-text-center gmail-mb-0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bor=
der:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin-top:0px;line-height:20px;=
margin-bottom:0px">Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon,=
 part of Abed Al Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:black">Today =
I Would Like to Be a Tree</em>, 2026</p></div><p style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max=
-width:100%;width:60vw">The epidemiologist told me that one child used the =
word=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgro=
und:transparent">baaqoon=C2=A0</em>to describe his commitment to staying on=
 his family=E2=80=99s land.=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:=
0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">Baaqoon</em>=C2=A0means, literally,=
=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:=
transparent">we are staying</em>. It is different from=C2=A0<em style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">saamidou=
n</em>, the Arabic word for=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:=
0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">we remain steadfast</em>, in that t=
he line it draws from present to both past and future is explicitly tied to=
 place. The child, no more than seven years old, she said, spoke on behalf =
of a =E2=80=9Cwe=E2=80=9D many times his size. She was taken aback by the g=
ravity of this word coming out of his mouth. Where did he learn to speak li=
ke this=E2=80=94and to mean it?</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border=
:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%=
;width:60vw">I recently came across a video on X showing the child of a mar=
tyred paramedic in the south of Lebanon. The boy, who looks to be about nin=
e or ten years old, sits on the lap of one of his father=E2=80=99s colleagu=
es, a leader of the political group Amal, which oversees Al-Risala, one of =
the main medical rescue organizations currently serving this part of the co=
untry. The man tells the boy, =E2=80=9COne day we=E2=80=99re all going to g=
o. You? They took your dad. And me, they took my friend.=E2=80=9D He does n=
ot have to say who =E2=80=9Cthey=E2=80=9D are. The boy knows. =E2=80=9CI wa=
nt to defeat=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px=
;padding:0px;background:transparent">bidde kassir</em>, literally =E2=80=9C=
break=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94=E2=80=9Call the Israelis,=E2=80=9D the child says. =
=E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ll continue on this path,=E2=80=9D the man responds. =
=E2=80=9CMe, my son was martyred, and my brother was martyred, and my uncle=
 was martyred. We=E2=80=99re in this together [<em style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">Mitli mitlak</em>]. B=
ut this path, we need to continue on it [<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">Bidnan kamlo</em>].=E2=80=
=9D I interviewed paramedics in the south who repeated this same phrase, ha=
ve heard many men and women, in the face of loss, speak it. The boy respond=
s with words that belong to someone much older: =E2=80=9CMy heart burns kno=
wing my dad is gone [<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:=
0px;background:transparent">Har2it albi inno bayyi fal</em>].=E2=80=9D I wo=
nder where he learned this phrase.</p><p class=3D"gmail-tombstone" style=3D=
"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin=
:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">While I was in Beirut another doc=
tor told me the story of a child from Gaza who, after coming to Lebanon, le=
arned that a man had died a natural death. The child did not understand. He=
 did not know that death could come this way. It had to be explained to him=
, that people die of old age. The only cause of death the child knew was Is=
rael. And he knew it well.</p></div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-row" st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;=
max-width:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-col-12" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;=
border:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-width=
:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-article-bottom gmail-article-col gmail-mb-xs-6" =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparen=
t;margin-bottom:30px"></div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-row" style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;max-widt=
h:100%"><div class=3D"gmail-col-12" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0=
px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-width:100%"><=
div class=3D"gmail-article-col" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;p=
adding:0px;background:transparent"><div class=3D"gmail-mb-xs-12" style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0=
px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw"><div class=3D"gmail-author-block gm=
ail-bg-ny-red gmail-pt-xs-3 gmail-pl-xs-3 gmail-pr-xs-3 gmail-pt-lg-6 gmail=
-pl-lg-6 gmail-pr-lg-6 gmail-mb-xs-6" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border=
:0px;padding:30px 30px 0px;background:rgb(153,1,1);margin-bottom:30px"><div=
 class=3D"gmail-d-flex" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0=
px;background:transparent;display:flex"><div class=3D"gmail-author-info gma=
il-wrapped-link-yellow" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0=
px;background:transparent"><a href=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/=
mary-turfah/" class=3D"gmail-d-inline-block gmail-hover-border-yellow gmail=
-text-decoration-none gmail-text-xs-22 gmail-font-giza gmail-mb-xs-2" style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;col=
or:rgb(153,1,1);font-family:Giza-Light;letter-spacing:0.3px;display:inline-=
block;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:22px;line-height:26px"><span style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:bla=
ck">Mary Turfah</span></a><p class=3D"gmail-text-xs-16 gmail-mb-xs-4 gmail-=
color-white" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgrou=
nd:transparent;color:rgb(255,255,255);margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;fon=
t-size:16px;line-height:22px">Mary Turfah is a writer and resident physicia=
n.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>

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Subject: [Salon] IRGC Navy Rejects Oman's Safe-Passage Plan for Strait of
 Hormuz (6/24/26)
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*https://maritime-executive.com/article/irgc-navy-rejects-imo-s-safe-passag=
e-plan-for-strait-of-hormuz?utm_source=3Dmail_from_06/25/2026&utm_medium=3D=
email&utm_term=3Dcarmengrayson@gmail.com&utm_campaign=3D2026-06-25%20-%20IR=
GC%20Navy%20Rejects%20Oman%27s%20Safe%20Passage%20Route%20for%20Hormuz,%20G=
ermany%20Scraps%20F126%20Frigate%20Program
<https://maritime-executive.com/article/irgc-navy-rejects-imo-s-safe-passag=
e-plan-for-strait-of-hormuz?utm_source=3Dmail_from_06/25/2026&utm_medium=3D=
email&utm_term=3Dcarmengrayson@gmail.com&utm_campaign=3D2026-06-25%20-%20IR=
GC%20Navy%20Rejects%20Oman%27s%20Safe%20Passage%20Route%20for%20Hormuz,%20G=
ermany%20Scraps%20F126%20Frigate%20Program>*

*IRGC Navy Rejects Oman's Safe-Passage Plan for Strait of Hormuz*[image:
IRGC Navy personnel on a minelaying boat (IRGC file image)]*IRGC Navy
personnel on a minelaying boat (IRGC file image)*

*Published Jun 24, 2026 10:41 PM by The Maritime Executive
<https://maritime-executive.com/author/marex>*

*In a brief message released Wednesday night, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps Navy said that it rejects the newly-announced Omani safe
transit route through the southern half of the Strait of Hormuz. The route
is one of two options offered by the IMO's safe transit plan for Hormuz
exits. *

*"The proposed route is unacceptable and poses serious safety risks," the
IRGC Navy said in a brief statement. In the context of recent Iranian
attacks on shipping, the "safety" warning carries the weight of a credible
threat. *

*The IMO/Omani route to the south of the TSS, near the Musandam Peninsula
(Sultanate of Oman)*

*The IRGC Navy route to the north of the TSS, near Qeshm (IRIB)*

*The IRGC Navy is in charge of administering on-the-ground operations of
Iran's preferred route through the Strait of Hormuz, which runs on the
north side of the waterway past Qeshm Island (above). Iran previously
sought to charge fees for the use of this route, and - before the recent
U.S.-Iran ceasefire MOU - it routinely attacked ships that attempted to
bypass its "authority" by using the southern stretch of the strait. It
still has long-term plans to administer traffic in the strait, in
conjunction with Omani authorities, with the intention of implementing a
fee structure for as-yet-unspecified maritime services. *

*The IRGC Navy's new threat comes amidst a significant uptick in shipping
volume through the strait. On Tuesday, about 30 ships made the passage,
including the first few transits on the new IMO/Omani route. The Omani
passage consists of a designated waiting area inside the Gulf and six
waypoints around the Musandam Peninsula, keeping ships just south of the
original Traffic Separation Scheme, which is believed to be mined. *

*The route is contained within Omani waters and jointly coordinated between
the Sultanate of Oman and the IMO. From start to finish, it is a short 4-5
hour voyage - but a nerve-wracking one for seafarers, given the 11 mariner
deaths that have occurred to date in the conflict. *

--000000000000b1738a065514f896
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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr"><b style=3D"background-color:transparent"><fo=
nt face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"https://maritime-executive.com/articl=
e/irgc-navy-rejects-imo-s-safe-passage-plan-for-strait-of-hormuz?utm_source=
=3Dmail_from_06/25/2026&amp;utm_medium=3Demail&amp;utm_term=3Dcarmengrayson=
@gmail.com&amp;utm_campaign=3D2026-06-25%20-%20IRGC%20Navy%20Rejects%20Oman=
%27s%20Safe%20Passage%20Route%20for%20Hormuz,%20Germany%20Scraps%20F126%20F=
rigate%20Program" target=3D"_blank">https://maritime-executive.com/article/=
irgc-navy-rejects-imo-s-safe-passage-plan-for-strait-of-hormuz?utm_source=
=3Dmail_from_06/25/2026&amp;utm_medium=3Demail&amp;utm_term=3Dcarmengrayson=
@gmail.com&amp;utm_campaign=3D2026-06-25%20-%20IRGC%20Navy%20Rejects%20Oman=
%27s%20Safe%20Passage%20Route%20for%20Hormuz,%20Germany%20Scraps%20F126%20F=
rigate%20Program</a></font></b></div><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div=
><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><br></font></b></div><div><h1 style=3D"li=
ne-height:1.2141em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;max-width:100%;color:=
rgb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4"><i>IRGC Navy Reject=
s Oman&#39;s Safe-Passage Plan for Strait of Hormuz</i></font></h1><img src=
=3D"https://maritime-executive.com/media/images/article/IRGC-mine-warfare-b=
oat-Fars-News.371393.jpg" alt=3D"IRGC Navy personnel on a minelaying boat (=
IRGC file image)" width=3D"412" height=3D"231" style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 0.=
5em auto;display:block"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">IRGC Navy personne=
l on a minelaying boat (IRGC file image)</font></b><p style=3D"max-width:10=
0%;margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.4em"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">P=
ublished Jun 24, 2026 10:41 PM by<span>=C2=A0</span><span style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%"><a href=3D"https://maritime-executive.com/author/marex" style=3D"te=
xt-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">=
The Maritime Executive<span>=C2=A0</span></a></span></font></b></p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">In=
 a brief message released Wednesday night, Iran&#39;s Islamic Revolutionary=
 Guard Corps Navy said that it rejects the newly-announced Omani safe trans=
it route through the southern half of the Strait of Hormuz. The route is on=
e of two options offered by the IMO&#39;s safe transit plan for Hormuz exit=
s.=C2=A0</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><=
font face=3D"georgia, serif">&quot;The proposed route is unacceptable and p=
oses serious safety risks,&quot; the IRGC Navy said in a brief statement. I=
n the context of recent Iranian attacks on shipping, the &quot;safety&quot;=
 warning carries the weight of a credible threat.=C2=A0</font></b></p><p st=
yle=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><img alt=3D"" src=3D"https://mar=
itime-executive.com/media/images/article/Photos/Charts_Graphs/Oman---IMO-Ho=
rmuz-shipping-route-Sultanate-of-Oman.jpg" style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 0.5em =
auto;display:block" width=3D"412" height=3D"220"></p><p style=3D"max-width:=
100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><em style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font face=3D"geo=
rgia, serif">The IMO/Omani route to the south of the TSS, near the Musandam=
 Peninsula (Sultanate of Oman)</font></b></em></p><p style=3D"max-width:100=
%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><img alt=3D"" src=3D"https://maritime-executive.com/=
media/images/article/IRGC-traffic-warning-2-high-res.030572.jpg" style=3D"m=
argin:0.5em 0px 0.5em auto;display:block" width=3D"412" height=3D"231"></p>=
<p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><em style=3D"max-width:100%=
"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">The IRGC Navy route to the north of the =
TSS, near Qeshm (IRIB)</font></b></em></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:=
rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">The IRGC Navy is in charge =
of administering on-the-ground operations of Iran&#39;s preferred route thr=
ough the Strait of Hormuz, which runs on the north side of the waterway pas=
t Qeshm Island (above). Iran previously sought to charge fees for the use o=
f this route, and - before the recent U.S.-Iran ceasefire MOU - it routinel=
y attacked ships that attempted to bypass its &quot;authority&quot; by usin=
g the southern stretch of the strait. It still has long-term plans to admin=
ister traffic in the strait, in conjunction with Omani authorities, with th=
e intention of implementing a fee structure for as-yet-unspecified maritime=
 services.=C2=A0</font></b></p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img src=3D"ht=
tps://maritime-executive.com/images/quick-sub-header.png" alt=3D"" style=3D=
"margin:0.5em 0px 0.5em auto;display:block" width=3D"164" height=3D"36"></d=
iv><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia=
, serif">The IRGC Navy&#39;s new threat comes amidst a significant uptick i=
n shipping volume through the strait. On Tuesday, about 30 ships made the p=
assage, including the first few transits on the new IMO/Omani route. The Om=
ani passage consists of a designated waiting area inside the Gulf and six w=
aypoints around the Musandam Peninsula, keeping ships just south of the ori=
ginal Traffic Separation Scheme, which is believed to be mined.=C2=A0</font=
></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"g=
eorgia, serif">The route is contained within Omani waters and jointly coord=
inated between the Sultanate of Oman and the IMO. From start to finish, it =
is a short 4-5 hour voyage - but a nerve-wracking one for seafarers, given =
the 11 mariner deaths that have occurred to date in the conflict.=C2=A0</fo=
nt></b></p></div></div>
</div>
</div></div>

--000000000000b1738a065514f896--

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Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:43:34 -0400
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Subject: [Salon] One third of young people in the USA live with their
 families. . . due to the sharp increase in housing and rent prices and
 reached a record level
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*https://harici.com.tr/abdde-genclerin-ucte-biri-ailesinin-yaninda-yasiyor/
<https://harici.com.tr/abdde-genclerin-ucte-biri-ailesinin-yaninda-yasiyor/=
>*

*One third of young people in the USA live with their families*
*Harici.com.tr <https://harici.com.tr/author/hariciadmin/>
<https://x.com/haricitr>25.06.2026 15:06Author*
*The rate of young people under the age of 35 living with their families in
the USA rose again due to the sharp increase in housing and rent prices and
reached a record level.According to Realtor.com
<http://realtor.com/>analysis, the main reason for this situation is not
employment problems, but as the housing accessibility crisis and
accumulated student debts.*

*The rate of young adults under the age of 35 living with their families in
the USA has reached a record level. The new analysis
<https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/young-adults-living-with-parents-emplo=
yed-housing-costs/>by
Realtor.com
<http://realtor.com/>revealed that in 2025, about one in three young
people, a record number of 25.2 million people, lived in the family home.*

*The rate of living with their families of young people between the ages of
18 and 34, which showed a slight decrease after the peak during the
pandemic period, climbed to 33 percent again.*

*This rate marks an increase of 6 percentiles in the last twenty years.*

*According to the report, it seems that the main factor behind this trend
is not employment problems. About 70 percent of young people in the 25 to
34 age group living with their families have a job, and this rate has been
relatively stable for the last 25 years.*

*Realtor.com  <http://realtor.com/>Senior Economist Hannah Jones said this
situation was =E2=80=9Cmost likely primarily due to the housing accessibili=
ty
crisis.=E2=80=9D*

*There have been significant increases in housing costs in recent years. In
2025, the average price of housing for sale in the USA increased by 34
percent compared to 2019 and reached 430 thousand dollars. The average
requested rent increased by approximately 18 percent to 1673 dollars.*

*Realtor.com  <http://realtor.com/>estimates that there is a housing
deficit of about 4 million in the market, which limits the realistic
options for many young adults to establish independent households.*

*It is considered that the increase in university attendance rates in the
last 25 years may also play a role in this picture. =E2=80=9CStudent debts =
that are
becoming more common may be limiting the opportunities that an entry-level
salary can buy for an independent life,=E2=80=9D Jones said.*

*Almost half (49 percent) of the age of university graduates who have
historically entered the rental market continue to stay at home. This rate
was 46 percent before the pandemic.*

*However, this trend is not limited to those who are new to adulthood. The
rate of those who live with their families among those in the 30 to 34 age
group increased to about 13 percent in 2025.*

*This rate corresponds to almost twice the level in 2000.*

*Realtor.com  <http://realtor.com/>bases the increase in the rate of adults
living with their families on two distinct periods: the Great Recession and
the Covid-19 pandemic. Both periods led to economic disruptions that made
it difficult for the younger generations to live independently.*

*"Every adult who continues to stay in a childhood room means an
unestablished household, an unsigned lease and an unbought first home,"
Jones said.*

--00000000000031df020655150524
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr"><b style=3D"background-color:transparent"><fo=
nt face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"https://harici.com.tr/abdde-genclerin=
-ucte-biri-ailesinin-yaninda-yasiyor/" target=3D"_blank">https://harici.com=
.tr/abdde-genclerin-ucte-biri-ailesinin-yaninda-yasiyor/</a></font></b></di=
v><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><=
br></font></b></div><div><h1 style=3D"line-height:1.2141em;margin-top:0px;m=
argin-bottom:0.5em;max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgi=
a, serif" size=3D"4"><i>One third of young people in the USA live with thei=
r families</i></font></h1><div style=3D"margin-bottom:1.45em;max-width:100%=
;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><div style=3D"margin=
:0px;max-width:100%;clear:both;display:inline"><span style=3D"margin:0px;ma=
x-width:100%"><a href=3D"https://harici.com.tr/author/hariciadmin/" rel=3D"=
author" style=3D"text-decoration:none;margin:0px;color:rgb(27,27,27);max-wi=
dth:100%;display:inline" target=3D"_blank">Harici.com.tr</a></span><span>=
=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://x.com/haricitr" style=3D"text-decoration:no=
ne;margin:0px;color:rgb(27,27,27);max-width:100%;display:inline" target=3D"=
_blank"><span style=3D"margin:0px;max-width:100%"><span style=3D"margin:0px=
;max-width:100%"></span></span></a></div><span style=3D"margin:0.07em 0.45e=
m 0px;padding:0px;max-width:100%;display:inline"></span>25.06.2026 15:06Aut=
hor</font></b></div><div style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-bottom:1.15em;line-=
height:1.5em;color:rgba(0,0,0,0.65)"><img src=3D"https://harici.com.tr/wp-c=
ontent/uploads/2026/06/5200-scaled.jpeg" alt=3D"" style=3D"margin:auto 0px =
auto auto;display:block;clear:both" width=3D"412" height=3D"247"></div><h5 =
style=3D"margin:1em 0px;max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><strong style=
=3D"max-width:100%"><font size=3D"2" face=3D"georgia, serif">The rate of yo=
ung people under the age of 35 living with their families in the USA rose a=
gain due to the sharp increase in housing and rent prices and reached a rec=
ord level.According to<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"http://realtor.com/" st=
yle=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D=
"_blank">Realtor.com<span>=C2=A0</span></a>analysis, the main reason for th=
is situation is not employment problems, but as the housing accessibility c=
risis and accumulated student debts.</font></strong></h5><p style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">The rate of =
young adults under the age of 35 living with their families in the USA has =
reached a record level.<span>=C2=A0</span>The new<span>=C2=A0</span><span s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%"><a href=3D"https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/youn=
g-adults-living-with-parents-employed-housing-costs/" style=3D"text-decorat=
ion:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">analysis<s=
pan>=C2=A0</span></a></span>by<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"http://realtor.=
com/" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" t=
arget=3D"_blank">Realtor.com<span>=C2=A0</span></a>revealed that in 2025, a=
bout one in three young people, a record number of 25.2 million people, liv=
ed in the family home.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(2=
7,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">The rate of living with their fa=
milies of young people between the ages of 18 and 34, which showed a slight=
 decrease after the peak during the pandemic period, climbed to 33 percent =
again.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><fo=
nt face=3D"georgia, serif">This rate marks an increase of 6 percentiles in =
the last twenty years.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(2=
7,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">According to the report, it seem=
s that the main factor behind this trend is not employment problems. About =
70 percent of young people in the 25 to 34 age group living with their fami=
lies have a job, and this rate has been relatively stable for the last 25 y=
ears.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><fon=
t face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"http://realtor.com/" style=3D"text-dec=
oration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">Realto=
r.com<span>=C2=A0</span></a>Senior Economist Hannah Jones said this situati=
on was =E2=80=9Cmost likely primarily due to the housing accessibility cris=
is.=E2=80=9D</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)">=
<b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">There have been significant increases in h=
ousing costs in recent years. In 2025, the average price of housing for sal=
e in the USA increased by 34 percent compared to 2019 and reached 430 thous=
and dollars. The average requested rent increased by approximately 18 perce=
nt to 1673 dollars.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,2=
7,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"http://realtor.com/" sty=
le=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"=
_blank">Realtor.com<span>=C2=A0</span></a>estimates that there is a housing=
 deficit of about 4 million in the market, which limits the realistic optio=
ns for many young adults to establish independent households.</font></b></p=
><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, =
serif">It is considered that the increase in university attendance rates in=
 the last 25 years may also play a role in this picture. =E2=80=9CStudent d=
ebts that are becoming more common may be limiting the opportunities that a=
n entry-level salary can buy for an independent life,=E2=80=9D Jones said.<=
/font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=
=3D"georgia, serif">Almost half (49 percent) of the age of university gradu=
ates who have historically entered the rental market continue to stay at ho=
me. This rate was 46 percent before the pandemic.</font></b></p><p style=3D=
"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">Howev=
er, this trend is not limited to those who are new to adulthood. The rate o=
f those who live with their families among those in the 30 to 34 age group =
increased to about 13 percent in 2025.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:=
100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">This rate corres=
ponds to almost twice the level in 2000.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"htt=
p://realtor.com/" style=3D"text-decoration:none;color:rgb(65,110,210);max-w=
idth:100%" target=3D"_blank">Realtor.com<span>=C2=A0</span></a>bases the in=
crease in the rate of adults living with their families on two distinct per=
iods: the Great Recession and the Covid-19 pandemic. Both periods led to ec=
onomic disruptions that made it difficult for the younger generations to li=
ve independently.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,=
27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">&quot;Every adult who continues to st=
ay in a childhood room means an unestablished household, an unsigned lease =
and an unbought first home,&quot; Jones said.</font></b></p></div></div>
</div>
</div></div>

--00000000000031df020655150524--

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Subject: [Salon] China Is Pulling Up the Ladder Behind It
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China Is Pulling Up the Ladder Behind ItHow Beijing=E2=80=99s Export Strate=
gy Will
Keep Poor Countries PoorShoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind SubramanianJune 18,
2026
[image:
2026-06-13T064341Z_1843333290_RC2RSLAXA0UL_RTRMADP_3_CHINA-RENEWABLES.JPG]A=
t
a truck factory in Baotou, China, June 2026Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

SHOUMITRO CHATTERJEE is Assistant Professor of International Economics at
the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a
Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for
International Economics. From 2014 to 2018, he served as Chief Economic
Adviser to the Government of India. He is a co-author, with Devesh Kapur,
of *A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India=E2=80=99s Development Odyssey*
<https://www.amazon.com/Sixth-Humanity-Independent-Development-Odyssey/dp/0=
197837255/ref=3Dtmm_hrd_swatch_0>
*.*

   - More by Shoumitro Chatterjee
   <https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/shoumitro-chatterjee>
   - More by Arvind Subramanian
   <https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/arvind-subramanian>

China is increasingly embracing the mantle that comes with being a global
superpower. Its rise is forcing the rest of the world to assess its
credentials as a potential hegemon and a provider of public goods. And in
one significant area, its strength may be a real weakness. Many poorer
countries fear that China=E2=80=99s economic rise will not leave room for t=
hem to
industrialize. Unlike the United States and European countries, which in
the past helped facilitate the industrialization of poorer countries
(including China), Beijing is currently on track to have the opposite
effect.

China <https://www.foreignaffairs.com/regions/china> is not merely climbing
the technological ladder; it is pulling up the ladder behind it. It
dominates the new commanding heights of manufacturing=E2=80=94electric vehi=
cles,
solar panels, batteries, drones=E2=80=94but it has not vacated the older,
labor-intensive sectors through which it and other rich and middle-income
countries escaped poverty. In effect, China is trying to do what economic
theory says no country should be able to do: retain comparative advantage
in almost everything.

That gambit is all the more striking in an era when global imbalances are
once again widening. China=E2=80=99s trade surplus measured as a share of w=
orld GDP
is at a historic high. The International Monetary Fund has warned that
external imbalances and the attendant trade consequences are generating
negative spillovers for trading partners. As Brad Setser and Shahin Val=C3=
=A9e
wrote recently in *Foreign Affairs*
<https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/real-problem-global-trade>, Chinese
currency manipulation is undermining the global trading system. The last
great era of Chinese surpluses, roughly in the first decade of this
century, produced what several scholars have called the first =E2=80=9CChin=
a
shock=E2=80=9D: a surge of exports into the United States that hollowed out=
 swaths
of American manufacturing. That shock transformed American politics and
helped create a rare bipartisan consensus against free trade and against
China.

The new shock is different. It is landing less in the United States
<https://www.foreignaffairs.com/regions/united-states>, where tariffs,
bans, and national security restrictions have blunted Chinese import
competition by fiat. It is more visibly affecting Europe, and especially
Germany, whose industrial model was built around the internal combustion
engine and its associated high-end engineering ecosystem. China=E2=80=99s r=
ise in
electric vehicles and green technologies has turned a commercial challenge
into an existential one for many European industries.

But the focus on how China=E2=80=99s economic strategy affects the United S=
tates
and Europe has obscured a larger problem. The most consequential victims of
the current China shock are not workers in Detroit or Stuttgart, but future
workers in places such as Addis Ababa, Dhaka, Lagos, Nairobi, Phnom Penh,
Surat, and Tirupur. Their losses cannot be measured mainly in job cuts or
factory closures, but rather in terms of factories never built, export
markets never entered, capabilities never accumulated, and development
paths never opened. That is the real toll of what is now called the =E2=80=
=9CChina
squeeze.=E2=80=9D

The stakes of the China squeeze are immense. The issue is not only hundreds
of billions of dollars in forgone exports, it is whether latecomers to
development still have access to the most reliable path of structural
transformation the world has known. Historically, almost every country that
escaped from poverty to prosperity did so by relying on manufacturing
exports: garments, toys, footwear, furniture, electronics assembly, and
other sectors that absorb large numbers of less-skilled workers while
building firms, logistics, know-how, and state capacity. China benefited
enormously from an open trading system that allowed it to lift hundreds of
millions of people out of poverty through manufacturing for the global
market. China=E2=80=99s own rise may now block that same path for countries=
 poorer
than itself.
THE MAIN SQUEEZE

Much of China=E2=80=99s manufacturing trade surplus (the difference between=
 its
exports and imports) sits precisely where poorer countries should have
their greatest opportunity. Of China=E2=80=99s total manufacturing surplus =
of about
$2.2 trillion, roughly $700 billion to $1.4 trillion is concentrated in
low-skill-intensive sectors such as apparel, footwear, toys, furniture, and
electronics assembly, the very areas in which low- and middle-income
countries with vast labor pools compete most directly with China.

The simplest measure of this dynamic is China=E2=80=99s share of global exp=
orts in
low-skill goods. China=E2=80=99s share of gross exports, including final go=
ods such
as shirts or shoes, rose sharply starting in the early 1990s, peaked at
over 60 percent in 2014, and then declined. That pattern suggests the
squeeze may have eased.

But gross exports miss much of the story. A shirt is not just a shirt. It
is fabric, yarn, zippers, and buttons, but also packaging, logistics, and
design. Accounting for the total value embedded in exports (what economists
call =E2=80=9Cvalue-added exports=E2=80=9D)=E2=80=94a better proxy for the =
jobs and capabilities
created along the supply chain=E2=80=94China=E2=80=99s share of low-skill g=
oods has not
meaningfully fallen.

It has continued to rise, apart from a brief dip. China has not only
dominated final assembly but has increasingly also dominated the production
of the downstream inputs that go into final assembly: fewer shirts but more
of the yarn, zippers, buttons, and so forth that go into making clothing.

[image: 061626_Subramania.ChaterjeeCharts1.png]

Economists can determine whether this dominance is excessive. They can ask,
for instance, whether China=E2=80=99s share of low-skilled exports is comme=
nsurate
with its share of the world=E2=80=99s low-skilled labor. And they can ask h=
ow China
compares with today=E2=80=99s advanced economies when they were at a simila=
r level
of income. Together, these measures can help assess the extent to which
China is distorting the global economy.

In labor-intensive manufacturing, a country=E2=80=99s share of world export=
s should
broadly track its share of the world=E2=80=99s low-skilled labor, or at lea=
st the
two should not diverge massively even if technologies and productivities
are similar across countries. At the start of the twenty-first century,
among all lower- and middle-income countries, China=E2=80=99s share of low-=
skilled
labor and its share of value-added exports were roughly aligned. Since
then, they have diverged sharply. Between 2013 and 2023, China=E2=80=99s
value-added export share remained at about 64 percent, even as its share of
the labor force fell by three percentage points. According to this
benchmark, China=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cexcess=E2=80=9D exports rose from 33 to=
 36 percent of all
global exports from lower- and middle-income countries.

The magnitudes are large. For apparel, textiles, leather, and footwear,
this excess amounted to about $110 billion in value-added exports in 2022.
Across all low-skill sectors, we estimate excess value-added exports of
more than $355 billion in 2022. That export space could have supported tens
of millions of manufacturing jobs in poorer economies. Value-added data
beyond 2022 are not yet available, but data on gross exports until 2024
show a similar trend.

Comparison with the past offers a similar sense of the scale of the current
distortion. When today=E2=80=99s rich countries were as rich as China is no=
w, they
had already ceded much more low-skill manufacturing space to others. After
adjusting for income levels and for the fact that goods are more tradable
today because of lower transport costs and trade barriers, we calculate
that advanced economies at China=E2=80=99s current level of per capita GDP =
had a
global export share of about eight percent in comparable sectors. China=E2=
=80=99s
share today is much higher, at 27 percent. The gap, multiplied by current
global gross exports, implies excess Chinese exports of about $140 billion
in the four labor-intensive sectors of apparel, textiles, leather, and
footwear, a figure close to the $110 billion estimate from focusing on
low-skilled labor share.

[image: 061626_Subramania.ChaterjeeCharts2.png]

Two very different comparisons therefore yield the same conclusion: China=
=E2=80=99s
continued dominance in low-skill manufacturing is historically unusual and
economically consequential. The biggest proportional gains from a
relaxation of the squeeze would likely accrue to sub-Saharan Africa, where
low-skill exports are currently only about $12 billion. If countries in the
region had more room in global markets (and enacted better domestic
policies, such as deregulating their economies and reducing the costs and
risks of doing business) they could increase such exports severalfold. East
Asian and South Asian economies could also see large gains, with low-skill
exports rising by 75 to 175 percent.

China alone does not explain every missed opportunity in a poorer country.
Domestic constraints still matter enormously. But China=E2=80=99s dominance=
 narrows
the possibilities available to poorer countries and makes it harder for
them to plot a reliable way forward.

The effect of the China squeeze on lower- and middle-income countries is
too large to dismiss. But the causes also matter. If China=E2=80=99s domina=
nce
reflects genuine accomplishments in boosting the country=E2=80=99s
productivity=E2=80=94through gains in scale, logistics, automation, and man=
agerial
quality, and through fierce domestic competition=E2=80=94then poorer countr=
ies
should respond to the current situation by seeking to improve their own
competitiveness. If that dominance reflects subsidies, financial
repression, or exchange rate distortion, then it is an indictment of the
global trading system.

China=E2=80=99s dominance has persisted even as its wages have surged. Data=
 from
the UN Industrial Development Organization show that Chinese manufacturing
wages are now far above those in most competitor countries and are still
rising. In apparel, annual wages in China average around $10,000, about
five times such wages in Bangladesh and four times those in India.
Conventional theories about trade hold that such wage gaps should allow
lower-wage economies to carve a greater slice of the global export pie.
They have not. China remains formidable even in sectors where its
labor-cost advantage has long disappeared.

[image: 061626_Subramania.ChaterjeeCharts3.png]

One possibility is that China=E2=80=99s productivity advantage is simply la=
rge
enough to offset its wage disadvantage. Its workers might toil 15 hours a
day and its firms operate with the benefit of automation, deep supplier
networks, dense industrial clusters, world-class logistics systems, and an
ecosystem that can scale production with extraordinary speed. These
advantages are real. But distinguishing genuine competitiveness from policy
distortion requires disaggregated firm-level data on productivity, wages,
subsidies, credit, ownership, and export performance. For more than a
decade, such data have been largely unavailable to researchers outside
China, making serious diagnosis, including assessing the effect of
automation, very difficult.

Industrial policy is another possible explanation. China has long used
subsidies, directed credit, government procurement practices, and local
government support to strengthen manufacturing. Yet research by the
International Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve suggests that China
targets subsidies more heavily toward high-tech sectors than toward
traditional labor-intensive industries. That may help explain China=E2=80=
=99s
success in electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, and drones. It does
less to explain its abiding dominance in apparel, footwear, toys, and basic
assembly.

That leaves the exchange rate. Several analysts have argued that the
renminbi remains undervalued by 15 to 25 percent. China=E2=80=99s foreign e=
xchange
intervention tracks its global market share in low-skill goods: between
2013 and 2018, its global export share declined in parallel with the
frequency of its intervention in keeping the renminbi relatively weak;
thereafter, its global export share rose, as did its propensity to
intervene in manipulating the renminbi. If the renminbi has been kept
artificially cheap, the effect is equivalent to a broad subsidy to Chinese
exporters and a tax on foreign producers. It would make Chinese goods
cheaper in global markets and foreign goods more expensive in
China=E2=80=94precisely the combination that would sustain the China squeez=
e.
A BOON FOR BEIJING

What can be done to redress the China squeeze? Poor countries might look to
other trading partners for help. For example, the European Union and Japan
can negotiate and deepen free trade agreements with poorer countries so
that they can get more favorable terms of access that could partially
offset China=E2=80=99s advantage. Large countries and the International Mon=
etary
Fund can lean on China to address its undervalued currency.

Unfortunately, lower- and middle-income countries have only limited
negotiating leverage with China. After all, Beijing has been relatively
impervious to demands even from Washington to open its markets. U.S.
President Donald Trump retreated from imposing high tariffs on China when
it threatened to restrict exports of critical minerals.

Any corrective action, therefore, would have to come from China itself. If
it assesses, correctly, that the United States has become an unreliable and
unstable hegemon, it could see value in offering an alternative to
Washington, as an actor able to help prevent a breakdown of the
international trading order. But that would require abandoning actions that
inflict harm on poorer countries. It has taken some salutary symbolic
steps, giving up its developing-country status at the World Trade
Organization, which, in principle, makes it harder for it to dole out
subsidies to its firms. It has also lowered tariff barriers to some poorer
countries. But it can and must do more.

China=E2=80=99s dominance narrows the possibilities available to poorer cou=
ntries.

It could, for example, extend duty-free access to all labor-intensive
imports into China from all developing countries. A radical option,
consistent with attempting to boost consumption within China, would be to
go further and subsidize imports of labor-intensive goods from poor
countries so that importers get a payment from the Chinese government,
which they pass on to Chinese consumers in the form of lower prices. At the
very least, it should not stymie the transfer of valuable expertise to
other countries as it did in 2025, when Beijing pressured the manufacturer
Foxconn to repatriate 300 managers and engineers from India.

Beyond trade, China could proactively encourage its entrepreneurs to set up
manufacturing plants in poor countries with the greatest potential. This
would complement its Belt and Road Initiative, the vast investment program
that focuses on infrastructure and commodities. Even on the exchange rate,
there could now be an opening. China, like other countries, has long chafed
under the dollar=E2=80=99s financial dominance. That dominance is eroding a=
s a
result of U.S. actions and growing doubt about the reliability of American
institutions. It would make sense for Beijing to now accelerate the
internationalization of the renminbi. That would entail real costs in terms
of strengthening the currency and potentially hurting Chinese exports, but
it could offer a far greater prize: a realistic shot at rivaling dollar
dominance. And a correction in the currency=E2=80=99s undervaluation would =
generate
many positive spillovers for poor countries.

Together, such measures might have some negative consequences, mainly in
hitting lower-skilled Chinese exports. But they would be a boon for Beijing
in a different way. If China=E2=80=99s leaders want to take on more of the =
mantle
of global leadership, they must understand that leadership works not simply
through domination but by facilitating the rise of others. To truly take
advantage of the waning of American hegemony, China must not only
distinguish itself from this current protectionist and erratic iteration of
the United States; it must also break with its own record of mercantilism.

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><br><div><br></div><div><div class=3D"gmail-topper__headin=
g-container gmail-col-12 gmail-mb-40 gmail-mb-md-60" style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inh=
erit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size=
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px 10px 60px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><h1 class=3D"gmail-topper=
__title gmail-text-balance gmail-title-l gmail-mb-20 gmail-mb-lg-15" style=
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ique Display&quot;,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font=
-feature-settings:inherit;font-size:64px;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;ve=
rtical-align:baseline;color:inherit">China Is Pulling Up the Ladder Behind =
It</h1><h2 class=3D"gmail-topper__subtitle gmail-heading-s gmail-text-balan=
ce gmail-font-style-italic gmail-mb-20 gmail-mb-lg-15" style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;border:0px;font-style:italic;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:40=
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t;,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-setting=
s:inherit;font-size:32px;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:bas=
eline;color:inherit">How Beijing=E2=80=99s Export Strategy Will Keep Poor C=
ountries Poor</h2><h3 class=3D"gmail-topper__byline gmail-body-m-smallcaps =
gmail-mb-20 gmail-mb-lg-15 gmail-lh-1" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;borde=
r:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:all-small-caps;font-weight:inherit;fo=
nt-stretch:inherit;line-height:1;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inher=
it;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-size:26px;margin=
:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;letter-spac=
ing:0.075em">Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian</h3><span class=3D=
"gmail-topper__date gmail-body-s gmail-font-style-italic gmail-mb-0 gmail-d=
-inline-block gmail-mr-20" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-s=
tyle:italic;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font-=
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-size:18px;margin:0px 20px 0px 0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;disp=
lay:inline-block;color:inherit">June 18, 2026</span></div><div class=3D"gma=
il-topper__image-container gmail-w-100 gmail-mb-20 gmail-mb-md-60 gmail-col=
-12 gmail-col-lg-6-base-10" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-=
style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit=
;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kern=
ing:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 10px 60px;padding:0px;=
vertical-align:baseline;width:629.987px"><img src=3D"cid:ii_mqtmvjln0" alt=
=3D"2026-06-13T064341Z_1843333290_RC2RSLAXA0UL_RTRMADP_3_CHINA-RENEWABLES.J=
PG" width=3D"562" height=3D"375"><span class=3D"gmail-figure__caption-text =
gmail-d-block" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit=
;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:=
inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;f=
ont-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline=
;display:block">At a truck factory in Baotou, China, June 2026</span><span =
class=3D"gmail-figure__caption-credit gmail-d-block" style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:all-small-caps;font-str=
etch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;=
font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baselin=
e;display:block;color:inherit;letter-spacing:0.075em">Maxim Shemetov / Reut=
ers</span></div><div class=3D"gmail-d-flex gmail-col-lg-3-base-10 gmail-fle=
x-wrap" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-v=
ariant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit=
;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-fea=
ture-settings:inherit;margin:0px 10px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;d=
isplay:flex"><div class=3D"gmail-topper__author-about gmail-ml-10 gmail-mr-=
10 gmail-mr-lg-0 gmail-ml-lg-0 gmail-pb-15 gmail-pb-md-0 gmail-border-top g=
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it;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family=
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s:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><div class=3D"gma=
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t;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:=
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it;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding=
:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-b=
ox;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;f=
ont-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjus=
t:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;pad=
ding:0px 0px 15px;vertical-align:baseline"><span class=3D"gmail-lh-22 gmail=
-small-caps gmail-fs-20" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-sty=
le:inherit;font-variant-ligatures:inherit;font-variant-caps:all-small-caps;=
font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-a=
lternates:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:22px=
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ture-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;letter=
-spacing:0.05em;font-size:20px">SHOUMITRO CHATTERJEE</span>=C2=A0is Assista=
nt Professor of International Economics at the Johns Hopkins University Sch=
ool of Advanced International Studies and a Nonresident Scholar at the Carn=
egie Endowment for International Peace.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;fo=
nt-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust=
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ing:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><span class=3D"gmail-lh-22 gmail-small-cap=
s gmail-fs-20" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit=
;font-variant-ligatures:inherit;font-variant-caps:all-small-caps;font-varia=
nt-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:=
inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:22px;font-fami=
ly:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-setti=
ngs:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;letter-spacing:0=
.05em;font-size:20px">ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN</span>=C2=A0is a Senior Fellow at =
the Peterson Institute for International Economics. From 2014 to 2018, he s=
erved as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India. He is a co-auth=
or, with Devesh Kapur, of=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.amazon.com/Sixth-Huma=
nity-Independent-Development-Odyssey/dp/0197837255/ref=3Dtmm_hrd_swatch_0" =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:i=
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text-decoration:none"><em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-va=
riant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;=
font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feat=
ure-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">A Sixt=
h of Humanity: Independent India=E2=80=99s Development Odyssey</em></a><em =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:=
inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-s=
ize-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margi=
n:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">.</em></p></div><ul class=3D"gma=
il-author-about__list" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style=
:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line=
-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:i=
nherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:=
baseline;list-style:none"><li class=3D"gmail-author-about__list-item gmail-=
body-s" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-v=
ariant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font-size-adjust:inheri=
t;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-size:18px;margin:=
0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit"><a class=3D"gmail-ar=
row-link gmail-border-bottom-micro gmail-d-inline-block gmail-border-bottom=
 gmail-lh-16 gmail-fs-15" href=3D"https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/sh=
oumitro-chatterjee" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border-width:0px 0px 0.5=
px;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor;font-style:inheri=
t;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height=
:16px;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;fon=
t-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;c=
olor:inherit;text-decoration:none;display:inline-block;font-size:15px">More=
 by Shoumitro Chatterjee=C2=A0</a></li><li class=3D"gmail-author-about__lis=
t-item gmail-body-s gmail-mt-10" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;=
font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.=
3;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inher=
it;font-size:18px;margin:10px 0px 0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;c=
olor:inherit"><a class=3D"gmail-arrow-link gmail-border-bottom-micro gmail-=
d-inline-block gmail-border-bottom gmail-lh-16 gmail-fs-15" href=3D"https:/=
/www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/arvind-subramanian" style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;border-width:0px 0px 0.5px;border-style:none none solid;border-colo=
r:currentcolor;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;=
font-stretch:inherit;line-height:16px;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:=
inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;paddi=
ng:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;text-decoration:none;display:i=
nline-block;font-size:15px">More by Arvind Subramanian=C2=A0</a></li></ul><=
/div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-article__body gmail-position-relative =
gmail-d-flex gmail--ml-10 gmail--mr-10 gmail-col-12 gmail-flex-column-rever=
se gmail-flex-row-lg gmail-col-lg-10 gmail-no-gutter gmail-justify-between"=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;fon=
t-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:i=
nherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:&quot;Ubique Text&quot;,serif;font-s=
ize-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-=
size:22px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:flex;color:rgb(0,0,0)=
"><div class=3D"gmail-article__content-tools-wrapper gmail-order-2 gmail-or=
der-lg-1 gmail-col-12 gmail-col-lg-6-base-10 gmail-no-gutter gmail-ml-0 gma=
il-mr-0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-=
variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inheri=
t;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-fe=
ature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><div=
 class=3D"gmail-article-dropcap" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;=
font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:in=
herit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font=
-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;verti=
cal-align:baseline"><div class=3D"gmail-rich-text__inner" style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weigh=
t:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font=
-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;mar=
gin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><div class=3D"gmail-article-dr=
opcap--inner gmail-paywall-content" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0=
px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height=
:1.45;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:i=
nherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><p style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weigh=
t:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font=
-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;mar=
gin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">China is increasingly=
 embracing the mantle that comes with being a global superpower. Its rise i=
s forcing the rest of the world to assess its credentials as a potential he=
gemon and a provider of public goods. And in one significant area, its stre=
ngth may be a real weakness. Many poorer countries fear that China=E2=80=99=
s economic rise will not leave room for them to industrialize. Unlike the U=
nited States and European countries, which in the past helped facilitate th=
e industrialization of poorer countries (including China), Beijing is curre=
ntly on track to have the opposite effect.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit=
;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adj=
ust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0=
px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><a href=3D"https://www.foreign=
affairs.com/regions/china" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-s=
tyle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;=
line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerni=
ng:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-al=
ign:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:underline 0.05em">China</a>=
=C2=A0is not merely climbing the technological ladder; it is pulling up the=
 ladder behind it. It dominates the new commanding heights of manufacturing=
=E2=80=94electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, drones=E2=80=94but it =
has not vacated the older, labor-intensive sectors through which it and oth=
er rich and middle-income countries escaped poverty. In effect, China is tr=
ying to do what economic theory says no country should be able to do: retai=
n comparative advantage in almost everything.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inhe=
rit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-=
adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0p=
x 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">That gambit is all the more=
 striking in an era when global imbalances are once again widening. China=
=E2=80=99s trade surplus measured as a share of world GDP is at a historic =
high. The International Monetary Fund has warned that external imbalances a=
nd the attendant trade consequences are generating negative spillovers for =
trading partners. As Brad Setser and Shahin Val=C3=A9e wrote recently=C2=A0=
<a href=3D"https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/real-problem-global-trade" =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:i=
nherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-fa=
mily:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-set=
tings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,=
0);text-decoration:underline 0.05em">in=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inher=
it;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-ke=
rning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical=
-align:baseline">Foreign Affairs</em></a>, Chinese currency manipulation is=
 undermining the global trading system. The last great era of Chinese surpl=
uses, roughly in the first decade of this century, produced what several sc=
holars have called the first =E2=80=9CChina shock=E2=80=9D: a surge of expo=
rts into the United States that hollowed out swaths of American manufacturi=
ng. That shock transformed American politics and helped create a rare bipar=
tisan consensus against free trade and against China.</p><p style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-wei=
ght:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;fo=
nt-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;m=
argin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">The new shock is di=
fferent. It is landing less in the=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.foreignaffai=
rs.com/regions/united-states" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;fon=
t-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inher=
it;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-ke=
rning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical=
-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:underline 0.05em">United S=
tates</a>, where tariffs, bans, and national security restrictions have blu=
nted Chinese import competition by fiat. It is more visibly affecting Europ=
e, and especially Germany, whose industrial model was built around the inte=
rnal combustion engine and its associated high-end engineering ecosystem. C=
hina=E2=80=99s rise in electric vehicles and green technologies has turned =
a commercial challenge into an existential one for many European industries=
.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-v=
ariant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit=
;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-fea=
ture-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseli=
ne">But the focus on how China=E2=80=99s economic strategy affects the Unit=
ed States and Europe has obscured a larger problem. The most consequential =
victims of the current China shock are not workers in Detroit or Stuttgart,=
 but future workers in places such as Addis Ababa, Dhaka, Lagos, Nairobi, P=
hnom Penh, Surat, and Tirupur. Their losses cannot be measured mainly in jo=
b cuts or factory closures, but rather in terms of factories never built, e=
xport markets never entered, capabilities never accumulated, and developmen=
t paths never opened. That is the real toll of what is now called the =E2=
=80=9CChina squeeze.=E2=80=9D</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0=
px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch=
:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;f=
ont-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;paddi=
ng:0px;vertical-align:baseline">The stakes of the China squeeze are immense=
. The issue is not only hundreds of billions of dollars in forgone exports,=
 it is whether latecomers to development still have access to the most reli=
able path of structural transformation the world has known. Historically, a=
lmost every country that escaped from poverty to prosperity did so by relyi=
ng on manufacturing exports: garments, toys, footwear, furniture, electroni=
cs assembly, and other sectors that absorb large numbers of less-skilled wo=
rkers while building firms, logistics, know-how, and state capacity. China =
benefited enormously from an open trading system that allowed it to lift hu=
ndreds of millions of people out of poverty through manufacturing for the g=
lobal market. China=E2=80=99s own rise may now block that same path for cou=
ntries poorer than itself.</p><h3 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px=
;font-style:inherit;font-variant:all-small-caps;font-weight:inherit;font-st=
retch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inhe=
rit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-size:30px;margi=
n:60px 0px 10px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;letter-sp=
acing:0.075em"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:i=
nherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-f=
amily:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-se=
ttings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">THE MAIN SQU=
EEZE</span></h3><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inh=
erit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-hei=
ght:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inher=
it;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-a=
lign:baseline">Much of China=E2=80=99s manufacturing trade surplus (the dif=
ference between its exports and imports) sits precisely where poorer countr=
ies should have their greatest opportunity. Of China=E2=80=99s total manufa=
cturing surplus of about $2.2 trillion, roughly $700 billion to $1.4 trilli=
on is concentrated in low-skill-intensive sectors such as apparel, footwear=
, toys, furniture, and electronics assembly, the very areas in which low- a=
nd middle-income countries with vast labor pools compete most directly with=
 China.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;=
font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:i=
nherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;fo=
nt-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:=
baseline">The simplest measure of this dynamic is China=E2=80=99s share of =
global exports in low-skill goods. China=E2=80=99s share of gross exports, =
including final goods such as shirts or shoes, rose sharply starting in<spa=
n style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant=
:inherit;font-weight:700;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-fami=
ly:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-setti=
ngs:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">=C2=A0</span>th=
e early 1990s, peaked at over 60 percent in 2014, and then declined. That p=
attern suggests the squeeze may have eased.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:borde=
r-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inheri=
t;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-ad=
just:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px =
0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">But gross exports miss much o=
f the story. A shirt is not just a shirt. It is fabric, yarn, zippers, and =
buttons, but also packaging, logistics, and design. Accounting for the tota=
l value embedded in exports (what economists call =E2=80=9Cvalue-added expo=
rts=E2=80=9D)=E2=80=94a better proxy for the jobs and capabilities created =
along the supply chain=E2=80=94China=E2=80=99s share of low-skill goods has=
 not meaningfully fallen.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;f=
ont-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inh=
erit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-=
kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0=
px;vertical-align:baseline">It has continued to rise, apart from a brief di=
p. China has not only dominated final assembly but has increasingly also do=
minated the production of the downstream inputs that go into final assembly=
: fewer shirts but more of the yarn, zippers, buttons, and so forth that go=
 into making clothing.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font=
-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inheri=
t;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-ker=
ning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;=
vertical-align:baseline"></p><div class=3D"gmail-mt-40 gmail-mb-40 gmail-mt=
-md-60 gmail-mb-md-60" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style=
:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line=
-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:i=
nherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:60px 0px;padding:0px;vertical-a=
lign:baseline"><img src=3D"cid:ii_mqtmvjlo1" alt=3D"061626_Subramania.Chate=
rjeeCharts1.png" width=3D"562" height=3D"493"></div><p style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:i=
nherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-si=
ze-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin=
:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Economists can determine=
 whether this dominance is excessive. They can ask, for instance, whether C=
hina=E2=80=99s share of low-skilled exports is commensurate with its share =
of the world=E2=80=99s low-skilled labor. And they can ask how China compar=
es with today=E2=80=99s advanced economies when they were at a similar leve=
l of income. Together, these measures can help assess the extent to which C=
hina is distorting the global economy.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;fon=
t-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:=
inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 2=
0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">In labor-intensive manufacturing, =
a country=E2=80=99s share of world exports should broadly track its share o=
f the world=E2=80=99s low-skilled labor, or at least the two should not div=
erge massively even if technologies and productivities are similar across c=
ountries. At the start of the twenty-first century, among all lower- and mi=
ddle-income countries, China=E2=80=99s share of low-skilled labor and its s=
hare of value-added exports were roughly aligned. Since then, they have div=
erged sharply. Between 2013 and 2023, China=E2=80=99s value-added export sh=
are remained at about 64 percent, even as its share of the labor force fell=
 by three percentage points. According to this benchmark, China=E2=80=99s =
=E2=80=9Cexcess=E2=80=9D exports rose from 33 to 36 percent of all global e=
xports from lower- and middle-income countries.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:in=
herit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-siz=
e-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:=
0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">The magnitudes are large.=
 For apparel, textiles, leather, and footwear, this excess amounted to abou=
t $110 billion in value-added exports in 2022. Across all low-skill sectors=
, we estimate excess value-added exports of more than $355 billion in 2022.=
 That export space could have supported tens of millions of manufacturing j=
obs in poorer economies. Value-added data beyond 2022 are not yet available=
, but data on gross exports until 2024 show a similar trend.</p><p style=3D=
"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;f=
ont-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inh=
erit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:in=
herit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Comparison w=
ith the past offers a similar sense of the scale of the current distortion.=
 When today=E2=80=99s rich countries were as rich as China is now, they had=
 already ceded much more low-skill manufacturing space to others. After adj=
usting for income levels and for the fact that goods are more tradable toda=
y because of lower transport costs and trade barriers, we calculate that ad=
vanced economies at China=E2=80=99s current level of per capita GDP had a g=
lobal export share of about eight percent in comparable sectors. China=E2=
=80=99s share today is much higher, at 27 percent. The gap, multiplied by c=
urrent global gross exports, implies excess Chinese exports of about $140 b=
illion in the four labor-intensive sectors of apparel, textiles, leather, a=
nd footwear, a figure close to the $110 billion estimate from focusing on l=
ow-skilled labor share.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;fon=
t-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inher=
it;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-ke=
rning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px=
;vertical-align:baseline"></p><div class=3D"gmail-mt-40 gmail-mb-40 gmail-m=
t-md-60 gmail-mb-md-60" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-styl=
e:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;lin=
e-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:=
inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:60px 0px;padding:0px;vertical-=
align:baseline"><img src=3D"cid:ii_mqtmvjlp2" alt=3D"061626_Subramania.Chat=
erjeeCharts2.png" width=3D"562" height=3D"493"></div><p style=3D"box-sizing=
:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:=
inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-s=
ize-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margi=
n:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Two very different comp=
arisons therefore yield the same conclusion: China=E2=80=99s continued domi=
nance in low-skill manufacturing is historically unusual and economically c=
onsequential. The biggest proportional gains from a relaxation of the squee=
ze would likely accrue to sub-Saharan Africa, where low-skill exports are c=
urrently only about $12 billion. If countries in the region had more room i=
n global markets (and enacted better domestic policies, such as deregulatin=
g their economies and reducing the costs and risks of doing business) they =
could increase such exports severalfold. East Asian and South Asian economi=
es could also see large gains, with low-skill exports rising by 75 to 175 p=
ercent.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;=
font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:i=
nherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;fo=
nt-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:=
baseline">China alone does not explain every missed opportunity in a poorer=
 country. Domestic constraints still matter enormously. But China=E2=80=99s=
 dominance narrows the possibilities available to poorer countries and make=
s it harder for them to plot a reliable way forward.</p><p style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weig=
ht:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;fon=
t-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;ma=
rgin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">The effect of the Ch=
ina squeeze on lower- and middle-income countries is too large to dismiss. =
But the causes also matter. If China=E2=80=99s dominance reflects genuine a=
ccomplishments in boosting the country=E2=80=99s productivity=E2=80=94throu=
gh gains in scale, logistics, automation, and managerial quality, and throu=
gh fierce domestic competition=E2=80=94then poorer countries should respond=
 to the current situation by seeking to improve their own competitiveness. =
If that dominance reflects subsidies, financial repression, or exchange rat=
e distortion, then it is an indictment of the global trading system.</p><p =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:i=
nherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-fa=
mily:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-set=
tings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Chin=
a=E2=80=99s dominance has persisted even as its wages have surged. Data fro=
m the UN Industrial Development Organization show that Chinese manufacturin=
g wages are now far above those in most competitor countries and are still =
rising. In apparel, annual wages in China average around $10,000, about fiv=
e times such wages in Bangladesh and four times those in India. Conventiona=
l theories about trade hold that such wage gaps should allow lower-wage eco=
nomies to carve a greater slice of the global export pie. They have not. Ch=
ina remains formidable even in sectors where its labor-cost advantage has l=
ong disappeared.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style=
:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line=
-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:i=
nherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertic=
al-align:baseline"></p><div class=3D"gmail-mt-40 gmail-mb-40 gmail-mt-md-60=
 gmail-mb-md-60" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inher=
it;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-heigh=
t:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit=
;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:60px 0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:b=
aseline"><img src=3D"cid:ii_mqtmvjlq3" alt=3D"061626_Subramania.ChaterjeeCh=
arts3.png" width=3D"562" height=3D"493"></div><p style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit=
;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adj=
ust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0=
px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">One possibility is that China=
=E2=80=99s productivity advantage is simply large enough to offset its wage=
 disadvantage. Its workers might toil 15 hours a day and its firms operate =
with the benefit of automation, deep supplier networks, dense industrial cl=
usters, world-class logistics systems, and an ecosystem that can scale prod=
uction with extraordinary speed. These advantages are real. But distinguish=
ing genuine competitiveness from policy distortion requires disaggregated f=
irm-level data on productivity, wages, subsidies, credit, ownership, and ex=
port performance. For more than a decade, such data have been largely unava=
ilable to researchers outside China, making serious diagnosis, including as=
sessing the effect of automation, very difficult.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing=
:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:=
inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-s=
ize-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margi=
n:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Industrial policy is an=
other possible explanation. China has long used subsidies, directed credit,=
 government procurement practices,<span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bord=
er:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:700;font-stretch=
:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;f=
ont-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;ve=
rtical-align:baseline">=C2=A0</span>and local government support to strengt=
hen manufacturing. Yet research by the International Monetary Fund and the =
Federal Reserve suggests that China targets subsidies more heavily toward h=
igh-tech sectors than toward traditional labor-intensive industries. That m=
ay help explain China=E2=80=99s success in electric vehicles, batteries, so=
lar panels, and drones. It does less to explain its abiding dominance in ap=
parel, footwear, toys, and basic assembly.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit=
;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adj=
ust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0=
px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">That leaves the exchange rate.=
 Several analysts have argued that the renminbi remains undervalued by 15 t=
o 25 percent. China=E2=80=99s foreign exchange intervention tracks its glob=
al market share in low-skill goods: between 2013 and 2018, its global expor=
t share declined in parallel with the frequency of its intervention in keep=
ing the renminbi relatively weak; thereafter, its global export share rose,=
 as did its propensity to intervene in manipulating the renminbi. If the re=
nminbi has been kept artificially cheap, the effect is equivalent to a broa=
d subsidy to Chinese exporters and a tax on foreign producers. It would mak=
e Chinese goods cheaper in global markets and foreign goods more expensive =
in China=E2=80=94precisely the combination that would sustain the China squ=
eeze.</p><h3 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;f=
ont-variant:all-small-caps;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-he=
ight:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inhe=
rit;font-feature-settings:inherit;font-size:30px;margin:60px 0px 10px;paddi=
ng:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;letter-spacing:0.075em"><span =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:i=
nherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-si=
ze-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin=
:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">A BOON FOR BEIJING</span></h3><p =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:i=
nherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-fa=
mily:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-set=
tings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">What=
 can be done to redress the China squeeze? Poor countries might look to oth=
er trading partners for help. For example, the European Union and Japan can=
 negotiate and deepen free trade agreements with poorer countries so that t=
hey can get more favorable terms of access that could partially offset Chin=
a=E2=80=99s advantage. Large countries and the International Monetary Fund =
can lean on China to address its undervalued currency.</p><p style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-we=
ight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;f=
ont-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;=
margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Unfortunately, low=
er- and middle-income countries have only limited negotiating leverage with=
 China. After all, Beijing has been relatively impervious to demands even f=
rom Washington to open its markets. U.S. President Donald Trump retreated f=
rom imposing high tariffs on China when it threatened to restrict exports o=
f critical minerals.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-s=
tyle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;=
line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerni=
ng:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;ve=
rtical-align:baseline">Any corrective action, therefore, would have to come=
 from China itself. If it assesses, correctly, that the United States has b=
ecome an unreliable and unstable hegemon, it could see value in offering an=
 alternative to Washington, as an actor able to help prevent a breakdown of=
 the international trading order. But that would require abandoning actions=
 that inflict harm on poorer countries. It has taken some salutary symbolic=
 steps, giving up its developing-country status at the World Trade Organiza=
tion, which, in principle, makes it harder for it to dole out subsidies to =
its firms. It has also lowered tariff barriers to some poorer countries. Bu=
t it can and must do more.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;=
font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:in=
herit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font=
-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:=
0px;vertical-align:baseline"></p><blockquote class=3D"gmail-pullquote gmail=
-pr-md-30 gmail-mt-10 gmail-mb-20 gmail-mb-md-10 gmail-ls-normal" style=3D"=
box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;fo=
nt-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inhe=
rit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inh=
erit;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px 30px 0px 0px;vertical-align:baseline;quote=
s:none;width:283.487px;float:left"><span class=3D"gmail-pullquote__text gma=
il-d-block" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;fo=
nt-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.2;font-family:&quot;U=
bique Subhead&quot;,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;fon=
t-feature-settings:inherit;font-size:32px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-a=
lign:baseline;display:block">China=E2=80=99s dominance narrows the possibil=
ities available to poorer countries.</span></blockquote><p style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weig=
ht:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;fon=
t-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;ma=
rgin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">It could, for exampl=
e, extend duty-free access to all labor-intensive imports into China from a=
ll developing countries. A radical option, consistent with attempting to bo=
ost consumption within China, would be to go further and subsidize imports =
of labor-intensive goods from poor countries so that importers get a paymen=
t from the Chinese government, which they pass on to Chinese consumers in t=
he form of lower prices. At the very least, it should not stymie the transf=
er of valuable expertise to other countries as it did in 2025, when Beijing=
 pressured the manufacturer Foxconn to repatriate 300 managers and engineer=
s from India.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:in=
herit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-he=
ight:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inhe=
rit;font-feature-settings:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-=
align:baseline">Beyond trade, China could proactively encourage its entrepr=
eneurs to set up manufacturing plants in poor countries with the greatest p=
otential. This would complement its Belt and Road Initiative, the vast inve=
stment program that focuses on infrastructure and commodities. Even on the =
exchange rate, there could now be an opening. China, like other countries, =
has long chafed under the dollar=E2=80=99s financial dominance. That domina=
nce is eroding as a result of U.S. actions and growing doubt about the reli=
ability of American institutions. It would make sense for Beijing to now ac=
celerate the internationalization of the renminbi. That would entail real c=
osts in terms of strengthening the currency and potentially hurting Chinese=
 exports, but it could offer a far greater prize: a realistic shot at rival=
ing dollar dominance. And a correction in the currency=E2=80=99s undervalua=
tion would generate many positive spillovers for poor countries.</p><p styl=
e=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inher=
it;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family=
:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-setting=
s:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline">Together, such me=
asures might have some negative consequences, mainly in hitting lower-skill=
ed Chinese exports. But they would be a boon for Beijing in a different way=
. If China=E2=80=99s leaders want to take on more of the mantle of global l=
eadership, they must understand that leadership works not simply through do=
mination but by facilitating the rise of others. To truly take advantage of=
 the waning of American hegemony, China must not only distinguish itself fr=
om this current protectionist and erratic iteration of the United States; i=
t must also break with its own record of mercantilism.</p></div></div></div=
></div></div></div></div>

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Subject: [Salon] The Forever War in West Asia and its Implications
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https://chasfreeman662157.substack.com/p/the-forever-war-in-west-asia-and

*The Forever War in West Asia and its Implications*

A Scene Setter for an Energy Intelligence Colloquium



Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr.

By Video, June 26, 2026



Peace is more than the absence of combat between warring parties.  Cicero
defined it as *=E2=80=9Cliberty in tranquility,=E2=80=9D* a condition in wh=
ich states and
peoples do not use violence against each other in pursuit of their
inherently incompatible goals.  There has been no such peace in West Asia
since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

The Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 divided that Empire=E2=80=99s Arab provin=
ces into
British and French spheres of influence.  In 1917 Britain =E2=80=93 a colon=
ial
power =E2=80=93 declared its support for the establishment of =E2=80=9Ca na=
tional home for
the [European] Jewish people=E2=80=9D in Palestine, while fatuously denying=
 that
this would affect the civil and religious rights of Palestine=E2=80=99s exi=
sting
Muslim and Christian communities.  In 1919, denied the self-determination
promised to other peoples in President Wilson=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9CFourteen P=
oints,=E2=80=9D the
Kurds revolted against British rule in Mesopotamia. They continue to rebel
against the Arabs. Persians, and Turks who dominate the states they inhabit=
.

The unintended consequence of these actions has been more than a century of
low intensity conflict in West Asia, punctuated by bloody wars, genocidal
massacres, and terrorist incidents.  The Israeli-American war with Iran is
the latest expression of this endemic violence.  The latest =E2=80=98ceasef=
ire with
Israeli characteristics=E2=80=99 does not promise an end to it.

Israel=E2=80=99s insistence on absolute security for itself has meant absol=
ute
insecurity for everyone else in West Asia.  With U.S. backing, it has felt
free to bomb, strafe, and murder its potential adversaries throughout West
Asia.  Israeli and American attacks on Iran have, however, now evoked
effective counterattacks.  Israel retains its =E2=80=9Cqualitative edge=E2=
=80=9D over its
neighbors, but it has lost its immunity from devastating reprisal.

Almost all wars conclude through negotiations.  To succeed, these must
recognize what interactions on the battlefield have produced.  Otherwise,
the negotiations fail. The chances of success are improved if the
negotiators representing the parties are experienced professionals with no
conflicts of interest and who have built mutual trust with their opposing
counterparts.  That has not been the case in U.S. negotiations with Iran,
which have been and will remain complicated by Israel=E2=80=99s determinati=
on to
ensure that they fail.

The Iran War will not be followed by peace in West Asia, but it may mark
the end of direct great-power involvement in armed conflict between its
warring parties.  Memoranda of understanding may be =E2=80=9Cdeals=E2=80=9D=
 in the sense of
a coordinated statement of intent, but they are the equivalent of a
handshake before the parties sit down at the negotiating table.  They are
neither peace nor a peace agreement.

The immediate results of the Iran War are clear.  The war after the war has
begun.  Its longer-term consequences are only now coming into view.  Some
of them are strategically systemic.

This war has resulted in:

=C2=B7       Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz,

=C2=B7       Iran=E2=80=99s adoption of an Israeli-style standard of dispro=
portionate
retaliation for attacks on it or Israel=E2=80=99s neighbors or Arab movemen=
ts
resisting Israeli expansionism,

=C2=B7       a US-Iranian de-escalation agreement misdescribed as a =E2=80=
=9Cceasefire=E2=80=99
and, so far, not accepted by Israel, which continues to seek to annihilate
Iran and dominate West Asia through the use of force,

=C2=B7       a growing U.S. rupture with Israel,

=C2=B7       escalating energy prices and inflation,

=C2=B7       the probable tipping of the global economy into recession or w=
orse,

=C2=B7       impending food and other supply shortages,

=C2=B7       the creation of a greatly expanded market for Chinese renewabl=
e
energy technology and products,

=C2=B7       the erosion of the dollar=E2=80=99s global monopoly on trade s=
ettlement
through the slow birth of a Chinese =E2=80=9Cpetroyuan,=E2=80=9D

=C2=B7       a convincing demonstration of the limits of U.S. military powe=
r,

=C2=B7       the depletion of the U.S. weapons and defense systems needed f=
or
other contingencies or contracted for delivery by allies and partners,

=C2=B7       the flaking apart of NATO and the basing and overflight rights=
 its
members have granted to the U.S.,

=C2=B7       the probable eviction of the U.S. armed forces from the bases =
the
Gulf Arabs have heretofore loaned them,

=C2=B7       the murder of the Iranian leadership echelon most opposed to
building a nuclear weapon with the consequence that Iran will do so after
the sixty day =E2=80=98truce=E2=80=99 in the absence of the return of its f=
rozen assets,
the removal of sanctions, and credible security guarantees,

=C2=B7       the severe devaluation of the U.S. word by performative rather=
 than
substantive diplomacy and erratic oscillation in negotiating positions, as
well as

=C2=B7       definitive proof that selecting personnel for their political
subservience and sycophancy rather than their experience, expertise, and
willingness to speak truth to power can render a government incompetent and
=E2=80=98agreement incapable.=E2=80=99

Meanwhile, gross violations of international law and human decency by
Israel continue to escalate antipathy to it in ever younger echelons of the
U.S. population, including American Jews.  Israel=E2=80=99s charges that cr=
iticism
of its polices amount to antisemitism have largely lost their sting.
Israel is now an international pariah.  It is becoming the skunk at the
garden party in American politics.  A similar evolution is underway in
Europe.

The influence in American politics that the so-called =E2=80=9CAbraham Acco=
rds=E2=80=9D
gained for the UAE and Bahrain through the U.S. Zionist Lobby is therefore
a wasting asset.  The accords themselves are on life support.  They are
unlikely to survive the logic of Gulf Arab national interests.  Israeli
genocide, ethnic cleansing, and expansionism plus the need to make peace
with an Iran determined to counter Israel have combined to make overt
cooperation with Israel a domestic threat to Arab governments. The Israeli
police-state and defense technology the Gulf Arab rulers have acquired from
Israel is formidable but not irreplaceable.

Yemen and Iran have now both successfully conducted land-based blockades of
their adjacent seas.  This calls into question the traditional
Anglo-American view of the sea as a strategic domain from which to dominate
the land.[1] <#_ftn1>  The three-mile range of canon in the 18th century
established a three-mile limit for territorial seas.  Now drones and
terminally-guided missiles can strike ships up to 4,000 kilometers (2,500
miles) or more away from coastal batteries.  Sea control is no longer the
uncontested province of navies.

Meanwhile, international law no longer inhibits acts of piracy =E2=80=93 se=
aborne
murder and robbery.  Ships are now subject to unprovoked attacks or
outright seizure by the former champions of freedom of navigation.
Insurance rates are rising.  The seas are no longer open to all nations for
secure navigation and trade.

War always creates new realities and adjusts relations between states and
peoples.  That is its purpose.  But armed conflicts seldom work out the way
those who start them imagine they will.  And they are not always succeeded
by peace.  The prospect that a peace will emerge from whatever negotiating
process follows the US-Iran memorandum of understanding announced on June
15, 2026, is poor.  In West Asia, warfare is far more likely to persist at
varying levels of intensity.

The Iran War has just reminded the world that wars test endurance and
resolve more than weapon systems, and that they do not end until the loser
accepts defeat=E2=80=94something the United States apparently finds it impo=
ssible
to do. Wars do not end because one side blows up more buildings or kills
more civilians than the other. (Ask the Vietnamese, Afghans, Ukrainians,
Palestinians, or Lebanese about this.) Military prowess can impose
outcomes, but it does not always prevail. The balance of fervor=E2=80=94the=
 degree
to which each side sees the conflict as vital to its national identity and
interests, dignity, and survival=E2=80=94can enable a militarily weaker sid=
e to
carry the day. When the fundamental causes of war do not disappear, the
parties will remain determined to keep fighting as best they can.  Iran and
Israel have made no effort to set aside their differences.  The June 15
=E2=80=9Cceasefire=E2=80=9D between Iran and the United States does not obl=
ige them to bury
the hatchet or offer a process to facilitate them doing so.

The prospects for peace are also ill-served by the changes in the
information environment that recent wars have catalyzed.  The new
transparency of battlefields to observation by satellites and drones has
made deception difficult, if not impossible, so states now rely on
information warfare to accomplish it.  Censorship, lying narratives, fake
news, and false flag operations are central to the strategies of
contemporary combatants.  The press is no longer an effective check on
Orwellian storylines.  This leaves governments free to consume their own
propaganda and to formulate policies based on it rather than on unpalatable
underlying realities.  This feeds hallucinations that suffocate diplomacy
and help prolong =E2=80=98forever wars.=E2=80=99

The Gulf Arabs have just learned the hard way that the United States
prioritizes Israel=E2=80=99s defense over theirs and that Iran can and will=
 punish
them for any alignment with Israel or the United States.  Cooperation by
them with either Israel or the United States will continue to invite
Iranian attack.  So, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members now face a
choice between wary cooperation with Iran or continuing threats to their
oil and gas facilities or, even worse, their desalination plants =E2=80=93 =
without
which they cannot exist as modern societies.  This is no choice at all.
The Gulf Arabs have a powerful incentive to accommodate Iran=E2=80=99s dema=
nd that
they remove American bases from their territory.

The states of the region do not want to replace the United States with
another external actor like China or Russia.  A new four-party coalition of
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, T=C3=BCrkiye, and Egypt has formed to create a revi=
sed
West Asian security architecture that can provide deterrent weight against
either Israeli or Iranian regional hegemony, while reducing reliance on
external great powers and building strategic autonomy.  The members of this
coalition, which is likely to expand, hope to build an indigenous military
industrial base that will reduce their overall dependence on both foreign
protection and arms imports.  They will seek assurances of respect for
their strategic autonomy from external great powers.

Iran now controls and will continue to regulate passage through the Strait
of Hormuz in partnership with Oman and (possibly) other littoral states but
not with any external great naval power.  This sets a precedent that
overturns centuries of international law and risks being applied to other
straits. The list of waterways that might be reduced to a nationally
regulated transit status like the manmade canals of Panama and Suez is
long.  It includes Malacca, Sunda, Lombok, the Bab-al-Mandeb, Taiwan,
Gibraltar, and the Bosphorus.  The international community =E2=80=93 includ=
ing
countries dependent on maritime trade like China, Japan, and India =E2=80=
=93 should
share an interest with the West in ensuring that whatever management system
is put in place in the Strait of Hormuz does not inspire comparable limits
to freedom navigation elsewhere.

The economic stress and the uncertainties that the Iran War has introduced
are a great stimulus to national efforts to consolidate supply chains,
lessen reliance on maritime transport of fossil fuels, invest in renewable
energy technology and products, and otherwise pursue self-sufficiency.  The
result will be slower economic growth pretty much everywhere as
self-reliance replaces =E2=80=98comparative advantage.=E2=80=99  But the tr=
ansition to
renewable energy and electrification of the world=E2=80=99s economies will
accelerate.

So, in sum, we are likely entering an era in which:

=C2=B7       shipping is more expensive and less secure,

=C2=B7       economies worldwide strive to lessen their dependence on
hydrocarbons as their primary sources of energy,

=C2=B7       the need to restore lost hydrocarbon production burdens Persia=
n
Gulf economies in ways that demand reformulation of their policies and
development plans,

=C2=B7       the pressure on Gulf economies to wean themselves from their
economic dependence on hydrocarbon exports increases even as revenues from
such exports decline and development projects are trimmed back,

=C2=B7       Iran answers intermittent acts of aggression by Israel against=
 it
and Israels=E2=80=99 Arab neighbors with retaliatory strikes on Israel,

=C2=B7       the resistance movements Israel has battered are tempted to re=
vive
1960s-style attacks on Israelis and their foreign supporters,

=C2=B7       foreign investment and economic activity in the UAE and other =
GCC
members are hampered by a perceived rise in political risk,

=C2=B7       geopolitics in West Asia are dominated by d=C3=A9tente between=
 the Gulf
Arabs and Iran and a search for regional strategic autonomy by a coalition
whose core is a partnership between Ankara, Cairo, Islamabad, and Riyadh,

=C2=B7       Iran, Lebanon, and Syria are obsessed with repairing war damag=
e and
reconstructing their economies, providing opportunities for foreign
construction companies (e.g., from China and Turkey),

=C2=B7       Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Russian, and Turkish influence in =
West
Asia grows, while U.S. influence diminishes, and

=C2=B7       Iran joins Israel as a de facto nuclear power, sparking the
development of nuclear weapons by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and others.

These unfortunate potential results of the American debacle in the Persian
Gulf cannot be separated from broader geopolitical and geoeconomic trends.

The five-century-long era of Western dominance of global affairs is over.
A disunited Europe is no longer an effective participant in global
geopolitics or economics, despite its obvious potential to be both.  China
has no interest in assuming the decaying role of the United States as the
global hegemon.  India is far from ready to do so.  Africa and Latin
America remain self-absorbed.  International institutions are increasingly
ineffective.  The world order is no longer regulated by international law.
Disorder, for now, prevails.  We are all less secure than we were.

We are again at a moment like the one Gramsci described at the outset of
the 1930s: *"The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be
born: now is the time of morbid symptoms."  *He did not, as supposed, refer
to the advent of =E2=80=9Cmonsters=E2=80=9D but that is no consolation.  Th=
e monsters are
already here and show no signs of going away.

=D8=AA=D9=88=D9=83=D9=84=D9=86=D8=A7 =D8=B9=D9=84=D9=89 =D8=A7=D9=84=D9=84=
=D9=87

------------------------------

[1] <#_ftnref1> Viz: Alfred Thayer Mahan, *The Influence of Sea Power upon
History, 1660=E2=80=931783* (1890)

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><a href=3D"https://chasfreeman662157.substack.com/p/the-fo=
rever-war-in-west-asia-and">https://chasfreeman662157.substack.com/p/the-fo=
rever-war-in-west-asia-and</a><div><br></div><div><p class=3D"MsoNormal" al=
ign=3D"center" style=3D"margin:0in;text-align:center;line-height:normal;fon=
t-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><b>The Forever War in West Asia a=
nd its Implications</b></p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" align=3D"center" style=3D"margin:0in;text-align:cent=
er;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">A Scene =
Setter for an Energy Intelligence Colloquium</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" align=3D"center" style=3D"text-align:center;line-hei=
ght:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">=
<b>=C2=A0</b></p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" align=3D"right" style=3D"margin:0in;text-align:right=
;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">Ambassador=
 Chas W. Freeman, Jr.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" align=3D"right" style=3D"margin:0in;text-align:right=
;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">By Video, =
June 26, 2026</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" align=3D"center" style=3D"text-align:center;line-hei=
ght:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">=
<b>=C2=A0</b></p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">Peace is more than the absence of
combat between warring parties.=C2=A0 Cicero defined
it as <i>=E2=80=9Cliberty in tranquility,=E2=80=9D</i> a condition in which=
 states and peoples
do not use violence against each other in pursuit of their inherently incom=
patible
goals.=C2=A0 There has been no such peace in
West Asia since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.=C2=A0=
 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916
divided that Empire=E2=80=99s Arab provinces into British and French sphere=
s of
influence.=C2=A0 In 1917 Britain =E2=80=93 a colonial
power =E2=80=93 declared its support for the establishment of =E2=80=9Ca na=
tional home for the [European]
Jewish people=E2=80=9D in Palestine, while fatuously denying that this woul=
d affect the
civil and religious rights of Palestine=E2=80=99s existing Muslim and Chris=
tian communities.
=C2=A0In 1919, denied the self-determination
promised to other peoples in President Wilson=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9CFourteen P=
oints,=E2=80=9D the Kurds
revolted against British rule in Mesopotamia. They continue to rebel agains=
t the
Arabs. Persians, and Turks who dominate the states they inhabit.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The unintended consequence of
these actions has been more than a century of low intensity conflict in Wes=
t
Asia, punctuated by bloody wars, genocidal massacres, and terrorist
incidents.=C2=A0 The Israeli-American war with
Iran is the latest expression of this endemic violence.=C2=A0 The latest =
=E2=80=98ceasefire with Israeli
characteristics=E2=80=99 does not promise an end to it.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">Israel=E2=80=99s insistence on abso=
lute
security for itself has meant absolute insecurity for everyone else in West
Asia.=C2=A0 With U.S. backing, it has felt
free to bomb, strafe, and murder its potential adversaries throughout West
Asia.=C2=A0 Israeli and American attacks on
Iran have, however, now evoked effective counterattacks.=C2=A0 Israel retai=
ns its =E2=80=9Cqualitative edge=E2=80=9D over
its neighbors, but it has lost its immunity from devastating reprisal. </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">Almost all wars conclude through
negotiations.=C2=A0 To succeed, these must
recognize what interactions on the battlefield have produced.=C2=A0 Otherwi=
se, the negotiations fail. The chances
of success are improved if the negotiators representing the parties are
experienced professionals with no conflicts of interest and who have built
mutual trust with their opposing counterparts.=C2=A0
That has not been the case in U.S. negotiations with Iran, which have
been and will remain complicated by Israel=E2=80=99s determination to ensur=
e that they
fail.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The Iran War will not be followed
by peace in West Asia, but it may mark the end of direct great-power
involvement in armed conflict between its warring parties.=C2=A0 Memoranda =
of understanding may be =E2=80=9Cdeals=E2=80=9D in
the sense of a coordinated statement of intent, but they are the equivalent=
 of
a handshake before the parties sit down at the negotiating table.=C2=A0 The=
y are neither peace nor a peace
agreement.=C2=A0 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The immediate results of the Iran
War are clear.=C2=A0 The war after the war has
begun.=C2=A0 Its longer-term consequences are only
now coming into view.=C2=A0 Some of them are strategically
systemic.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">This war has resulted in:</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 38=
.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>Iran=E2=80=99s adoption of an Israeli-style standard of
disproportionate retaliation for attacks on it or Israel=E2=80=99s neighbor=
s or Arab
movements resisting Israeli expansionism,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>a US-Iranian de-escalation agreement
misdescribed as a =E2=80=9Cceasefire=E2=80=99 and, so far, not accepted by =
Israel, which
continues to seek to annihilate Iran and dominate West Asia through the use=
 of
force,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>a growing U.S. rupture with Israel, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>escalating energy prices and inflation,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the probable tipping of the global economy into
recession or worse, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>impending food and other supply shortages, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the creation=C2=A0of a greatly expanded market
for Chinese renewable energy technology and products, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the erosion of the dollar=E2=80=99s global monopoly on
trade settlement through the slow birth of a Chinese =E2=80=9Cpetroyuan,=E2=
=80=9D </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>a convincing demonstration of the limits of U.S.
military power, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the depletion of the U.S. weapons and defense
systems needed for other contingencies or contracted for delivery by allies=
 and
partners, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the flaking apart of NATO and the basing and
overflight rights its members have granted to the U.S.,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the probable eviction of the U.S. armed forces from
the bases the Gulf Arabs have heretofore loaned them, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the murder of the Iranian leadership echelon most
opposed to building a nuclear weapon with the consequence that Iran will do=
 so after
the sixty day =E2=80=98truce=E2=80=99 in the absence of the return of its f=
rozen assets, the
removal of sanctions, and credible security guarantees, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 0in 3=
8.4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span=
 style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-v=
ariant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings=
:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&q=
uot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the severe devaluation of the U.S. word by
performative rather than substantive diplomacy and erratic oscillation in
negotiating positions, as well as=C2=A0=C2=A0</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style=3D"margin:0in 0in 8pt 38.=
4pt;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span s=
tyle=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-var=
iant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:n=
ormal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&quo=
t;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>definitive proof that selecting personnel for
their political subservience and sycophancy rather than their experience,
expertise, and willingness to speak truth to power can render a government =
incompetent
and =E2=80=98agreement incapable.=E2=80=99 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">Meanwhile, gross violations of
international law and human decency by Israel continue to escalate antipath=
y to
it in ever younger echelons of the U.S. population, including American Jews=
.=C2=A0 Israel=E2=80=99s charges that criticism of its
polices amount to antisemitism have largely lost their sting.=C2=A0 Israel =
is now an international pariah.=C2=A0 It is becoming the skunk at the garde=
n party
in American politics.=C2=A0 A similar
evolution is underway in Europe.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The influence in American
politics that the so-called =E2=80=9CAbraham Accords=E2=80=9D gained for th=
e UAE and Bahrain through
the U.S. Zionist Lobby is therefore a wasting asset.=C2=A0 The accords them=
selves are on life
support.=C2=A0 They are unlikely to survive
the logic of Gulf Arab national interests.=C2=A0 Israeli genocide, ethnic c=
leansing, and
expansionism plus the need to make peace with an Iran determined to counter=
 Israel
have combined to make overt cooperation with Israel a domestic threat to Ar=
ab
governments. The Israeli police-state and defense technology the Gulf Arab
rulers have acquired from Israel is formidable but not irreplaceable. </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">Yemen and Iran have now both succes=
sfully
conducted land-based blockades of their adjacent seas.=C2=A0 This calls int=
o question the traditional Anglo-American
view of the sea as a strategic domain from which to dominate the land.<a hr=
ef=3D"#_ftn1" name=3D"_ftnref1" title=3D""><span class=3D"gmail-MsoFootnote=
Reference" style=3D"vertical-align:super"><span class=3D"gmail-MsoFootnoteR=
eference" style=3D"vertical-align:super"><span style=3D"font-size:12pt;line=
-height:115%">[1]</span></span></span></a>=C2=A0 The three-mile range of ca=
non in the 18<sup>th</sup>
century established a three-mile limit for territorial seas.=C2=A0 Now dron=
es and terminally-guided missiles can
strike ships up to 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) or more away from coastal
batteries.=C2=A0 Sea control is no longer the
uncontested province of navies. </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">Meanwhile, international law no
longer inhibits acts of piracy =E2=80=93 seaborne murder and robbery.=C2=A0=
 Ships are now subject to unprovoked attacks or
outright seizure by the former champions of freedom of navigation.=C2=A0 In=
surance rates are rising.=C2=A0 The seas are no longer open to all nations =
for
secure navigation and trade.=C2=A0 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">War always creates new realities
and adjusts relations between states and peoples.=C2=A0 That is its purpose=
.=C2=A0 But armed conflicts seldom work out the way
those who start them imagine they will.=C2=A0
And they are not always succeeded by peace.=C2=A0 The prospect that a peace=
 will emerge from
whatever negotiating process follows the US-Iran memorandum of understandin=
g announced
on June 15, 2026, is poor.=C2=A0 In West Asia,
warfare is far more likely to persist at varying levels of intensity.=C2=A0=
 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The Iran War has just reminded the
world that wars test endurance and resolve more than weapon systems, and th=
at
they do not end until the loser accepts defeat=E2=80=94something the United=
 States
apparently finds it impossible to do. Wars do not end because one side blow=
s up
more buildings or kills more civilians than the other. (Ask the Vietnamese,
Afghans, Ukrainians, Palestinians, or Lebanese about this.) Military prowes=
s
can impose outcomes, but it does not always prevail. The balance of fervor=
=E2=80=94the
degree to which each side sees the conflict as vital to its national identi=
ty
and interests, dignity, and survival=E2=80=94can enable a militarily weaker=
 side to
carry the day. When the fundamental causes of war do not disappear, the par=
ties
will remain determined to keep fighting as best they can.=C2=A0 Iran and Is=
rael have made no effort to set
aside their differences.=C2=A0 The June 15
=E2=80=9Cceasefire=E2=80=9D between Iran and the United States does not obl=
ige them to bury the
hatchet or offer a process to facilitate them doing so.=C2=A0 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The prospects for peace are also il=
l-served
by the changes in the information environment that recent wars have
catalyzed.=C2=A0 The new transparency of
battlefields to observation by satellites and drones has made deception
difficult, if not impossible, so states now rely on information warfare to
accomplish it.=C2=A0 Censorship, lying
narratives, fake news, and false flag operations are central to the strateg=
ies
of contemporary combatants.=C2=A0 The press is
no longer an effective check on Orwellian storylines.=C2=A0 This leaves gov=
ernments free to consume their
own propaganda and to formulate policies based on it rather than on unpalat=
able
underlying realities.=C2=A0 This feeds hallucinations
that suffocate diplomacy and help prolong =E2=80=98forever wars.=E2=80=99=
=C2=A0 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The Gulf Arabs have just learned
the hard way that the United States prioritizes Israel=E2=80=99s defense ov=
er theirs
and that Iran can and will punish them for any alignment with Israel or the
United States.=C2=A0 Cooperation by them with
either Israel or the United States will continue to invite Iranian attack.=
=C2=A0 So, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members
now face a choice between wary cooperation with Iran or continuing threats =
to
their oil and gas facilities or, even worse, their desalination plants =E2=
=80=93 without
which they cannot exist as modern societies.=C2=A0
This is no choice at all.=C2=A0 The
Gulf Arabs have a powerful incentive to accommodate Iran=E2=80=99s demand t=
hat they
remove American bases from their territory. </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The states of the region do not wan=
t
to replace the United States with another external actor like China or Russ=
ia.=C2=A0 A new four-party coalition of Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan, T=C3=BCrkiye, and Egypt has formed to create a revised West Asian=
 security
architecture that can provide deterrent weight against either Israeli or
Iranian regional hegemony, while reducing reliance on external great powers=
 and
building strategic autonomy.=C2=A0 The members
of this coalition, which is likely to expand, hope to build an indigenous m=
ilitary
industrial base that will reduce their overall dependence on both foreign
protection and arms imports.=C2=A0 They will seek
assurances of respect for their strategic autonomy from external great powe=
rs.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">Iran now controls and will
continue to regulate passage through the Strait of Hormuz in partnership wi=
th
Oman and (possibly) other littoral states but not with any external great n=
aval
power.=C2=A0 This sets a precedent that
overturns centuries of international law and risks being applied to other
straits. The list of waterways that might be reduced to a nationally regula=
ted
transit status like the manmade canals of Panama and Suez is long.=C2=A0 It=
 includes Malacca, Sunda, Lombok, the
Bab-al-Mandeb, Taiwan, Gibraltar, and the Bosphorus.=C2=A0 The internationa=
l community =E2=80=93 including
countries dependent on maritime trade like China, Japan, and India =E2=80=
=93 should
share an interest with the West in ensuring that whatever management system=
 is
put in place in the Strait of Hormuz does not inspire comparable limits to
freedom navigation elsewhere.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The economic stress and the
uncertainties that the Iran War has introduced are a great stimulus to nati=
onal
efforts to consolidate supply chains, lessen reliance on maritime transport=
 of
fossil fuels, invest in renewable energy technology and products, and other=
wise
pursue self-sufficiency.=C2=A0 The result will
be slower economic growth pretty much everywhere as self-reliance replaces
=E2=80=98comparative advantage.=E2=80=99=C2=A0 But the
transition to renewable energy and electrification of the world=E2=80=99s e=
conomies
will accelerate.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">So, in sum, we are likely entering
an era in which:</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style=3D"line-height:normal;ma=
rgin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span s=
tyle=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-var=
iant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:n=
ormal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&quo=
t;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>shipping is more expensive and less secure,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>economies worldwide strive to lessen their
dependence on hydrocarbons as their primary sources of energy,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the need to restore lost hydrocarbon production burdens
Persian Gulf economies in ways that demand reformulation of their policies =
and
development plans,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the pressure on Gulf economies to wean
themselves from their economic dependence on hydrocarbon exports increases =
even
as revenues from such exports decline and development projects are trimmed =
back,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>Iran answers intermittent acts of aggression by
Israel against it and Israels=E2=80=99 Arab neighbors with retaliatory stri=
kes on
Israel,</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>the resistance movements Israel has battered are
tempted to revive 1960s-style attacks on Israelis and their foreign support=
ers,
</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>foreign investment and economic activity in the
UAE and other GCC members are hampered by a perceived rise in political ris=
k, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>geopolitics in West Asia are dominated by
d=C3=A9tente between the Gulf Arabs and Iran and a search for regional stra=
tegic
autonomy by a coalition whose core is a partnership between Ankara, Cairo,
Islamabad, and Riyadh, </p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>Iran, Lebanon, and Syria are obsessed with repairing
war damage and reconstructing their economies, providing opportunities for
foreign construction companies (e.g., from China and Turkey),</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style=3D"line-height:normal;m=
argin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span =
style=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-va=
riant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:=
normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&qu=
ot;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Russian, and Turkish
influence in West Asia grows, while U.S. influence diminishes, and</p>

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style=3D"line-height:normal;mar=
gin:0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span st=
yle=3D"font-family:Symbol">=C2=B7<span style=3D"font-style:normal;font-vari=
ant:normal;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-feature-settings:no=
rmal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:&quot=
;Times New Roman&quot;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
</span></span>Iran joins Israel as a de facto nuclear power,
sparking the development of nuclear weapons by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and ot=
hers.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">These unfortunate potential results
of the American debacle in the Persian Gulf cannot be separated from broade=
r
geopolitical and geoeconomic trends.=C2=A0 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">The five-century-long era of
Western dominance of global affairs is over.=C2=A0
A disunited Europe is no longer an effective participant in global
geopolitics or economics, despite its obvious potential to be both.=C2=A0 C=
hina has no interest in assuming the
decaying role of the United States as the global hegemon.=C2=A0 India is fa=
r from ready to do so.=C2=A0 Africa and Latin America remain
self-absorbed.=C2=A0 International
institutions are increasingly ineffective.=C2=A0
The world order is no longer regulated by international law.=C2=A0 Disorder=
, for now, prevails.=C2=A0 We are all less secure than we were.=C2=A0 </p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">We are again at a moment like the
one Gramsci described at the outset of the 1930s: <i>&quot;The old world is
dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of morbid
symptoms.&quot;=C2=A0 </i>He did not, as
supposed, refer to the advent of =E2=80=9Cmonsters=E2=80=9D but that is no =
consolation.=C2=A0 The monsters are already here and show no
signs of going away.</p>

<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-=
size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style=3D"font-size:14pt;font-=
family:Arial,sans-serif">=D8=AA=D9=88=D9=83=D9=84=D9=86=D8=A7</span><span s=
tyle=3D"font-size:14pt"> </span><span style=3D"font-size:14pt;font-family:A=
rial,sans-serif">=D8=B9=D9=84=D9=89</span><span style=3D"font-size:14pt"> <=
/span><span style=3D"font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">=D8=A7=D9=
=84=D9=84=D9=87</span></p>

<div><br clear=3D"all">

<hr align=3D"left" size=3D"1" width=3D"33%">



<div id=3D"gmail-ftn1">

<p class=3D"gmail-MsoFootnoteText" style=3D"margin:0in;font-size:10pt;font-=
family:Aptos,sans-serif"><a href=3D"#_ftnref1" name=3D"_ftn1" title=3D""><s=
pan class=3D"gmail-MsoFootnoteReference" style=3D"vertical-align:super"><sp=
an class=3D"gmail-MsoFootnoteReference" style=3D"vertical-align:super"><spa=
n style=3D"font-size:10pt;line-height:115%">[1]</span></span></span></a>
Viz: Alfred Thayer Mahan, <i>The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660=
=E2=80=931783</i>
(1890)</p>

</div>

</div></div></div>

--0000000000007eb4d3065515ee35--

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 https://x.com/agent_of_change/status/2069919232851337602
Seventy years of partnership: what China-Africa cooperation actually looks =
like
     On Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 08:06:08 PM GMT+5, Chas Freeman via Salo=
n <salon@listserve.com> wrote: =20
=20
=20


China Is Pulling Up the Ladder Behind It

How Beijing=E2=80=99s Export Strategy Will Keep Poor Countries Poor

Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian
June 18, 2026At a truck factory in Baotou, China, June 2026Maxim Shemetov /=
 Reuters
SHOUMITRO CHATTERJEE=C2=A0is Assistant Professor of International Economics=
 at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies a=
nd a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN=C2=A0is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for In=
ternational Economics. From 2014 to 2018, he served as Chief Economic Advis=
er to the Government of India. He is a co-author, with Devesh Kapur, of=C2=
=A0A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India=E2=80=99s Development Odyssey.
  =20
   - More by Shoumitro Chatterjee=C2=A0
   - More by Arvind Subramanian=C2=A0

China is increasingly embracing the mantle that comes with being a global s=
uperpower. Its rise is forcing the rest of the world to assess its credenti=
als as a potential hegemon and a provider of public goods. And in one signi=
ficant area, its strength may be a real weakness. Many poorer countries fea=
r that China=E2=80=99s economic rise will not leave room for them to indust=
rialize. Unlike the United States and European countries, which in the past=
 helped facilitate the industrialization of poorer countries (including Chi=
na), Beijing is currently on track to have the opposite effect.

China=C2=A0is not merely climbing the technological ladder; it is pulling u=
p the ladder behind it. It dominates the new commanding heights of manufact=
uring=E2=80=94electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, drones=E2=80=94bu=
t it has not vacated the older, labor-intensive sectors through which it an=
d other rich and middle-income countries escaped poverty. In effect, China =
is trying to do what economic theory says no country should be able to do: =
retain comparative advantage in almost everything.

That gambit is all the more striking in an era when global imbalances are o=
nce again widening. China=E2=80=99s trade surplus measured as a share of wo=
rld GDP is at a historic high. The International Monetary Fund has warned t=
hat external imbalances and the attendant trade consequences are generating=
 negative spillovers for trading partners. As Brad Setser and Shahin Val=C3=
=A9e wrote recently=C2=A0in=C2=A0Foreign Affairs, Chinese currency manipula=
tion is undermining the global trading system. The last great era of Chines=
e surpluses, roughly in the first decade of this century, produced what sev=
eral scholars have called the first =E2=80=9CChina shock=E2=80=9D: a surge =
of exports into the United States that hollowed out swaths of American manu=
facturing. That shock transformed American politics and helped create a rar=
e bipartisan consensus against free trade and against China.

The new shock is different. It is landing less in the=C2=A0United States, w=
here tariffs, bans, and national security restrictions have blunted Chinese=
 import competition by fiat. It is more visibly affecting Europe, and espec=
ially Germany, whose industrial model was built around the internal combust=
ion engine and its associated high-end engineering ecosystem. China=E2=80=
=99s rise in electric vehicles and green technologies has turned a commerci=
al challenge into an existential one for many European industries.

But the focus on how China=E2=80=99s economic strategy affects the United S=
tates and Europe has obscured a larger problem. The most consequential vict=
ims of the current China shock are not workers in Detroit or Stuttgart, but=
 future workers in places such as Addis Ababa, Dhaka, Lagos, Nairobi, Phnom=
 Penh, Surat, and Tirupur. Their losses cannot be measured mainly in job cu=
ts or factory closures, but rather in terms of factories never built, expor=
t markets never entered, capabilities never accumulated, and development pa=
ths never opened. That is the real toll of what is now called the =E2=80=9C=
China squeeze.=E2=80=9D

The stakes of the China squeeze are immense. The issue is not only hundreds=
 of billions of dollars in forgone exports, it is whether latecomers to dev=
elopment still have access to the most reliable path of structural transfor=
mation the world has known. Historically, almost every country that escaped=
 from poverty to prosperity did so by relying on manufacturing exports: gar=
ments, toys, footwear, furniture, electronics assembly, and other sectors t=
hat absorb large numbers of less-skilled workers while building firms, logi=
stics, know-how, and state capacity. China benefited enormously from an ope=
n trading system that allowed it to lift hundreds of millions of people out=
 of poverty through manufacturing for the global market. China=E2=80=99s ow=
n rise may now block that same path for countries poorer than itself.

THE MAIN SQUEEZE

Much of China=E2=80=99s manufacturing trade surplus (the difference between=
 its exports and imports) sits precisely where poorer countries should have=
 their greatest opportunity. Of China=E2=80=99s total manufacturing surplus=
 of about $2.2 trillion, roughly $700 billion to $1.4 trillion is concentra=
ted in low-skill-intensive sectors such as apparel, footwear, toys, furnitu=
re, and electronics assembly, the very areas in which low- and middle-incom=
e countries with vast labor pools compete most directly with China.

The simplest measure of this dynamic is China=E2=80=99s share of global exp=
orts in low-skill goods. China=E2=80=99s share of gross exports, including =
final goods such as shirts or shoes, rose sharply starting in=C2=A0the earl=
y 1990s, peaked at over 60 percent in 2014, and then declined. That pattern=
 suggests the squeeze may have eased.

But gross exports miss much of the story. A shirt is not just a shirt. It i=
s fabric, yarn, zippers, and buttons, but also packaging, logistics, and de=
sign. Accounting for the total value embedded in exports (what economists c=
all =E2=80=9Cvalue-added exports=E2=80=9D)=E2=80=94a better proxy for the j=
obs and capabilities created along the supply chain=E2=80=94China=E2=80=99s=
 share of low-skill goods has not meaningfully fallen.

It has continued to rise, apart from a brief dip. China has not only domina=
ted final assembly but has increasingly also dominated the production of th=
e downstream inputs that go into final assembly: fewer shirts but more of t=
he yarn, zippers, buttons, and so forth that go into making clothing.



Economists can determine whether this dominance is excessive. They can ask,=
 for instance, whether China=E2=80=99s share of low-skilled exports is comm=
ensurate with its share of the world=E2=80=99s low-skilled labor. And they =
can ask how China compares with today=E2=80=99s advanced economies when the=
y were at a similar level of income. Together, these measures can help asse=
ss the extent to which China is distorting the global economy.

In labor-intensive manufacturing, a country=E2=80=99s share of world export=
s should broadly track its share of the world=E2=80=99s low-skilled labor, =
or at least the two should not diverge massively even if technologies and p=
roductivities are similar across countries. At the start of the twenty-firs=
t century, among all lower- and middle-income countries, China=E2=80=99s sh=
are of low-skilled labor and its share of value-added exports were roughly =
aligned. Since then, they have diverged sharply. Between 2013 and 2023, Chi=
na=E2=80=99s value-added export share remained at about 64 percent, even as=
 its share of the labor force fell by three percentage points. According to=
 this benchmark, China=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cexcess=E2=80=9D exports rose from=
 33 to 36 percent of all global exports from lower- and middle-income count=
ries.

The magnitudes are large. For apparel, textiles, leather, and footwear, thi=
s excess amounted to about $110 billion in value-added exports in 2022. Acr=
oss all low-skill sectors, we estimate excess value-added exports of more t=
han $355 billion in 2022. That export space could have supported tens of mi=
llions of manufacturing jobs in poorer economies. Value-added data beyond 2=
022 are not yet available, but data on gross exports until 2024 show a simi=
lar trend.

Comparison with the past offers a similar sense of the scale of the current=
 distortion. When today=E2=80=99s rich countries were as rich as China is n=
ow, they had already ceded much more low-skill manufacturing space to other=
s. After adjusting for income levels and for the fact that goods are more t=
radable today because of lower transport costs and trade barriers, we calcu=
late that advanced economies at China=E2=80=99s current level of per capita=
 GDP had a global export share of about eight percent in comparable sectors=
. China=E2=80=99s share today is much higher, at 27 percent. The gap, multi=
plied by current global gross exports, implies excess Chinese exports of ab=
out $140 billion in the four labor-intensive sectors of apparel, textiles, =
leather, and footwear, a figure close to the $110 billion estimate from foc=
using on low-skilled labor share.



Two very different comparisons therefore yield the same conclusion: China=
=E2=80=99s continued dominance in low-skill manufacturing is historically u=
nusual and economically consequential. The biggest proportional gains from =
a relaxation of the squeeze would likely accrue to sub-Saharan Africa, wher=
e low-skill exports are currently only about $12 billion. If countries in t=
he region had more room in global markets (and enacted better domestic poli=
cies, such as deregulating their economies and reducing the costs and risks=
 of doing business) they could increase such exports severalfold. East Asia=
n and South Asian economies could also see large gains, with low-skill expo=
rts rising by 75 to 175 percent.

China alone does not explain every missed opportunity in a poorer country. =
Domestic constraints still matter enormously. But China=E2=80=99s dominance=
 narrows the possibilities available to poorer countries and makes it harde=
r for them to plot a reliable way forward.

The effect of the China squeeze on lower- and middle-income countries is to=
o large to dismiss. But the causes also matter. If China=E2=80=99s dominanc=
e reflects genuine accomplishments in boosting the country=E2=80=99s produc=
tivity=E2=80=94through gains in scale, logistics, automation, and manageria=
l quality, and through fierce domestic competition=E2=80=94then poorer coun=
tries should respond to the current situation by seeking to improve their o=
wn competitiveness. If that dominance reflects subsidies, financial repress=
ion, or exchange rate distortion, then it is an indictment of the global tr=
ading system.

China=E2=80=99s dominance has persisted even as its wages have surged. Data=
 from the UN Industrial Development Organization show that Chinese manufact=
uring wages are now far above those in most competitor countries and are st=
ill rising. In apparel, annual wages in China average around $10,000, about=
 five times such wages in Bangladesh and four times those in India. Convent=
ional theories about trade hold that such wage gaps should allow lower-wage=
 economies to carve a greater slice of the global export pie. They have not=
. China remains formidable even in sectors where its labor-cost advantage h=
as long disappeared.



One possibility is that China=E2=80=99s productivity advantage is simply la=
rge enough to offset its wage disadvantage. Its workers might toil 15 hours=
 a day and its firms operate with the benefit of automation, deep supplier =
networks, dense industrial clusters, world-class logistics systems, and an =
ecosystem that can scale production with extraordinary speed. These advanta=
ges are real. But distinguishing genuine competitiveness from policy distor=
tion requires disaggregated firm-level data on productivity, wages, subsidi=
es, credit, ownership, and export performance. For more than a decade, such=
 data have been largely unavailable to researchers outside China, making se=
rious diagnosis, including assessing the effect of automation, very difficu=
lt.

Industrial policy is another possible explanation. China has long used subs=
idies, directed credit, government procurement practices,=C2=A0and local go=
vernment support to strengthen manufacturing. Yet research by the Internati=
onal Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve suggests that China targets subs=
idies more heavily toward high-tech sectors than toward traditional labor-i=
ntensive industries. That may help explain China=E2=80=99s success in elect=
ric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, and drones. It does less to explain =
its abiding dominance in apparel, footwear, toys, and basic assembly.

That leaves the exchange rate. Several analysts have argued that the renmin=
bi remains undervalued by 15 to 25 percent. China=E2=80=99s foreign exchang=
e intervention tracks its global market share in low-skill goods: between 2=
013 and 2018, its global export share declined in parallel with the frequen=
cy of its intervention in keeping the renminbi relatively weak; thereafter,=
 its global export share rose, as did its propensity to intervene in manipu=
lating the renminbi. If the renminbi has been kept artificially cheap, the =
effect is equivalent to a broad subsidy to Chinese exporters and a tax on f=
oreign producers. It would make Chinese goods cheaper in global markets and=
 foreign goods more expensive in China=E2=80=94precisely the combination th=
at would sustain the China squeeze.

A BOON FOR BEIJING

What can be done to redress the China squeeze? Poor countries might look to=
 other trading partners for help. For example, the European Union and Japan=
 can negotiate and deepen free trade agreements with poorer countries so th=
at they can get more favorable terms of access that could partially offset =
China=E2=80=99s advantage. Large countries and the International Monetary F=
und can lean on China to address its undervalued currency.

Unfortunately, lower- and middle-income countries have only limited negotia=
ting leverage with China. After all, Beijing has been relatively impervious=
 to demands even from Washington to open its markets. U.S. President Donald=
 Trump retreated from imposing high tariffs on China when it threatened to =
restrict exports of critical minerals.

Any corrective action, therefore, would have to come from China itself. If =
it assesses, correctly, that the United States has become an unreliable and=
 unstable hegemon, it could see value in offering an alternative to Washing=
ton, as an actor able to help prevent a breakdown of the international trad=
ing order. But that would require abandoning actions that inflict harm on p=
oorer countries. It has taken some salutary symbolic steps, giving up its d=
eveloping-country status at the World Trade Organization, which, in princip=
le, makes it harder for it to dole out subsidies to its firms. It has also =
lowered tariff barriers to some poorer countries. But it can and must do mo=
re.



China=E2=80=99s dominance narrows the possibilities available to poorer cou=
ntries.

It could, for example, extend duty-free access to all labor-intensive impor=
ts into China from all developing countries. A radical option, consistent w=
ith attempting to boost consumption within China, would be to go further an=
d subsidize imports of labor-intensive goods from poor countries so that im=
porters get a payment from the Chinese government, which they pass on to Ch=
inese consumers in the form of lower prices. At the very least, it should n=
ot stymie the transfer of valuable expertise to other countries as it did i=
n 2025, when Beijing pressured the manufacturer Foxconn to repatriate 300 m=
anagers and engineers from India.

Beyond trade, China could proactively encourage its entrepreneurs to set up=
 manufacturing plants in poor countries with the greatest potential. This w=
ould complement its Belt and Road Initiative, the vast investment program t=
hat focuses on infrastructure and commodities. Even on the exchange rate, t=
here could now be an opening. China, like other countries, has long chafed =
under the dollar=E2=80=99s financial dominance. That dominance is eroding a=
s a result of U.S. actions and growing doubt about the reliability of Ameri=
can institutions. It would make sense for Beijing to now accelerate the int=
ernationalization of the renminbi. That would entail real costs in terms of=
 strengthening the currency and potentially hurting Chinese exports, but it=
 could offer a far greater prize: a realistic shot at rivaling dollar domin=
ance. And a correction in the currency=E2=80=99s undervaluation would gener=
ate many positive spillovers for poor countries.

Together, such measures might have some negative consequences, mainly in hi=
tting lower-skilled Chinese exports. But they would be a boon for Beijing i=
n a different way. If China=E2=80=99s leaders want to take on more of the m=
antle of global leadership, they must understand that leadership works not =
simply through domination but by facilitating the rise of others. To truly =
take advantage of the waning of American hegemony, China must not only dist=
inguish itself from this current protectionist and erratic iteration of the=
 United States; it must also break with its own record of mercantilism.
--=20
Salon mailing list
Salon@listserve.com
https://mlm2.listserve.net/mailman/listinfo/salon
     On Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 08:06:08 PM GMT+5, Chas Freeman via Salo=
n <salon@listserve.com> wrote: =20
=20
=20


China Is Pulling Up the Ladder Behind It

How Beijing=E2=80=99s Export Strategy Will Keep Poor Countries Poor

Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian
June 18, 2026At a truck factory in Baotou, China, June 2026Maxim Shemetov /=
 Reuters
SHOUMITRO CHATTERJEE=C2=A0is Assistant Professor of International Economics=
 at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies a=
nd a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN=C2=A0is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for In=
ternational Economics. From 2014 to 2018, he served as Chief Economic Advis=
er to the Government of India. He is a co-author, with Devesh Kapur, of=C2=
=A0A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India=E2=80=99s Development Odyssey.
  =20
   - More by Shoumitro Chatterjee=C2=A0
   - More by Arvind Subramanian=C2=A0

China is increasingly embracing the mantle that comes with being a global s=
uperpower. Its rise is forcing the rest of the world to assess its credenti=
als as a potential hegemon and a provider of public goods. And in one signi=
ficant area, its strength may be a real weakness. Many poorer countries fea=
r that China=E2=80=99s economic rise will not leave room for them to indust=
rialize. Unlike the United States and European countries, which in the past=
 helped facilitate the industrialization of poorer countries (including Chi=
na), Beijing is currently on track to have the opposite effect.

China=C2=A0is not merely climbing the technological ladder; it is pulling u=
p the ladder behind it. It dominates the new commanding heights of manufact=
uring=E2=80=94electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, drones=E2=80=94bu=
t it has not vacated the older, labor-intensive sectors through which it an=
d other rich and middle-income countries escaped poverty. In effect, China =
is trying to do what economic theory says no country should be able to do: =
retain comparative advantage in almost everything.

That gambit is all the more striking in an era when global imbalances are o=
nce again widening. China=E2=80=99s trade surplus measured as a share of wo=
rld GDP is at a historic high. The International Monetary Fund has warned t=
hat external imbalances and the attendant trade consequences are generating=
 negative spillovers for trading partners. As Brad Setser and Shahin Val=C3=
=A9e wrote recently=C2=A0in=C2=A0Foreign Affairs, Chinese currency manipula=
tion is undermining the global trading system. The last great era of Chines=
e surpluses, roughly in the first decade of this century, produced what sev=
eral scholars have called the first =E2=80=9CChina shock=E2=80=9D: a surge =
of exports into the United States that hollowed out swaths of American manu=
facturing. That shock transformed American politics and helped create a rar=
e bipartisan consensus against free trade and against China.

The new shock is different. It is landing less in the=C2=A0United States, w=
here tariffs, bans, and national security restrictions have blunted Chinese=
 import competition by fiat. It is more visibly affecting Europe, and espec=
ially Germany, whose industrial model was built around the internal combust=
ion engine and its associated high-end engineering ecosystem. China=E2=80=
=99s rise in electric vehicles and green technologies has turned a commerci=
al challenge into an existential one for many European industries.

But the focus on how China=E2=80=99s economic strategy affects the United S=
tates and Europe has obscured a larger problem. The most consequential vict=
ims of the current China shock are not workers in Detroit or Stuttgart, but=
 future workers in places such as Addis Ababa, Dhaka, Lagos, Nairobi, Phnom=
 Penh, Surat, and Tirupur. Their losses cannot be measured mainly in job cu=
ts or factory closures, but rather in terms of factories never built, expor=
t markets never entered, capabilities never accumulated, and development pa=
ths never opened. That is the real toll of what is now called the =E2=80=9C=
China squeeze.=E2=80=9D

The stakes of the China squeeze are immense. The issue is not only hundreds=
 of billions of dollars in forgone exports, it is whether latecomers to dev=
elopment still have access to the most reliable path of structural transfor=
mation the world has known. Historically, almost every country that escaped=
 from poverty to prosperity did so by relying on manufacturing exports: gar=
ments, toys, footwear, furniture, electronics assembly, and other sectors t=
hat absorb large numbers of less-skilled workers while building firms, logi=
stics, know-how, and state capacity. China benefited enormously from an ope=
n trading system that allowed it to lift hundreds of millions of people out=
 of poverty through manufacturing for the global market. China=E2=80=99s ow=
n rise may now block that same path for countries poorer than itself.

THE MAIN SQUEEZE

Much of China=E2=80=99s manufacturing trade surplus (the difference between=
 its exports and imports) sits precisely where poorer countries should have=
 their greatest opportunity. Of China=E2=80=99s total manufacturing surplus=
 of about $2.2 trillion, roughly $700 billion to $1.4 trillion is concentra=
ted in low-skill-intensive sectors such as apparel, footwear, toys, furnitu=
re, and electronics assembly, the very areas in which low- and middle-incom=
e countries with vast labor pools compete most directly with China.

The simplest measure of this dynamic is China=E2=80=99s share of global exp=
orts in low-skill goods. China=E2=80=99s share of gross exports, including =
final goods such as shirts or shoes, rose sharply starting in=C2=A0the earl=
y 1990s, peaked at over 60 percent in 2014, and then declined. That pattern=
 suggests the squeeze may have eased.

But gross exports miss much of the story. A shirt is not just a shirt. It i=
s fabric, yarn, zippers, and buttons, but also packaging, logistics, and de=
sign. Accounting for the total value embedded in exports (what economists c=
all =E2=80=9Cvalue-added exports=E2=80=9D)=E2=80=94a better proxy for the j=
obs and capabilities created along the supply chain=E2=80=94China=E2=80=99s=
 share of low-skill goods has not meaningfully fallen.

It has continued to rise, apart from a brief dip. China has not only domina=
ted final assembly but has increasingly also dominated the production of th=
e downstream inputs that go into final assembly: fewer shirts but more of t=
he yarn, zippers, buttons, and so forth that go into making clothing.



Economists can determine whether this dominance is excessive. They can ask,=
 for instance, whether China=E2=80=99s share of low-skilled exports is comm=
ensurate with its share of the world=E2=80=99s low-skilled labor. And they =
can ask how China compares with today=E2=80=99s advanced economies when the=
y were at a similar level of income. Together, these measures can help asse=
ss the extent to which China is distorting the global economy.

In labor-intensive manufacturing, a country=E2=80=99s share of world export=
s should broadly track its share of the world=E2=80=99s low-skilled labor, =
or at least the two should not diverge massively even if technologies and p=
roductivities are similar across countries. At the start of the twenty-firs=
t century, among all lower- and middle-income countries, China=E2=80=99s sh=
are of low-skilled labor and its share of value-added exports were roughly =
aligned. Since then, they have diverged sharply. Between 2013 and 2023, Chi=
na=E2=80=99s value-added export share remained at about 64 percent, even as=
 its share of the labor force fell by three percentage points. According to=
 this benchmark, China=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cexcess=E2=80=9D exports rose from=
 33 to 36 percent of all global exports from lower- and middle-income count=
ries.

The magnitudes are large. For apparel, textiles, leather, and footwear, thi=
s excess amounted to about $110 billion in value-added exports in 2022. Acr=
oss all low-skill sectors, we estimate excess value-added exports of more t=
han $355 billion in 2022. That export space could have supported tens of mi=
llions of manufacturing jobs in poorer economies. Value-added data beyond 2=
022 are not yet available, but data on gross exports until 2024 show a simi=
lar trend.

Comparison with the past offers a similar sense of the scale of the current=
 distortion. When today=E2=80=99s rich countries were as rich as China is n=
ow, they had already ceded much more low-skill manufacturing space to other=
s. After adjusting for income levels and for the fact that goods are more t=
radable today because of lower transport costs and trade barriers, we calcu=
late that advanced economies at China=E2=80=99s current level of per capita=
 GDP had a global export share of about eight percent in comparable sectors=
. China=E2=80=99s share today is much higher, at 27 percent. The gap, multi=
plied by current global gross exports, implies excess Chinese exports of ab=
out $140 billion in the four labor-intensive sectors of apparel, textiles, =
leather, and footwear, a figure close to the $110 billion estimate from foc=
using on low-skilled labor share.



Two very different comparisons therefore yield the same conclusion: China=
=E2=80=99s continued dominance in low-skill manufacturing is historically u=
nusual and economically consequential. The biggest proportional gains from =
a relaxation of the squeeze would likely accrue to sub-Saharan Africa, wher=
e low-skill exports are currently only about $12 billion. If countries in t=
he region had more room in global markets (and enacted better domestic poli=
cies, such as deregulating their economies and reducing the costs and risks=
 of doing business) they could increase such exports severalfold. East Asia=
n and South Asian economies could also see large gains, with low-skill expo=
rts rising by 75 to 175 percent.

China alone does not explain every missed opportunity in a poorer country. =
Domestic constraints still matter enormously. But China=E2=80=99s dominance=
 narrows the possibilities available to poorer countries and makes it harde=
r for them to plot a reliable way forward.

The effect of the China squeeze on lower- and middle-income countries is to=
o large to dismiss. But the causes also matter. If China=E2=80=99s dominanc=
e reflects genuine accomplishments in boosting the country=E2=80=99s produc=
tivity=E2=80=94through gains in scale, logistics, automation, and manageria=
l quality, and through fierce domestic competition=E2=80=94then poorer coun=
tries should respond to the current situation by seeking to improve their o=
wn competitiveness. If that dominance reflects subsidies, financial repress=
ion, or exchange rate distortion, then it is an indictment of the global tr=
ading system.

China=E2=80=99s dominance has persisted even as its wages have surged. Data=
 from the UN Industrial Development Organization show that Chinese manufact=
uring wages are now far above those in most competitor countries and are st=
ill rising. In apparel, annual wages in China average around $10,000, about=
 five times such wages in Bangladesh and four times those in India. Convent=
ional theories about trade hold that such wage gaps should allow lower-wage=
 economies to carve a greater slice of the global export pie. They have not=
. China remains formidable even in sectors where its labor-cost advantage h=
as long disappeared.



One possibility is that China=E2=80=99s productivity advantage is simply la=
rge enough to offset its wage disadvantage. Its workers might toil 15 hours=
 a day and its firms operate with the benefit of automation, deep supplier =
networks, dense industrial clusters, world-class logistics systems, and an =
ecosystem that can scale production with extraordinary speed. These advanta=
ges are real. But distinguishing genuine competitiveness from policy distor=
tion requires disaggregated firm-level data on productivity, wages, subsidi=
es, credit, ownership, and export performance. For more than a decade, such=
 data have been largely unavailable to researchers outside China, making se=
rious diagnosis, including assessing the effect of automation, very difficu=
lt.

Industrial policy is another possible explanation. China has long used subs=
idies, directed credit, government procurement practices,=C2=A0and local go=
vernment support to strengthen manufacturing. Yet research by the Internati=
onal Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve suggests that China targets subs=
idies more heavily toward high-tech sectors than toward traditional labor-i=
ntensive industries. That may help explain China=E2=80=99s success in elect=
ric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, and drones. It does less to explain =
its abiding dominance in apparel, footwear, toys, and basic assembly.

That leaves the exchange rate. Several analysts have argued that the renmin=
bi remains undervalued by 15 to 25 percent. China=E2=80=99s foreign exchang=
e intervention tracks its global market share in low-skill goods: between 2=
013 and 2018, its global export share declined in parallel with the frequen=
cy of its intervention in keeping the renminbi relatively weak; thereafter,=
 its global export share rose, as did its propensity to intervene in manipu=
lating the renminbi. If the renminbi has been kept artificially cheap, the =
effect is equivalent to a broad subsidy to Chinese exporters and a tax on f=
oreign producers. It would make Chinese goods cheaper in global markets and=
 foreign goods more expensive in China=E2=80=94precisely the combination th=
at would sustain the China squeeze.

A BOON FOR BEIJING

What can be done to redress the China squeeze? Poor countries might look to=
 other trading partners for help. For example, the European Union and Japan=
 can negotiate and deepen free trade agreements with poorer countries so th=
at they can get more favorable terms of access that could partially offset =
China=E2=80=99s advantage. Large countries and the International Monetary F=
und can lean on China to address its undervalued currency.

Unfortunately, lower- and middle-income countries have only limited negotia=
ting leverage with China. After all, Beijing has been relatively impervious=
 to demands even from Washington to open its markets. U.S. President Donald=
 Trump retreated from imposing high tariffs on China when it threatened to =
restrict exports of critical minerals.

Any corrective action, therefore, would have to come from China itself. If =
it assesses, correctly, that the United States has become an unreliable and=
 unstable hegemon, it could see value in offering an alternative to Washing=
ton, as an actor able to help prevent a breakdown of the international trad=
ing order. But that would require abandoning actions that inflict harm on p=
oorer countries. It has taken some salutary symbolic steps, giving up its d=
eveloping-country status at the World Trade Organization, which, in princip=
le, makes it harder for it to dole out subsidies to its firms. It has also =
lowered tariff barriers to some poorer countries. But it can and must do mo=
re.



China=E2=80=99s dominance narrows the possibilities available to poorer cou=
ntries.

It could, for example, extend duty-free access to all labor-intensive impor=
ts into China from all developing countries. A radical option, consistent w=
ith attempting to boost consumption within China, would be to go further an=
d subsidize imports of labor-intensive goods from poor countries so that im=
porters get a payment from the Chinese government, which they pass on to Ch=
inese consumers in the form of lower prices. At the very least, it should n=
ot stymie the transfer of valuable expertise to other countries as it did i=
n 2025, when Beijing pressured the manufacturer Foxconn to repatriate 300 m=
anagers and engineers from India.

Beyond trade, China could proactively encourage its entrepreneurs to set up=
 manufacturing plants in poor countries with the greatest potential. This w=
ould complement its Belt and Road Initiative, the vast investment program t=
hat focuses on infrastructure and commodities. Even on the exchange rate, t=
here could now be an opening. China, like other countries, has long chafed =
under the dollar=E2=80=99s financial dominance. That dominance is eroding a=
s a result of U.S. actions and growing doubt about the reliability of Ameri=
can institutions. It would make sense for Beijing to now accelerate the int=
ernationalization of the renminbi. That would entail real costs in terms of=
 strengthening the currency and potentially hurting Chinese exports, but it=
 could offer a far greater prize: a realistic shot at rivaling dollar domin=
ance. And a correction in the currency=E2=80=99s undervaluation would gener=
ate many positive spillovers for poor countries.

Together, such measures might have some negative consequences, mainly in hi=
tting lower-skilled Chinese exports. But they would be a boon for Beijing i=
n a different way. If China=E2=80=99s leaders want to take on more of the m=
antle of global leadership, they must understand that leadership works not =
simply through domination but by facilitating the rise of others. To truly =
take advantage of the waning of American hegemony, China must not only dist=
inguish itself from this current protectionist and erratic iteration of the=
 United States; it must also break with its own record of mercantilism.
--=20
Salon mailing list
Salon@listserve.com
https://mlm2.listserve.net/mailman/listinfo/salon
 =20
------=_Part_2029213_1260587109.1782404515451
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<div>                https://x.com/agent_of_change/status/20699192328513376=
02<br>Seventy years of partnership: what China-Africa cooperation actually =
looks like<br>            </div>            <div class=3D"yahoo_quoted" sty=
le=3D"margin:10px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid #ccc;padding-left:1ex=
;">                        <div style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helv=
etica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a;">                   =
             <div>                        On Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 08:=
06:08 PM GMT+5, Chas Freeman via Salon &lt;salon@listserve.com&gt; wrote:  =
                  </div>                    <div><br></div>                =
    <div><br></div>                                                <div><di=
v id=3D"yiv3208162160"><div dir=3D"ltr"><br><div><br></div><div><div style=
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font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adju=
st:inherit;margin:0px 10px 60px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=
=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-topper__heading-container yiv3208162160gmail-col-12 =
yiv3208162160gmail-mb-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60"><h1 style=3D"border:0=
px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:400;font-stretch:inh=
erit;line-height:1.1;font-family:serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:6=
4px;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;"=
 class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-topper__title yiv3208162160gmail-text-balance =
yiv3208162160gmail-title-l yiv3208162160gmail-mb-20 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-l=
g-15">China Is Pulling Up the Ladder Behind It</h1><h2 style=3D"border:0px;=
font-style:italic;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:400;font-stretch:inherit=
;line-height:1.2;font-family:serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:32px;=
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rategy Will Keep Poor Countries Poor</h2><h3 style=3D"border:0px;font-style=
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">Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian</h3><span style=3D"border:0px=
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3;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:18px;margin:0px 20px 0px 0px;padding:0=
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 yiv3208162160gmail-mr-20">June 18, 2026</span></div><div style=3D"border:0=
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argin:0px 10px 60px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;width:629.987px;" c=
lass=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-topper__image-container yiv3208162160gmail-w-100=
 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-20 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60 yiv3208162160gmail-co=
l-12 yiv3208162160gmail-col-lg-6-base-10"><img src=3D"cid:qCKoVHBbXWlwtDqNz=
A5h" yahoo_partid=3D"1.5" alt=3D"2026-06-13T064341Z_1843333290_RC2RSLAXA0UL=
_RTRMADP_3_CHINA-RENEWABLES.JPG" width=3D"562" height=3D"375"><span style=
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st:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:block;" c=
lass=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-figure__caption-text yiv3208162160gmail-d-block"=
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tom yiv3208162160gmail-border-thin yiv3208162160gmail-c-border yiv320816216=
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t:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font=
-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px;ve=
rtical-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-author-about yiv3208162=
160gmail-pt-20 yiv3208162160gmail-pb-5 yiv3208162160gmail-pb-md-20 yiv32081=
62160gmail-pt-lg-0"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-varian=
t:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font-size-adjust:inherit;fon=
t-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:i=
nherit;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-author-about__description yiv320816216=
0gmail-body-s yiv3208162160gmail-mb-20"><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:i=
nherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-h=
eight:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;paddi=
ng:0px 0px 15px;vertical-align:baseline;"><span style=3D"border:0px;font-st=
yle:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:22px;font-=
family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-ali=
gn:baseline;letter-spacing:0.05em;font-size:20px;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gm=
ail-lh-22 yiv3208162160gmail-small-caps yiv3208162160gmail-fs-20">SHOUMITRO=
 CHATTERJEE</span>&nbsp;is Assistant Professor of International Economics a=
t the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and=
 a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.</=
p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weigh=
t:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font=
-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"><span=
 style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:in=
herit;line-height:22px;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:=
0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;letter-spacing:0.05em;font-size:20p=
x;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-lh-22 yiv3208162160gmail-small-caps yiv3208=
162160gmail-fs-20">ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN</span>&nbsp;is a Senior Fellow at the=
 Peterson Institute for International Economics. From 2014 to 2018, he serv=
ed as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India. He is a co-author,=
 with Devesh Kapur, of&nbsp;<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=
=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://www.amazon.com/Sixth-Humanity-Independent-Devel=
opment-Odyssey/dp/0197837255/ref=3Dtmm_hrd_swatch_0" style=3D"border:0px;fo=
nt-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inhe=
rit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin=
:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;text-decoration:none=
;"><em style=3D"border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-st=
retch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inhe=
rit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">A Sixth of Humanity: I=
ndependent India=E2=80=99s Development Odyssey</em></a><em style=3D"border:=
0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-heig=
ht:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:=
0px;vertical-align:baseline;">.</em></p></div><ul style=3D"border:0px;font-=
style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit=
;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0p=
x;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;list-style:none;" class=3D"yiv3208162=
160gmail-author-about__list"><li style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;fon=
t-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font-size-adjust:inh=
erit;font-size:18px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:in=
herit;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-author-about__list-item yiv3208162160gm=
ail-body-s"><a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" href=
=3D"https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/shoumitro-chatterjee" style=3D"b=
order-width:0px 0px 0.5px;border-style:none none solid;border-color:current=
color;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stre=
tch:inherit;line-height:16px;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;m=
argin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;text-decoration=
:none;display:inline-block;font-size:15px;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-arr=
ow-link yiv3208162160gmail-border-bottom-micro yiv3208162160gmail-d-inline-=
block yiv3208162160gmail-border-bottom yiv3208162160gmail-lh-16 yiv32081621=
60gmail-fs-15">More by Shoumitro Chatterjee&nbsp;</a></li><li style=3D"bord=
er:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-he=
ight:1.3;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:18px;margin:10px 0px 0px;paddin=
g:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-a=
uthor-about__list-item yiv3208162160gmail-body-s yiv3208162160gmail-mt-10">=
<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://w=
ww.foreignaffairs.com/authors/arvind-subramanian" style=3D"border-width:0px=
 0px 0.5px;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor;font-styl=
e:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;lin=
e-height:16px;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;paddi=
ng:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;text-decoration:none;display:i=
nline-block;font-size:15px;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-arrow-link yiv3208=
162160gmail-border-bottom-micro yiv3208162160gmail-d-inline-block yiv320816=
2160gmail-border-bottom yiv3208162160gmail-lh-16 yiv3208162160gmail-fs-15">=
More by Arvind Subramanian&nbsp;</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div style=
=3D"border:0px;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:serif;f=
ont-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:22px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;=
display:flex;color:rgb(0,0,0);" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-article__body y=
iv3208162160gmail-position-relative yiv3208162160gmail-d-flex yiv3208162160=
gmail--ml-10 yiv3208162160gmail--mr-10 yiv3208162160gmail-col-12 yiv3208162=
160gmail-flex-column-reverse yiv3208162160gmail-flex-row-lg yiv3208162160gm=
ail-col-lg-10 yiv3208162160gmail-no-gutter yiv3208162160gmail-justify-betwe=
en"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-w=
eight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;=
font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" c=
lass=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-article__content-tools-wrapper yiv3208162160gmai=
l-order-2 yiv3208162160gmail-order-lg-1 yiv3208162160gmail-col-12 yiv320816=
2160gmail-col-lg-6-base-10 yiv3208162160gmail-no-gutter yiv3208162160gmail-=
ml-0 yiv3208162160gmail-mr-0"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;f=
ont-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:in=
herit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;v=
ertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-article-dropcap"><div =
style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inh=
erit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size=
-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"y=
iv3208162160gmail-rich-text__inner"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inh=
erit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.45;font-size-a=
djust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv=
3208162160gmail-article-dropcap--inner yiv3208162160gmail-paywall-content">=
<p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:=
inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-s=
ize-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;=
">China is increasingly embracing the mantle that comes with being a global=
 superpower. Its rise is forcing the rest of the world to assess its creden=
tials as a potential hegemon and a provider of public goods. And in one sig=
nificant area, its strength may be a real weakness. Many poorer countries f=
ear that China=E2=80=99s economic rise will not leave room for them to indu=
strialize. Unlike the United States and European countries, which in the pa=
st helped facilitate the industrialization of poorer countries (including C=
hina), Beijing is currently on track to have the opposite effect.</p><p sty=
le=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inheri=
t;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-ad=
just:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"><a r=
el=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://www.f=
oreignaffairs.com/regions/china" style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;fon=
t-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inhe=
rit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;ver=
tical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:underline;">China</a>=
&nbsp;is not merely climbing the technological ladder; it is pulling up the=
 ladder behind it. It dominates the new commanding heights of manufacturing=
=E2=80=94electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, drones=E2=80=94but it =
has not vacated the older, labor-intensive sectors through which it and oth=
er rich and middle-income countries escaped poverty. In effect, China is tr=
ying to do what economic theory says no country should be able to do: retai=
n comparative advantage in almost everything.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;fon=
t-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inher=
it;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:=
0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">That gambit is all the m=
ore striking in an era when global imbalances are once again widening. Chin=
a=E2=80=99s trade surplus measured as a share of world GDP is at a historic=
 high. The International Monetary Fund has warned that external imbalances =
and the attendant trade consequences are generating negative spillovers for=
 trading partners. As Brad Setser and Shahin Val=C3=A9e wrote recently&nbsp=
;<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://=
www.foreignaffairs.com/china/real-problem-global-trade" style=3D"border:0px=
;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:i=
nherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;mar=
gin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoratio=
n:underline;">in&nbsp;<em style=3D"border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-wei=
ght:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;fo=
nt-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">For=
eign Affairs</em></a>, Chinese currency manipulation is undermining the glo=
bal trading system. The last great era of Chinese surpluses, roughly in the=
 first decade of this century, produced what several scholars have called t=
he first =E2=80=9CChina shock=E2=80=9D: a surge of exports into the United =
States that hollowed out swaths of American manufacturing. That shock trans=
formed American politics and helped create a rare bipartisan consensus agai=
nst free trade and against China.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inhe=
rit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-heig=
ht:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px=
;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The new shock is different. It is la=
nding less in the&nbsp;<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_b=
lank" href=3D"https://www.foreignaffairs.com/regions/united-states" style=
=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;=
font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adju=
st:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0);=
text-decoration:underline;">United States</a>, where tariffs, bans, and nat=
ional security restrictions have blunted Chinese import competition by fiat=
. It is more visibly affecting Europe, and especially Germany, whose indust=
rial model was built around the internal combustion engine and its associat=
ed high-end engineering ecosystem. China=E2=80=99s rise in electric vehicle=
s and green technologies has turned a commercial challenge into an existent=
ial one for many European industries.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:=
inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-=
height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px =
20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">But the focus on how China=E2=80=
=99s economic strategy affects the United States and Europe has obscured a =
larger problem. The most consequential victims of the current China shock a=
re not workers in Detroit or Stuttgart, but future workers in places such a=
s Addis Ababa, Dhaka, Lagos, Nairobi, Phnom Penh, Surat, and Tirupur. Their=
 losses cannot be measured mainly in job cuts or factory closures, but rath=
er in terms of factories never built, export markets never entered, capabil=
ities never accumulated, and development paths never opened. That is the re=
al toll of what is now called the =E2=80=9CChina squeeze.=E2=80=9D</p><p st=
yle=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inher=
it;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-a=
djust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The=
 stakes of the China squeeze are immense. The issue is not only hundreds of=
 billions of dollars in forgone exports, it is whether latecomers to develo=
pment still have access to the most reliable path of structural transformat=
ion the world has known. Historically, almost every country that escaped fr=
om poverty to prosperity did so by relying on manufacturing exports: garmen=
ts, toys, footwear, furniture, electronics assembly, and other sectors that=
 absorb large numbers of less-skilled workers while building firms, logisti=
cs, know-how, and state capacity. China benefited enormously from an open t=
rading system that allowed it to lift hundreds of millions of people out of=
 poverty through manufacturing for the global market. China=E2=80=99s own r=
ise may now block that same path for countries poorer than itself.</p><h3 s=
tyle=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inhe=
rit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-s=
ize:30px;margin:60px 0px 10px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inh=
erit;letter-spacing:0.075em;"><span style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;=
font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:i=
nherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:basel=
ine;">THE MAIN SQUEEZE</span></h3><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit=
;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:=
inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;pa=
dding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Much of China=E2=80=99s manufacturing t=
rade surplus (the difference between its exports and imports) sits precisel=
y where poorer countries should have their greatest opportunity. Of China=
=E2=80=99s total manufacturing surplus of about $2.2 trillion, roughly $700=
 billion to $1.4 trillion is concentrated in low-skill-intensive sectors su=
ch as apparel, footwear, toys, furniture, and electronics assembly, the ver=
y areas in which low- and middle-income countries with vast labor pools com=
pete most directly with China.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit=
;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:=
inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;pa=
dding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The simplest measure of this dynamic is=
 China=E2=80=99s share of global exports in low-skill goods. China=E2=80=99=
s share of gross exports, including final goods such as shirts or shoes, ro=
se sharply starting in<span style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-var=
iant:inherit;font-weight:700;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-=
family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-ali=
gn:baseline;">&nbsp;</span>the early 1990s, peaked at over 60 percent in 20=
14, and then declined. That pattern suggests the squeeze may have eased.</p=
><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight=
:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-=
size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline=
;">But gross exports miss much of the story. A shirt is not just a shirt. I=
t is fabric, yarn, zippers, and buttons, but also packaging, logistics, and=
 design. Accounting for the total value embedded in exports (what economist=
s call =E2=80=9Cvalue-added exports=E2=80=9D)=E2=80=94a better proxy for th=
e jobs and capabilities created along the supply chain=E2=80=94China=E2=80=
=99s share of low-skill goods has not meaningfully fallen.</p><p style=3D"b=
order:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-=
stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:in=
herit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">It has cont=
inued to rise, apart from a brief dip. China has not only dominated final a=
ssembly but has increasingly also dominated the production of the downstrea=
m inputs that go into final assembly: fewer shirts but more of the yarn, zi=
ppers, buttons, and so forth that go into making clothing.</p><p style=3D"b=
order:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-=
stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:in=
herit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"></p><div st=
yle=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inher=
it;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-a=
djust:inherit;margin:60px 0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=
=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-mt-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mt=
-md-60 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60"><img src=3D"cid:vffF8YPIJoc9dbGOaQav" y=
ahoo_partid=3D"1.2" alt=3D"061626_Subramania.ChaterjeeCharts1.png" width=3D=
"562" height=3D"493"></div><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-v=
ariant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit=
;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0=
px;vertical-align:baseline;">Economists can determine whether this dominanc=
e is excessive. They can ask, for instance, whether China=E2=80=99s share o=
f low-skilled exports is commensurate with its share of the world=E2=80=99s=
 low-skilled labor. And they can ask how China compares with today=E2=80=99=
s advanced economies when they were at a similar level of income. Together,=
 these measures can help assess the extent to which China is distorting the=
 global economy.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:=
inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-f=
amily:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vert=
ical-align:baseline;">In labor-intensive manufacturing, a country=E2=80=99s=
 share of world exports should broadly track its share of the world=E2=80=
=99s low-skilled labor, or at least the two should not diverge massively ev=
en if technologies and productivities are similar across countries. At the =
start of the twenty-first century, among all lower- and middle-income count=
ries, China=E2=80=99s share of low-skilled labor and its share of value-add=
ed exports were roughly aligned. Since then, they have diverged sharply. Be=
tween 2013 and 2023, China=E2=80=99s value-added export share remained at a=
bout 64 percent, even as its share of the labor force fell by three percent=
age points. According to this benchmark, China=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cexcess=E2=
=80=9D exports rose from 33 to 36 percent of all global exports from lower-=
 and middle-income countries.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;=
font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:i=
nherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;pad=
ding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The magnitudes are large. For apparel, t=
extiles, leather, and footwear, this excess amounted to about $110 billion =
in value-added exports in 2022. Across all low-skill sectors, we estimate e=
xcess value-added exports of more than $355 billion in 2022. That export sp=
ace could have supported tens of millions of manufacturing jobs in poorer e=
conomies. Value-added data beyond 2022 are not yet available, but data on g=
ross exports until 2024 show a similar trend.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;fon=
t-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inher=
it;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:=
0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Comparison with the past=
 offers a similar sense of the scale of the current distortion. When today=
=E2=80=99s rich countries were as rich as China is now, they had already ce=
ded much more low-skill manufacturing space to others. After adjusting for =
income levels and for the fact that goods are more tradable today because o=
f lower transport costs and trade barriers, we calculate that advanced econ=
omies at China=E2=80=99s current level of per capita GDP had a global expor=
t share of about eight percent in comparable sectors. China=E2=80=99s share=
 today is much higher, at 27 percent. The gap, multiplied by current global=
 gross exports, implies excess Chinese exports of about $140 billion in the=
 four labor-intensive sectors of apparel, textiles, leather, and footwear, =
a figure close to the $110 billion estimate from focusing on low-skilled la=
bor share.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inheri=
t;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:=
inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-a=
lign:baseline;"></p><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-varian=
t:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font=
-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:60px 0px;padding:0px;vertic=
al-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-mt-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mb=
-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mt-md-60 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60"><img src=3D"ci=
d:PCW1l4mKvuSZ2H8d2yFq" yahoo_partid=3D"1.3" alt=3D"061626_Subramania.Chate=
rjeeCharts2.png" width=3D"562" height=3D"493"></div><p style=3D"border:0px;=
font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:in=
herit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;marg=
in:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Two very different co=
mparisons therefore yield the same conclusion: China=E2=80=99s continued do=
minance in low-skill manufacturing is historically unusual and economically=
 consequential. The biggest proportional gains from a relaxation of the squ=
eeze would likely accrue to sub-Saharan Africa, where low-skill exports are=
 currently only about $12 billion. If countries in the region had more room=
 in global markets (and enacted better domestic policies, such as deregulat=
ing their economies and reducing the costs and risks of doing business) the=
y could increase such exports severalfold. East Asian and South Asian econo=
mies could also see large gains, with low-skill exports rising by 75 to 175=
 percent.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit=
;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:i=
nherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-al=
ign:baseline;">China alone does not explain every missed opportunity in a p=
oorer country. Domestic constraints still matter enormously. But China=E2=
=80=99s dominance narrows the possibilities available to poorer countries a=
nd makes it harder for them to plot a reliable way forward.</p><p style=3D"=
border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font=
-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:i=
nherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The effect=
 of the China squeeze on lower- and middle-income countries is too large to=
 dismiss. But the causes also matter. If China=E2=80=99s dominance reflects=
 genuine accomplishments in boosting the country=E2=80=99s productivity=E2=
=80=94through gains in scale, logistics, automation, and managerial quality=
, and through fierce domestic competition=E2=80=94then poorer countries sho=
uld respond to the current situation by seeking to improve their own compet=
itiveness. If that dominance reflects subsidies, financial repression, or e=
xchange rate distortion, then it is an indictment of the global trading sys=
tem.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font=
-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inheri=
t;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:b=
aseline;">China=E2=80=99s dominance has persisted even as its wages have su=
rged. Data from the UN Industrial Development Organization show that Chines=
e manufacturing wages are now far above those in most competitor countries =
and are still rising. In apparel, annual wages in China average around $10,=
000, about five times such wages in Bangladesh and four times those in Indi=
a. Conventional theories about trade hold that such wage gaps should allow =
lower-wage economies to carve a greater slice of the global export pie. The=
y have not. China remains formidable even in sectors where its labor-cost a=
dvantage has long disappeared.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit=
;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:=
inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;pa=
dding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"></p><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style=
:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line=
-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:60px 0p=
x;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-mt-40 y=
iv3208162160gmail-mb-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mt-md-60 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-m=
d-60"><img src=3D"cid:qWr6frSF6YkOIvCWCRV1" yahoo_partid=3D"1.4" alt=3D"061=
626_Subramania.ChaterjeeCharts3.png" width=3D"562" height=3D"493"></div><p =
style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inh=
erit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size=
-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">O=
ne possibility is that China=E2=80=99s productivity advantage is simply lar=
ge enough to offset its wage disadvantage. Its workers might toil 15 hours =
a day and its firms operate with the benefit of automation, deep supplier n=
etworks, dense industrial clusters, world-class logistics systems, and an e=
cosystem that can scale production with extraordinary speed. These advantag=
es are real. But distinguishing genuine competitiveness from policy distort=
ion requires disaggregated firm-level data on productivity, wages, subsidie=
s, credit, ownership, and export performance. For more than a decade, such =
data have been largely unavailable to researchers outside China, making ser=
ious diagnosis, including assessing the effect of automation, very difficul=
t.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-w=
eight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;=
font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:bas=
eline;">Industrial policy is another possible explanation. China has long u=
sed subsidies, directed credit, government procurement practices,<span styl=
e=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:700;fon=
t-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:=
inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">&nbsp;</span>and l=
ocal government support to strengthen manufacturing. Yet research by the In=
ternational Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve suggests that China targe=
ts subsidies more heavily toward high-tech sectors than toward traditional =
labor-intensive industries. That may help explain China=E2=80=99s success i=
n electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, and drones. It does less to e=
xplain its abiding dominance in apparel, footwear, toys, and basic assembly=
.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-we=
ight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;f=
ont-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:base=
line;">That leaves the exchange rate. Several analysts have argued that the=
 renminbi remains undervalued by 15 to 25 percent. China=E2=80=99s foreign =
exchange intervention tracks its global market share in low-skill goods: be=
tween 2013 and 2018, its global export share declined in parallel with the =
frequency of its intervention in keeping the renminbi relatively weak; ther=
eafter, its global export share rose, as did its propensity to intervene in=
 manipulating the renminbi. If the renminbi has been kept artificially chea=
p, the effect is equivalent to a broad subsidy to Chinese exporters and a t=
ax on foreign producers. It would make Chinese goods cheaper in global mark=
ets and foreign goods more expensive in China=E2=80=94precisely the combina=
tion that would sustain the China squeeze.</p><h3 style=3D"border:0px;font-=
style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;=
font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:30px;margin:60px 0px=
 10px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;letter-spacing:0.07=
5em;"><span style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;fon=
t-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:=
inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">A BOON FOR BEIJING=
</span></h3><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;=
font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:in=
herit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-ali=
gn:baseline;">What can be done to redress the China squeeze? Poor countries=
 might look to other trading partners for help. For example, the European U=
nion and Japan can negotiate and deepen free trade agreements with poorer c=
ountries so that they can get more favorable terms of access that could par=
tially offset China=E2=80=99s advantage. Large countries and the Internatio=
nal Monetary Fund can lean on China to address its undervalued currency.</p=
><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight=
:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-=
size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline=
;">Unfortunately, lower- and middle-income countries have only limited nego=
tiating leverage with China. After all, Beijing has been relatively impervi=
ous to demands even from Washington to open its markets. U.S. President Don=
ald Trump retreated from imposing high tariffs on China when it threatened =
to restrict exports of critical minerals.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-st=
yle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;l=
ine-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px =
0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Any corrective action, there=
fore, would have to come from China itself. If it assesses, correctly, that=
 the United States has become an unreliable and unstable hegemon, it could =
see value in offering an alternative to Washington, as an actor able to hel=
p prevent a breakdown of the international trading order. But that would re=
quire abandoning actions that inflict harm on poorer countries. It has take=
n some salutary symbolic steps, giving up its developing-country status at =
the World Trade Organization, which, in principle, makes it harder for it t=
o dole out subsidies to its firms. It has also lowered tariff barriers to s=
ome poorer countries. But it can and must do more.</p><p style=3D"border:0p=
x;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:=
inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;ma=
rgin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"></p><blockquote sty=
le=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inheri=
t;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-ad=
just:inherit;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px 30px 0px 0px;vertical-align:baseli=
ne;width:283.487px;float:left;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-pullquote yiv32=
08162160gmail-pr-md-30 yiv3208162160gmail-mt-10 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-20 yi=
v3208162160gmail-mb-md-10 yiv3208162160gmail-ls-normal"><span style=3D"bord=
er:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-he=
ight:1.2;font-family:serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:32px;margin:0=
px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:block;" class=3D"yiv32081621=
60gmail-pullquote__text yiv3208162160gmail-d-block">China=E2=80=99s dominan=
ce narrows the possibilities available to poorer countries.</span></blockqu=
ote><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-wei=
ght:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;fo=
nt-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:basel=
ine;">It could, for example, extend duty-free access to all labor-intensive=
 imports into China from all developing countries. A radical option, consis=
tent with attempting to boost consumption within China, would be to go furt=
her and subsidize imports of labor-intensive goods from poor countries so t=
hat importers get a payment from the Chinese government, which they pass on=
 to Chinese consumers in the form of lower prices. At the very least, it sh=
ould not stymie the transfer of valuable expertise to other countries as it=
 did in 2025, when Beijing pressured the manufacturer Foxconn to repatriate=
 300 managers and engineers from India.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-styl=
e:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;lin=
e-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0p=
x 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Beyond trade, China could proa=
ctively encourage its entrepreneurs to set up manufacturing plants in poor =
countries with the greatest potential. This would complement its Belt and R=
oad Initiative, the vast investment program that focuses on infrastructure =
and commodities. Even on the exchange rate, there could now be an opening. =
China, like other countries, has long chafed under the dollar=E2=80=99s fin=
ancial dominance. That dominance is eroding as a result of U.S. actions and=
 growing doubt about the reliability of American institutions. It would mak=
e sense for Beijing to now accelerate the internationalization of the renmi=
nbi. That would entail real costs in terms of strengthening the currency an=
d potentially hurting Chinese exports, but it could offer a far greater pri=
ze: a realistic shot at rivaling dollar dominance. And a correction in the =
currency=E2=80=99s undervaluation would generate many positive spillovers f=
or poor countries.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-varian=
t:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font=
-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-al=
ign:baseline;">Together, such measures might have some negative consequence=
s, mainly in hitting lower-skilled Chinese exports. But they would be a boo=
n for Beijing in a different way. If China=E2=80=99s leaders want to take o=
n more of the mantle of global leadership, they must understand that leader=
ship works not simply through domination but by facilitating the rise of ot=
hers. To truly take advantage of the waning of American hegemony, China mus=
t not only distinguish itself from this current protectionist and erratic i=
teration of the United States; it must also break with its own record of me=
rcantilism.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>-- <br>Salon=
 mailing list<br><a ymailto=3D"mailto:Salon@listserve.com" href=3D"mailto:S=
alon@listserve.com">Salon@listserve.com</a><br><a href=3D"https://mlm2.list=
serve.net/mailman/listinfo/salon" target=3D"_blank">https://mlm2.listserve.=
net/mailman/listinfo/salon</a><br></div>            </div>                <=
/div><div class=3D"yahoo_quoted" style=3D"margin: 10px 0px 0px 0.8ex; borde=
r-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex; display: block;"> =
                       <div style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetic=
a, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a;">                       =
         <div>                        On Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 08:06:0=
8 PM GMT+5, Chas Freeman via Salon &lt;salon@listserve.com&gt; wrote:      =
              </div>                    <div><br></div>                    =
<div><br></div>                                                <div><div id=
=3D"yiv3208162160"><div dir=3D"ltr"><br><div><br></div><div><div style=3D"b=
order:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-=
stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:in=
herit;margin:0px 10px 60px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"y=
iv3208162160gmail-topper__heading-container yiv3208162160gmail-col-12 yiv32=
08162160gmail-mb-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60"><h1 style=3D"border:0px;fo=
nt-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:400;font-stretch:inherit;=
line-height:1.1;font-family:serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:64px;m=
argin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;" clas=
s=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-topper__title yiv3208162160gmail-text-balance yiv32=
08162160gmail-title-l yiv3208162160gmail-mb-20 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-lg-15"=
>China Is Pulling Up the Ladder Behind It</h1><h2 style=3D"border:0px;font-=
style:italic;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:400;font-stretch:inherit;line=
-height:1.2;font-family:serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:32px;margi=
n:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;" class=3D=
"yiv3208162160gmail-topper__subtitle yiv3208162160gmail-heading-s yiv320816=
2160gmail-text-balance yiv3208162160gmail-font-style-italic yiv3208162160gm=
ail-mb-20 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-lg-15">How Beijing=E2=80=99s Export Strateg=
y Will Keep Poor Countries Poor</h2><h3 style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inhe=
rit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1;font-family:inhe=
rit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:26px;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px=
;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;letter-spacing:0.075em;" class=3D"yi=
v3208162160gmail-topper__byline yiv3208162160gmail-body-m-smallcaps yiv3208=
162160gmail-mb-20 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-lg-15 yiv3208162160gmail-lh-1">Shou=
mitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian</h3><span style=3D"border:0px;font-=
style:italic;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font=
-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:18px;margin:0px 20px 0px 0px;padding:0px;ver=
tical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;color:inherit;" class=3D"yiv32081=
62160gmail-topper__date yiv3208162160gmail-body-s yiv3208162160gmail-font-s=
tyle-italic yiv3208162160gmail-mb-0 yiv3208162160gmail-d-inline-block yiv32=
08162160gmail-mr-20">June 18, 2026</span></div><div style=3D"border:0px;fon=
t-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inher=
it;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:=
0px 10px 60px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;width:629.987px;" class=
=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-topper__image-container yiv3208162160gmail-w-100 yiv=
3208162160gmail-mb-20 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60 yiv3208162160gmail-col-12=
 yiv3208162160gmail-col-lg-6-base-10"><img src=3D"cid:qCKoVHBbXWlwtDqNzA5h"=
 yahoo_partid=3D"1.5" alt=3D"2026-06-13T064341Z_1843333290_RC2RSLAXA0UL_RTR=
MADP_3_CHINA-RENEWABLES.JPG" width=3D"562" height=3D"375"><span style=3D"bo=
rder:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-s=
tretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inh=
erit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:block;" class=
=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-figure__caption-text yiv3208162160gmail-d-block">At =
a truck factory in Baotou, China, June 2026</span><span style=3D"border:0px=
;font-style:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font-size-adjust:i=
nherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:block;color:i=
nherit;letter-spacing:0.075em;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-figure__caption=
-credit yiv3208162160gmail-d-block">Maxim Shemetov / Reuters</span></div><d=
iv style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:=
inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-s=
ize-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 10px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;disp=
lay:flex;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-d-flex yiv3208162160gmail-col-lg-3-b=
ase-10 yiv3208162160gmail-flex-wrap"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:in=
herit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-he=
ight:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;paddin=
g:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-topper__author-=
about yiv3208162160gmail-ml-10 yiv3208162160gmail-mr-10 yiv3208162160gmail-=
mr-lg-0 yiv3208162160gmail-ml-lg-0 yiv3208162160gmail-pb-15 yiv3208162160gm=
ail-pb-md-0 yiv3208162160gmail-border-top yiv3208162160gmail-border-bottom =
yiv3208162160gmail-border-thin yiv3208162160gmail-c-border yiv3208162160gma=
il-border-0-lg"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:in=
herit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-fam=
ily:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px;vertic=
al-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-author-about yiv3208162160g=
mail-pt-20 yiv3208162160gmail-pb-5 yiv3208162160gmail-pb-md-20 yiv320816216=
0gmail-pt-lg-0"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:in=
herit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-si=
ze:18px;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inher=
it;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-author-about__description yiv3208162160gma=
il-body-s yiv3208162160gmail-mb-20"><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inher=
it;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-heigh=
t:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0=
px 0px 15px;vertical-align:baseline;"><span style=3D"border:0px;font-style:=
inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:22px;font-fami=
ly:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:b=
aseline;letter-spacing:0.05em;font-size:20px;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-=
lh-22 yiv3208162160gmail-small-caps yiv3208162160gmail-fs-20">SHOUMITRO CHA=
TTERJEE</span>&nbsp;is Assistant Professor of International Economics at th=
e Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a N=
onresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.</p><p=
 style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:in=
herit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-siz=
e-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"><span sty=
le=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inheri=
t;line-height:22px;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;=
padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;letter-spacing:0.05em;font-size:20px;" =
class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-lh-22 yiv3208162160gmail-small-caps yiv32081621=
60gmail-fs-20">ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN</span>&nbsp;is a Senior Fellow at the Pet=
erson Institute for International Economics. From 2014 to 2018, he served a=
s Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India. He is a co-author, wit=
h Devesh Kapur, of&nbsp;<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_=
blank" href=3D"https://www.amazon.com/Sixth-Humanity-Independent-Developmen=
t-Odyssey/dp/0197837255/ref=3Dtmm_hrd_swatch_0" style=3D"border:0px;font-st=
yle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;l=
ine-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;=
padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;text-decoration:none;"><e=
m style=3D"border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch=
:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;m=
argin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">A Sixth of Humanity: Indepe=
ndent India=E2=80=99s Development Odyssey</em></a><em style=3D"border:0px;f=
ont-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:in=
herit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;v=
ertical-align:baseline;">.</em></p></div><ul style=3D"border:0px;font-style=
:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line=
-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;pad=
ding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;list-style:none;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gm=
ail-author-about__list"><li style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-var=
iant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.3;font-size-adjust:inherit;=
font-size:18px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit=
;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-author-about__list-item yiv3208162160gmail-b=
ody-s"><a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"ht=
tps://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/shoumitro-chatterjee" style=3D"border-=
width:0px 0px 0.5px;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor;=
font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:in=
herit;line-height:16px;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:=
0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;text-decoration:none;=
display:inline-block;font-size:15px;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-arrow-lin=
k yiv3208162160gmail-border-bottom-micro yiv3208162160gmail-d-inline-block =
yiv3208162160gmail-border-bottom yiv3208162160gmail-lh-16 yiv3208162160gmai=
l-fs-15">More by Shoumitro Chatterjee&nbsp;</a></li><li style=3D"border:0px=
;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1=
.3;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:18px;margin:10px 0px 0px;padding:0px;=
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ht:16px;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px=
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ail-border-bottom yiv3208162160gmail-lh-16 yiv3208162160gmail-fs-15">More b=
y Arvind Subramanian&nbsp;</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div style=3D"bor=
der:0px;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:serif;font-siz=
e-adjust:inherit;font-size:22px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display=
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-lg-10 yiv3208162160gmail-no-gutter yiv3208162160gmail-justify-between"><di=
v style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:i=
nherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-si=
ze-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D=
"yiv3208162160gmail-article__content-tools-wrapper yiv3208162160gmail-order=
-2 yiv3208162160gmail-order-lg-1 yiv3208162160gmail-col-12 yiv3208162160gma=
il-col-lg-6-base-10 yiv3208162160gmail-no-gutter yiv3208162160gmail-ml-0 yi=
v3208162160gmail-mr-0"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-var=
iant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;f=
ont-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical=
-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-article-dropcap"><div style=
=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;=
font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adju=
st:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv320=
8162160gmail-rich-text__inner"><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;=
font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.45;font-size-adjust=
:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv32081=
62160gmail-article-dropcap--inner yiv3208162160gmail-paywall-content"><p st=
yle=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inher=
it;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-a=
djust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Chi=
na is increasingly embracing the mantle that comes with being a global supe=
rpower. Its rise is forcing the rest of the world to assess its credentials=
 as a potential hegemon and a provider of public goods. And in one signific=
ant area, its strength may be a real weakness. Many poorer countries fear t=
hat China=E2=80=99s economic rise will not leave room for them to industria=
lize. Unlike the United States and European countries, which in the past he=
lped facilitate the industrialization of poorer countries (including China)=
, Beijing is currently on track to have the opposite effect.</p><p style=3D=
"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;fon=
t-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:=
inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"><a rel=3D=
"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://www.foreig=
naffairs.com/regions/china" style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-var=
iant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;f=
ont-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical=
-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:underline;">China</a>&nbsp=
;is not merely climbing the technological ladder; it is pulling up the ladd=
er behind it. It dominates the new commanding heights of manufacturing=E2=
=80=94electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, drones=E2=80=94but it has=
 not vacated the older, labor-intensive sectors through which it and other =
rich and middle-income countries escaped poverty. In effect, China is tryin=
g to do what economic theory says no country should be able to do: retain c=
omparative advantage in almost everything.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-s=
tyle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;=
line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px=
 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">That gambit is all the more=
 striking in an era when global imbalances are once again widening. China=
=E2=80=99s trade surplus measured as a share of world GDP is at a historic =
high. The International Monetary Fund has warned that external imbalances a=
nd the attendant trade consequences are generating negative spillovers for =
trading partners. As Brad Setser and Shahin Val=C3=A9e wrote recently&nbsp;=
<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://w=
ww.foreignaffairs.com/china/real-problem-global-trade" style=3D"border:0px;=
font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:in=
herit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;marg=
in:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration=
:underline;">in&nbsp;<em style=3D"border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weig=
ht:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;fon=
t-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Fore=
ign Affairs</em></a>, Chinese currency manipulation is undermining the glob=
al trading system. The last great era of Chinese surpluses, roughly in the =
first decade of this century, produced what several scholars have called th=
e first =E2=80=9CChina shock=E2=80=9D: a surge of exports into the United S=
tates that hollowed out swaths of American manufacturing. That shock transf=
ormed American politics and helped create a rare bipartisan consensus again=
st free trade and against China.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inher=
it;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-heigh=
t:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;=
padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The new shock is different. It is lan=
ding less in the&nbsp;<a rel=3D"nofollow noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_bl=
ank" href=3D"https://www.foreignaffairs.com/regions/united-states" style=3D=
"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;fon=
t-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:=
inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(0,0,0);tex=
t-decoration:underline;">United States</a>, where tariffs, bans, and nation=
al security restrictions have blunted Chinese import competition by fiat. I=
t is more visibly affecting Europe, and especially Germany, whose industria=
l model was built around the internal combustion engine and its associated =
high-end engineering ecosystem. China=E2=80=99s rise in electric vehicles a=
nd green technologies has turned a commercial challenge into an existential=
 one for many European industries.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inh=
erit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-hei=
ght:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20p=
x;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">But the focus on how China=E2=80=99=
s economic strategy affects the United States and Europe has obscured a lar=
ger problem. The most consequential victims of the current China shock are =
not workers in Detroit or Stuttgart, but future workers in places such as A=
ddis Ababa, Dhaka, Lagos, Nairobi, Phnom Penh, Surat, and Tirupur. Their lo=
sses cannot be measured mainly in job cuts or factory closures, but rather =
in terms of factories never built, export markets never entered, capabiliti=
es never accumulated, and development paths never opened. That is the real =
toll of what is now called the =E2=80=9CChina squeeze.=E2=80=9D</p><p style=
=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;=
font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adju=
st:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The st=
akes of the China squeeze are immense. The issue is not only hundreds of bi=
llions of dollars in forgone exports, it is whether latecomers to developme=
nt still have access to the most reliable path of structural transformation=
 the world has known. Historically, almost every country that escaped from =
poverty to prosperity did so by relying on manufacturing exports: garments,=
 toys, footwear, furniture, electronics assembly, and other sectors that ab=
sorb large numbers of less-skilled workers while building firms, logistics,=
 know-how, and state capacity. China benefited enormously from an open trad=
ing system that allowed it to lift hundreds of millions of people out of po=
verty through manufacturing for the global market. China=E2=80=99s own rise=
 may now block that same path for countries poorer than itself.</p><h3 styl=
e=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit=
;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size=
:30px;margin:60px 0px 10px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inheri=
t;letter-spacing:0.075em;"><span style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;fon=
t-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inhe=
rit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline=
;">THE MAIN SQUEEZE</span></h3><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;fo=
nt-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inh=
erit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;paddi=
ng:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Much of China=E2=80=99s manufacturing trad=
e surplus (the difference between its exports and imports) sits precisely w=
here poorer countries should have their greatest opportunity. Of China=E2=
=80=99s total manufacturing surplus of about $2.2 trillion, roughly $700 bi=
llion to $1.4 trillion is concentrated in low-skill-intensive sectors such =
as apparel, footwear, toys, furniture, and electronics assembly, the very a=
reas in which low- and middle-income countries with vast labor pools compet=
e most directly with China.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;fo=
nt-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inh=
erit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;paddi=
ng:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The simplest measure of this dynamic is Ch=
ina=E2=80=99s share of global exports in low-skill goods. China=E2=80=99s s=
hare of gross exports, including final goods such as shirts or shoes, rose =
sharply starting in<span style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-varian=
t:inherit;font-weight:700;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-fam=
ily:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:=
baseline;">&nbsp;</span>the early 1990s, peaked at over 60 percent in 2014,=
 and then declined. That pattern suggests the squeeze may have eased.</p><p=
 style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:in=
herit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-siz=
e-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">=
But gross exports miss much of the story. A shirt is not just a shirt. It i=
s fabric, yarn, zippers, and buttons, but also packaging, logistics, and de=
sign. Accounting for the total value embedded in exports (what economists c=
all =E2=80=9Cvalue-added exports=E2=80=9D)=E2=80=94a better proxy for the j=
obs and capabilities created along the supply chain=E2=80=94China=E2=80=99s=
 share of low-skill goods has not meaningfully fallen.</p><p style=3D"borde=
r:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stre=
tch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inheri=
t;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">It has continue=
d to rise, apart from a brief dip. China has not only dominated final assem=
bly but has increasingly also dominated the production of the downstream in=
puts that go into final assembly: fewer shirts but more of the yarn, zipper=
s, buttons, and so forth that go into making clothing.</p><p style=3D"borde=
r:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stre=
tch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inheri=
t;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"></p><div style=
=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;=
font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adju=
st:inherit;margin:60px 0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"y=
iv3208162160gmail-mt-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mt-md-6=
0 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60"><img src=3D"cid:vffF8YPIJoc9dbGOaQav" yahoo_=
partid=3D"1.2" alt=3D"061626_Subramania.ChaterjeeCharts1.png" width=3D"562"=
 height=3D"493"></div><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-varian=
t:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font=
-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;ve=
rtical-align:baseline;">Economists can determine whether this dominance is =
excessive. They can ask, for instance, whether China=E2=80=99s share of low=
-skilled exports is commensurate with its share of the world=E2=80=99s low-=
skilled labor. And they can ask how China compares with today=E2=80=99s adv=
anced economies when they were at a similar level of income. Together, thes=
e measures can help assess the extent to which China is distorting the glob=
al economy.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inher=
it;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family=
:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-=
align:baseline;">In labor-intensive manufacturing, a country=E2=80=99s shar=
e of world exports should broadly track its share of the world=E2=80=99s lo=
w-skilled labor, or at least the two should not diverge massively even if t=
echnologies and productivities are similar across countries. At the start o=
f the twenty-first century, among all lower- and middle-income countries, C=
hina=E2=80=99s share of low-skilled labor and its share of value-added expo=
rts were roughly aligned. Since then, they have diverged sharply. Between 2=
013 and 2023, China=E2=80=99s value-added export share remained at about 64=
 percent, even as its share of the labor force fell by three percentage poi=
nts. According to this benchmark, China=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cexcess=E2=80=9D =
exports rose from 33 to 36 percent of all global exports from lower- and mi=
ddle-income countries.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-va=
riant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;=
font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0p=
x;vertical-align:baseline;">The magnitudes are large. For apparel, textiles=
, leather, and footwear, this excess amounted to about $110 billion in valu=
e-added exports in 2022. Across all low-skill sectors, we estimate excess v=
alue-added exports of more than $355 billion in 2022. That export space cou=
ld have supported tens of millions of manufacturing jobs in poorer economie=
s. Value-added data beyond 2022 are not yet available, but data on gross ex=
ports until 2024 show a similar trend.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style=
:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line=
-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px=
 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Comparison with the past offers=
 a similar sense of the scale of the current distortion. When today=E2=80=
=99s rich countries were as rich as China is now, they had already ceded mu=
ch more low-skill manufacturing space to others. After adjusting for income=
 levels and for the fact that goods are more tradable today because of lowe=
r transport costs and trade barriers, we calculate that advanced economies =
at China=E2=80=99s current level of per capita GDP had a global export shar=
e of about eight percent in comparable sectors. China=E2=80=99s share today=
 is much higher, at 27 percent. The gap, multiplied by current global gross=
 exports, implies excess Chinese exports of about $140 billion in the four =
labor-intensive sectors of apparel, textiles, leather, and footwear, a figu=
re close to the $110 billion estimate from focusing on low-skilled labor sh=
are.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font=
-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inheri=
t;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:b=
aseline;"></p><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inhe=
rit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-famil=
y:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:60px 0px;padding:0px;vertical-ali=
gn:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-mt-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-40 yi=
v3208162160gmail-mt-md-60 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60"><img src=3D"cid:PCW1=
l4mKvuSZ2H8d2yFq" yahoo_partid=3D"1.3" alt=3D"061626_Subramania.ChaterjeeCh=
arts2.png" width=3D"562" height=3D"493"></div><p style=3D"border:0px;font-s=
tyle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;=
line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px=
 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Two very different comparis=
ons therefore yield the same conclusion: China=E2=80=99s continued dominanc=
e in low-skill manufacturing is historically unusual and economically conse=
quential. The biggest proportional gains from a relaxation of the squeeze w=
ould likely accrue to sub-Saharan Africa, where low-skill exports are curre=
ntly only about $12 billion. If countries in the region had more room in gl=
obal markets (and enacted better domestic policies, such as deregulating th=
eir economies and reducing the costs and risks of doing business) they coul=
d increase such exports severalfold. East Asian and South Asian economies c=
ould also see large gains, with low-skill exports rising by 75 to 175 perce=
nt.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-=
weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit=
;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:ba=
seline;">China alone does not explain every missed opportunity in a poorer =
country. Domestic constraints still matter enormously. But China=E2=80=99s =
dominance narrows the possibilities available to poorer countries and makes=
 it harder for them to plot a reliable way forward.</p><p style=3D"border:0=
px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch=
:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;m=
argin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">The effect of the =
China squeeze on lower- and middle-income countries is too large to dismiss=
. But the causes also matter. If China=E2=80=99s dominance reflects genuine=
 accomplishments in boosting the country=E2=80=99s productivity=E2=80=94thr=
ough gains in scale, logistics, automation, and managerial quality, and thr=
ough fierce domestic competition=E2=80=94then poorer countries should respo=
nd to the current situation by seeking to improve their own competitiveness=
. If that dominance reflects subsidies, financial repression, or exchange r=
ate distortion, then it is an indictment of the global trading system.</p><=
p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:i=
nherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-si=
ze-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"=
>China=E2=80=99s dominance has persisted even as its wages have surged. Dat=
a from the UN Industrial Development Organization show that Chinese manufac=
turing wages are now far above those in most competitor countries and are s=
till rising. In apparel, annual wages in China average around $10,000, abou=
t five times such wages in Bangladesh and four times those in India. Conven=
tional theories about trade hold that such wage gaps should allow lower-wag=
e economies to carve a greater slice of the global export pie. They have no=
t. China remains formidable even in sectors where its labor-cost advantage =
has long disappeared.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-var=
iant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;f=
ont-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px=
;vertical-align:baseline;"></p><div style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;=
font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:i=
nherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:60px 0px;padding=
:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-mt-40 yiv3208162=
160gmail-mb-40 yiv3208162160gmail-mt-md-60 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-md-60"><im=
g src=3D"cid:qWr6frSF6YkOIvCWCRV1" yahoo_partid=3D"1.4" alt=3D"061626_Subra=
mania.ChaterjeeCharts3.png" width=3D"562" height=3D"493"></div><p style=3D"=
border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font=
-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:i=
nherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">One possib=
ility is that China=E2=80=99s productivity advantage is simply large enough=
 to offset its wage disadvantage. Its workers might toil 15 hours a day and=
 its firms operate with the benefit of automation, deep supplier networks, =
dense industrial clusters, world-class logistics systems, and an ecosystem =
that can scale production with extraordinary speed. These advantages are re=
al. But distinguishing genuine competitiveness from policy distortion requi=
res disaggregated firm-level data on productivity, wages, subsidies, credit=
, ownership, and export performance. For more than a decade, such data have=
 been largely unavailable to researchers outside China, making serious diag=
nosis, including assessing the effect of automation, very difficult.</p><p =
style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inh=
erit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size=
-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">I=
ndustrial policy is another possible explanation. China has long used subsi=
dies, directed credit, government procurement practices,<span style=3D"bord=
er:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:700;font-stretch=
:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;m=
argin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">&nbsp;</span>and local gove=
rnment support to strengthen manufacturing. Yet research by the Internation=
al Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve suggests that China targets subsid=
ies more heavily toward high-tech sectors than toward traditional labor-int=
ensive industries. That may help explain China=E2=80=99s success in electri=
c vehicles, batteries, solar panels, and drones. It does less to explain it=
s abiding dominance in apparel, footwear, toys, and basic assembly.</p><p s=
tyle=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inhe=
rit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-=
adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Th=
at leaves the exchange rate. Several analysts have argued that the renminbi=
 remains undervalued by 15 to 25 percent. China=E2=80=99s foreign exchange =
intervention tracks its global market share in low-skill goods: between 201=
3 and 2018, its global export share declined in parallel with the frequency=
 of its intervention in keeping the renminbi relatively weak; thereafter, i=
ts global export share rose, as did its propensity to intervene in manipula=
ting the renminbi. If the renminbi has been kept artificially cheap, the ef=
fect is equivalent to a broad subsidy to Chinese exporters and a tax on for=
eign producers. It would make Chinese goods cheaper in global markets and f=
oreign goods more expensive in China=E2=80=94precisely the combination that=
 would sustain the China squeeze.</p><h3 style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inh=
erit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-fami=
ly:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:30px;margin:60px 0px 10px;pad=
ding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:inherit;letter-spacing:0.075em;"><sp=
an style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch=
:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;m=
argin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">A BOON FOR BEIJING</span></=
h3><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weig=
ht:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;fon=
t-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseli=
ne;">What can be done to redress the China squeeze? Poor countries might lo=
ok to other trading partners for help. For example, the European Union and =
Japan can negotiate and deepen free trade agreements with poorer countries =
so that they can get more favorable terms of access that could partially of=
fset China=E2=80=99s advantage. Large countries and the International Monet=
ary Fund can lean on China to address its undervalued currency.</p><p style=
=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;=
font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adju=
st:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Unfort=
unately, lower- and middle-income countries have only limited negotiating l=
everage with China. After all, Beijing has been relatively impervious to de=
mands even from Washington to open its markets. U.S. President Donald Trump=
 retreated from imposing high tariffs on China when it threatened to restri=
ct exports of critical minerals.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inher=
it;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-heigh=
t:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;=
padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Any corrective action, therefore, wou=
ld have to come from China itself. If it assesses, correctly, that the Unit=
ed States has become an unreliable and unstable hegemon, it could see value=
 in offering an alternative to Washington, as an actor able to help prevent=
 a breakdown of the international trading order. But that would require aba=
ndoning actions that inflict harm on poorer countries. It has taken some sa=
lutary symbolic steps, giving up its developing-country status at the World=
 Trade Organization, which, in principle, makes it harder for it to dole ou=
t subsidies to its firms. It has also lowered tariff barriers to some poore=
r countries. But it can and must do more.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-st=
yle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;l=
ine-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px =
0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;"></p><blockquote style=3D"bor=
der:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-st=
retch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inhe=
rit;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px 30px 0px 0px;vertical-align:baseline;width:=
283.487px;float:left;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-pullquote yiv3208162160g=
mail-pr-md-30 yiv3208162160gmail-mt-10 yiv3208162160gmail-mb-20 yiv32081621=
60gmail-mb-md-10 yiv3208162160gmail-ls-normal"><span style=3D"border:0px;fo=
nt-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:1.2;=
font-family:serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-size:32px;margin:0px;paddin=
g:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:block;" class=3D"yiv3208162160gmail-p=
ullquote__text yiv3208162160gmail-d-block">China=E2=80=99s dominance narrow=
s the possibilities available to poorer countries.</span></blockquote><p st=
yle=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inher=
it;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-a=
djust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">It =
could, for example, extend duty-free access to all labor-intensive imports =
into China from all developing countries. A radical option, consistent with=
 attempting to boost consumption within China, would be to go further and s=
ubsidize imports of labor-intensive goods from poor countries so that impor=
ters get a payment from the Chinese government, which they pass on to Chine=
se consumers in the form of lower prices. At the very least, it should not =
stymie the transfer of valuable expertise to other countries as it did in 2=
025, when Beijing pressured the manufacturer Foxconn to repatriate 300 mana=
gers and engineers from India.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit=
;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:=
inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px 0px 20px;pa=
dding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">Beyond trade, China could proactively e=
ncourage its entrepreneurs to set up manufacturing plants in poor countries=
 with the greatest potential. This would complement its Belt and Road Initi=
ative, the vast investment program that focuses on infrastructure and commo=
dities. Even on the exchange rate, there could now be an opening. China, li=
ke other countries, has long chafed under the dollar=E2=80=99s financial do=
minance. That dominance is eroding as a result of U.S. actions and growing =
doubt about the reliability of American institutions. It would make sense f=
or Beijing to now accelerate the internationalization of the renminbi. That=
 would entail real costs in terms of strengthening the currency and potenti=
ally hurting Chinese exports, but it could offer a far greater prize: a rea=
listic shot at rivaling dollar dominance. And a correction in the currency=
=E2=80=99s undervaluation would generate many positive spillovers for poor =
countries.</p><p style=3D"border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inheri=
t;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:=
inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:base=
line;">Together, such measures might have some negative consequences, mainl=
y in hitting lower-skilled Chinese exports. But they would be a boon for Be=
ijing in a different way. If China=E2=80=99s leaders want to take on more o=
f the mantle of global leadership, they must understand that leadership wor=
ks not simply through domination but by facilitating the rise of others. To=
 truly take advantage of the waning of American hegemony, China must not on=
ly distinguish itself from this current protectionist and erratic iteration=
 of the United States; it must also break with its own record of mercantili=
sm.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>-- <br>Salon mailing=
 list<br><a ymailto=3D"mailto:Salon@listserve.com" href=3D"mailto:Salon@lis=
tserve.com">Salon@listserve.com</a><br><a href=3D"https://mlm2.listserve.ne=
t/mailman/listinfo/salon" target=3D"_blank">https://mlm2.listserve.net/mail=
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Subject: [Salon] Archbishop of Canterbury vows to help Palestinians achieve
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*https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/archbishop-canterbury-vows-help-palesti=
nians-achieve-freedom
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/archbishop-canterbury-vows-help-palesti=
nians-achieve-freedom>*

*Archbishop of Canterbury vows to help Palestinians achieve 'freedom you
deserve'*
[image: image.png]
Sarah Mullally, the archbishop of Canterbury, in Rome on 28 April 2026 (AFP=
)
[image: Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury, looks on as she visits
Nafuma Refugee Centre in central Rome on April 28, 2026.]

*The archbishop of Canterbury has pledged to help Palestinians
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine> achieve "the peace you
desire and the freedom you deserve" and praised their "faithful resistance"
on a visit to the occupied West Bank.*

*Dame Sarah Mullally, the head of the Church of England, made the comments
last Sunday during a sermon
<https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/speeches/archbishop-sarahs-sermon-b=
irzeit-palestine>
at
St Peter's, an Anglican church in the Palestinian Christian town of
Birzeit.*

*She told the congregation that "your faithful, hopeful resistance is also
visible as fathers and mothers navigate the web of checkpoints daily to
provide an income for their family, or to get their children to school to
provide for their future, or as you gather to break bread together week by
week in this church.*

*"All these acts of faithful resistance point to our hope in Jesus Christ
and reflect your ongoing struggle for freedom and dignity."*

*The archbishop added that she was aware that she enjoys certain freedoms
that Palestinians don't, such as "being able to cross borders and
checkpoints, spending time in neighbouring communities, and going to
Jerusalem".*

*"I will use my role as archbishop to seek the peace you desire and the
freedom you deserve," she said.*

*"I hope that, through my visit, you may also know that you are not
forgotten by the wider body of Christ.*

*"The church is called to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with
those who weep. The church stands with you in your right to live in freedom
and dignity."*
Meeting with Palestinian detainee

*On her trip, Mullally met
<https://www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/article/archbishop-of-canterbury-supp=
ort-christian-palestinians-freedom-6m35tvvb3>
Layan
Nasir, a 26-year-old Palestinian Christian woman who has been detained
<https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/22-may/news/world/layan-nasir-=
returns-home-to-occupied-west-bank-after-third-spell-in-israeli-prison>
three
times by Israel in the past five years.*

*"I=E2=80=99m grateful to Layan=E2=80=99s family for their hospitality in t=
heir home,=E2=80=9D
Mullally said.*

*"I will pray for them, and for God=E2=80=99s blessing and healing for Laya=
n after
the terrible ordeal of her incarceration. I pray for the release of all
people who have been unjustly imprisoned, here in Palestine and Israel
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel> and around the world."*

*The archbishop also visited Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem. She
travelled with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, the Anglican archbishop in
Jerusalem. *

*Mullally said: "This visit is an opportunity to listen to both their hopes
and fears, their joys and immense challenges, and to pray with them for
justice and peace that will bring healing to their lives and to this land."=
*

*Four senior bishops in the Church of England last year called on
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/senior-church-eng=
land-bishops-urge-uk-sanction-israeli-settler-violence>
the
British government to take urgent action against Israel=E2=80=99s escalatin=
g
settler violence, warning it was undermining Palestinian life and
threatening the Christian presence in the Holy Land.*

*=E2=80=9CAs the war in Gaza persists, the situation in the West Bank is in
freefall,=E2=80=9D they wrote, citing "increasing levels of settler violenc=
e and
intimidation" =E2=80=93 including attacks on land and churches in Taybeh, a
Christian-majority town in the occupied West Bank.*

*In December 2025, Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, said
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/church-england-ar=
chbishop-says-he-was-intimidated-israeli-militias>
in
a sermon that he was stopped at checkpoints and told by "militias" that he
could not visit Palestinian families in the West Bank.*

*"It was sobering for me to see this wall for real on my visit to the Holy
Land, and we were stopped at various checkpoints and intimidated by Israeli
militias who told us that we couldn't visit Palestinian families in the
occupied West Bank," he said. *

*A delegation from the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in
Palestine warned European Union officials last month that Israeli policies
pose a serious threat to the survival of the historic Palestinian Christian
presence in the region.*

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr"><b style=3D"background-color:transparent"><fo=
nt color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"https://www.middlee=
asteye.net/news/archbishop-canterbury-vows-help-palestinians-achieve-freedo=
m" target=3D"_blank">https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/archbishop-canterbu=
ry-vows-help-palestinians-achieve-freedom</a></font></b></div><div dir=3D"l=
tr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=
=3D"georgia, serif"><br></font></b></div><div><h1 style=3D"line-height:1.21=
41em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;max-width:100%"><font color=3D"#000=
000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4"><i>Archbishop of Canterbury vows to=
 help Palestinians achieve &#39;freedom you deserve&#39;</i></font></h1><di=
v><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><img src=3D"cid:ii_mqtlzd0w0" alt=3D"image.=
png" width=3D"412" height=3D"232"></font><br></div><div><span style=3D"colo=
r:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Calluna,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;font-=
size:14.000001px;font-weight:700">Sarah Mullally, the archbishop of Canterb=
ury, in Rome on 28 April 2026 (AFP)</span><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><br=
></font></div><div style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-bottom:1.15em;line-height=
:1.5em"><img alt=3D"Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury, looks on as s=
he visits Nafuma Refugee Centre in central Rome on April 28, 2026." style=
=3D"margin:auto 0px auto auto;display:block;clear:both" width=3D"0" height=
=3D"0"></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D=
"georgia, serif">The archbishop of Canterbury has pledged to help<span>=C2=
=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine" sty=
le=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">Palestinians</=
a><span>=C2=A0</span>achieve &quot;the peace you desire and the freedom you=
 deserve&quot; and praised their &quot;faithful resistance&quot; on a visit=
 to the occupied West Bank.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><f=
ont color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Dame Sarah Mullally, the head=
 of the Church of England, made the comments last Sunday during a<span>=C2=
=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/speeches/archbi=
shop-sarahs-sermon-birzeit-palestine" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-wid=
th:100%" target=3D"_blank">sermon</a><span>=C2=A0</span>at St Peter&#39;s, =
an Anglican church in the Palestinian Christian town of Birzeit.</font></b>=
</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia,=
 serif">She told the congregation that &quot;your faithful, hopeful resista=
nce is also visible as fathers and mothers navigate the web of checkpoints =
daily to provide an income for their family, or to get their children to sc=
hool to provide for their future, or as you gather to break bread together =
week by week in this church.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><=
font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">&quot;All these acts of fait=
hful resistance point to our hope in Jesus Christ and reflect your ongoing =
struggle for freedom and dignity.&quot;</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width=
:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The archbishop ad=
ded that she was aware that she enjoys certain freedoms that Palestinians d=
on&#39;t, such as &quot;being able to cross borders and checkpoints, spendi=
ng time in neighbouring communities, and going to Jerusalem&quot;.</font></=
b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgi=
a, serif">&quot;I will use my role as archbishop to seek the peace you desi=
re and the freedom you deserve,&quot; she said.</font></b></p><p style=3D"m=
ax-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">&quot;I h=
ope that, through my visit, you may also know that you are not forgotten by=
 the wider body of Christ.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><fo=
nt color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">&quot;The church is called to =
rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. The church =
stands with you in your right to live in freedom and dignity.&quot;</font><=
/b></p><h3 style=3D"max-width:100%"><font size=3D"2" color=3D"#000000" face=
=3D"georgia, serif">Meeting with Palestinian detainee</font></h3><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">On h=
er trip, Mullally<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.thetimes.com/uk/=
religion/article/archbishop-of-canterbury-support-christian-palestinians-fr=
eedom-6m35tvvb3" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_b=
lank">met</a><span>=C2=A0</span>Layan Nasir, a 26-year-old Palestinian Chri=
stian woman who has been<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.churchtim=
es.co.uk/articles/2026/22-may/news/world/layan-nasir-returns-home-to-occupi=
ed-west-bank-after-third-spell-in-israeli-prison" style=3D"text-decoration:=
none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">detained</a><span>=C2=A0</span>three=
 times by Israel in the past five years.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">&quot;I=E2=80=99=
m grateful to Layan=E2=80=99s family for their hospitality in their home,=
=E2=80=9D Mullally said.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font=
 color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">&quot;I will pray for them, and =
for God=E2=80=99s blessing and healing for Layan after the terrible ordeal =
of her incarceration. I pray for the release of all people who have been un=
justly imprisoned, here in Palestine and<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https=
://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" style=3D"text-decoration:none;ma=
x-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">Israel</a><span>=C2=A0</span>and around the=
 world.&quot;</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#=
000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The archbishop also visited Jerusalem, Naza=
reth and Bethlehem. She travelled with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, the Anglican=
 archbishop in Jerusalem.=C2=A0</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><=
b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Mullally said: &quot;This=
 visit is an opportunity to listen to both their hopes and fears, their joy=
s and immense challenges, and to pray with them for justice and peace that =
will bring healing to their lives and to this land.&quot;</font></b></p><p =
style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif"=
>Four senior bishops in the Church of England last year<span>=C2=A0</span><=
a href=3D"https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/senior-c=
hurch-england-bishops-urge-uk-sanction-israeli-settler-violence" style=3D"t=
ext-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">called on</a><span>=
=C2=A0</span>the British government to take urgent action against Israel=E2=
=80=99s escalating settler violence, warning it was undermining Palestinian=
 life and threatening the Christian presence in the Holy Land.</font></b></=
p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, s=
erif">=E2=80=9CAs the war in Gaza persists, the situation in the West Bank =
is in freefall,=E2=80=9D they wrote, citing &quot;increasing levels of sett=
ler violence and intimidation&quot; =E2=80=93 including attacks on land and=
 churches in Taybeh, a Christian-majority town in the occupied West Bank.</=
font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D=
"georgia, serif">In December 2025, Stephen=C2=A0Cottrell, the archbishop of=
 York,=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-up=
date/church-england-archbishop-says-he-was-intimidated-israeli-militias" st=
yle=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">said</a><span=
>=C2=A0</span>in a sermon that he was stopped at checkpoints and told by &q=
uot;militias&quot; that he could not visit Palestinian families in the West=
 Bank.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000"=
 face=3D"georgia, serif">&quot;It was sobering for me to see this wall for =
real on my visit to the Holy Land, and we were stopped at various checkpoin=
ts and intimidated by Israeli militias who told us that we couldn&#39;t vis=
it Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank,&quot; he said.=C2=A0</fo=
nt></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"g=
eorgia, serif">A delegation from the Higher Presidential Committee for Chur=
ch Affairs in Palestine warned European Union officials last month that Isr=
aeli policies pose a serious threat to the survival of the historic Palesti=
nian Christian presence in the region.</font></b></p></div></div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div>

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<div dir="ltr"><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5939636-trump-postal-service-voter-data/">https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5939636-trump-postal-service-voter-data/</a></div>

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Federal Judge Strikes Key Parts of Trump Order Restricting Mail Voting

The ruling rejected the Trump administration=E2=80=99s attempt to change fe=
deral
election procedures through an executive order.
Listen =C2=B7 5:41 min

   - Share full article
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[image: An election worker pulls a stack of mail ballots from a box labeled
"Postal Service."]
=E2=80=9CThe Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers =
over
elections,=E2=80=9D a federal judge ruled on Thursday, tossing crucial part=
s of
President Trump=E2=80=99s executive order that sought to restrict mail voti=
ng.
Credit...Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
[image: Nick Corasaniti] <https://www.nytimes.com/by/nick-corasaniti>[image=
:
Adam Sella] <https://www.nytimes.com/by/adam-sella>

By Nick Corasaniti <https://www.nytimes.com/by/nick-corasaniti> and Adam
Sella <https://www.nytimes.com/by/adam-sella>

Nick Corasaniti reported from New York, and Adam Sella from Washington.
June 25, 2026The New York Times
<https://www.google.com/preferences/source?cs=3D0&hl=3Den&q=3Dnytimes.com>

A federal court in Massachusetts struck down crucial components of an
executive order from President Trump that sought to place significant
restrictions on mail voting as =E2=80=9Cunlawful, null, and void.=E2=80=9D =
The order had,
in part, tried to use federal oversight of the U.S. Postal Service to
regulate mail voting.

The ruling from Judge Indira Talwani amounted to a broad rejection of the
Trump administration=E2=80=99s attempts to change federal election procedur=
es
through an executive order, repeatedly emphasizing that the Constitution
grants authority over elections not to the executive branch but to
individual states and Congress.

=E2=80=9CThe Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers =
over
elections,=E2=80=9D Judge Talwani wrote, adding emphasis by underlining the=
 words
=E2=80=9Cdoes not.=E2=80=9D

More than 20 Democratic attorneys general representing states across the
country brought the legal challenge in federal court in Massachusetts.

Mr. Trump=E2=80=99s executive order
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/us/politics/trump-mail-in-ballots-votin=
g-executive-order.html?eafs_enabled=3Dfalse>,
signed in March, called on the Department of Homeland Security to compile
state-by-state citizen lists
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/us/politics/trump-lists-noncitizens-sta=
tes.html>
to
help determine voter eligibility. It called on the Postal Service to verify
voters based on lists provided by states. Earlier this month, the Postal
Service complied with the order, releasing a proposed rule
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/us/politics/usps-mail-voting-democratic=
-resistance.html>
consistent
with many of Mr. Trump=E2=80=99s demands.

The decision comes as Mr. Trump has renewed his push to pass federal
legislation that would impose fresh voting restrictions, canceling the
signing
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/us/politics/trump-housing-bill-voting-r=
estrictions.html>
of
a celebrated bipartisan housing measure on Wednesday and instead demanding
that Republicans first pass the president=E2=80=99s priority voting legisla=
tion,
known as the SAVE America Act.

A spokesperson for the Postal Service did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.

Abigail Jackson, a spokeswoman for the White House, defended the executive
order=E2=80=99s legality and said that the administration was =E2=80=9Cconf=
ident that we
will ultimately prevail=E2=80=9D in putting in effect the executive order. =
She
reiterated the administration=E2=80=99s intent to pass the SAVE America Act=
 in
Congress.

=E2=80=9CPresident Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full
confidence in the administration of our elections,=E2=80=9D Ms. Jackson sai=
d.

Multiple lawsuits
<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/us/trump-administration-lawsuits.=
html?smid=3Dnytcore-ios-share>
have
challenged the executive order, including a separate case in Washington,
D.C., where a judge initially decided
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/us/politics/trump-voting-executive-orde=
r.html>
not
to block the order after concluding that, because it had not yet been
carried out, no state or party had suffered legal harm.
Editors=E2=80=99 Picks
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<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/dining/drinks/george-washington-rye-whi=
skey.html>
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<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/23/style/guy-branum-what-old-gays-remember=
.html>
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<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/t-magazine/fashion/canvas-strapped-watc=
hes.html>

Judge Talwani, however, found that the executive order had already forced
many states that were part of the Massachusetts lawsuit to change election
policies and procedures. Connecticut had already shifted election workers
away from other duties to begin planning for the executive order, and
nearly half the states were grappling with the fact that they had already
purchased mail ballot envelopes that were not in compliance with the
directive.

=E2=80=9CNot only are Plaintiff States experiencing injury now with respect=
 to
planning, but it is undisputed that, should the E.O.=E2=80=99s directives g=
o into
effect, Plaintiff States will incur compliance costs,=E2=80=9D Judge Talwan=
i, who
was appointed by former President Barack Obama, wrote.

The ruling focused on two sections of the executive order that sought to
create state-by-state citizenship lists within the Department of Homeland
Security and direct the Postal Service to use an approved list of voters to
guide election mail.

Judge Talwani found that the authority to create voter lists and to
determine voter eligibility rests with the states, writing that =E2=80=9Cth=
e
Constitution reserves the power to determine voter eligibility to the
States alone.=E2=80=9D

But she also questioned whether records that the government would be
relying on would be able to =E2=80=9Ctrack name changes (such as when a wom=
an
changes her name at marriage) or residence changes when citizens move from
State to State.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CIt is clear that the federal agencies charged with compiling Confi=
rmed
Citizen Lists lack the ability to create complete and accurate lists of the
U.S. citizens residing in every State,=E2=80=9D Judge Talwani wrote.

And the judge returned to the question of executive authority, finding that
=E2=80=9Cthe President lacks any authority to compile voter lists for each =
State.=E2=80=9D

Similarly, regarding the provision directing the Postal Service to take a
more direct role in overseeing mail voting, Judge Talwani found the agency
lacked authority over elections.

=E2=80=9CNo law enacted by Congress delegates authority to control mail-in =
voting
to U.S.P.S.,=E2=80=9D Judge Talwani wrote, adding that the service =E2=80=
=9Clacks statutory
authorization to promulgate any binding regulations on mail-in voting.=E2=
=80=9D

The judge=E2=80=99s ruling comes a day after Postmaster General David Stein=
er confirmed
in a hearing
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/us/politics/postmaster-mail-ballot-rule=
-trump-elections.html>
before
the Senate that a proposed rule
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/us/politics/usps-mail-voting-democratic=
-resistance.html?eafs_enabled=3Dfalse>
would
block mail ballots in states that do not hand over sensitive voter data to
the federal government.

Mr. Steiner has repeatedly said that the Postal Service would follow court
orders.

In an interview with The New York Times
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/us/politics/postal-service-budget-mail-=
ballots.html>
earlier
this year, he said that he would defer to the courts on the legality of Mr.
Trump=E2=80=99s executive order and reaffirmed that the service would =E2=
=80=9Cabsolutely=E2=80=9D
continue to deliver mail-in ballots.

Zach Montague contributed reporting.

Nick Corasaniti <https://www.nytimes.com/by/nick-corasaniti> is a Times
reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections.

Adam Sella <https://www.nytimes.com/by/adam-sella> covers breaking news for
The Times in Washington.

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le=3D"color:rgb(18,18,18);font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-ser=
if;margin:0px;font-size:0.75rem;vertical-align:middle;border-width:0.8px;bo=
rder-style:solid;border-color:rgb(223,223,223);padding:0px;line-height:1rem=
;border-radius:50px;background:none 0% 0%/auto repeat scroll padding-box bo=
rder-box rgb(255,255,255);font-weight:500;height:auto;width:auto;overflow:v=
isible;text-transform:uppercase;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><div class=
=3D"gmail-css-gokjg8" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:=
0px;margin:0px;padding:6px 10px 7px;border-radius:30px;display:inline-block=
;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><span class=3D"gmail-css-1k9w9vl" style=
=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretc=
h:inherit;font-size:0.75rem;line-height:0.75rem;font-family:inherit;font-si=
ze-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertic=
al-align:middle;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid=
 1.6px">53</span></div></button></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div styl=
e=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px=
;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-1xb94ky" style=3D=
"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;out=
line:transparent solid 1.6px"><span style=3D"outline:transparent solid 1.6p=
x"><img alt=3D"An election worker pulls a stack of mail ballots from a box =
labeled &quot;Postal Service.&quot;" class=3D"gmail-css-rq4mmj" src=3D"http=
s://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/06/25/multimedia/25pol-mail-voting-ruling-=
wfjv/25pol-mail-voting-ruling-wfjv-articleLarge.jpg?quality=3D75&amp;auto=
=3Dwebp&amp;disable=3Dupscale" width=3D"600" height=3D"406" style=3D"text-s=
ize-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: top; border: 0px; margin: =
0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; outline: transparent soli=
d 1.6px; outline-offset: 0.125rem; width: 600px;"></span></div><span class=
=3D"gmail-css-1n49vpa e3zar750" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:in=
herit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:0.9375rem;line-hei=
ght:1.25rem;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-sett=
ings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 7px 0px 0px;padd=
ing:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px">=E2=80=9CThe Constitution does not=
 grant the President any specific powers over elections,=E2=80=9D a federal=
 judge ruled on Thursday, tossing crucial parts of President Trump=E2=80=99=
s executive order that sought to restrict mail voting.</span><span class=3D=
"gmail-css-iwa86d ecmr7cu0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inheri=
t;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:=
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gn:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6=
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"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;padding:0px;outline:transp=
arent solid 1.6px;width:1px;height:1px;overflow:hidden">Credit...</span><sp=
an style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padd=
ing:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><span aria-hidden=3D"false" style=
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outline:transparent solid 1.6px">Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</span></span>=
</span></div><div class=3D"gmail-css-p6m5rf" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical=
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solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:600px"><div class=3D"gmail-byline-contain=
er gmail-css-fowuij e194t51w2" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baselin=
e;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.75rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1=
.6px;display:flex;width:600px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-1jgcahq e8lt1uc0" ar=
ia-hidden=3D"true" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px=
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120px;display:inline-block;width:auto"><a href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/b=
y/nick-corasaniti" class=3D"gmail-css-uwwqev" style=3D"font:inherit;vertica=
l-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-de=
coration:none;width:100%;height:100%;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><img =
alt=3D"Nick Corasaniti" title=3D"Nick Corasaniti" src=3D"https://static01.n=
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dium; border-style: none; border-color: currentcolor; border-image: initial=
; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; ou=
tline: transparent solid 1.6px; outline-offset: 0.125rem; width: 50px; bord=
er-radius: 50%;"></a><a href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/by/adam-sella" clas=
s=3D"gmail-css-uwwqev" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border=
:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;width:100=
%;height:100%;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><img alt=3D"Adam Sella" titl=
e=3D"Adam Sella" src=3D"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/11/21/reader-c=
enter/author-adam-sella/author-adam-sella-thumbLarge.png" class=3D"gmail-cs=
s-dc6zx6 e8lt1uc2" style=3D"text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical=
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rentcolor; border-image: initial; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; m=
ax-width: 100%; height: auto; outline: transparent solid 1.6px; outline-off=
set: 0.125rem; width: 50px; border-radius: 50%;"></a></div><div class=3D"gm=
ail-css-233int e194t51w1" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;bor=
der:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;display:inli=
ne-block"><p class=3D"gmail-css-4anu6l e5uya0i1" style=3D"font-style:inheri=
t;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:700;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:0.937=
5rem;line-height:1.25rem;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-seri=
f;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inher=
it;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transp=
arent solid 1.6px;display:inline-block"><span class=3D"gmail-byline-prefix"=
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g:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px">By=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://ww=
w.nytimes.com/by/nick-corasaniti" class=3D"gmail-css-ojhyzr e5uya0i0" style=
=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;=
color:inherit;text-decoration:underline 1px rgb(114,114,114);outline:transp=
arent solid 1.6px;display:inline-block">Nick Corasaniti</a>=C2=A0and=C2=A0<=
a href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/by/adam-sella" class=3D"gmail-last-byline=
 gmail-css-ojhyzr e5uya0i0" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;b=
order:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:inherit;text-decoration:underline 1p=
x rgb(114,114,114);outline:transparent solid 1.6px;display:inline-block">Ad=
am Sella</a></p><div class=3D"gmail-css-k9i8mi e194t51w0" style=3D"font:inh=
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l-css-8atqhb" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;marg=
in:0px;padding:0px;width:470.612px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><p clas=
s=3D"gmail-css-1hyokyd e1bs99pu0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:=
inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:1.25rem;font-f=
amily:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font=
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er:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px">Nick Corasan=
iti reported from New York, and Adam Sella from Washington.</p></div></div>=
</div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-css-1c72mta" style=3D"font:inherit;ve=
rtical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0.25rem auto 0.125rem;padding:0px;o=
utline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:600px;display:flex"><s=
pan class=3D"gmail-css-1sbuyqj ex1i4ff2" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-ali=
gn:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px 1em 0px 0px;outline:transpare=
nt solid 1.6px;display:inline-block">June 25, 2026<a class=3D"gmail-gps-lin=
k" id=3D"gmail-gpsLink" href=3D"https://www.google.com/preferences/source?c=
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ter;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:inherit=
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ant"><span class=3D"gmail-gps-cta" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant=
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rder-color:rgb(223,223,223);margin:6px 0px 0px;padding:0.375rem 1.125rem;ou=
tline:transparent solid 1.6px;display:inline-block;color:rgb(18,18,18);bord=
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y:0"><div class=3D"gmail-css-vxcmzt" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:b=
aseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;display:inline-flex;outline:trans=
parent solid 1.6px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-79elbk" style=3D"font:inherit;v=
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t solid 1.6px"><button type=3D"button" aria-label=3D"More sharing options .=
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</div></div><div class=3D"gmail-css-s99gbd gmail-StoryBodyCompanionColumn" =
style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px auto 1r=
em;padding:0px;display:flex;height:525px;width:1200px;outline:transparent s=
olid 1.6px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-53u6y8" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-=
align:baseline;border:0px;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px=
;padding:0px;width:600px;max-width:600px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><=
p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-va=
riant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;li=
ne-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&q=
uot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature=
-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375r=
em;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">=
A federal court in Massachusetts struck down crucial components of an execu=
tive order from President Trump that sought to place significant restrictio=
ns on mail voting as =E2=80=9Cunlawful, null, and void.=E2=80=9D The order =
had, in part, tried to use federal oversight of the U.S. Postal Service to =
regulate mail voting.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"=
font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:in=
herit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georg=
ia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-ke=
rning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:=
0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;wi=
dth:600px;max-width:100%">The ruling from Judge Indira Talwani amounted to =
a broad rejection of the Trump administration=E2=80=99s attempts to change =
federal election procedures through an executive order, repeatedly emphasiz=
ing that the Constitution grants authority over elections not to the execut=
ive branch but to individual states and Congress.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-=
140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-we=
ight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;fo=
nt-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font=
-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;ver=
tical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outlin=
e:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">=E2=80=9CThe Constitu=
tion does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,=E2=80=
=9D Judge Talwani wrote, adding emphasis by underlining the words =E2=80=9C=
does not.=E2=80=9D</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"fon=
t-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inher=
it;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,=
&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerni=
ng:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px=
;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-wid=
th:100%">More than 20 Democratic attorneys general representing states acro=
ss the country brought the legal challenge in federal court in Massachusett=
s.</p></div></div><div style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border=
:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><div class=3D"=
gmail-css-8atqhb" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;=
margin:0px;padding:0px;width:2032.8px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"></di=
v></div><div class=3D"gmail-css-s99gbd gmail-StoryBodyCompanionColumn" styl=
e=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px auto 1rem;p=
adding:0px;display:flex;height:855px;width:1200px;outline:transparent solid=
 1.6px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-53u6y8" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-alig=
n:baseline;border:0px;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;pad=
ding:0px;width:600px;max-width:600px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><p cl=
ass=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-varian=
t:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-h=
eight:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;=
,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-set=
tings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;p=
adding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">Mr. =
Trump=E2=80=99s=C2=A0<a class=3D"gmail-css-yywogo" href=3D"https://www.nyti=
mes.com/2026/03/31/us/politics/trump-mail-in-ballots-voting-executive-order=
.html?eafs_enabled=3Dfalse" title=3D"" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align=
:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-deco=
ration:underline 1px rgb(50,104,145);outline:transparent solid 1.6px">execu=
tive order</a>, signed in March, called on the Department of Homeland Secur=
ity to compile state-by-state=C2=A0<a class=3D"gmail-css-yywogo" href=3D"ht=
tps://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/us/politics/trump-lists-noncitizens-states=
.html" title=3D"" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;=
margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-decoration:underline 1px =
rgb(50,104,145);outline:transparent solid 1.6px">citizen lists</a>=C2=A0to =
help determine voter eligibility. It called on the Postal Service to verify=
 voters based on lists provided by states. Earlier this month, the Postal S=
ervice complied with the order, releasing a=C2=A0<a class=3D"gmail-css-yywo=
go" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/us/politics/usps-mail-voting=
-democratic-resistance.html" title=3D"" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-alig=
n:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-dec=
oration:underline 1px rgb(50,104,145);outline:transparent solid 1.6px">prop=
osed rule</a>=C2=A0consistent with many of Mr. Trump=E2=80=99s demands.</p>=
<p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-v=
ariant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;l=
ine-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&=
quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-featur=
e-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375=
rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%"=
>The decision comes as Mr. Trump has renewed his push to pass federal legis=
lation that would impose fresh voting restrictions,=C2=A0<a class=3D"gmail-=
css-yywogo" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/us/politics/trump-ho=
using-bill-voting-restrictions.html" title=3D"" style=3D"font:inherit;verti=
cal-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(50,104,145);=
text-decoration:underline 1px rgb(50,104,145);outline:transparent solid 1.6=
px">canceling the signing</a>=C2=A0of a celebrated bipartisan housing measu=
re on Wednesday and instead demanding that Republicans first pass the presi=
dent=E2=80=99s priority voting legislation, known as the SAVE America Act.<=
/p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;fon=
t-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25re=
m;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new rom=
an&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-fea=
ture-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9=
375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:10=
0%">A spokesperson for the Postal Service did not immediately respond to re=
quests for comment.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"fo=
nt-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inhe=
rit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia=
,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kern=
ing:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0p=
x;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;widt=
h:600px;max-width:100%">Abigail Jackson, a spokeswoman for the White House,=
 defended the executive order=E2=80=99s legality and said that the administ=
ration was =E2=80=9Cconfident that we will ultimately prevail=E2=80=9D in p=
utting in effect the executive order. She reiterated the administration=E2=
=80=99s intent to pass the SAVE America Act in Congress.</p><p class=3D"gma=
il-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;=
font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.87=
5rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,ser=
if;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inhe=
rit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px=
;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">=E2=80=9CPresi=
dent Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in =
the administration of our elections,=E2=80=9D Ms. Jackson said.</p><p class=
=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:i=
nherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-heig=
ht:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,ti=
mes,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settin=
gs:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outlin=
e:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%"><a class=3D"gmail-css=
-yywogo" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/us/trump-administ=
ration-lawsuits.html?smid=3Dnytcore-ios-share" title=3D"" style=3D"font:inh=
erit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(50=
,104,145);text-decoration:underline 1px rgb(50,104,145);outline:transparent=
 solid 1.6px">Multiple lawsuits</a>=C2=A0have challenged the executive orde=
r, including a separate case in Washington, D.C., where a judge=C2=A0<a cla=
ss=3D"gmail-css-yywogo" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/us/polit=
ics/trump-voting-executive-order.html" title=3D"" style=3D"font:inherit;ver=
tical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(50,104,145=
);text-decoration:underline 1px rgb(50,104,145);outline:transparent solid 1=
.6px">initially decided</a>=C2=A0not to block the order after concluding th=
at, because it had not yet been carried out, no state or party had suffered=
 legal harm.</p></div><div id=3D"gmail-c-col-editors-picks" class=3D"gmail-=
css-lze5f4" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin=
:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:210px;max-width:210p=
x"><h2 class=3D"gmail-css-151seha" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant=
:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:14px;line-height:14px;font-family:n=
yt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kernin=
g:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-widt=
h:0px 0px 1px;border-style:none none solid;border-color:currentcolor curren=
tcolor rgb(226,226,226);margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px 0px 12px;outline:tr=
ansparent solid 1.6px;color:rgb(18,18,18);letter-spacing:0.02em">Editors=E2=
=80=99 Picks</h2><a class=3D"gmail-css-1sj6bre" href=3D"https://www.nytimes=
.com/2026/06/24/dining/drinks/george-washington-rye-whiskey.html" style=3D"=
font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;colo=
r:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;height:77=
.4px;display:flex"><div class=3D"gmail-css-1rcvpgy" style=3D"font:inherit;v=
ertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparen=
t solid 1.6px;width:75px"><img alt=3D"" src=3D"https://static01.nyt.com/ima=
ges/2026/06/24/multimedia/24FD-george-washington-rye-PROMO-wvlj/24FD-george=
-washington-rye-PROMO-wvlj-thumbLarge.jpg" style=3D"text-size-adjust: 100%;=
 font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-width: medium; border-styl=
e: none; border-color: currentcolor; border-image: initial; margin: 0px; pa=
dding: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; outline: transparent solid 1.6px=
; outline-offset: 0.125rem;"></div><h3 class=3D"gmail-css-15zy5qw" style=3D=
"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:500;font-stretch:inher=
it;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;font-family:nyt-cheltenham-small,georgia=
,&quot;times new roman&quot;;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;=
font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-width:0px 0px =
medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;margin:auto 0px auto 10p=
x;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;color:rgb(18,18,18)">Another =
Spirit of =E2=80=9976: George Washington=E2=80=99s Whiskey</h3></a><a class=
=3D"gmail-css-1sj6bre" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/23/style/guy=
-branum-what-old-gays-remember.html" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:b=
aseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:=
none;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;height:77.4px;display:flex"><div class=
=3D"gmail-css-1rcvpgy" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border=
:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:75px"><im=
g alt=3D"" src=3D"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/06/25/multimedia/23S=
T-OLD-GAYS-PROMO-jglw/23ST-OLD-GAYS-PROMO-jglw-thumbLarge.jpg" style=3D"tex=
t-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-width:=
 medium; border-style: none; border-color: currentcolor; border-image: init=
ial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; outline: tra=
nsparent solid 1.6px; outline-offset: 0.125rem;"></div><h3 class=3D"gmail-c=
ss-15zy5qw" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:50=
0;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;font-family:nyt-chel=
tenham-small,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;;font-size-adjust:inherit;f=
ont-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;b=
order-width:0px 0px medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;marg=
in:auto 0px auto 10px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;color:rgb=
(18,18,18)">He=E2=80=99s an =E2=80=98Old Gay.=E2=80=99 Gather Round.</h3></=
a><a class=3D"gmail-css-1sj6bre" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22=
/t-magazine/fashion/canvas-strapped-watches.html" style=3D"font:inherit;ver=
tical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);tex=
t-decoration:none;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;height:77.4px;display:fle=
x"><div class=3D"gmail-css-1rcvpgy" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:ba=
seline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;wi=
dth:75px"><img alt=3D"" src=3D"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/06/22/t=
-magazine/fashion/22tmag-canvas-slide-RXAN/22tmag-canvas-slide-RXAN-thumbLa=
rge.jpg" style=3D"text-size-adjust: 100%; font: inherit; vertical-align: ba=
seline; border-width: medium; border-style: none; border-color: currentcolo=
r; border-image: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%; heigh=
t: auto; outline: transparent solid 1.6px; outline-offset: 0.125rem;"></div=
><h3 class=3D"gmail-css-15zy5qw" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:i=
nherit;font-weight:500;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:14px;line-height:17px=
;font-family:nyt-cheltenham-small,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;;font-=
size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vert=
ical-align:baseline;border-width:0px 0px medium;border-style:none;border-co=
lor:currentcolor;margin:auto 0px auto 10px;padding:0px;outline:transparent =
solid 1.6px;color:rgb(18,18,18)">The Coolest Canvas-Strapped Watches</h3></=
a></div></div><div style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px=
;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><div class=3D"gmai=
l-css-8atqhb" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;marg=
in:0px;padding:0px;width:2032.8px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"></div></=
div><div class=3D"gmail-css-s99gbd gmail-StoryBodyCompanionColumn" style=3D=
"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px auto 1rem;paddi=
ng:0px;display:flex;height:780px;width:1200px;outline:transparent solid 1.6=
px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-53u6y8" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:ba=
seline;border:0px;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;padding=
:0px;width:600px;max-width:600px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><p class=
=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:i=
nherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-heig=
ht:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,ti=
mes,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settin=
gs:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padd=
ing:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">Judge T=
alwani, however, found that the executive order had already forced many sta=
tes that were part of the Massachusetts lawsuit to change election policies=
 and procedures. Connecticut had already shifted election workers away from=
 other duties to begin planning for the executive order, and nearly half th=
e states were grappling with the fact that they had already purchased mail =
ballot envelopes that were not in compliance with the directive.</p><p clas=
s=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:=
inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-hei=
ght:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,t=
imes,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-setti=
ngs:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;pad=
ding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">=E2=80=
=9CNot only are Plaintiff States experiencing injury now with respect to pl=
anning, but it is undisputed that, should the E.O.=E2=80=99s directives go =
into effect, Plaintiff States will incur compliance costs,=E2=80=9D Judge T=
alwani, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, wrote.</p><p cl=
ass=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-varian=
t:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-h=
eight:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;=
,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-set=
tings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;p=
adding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">The =
ruling focused on two sections of the executive order that sought to create=
 state-by-state citizenship lists within the Department of Homeland Securit=
y and direct the Postal Service to use an approved list of voters to guide =
election mail.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-st=
yle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;f=
ont-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quo=
t;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:i=
nherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;mar=
gin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600=
px;max-width:100%">Judge Talwani found that the authority to create voter l=
ists and to determine voter eligibility rests with the states, writing that=
 =E2=80=9Cthe Constitution reserves the power to determine voter eligibilit=
y to the States alone.=E2=80=9D</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0"=
 style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-=
stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-impe=
rial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inher=
it;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseli=
ne;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:=
600px;max-width:100%">But she also questioned whether records that the gove=
rnment would be relying on would be able to =E2=80=9Ctrack name changes (su=
ch as when a woman changes her name at marriage) or residence changes when =
citizens move from State to State.=E2=80=9D</p></div></div><div style=3D"fo=
nt:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outlin=
e:transparent solid 1.6px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-8atqhb" style=3D"font:in=
herit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:2032.=
8px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-css-s9=
9gbd gmail-StoryBodyCompanionColumn" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:b=
aseline;border:0px;margin:0px auto 1rem;padding:0px;display:flex;height:847=
px;width:1200px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-53=
u6y8" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin-top:0=
px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;padding:0px;width:600px;max-width:600=
px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0=
" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font=
-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imp=
erial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inhe=
rit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:basel=
ine;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent sol=
id 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">=E2=80=9CIt is clear that the federal =
agencies charged with compiling Confirmed Citizen Lists lack the ability to=
 create complete and accurate lists of the U.S. citizens residing in every =
State,=E2=80=9D Judge Talwani wrote.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5=
xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;=
font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt=
-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:=
inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:b=
aseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent=
 solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">And the judge returned to the ques=
tion of executive authority, finding that =E2=80=9Cthe President lacks any =
authority to compile voter lists for each State.=E2=80=9D</p><p class=3D"gm=
ail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit=
;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.8=
75rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,se=
rif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inh=
erit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0p=
x;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">Similarly, re=
garding the provision directing the Postal Service to take a more direct ro=
le in overseeing mail voting, Judge Talwani found the agency lacked authori=
ty over elections.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"fon=
t-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inher=
it;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,=
&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerni=
ng:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px=
;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px;width=
:600px;max-width:100%">=E2=80=9CNo law enacted by Congress delegates author=
ity to control mail-in voting to U.S.P.S.,=E2=80=9D Judge Talwani wrote, ad=
ding that the service =E2=80=9Clacks statutory authorization to promulgate =
any binding regulations on mail-in voting.=E2=80=9D</p><p class=3D"gmail-cs=
s-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-=
weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;=
font-family:nyt-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;fo=
nt-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;v=
ertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outl=
ine:transparent solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">The judge=E2=80=99s=
 ruling comes a day after Postmaster General David Steiner=C2=A0<a class=3D=
"gmail-css-yywogo" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/us/politics/p=
ostmaster-mail-ballot-rule-trump-elections.html" title=3D"" style=3D"font:i=
nherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(=
50,104,145);text-decoration:underline 1px rgb(50,104,145);outline:transpare=
nt solid 1.6px">confirmed in a hearing</a>=C2=A0before the Senate that=C2=
=A0<a class=3D"gmail-css-yywogo" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11=
/us/politics/usps-mail-voting-democratic-resistance.html?eafs_enabled=3Dfal=
se" title=3D"" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;mar=
gin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-decoration:underline 1px rgb=
(50,104,145);outline:transparent solid 1.6px">a proposed rule</a>=C2=A0woul=
d block mail ballots in states that do not hand over sensitive voter data t=
o the federal government.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me5xab0" style=
=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretc=
h:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:nyt-imperial,g=
eorgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;fon=
t-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;bor=
der:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6p=
x;width:600px;max-width:100%">Mr. Steiner has repeatedly said that the Post=
al Service would follow court orders.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-140ip4z e1me=
5xab0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit=
;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;font-family:ny=
t-imperial,georgia,&quot;times new roman&quot;,times,serif;font-size-adjust=
:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:=
baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.9375rem;padding:0px;outline:transparen=
t solid 1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">In an=C2=A0<a class=3D"gmail-css-=
yywogo" href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/us/politics/postal-servi=
ce-budget-mail-ballots.html" title=3D"" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-alig=
n:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(50,104,145);text-dec=
oration:underline 1px rgb(50,104,145);outline:transparent solid 1.6px">inte=
rview with The New York Times</a>=C2=A0earlier this year, he said that he w=
ould defer to the courts on the legality of Mr. Trump=E2=80=99s executive o=
rder and reaffirmed that the service would =E2=80=9Cabsolutely=E2=80=9D con=
tinue to deliver mail-in ballots.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-f3337s erlrjdy0"=
 style=3D"font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1rem;line-hei=
ght:1.375rem;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size-=
adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-=
align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid =
1.6px;width:600px;max-width:100%">Zach Montague=C2=A0contributed reporting.=
</p></div></div><div style=3D"font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-eas=
t-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-s=
ize:16px;line-height:inherit;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;font-s=
ize-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;verti=
cal-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent so=
lid 1.6px;color:rgb(54,54,54);display:contents"><div class=3D"gmail-bottom-=
of-article" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin=
:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-1=
i6tsou" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:1re=
m auto 1em;padding:0px;max-width:600px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><di=
v class=3D"gmail-css-16kgnvc eew3afz0" style=3D"font-style:inherit;font-var=
iant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;font-=
family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size-adjust:inherit;fon=
t-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;bor=
der:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><div style=
=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;=
outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><p style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:ba=
seline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.75rem;padding:0px;outline:transparent so=
lid 1.6px"><span class=3D"gmail-css-dtk1i2" style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-=
align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid =
1.6px"><a class=3D"gmail-authorPageLinkClass gmail-overrideLinkStyles" href=
=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/by/nick-corasaniti" style=3D"font-style:inherit=
;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:700;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inheri=
t;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-ker=
ning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0=
px;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(54,54,54);text-decoration:underline 1px=
;outline:transparent solid 1.6px">Nick Corasaniti</a></span>=C2=A0is a Time=
s reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections=
.</p></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-css-16kgnvc eew3afz0" style=3D"font-st=
yle:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1rem;line-h=
eight:1.375rem;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-siz=
e-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;vertica=
l-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent soli=
d 1.6px"><div style=3D"font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;marg=
in:0px;padding:0px;outline:transparent solid 1.6px"><p style=3D"font:inheri=
t;vertical-align:baseline;border:0px;margin:0px 0px 0.75rem;padding:0px;out=
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Subject: [Salon] The NDAA Proposed Merger of the U.S. and Israeli Military
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The Kucinich Report
6
13
The NDAA Proposed Merger of the U.S. and Israeli Military is Strategically
Unwise and Inherently UnconstitutionalSection 219 creates a framework for
permanent military integration that weakens American sovereignty, blurs
constitutional accountability, and places the nation's independent decision
making at risk.
<https://substack.com/@denniskucinich>
<https://substack.com/@elizabethkucinich>
Dennis Kucinich <https://substack.com/@denniskucinich> and Elizabeth
Kucinich <https://substack.com/@elizabethkucinich>
Jun 25, 2026
<https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_cUX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progre=
ssive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fi=
mages%2F3735ef2c-1c56-4f48-9032-d632111c98a8_1536x1024.heic>

This article is Part 2 in a three part series on the proposed merger of U.S
and Israeli intelligence, military and biotechnology. Read Part 1 here
<https://kucinichreport.substack.com/p/congress-is-preparing-to-surrender>

Prior to the American Revolution being fought on battlefields, it was
fought as an argument about sovereignty.

Who decides the fate of a nation? Who commands its armies? Who determines
when its citizens go to war and when they remain at peace?

The Founders answered those questions with remarkable clarity. In a
republic, sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised through
constitutional institutions accountable to them. Section 219 of the
National Defense Authorization Act of 2027 threatens to undermine the
foundational principles of our republic and our constitutional democracy.

Advocates for Section 219 describe it as a strategic partnership, a
modernization of military cooperation between the United States and Israel.
Yet the language of the provision reaches far beyond cooperation. It calls
for the *integration *of military planning, intelligence sharing,
technological development, procurement systems, research capabilities, and
strategic operations in ways that blur the distinction between two
sovereign nations.

This is not merely a policy question, it is a constitutional one.

America has alliances with many nations. We cooperate with allies. We
conduct joint exercises. We share intelligence. However, there is a
profound difference between cooperation and integration.

Cooperation preserves independent decision making.

Integration creates pressure toward shared decision making and shared
consequences.

The Constitution was deliberately designed to prevent precisely this type
of entanglement.

The President serves as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the
United States. Congress possesses the authority to declare war. Together
these provisions were meant to ensure that decisions involving American
lives, American treasure, and American military power remain accountable to
the American people.

Section 219 moves the nation in the opposite direction. It creates
permanent structures through which military, intelligence, technological,
and strategic functions become increasingly intertwined with those of
another government. Even if no formal transfer of command occurs, the
practical effect is to make American decision making dependent upon
relationships and commitments that exist far beyond the reach of American
voters.

There are at least nine reasons why Congress should reject Section 219 of
the NDAA:.

   1.

   *IT VIOLATES THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF CLAUSE*

Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution designates the President as
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States.

Congress cannot constitutionally dilute, share, or transfer command
responsibilities through ordinary legislation. The armed forces of the
United States must remain exclusively accountable to constitutional
authority established by the American people.

   2.

   *IT BYPASSES THE TREATY PROCESS*

The Constitution provides a mechanism for creating major international
commitments: treaties ratified by two thirds of the Senate.

If Congress believes permanent military integration with any foreign nation
is necessary, it should present that proposal openly and subject it to the
scrutiny required by the Constitution.

Congress cannot use a spending bill to accomplish what the Constitution
requires to be debated and approved through the treaty process.

   3.

   *IT CREATES PROBLEMS OF AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY*

Foreign officials do not swear an oath to defend the Constitution of the
United States.

Yet military integration creates circumstances in which foreign officers,
planners, intelligence officials, and strategic personnel may influence
decisions affecting American troops, intelligence assets, military
technologies, operational planning and decisions to use military force.

The Framers established safeguards to ensure that authority over American
military power remained accountable to American institutions and American
voters.

Section 219 weakens those safeguards.

   4.

   *IT VIOLATES THE PRINCIPLE OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY*

Congress cannot delegate core sovereign responsibilities to another
government.

The defense of the nation, decisions involving military force, intelligence
operations, and national security policy are among the most important
powers entrusted to the federal government.

A nation that cannot independently determine matters of war and peace
cannot truly be considered sovereign.

   5.

   *IT INCREASES THE RISK OF FUTURE WARS*

The Founders understood the danger.

In his Farewell Address, George Washington warned against permanent foreign
attachments that could pull the United States into conflicts not of its own
choosing. His concern was not isolationism. It was independence.

Our first president understood that foreign entanglements have a way of
creating obligations that gradually supersede national interests.

That warning has particular relevance today.

The recent escalation with Iran demonstrates how rapidly regional conflicts
can draw the United States toward broader military commitments. Every new
layer of institutional integration increases the likelihood that future
conflicts involving Israel become, in practical terms, American conflicts
as well.

   6.

   *IT RISKS SUBORDINATING AMERICAN INTERESTS TO FOREIGN PRIORITIES*

The issue is not whether one supports Israel.

The issue is whether any foreign nation should be granted a permanent place
within executive, military, intelligence, technological, and strategic
structures that are constitutionally intended to serve the United States
alone.

The first responsibility of the United States government is to protect the
security and wellbeing of the American people. Foreign policy should be
guided by American interests, American laws, and American constitutional
principles.

   7.

   *IT THREATENS DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY*

When sovereignty is diluted, accountability disappears.

Citizens can no longer identify who is responsible for decisions. Power
becomes dispersed through networks, agreements, and institutions beyond
public control.

Democracy weakens because the connection between the voter and the decision
maker is broken.

The Constitution deliberately places decisions involving war and national
defense within institutions accountable to the American people. Section 219
weakens that connection.

   8.

   *IT IMPOSES ENORMOUS FINANCIAL COSTS*

The United States has spent decades engaged in costly military
interventions throughout the Middle East.

Trillions of dollars have been spent. Thousands of American lives have been
lost. Countless civilians have perished. Yet the pressure for deeper
involvement continues.

This is especially troubling at a moment when the national debt exceeds
forty trillion dollars. Every additional military commitment carries a
financial cost. Every escalation requires resources that must ultimately be
borrowed, taxed, or diverted from domestic priorities.

Americans struggling with inflation, housing costs, healthcare expenses,
and declining infrastructure deserve a government focused first on their
security and prosperity.

   9.

   *IT BETRAYS THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE*

The timing could not be more ironic.

As America marks the 250th anniversary of its independence, Congress is
considering legislation that undermines our independence.

The Revolution was fought to secure self government. The Constitution was
written to preserve it.

Sovereignty is not an outdated concept. It is the foundation of democratic
accountability.

The question before us is larger than Israel. Larger than any single
administration. Larger than any current conflict.

It is whether the United States will remain a nation whose military power
is directed exclusively by constitutional institutions accountable to the
American people, or whether we will gradually surrender that independence
through permanent foreign integration that the Constitution neither
contemplated nor authorizes.

A nation that cannot control its own military decisions cannot claim to be
sovereign - and that is a core reason why Section 219 should be rejected.

*TAKE ACTION*

*The merger is timed to be voted on the week of June 29, just before the
Fourth of July.*

*Find your member of Congress: House
<https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative> Senate
<https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm>*

*It is urgent that you call your congressional representative today at
202-224-3121 and tell them to Strip Section 219 (House) or Section 1217
(Senate) from the 2027 NDAA.*

*Congressmen Tom Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) will offer an amendment
in the House to remove Section 219. Please tell your U.S. Representative:
Support the Massie-Khanna Amendment to the NDAA.*

*Optional telephone script for the House of Representatives:*

*My name is ______ and I am a constituent. I am calling to urge
Representative ______ to support the Massie-Khanna Amendment and to remove
Section 219 from the NDAA. Congress should defend American sovereignty,
uphold the Constitution, and reject any measure that integrates the
executive and military functions of the United States with those of a
foreign government. Please pass my message to the Representative. Thank
you.*

*Let us truly celebrate our independence by staying independent. Please
help spread the word and forward this article.*

Share
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px;height:18px;font-size:10px;line-height:18px;font-weight:800;font-family:=
&quot;Jetbrains Mono&quot;,monospace;box-sizing:border-box;background:none =
0% 0%/auto repeat scroll padding-box border-box rgb(83,101,208);color:rgb(2=
55,255,255);padding:0px 4px;max-width:18px">6</div></button><button type=3D=
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nd-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;border-=
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n:0px;padding:0px;list-style:none;width:40px;height:40px;display:flex;borde=
r-radius:8px"><div class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-display-flex gmail-pc-j=
ustifyContent-center gmail-pc-alignItems-center gmail-pc-reset gmail-badge-=
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radius:12px;width:auto;min-width:18px;height:18px;font-size:10px;line-heigh=
t:18px;font-weight:800;font-family:&quot;Jetbrains Mono&quot;,monospace;box=
-sizing:border-box;background:none 0% 0%/auto repeat scroll padding-box bor=
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utton></div><button type=3D"button" id=3D"gmail-radix-P0-11" aria-haspopup=
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font-size:unset;line-height:unset;text-decoration:unset;background-image:in=
itial;background-position:0px 0px;background-size:initial;background-repeat=
:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;border-width:med=
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ding:0px;list-style:none;border-radius:9999px"><div class=3D"gmail-pencraft=
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craft gmail-pc-display-flex gmail-pc-justifyContent-center gmail-pc-alignIt=
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oDUy26 gmail-pc-borderRadius-full gmail-sizing-border-box-DggLA4 gmail-badg=
e-jGMz0j gmail-placement_bottom-right-hoG7Xz gmail-shape_circle-Q9w9_R gmai=
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ve4D6v gmail-fillIcon-hub55b" style=3D"text-decoration:unset;list-style:non=
e;border-radius:9999px;display:flex;box-sizing:border-box;font-family:syste=
m-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&quot;Segoe UI&quot;,Roboto,Helvetica=
,Arial,sans-serif,&quot;Apple Color Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Emoji&quot;,=
&quot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;;background-image:linear-gradient(rgb(240,240,24=
0),rgb(240,240,240)),none;background-position:0% 0%,0% 0%;background-size:a=
uto,auto;background-repeat:repeat,repeat;background-origin:padding-box,padd=
ing-box;background-clip:border-box,border-box;color:rgb(54,55,55);min-width=
:16px;height:16px;padding:0px;outline:rgb(255,255,255) solid 1.6px"></div><=
/div></button></div></div></div></div></div><div style=3D"height:72px"></di=
v></div><div style=3D"color:rgb(54,55,55);font-family:Spectral,serif,system=
-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&quot;Segoe UI&quot;,Roboto,Helvetica,=
Arial,sans-serif,&quot;Apple Color Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Emoji&quot;,&=
quot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;;font-size:19px"><div aria-label=3D"Post" role=3D=
"main" class=3D"gmail-single-post-container" style=3D"background-image:none=
;background-position:0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;ba=
ckground-origin:padding-box;background-clip:border-box"><div class=3D"gmail=
-container" style=3D"min-width:280px;width:728px;margin:0px auto"><div clas=
s=3D"gmail-single-post"><div class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-display-conte=
nts gmail-pc-reset gmail-pubTheme-yiXxQA" style=3D"text-decoration:unset;li=
st-style:none;display:contents"><div role=3D"region" aria-label=3D"Post hea=
der" class=3D"gmail-post-header"><h1 dir=3D"auto" class=3D"gmail-post-title=
 gmail-published gmail-title-X77sOw" style=3D"font-family:&quot;SF Pro Disp=
lay&quot;,-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont=
,&quot;Segoe UI&quot;,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,&quot;Apple Color E=
moji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;;margin:0p=
x;line-height:36px;font-size:32px">The NDAA Proposed Merger of the U.S. and=
 Israeli Military is Strategically Unwise and Inherently Unconstitutional</=
h1><h3 dir=3D"auto" class=3D"gmail-subtitle gmail-subtitle-HEEcLo" style=3D=
"font-family:&quot;SF Pro Display&quot;,-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-a=
pple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&quot;Segoe UI&quot;,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,=
sans-serif,&quot;Apple Color Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Emoji&quot;,&quot;S=
egoe UI Symbol&quot;;font-weight:400;margin:12px 0px 0px;line-height:24px;f=
ont-size:18px;color:rgb(134,135,135)">Section 219 creates a framework for p=
ermanent military integration that weakens American sovereignty, blurs cons=
titutional accountability, and places the nation&#39;s independent decision=
 making at risk.</h3><div aria-label=3D"Post UFI" role=3D"region" class=3D"=
gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-display-flex gmail-pc-flexDirection-column gmail-pc=
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pc-display-flex gmail-pc-paddingTop-16 gmail-pc-paddingBottom-16 gmail-pc-j=
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e=3D"text-decoration:unset;list-style:none;display:flex;padding-top:16px;pa=
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on:unset;list-style:none;display:flex"><div class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-p=
c-display-flex gmail-pc-flexDirection-row gmail-pc-gap-8 gmail-pc-alignItem=
s-center gmail-pc-justifyContent-flex-start gmail-pc-reset" style=3D"text-d=
ecoration:unset;list-style:none;display:flex"><div class=3D"gmail-pencraft =
gmail-pc-display-flex gmail-pc-flexDirection-row gmail-pc-alignItems-center=
 gmail-pc-justifyContent-flex-start gmail-pc-reset gmail-ltr-qDBmby" style=
=3D"text-decoration:unset;list-style:none;display:flex"><span style=3D"min-=
width:0px"><a href=3D"https://substack.com/@denniskucinich" aria-label=3D"V=
iew Dennis Kucinich&#39;s profile" class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-display=
-contents gmail-pc-reset" style=3D"color:rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration:unse=
t;list-style:none;display:contents"></a></span><span style=3D"min-width:0px=
"><a href=3D"https://substack.com/@elizabethkucinich" aria-label=3D"View El=
izabeth Kucinich&#39;s profile" class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-display-co=
ntents gmail-pc-reset" style=3D"color:rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration:unset;l=
ist-style:none;display:contents"></a></span></div></div></div><div class=3D=
"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-display-flex gmail-pc-flexDirection-column gmail-p=
c-reset" style=3D"text-decoration:unset;list-style:none;display:flex"><div =
class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-reset gmail-color-pub-primary-text-NyXPlw =
gmail-line-height-20-t4M0El gmail-font-meta-MWBumP gmail-size-11-NuY2Zx gma=
il-weight-medium-fw81nC gmail-transform-uppercase-yKDgcq gmail-reset-IxiVJZ=
 gmail-meta-EgzBVA" style=3D"text-decoration:unset;list-style:none;margin:0=
px;font-size:11px;line-height:20px;font-family:&quot;SF Compact&quot;,-appl=
e-system,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&quot;Segoe UI&quot;,Ro=
boto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,&quot;Apple Color Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe U=
I Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;;text-transform:uppercase;letter-s=
pacing:0.2px"><span style=3D"min-width:0px"><a href=3D"https://substack.com=
/@denniskucinich" class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-reset gmail-decoration-h=
over-underline-ClDVRM gmail-reset-IxiVJZ" style=3D"color:unset;text-decorat=
ion-line:unset;text-decoration-style:unset;text-decoration-color:unset;list=
-style:none;margin:0px">Dennis Kucinich</a></span>=C2=A0and=C2=A0<span styl=
e=3D"min-width:0px"><a href=3D"https://substack.com/@elizabethkucinich" cla=
ss=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-reset gmail-decoration-hover-underline-ClDVRM=
 gmail-reset-IxiVJZ" style=3D"color:unset;text-decoration-line:unset;text-d=
ecoration-style:unset;text-decoration-color:unset;list-style:none;margin:0p=
x">Elizabeth Kucinich</a></span></div><div class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc=
-display-flex gmail-pc-gap-4 gmail-pc-reset" style=3D"text-decoration:unset=
;list-style:none;display:flex"><div class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-reset =
gmail-color-pub-secondary-text-hGQ02T gmail-line-height-20-t4M0El gmail-fon=
t-meta-MWBumP gmail-size-11-NuY2Zx gmail-weight-medium-fw81nC gmail-transfo=
rm-uppercase-yKDgcq gmail-reset-IxiVJZ gmail-meta-EgzBVA" style=3D"text-dec=
oration:unset;list-style:none;color:rgb(134,135,135);margin:0px;font-size:1=
1px;line-height:20px;font-family:&quot;SF Compact&quot;,-apple-system,syste=
m-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,&quot;Segoe UI&quot;,Roboto,Helvetica=
,Arial,sans-serif,&quot;Apple Color Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Emoji&quot;,=
&quot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.2px">=
Jun 25, 2026</div></div></div></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmai=
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uot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;;column-gap:8px;box-sizing:border-box;border-radiu=
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der-style:solid;border-color:rgb(230,230,230);font-family:system-ui,-apple-=
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isplay: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 0px auto;"><div class=
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div class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-display-flex gmail-pc-gap-8 gmail-pc-r=
eset" style=3D"text-decoration:unset;list-style:none;display:flex"><button =
tabindex=3D"0" type=3D"button" class=3D"gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-reset gmail=
-pencraft gmail-icon-container gmail-restack-image" style=3D"display:flex;w=
idth:32px;height:32px;background:none 0% 0%/auto repeat scroll padding-box =
border-box rgba(40,40,40,0.75);border-width:0px;border-style:none;border-co=
lor:currentcolor;outline:0px;border-radius:8px;text-decoration:unset;list-s=
tyle:none"></button><button tabindex=3D"0" type=3D"button" class=3D"gmail-p=
encraft gmail-pc-reset gmail-pencraft gmail-icon-container gmail-view-image=
" style=3D"display:flex;width:32px;height:32px;background:none 0% 0%/auto r=
epeat scroll padding-box border-box rgba(40,40,40,0.75);border-width:0px;bo=
rder-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;outline:0px;border-radius:8px;tex=
t-decoration:unset;list-style:none"></button></div></div></div></a></div><d=
iv class=3D"gmail-pullquote" style=3D"border-top:0.8px solid rgb(230,230,23=
0);border-bottom:0.8px solid rgb(230,230,230);margin:32px auto;text-align:c=
enter"><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:32px 0px;font-style:italic">Thi=
s article is Part 2 in a three part series on the proposed merger of U.S an=
d Israeli intelligence, military and biotechnology.=C2=A0<a href=3D"https:/=
/kucinichreport.substack.com/p/congress-is-preparing-to-surrender" style=3D=
"color:rgb(54,55,55)">Read Part 1 here</a></p></div><p style=3D"line-height=
:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Prior to the American Revolution being fought o=
n battlefields, it was fought as an argument about sovereignty.</p><p style=
=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Who decides the fate of a nation=
? Who commands its armies? Who determines when its citizens go to war and w=
hen they remain at peace?</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 2=
0px">The Founders answered those questions with remarkable clarity. In a re=
public, sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised through constitu=
tional institutions accountable to them. Section 219 of the National Defens=
e Authorization Act of 2027 threatens to undermine the foundational princip=
les of our republic and our constitutional democracy.</p><p style=3D"line-h=
eight:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Advocates for Section 219 describe it as a=
 strategic partnership, a modernization of military cooperation between the=
 United States and Israel. Yet the language of the provision reaches far be=
yond cooperation. It calls for the=C2=A0<em>integration=C2=A0</em>of milita=
ry planning, intelligence sharing, technological development, procurement s=
ystems, research capabilities, and strategic operations in ways that blur t=
he distinction between two sovereign nations.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.=
6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">This is not merely a policy question, it is a cons=
titutional one.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Ameri=
ca has alliances with many nations. We cooperate with allies. We conduct jo=
int exercises. We share intelligence. However, there is a profound differen=
ce between cooperation and integration.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;ma=
rgin:0px 0px 20px">Cooperation preserves independent decision making.</p><p=
 style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Integration creates pressu=
re toward shared decision making and shared consequences.</p><p style=3D"li=
ne-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The Constitution was deliberately desi=
gned to prevent precisely this type of entanglement.</p><p style=3D"line-he=
ight:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The President serves as Commander in Chief =
of the Armed Forces of the United States. Congress possesses the authority =
to declare war. Together these provisions were meant to ensure that decisio=
ns involving American lives, American treasure, and American military power=
 remain accountable to the American people.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6e=
m;margin:0px 0px 20px">Section 219 moves the nation in the opposite directi=
on. It creates permanent structures through which military, intelligence, t=
echnological, and strategic functions become increasingly intertwined with =
those of another government. Even if no formal transfer of command occurs, =
the practical effect is to make American decision making dependent upon rel=
ationships and commitments that exist far beyond the reach of American vote=
rs.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">There are at leas=
t nine reasons why Congress should reject Section 219 of the NDAA:.</p><ol =
style=3D"margin-top:0px;padding:0px"><li style=3D"margin:8px 0px 0px 32px">=
<p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px;box-sizing:border-box;padding-left=
:4px"><strong>IT VIOLATES THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF CLAUSE</strong></p></li></=
ol><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Article II, Section 2=
 of the U.S. Constitution designates the President as Commander in Chief of=
 the Armed Forces of the United States.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;ma=
rgin:0px 0px 20px">Congress cannot constitutionally dilute, share, or trans=
fer command responsibilities through ordinary legislation. The armed forces=
 of the United States must remain exclusively accountable to constitutional=
 authority established by the American people.</p><ol start=3D"2" style=3D"=
margin-top:0px;padding:0px"><li style=3D"margin:8px 0px 0px 32px"><p style=
=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px;box-sizing:border-box;padding-left:4px"><s=
trong>IT BYPASSES THE TREATY PROCESS</strong></p></li></ol><p style=3D"line=
-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The Constitution provides a mechanism fo=
r creating major international commitments: treaties ratified by two thirds=
 of the Senate.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">If Co=
ngress believes permanent military integration with any foreign nation is n=
ecessary, it should present that proposal openly and subject it to the scru=
tiny required by the Constitution.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:=
0px 0px 20px">Congress cannot use a spending bill to accomplish what the Co=
nstitution requires to be debated and approved through the treaty process.<=
/p><ol start=3D"3" style=3D"margin-top:0px;padding:0px"><li style=3D"margin=
:8px 0px 0px 32px"><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px;box-sizing:bord=
er-box;padding-left:4px"><strong>IT CREATES PROBLEMS OF AUTHORITY AND ACCOU=
NTABILITY</strong></p></li></ol><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0p=
x 20px">Foreign officials do not swear an oath to defend the Constitution o=
f the United States.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">=
Yet military integration creates circumstances in which foreign officers, p=
lanners, intelligence officials, and strategic personnel may influence deci=
sions affecting American troops, intelligence assets, military technologies=
, operational planning and decisions to use military force.</p><p style=3D"=
line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The Framers established safeguards t=
o ensure that authority over American military power remained accountable t=
o American institutions and American voters.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6=
em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Section 219 weakens those safeguards.</p><ol start=
=3D"4" style=3D"margin-top:0px;padding:0px"><li style=3D"margin:8px 0px 0px=
 32px"><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px;box-sizing:border-box;paddi=
ng-left:4px"><strong>IT VIOLATES THE PRINCIPLE OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY</str=
ong></p></li></ol><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Congre=
ss cannot delegate core sovereign responsibilities to another government.</=
p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The defense of the nat=
ion, decisions involving military force, intelligence operations, and natio=
nal security policy are among the most important powers entrusted to the fe=
deral government.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">A n=
ation that cannot independently determine matters of war and peace cannot t=
ruly be considered sovereign.</p><ol start=3D"5" style=3D"margin-top:0px;pa=
dding:0px"><li style=3D"margin:8px 0px 0px 32px"><p style=3D"line-height:1.=
6em;margin:0px;box-sizing:border-box;padding-left:4px"><strong>IT INCREASES=
 THE RISK OF FUTURE WARS</strong></p></li></ol><p style=3D"line-height:1.6e=
m;margin:0px 0px 20px">The Founders understood the danger.</p><p style=3D"l=
ine-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">In his Farewell Address, George Washi=
ngton warned against permanent foreign attachments that could pull the Unit=
ed States into conflicts not of its own choosing. His concern was not isola=
tionism. It was independence.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0=
px 20px">Our first president understood that foreign entanglements have a w=
ay of creating obligations that gradually supersede national interests.</p>=
<p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">That warning has particu=
lar relevance today.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">=
The recent escalation with Iran demonstrates how rapidly regional conflicts=
 can draw the United States toward broader military commitments. Every new =
layer of institutional integration increases the likelihood that future con=
flicts involving Israel become, in practical terms, American conflicts as w=
ell.</p><ol start=3D"6" style=3D"margin-top:0px;padding:0px"><li style=3D"m=
argin:8px 0px 0px 32px"><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px;box-sizing=
:border-box;padding-left:4px"><strong>IT RISKS SUBORDINATING AMERICAN INTER=
ESTS TO FOREIGN PRIORITIES</strong></p></li></ol><p style=3D"line-height:1.=
6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The issue is not whether one supports Israel.</p><=
p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The issue is whether any =
foreign nation should be granted a permanent place within executive, milita=
ry, intelligence, technological, and strategic structures that are constitu=
tionally intended to serve the United States alone.</p><p style=3D"line-hei=
ght:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The first responsibility of the United State=
s government is to protect the security and wellbeing of the American peopl=
e. Foreign policy should be guided by American interests, American laws, an=
d American constitutional principles.</p><ol start=3D"7" style=3D"margin-to=
p:0px;padding:0px"><li style=3D"margin:8px 0px 0px 32px"><p style=3D"line-h=
eight:1.6em;margin:0px;box-sizing:border-box;padding-left:4px"><strong>IT T=
HREATENS DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY</strong></p></li></ol><p style=3D"line-h=
eight:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">When sovereignty is diluted, accountabilit=
y disappears.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Citizen=
s can no longer identify who is responsible for decisions. Power becomes di=
spersed through networks, agreements, and institutions beyond public contro=
l.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Democracy weakens =
because the connection between the voter and the decision maker is broken.<=
/p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The Constitution deli=
berately places decisions involving war and national defense within institu=
tions accountable to the American people. Section 219 weakens that connecti=
on.</p><ol start=3D"8" style=3D"margin-top:0px;padding:0px"><li style=3D"ma=
rgin:8px 0px 0px 32px"><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px;box-sizing:=
border-box;padding-left:4px"><strong>IT IMPOSES ENORMOUS FINANCIAL COSTS</s=
trong></p></li></ol><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The =
United States has spent decades engaged in costly military interventions th=
roughout the Middle East.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 2=
0px">Trillions of dollars have been spent. Thousands of American lives have=
 been lost. Countless civilians have perished. Yet the pressure for deeper =
involvement continues.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px=
">This is especially troubling at a moment when the national debt exceeds f=
orty trillion dollars. Every additional military commitment carries a finan=
cial cost. Every escalation requires resources that must ultimately be borr=
owed, taxed, or diverted from domestic priorities.</p><p style=3D"line-heig=
ht:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Americans struggling with inflation, housing =
costs, healthcare expenses, and declining infrastructure deserve a governme=
nt focused first on their security and prosperity.</p><ol start=3D"9" style=
=3D"margin-top:0px;padding:0px"><li style=3D"margin:8px 0px 0px 32px"><p st=
yle=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px;box-sizing:border-box;padding-left:4px"=
><strong>IT BETRAYS THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE</strong></p></li></=
ol><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The timing could not =
be more ironic.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">As Am=
erica marks the 250th anniversary of its independence, Congress is consider=
ing legislation that undermines our independence.</p><p style=3D"line-heigh=
t:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The Revolution was fought to secure self gover=
nment. The Constitution was written to preserve it.</p><p style=3D"line-hei=
ght:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">Sovereignty is not an outdated concept. It i=
s the foundation of democratic accountability.</p><p style=3D"line-height:1=
.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">The question before us is larger than Israel. Lar=
ger than any single administration. Larger than any current conflict.</p><p=
 style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">It is whether the United S=
tates will remain a nation whose military power is directed exclusively by =
constitutional institutions accountable to the American people, or whether =
we will gradually surrender that independence through permanent foreign int=
egration that the Constitution neither contemplated nor authorizes.</p><p s=
tyle=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px">A nation that cannot control=
 its own military decisions cannot claim to be sovereign - and that is a co=
re reason why Section 219 should be rejected.</p><div class=3D"gmail-pullqu=
ote" style=3D"border-top:0.8px solid rgb(230,230,230);border-bottom:0.8px s=
olid rgb(230,230,230);margin:32px auto;text-align:center"><p style=3D"line-=
height:1.6em;margin:32px 0px;font-style:italic"><em><strong>TAKE ACTION</st=
rong></em></p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:32px 0px;font-style:ital=
ic"><em>The merger is timed to be voted on the week of June 29, just before=
 the Fourth of July.</em></p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:32px 0px;=
font-style:italic"><em>Find your member of Congress:=C2=A0<a href=3D"https:=
//www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative" style=3D"color:rg=
b(54,55,55)">House</a>=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.senate.gov/senators/sena=
tors-contact.htm" style=3D"color:rgb(54,55,55)">Senate</a></em></p><p style=
=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:32px 0px;font-style:italic"><em>It is urgent t=
hat you call your congressional representative today at 202-224-3121 and te=
ll them to=C2=A0<strong>Strip Section 219 (House) or Section 1217 (Senate) =
from the 2027 NDAA.</strong></em></p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:3=
2px 0px;font-style:italic"><em>Congressmen Tom Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna =
(D-CA) will offer an amendment in the House to remove Section 219. Please t=
ell your U.S. Representative: Support the Massie-Khanna Amendment to the ND=
AA.</em></p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:32px 0px;font-style:italic=
"><em><strong>Optional telephone script for the House of Representatives:</=
strong></em></p><p style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:32px 0px;font-style:it=
alic"><em>My name is ______ and I am a constituent. I am calling to urge Re=
presentative ______ to support the Massie-Khanna Amendment and to remove Se=
ction 219 from the NDAA. Congress should defend American sovereignty, uphol=
d the Constitution, and reject any measure that integrates the executive an=
d military functions of the United States with those of a foreign governmen=
t. Please pass my message to the Representative. Thank you.</em></p></div><=
div class=3D"gmail-captioned-button-wrap"><div class=3D"gmail-preamble" sty=
le=3D"margin-top:16px;font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFon=
t,&quot;Segoe UI&quot;,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,&quot;Apple Color =
Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Emoji&quot;,&quot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;;font-siz=
e:18px;max-width:384px;width:fit-content;line-height:22px;display:flex;text=
-align:center;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"><p class=3D"gmail-cta-cap=
tion" style=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px"><em>Let us truly cele=
brate our independence by staying independent. Please help spread the word =
and forward this article.</em></p></div><p class=3D"gmail-button-wrapper" s=
tyle=3D"line-height:1.6em;margin:0px 0px 20px;text-align:center;border-radi=
us:4px"><a href=3D"https://kucinichreport.substack.com/p/the-ndaa-proposed-=
merger-of-the-us?utm_source=3Dsubstack&amp;utm_medium=3Demail&amp;utm_conte=
nt=3Dshare&amp;action=3Dshare&amp;token=3DeyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyMzY0NDkxLCJwb3N0X=
2lkIjoyMDM1NDY2MzMsImlhdCI6MTc4MjQwODY2NiwiZXhwIjoxNzg1MDAwNjY2LCJpc3MiOiJw=
dWItMTQ0MTU4OCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.8F3NaGKPeeBSs0hIuTccm7q25wiI=
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55,255,255)">Share</a></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><=
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Subject: [Salon] The World Cup of Racism
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https://www.thenation.com/article/society/world-cup-racism-trump/
The World Cup of Racism
The Trump administration has a message for every soccer fan on the planet:
The US government is unapologetically bigoted.

--0000000000008ab160065517e279
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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr"><a href=3D"https://www.thenation.com/article/=
society/world-cup-racism-trump/" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" style=
=3D"background-color:transparent">https://www.thenation.com/article/society=
/world-cup-racism-trump/</a></div>
The World Cup of Racism<br>
The Trump administration has a message for every soccer fan on the planet: =
The US government is unapologetically bigoted.<br>
</div></div>

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Subject: [Salon] =?utf-8?q?Russell_Vought=E2=80=99s_Latest_Plan_to_Gut_th?=
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https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/russell-vought-omb-grant-rule/
Russell Vought=E2=80=99s Latest Plan to Gut the Government Should Terrify Y=
ou
A proposed new rule changing the way the federal government hands out money
could be absolutely devastating for every single person in this country.

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr"><a href=3D"https://www.thenation.com/article/=
politics/russell-vought-omb-grant-rule/" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blan=
k" style=3D"background-color:transparent">https://www.thenation.com/article=
/politics/russell-vought-omb-grant-rule/</a></div>
Russell Vought=E2=80=99s Latest Plan to Gut the Government Should Terrify Y=
ou<br>
A proposed new rule changing the way the federal government hands out money=
 could be absolutely devastating for every single person in this country.<b=
r>
</div></div>

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Iran Attacks Cargo Ship, Testing Trump=E2=80=99s Deal to Reopen Strait
Attack takes place hours after Iranian warning to ships not to use routes
that the regime hadn=E2=80=99t sanctioned

By
Shelby Holliday <https://www.wsj.com/news/author/shelby-holliday>

 and
Rebecca Feng <https://www.wsj.com/news/author/rebecca-feng>

June 25, 2026  The Wall Street Journal
[image: Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Musandam, Oman.]Ships in
the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Oman, on June 18. Reuters

Quick Summary

   -

   -

   -


<https://www.wsj.com/news/author/wsj-artificialintelligencetools>

   -

   Iran=E2=80=99s Revolutionary Guard attacked a Singapore-flagged cargo sh=
ip, the
   Ever Lovely, in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, testing a
U.S.-Iran deal.View
   more

Iran <https://www.wsj.com/topics/place/iran>=E2=80=99s Islamic Revolutionar=
y Guard
Corps attacked a Singapore-flagged cargo ship Thursday in the Strait of
Hormuz, according to two senior U.S. officials, testing the deal signed
last week
<https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/an-annotated-analysis-of-a-u-s-draft=
-of-the-iran-deal-6a9ec49f?mod=3Darticle_inline>
by
the U.S. and Iran <https://www.wsj.com/topics/place/iran> to end the
fighting and reopen the vital shipping lane.

The attack, which damaged the ship=E2=80=99s bridge but left no casualties,
according to U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, took place near the coast of
Oman hours after the Iranian paramilitary=E2=80=99s navy warned ships not t=
o use
routes through the waterway that the regime hadn=E2=80=99t sanctioned.

On Tuesday, the International Maritime Organization told shippers it was
coordinating an evacuation route for the hundreds of ships still stuck in
the Persian Gulf in cooperation with Iran, Oman, other coastal states and
the U.S.

The 60-day deal to reopen the strait
<https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/an-annotated-analysis-of-a-u-s-draft=
-of-the-iran-deal-6a9ec49f?mod=3Darticle_inline>
requires
that Iran make its best efforts to ensure the safe passage of commercial
vessels, in return for the lifting of the U.S. blockade of its ports. As
part of the pact, the U.S. waived sanctions on Iranian oil
<https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/vance-says-iran-agreed-to-allow-nucl=
ear-inspectors-back-in-209db17c?mod=3Darticle_inline>
sales
this week and allowed Tehran to sell its crude in dollars for the first
time in decades.

The White House didn=E2=80=99t immediately respond to a request for comment=
 on the
attack or its bearing on the deal.

Shipping traffic through the global-energy chokepoint had begun to rebound
<https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/how-quickly-can-the-strait-of-horm=
uz-get-back-up-and-running-a5380c70?mod=3Darticle_inline>
this
week, reaching its highest level since the war began, with 70 to 80 vessels
on Wednesday making it through the neck of the Persian Gulf, according to
ship trackers whose estimates vary.

Ship-tracking firm Kpler said that 70 vessels had crossed the strait, more
than double the number the day before, in an indication that shippers were
regaining confidence to make the crossing after months when only a trickle
of traffic had gone through because of the threat of Iranian attacks and
the U.S. blockade.

Over the weekend, Iran declared the strait closed again as a result of
fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, the cessation
of which is a requirement of the deal to end the war between the U.S. and
Iran. The regime hasn=E2=80=99t so far officially confirmed that the waterw=
ay is
open. However, the country also hadn=E2=80=99t attacked commercial ships tr=
ansiting
through the strait since June 12, when a tanker was struck days before the
U.S. signed the interim agreement with Iran to reopen the channel.

On Thursday, the Revolutionary Guard said on its official Telegram channel
that three tankers using the southern route sanctioned by the International
Maritime Organization were ordered to turn back. Maritime intelligence firm
Windward said in a report Thursday that five vessels made U-turns.

The Revolutionary Guard had warned any attempt to cross the Strait along a
route designated by the International Maritime Organization would be
=E2=80=9Cunacceptable and completely dangerous=E2=80=9D and all vessels sho=
uld coordinate
with Iran.

Before the attack, the Ever Lovely loaded a cargo in Umm Qasr in Iraq and
set out for Singapore, according to ship tracker Marine Traffic. The ship=
=E2=80=99s
owner, Evergreen Marine Asia Pte Ltd in Singapore, couldn=E2=80=99t be reac=
hed for
comment.

Ever Lovely had been stuck in the gulf for more than 100 days, according to
financial data provider LSEG
<https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/UK/XLON/LSEG>. It sailed toward the
mouth of the strait Thursday morning local time, joining three other ships
that also were attempting to cross the strait round about the same time.

All four ships followed the route identified by the International Maritime
Organization, hugging the Omani coast, according to ship tracking data and
crew members on a nearby ship. Ever Lovely was sailing the fastest, and
therefore leading the group. There was no warning from the Iranian navy to
the ships on radio or telling them to turn back, according to the seafarers
in the flotilla.

Copyright =C2=A92026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Rebecca Feng
<https://www.wsj.com/news/author/rebecca-feng?mod=3DWSJ_article_author> is =
a
London-based energy markets reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She
covers global oil markets, geopolitics, and energy, the green transition
and beyond. Rebecca was previously based in Hong Kong for the Journal,
covering finance, banking and markets stories across Asia. She got her
start covering China=E2=80=99s domestic debt capital market for GlobalCapit=
al.

In 2025, Rebecca was part of a team that won the excellence in business
reporting award from the Society of Publishers in Asia for coverage of
China=E2=80=99s economic miracle=E2=80=94and the cost that came with it. Sh=
e was also part
of a team that won the same award in 2024 for coverage of China=E2=80=99s s=
ecurity
crackdowns. In 2024, she was named young journalist of the year by the
society.

Rebecca has a master=E2=80=99s degree in postcolonial and world literature =
from the
University of St. Andrews, after graduating with double majors in
accountancy and English literature from the University of Notre Dame.
Follow
<rebecca.feng@wsj.com> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-feng-1a6568b1/>

Shelby Holliday
<https://www.wsj.com/news/author/shelby-holliday?mod=3DWSJ_article_author> =
is
a Wall Street Journal senior video and national security correspondent
based in New York City. She primarily writes and produces pieces on
geopolitical showdowns, military conflicts and defense issues. She also
contributes to the Journal's livestreams, investigations and elections
coverage.

In 2019, Shelby was part of the Journal team that won the Pulitzer Prize
for National Reporting. Prior to joining the Journal, she was a
correspondent for Bloomberg TV and an anchor for the CBS-partnered Channel
One News. Her reporting has taken her to China, Guam, the Philippines,
Myanmar, Rwanda, Kenya, Guantanamo Bay, Mexico and beyond.
Follow
<shelby.holliday@wsj.com> <https://www.x.com/shelbyholliday>
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelbyholliday>

--000000000000df9641065517feb4
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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail-article-header gmail-css-cnekfb e1opct=
qs5" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:32px;margin-bottom:25px;dire=
ction:ltr;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Retina,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;fo=
nt-size:17px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-j6808u e11lw8gk12" style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box;margin-left:10px;margin-right:10px"><div class=3D"gmail-crawle=
r gmail-css-1mmb8lj-StyledBox e1vnmyci0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><d=
iv class=3D"gmail-css-l74hns-StyledBox e1vnmyci0" style=3D"box-sizing:borde=
r-box;margin-bottom:8px"><h1 class=3D"gmail-css-1mag4xw-StyledHeadline-Styl=
ed-Styled-Styled emwm06f0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;font-s=
ize:40px;line-height:40px;color:rgb(17,17,17);font-family:&quot;Escrow Comp=
ressed&quot;,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Iran Attacks Cargo Ship, Te=
sting Trump=E2=80=99s Deal to Reopen Strait</h1></div><h2 class=3D"gmail-cs=
s-eq0jiq-NormalDek-NormalDek-Styled-Styled-Styled emwm06f0" style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box;margin:0px;color:rgb(85,85,85);direction:ltr;font-size:18px=
;line-height:1.25;font-weight:400">Attack takes place hours after Iranian w=
arning to ships not to use routes that the regime hadn=E2=80=99t sanctioned=
</h2></div></div></div><div id=3D"gmail-cx-articlecover" style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box"></div><div class=3D"gmail-crawler gmail-css-j6808u e11lw8gk12=
" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin-left:10px;margin-right:10px"><div c=
lass=3D"eew040j1 gmail-css-1rqaeba" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;directio=
n:ltr"><div class=3D"eh42cdm6 gmail-css-4nm965-AuthoringContainer" style=3D=
"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;height:auto;width:620px"><div class=3D"=
gmail-css-1th2wme" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-flex"><div=
 class=3D"eh42cdm5 gmail-css-5h3nb1-AuthoringContent" style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box;width:230.125px"><div class=3D"gmail-css-159gcdb" style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box;display:flex;height:auto"><div class=3D"gmail-css-11k10ko" =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-flex"><div class=3D"epvx9354 =
gmail-css-nb8fez-BylineContainer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px=
;font-family:Retina,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:2=
0px;letter-spacing:0px;font-stretch:normal;padding:0.5px 0px;color:rgb(34,3=
4,34)"><p class=3D"epvx9352 gmail-css-1fmy8f5-AuthorPlaintext" style=3D"box=
-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;display:inline">By=C2=A0</p><a href=3D"https:=
//www.wsj.com/news/author/shelby-holliday" target=3D"_self" aria-label=3D"A=
uthor page for Shelby Holliday" class=3D"epvx9353 gmail-css-1y23mou-AuthorL=
ink" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;color:rgb(34,34,34=
)"><span class=3D"gmail-css-17x5lw" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:=
flex;height:20px"><span class=3D"gmail-css-1wc2zh5" style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;margin:0px;display:block">Shelby Holliday</span></span></a><p class=
=3D"epvx9352 gmail-css-1fmy8f5-AuthorPlaintext" style=3D"box-sizing:border-=
box;margin:0px;display:inline">=C2=A0and=C2=A0</p><a href=3D"https://www.ws=
j.com/news/author/rebecca-feng" target=3D"_self" aria-label=3D"Author page =
for Rebecca Feng" class=3D"epvx9353 gmail-css-1y23mou-AuthorLink" style=3D"=
box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span class=
=3D"gmail-css-17x5lw" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;height:20=
px"><span class=3D"gmail-css-1wc2zh5" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin=
:0px;display:block">Rebecca Feng</span></span></a></div></div></div><div cl=
ass=3D"gmail-css-11paagg" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"gma=
il-css-125u1fj" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;height:10.8px">=
<div class=3D"gmail-css-1o99qvy" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inl=
ine-flex"><div class=3D"gmail-css-nr8oy5" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;di=
splay:flex;height:auto"><p class=3D"es486sg1 gmail-css-1r8enoi-TimeTag" sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;color:rgb(111,111,111);font-family:R=
etina,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;letter-spa=
cing:0px;font-stretch:normal;padding:0.5px 0px;display:inline-block">June 2=
5, 2026=C2=A0 The Wall Street Journal</p></div></div></div></div></div></di=
v></div></div><div class=3D"gmail-media-layout gmail-css-13plya0-Layout-bas=
eCss ertdlv30" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;background-image:none;backgro=
und-position:0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;background=
-origin:padding-box;background-clip:border-box;width:620px;margin:0px 32px =
22px 0px;clear:both"><span class=3D"gmail-css-u314cv" style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box;display:block;padding-top:0px;height:auto;width:620px;border-radi=
us:0px"><img alt=3D"Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Musandam, Om=
an." width=3D"700" height=3D"394" src=3D"https://images.wsj.net/im-39098097=
?width=3D700&amp;height=3D394" class=3D"gmail-css-1hzqsjo" style=3D"box-siz=
ing: border-box; opacity: 1; display: block; border-radius: inherit; margin=
-bottom: 8px; max-width: 100%; width: 620px; height: auto;"></span><span cl=
ass=3D"e1m33gv80 gmail-css-426zcb-CaptionSpan e1m33gv81" style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box;font-size:14px;line-height:1.42857;margin-bottom:4px;color:rgb=
(17,17,17);font-family:Retina,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0px=
;font-stretch:normal">Ships in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Oman, on Jun=
e 18.</span>=C2=A0<span class=3D"gmail-css-7jz429-Credit eq0esvu0" style=3D=
"box-sizing:border-box;direction:ltr;font-size:12px;line-height:1.42857;tex=
t-transform:uppercase;color:rgb(111,111,111);font-family:Retina,Arial,Helve=
tica,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0px;font-stretch:normal">Reuters</span></div=
><div class=3D"gmail-media-layout gmail-css-13plya0-Layout-baseCss ertdlv30=
" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;background-image:none;background-position:=
0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;background-origin:paddi=
ng-box;background-clip:border-box;width:620px;margin:32px 32px 22px 0px;cle=
ar:both"><div class=3D"gmail-css-15uf6ki" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bo=
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-rarnh9" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;color:rgb(34,34,34);font=
-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;letter-spaci=
ng:0px;font-stretch:normal;padding:0.5px 0px"></p></div></li><li class=3D"g=
mail-css-czt13m" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div class=3D"gmail-css-1y=
1odwv" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex"><div aria-hidden=3D"tru=
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zing:border-box;margin:0px;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Exchange,Georgia=
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al;padding:0.5px 0px"></p></div></li></ul><p class=3D"gmail-css-mojrp6" sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;color:rgb(111,111,111);font-family:R=
etina,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:18px;letter-spa=
cing:0px;font-stretch:normal;padding:0.5px 0px"><a href=3D"https://www.wsj.=
com/news/author/wsj-artificialintelligencetools" tabindex=3D"-1" class=3D"g=
mail-css-1awxlyl" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inline;color:rgb(3=
4,34,34)"></a></p></div></div></div></div><ul role=3D"list" class=3D"gmail-=
css-17pafyp" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;list-sty=
le:none"><li class=3D"gmail-css-czt13m" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><di=
v class=3D"gmail-css-1y1odwv" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:flex">=
<div aria-hidden=3D"true" class=3D"gmail-css-9z9f5y" style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);margin-right:8px"></div><p class=3D"gmail-css-=
rarnh9" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-=
family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;letter-spacin=
g:0px;font-stretch:normal;padding:0.5px 0px"><span class=3D"gmail-css-1elmi=
0c" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:block"><span class=3D"gmail-css-=
c83my8" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;width:572.4px;overflow:hidden;displa=
y:-webkit-box;text-overflow:ellipsis">Iran=E2=80=99s Revolutionary Guard at=
tacked a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, the Ever Lovely, in the Strait of Ho=
rmuz on Thursday, testing a U.S.-Iran deal.</span><a class=3D"gmail-css-1k4=
3ryz" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inline;text-decoration:underli=
ne;font-weight:bold">View more</a></span></p></div></li></ul></div></div><p=
 class=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:=
rgb(34,34,34);direction:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18=
px;margin:0px 0px 1em"><a href=3D"https://www.wsj.com/topics/place/iran" ta=
rget=3D"_blank" class=3D"ekxajjj0 gmail-css-i0lbhy-OverridedLink" style=3D"=
box-sizing:border-box;display:inline;color:rgb(34,34,34);text-decoration:no=
ne;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(34,34,34)">Iran</a>=E2=80=99s Islamic Revolu=
tionary Guard Corps attacked a Singapore-flagged cargo ship Thursday in the=
 Strait of Hormuz, according to two senior U.S. officials, testing=C2=A0<a =
href=3D"https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/an-annotated-analysis-of-a-u-=
s-draft-of-the-iran-deal-6a9ec49f?mod=3Darticle_inline" target=3D"_blank" c=
lass=3D"ekxajjj0 gmail-css-i0lbhy-OverridedLink" style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;display:inline;color:rgb(34,34,34);text-decoration:none;border-bottom:=
1px solid rgb(34,34,34)">the deal signed last week</a>=C2=A0by the U.S. and=
=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.wsj.com/topics/place/iran" target=3D"_blank" c=
lass=3D"ekxajjj0 gmail-css-i0lbhy-OverridedLink" style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;display:inline;color:rgb(34,34,34);text-decoration:none;border-bottom:=
1px solid rgb(34,34,34)">Iran</a>=C2=A0to end the fighting and reopen the v=
ital shipping lane.</p><div class=3D"gmail-paywall gmail-css-1u1nl00-Paywal=
ledContentContainer e1qcjy9n0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><p class=3D"=
gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34,34,=
34);direction:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;margin:=
0px 0px 1em">The attack, which damaged the ship=E2=80=99s bridge but left n=
o casualties, according to U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, took place near =
the coast of Oman hours after the Iranian paramilitary=E2=80=99s navy warne=
d ships not to use routes through the waterway that the regime hadn=E2=80=
=99t sanctioned.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);direction:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Geor=
gia,serif;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 1em">On Tuesday, the International =
Maritime Organization told shippers it was coordinating an evacuation route=
 for the hundreds of ships still stuck in the Persian Gulf in cooperation w=
ith Iran, Oman, other coastal states and the U.S.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-=
1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);direct=
ion:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 1e=
m">The<a href=3D"https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/an-annotated-analysi=
s-of-a-u-s-draft-of-the-iran-deal-6a9ec49f?mod=3Darticle_inline" target=3D"=
_blank" class=3D"ekxajjj0 gmail-css-i0lbhy-OverridedLink" style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;display:inline;color:rgb(34,34,34);text-decoration:none;borde=
r-bottom:1px solid rgb(34,34,34)">=C2=A060-day deal to reopen the strait</a=
>=C2=A0requires that Iran make its best efforts to ensure the safe passage =
of commercial vessels, in return for the lifting of the U.S. blockade of it=
s ports. As part of the pact, the U.S.<a href=3D"https://www.wsj.com/world/=
middle-east/vance-says-iran-agreed-to-allow-nuclear-inspectors-back-in-209d=
b17c?mod=3Darticle_inline" target=3D"_blank" class=3D"ekxajjj0 gmail-css-i0=
lbhy-OverridedLink" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inline;color:rgb=
(34,34,34);text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(34,34,34)">=C2=
=A0waived sanctions on Iranian oil</a>=C2=A0sales this week and allowed Teh=
ran to sell its crude in dollars for the first time in decades.</p><p class=
=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34=
,34,34);direction:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;mar=
gin:0px 0px 1em">The White House didn=E2=80=99t immediately respond to a re=
quest for comment on the attack or its bearing on the deal.=C2=A0</p><p cla=
ss=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(=
34,34,34);direction:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;m=
argin:0px 0px 1em">Shipping traffic through the global-energy chokepoint ha=
d=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/how-quickly-can-t=
he-strait-of-hormuz-get-back-up-and-running-a5380c70?mod=3Darticle_inline" =
target=3D"_blank" class=3D"ekxajjj0 gmail-css-i0lbhy-OverridedLink" style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inline;color:rgb(34,34,34);text-decoratio=
n:none;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(34,34,34)">begun to rebound</a>=C2=A0thi=
s week, reaching its highest level since the war began, with 70 to 80 vesse=
ls on Wednesday making it through the neck of the Persian Gulf, according t=
o ship trackers whose estimates vary.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew0=
40j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);direction:ltr;font=
-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 1em">Ship-trac=
king firm Kpler said that 70 vessels had crossed the strait, more than doub=
le the number the day before, in an indication that shippers were regaining=
 confidence to make the crossing after months when only a trickle of traffi=
c had gone through because of the threat of Iranian attacks and the U.S. bl=
ockade.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);direction:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif=
;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 1em">Over the weekend, Iran declared the str=
ait closed again as a result of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hez=
bollah in Lebanon, the cessation of which is a requirement of the deal to e=
nd the war between the U.S. and Iran. The regime hasn=E2=80=99t so far offi=
cially confirmed that the waterway is open. However, the country also hadn=
=E2=80=99t attacked commercial ships transiting through the strait since Ju=
ne 12, when a tanker was struck days before the U.S. signed the interim agr=
eement with Iran to reopen the channel.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u ee=
w040j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);direction:ltr;fo=
nt-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 1em">On Thur=
sday, the Revolutionary Guard said on its official Telegram channel that th=
ree tankers using the southern route sanctioned by the International Mariti=
me Organization were ordered to turn back. Maritime intelligence firm Windw=
ard said in a report Thursday that five vessels made U-turns.</p><p class=
=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34=
,34,34);direction:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;mar=
gin:0px 0px 1em">The Revolutionary Guard had warned any attempt to cross th=
e Strait along a route designated by the International Maritime Organizatio=
n would be =E2=80=9Cunacceptable and completely dangerous=E2=80=9D and all =
vessels should coordinate with Iran.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew04=
0j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);direction:ltr;font-=
family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 1em">Before the=
 attack, the Ever Lovely loaded a cargo in Umm Qasr in Iraq and set out for=
 Singapore, according to ship tracker Marine Traffic. The ship=E2=80=99s ow=
ner, Evergreen Marine Asia Pte Ltd in Singapore, couldn=E2=80=99t be reache=
d for comment.</p><p class=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew040j0" style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);direction:ltr;font-family:Exchange,Georgi=
a,serif;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 1em">Ever Lovely had been stuck in th=
e gulf for more than 100 days, according to financial data provider=C2=A0<s=
pan style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:unset"><a href=3D"https://www.ws=
j.com/market-data/quotes/UK/XLON/LSEG" target=3D"_blank" class=3D"ekxajjj0 =
gmail-css-i0lbhy-OverridedLink" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;display:inli=
ne;color:rgb(34,34,34);text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(34,=
34,34)">LSEG</a></span>. It sailed toward the mouth of the strait Thursday =
morning local time, joining three other ships that also were attempting to =
cross the strait round about the same time.</p><div class=3D"gmail-ad-porta=
l" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"></div><p class=3D"gmail-css-1qg6i2u eew0=
40j0" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34,34,34);direction:ltr;font=
-family:Exchange,Georgia,serif;font-size:18px;margin:0px 0px 1em">All four =
ships followed the route identified by the International Maritime Organizat=
ion, hugging the Omani coast, according to ship tracking data and crew memb=
ers on a nearby ship. Ever Lovely was sailing the fastest, and therefore le=
ading the group. There was no warning from the Iranian navy to the ships on=
 radio or telling them to turn back, according to the seafarers in the flot=
illa.</p></div><p class=3D"gmail-css-16aepit e1jdulti0" style=3D"box-sizing=
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ghts Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8</p><div class=3D"gmail-css-=
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mail-css-qipsyn-AuthorModuleBio" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;=
color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Retina,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size=
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ebkit-box;overflow:hidden"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px"><a=
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hor" target=3D"_self" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:inherit">Rebecca=
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of a team that won the same award in 2024 for coverage of China=E2=80=99s s=
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the society.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:1em 0px 0px">Rebec=
ca has a master=E2=80=99s degree in postcolonial and world literature from =
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ntancy and English literature from the University of Notre Dame.</p></div><=
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elf" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;color:inherit">Shelby Holliday</a>=C2=
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t based in New York City. She primarily writes and produces pieces on geopo=
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ting. Prior to joining the Journal, she was a correspondent for Bloomberg T=
V and an anchor for the CBS-partnered Channel One News. Her reporting has t=
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<https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/06/24/safety-is-when-theres-no-one-dyi=
ng-lebanon-children/?printpage=3Dtrue#main-content>
Safety Is When There=E2=80=99s No One Dying
Mary Turfah <https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/mary-turfah/>

June 24, 2026
Israel=E2=80=99s assault on Palestine and Lebanon has reconfigured how chil=
dren
understand the world.

Abed Al Kadiri

Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al
Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative *Today I Would Like to Be a Tree*, 2026

The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children=E2=80=99s Fund is based in the Blue Buildin=
g, a
medical center across from the American University of Beirut, in the city=
=E2=80=99s
Hamra district. Many of the children whose care it sponsors have come to
Lebanon from Gaza, mostly by way of Egypt, after an intensive vetting
process involving the Israeli state and the Palestine Children=E2=80=99s Re=
lief
Fund. They require surgeries currently unavailable in Gaza, where Israel=E2=
=80=99s
genocide has obliterated large swaths of the health care sector. Some have
lost limbs; others have neurological injuries; most have lost family; all
carry the effects of the violence that has fractured their worlds.

Israel has created something unprecedented: the largest population of
traumatic pediatric amputees in modern history. (A traumatic amputation is
one caused by the force of an accident or attack=E2=80=94say, that of a bla=
st.)
These children=E2=80=99s injuries=E2=80=94physical, mental, emotional=E2=80=
=94are complex, and
require a complex response; there are many hospitals in the United States
that would be unable to tend to them. Waking up from hemorrhagic shock to
find yourself maimed, to watch your sister bleed out in front of you, to
learn your whole family is gone, to try to fathom what this means when you
cannot yet steady a pencil enough to write out your name=E2=80=94all of thi=
s takes
a psychological toll, by design. The mission of the fund is not only to
gather the necessary medical experts, both surgical and nonsurgical, but
also to ensure that the child is cared for as a whole human being, by
people with whom they feel safe.

When a person has been permanently disfigured, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah
explained to me, the goal of surgery isn=E2=80=99t to make them look how th=
ey did
before, which is often impossible, but to restore a kind of recognition=E2=
=80=94to
make them feel once again that their body belongs to them. Abu Sittah is a
plastic and reconstructive surgeon who, before 2023, was mostly based in
London, traveling to Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere to see
patients wounded in various wars. Since the start of the genocide in Gaza
he has focused his attention on treating children injured by Israeli
attacks. In 2024 he cofounded the fund in Beirut, historically a hub for
medical care in the region. With the extension of Israel=E2=80=99s ethnic c=
leansing
campaign into Lebanon, the fund has begun providing this care to Lebanese
children as well.

Two days before I sat down with Abu Sittah, I spoke to a boy from Gaza with
a spinal cord injury that had left him unable to move his legs. He was
staying with his mother in a hotel a short distance from the fund that
hosts many of the families who are in Beirut for treatment. At one point he
pulled up a photo on his phone of what looked like the inside of a tent and
a mattress covered in blood. This was where he=E2=80=99d been when the miss=
ile
struck. His mother told me that others had taken him to the morgue and
pronounced him dead. She had found him there and insisted that no, her son
was alive.

Later in our conversation the boy talked about how he had been super into
cars, fixing them, driving them, everything. He showed me a video of a boy
driving a car, shot from the passenger seat. The face on the screen was
full, looking from road to camera with a relaxed smile. I asked the boy
earnestly who that was in the video. That=E2=80=99s me, he answered, beamin=
g. I
felt uncomfortable, as if I had inadvertently pointed out how much he had
changed, and in an attempt to redirect his attention I said that I meant
who was recording and talking in the background, who had added those two
heart emojis to the corner of the frame? My friend took it, he answered,
and then: he=E2=80=99s a martyr.

Abu Sittah had just seen the boy in clinic the day before; he was happy
with how much weight he had gained. He was skin and bones when he got to
Beirut, he said. The boy was, as far as I could tell, still quite thin.
Still, the fact that he had shown me that video indicated that he was
beginning to be able to recognize himself again.

I spoke with Abu Sittah about an aspect of the conversation with the boy
and his mother that weighed on me. In an effort to begin with an open-ended
question, I had asked the mother to tell me what happened to them, how they
ended up in Beirut. She responded with her own question: =E2=80=9CWhat hasn=
=E2=80=99t
happened to us?=E2=80=9D I didn=E2=80=99t know what to say, so we waited in=
 silence until
she was ready to pick up the conversation again. At some point I asked her
if she was still in touch with family in Gaza and she responded that,
really, they had no one left.

Was Abu Sittah familiar with this kind of strained communication, I asked,
with what felt like the lack of a common scaffolding on which to build a
conversation? The architecture of their lives is totally gone, he said. In
a recent essay for* The London Review of Books*, the human rights
researcher Eyal Weizman writes about the disorientation imposed by Gaza=E2=
=80=99s
total destruction, how it leaves people with no point of reference. Weizman
quotes an Israeli bulldozer operator who says that if a Palestinian tries
to return home, they =E2=80=9Cwill be returning to nowhere=E2=80=A6. They w=
ill not know
where their home is. All they will find is sand.=E2=80=9D He then writes of=
 one
Palestinian asking another, =E2=80=9CIf we survive this war=E2=80=A6what wo=
uld be our
meeting point?=E2=80=9D

Reading the article, I recalled a family friend=E2=80=99s description of he=
r return
to southern Lebanon at the end of 2024, after the cease-fire that
wasn=E2=80=99t=E2=80=94how she arrived in Bazouriyeh, the town where she gr=
ew up, and found
that everything familiar was gone. Not just her parents=E2=80=99 house but =
the
other houses, the street signs, the shops, the trees, anything that could
tell her she was here and not there. She called out for help orienting
herself. Someone from the town whose eyes had already adjusted came to her
side and guided her.

War=E2=80=94and the influx into hospitals of casualties in different degree=
s of
extremis=E2=80=94taxes a country=E2=80=99s medical system. When patients co=
me in
unresponsive, doctors must decide at what point to give up on
resuscitation, a judgment call that is harder to make the younger the
person is. A patient with complex injuries requires consultation with
multiple surgical and nonsurgical teams, and interventions must be triaged
based on acuity, which increases the possibility of delays. This comes at a
cost to the hospital, which only has so many beds to offer to those who
need them. And it has implications for the patient, who grows more prone to
infection, delirium, and physical deterioration the longer they remain in
the hospital. Healing happens best in the outside world. But what about
when the outside world, or more specifically Israel, is hostile to the body
trying to heal?

The wars in southern Lebanon and Gaza are exceptional in the degree to
which Israel has been directly targeting medical infrastructure
<https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/03/22/the-gaza-doctrine-iran-lebanon/>=
=E2=80=94not
to strain it but to literally flatten it. In Gaza this pattern was noted
early on: Israel dropped its bombs closer and closer to medical facilities,
then switched to carrying out direct strikes with impunity. When I sent in
the first draft of this essay less than a month ago, Israel was already
bombing in the immediate vicinity of hospitals
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/03/lebanese-hospitals-hit-by-is=
raeli-forces>
in
the south. Since then the radius these attacks leave around health
facilities seems to have narrowed further, judging by the rising number of
casualties from inside medical centers, and the gravity of the damage done
to them. In one recent attack near a hospital in Lebanon, in Sur on June 1,
thirty-nine health care workers were injured
<https://www.msf.org/lebanon-testimony-injured-nurse> from the force of the
blast.

Another way to neutralize a hospital is to keep people from being able to
reach it. At the time of writing Israel has martyred 130 first responders
<https://www.moph.gov.lb/en/Media/view/85753/4/updated-total-toll-of-the-ag=
gression-4106-martyrs-and-12153-wounded#/en/Media/view/85753/updated-total-=
toll-of-the-aggression-4106-martyrs-and-12153-wounded>
in
Lebanon. They are targeted for saving lives. One medic with whom I spoke in
Nabatiyeh had lost his forefoot; the bomb landed on his dispatch facility
in the middle of the night while he and his colleagues were asleep. *We
were not even going to help anyone*, he clarified. Despite their injuries,
many paramedics who have been targeted continue to volunteer if they are
able, moved by a sense of commitment to their people and their land.

There are strains on the social infrastructure as well as the medical.
Injured children who arrive in Beirut from Gaza are accompanied by
someone=E2=80=94sometimes a parent, sometimes a more distant relative if th=
e
parents have been killed or refused exit by Israel. The caregiver has left
behind everything and everyone remaining to them in order to be here. Often
they have children who are still in Gaza, and they struggle to parent
remotely; I spoke with a social worker at the fund who told me that she and
her colleagues counsel caregivers on how to be present for their loved ones
via Facetime and Zoom.
<https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah202606_6.jpg>

Abed Al Kadiri

Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al
Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative *Today I Would Like to Be a Tree*, 2026

The children who make it to Beirut are the lucky few. When I was working on
this essay, I read <https://x.com/RepMcGovern/status/2065194675355447577> a=
bout
a boy who died of leukemia while waiting for permission to leave Gaza for
treatment, as the chemotherapy he needed was not allowed in. Anyone who has
passed their eighteenth birthday has an infinitely harder time getting
care. The boy with the damaged spinal cord told me that his mother was
helping a relative in Gaza manage a similar injury by sharing what they
were learning in Beirut; because the relative was an adult when a missile
fell on him, he was stuck.

Meeting the needs of any single person who has been severely wounded
requires reorganizing the world around them, sometimes for a short time,
sometimes for longer. Abu Sittah and I discussed the case of my cousin, on
whom he had recently performed an initial reconstructive surgery to cover
exposed skull. This intervention, this hospital stay, was the first of many
to come. Israel had bombed my cousin=E2=80=99s home and destroyed his face.=
 He had
lost his eyes. He was a medical student before, and now he was lucky to be
alive. An injury like this permanently alters not just the life of the
injured person, but those of the people who will become their caregivers.
At the hospital at least one or two members of my cousin=E2=80=99s family w=
ere at
his bedside every day, often for the entire day. Where their days were once
governed by something like the sun=E2=80=99s progression across the sky, fo=
r the
foreseeable future he would be their center.

My father, a surgeon, has traveled back and forth to Lebanon since my
cousin=E2=80=99s injury to help coordinate his nephew=E2=80=99s medical car=
e and to support
his brother and the rest of our family. He told me how a family friend
visited my cousin in the hospital and wondered aloud whether it might have
been easier if he had been martyred. I found the man=E2=80=99s statement cr=
ass, but
I have not lived as close to the possibility of earth-shattering loss as he
has. I imagine it hardens you, changes the way you measure what is
unsayable and what has to be said. Still, my father disagreed with him
about my cousin: it will be the honor of our lives, he said, to take care
of him.

Those who love the injured person will sacrifice their time. Sometimes they
sacrifice their careers or choose new paths: my cousin=E2=80=99s sister, al=
so a
medical student, recently decided to pursue ophthalmology. Among the goals
of using permanent disfigurement as a weapon of war is to induce *ihbat*, a
sort of psychological collapse, and to isolate the person from their social
world. It falls to that same world, then, to make sure there remains room
for them.

Israel=E2=80=99s assault on Palestine and Lebanon has reconfigured how our =
children
understand their lives. I interviewed a clinical psychologist who works
with many of the children treated through the fund. One day, she said, a
boy asked if she had toy soldiers, the little plastic figures. She promised
him she would get some. The following week the request had slipped her mind
but not his; he asked again, and again she promised. By the next session,
she had gotten toy soldiers in several colors. From then on, in all her
sessions, all the kids=E2=80=94boys and girls=E2=80=94reached for them. The=
 blue ones
signified the same thing to everyone. The children attacked the blue
soldiers with the red and green and brown ones, with toy dragons and trucks
and helicopters, with everything they could reach. Sometimes the kids gave
the other soldiers names and sometimes they didn=E2=80=99t; sometimes they =
made
some of the other soldiers die; always the focus was on defeating, by the
end, the blue soldiers.

Later I met with an epidemiologist based at the American University of
Beirut who studies the causes and effects of injury in Lebanon. This
includes research on things like traffic accidents, but lately much of her
work has focused on how children are processing the war. Many have faced
internal displacement due to Israel=E2=80=99s sweeping =E2=80=9Cevacuation=
=E2=80=9D orders and lost
loved ones as a result of its self-given right to bomb anyone who chooses
to stay in their home in a part of Lebanon that it seeks to control.

One of her projects explores the importance of play in helping children
make sense of their experiences. I remember a video
<https://www.instagram.com/reels/DWi6bWZiMZX/> from Gaza that shows
children lifting a doll on a makeshift stretcher, mimicking a funeral
procession. The ways children play reflect the things they know. In this
study, Lebanese children between the ages of six and eight from areas of
the country targeted by Israeli bombs were given a blank sheet of paper
with a folded, colored piece attached to represent a home; they were
encouraged to draw whatever they liked both inside and outside. Some
children drew missiles falling from the sky; others drew themselves
spending time with family in gardens overflowing with bright, thickly
scribbled color. Sometimes a single depiction of home held both idyllic and
menacing images. One child, asked why they=E2=80=99d chosen to draw themsel=
ves
playing with family, responded, =E2=80=9CWe love each other.=E2=80=9D

As part of her research, the epidemiologist had distributed disposable
cameras to children from areas affected by Israeli attacks. She sent the
cameras to two schools, one in the south and one in Beirut, with the
instruction that the children should document whatever aspects of their
lives they wanted. But she had not considered the legacy of Israel=E2=80=99=
s pager
attack, and some children refused to accept the cameras, especially when
they heard that the project was affiliated with an American university. If
they brought the devices home, in many cases their parents threw them out,
or took them apart to see what might be inside. Parents called the school,
demanding to know what they were thinking. The researcher explained to me
that she is herself from the south=E2=80=94a way of saying that she should =
have
known better. Of course people reacted like this, she said, adding that
they have every right to. She ended up redesigning the project. The older
kids took pictures of their worlds using their own phones. The younger
children were given the drawing exercise as a way into a series of
questions=E2=80=94about what family means to them, what places make them fe=
el safe,
what they do when they feel unsafe, what comes to mind when they think of
=E2=80=9Chope=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cresilience.=E2=80=9D

To the question =E2=80=9CWhat makes you scared?=E2=80=9D children said thin=
gs like, =E2=80=9CI get
scared when my dad tells me we are safe, and I know we are not safe=E2=80=
=9D
because they could hear nearby explosions or whirring drones. Most answered
the question =E2=80=9CWhat makes you feel safe?=E2=80=9D with versions of =
=E2=80=9Cbeing close to
other people.=E2=80=9D Some children defined safety in a negative sense, as=
 the
absence of violence or simply as distance from it, with statements like,
=E2=80=9Cjust when there=E2=80=99s no one dying,=E2=80=9D or when =E2=80=9C=
they are striking far away.=E2=80=9D One
child, asked who protected them, said, =E2=80=9CGod and Mom.=E2=80=9D More =
often children
responded =E2=80=9CHezbollah=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94the people, they elaborated, =
=E2=80=9Cwho defend me=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cwho
defend us.=E2=80=9D (In the manuscript, the epidemiologist translated =E2=
=80=9CHezbollah=E2=80=9D
as =E2=80=9Cthe resistance,=E2=80=9D to avoid inevitable censorship by acad=
emic journals.)
Several older children took pictures of their bedrooms, where photos of
martyrs, some famous and others ordinary, decorated their walls. To the
question =E2=80=9CWhat makes you happy?=E2=80=9D several of the younger chi=
ldren responded,
=E2=80=9Cresistance against Israel.=E2=80=9D
<https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah202606_7.jpg>

Abed Al Kadiri

Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al
Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative *Today I Would Like to Be a Tree*, 2026

The epidemiologist told me that one child used the word *baaqoon *to
describe his commitment to staying on his family=E2=80=99s land. *Baaqoon* =
means,
literally, *we are staying*. It is different from *saamidoun*, the Arabic
word for *we remain steadfast*, in that the line it draws from present to
both past and future is explicitly tied to place. The child, no more than
seven years old, she said, spoke on behalf of a =E2=80=9Cwe=E2=80=9D many t=
imes his size.
She was taken aback by the gravity of this word coming out of his mouth.
Where did he learn to speak like this=E2=80=94and to mean it?

I recently came across a video on X showing the child of a martyred
paramedic in the south of Lebanon. The boy, who looks to be about nine or
ten years old, sits on the lap of one of his father=E2=80=99s colleagues, a=
 leader
of the political group Amal, which oversees Al-Risala, one of the main
medical rescue organizations currently serving this part of the country.
The man tells the boy, =E2=80=9COne day we=E2=80=99re all going to go. You?=
 They took your
dad. And me, they took my friend.=E2=80=9D He does not have to say who =E2=
=80=9Cthey=E2=80=9D are.
The boy knows. =E2=80=9CI want to defeat=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94*bidde kassir*, l=
iterally =E2=80=9Cbreak=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94=E2=80=9Call
the Israelis,=E2=80=9D the child says. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ll continue on t=
his path,=E2=80=9D the man
responds. =E2=80=9CMe, my son was martyred, and my brother was martyred, an=
d my
uncle was martyred. We=E2=80=99re in this together [*Mitli mitlak*]. But th=
is path,
we need to continue on it [*Bidnan kamlo*].=E2=80=9D I interviewed paramedi=
cs in
the south who repeated this same phrase, have heard many men and women, in
the face of loss, speak it. The boy responds with words that belong to
someone much older: =E2=80=9CMy heart burns knowing my dad is gone [*Har2it=
 albi
inno bayyi fal*].=E2=80=9D I wonder where he learned this phrase.

While I was in Beirut another doctor told me the story of a child from Gaza
who, after coming to Lebanon, learned that a man had died a natural death.
The child did not understand. He did not know that death could come this
way. It had to be explained to him, that people die of old age. The only
cause of death the child knew was Israel. And he knew it well.
Mary Turfah <https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/mary-turfah/>

Mary Turfah is a writer and resident physician.

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:16px;margin-bottom:0px">June 24, 2026</p></div></div><div style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;width:197=
2.8px;max-width:100%"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;paddin=
g:0px;background:transparent;font-size:24px;line-height:32px;margin:0px aut=
o 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Israel=E2=80=99s assault on Palestine and=
 Lebanon has reconfigured how children understand the world.</div></div></d=
iv></div></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;b=
ackground:transparent"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;paddi=
ng:0px 30px;background:transparent;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;width=
:2032.8px;max-width:100%"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;pa=
dding:0px;background:transparent;max-width:100%"><div style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;width:1644px;m=
ax-width:83.3333%;margin-left:164.4px;margin-bottom:40px"><img src=3D"https=
://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah062026_3.jpg?w=3D1140" =
alt=3D"" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:t=
ransparent;vertical-align:middle;width:1584px;height:auto"><p style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(1=
04,104,104);font-family:&quot;Suisse Int\000027l&quot;;font-size:10px;line-=
height:14px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-top:10px">Abed Al Kadiri</p><p style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;col=
or:rgb(104,104,104);font-size:16px;line-height:22px;margin-bottom:0px;margi=
n-top:5px">Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of=
 Abed Al Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:black">Today I Would =
Like to Be a Tree</em>, 2026</p></div></div></div></div><div id=3D"m_-74669=
04436341976403gmail-main-content" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px=
;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:&quot;Ivar=
 Text&quot;;font-size:20px"></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;borde=
r:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;margin-left:auto;margin-right=
:auto;width:2032.8px;max-width:100%"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bo=
rder:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;max-width:100%"><div style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent"><div st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent"=
></div></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px 30p=
x;background:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-width:100%"><div style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px a=
uto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw;float:none"></div><div style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent"><p style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0p=
x auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children=E2=
=80=99s Fund is based in the Blue Building, a medical center across from th=
e American University of Beirut, in the city=E2=80=99s Hamra district. Many=
 of the children whose care it sponsors have come to Lebanon from Gaza, mos=
tly by way of Egypt, after an intensive vetting process involving the Israe=
li state and the Palestine Children=E2=80=99s Relief Fund. They require sur=
geries currently unavailable in Gaza, where Israel=E2=80=99s genocide has o=
bliterated large swaths of the health care sector. Some have lost limbs; ot=
hers have neurological injuries; most have lost family; all carry the effec=
ts of the violence that has fractured their worlds.</p><p style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto=
 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Israel has created something unprecedented=
: the largest population of traumatic pediatric amputees in modern history.=
 (A traumatic amputation is one caused by the force of an accident or attac=
k=E2=80=94say, that of a blast.) These children=E2=80=99s injuries=E2=80=94=
physical, mental, emotional=E2=80=94are complex, and require a complex resp=
onse; there are many hospitals in the United States that would be unable to=
 tend to them. Waking up from hemorrhagic shock to find yourself maimed, to=
 watch your sister bleed out in front of you, to learn your whole family is=
 gone, to try to fathom what this means when you cannot yet steady a pencil=
 enough to write out your name=E2=80=94all of this takes a psychological to=
ll, by design. The mission of the fund is not only to gather the necessary =
medical experts, both surgical and nonsurgical, but also to ensure that the=
 child is cared for as a whole human being, by people with whom they feel s=
afe.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background=
:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">When a person =
has been permanently disfigured, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah explained to me, th=
e goal of surgery isn=E2=80=99t to make them look how they did before, whic=
h is often impossible, but to restore a kind of recognition=E2=80=94to make=
 them feel once again that their body belongs to them. Abu Sittah is a plas=
tic and reconstructive surgeon who, before 2023, was mostly based in London=
, traveling to Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere to see patien=
ts wounded in various wars. Since the start of the genocide in Gaza he has =
focused his attention on treating children injured by Israeli attacks. In 2=
024 he cofounded the fund in Beirut, historically a hub for medical care in=
 the region. With the extension of Israel=E2=80=99s ethnic cleansing campai=
gn into Lebanon, the fund has begun providing this care to Lebanese childre=
n as well.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;back=
ground:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Two days=
 before I sat down with Abu Sittah, I spoke to a boy from Gaza with a spina=
l cord injury that had left him unable to move his legs. He was staying wit=
h his mother in a hotel a short distance from the fund that hosts many of t=
he families who are in Beirut for treatment. At one point he pulled up a ph=
oto on his phone of what looked like the inside of a tent and a mattress co=
vered in blood. This was where he=E2=80=99d been when the missile struck. H=
is mother told me that others had taken him to the morgue and pronounced hi=
m dead. She had found him there and insisted that no, her son was alive.</p=
><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transp=
arent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Later in our conversa=
tion the boy talked about how he had been super into cars, fixing them, dri=
ving them, everything. He showed me a video of a boy driving a car, shot fr=
om the passenger seat. The face on the screen was full, looking from road t=
o camera with a relaxed smile. I asked the boy earnestly who that was in th=
e video. That=E2=80=99s me, he answered, beaming. I felt uncomfortable, as =
if I had inadvertently pointed out how much he had changed, and in an attem=
pt to redirect his attention I said that I meant who was recording and talk=
ing in the background, who had added those two heart emojis to the corner o=
f the frame? My friend took it, he answered, and then: he=E2=80=99s a marty=
r.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:t=
ransparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Abu Sittah had j=
ust seen the boy in clinic the day before; he was happy with how much weigh=
t he had gained. He was skin and bones when he got to Beirut, he said. The =
boy was, as far as I could tell, still quite thin. Still, the fact that he =
had shown me that video indicated that he was beginning to be able to recog=
nize himself again.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding=
:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw"=
>I spoke with Abu Sittah about an aspect of the conversation with the boy a=
nd his mother that weighed on me. In an effort to begin with an open-ended =
question, I had asked the mother to tell me what happened to them, how they=
 ended up in Beirut. She responded with her own question: =E2=80=9CWhat has=
n=E2=80=99t happened to us?=E2=80=9D I didn=E2=80=99t know what to say, so =
we waited in silence until she was ready to pick up the conversation again.=
 At some point I asked her if she was still in touch with family in Gaza an=
d she responded that, really, they had no one left.</p><p style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto=
 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Was Abu Sittah familiar with this kind of =
strained communication, I asked, with what felt like the lack of a common s=
caffolding on which to build a conversation? The architecture of their live=
s is totally gone, he said. In a recent essay for<em style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">=C2=A0The London Re=
view of Books</em>, the human rights researcher Eyal Weizman writes about t=
he disorientation imposed by Gaza=E2=80=99s total destruction, how it leave=
s people with no point of reference. Weizman quotes an Israeli bulldozer op=
erator who says that if a Palestinian tries to return home, they =E2=80=9Cw=
ill be returning to nowhere=E2=80=A6. They will not know where their home i=
s. All they will find is sand.=E2=80=9D He then writes of one Palestinian a=
sking another, =E2=80=9CIf we survive this war=E2=80=A6what would be our me=
eting point?=E2=80=9D</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;paddi=
ng:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60v=
w">Reading the article, I recalled a family friend=E2=80=99s description of=
 her return to southern Lebanon at the end of 2024, after the cease-fire th=
at wasn=E2=80=99t=E2=80=94how she arrived in Bazouriyeh, the town where she=
 grew up, and found that everything familiar was gone. Not just her parents=
=E2=80=99 house but the other houses, the street signs, the shops, the tree=
s, anything that could tell her she was here and not there. She called out =
for help orienting herself. Someone from the town whose eyes had already ad=
justed came to her side and guided her.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-wi=
dth:100%;width:60vw">War=E2=80=94and the influx into hospitals of casualtie=
s in different degrees of extremis=E2=80=94taxes a country=E2=80=99s medica=
l system. When patients come in unresponsive, doctors must decide at what p=
oint to give up on resuscitation, a judgment call that is harder to make th=
e younger the person is. A patient with complex injuries requires consultat=
ion with multiple surgical and nonsurgical teams, and interventions must be=
 triaged based on acuity, which increases the possibility of delays. This c=
omes at a cost to the hospital, which only has so many beds to offer to tho=
se who need them. And it has implications for the patient, who grows more p=
rone to infection, delirium, and physical deterioration the longer they rem=
ain in the hospital. Healing happens best in the outside world. But what ab=
out when the outside world, or more specifically Israel, is hostile to the =
body trying to heal?</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;paddin=
g:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw=
">The wars in southern Lebanon and Gaza are exceptional in the degree to wh=
ich Israel has been=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/03/=
22/the-gaza-doctrine-iran-lebanon/" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0=
px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)" target=3D"_blank"=
>directly targeting medical infrastructure</a>=E2=80=94not to strain it but=
 to literally flatten it. In Gaza this pattern was noted early on: Israel d=
ropped its bombs closer and closer to medical facilities, then switched to =
carrying out direct strikes with impunity. When I sent in the first draft o=
f this essay less than a month ago, Israel was already bombing in the=C2=A0=
<a href=3D"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/03/lebanese-hospitals=
-hit-by-israeli-forces" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)" t=
arget=3D"_blank">immediate vicinity of hospitals</a>=C2=A0in the south. Sin=
ce then the radius these attacks leave around health facilities seems to ha=
ve narrowed further, judging by the rising number of casualties from inside=
 medical centers, and the gravity of the damage done to them. In one recent=
 attack near a hospital in Lebanon, in Sur on June 1, thirty-nine health ca=
re workers were=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.msf.org/lebanon-testimony-injur=
ed-nurse" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border=
:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)" target=3D"_blan=
k">injured</a>=C2=A0from the force of the blast.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30=
px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Another way to neutralize a hospital is to ke=
ep people from being able to reach it. At the time of writing Israel has ma=
rtyred=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.moph.gov.lb/en/Media/view/85753/4/update=
d-total-toll-of-the-aggression-4106-martyrs-and-12153-wounded#/en/Media/vie=
w/85753/updated-total-toll-of-the-aggression-4106-martyrs-and-12153-wounded=
" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;pad=
ding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)" target=3D"_blank">130 f=
irst responders</a>=C2=A0in Lebanon. They are targeted for saving lives. On=
e medic with whom I spoke in Nabatiyeh had lost his forefoot; the bomb land=
ed on his dispatch facility in the middle of the night while he and his col=
leagues were asleep.=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;pad=
ding:0px;background:transparent">We were not even going to help anyone</em>=
, he clarified. Despite their injuries, many paramedics who have been targe=
ted continue to volunteer if they are able, moved by a sense of commitment =
to their people and their land.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border=
:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%=
;width:60vw">There are strains on the social infrastructure as well as the =
medical. Injured children who arrive in Beirut from Gaza are accompanied by=
 someone=E2=80=94sometimes a parent, sometimes a more distant relative if t=
he parents have been killed or refused exit by Israel. The caregiver has le=
ft behind everything and everyone remaining to them in order to be here. Of=
ten they have children who are still in Gaza, and they struggle to parent r=
emotely; I spoke with a social worker at the fund who told me that she and =
her colleagues counsel caregivers on how to be present for their loved ones=
 via Facetime and Zoom.</p><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;p=
adding:0px;background:transparent;display:table;margin:0px auto;width:1593.=
99px"><a href=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah2=
02606_6.jpg" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgrou=
nd:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1);display:block" target=3D"_blank"><img src=
=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Turfah202606_6.jpg?w=
=3D1150" alt=3D"" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;bac=
kground:transparent;vertical-align:middle;height:auto;width:1593.99px;max-h=
eight:100%;color:black"></a><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;pa=
dding:0px;background:transparent;margin-top:0px;font-family:&quot;Suisse In=
t\000027l&quot;;font-size:10px;line-height:14px;margin-bottom:5px">Abed Al =
Kadiri</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgrou=
nd:transparent;margin-top:0px;line-height:20px;margin-bottom:0px">Drawings =
on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part of Abed Al Kadiri=E2=
=80=99s initiative=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;paddi=
ng:0px;background:transparent;color:black">Today I Would Like to Be a Tree<=
/em>, 2026</p></div><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0p=
x;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Th=
e children who make it to Beirut are the lucky few. When I was working on t=
his essay, I=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://x.com/RepMcGovern/status/2065194675355=
447577" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0=
px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)" target=3D"_blank"=
>read</a>=C2=A0about a boy who died of leukemia while waiting for permissio=
n to leave Gaza for treatment, as the chemotherapy he needed was not allowe=
d in. Anyone who has passed their eighteenth birthday has an infinitely har=
der time getting care. The boy with the damaged spinal cord told me that hi=
s mother was helping a relative in Gaza manage a similar injury by sharing =
what they were learning in Beirut; because the relative was an adult when a=
 missile fell on him, he was stuck.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bo=
rder:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:=
100%;width:60vw">Meeting the needs of any single person who has been severe=
ly wounded requires reorganizing the world around them, sometimes for a sho=
rt time, sometimes for longer. Abu Sittah and I discussed the case of my co=
usin, on whom he had recently performed an initial reconstructive surgery t=
o cover exposed skull. This intervention, this hospital stay, was the first=
 of many to come. Israel had bombed my cousin=E2=80=99s home and destroyed =
his face. He had lost his eyes. He was a medical student before, and now he=
 was lucky to be alive. An injury like this permanently alters not just the=
 life of the injured person, but those of the people who will become their =
caregivers. At the hospital at least one or two members of my cousin=E2=80=
=99s family were at his bedside every day, often for the entire day. Where =
their days were once governed by something like the sun=E2=80=99s progressi=
on across the sky, for the foreseeable future he would be their center.</p>=
<p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transpa=
rent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">My father, a surgeon, =
has traveled back and forth to Lebanon since my cousin=E2=80=99s injury to =
help coordinate his nephew=E2=80=99s medical care and to support his brothe=
r and the rest of our family. He told me how a family friend visited my cou=
sin in the hospital and wondered aloud whether it might have been easier if=
 he had been martyred. I found the man=E2=80=99s statement crass, but I hav=
e not lived as close to the possibility of earth-shattering loss as he has.=
 I imagine it hardens you, changes the way you measure what is unsayable an=
d what has to be said. Still, my father disagreed with him about my cousin:=
 it will be the honor of our lives, he said, to take care of him.</p><p sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;m=
argin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Those who love the injured p=
erson will sacrifice their time. Sometimes they sacrifice their careers or =
choose new paths: my cousin=E2=80=99s sister, also a medical student, recen=
tly decided to pursue ophthalmology. Among the goals of using permanent dis=
figurement as a weapon of war is to induce=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">ihbat</em>, a sort o=
f psychological collapse, and to isolate the person from their social world=
. It falls to that same world, then, to make sure there remains room for th=
em.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:=
transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">Israel=E2=80=99=
s assault on Palestine and Lebanon has reconfigured how our children unders=
tand their lives. I interviewed a clinical psychologist who works with many=
 of the children treated through the fund. One day, she said, a boy asked i=
f she had toy soldiers, the little plastic figures. She promised him she wo=
uld get some. The following week the request had slipped her mind but not h=
is; he asked again, and again she promised. By the next session, she had go=
tten toy soldiers in several colors. From then on, in all her sessions, all=
 the kids=E2=80=94boys and girls=E2=80=94reached for them. The blue ones si=
gnified the same thing to everyone. The children attacked the blue soldiers=
 with the red and green and brown ones, with toy dragons and trucks and hel=
icopters, with everything they could reach. Sometimes the kids gave the oth=
er soldiers names and sometimes they didn=E2=80=99t; sometimes they made so=
me of the other soldiers die; always the focus was on defeating, by the end=
, the blue soldiers.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;paddin=
g:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw=
">Later I met with an epidemiologist based at the American University of Be=
irut who studies the causes and effects of injury in Lebanon. This includes=
 research on things like traffic accidents, but lately much of her work has=
 focused on how children are processing the war. Many have faced internal d=
isplacement due to Israel=E2=80=99s sweeping =E2=80=9Cevacuation=E2=80=9D o=
rders and lost loved ones as a result of its self-given right to bomb anyon=
e who chooses to stay in their home in a part of Lebanon that it seeks to c=
ontrol.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgro=
und:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">One of her =
projects explores the importance of play in helping children make sense of =
their experiences. I remember a=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.instagram.com/r=
eels/DWi6bWZiMZX/" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"box-sizing:border-b=
ox;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1)" target=
=3D"_blank">video</a>=C2=A0from Gaza that shows children lifting a doll on =
a makeshift stretcher, mimicking a funeral procession. The ways children pl=
ay reflect the things they know. In this study, Lebanese children between t=
he ages of six and eight from areas of the country targeted by Israeli bomb=
s were given a blank sheet of paper with a folded, colored piece attached t=
o represent a home; they were encouraged to draw whatever they liked both i=
nside and outside. Some children drew missiles falling from the sky; others=
 drew themselves spending time with family in gardens overflowing with brig=
ht, thickly scribbled color. Sometimes a single depiction of home held both=
 idyllic and menacing images. One child, asked why they=E2=80=99d chosen to=
 draw themselves playing with family, responded, =E2=80=9CWe love each othe=
r.=E2=80=9D</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;bac=
kground:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw">As part=
 of her research, the epidemiologist had distributed disposable cameras to =
children from areas affected by Israeli attacks. She sent the cameras to tw=
o schools, one in the south and one in Beirut, with the instruction that th=
e children should document whatever aspects of their lives they wanted. But=
 she had not considered the legacy of Israel=E2=80=99s pager attack, and so=
me children refused to accept the cameras, especially when they heard that =
the project was affiliated with an American university. If they brought the=
 devices home, in many cases their parents threw them out, or took them apa=
rt to see what might be inside. Parents called the school, demanding to kno=
w what they were thinking. The researcher explained to me that she is herse=
lf from the south=E2=80=94a way of saying that she should have known better=
. Of course people reacted like this, she said, adding that they have every=
 right to. She ended up redesigning the project. The older kids took pictur=
es of their worlds using their own phones. The younger children were given =
the drawing exercise as a way into a series of questions=E2=80=94about what=
 family means to them, what places make them feel safe, what they do when t=
hey feel unsafe, what comes to mind when they think of =E2=80=9Chope=E2=80=
=9D or =E2=80=9Cresilience.=E2=80=9D</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;b=
order:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width=
:100%;width:60vw">To the question =E2=80=9CWhat makes you scared?=E2=80=9D =
children said things like, =E2=80=9CI get scared when my dad tells me we ar=
e safe, and I know we are not safe=E2=80=9D because they could hear nearby =
explosions or whirring drones. Most answered the question =E2=80=9CWhat mak=
es you feel safe?=E2=80=9D with versions of =E2=80=9Cbeing close to other p=
eople.=E2=80=9D Some children defined safety in a negative sense, as the ab=
sence of violence or simply as distance from it, with statements like, =E2=
=80=9Cjust when there=E2=80=99s no one dying,=E2=80=9D or when =E2=80=9Cthe=
y are striking far away.=E2=80=9D One child, asked who protected them, said=
, =E2=80=9CGod and Mom.=E2=80=9D More often children responded =E2=80=9CHez=
bollah=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94the people, they elaborated, =E2=80=9Cwho defend me=
=E2=80=9D or =E2=80=9Cwho defend us.=E2=80=9D (In the manuscript, the epide=
miologist translated =E2=80=9CHezbollah=E2=80=9D as =E2=80=9Cthe resistance=
,=E2=80=9D to avoid inevitable censorship by academic journals.) Several ol=
der children took pictures of their bedrooms, where photos of martyrs, some=
 famous and others ordinary, decorated their walls. To the question =E2=80=
=9CWhat makes you happy?=E2=80=9D several of the younger children responded=
, =E2=80=9Cresistance against Israel.=E2=80=9D</p><div style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;display:table;marg=
in:0px auto;width:1593.99px"><a href=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/=
uploads/2026/06/Turfah202606_7.jpg" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0=
px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1);display:block" tar=
get=3D"_blank"><img src=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/=
06/Turfah202606_7.jpg?w=3D1150" alt=3D"" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bor=
der:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;vertical-align:middle;height:aut=
o;width:1593.99px;max-height:100%;color:black"></a><p style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin-top:0px;font=
-family:&quot;Suisse Int\000027l&quot;;font-size:10px;line-height:14px;marg=
in-bottom:5px">Abed Al Kadiri</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0=
px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin-top:0px;line-height:20px;margi=
n-bottom:0px">Drawings on paper roll by displaced children in Lebanon, part=
 of Abed Al Kadiri=E2=80=99s initiative=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:black">Today I Wou=
ld Like to Be a Tree</em>, 2026</p></div><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;=
border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-widt=
h:100%;width:60vw">The epidemiologist told me that one child used the word=
=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:=
transparent">baaqoon=C2=A0</em>to describe his commitment to staying on his=
 family=E2=80=99s land.=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;=
padding:0px;background:transparent">Baaqoon</em>=C2=A0means, literally,=C2=
=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:tra=
nsparent">we are staying</em>. It is different from=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">saamidoun</=
em>, the Arabic word for=C2=A0<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px=
;padding:0px;background:transparent">we remain steadfast</em>, in that the =
line it draws from present to both past and future is explicitly tied to pl=
ace. The child, no more than seven years old, she said, spoke on behalf of =
a =E2=80=9Cwe=E2=80=9D many times his size. She was taken aback by the grav=
ity of this word coming out of his mouth. Where did he learn to speak like =
this=E2=80=94and to mean it?</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0p=
x;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;wi=
dth:60vw">I recently came across a video on X showing the child of a martyr=
ed paramedic in the south of Lebanon. The boy, who looks to be about nine o=
r ten years old, sits on the lap of one of his father=E2=80=99s colleagues,=
 a leader of the political group Amal, which oversees Al-Risala, one of the=
 main medical rescue organizations currently serving this part of the count=
ry. The man tells the boy, =E2=80=9COne day we=E2=80=99re all going to go. =
You? They took your dad. And me, they took my friend.=E2=80=9D He does not =
have to say who =E2=80=9Cthey=E2=80=9D are. The boy knows. =E2=80=9CI want =
to defeat=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;pa=
dding:0px;background:transparent">bidde kassir</em>, literally =E2=80=9Cbre=
ak=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94=E2=80=9Call the Israelis,=E2=80=9D the child says. =E2=
=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ll continue on this path,=E2=80=9D the man responds. =E2=
=80=9CMe, my son was martyred, and my brother was martyred, and my uncle wa=
s martyred. We=E2=80=99re in this together [<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-=
box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">Mitli mitlak</em>]. But =
this path, we need to continue on it [<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;bo=
rder:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent">Bidnan kamlo</em>].=E2=80=9D I=
 interviewed paramedics in the south who repeated this same phrase, have he=
ard many men and women, in the face of loss, speak it. The boy responds wit=
h words that belong to someone much older: =E2=80=9CMy heart burns knowing =
my dad is gone [<em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;b=
ackground:transparent">Har2it albi inno bayyi fal</em>].=E2=80=9D I wonder =
where he learned this phrase.</p><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0=
px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto 30px;max-width:100%;w=
idth:60vw">While I was in Beirut another doctor told me the story of a chil=
d from Gaza who, after coming to Lebanon, learned that a man had died a nat=
ural death. The child did not understand. He did not know that death could =
come this way. It had to be explained to him, that people die of old age. T=
he only cause of death the child knew was Israel. And he knew it well.</p><=
/div></div></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px=
;background:transparent;max-width:100%"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;background:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-widt=
h:100%"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;backgrou=
nd:transparent;margin-bottom:30px"></div></div></div><div style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;max-width:100%"=
><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px 30px;background=
:transparent;width:1972.8px;max-width:100%"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent"><div style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;margin:0px auto =
30px;max-width:100%;width:60vw"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:=
0px;padding:30px 30px 0px;background:rgb(153,1,1);margin-bottom:30px"><div =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparen=
t;display:flex"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;=
background:transparent"><a href=3D"https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/mar=
y-turfah/" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background=
:transparent;color:rgb(153,1,1);font-family:Giza-Light;letter-spacing:0.3px=
;display:inline-block;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:22px;line-height:26px" t=
arget=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0p=
x;background:transparent;color:black">Mary Turfah</span></a><p style=3D"box=
-sizing:border-box;border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;color:rgb(=
255,255,255);margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:16px;line-height:2=
2px">Mary Turfah is a writer and resident physician.</p></div></div></div><=
/div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN36yhie2_c&t=62s

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<div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN36yhie2_c&amp;t=62s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN36yhie2_c&amp;t=62s</a></div>

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aHR0cHM6Ly94LmNvbS9Ib3dhcmRSQmVja2V0dC9zdGF0dXMvMjA3MDA0NTI0OTIzMDA1MzU0Mg0K
TmV0YW55YWh1IPCfh67wn4exIHRlbGxzIHRoZSB3b3JsZCB0aGF0IElzcmFlbCDwn4eu8J+HsSBo
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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr"><a href=3D"https://x.com/HowardRBeckett/statu=
s/2070045249230053542" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"backgr=
ound-color:transparent">https://x.com/HowardRBeckett/status/207004524923005=
3542</a></div>
Netanyahu =F0=9F=87=AE=F0=9F=87=B1 tells the world that Israel =F0=9F=87=AE=
=F0=9F=87=B1 has seized land in Lebanon =F0=9F=87=B1=F0=9F=87=A7, Syria =F0=
=9F=87=B8=F0=9F=87=BE and Gaza =F0=9F=87=B5=F0=9F=87=B8 and:<br>
<br>
=E2=80=98I want to be clear, we will remain=E2=80=99<br>
<br>
It=E2=80=99s never been =E2=80=98defence=E2=80=99<br>
It=E2=80=99s always been a land grab<br>
It=E2=80=99s always been about a =E2=80=98Greater =F0=9F=87=AE=F0=9F=87=B1=
=E2=80=99<br>
<br>
Expel =F0=9F=87=AE=F0=9F=87=B1 from the UN now.<br>
</div></div>

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*https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/06/ukraine-isnt-winning.html
<https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/06/ukraine-isnt-winning.html>*

*Ukraine Isn=E2=80=99t Winning =E2=80=93 Moon of Alabama*

*June 25, 2026 *

*Ukraine Isn=E2=80=99t Winning *

*There is an ongoing Ukrainian propaganda campaign to depict the country as
winning the conflict with Russia.*

*The campaign is accompanied by drone attacks on energy targets within
Russia. While burning fuel tanks at this or that of many Russian refineries
may look impressive the effects on Russia have so fare been mere nuances.
Ongoing drone attacks on Crimea have led to inconveniences for the
inhabitants of the island.*

*The Ukrainian campaign is supported by the Europeans who are trying to
pull the U.S. back into the conflict. The U.S. however had never left.
After the meeting between President Trump and President Putin in August
2025 in Anchorage there was talk about an agreement between the two
presidents but no announcement of any specifics.*

*After the meeting Trump had called for Ukraine to leave the Donbas area to
make peace with Russia. But he never applied any pressure to achieve that
outcome. Meanwhile U.S. intelligence and weapon support for Ukraine
continued.*

*For a while Russia had seemed to believe in the =E2=80=98sprit of Anchorag=
e=E2=80=99 and
had expressed hope for an end on the conflict along Trump=E2=80=99s proposa=
l. That
view has long since gone away.*

*Now U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has officially dismissed
<https://tass.com/world/2151517> any talk of an Anchorage agreement:*

*US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Russian President Vladimir
Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump failed to secure any final
agreements on Ukraine settlement at their meeting in Anchorage.*

*=E2=80=9CThere was no agreement in Alaska. There was a proposal in Alaska,=
 but
there was no agreement in Alaska. If there had been an agreement, we would
have had an end to the war,=E2=80=9D Rubio told journalists in Manama, the =
capital
of Bahrain, in the course of his state visit.*

*Now Rubio=E2=80=99s underling even declares that Ukraine is winning
<https://www.kyivpost.com/post/78907>:*

*Speaking ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gda=C5=84sk, US Deput=
y
Secretary of State Jeremy Levin said the conflict has shifted in Kyiv=E2=80=
=99s
favor, Mezha reported.*

*=E2=80=9CAs of now, we are in a position where Ukraine is winning the war =
at this
moment=E2=80=9D Levin said, adding that the situation on the battlefield ha=
s
shifted in Kyiv=E2=80=99s favor, allowing Washington to speak about Ukraine=
=E2=80=99s
success as a current reality instead of a distant goal.*

*Levin said that the conflict dynamics have reversed, with Ukrainian troops
now advancing, while Russian forces are effectively waiting for winter. The
shift in dynamics has been made possible by Ukraine=E2=80=99s ongoing strik=
es on
critical oil infrastructure in Russia, essentially increasing the cost of
the war for Moscow and forcing it to divert resources away from the front,
he said.*

*The facts on the ground are contradicting the view of Mr. Levin. According
to Ukrainian frontline news Russian troops are slowly but steadily gaining
ground
<https://strana.news/news/507830-rossija-zanjala-bolshuju-chast-konstantino=
vki.html>
(machine
translation):*

*Russian troops have occupied most of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.=
*

*This was reported by a Ukrainian fighter with the call sign =E2=80=9CFlour=
=E2=80=9D.*

*According to him, Russian units are already using most of the city to
accumulate personnel, drones and firepower.*

*Only certain microdistricts at the northwestern entrance to the city
remain under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or in the gray
zone. At the same time, the line of contact continues to change rapidly.*

*Another noticeable advance, according to the military, was recorded in the
Sloviansk direction. Russian units have established control over Yurkovka
and continue fighting for Rai-Oleksandrivka (the Russian Federation claims
that this village has already been captured).*

*At the same time, pressure is increasing in the Mykolaivka area, where
Russian troops are trying to disrupt Ukrainian logistics with strikes on
supply routes through Vysokoivanivka and on facilities in the area of the
Slavyansk thermal power plant.*

*In the Pokrovsky direction, Russian forces, according to Muchnoy, occupied
the Zaporizhzhia mine and advanced along the forest belts north of it. The
situation in Rodinskoye is also complicated, where the northern part of the
city was actually isolated.*

*At the same time, it is noted that Russian units are trying to turn this
area into a local =E2=80=9Cbag=E2=80=9D, controlling supply and movement ro=
utes with the
help of drones and firepower.*

*The Ukrainian army is in its ever worst position. Moral is terrible,
losses are high and the recruitment methods are getting more and more
brutal.*

*The Ukrainian Commander in Chief General Syrski has long insisted on
creating new =E2=80=98assault=E2=80=99 brigades instead of filling up the s=
hrinking regular
brigades which attempt to hold grounds.*

*A recent investigation by the Ukrainian outlet Babel reveals murder and
torture in the recruit training camps
<https://babel.ua/texts/127938-shturmoviy-polk-skelya-maye-boyovi-zaslugi-i=
-dobre-zabezpechennya-a-shche-kazhut-ochevidci-tam-katuyut-i-zabivayut-lyud=
ey-na-smert-rozsliduvannya-babelya>
of
the 425th Assault Regiment Skala (Rock) (machine translation):*

*A battered head, torn hands, a chiseled lower back, dirty and broken
fingers. In this state, 35-year-old Oleksandr Semenov came to the hospital
in Kropyvnytskyi in January 2026. He said that he escaped from the 425th
separate assault regiment =E2=80=9CRock=E2=80=9D, where he was abused, beat=
en, tied to an
ATV and dragged on the ground. In a video taken by local doctors, the man
said that he witnessed at least nine suicides in the unit, briefly
described their circumstances and named one of the dead. The video at
Babel=E2=80=99s disposal was filmed on January 23, 2026, and a few days lat=
er,
Oleksandr Semenov died in the hospital. The official cause of death is
pneumonia.*


*=E2=80=9CThe Rock=E2=80=9D is the largest assault regiment in the Armed Fo=
rces of Ukraine.
Unofficially, it is also called =E2=80=9CSyrsky=E2=80=99s=E2=80=9D. It is n=
ot part of any corps,
but is directly subordinate to the high command. =E2=80=9CThe Rock=E2=80=9D=
 took part in
the most difficult battles of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Despite this and
combat merits, the regiment is often criticized by the military,
journalists and relatives of those who got there. Due to accusations of
heavy losses, the regiment has gained a reputation as =E2=80=9Cmeat=E2=80=
=9D. However, =E2=80=9CThe
Rock=E2=80=9D loses people not only on the battlefield, but even before com=
bat =E2=80=94
during military training =E2=80=93 it counted 26 deaths.=E2=80=A6*

*The newly recruited soldiers, snatched from the streets, are living in
guarded tents. Going to the toilet is only allowed in groups and under the
eyes of an armed soldier. Grounds around the training camp are mined.
Torture is routine. People who try to flee will be shot and/or get
brutalized to death.*

*Strana reports
<https://strana.news/news/507812-nasilie-v-vsu-po-otnosheniju-k-vnov-mobili=
zovannym-obychnaja-praktika.html>
that
the =E2=80=9CRock=E2=80=9D is far from the only such unit.*

*The mass death of Ukrainian soldiers due to torture while in training is
probably what the State Department considers as =E2=80=98winning=E2=80=99.*

*Russia has meanwhile initiated a new campaign against Ukrainian transport
infrastructure and logistics. Targets are locomotives
<https://x.com/AMK_Mapping_/status/2070174864456249704>, truck depots,
large post office warehouses
<https://x.com/AMK_Mapping_/status/2070176479313563934> (which run
Ukraine=E2=80=99s military logistics), oil storage facilities and petrol
<https://x.com/AMK_Mapping_/status/2070174986577609116> stations
<https://x.com/AMK_Mapping_/status/2070175256351031468> of which more than
150 have been destroyed so far.*

*The slow squeeze continues. Ukraine isn=E2=80=99t winning.*
*Posted by b on June 25, 2026 at 16:05 UTC | Permalink
<https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/06/ukraine-isnt-winning.html>*

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Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr"><b style=3D"background-color:transparent"><fo=
nt color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"https://www.moonofa=
labama.org/2026/06/ukraine-isnt-winning.html" target=3D"_blank">https://www=
.moonofalabama.org/2026/06/ukraine-isnt-winning.html</a></font></b></div><d=
iv dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"geo=
rgia, serif"><br></font></b></div><div><h1 style=3D"line-height:1.2141em;ma=
rgin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;max-width:100%"><font color=3D"#000000" fa=
ce=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4"><i>Ukraine Isn=E2=80=99t Winning =E2=80=93=
 Moon of Alabama</i></font></h1><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=
=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">June 25, 2026<span>=C2=A0</span></font=
></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"geo=
rgia, serif">Ukraine Isn=E2=80=99t Winning<span>=C2=A0</span></font></b></p=
><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=
=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">There is an ongoing Ukrainian propagan=
da campaign to depict the country as winning the conflict with Russia.</fon=
t></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"ge=
orgia, serif">The campaign is accompanied by drone attacks on energy target=
s within Russia. While burning fuel tanks at this or that of many Russian r=
efineries may look impressive the effects on Russia have so fare been mere =
nuances. Ongoing drone attacks on Crimea have led to inconveniences for the=
 inhabitants of the island.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><f=
ont color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The Ukrainian campaign is sup=
ported by the Europeans who are trying to pull the U.S. back into the confl=
ict. The U.S. however had never left. After the meeting between President T=
rump and President Putin in August 2025 in Anchorage there was talk about a=
n agreement between the two presidents but no announcement of any specifics=
.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=
=3D"georgia, serif">After the meeting Trump had called for Ukraine to leave=
 the Donbas area to make peace with Russia. But he never applied any pressu=
re to achieve that outcome. Meanwhile U.S. intelligence and weapon support =
for Ukraine continued.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font c=
olor=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">For a while Russia had seemed to b=
elieve in the =E2=80=98sprit of Anchorage=E2=80=99 and had expressed hope f=
or an end on the conflict along Trump=E2=80=99s proposal. That view has lon=
g since gone away.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=
=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Now U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubi=
o has officially<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://tass.com/world/215151=
7" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">dismisse=
d</a><span>=C2=A0</span>any talk of an Anchorage agreement:</font></b></p><=
blockquote style=3D"margin-left:2px;margin-right:6px;padding-left:16px;bord=
er-left-width:3px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.1)=
;max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" fac=
e=3D"georgia, serif">US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Russian Pr=
esident Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump failed to secure=
 any final agreements on Ukraine settlement at their meeting in Anchorage.<=
/font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=
=3D"georgia, serif">=E2=80=9CThere was no agreement in Alaska. There was a =
proposal in Alaska, but there was no agreement in Alaska. If there had been=
 an agreement, we would have had an end to the war,=E2=80=9D Rubio told jou=
rnalists in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, in the course of his state visi=
t.</font></b></p></blockquote><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D=
"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Now Rubio=E2=80=99s underling even declar=
es that<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.kyivpost.com/post/78907" s=
tyle=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">Ukraine is w=
inning</a>:</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#00=
0000" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"></span></font>=
</b></p><blockquote style=3D"margin-left:2px;margin-right:6px;padding-left:=
16px;border-left-width:3px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgba(0=
,0,0,0.1);max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#00=
0000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Speaking ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Confer=
ence in Gda=C5=84sk, US Deputy Secretary of State Jeremy Levin said the con=
flict has shifted in Kyiv=E2=80=99s favor, Mezha reported.</font></b></p><p=
 style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif=
">=E2=80=9CAs of now, we are in a position where Ukraine is winning the war=
 at this moment=E2=80=9D Levin said, adding that<span>=C2=A0</span><span st=
yle=3D"max-width:100%">the situation on the battlefield has shifted in Kyiv=
=E2=80=99s favor</span>, allowing Washington to speak about Ukraine=E2=80=
=99s success as a current reality instead of a distant goal.</font></b></p>=
<p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, ser=
if">Levin said that the conflict dynamics have reversed, with Ukrainian tro=
ops now advancing, while Russian forces are effectively waiting for winter.=
 The shift in dynamics has been made possible by Ukraine=E2=80=99s ongoing =
strikes on critical oil infrastructure in Russia, essentially increasing th=
e cost of the war for Moscow and forcing it to divert resources away from t=
he front, he said.</font></b></p></blockquote><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><=
b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The facts on the ground a=
re contradicting the view of Mr. Levin. According to Ukrainian frontline ne=
ws Russian troops are slowly but steadily<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"http=
s://strana.news/news/507830-rossija-zanjala-bolshuju-chast-konstantinovki.h=
tml" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">gainin=
g ground</a><span>=C2=A0</span>(machine translation):</font></b></p><blockq=
uote style=3D"margin-left:2px;margin-right:6px;padding-left:16px;border-lef=
t-width:3px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);max-w=
idth:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"g=
eorgia, serif">Russian troops have occupied most of Kostiantynivka in the D=
onetsk region.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"=
#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">This was reported by a Ukrainian fighter w=
ith the call sign =E2=80=9CFlour=E2=80=9D.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">According to h=
im, Russian units are already using most of the city to accumulate personne=
l, drones and firepower.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font=
 color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Only certain microdistricts at t=
he northwestern entrance to the city remain under the control of the Armed =
Forces of Ukraine or in the gray zone. At the same time, the line of contac=
t continues to change rapidly.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b=
><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Another noticeable advance=
, according to the military, was recorded in the Sloviansk direction. Russi=
an units have established control over Yurkovka and continue fighting for R=
ai-Oleksandrivka (the Russian Federation claims that this village has alrea=
dy been captured).</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=
=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">At the same time, pressure is increasi=
ng in the Mykolaivka area, where Russian troops are trying to disrupt Ukrai=
nian logistics with strikes on supply routes through Vysokoivanivka and on =
facilities in the area of the Slavyansk thermal power plant.</font></b></p>=
<p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, ser=
if">In the Pokrovsky direction, Russian forces, according to Muchnoy, occup=
ied the Zaporizhzhia mine and advanced along the forest belts north of it. =
The situation in Rodinskoye is also complicated, where the northern part of=
 the city was actually isolated.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">=
<b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">At the same time, it is =
noted that Russian units are trying to turn this area into a local =E2=80=
=9Cbag=E2=80=9D, controlling supply and movement routes with the help of dr=
ones and firepower.</font></b></p></blockquote><p style=3D"max-width:100%">=
<b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The Ukrainian army is in=
 its ever worst position. Moral is terrible, losses are high and the recrui=
tment methods are getting more and more brutal.</font></b></p><p style=3D"m=
ax-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The Ukrai=
nian Commander in Chief General Syrski has long insisted on creating new =
=E2=80=98assault=E2=80=99 brigades instead of filling up the shrinking regu=
lar brigades which attempt to hold grounds.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-w=
idth:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">A recent inve=
stigation by the Ukrainian outlet<span>=C2=A0</span><i style=3D"max-width:1=
00%">Babel</i><span>=C2=A0</span>reveals<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https=
://babel.ua/texts/127938-shturmoviy-polk-skelya-maye-boyovi-zaslugi-i-dobre=
-zabezpechennya-a-shche-kazhut-ochevidci-tam-katuyut-i-zabivayut-lyudey-na-=
smert-rozsliduvannya-babelya" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%"=
 target=3D"_blank">murder and torture in the recruit training camps</a><spa=
n>=C2=A0</span>of the 425th Assault Regiment Skala (Rock) (machine translat=
ion):</font></b></p><blockquote style=3D"margin-left:2px;margin-right:6px;p=
adding-left:16px;border-left-width:3px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-=
color:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font =
color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">A battered head, torn hands, a ch=
iseled lower back, dirty and broken fingers. In this state, 35-year-old Ole=
ksandr Semenov came to the hospital in Kropyvnytskyi in January 2026. He sa=
id that he escaped from the 425th separate assault regiment =E2=80=9CRock=
=E2=80=9D, where he was abused, beaten, tied to an ATV and dragged on the g=
round. In a video taken by local doctors, the man said that he witnessed at=
 least nine suicides in the unit, briefly described their circumstances and=
 named one of the dead. The video at Babel=E2=80=99s disposal was filmed on=
 January 23, 2026, and a few days later, Oleksandr Semenov died in the hosp=
ital. The official cause of death is pneumonia.</font></b></p><p style=3D"m=
ax-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">=E2=80=9C=
The Rock=E2=80=9D is the largest assault regiment in the Armed Forces of Uk=
raine. Unofficially, it is also called =E2=80=9CSyrsky=E2=80=99s=E2=80=9D. =
It is not part of any corps, but is directly subordinate to the high comman=
d. =E2=80=9CThe Rock=E2=80=9D took part in the most difficult battles of th=
e Russian-Ukrainian war. Despite this and combat merits, the regiment is of=
ten criticized by the military, journalists and relatives of those who got =
there. Due to accusations of heavy losses, the regiment has gained a reputa=
tion as =E2=80=9Cmeat=E2=80=9D. However, =E2=80=9CThe Rock=E2=80=9D loses p=
eople not only on the battlefield, but even before combat =E2=80=94 during =
military training =E2=80=93 it counted 26 deaths.<br style=3D"max-width:100=
%">=E2=80=A6</font></b></p></blockquote><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><fon=
t color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The newly recruited soldiers, s=
natched from the streets, are living in guarded tents. Going to the toilet =
is only allowed in groups and under the eyes of an armed soldier. Grounds a=
round the training camp are mined. Torture is routine. People who try to fl=
ee will be shot and/or get brutalized to death.</font></b></p><p style=3D"m=
ax-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif"><i style=
=3D"max-width:100%">Strana</i><span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://strana.=
news/news/507812-nasilie-v-vsu-po-otnosheniju-k-vnov-mobilizovannym-obychna=
ja-praktika.html" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_=
blank">reports</a><span>=C2=A0</span>that the =E2=80=9CRock=E2=80=9D is far=
 from the only such unit.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><fon=
t color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The mass death of Ukrainian sol=
diers due to torture while in training is probably what the State Departmen=
t considers as =E2=80=98winning=E2=80=99.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-wid=
th:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Russia has mean=
while initiated a new campaign against Ukrainian transport infrastructure a=
nd logistics. Targets are<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://x.com/AMK_Ma=
pping_/status/2070174864456249704" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:=
100%" target=3D"_blank">locomotives</a>, truck depots, large post office<sp=
an>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://x.com/AMK_Mapping_/status/20701764793135=
63934" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">ware=
houses</a><span>=C2=A0</span>(which run Ukraine=E2=80=99s military logistic=
s), oil storage facilities and<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://x.com/A=
MK_Mapping_/status/2070174986577609116" style=3D"text-decoration:none;max-w=
idth:100%" target=3D"_blank">petrol</a><span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https:=
//x.com/AMK_Mapping_/status/2070175256351031468" style=3D"text-decoration:n=
one;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">stations</a><span>=C2=A0</span>of whi=
ch more than 150 have been destroyed so far.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-=
width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">The slow squ=
eeze continues. Ukraine isn=E2=80=99t winning.</font></b></p></div><div sty=
le=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif">Po=
sted by b on June 25, 2026 at 16:05 UTC |<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"http=
s://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/06/ukraine-isnt-winning.html" style=3D"text-=
decoration:none;max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank">Permalink</a></font></b><=
/div><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><br></p></div></div>
</div>
</div></div>

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A Collapsing Society: Israel Suffers a National Mental Crisis Due to the Wa=
r
Tom Levinson 08:45 PM =E2=80=A2 June 25 2026 IDT
[image: Mentally injured people Israel]

Credit: Eliahu Hershkovitz, Ilan Assayag, IDF Spokesperson, Itay Cohen.
Design: Aron Ehrlich

Anxiety, sleep disorders, domestic violence, eating disorders, road
accidents. Statistic after statistic reveals the unprecedented impact of
the war on Israelis' mental health

Nadav Wiersch's telephone never stops ringing. "Excuse me," he says. "I
can't miss a call." Some talk to him in a whisper, others anxiously.

His last caller was the wife of a reservist. "He left the house hours ago
and doesn't answer his phone," she says. Wiersch went looking for him with
the help of the police. After several hours, he was found in a nearby
woods. Confused, angry, suicidal. If they had found him a few hours later,
it might have ended differently. Another name would have been added to the
lesser-known list of war casualties: those with psychological injury.

Until the war began, the man had been functioning perfectly well, working
as a crane operator. He no longer does. A Defense Ministry committee ruled
that he was completely unfit for employment.He went from being a tax-paying
citizen and an active-duty reservist, to someone dependent, and dangerous
to himself and those around him. None of his caregivers know if he'll ever
return to society.

<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections>

"This has become a regular occurrence," sighed Wiersch, chairman of
Yahalomei Krav (Battle Diamonds), an association for war wounded. "There
are many like him."
[image: Nadav Wiersch. 'Many don't want to be recognized by the Defense
Ministry.']
Nadav Wiersch. 'Many don't want to be recognized by the Defense
Ministry.' Credit:
Tomer Applebaum

Since the start of the Gaza war, Haaretz has reported on people whose
mental health has deteriorated. They describe torment, a mental pain that
casts a heavy shadow on their functioning.

Readers may feel that these are extreme cases. However, the conversations
that Haaretz conducted in recent weeks with mental health officials paint a
different, alarming picture. "The numbers leave no shadow of doubt," says
Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma.
"Israel faces a national crisis."

Start with the figures from the Defense Ministry. Before the war, the
rehabilitation branch dealt with 62,000 injured, of whom 11,000 were
dealing with mental health issues.As of last month, the numbers had shot up
to 82,000 and 31,000 respectively.

However, it is not these numbers that worries the experts. "The damage that
we're seeing today constitutes just a small part, even the tip of the
iceberg, of what will be coming," says Prof. Zahava Solomon, a
world-leading researcher in the field of trauma. "The research shows
significant rates of delayed reactions. It's precisely periods of quiet
that allow traumatic content to erupt. Many discharged soldiers are ticking
time bombs."
[image: War mental impact info]

The Defense Ministry doesn't try to minimize or deny the problem. Several
months after the Hamas attack, the ministry invited several journalists to
a briefing. "We expected that by 2030, the [Ministry of Defense's
Rehabilitation Department] will be taking care of 100,000 people, 30
percent of whom are expected to be coping with mental health issues," the
ministry said. Some Finance Ministry officials dismissed the claims as a
means of getting more funding. They soon admitted that they were wrong.

In the past year, the rehabilitation branch has revised its forecast and
now expects to reach the 100,000 figure by 2028, with the share of those
dealing with mental health issues rising to half the total. More recently,
it has said it expected to reach the six-digit figure by next year. Yet,
even those numbers tell only part of the story. "Many don't want to be
recognized by the ministry," says Wiersch.

Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for Traumatic Stress and
Resilience at Tel Aviv University, knows people like that. "In our clinic,
we've taken care of hundreds of reservists with obvious symptoms, who
without a doubt are eligible for recognition by the rehabilitation
department, but don't want to deal with all the bureaucratic
complications."

Others, says Wiersch, are afraid of the consequences of recognition, such
as having their driver's licenses or gun taken away, or not being able to
find work in the defense system. And there are others who are simply
embarrassed. "Mainly older people or those dealing with 'moral injuries.'
They're afraid of being judged, of being called traitors."
Everyone's in an at-risk group

If this were a war like all wars, military forces would be the lion's share
of psychological casualties. But this war is different, more complex.
Civilians are not only watching the war from afar, in the background: The
horrors have reached the home front, leaving civilian victims with physical
and mental challenges. They include residents of the Gaza envelope, Nova
victims and those whose homes were hit by an Iranian missile. As the war
continues, the circle of casualties grows.
[image: Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. 'The damage that we're seeing
today constitutes just a small part, even the tip of the iceberg, of what
will be coming,' says Prof. Zahava Solomon.]
Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. 'The damage that we're seeing today
constitutes just a small part, even the tip of the iceberg, of what will be
coming,' says Prof. Zahava Solomon. Credit: IDF Spokesperson

On the eve of October 7, the number of citizens injured in hostile acts and
recognized by the National Insurance Institute as disabled due to mental
health issues was at 6,412. This week, the number of those recognized by
the Institute as having mental injuries reached more than 69,000, with
about 35,000 of them having already undergone committee review and been
recognized as disabled. Thus, in less than three years, the number has
jumped by more than tenfold.

"Everyone's talking about the wounded soldiers, but what's happening over
here is simply insane," says a senior official at the National Insurance
Institute, "Even in the most severe extreme scenarios, we couldn't have
imagined such numbers."

Additionally, these numbers, explains Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz, don't
adequately represent the intensity of mental pain that Israeli citizens
have faced in the last three years. According to him, public and clinical
discourse often focuses on people diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
disorder after meeting specific diagnostic criteria. However, a
longitudinal study he's leading found that the number of Israelis who
exhibited PTSD symptoms during the war is much higher. Levi-Belz, head of
the Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide & Mental Pain Studies at Ruppin Academic
Center, began the study for a completely different reason: the judicial
overhaul.

   - War has triggered clinical mental illness in millions of Israelis Gid'=
on
   Lev
   - Military suicides surge as IDF scales back mental health support Tom
   Levinson
   - IDF withholds data on mental health discharges despite legal
   obligation Tom Levinson

About a month before the war, he found that the rate of PTSD symptoms in
the population was about 16 percent; a month after October 7, it jumped to
about 30 percent; and two years and three months later, it was about 19.7
percent. "This is significantly higher than the global rate," Levi-Belz
says. The World Health Organization, for example, found in 2021 that the
global rate of people who experienced post-trauma symptoms was about 3.9
percent.

Levi-Belz also found that some populations are at a much higher risk of
developing symptoms than the general population. For example, compared to
the general population, reservists have 2.57 times the risk, those directly
exposed to the horrors of October 7 have 3.3, and those who lost a loved
one in the war have 1.6. Arabs have four times the risk of Jews.

However, when examining Israeli society from a macro perspective, Levi-Belz
says, it's clear that all of us are, to some extent, in a risk group.
[image: Trauma info 222]

"In professional terms, this is called 'collective trauma' =E2=80=93 a diff=
icult
event that affects us not only as individuals, but also as a community, as
a society, as a state," he explains. The October 7 massacre and the war
that followed, he says, are intertwined with our social structures, our
identity and our interpersonal relationships. "Israeli society is
exhausted, feeling a sharply intense burnout. It's grappling with moral
questions, with a sense of betrayal by the state and its leaders."

Collective trauma, Levi-Belz continues, "is insidious; it doesn't stop you
like PTSD. Sometimes people seem fine, even too fine, going out and
socializing. But can't forget that it's not over; it's not just the outward
appearance [that matters]. The questions gnaw at them [from inside], the
fears."

According to him, the choice, sometimes conscious, of leaders in Israel to
deny or downplay the mental pain and collective anxiety of the public leads
to denial, and sometimes even shame, among those who suffer. "In such a
situation, everything seems okay, but then [PTSD] erupts in other places.
The amount of honking and road rage on the road, for example, is a snapshot
of the water boiling beneath the surface of Israeli society."
[image: Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for
Post-Trauma. 'The numbers leave no shadow of doubt, Israel faces a national
crisis.']
Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma. 'The
numbers leave no shadow of doubt, Israel faces a national crisis.' Credit:
Rami ShlushCrying out for help

And sometimes, the water comes to a boil. During the war, there was a surge
in traffic fatalities =E2=80=93 from 361 in 2023, to 439 in 2024, to 459 in=
 2025.
On the surface, these figures have no connection to the war. However, some
of the experts who spoke with Haaretz explained that, according to a
consensus in research literature, people experiencing post-traumatic
symptoms tend to exhibit problematic driving patterns more frequently than
that of the general population. A sharp increase was also recorded in 2007,
after the Second Lebanon War, when 437 people were killed in road accidents
=E2=80=93 an exceptionally high number compared to the years before and aft=
er it.

The war's effects are not only evident on the roads. A report by the
National Council for the Child, for example, found that the number of new
anxiety diagnoses among adolescents (ages 12 to 17) in the second year of
the war (October 2024 to October 2025) was 31 percent higher compared to
the year before the war. The number of new eating disorder diagnoses in
this age group also rose by about 23 percent compared to the situation in
the year before the war.
[image: PTSD info 444444]

A report by the Women's International Zionist Organization found a 65
percent increase of domestic violence in Israel's general population in the
first six months of the war, compared to the corresponding period in the
year before it =E2=80=93 4,566 calls to its shelters compared to 2,760. A 2=
024
study found an eight times higher chance of physical or sexual violence at
home when both partners are serving in the reserves.

According to experts, the war is also having a significant negative impact
on the quality of sleep of Israelis. A study by Hebrew University's School
of Medicine found that before October 7, 5 percent of the population in
Israel suffered from clinical insomnia (1 percent severe, and 4 percent
moderate). By the end of 2025, the rate reached 28 percent: 7 percent
severe and 21 percent moderate.
[image: Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon in 2024.]
Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon in 2024. Credit: IDF Spokesperson

"When I lecture to people, I ask the audience, who here slept seven
consecutive hours last night, who had good and refreshing sleep? Out of an
audience of 200 people, maybe three raise their hand," illustrates Prof.
Gil Saltzman, one of Israel's leading psychiatrists. "This is not
surprising; we live in a state of uncertainty. The phone might ring again
in an hour, and missiles from Iran could be launched. We're in survival
mode =E2=80=93 and this has consequences."

Mental health professionals in psychiatric hospitals are intimately
familiar with these consequences; they experience them daily in psychiatric
hospitals, far from public view. "Since October 7, there has been a 30
percent to 40 percent increase in the number of Israelis seeking treatment
for the first time at the hospital's outpatient clinics," says Saltzman,
head of the Children and Youth Department at Geha Mental Health Center.
"This is a dramatic figure," he says, "people don't rush to psychiatric
hospitals; it's a sign that they are desperate, that they are crying out
for help."

'The research shows significant rates of delayed reactions. It's precisely
periods of quiet that allow traumatic content to erupt. Many discharged
soldiers are ticking time bombs.'

[image: Prof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading researcher in the field of
trauma.]
Prof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading researcher in the field of
trauma. Credit:
Itai Ron

The call for help is also evident in the results of a large-scale survey
conducted by Maccabi Health Services, a major healthcare provider, which
examined the rate of Israelis who feel they need mental health assistance.
It was at 18 percent a month into the war, 25 percent 6 months into the
war, and reached 32 perfect by the end of 2025.

A Health Ministry report published last month also showed a significant
increase in the number of referrals to community resilience centers, which
provide psychological and organizational support to Israelis in crisis
situations. According to the report, the number of people treated in the
centers jumped from 5,000 in 2022, to 36,000 in 2025. The report also
indicated that use of certain mental health medications has jumped,
describing a 16.7 percent increase in sedatives, and a 14 percent increase
in anti-depressants and sleeping pills.

Many Israelis are seeking alternative methods of coping, with consequences.
A report published by the Israel Center for Addictions and Mental Health in
June 2025 found that, during the war, one in four Israelis has been using
alcohol, cannabis, prescription sedatives or painkillers at an increased
risk level. Before the war, the rate was one in seven. Among those
reporting significant PTSD symptoms, the rate jumps to 54.2 percent.

"This is a severe blow," says Wiersch. "I visit wounded people and see
insane amounts of cocaine, people finishing whole bottles of vodka to get
through another day, some even falling into heroin and other hard drugs,
from which there's no return. There were always cases like these, but they
were fringe. Now it's everywhere."

'Israeli society is exhausted, feeling a sharply intense burnout. It's
grappling with moral questions, with a sense of betrayal by the state and
its leaders.'

[image: Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz.]
Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz. Credit: Rami Shlush

Prof. Solomon is also particularly concerned about the massive use of drugs
and alcohol among the recently wounded. "In the period after the Yom Kippur
War, this was a marginal phenomenon, affecting only a few," she explains.
"Today, access to drugs and alcohol is much higher, and this greatly
affects consumption, even decades after the fact. When American soldiers
were in Vietnam, they consumed quantities of mind-altering substances to
dull the pain, and when they returned to the U.S., they didn't stop; the
opposite happened. They tried to mask their feelings, and hid a lot of pain
underneath drugs."

This sort of grief can end in death. In the last few years, there have been
highly public cases of suicide by discharged soldiers who were unable to
cope the mental pain caused by their military service. More families of
suicide victims have been breaking the silence since October 7, and not
without reason. While there's no noticeable increase in suicides among the
general public during the war, it's present among former soldiers. The
Ministry of Defense's Rehabilitation Department recorded six suicides in
2024, and in 13, 2025. However, suicides tend to increase more drastically,
Prof. Fruchter says, after the fighting is over, when wars end. He predicts
an increase of 20-30 percent.

The increase in suicides isn't just worrying experts =E2=80=93 veterans wit=
h PTSD
are also highly concerned, including veterans of the Second Lebanon War
(2006), the Second Intifada (2000-2005), and even the Yom Kippur War
(1973). Last July, a group of veterans gathered outside the Rehabilitation
Department branch in Petah Tikva, chanting "PTSD veterans are stopping the
next suicide" over and over.

One of the veterans at the protest, Or Aflalo, had been traumatized only
recently, in fighting in the Gaza Strip. He also didn't need media reports
to realize the rise in veteran suicides =E2=80=93 he was intimately familia=
r with
the issue. His brother in-law, Eliran Mizrahi, operated a Caterpillar D9
armored bulldozer in Gaza, returned home with a severe mental injury, and
was diagnosed with PTSD. In June 2024, two days before he was supposed to
return to combat, he took his own life. "I'm here to request that the state
make sure there won't be any more cases like Eliran's," Aflalo told
Haaretz. "It's our duty =E2=80=93 all of society's duty =E2=80=93 to help p=
eople before
they fall into the abyss, before we lose them."
[image: People hug in a public shelter in Jaffa, in March. 'We live in a
state of uncertainty. The phone might ring again in an hour, and missiles
from Iran could be launched. We're in survival mode =E2=80=93 and this has
consequences.']
People hug in a public shelter in Jaffa, in March. 'We live in a state of
uncertainty. The phone might ring again in an hour, and missiles from Iran
could be launched. We're in survival mode =E2=80=93 and this has consequenc=
es.' Credit:
Itai Ron

Some of the protestors spoke, almost in whispers, about about another
phenomenon besides suicide: fatal overdoses by the mentally disabled.
Haaretz tried unsuccessfully to obtain data on this issue over the past
year. Sources in the Defense Ministry admitted that they had identified an
increase in the phenomenon in the last few years. "The public remains
completely unaware of these cases," one of them said. "These people die
quietly, in silence."

Last February, Aflalo was found lifeless in his home. He was 24 years old.
The cause of death was an overdose.
*770 patients per worker*

It was a turbulent time. The Netanyahu government was racing unchecked
towards a judicial overhaul. Some chanted in the streets and blocked roads,
while others began planning backup plans for their futures.

During that time, a British headhunter arrived in Israel. He wasn't
recruiting for Chelsea football club, nor a high-tech firm. Instead, he was
searching for psychiatrists. "He arranged for U.K. work permits, helped
them sell homes, and all the logistics of relocating," Saltzman recounted.
The result? "Ten senior psychiatrists moved to Bristol."

They weren't the only ones. According to Prof. Fruchter, dozens of
psychiatrists left Israel during the war. "Many of them say they're going
on sabbatical, but they just don't come back," Saltzman explains. "They're
in New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S., and when you talk to them, you
realize: they're not coming back."

According to experts, the situation gets even worse when you take into
account the fact that Israel was grappling with a severe shortage of mental
health professionals even before the war. "The state began the war with
about 270 vacant public service psychiatrist positions," Fruchter says.
"There's a total of about 1,000 psychiatrists in Israel, and more than 50
percent are over the age of 56. In a good year, we certify about 40 new
specialists, and maybe 35 of them will stay in the country. That means
that, each year, there's less entering the profession than leaving it."
[image: Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demonstration
outside the Rehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2024, two days
before he was supposed to return to combat, he took his own life.]
Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demonstration outside the
Rehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2024, two days before he was
supposed to return to combat, he took his own life. Credit: Tomer Applebaum

Patients are paying the price. "There are dozens of psychiatric departments
in Israel with just a single doctor; in Israel's north, there are even
doctors managing two departments at the same time," Saltzman says. The
demand is so high that it's sometimes difficult to decide where they're
most needed, he says.

"I used to sit with [Director-General of the Ministry of Health] Moshe Bar
Siman Tov and argue with him over every single psychiatrist," a former
senior official at the Rehabilitation Department says. "How are you even
supposed to decide [something like] if a psychiatrist is more needed in a
committee for determining disability level for a PTSD sufferer, or in an
eating disorder department?"

The shortage of mental health professionals is not limited to
psychiatrists; it exists across the entire spectrum of care. "As of today,
there's a shortage of about 500 psychologists against vacant positions in
the public service," says Fruchter. "There's also a severe shortage of
social workers." Currently, the Rehabilitation Department has 113
rehabilitation workers, and they're responsible for realizing the rights of
about 87,000 wounded and disabled individuals, meaning each worker is
responsible for about 770 patients.

"I've got to tell the truth, there are patients I haven't even spoken to
once," one of the Defense Ministry workers told Haaretz. "Even if I wanted
to send a message to each patient once a month, I couldn't; I simply don't
have the time. Every morning, I have to decide on whether it's more
important to treat a patient who lost a leg in Gaza or a post-trauma
sufferer who wets the bed. It's an impossible task; I'm doomed to fail
before I even start my workday."

Last year, the Ministries of Defense and Finance launched the Mor-Yosef
committee to expand services for the IDF wounded, addressing, among other
things, the critical lack of mental health professionals. A draft of one of
the committee's conclusions, which reached Haaretz, recommended that the
Defense Ministry work to reduce the ratio of rehabilitation workers to
patients to 1:50. However, the recommendation was ultimately dropped from
the official report.
[image: Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for Traumatic
Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University.]
Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for Traumatic Stress and
Resilience at Tel Aviv University. Credit: Tomer Applebaum

"Even if they come and say, 'let's add 600 social workers to the Defense
Ministry right now,' where would you get them from? There's nowhere to get
these people from," Saltzman says. Instead, the committee recommended
recruiting 'personal connection women,' who aren't social workers, and
whose role would be to assist patients realize their rights. Social
workers, according to the recommendations, would instead be responsible for
more complex issues, such as driving patients' rehabilitation process and
integrating them into employment and education. For now, the
recommendation, like many others, remains on paper.

Meanwhile, the number of patients continues to grow, and the government
isn't finding any solutions. "The burden only increases, and the burnout is
immense," says Saltzman. "Experts are abandoning public service, one after
another." The shortage, according to experts, is not only in medical health
professionals. It even applies to emotional support dogs, hospital beds,
and balancing homes (a form of halfway house for those in acute mental
distress).

Fruchter, who also serves as chairman for Israel's Collective Action for
Resilience, an NGO, emphasizes that a comprehensive, system-wide approach
is required to address the issue. "A lot of organizations are being
created, and no one knows how to guide them from above. There also isn't
enough communication between the various public and semi-public agencies
involved, such as the Health Ministry, Defense Ministry, National Insurance
Institute, and health care providers. An inter-ministerial committee on
this issue needs to be established. In a perfect world, this issue should
have been at the top of candidates' election platforms, but the government
chooses to look away. It'll explode on us in the future like a very
powerful bomb. There will be unprecedented consequences =E2=80=93 in academ=
ia, the
labor market, and the entire Israeli economy."
[image: Traffic on the Tel Aviv Ayalon highway due to an accident, last
year.]
Traffic on the Tel Aviv Ayalon highway due to an accident, last year. Credi=
t:
Itai Ron

A report in January by NATAL, an NGO, for example, estimated the damage to
the economy at 100 billion shekels ($33.44 billion) per year. 40 billion is
the direct cost of impaired work capacity for hundreds of thousands of
people, as well as their treatment costs. The other 60 billion is the
indirect cost of associated phenomena, such as an increase in accidents,
violence, addictions, and serious illnesses.

Another example of the massive cost is the Rehabilitation Department's
budget, which jumped from 5.2 billion shekels before the war, to 10 billion
this year. Defense and Finance Ministry officials are expected to wage a
fierce battle soon over billions in additions to the budget. According to
the Finance Ministry, every day of fighting incurs additional costs, which
will make marks on the budget for many years to come.

"I have many recommendations I could give to decision-makers," Prof.
Bar-Haim said, "but it seems that there's one that tops any other: we must
strive to end the war. I'm not a diplomat or a military man, but I can say
that, there are military, economic, and social reasons behind relatively
short wars, but there also psychological reasons.

"A year and a half ago, we examined a very large sample of reservists who
participated in the war, and found a significant PTSD rate of 12%. Among
American soldiers who stayed in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, it reached
15%, and at one point even 19%. It's not without a reason," Bar-Haim said.
"Every round of combat produces thousands of newly wounded, and repeated
traumatic events weaken individuals. Every time a reservist goes on another
round, his mental resilience is [further] eroded =E2=80=93 the wall cracks.=
 Even if
it didn't happen in the first few rounds, it could happen in the sixth or
seventh."
In addition to the soldiers, Bar-Haim continued, there are also hundreds of
thousands of Israelis who, before October 7, were below the clinical
threshold for various mental diagnoses, and have crosses those thresholds
since the war began. "These are people who were melancholic and anxious by
nature, but who functioned like normal human beings. The stress eroded
their mental resilience, and they crosses the threshold to be substantially
impaired in functioning. Many more civilians may join them," he warned. "We
must stop, before this tsunami washes us all away."

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e/.premium/a-collapsing-society-israel-suffers-national-mental-crisis-due-t=
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rticle-magazine/.premium/a-collapsing-society-israel-suffers-national-menta=
l-crisis-due-to-the-war/0000019e-fa7f-d4c5-a9fe-ff7f0f720000?utm_source=3Dm=
ailchimp&amp;utm_medium=3Demail&amp;utm_content=3Dauthor-alert&amp;utm_camp=
aign=3DTom+Levinson&amp;utm_term=3D20260625-20:48</a><br><br></div><div id=
=3D"m_374427615350983777ydp13fd6357yiv8357000524article" style=3D"font-fami=
ly:-apple-system-font;font-size:1.2em;line-height:1.5em;margin:0px;padding:=
0px"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><h1 style=3D"font-size:1.95552em;line-he=
ight:1.2141em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;max-width:100%">A Collapsi=
ng Society: Israel Suffers a National Mental Crisis Due to the War</h1><div=
 style=3D"margin-bottom:1.45em;max-width:100%"><a rel=3D"noreferrer noopene=
r" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);margin:0px;max-width:100%;font-size:1em;d=
isplay:inline">Tom Levinson</a><span style=3D"margin:0.07em 0.45em 0px;max-=
width:100%;padding:0px;font-size:1em"></span>=C2=A008:45 PM =E2=80=A2 June =
25 2026 IDT</div><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%=
"><img title=3D"Credit: Eliahu Hershkovitz, Ilan Assayag, IDF Spokesperson,=
 Itay Cohen. Design: Aron Ehrlich" alt=3D"Mentally injured people Israel" i=
d=3D"m_374427615350983777ydp13fd6357yiv8357000524DF984BF8-7D62-4411-AD63-7E=
6B392A23B7" src=3D"cid:5ce61118-df71-a292-090b-788c46b03898@yahoo.com" clas=
s=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; outli=
ne: 0px; max-width: 480px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: 480px=
;"></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width:100%">Credit:=
 Eliahu Hershkovitz, Ilan Assayag, IDF Spokesperson, Itay Cohen. Design: Ar=
on Ehrlich</span></p></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Anxiety, sleep disor=
ders, domestic violence, eating disorders, road accidents. Statistic after =
statistic reveals the unprecedented impact of the war on Israelis&#39; ment=
al health</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Nada=
v Wiersch&#39;s telephone never stops ringing. &quot;Excuse me,&quot; he sa=
ys. &quot;I can&#39;t miss a call.&quot; Some talk to him in a whisper, oth=
ers anxiously.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">His last caller was the=
 wife of a reservist. &quot;He left the house hours ago and doesn&#39;t ans=
wer his phone,&quot; she says. Wiersch went looking for him with the help o=
f the police. After several hours, he was found in a nearby woods. Confused=
, angry, suicidal. If they had found him a few hours later, it might have e=
nded differently. Another name would have been added to the lesser-known li=
st of war casualties: those with psychological injury.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D=
"max-width:100%">Until the war began, the man had been functioning perfectl=
y well, working as a crane operator. He no longer does. A Defense Ministry =
committee ruled that he was completely unfit for employment.He went from be=
ing a tax-paying citizen and an active-duty reservist, to someone dependent=
, and dangerous to himself and those around him. None of his caregivers kno=
w if he&#39;ll ever return to society.=C2=A0</p><a href=3D"https://www.haar=
etz.com/israel-news/elections" rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" target=3D"_blank=
" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%"><br></a><p style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%">&quot;This has become a regular occurrence,&quot; sighed Wiersch,=
 chairman of Yahalomei Krav (Battle Diamonds), an association for war wound=
ed. &quot;There are many like him.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:1=
00%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Nadav Wiersch. &#39;Many d=
on&#39;t want to be recognized by the Defense Ministry.&#39;. Credit: Tomer=
 Applebaum" alt=3D"Nadav Wiersch. &#39;Many don&#39;t want to be recognized=
 by the Defense Ministry.&#39;" src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019=
e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb23480001/9c/15/6962d4da40ef9c70e328a53b559c/603696.jpg=
?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" class=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail=
-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; outline: 0px; max-width: 420=
px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: 420px;"></div></div><span st=
yle=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Nadav Wiersch=
. &#39;Many don&#39;t want to be recognized by the Defense Ministry.&#39;</=
span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.=
25em">Credit: Tomer Applebaum</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Since the s=
tart of the Gaza war, Haaretz has reported on people whose mental health ha=
s deteriorated. They describe torment, a mental pain that casts a heavy sha=
dow on their functioning.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Readers may =
feel that these are extreme cases. However, the conversations that Haaretz =
conducted in recent weeks with mental health officials paint a different, a=
larming picture. &quot;The numbers leave no shadow of doubt,&quot; says Pro=
f. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma. &quot;I=
srael faces a national crisis.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">S=
tart with the figures from the Defense Ministry. Before the war,=C2=A0<a re=
l=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%">th=
e rehabilitation branch</a>=C2=A0dealt with 62,000 injured, of whom 11,000 =
were dealing with mental health issues.As of last month, the numbers had sh=
ot up to 82,000 and 31,000 respectively.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100=
%">However, it is not these numbers that worries the experts. &quot;The dam=
age that we&#39;re seeing today constitutes just a small part, even the tip=
 of the iceberg, of what will be coming,&quot; says Prof. Zahava Solomon, a=
 world-leading researcher in the field of trauma. &quot;The research shows =
significant rates of delayed reactions. It&#39;s precisely periods of quiet=
 that allow traumatic content to erupt. Many discharged soldiers are tickin=
g time bombs.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"ma=
x-width:100%"><img alt=3D"War mental impact info" src=3D"https://img.haaret=
s.co.il/bs/0000019e-fb1a-d803-abdf-ffba21d20001/67/34/2c84ea3449e083ac033e0=
edf9027/wars-impact-mob.png?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D2172&amp;cmsprod"=
 class=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; =
outline: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: =
420px;"></div></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%">The Defense Ministry doesn&=
#39;t try to minimize or deny the problem. Several months after the Hamas a=
ttack, the ministry invited several journalists to a briefing. &quot;We exp=
ected that by 2030, the [Ministry of Defense&#39;s Rehabilitation Departmen=
t] will be taking care of 100,000 people, 30 percent of whom are expected t=
o be coping with mental health issues,&quot; the ministry said. Some Financ=
e Ministry officials dismissed the claims as a means of getting more fundin=
g. They soon admitted that they were wrong.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:=
100%">In the past year, the rehabilitation branch has revised its forecast =
and now expects to reach the 100,000 figure by 2028, with the share of thos=
e dealing with mental health issues rising to half the total. More recently=
, it has said it expected to reach the six-digit figure by next year. Yet, =
even those numbers tell only part of the story. &quot;Many don&#39;t want t=
o be recognized by the ministry,&quot; says Wiersch.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"m=
ax-width:100%">Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for Traumat=
ic Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University, knows people like that. &q=
uot;In our clinic, we&#39;ve taken care of hundreds of reservists with obvi=
ous symptoms, who without a doubt are eligible for recognition by the rehab=
ilitation department, but don&#39;t want to deal with all the bureaucratic =
complications.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Others, says Wier=
sch, are afraid of the consequences of recognition, such as having their dr=
iver&#39;s licenses or gun taken away, or not being able to find work in th=
e defense system. And there are others who are simply embarrassed. &quot;Ma=
inly older people or those dealing with &#39;moral injuries.&#39; They&#39;=
re afraid of being judged, of being called traitors.&quot;=C2=A0</p><h3 sty=
le=3D"font-size:1.25em;max-width:100%">Everyone&#39;s in an at-risk group</=
h3><p style=3D"max-width:100%">If this were a war like all wars, military f=
orces would be the lion&#39;s share of psychological casualties. But this w=
ar is different, more complex. Civilians are not only watching the war from=
 afar, in the background: The horrors have reached the home front, leaving =
civilian victims with physical and mental challenges. They include resident=
s of the Gaza envelope, Nova victims and those whose homes were hit by an I=
ranian missile. As the war continues, the circle of casualties grows.=C2=A0=
</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=
=3D"Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. &#39;The damage that we&#39;re seeing=
 today constitutes just a small part, even the tip of the iceberg, of what =
will be coming,&#39; says Prof. Zahava Solomon. Credit: IDF Spokesperson" a=
lt=3D"Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. &#39;The damage that we&#39;re seei=
ng today constitutes just a small part, even the tip of the iceberg, of wha=
t will be coming,&#39; says Prof. Zahava Solomon." src=3D"https://img.haare=
ts.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb24380001/fd/ef/401d28e64ec3bef2ceb3=
863decea/268475.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D280&amp;cmsprod" class=3D=
"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; outline: =
0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: 420px;"><=
/div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.=
25em">Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. &#39;The damage that we&#39;re seei=
ng today constitutes just a small part, even the tip of the iceberg, of wha=
t will be coming,&#39; says Prof. Zahava Solomon.</span>=C2=A0<span style=
=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: IDF Spok=
esperson</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">On the eve of October 7, the num=
ber of citizens injured in hostile acts and recognized by the National Insu=
rance Institute as disabled due to mental health issues was at 6,412. This =
week, the number of those recognized by the Institute as having mental inju=
ries reached more than 69,000, with about 35,000 of them having already und=
ergone committee review and been recognized as disabled. Thus, in less than=
 three years, the number has jumped by more than tenfold.=C2=A0</p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;Everyone&#39;s talking about the wounded soldiers=
, but what&#39;s happening over here is simply insane,&quot; says a senior =
official at the National Insurance Institute, &quot;Even in the most severe=
 extreme scenarios, we couldn&#39;t have imagined such numbers.&quot;=C2=A0=
</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Additionally, these numbers, explains Prof.=
 Yossi Levi-Belz, don&#39;t adequately represent the intensity of mental pa=
in that Israeli citizens have faced in the last three years. According to h=
im, public and clinical discourse often focuses on people diagnosed with po=
st-traumatic stress disorder after meeting specific diagnostic criteria. Ho=
wever, a longitudinal study he&#39;s leading found that the number of Israe=
lis who exhibited PTSD symptoms during the war is much higher. Levi-Belz, h=
ead of the Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide &amp; Mental Pain Studies at Rupp=
in Academic Center, began the study for a completely different reason: the =
judicial overhaul.=C2=A0</p><ul style=3D"max-width:100%"><li style=3D"margi=
n-left:15px;max-width:100%"><a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:r=
gb(65,110,210);max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"></span>War ha=
s triggered clinical mental illness in millions of Israelis=C2=A0<span styl=
e=3D"max-width:100%">Gid&#39;on Lev</span></a></li><li style=3D"margin-left=
:15px;max-width:100%"><a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,=
110,210);max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"></span>Military sui=
cides surge as IDF scales back mental health support=C2=A0<span style=3D"ma=
x-width:100%">Tom Levinson</span></a></li><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;max=
-width:100%"><a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);=
max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"></span>IDF withholds data on=
 mental health discharges despite legal obligation=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-=
width:100%">Tom Levinson</span></a></li></ul><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Ab=
out a month before the war, he found that=C2=A0<a rel=3D"noreferrer noopene=
r" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%">the rate of PTSD symptoms=
</a>=C2=A0in the population was about 16 percent; a month after October 7, =
it jumped to about 30 percent; and two years and three months later, it was=
 about 19.7 percent. &quot;This is significantly higher than the global rat=
e,&quot; Levi-Belz says. The World Health Organization, for example, found =
in 2021 that the global rate of people who experienced post-trauma symptoms=
 was about 3.9 percent.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Levi-Belz also=
 found that some populations are at a much higher risk of developing sympto=
ms than the general population. For example, compared to the general popula=
tion, reservists have 2.57 times the risk, those directly exposed to the ho=
rrors of October 7 have 3.3, and those who lost a loved one in the war have=
 1.6. Arabs have four times the risk of Jews.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%">However, when examining Israeli society from a macro perspective, L=
evi-Belz says, it&#39;s clear that all of us are, to some extent, in a risk=
 group.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%=
"><img alt=3D"Trauma info 222" src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e=
-fb19-d803-abdf-ffb9187f0001/68/2a/f2de20cb425985841db6ccf94247/rise-in-the=
-number-mob.png?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D1218&amp;cmsprod" class=3D"gm=
ail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; outline: 0px=
; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: 420px;"></di=
v></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;In professional terms, this is ca=
lled &#39;collective trauma&#39; =E2=80=93 a difficult event that affects u=
s not only as individuals, but also as a community, as a society, as a stat=
e,&quot; he explains. The October 7 massacre and the war that followed, he =
says, are intertwined with our social structures, our identity and our inte=
rpersonal relationships. &quot;Israeli society is exhausted, feeling a shar=
ply intense burnout. It&#39;s grappling with moral questions, with a sense =
of betrayal by the state and its leaders.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%">Collective trauma, Levi-Belz continues, &quot;is insidious; it do=
esn&#39;t stop you like PTSD. Sometimes people seem fine, even too fine, go=
ing out and socializing. But can&#39;t forget that it&#39;s not over; it&#3=
9;s not just the outward appearance [that matters]. The questions gnaw at t=
hem [from inside], the fears.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Ac=
cording to him, the choice, sometimes conscious, of leaders in Israel to de=
ny or downplay the mental pain and collective anxiety of the public leads t=
o denial, and sometimes even shame, among those who suffer. &quot;In such a=
 situation, everything seems okay, but then [PTSD] erupts in other places. =
The amount of honking and road rage on the road, for example, is a snapshot=
 of the water boiling beneath the surface of Israeli society.&quot;=C2=A0</=
p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D=
"Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma. &#3=
9;The numbers leave no shadow of doubt, Israel faces a national crisis.&#39=
;. Credit: Rami Shlush" alt=3D"Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the Nationa=
l Council for Post-Trauma. &#39;The numbers leave no shadow of doubt, Israe=
l faces a national crisis.&#39;" src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/000001=
9e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb25160001/74/4b/34bba6b04cdcbcbc9f72747acb7e/242020.jp=
g?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" class=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmai=
l-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; outline: 0px; max-width: 42=
0px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: 420px;"></div></div><span s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Prof. Eyal F=
ruchter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma. &#39;The numbers=
 leave no shadow of doubt, Israel faces a national crisis.&#39;</span>=C2=
=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Cr=
edit: Rami Shlush</span><h3 style=3D"font-size:1.25em;max-width:100%">Cryin=
g out for help</h3><p style=3D"max-width:100%">And sometimes, the water com=
es to a boil. During the war, there was a surge in traffic fatalities =E2=
=80=93 from 361 in 2023, to 439 in 2024, to 459 in 2025. On the surface, th=
ese figures have no connection to the war. However, some of the experts who=
 spoke with Haaretz explained that, according to a consensus in research li=
terature, people experiencing post-traumatic symptoms tend to exhibit probl=
ematic driving patterns more frequently than that of the general population=
. A sharp increase was also recorded in 2007, after the Second Lebanon War,=
 when 437 people were killed in road accidents =E2=80=93 an exceptionally h=
igh number compared to the years before and after it.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"=
max-width:100%">The war&#39;s effects are not only evident on the roads. A =
report by the National Council for the Child, for example, found that the n=
umber of new anxiety diagnoses among adolescents (ages 12 to 17) in the sec=
ond year of the war (October 2024 to October 2025) was 31 percent higher co=
mpared to the year before the war. The number of new eating disorder diagno=
ses in this age group also rose by about 23 percent compared to the situati=
on in the year before the war.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div =
style=3D"max-width:100%"><img alt=3D"PTSD info 444444" src=3D"https://img.h=
aarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fb27-d0cc-af9e-ffff20450001/df/97/bf5559d044c29119=
b839558edd55/ptsd-symptoms-mob.png?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D486&amp;cm=
sprod" class=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: poi=
nter; outline: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; w=
idth: 420px;"></div></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%">A report by the Women=
&#39;s International Zionist Organization found a 65 percent increase of do=
mestic violence in Israel&#39;s general population in the first six months =
of the war, compared to the corresponding period in the year before it =E2=
=80=93 4,566 calls to its shelters compared to 2,760. A 2024 study found an=
 eight times higher chance of physical or sexual violence at home when both=
 partners are serving in the reserves.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"=
>According to experts, the war is also having a significant negative impact=
 on the quality of sleep of Israelis. A study by Hebrew University&#39;s Sc=
hool of Medicine found that before October 7, 5 percent of the population i=
n Israel suffered from clinical insomnia (1 percent severe, and 4 percent m=
oderate). By the end of 2025, the rate reached 28 percent: 7 percent severe=
 and 21 percent moderate.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=
=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon in 2=
024. Credit: IDF Spokesperson" alt=3D"Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon =
in 2024." src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb2=
6890000/09/0a/001da2d343f7a96a6713b583b6b2/280868.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;=
height=3D280&amp;cmsprod" class=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" s=
tyle=3D"cursor: pointer; outline: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto=
; display: block; width: 420px;"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;=
margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Israeli soldiers in southern Lebano=
n in 2024.</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;marg=
in-bottom:0.25em">Credit: IDF Spokesperson=C2=A0</span><p style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%">&quot;When I lecture to people, I ask the audience, who here slept =
seven consecutive hours last night, who had good and refreshing sleep? Out =
of an audience of 200 people, maybe three raise their hand,&quot; illustrat=
es Prof. Gil Saltzman, one of Israel&#39;s leading psychiatrists. &quot;Thi=
s is not surprising; we live in a state of uncertainty. The phone might rin=
g again in an hour, and missiles from Iran could be launched. We&#39;re in =
survival mode =E2=80=93 and this has consequences.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">Mental health professionals in psychiatric hospitals ar=
e intimately familiar with these consequences; they experience them daily i=
n psychiatric hospitals, far from public view. &quot;Since October 7, there=
 has been a 30 percent to 40 percent increase in the number of Israelis see=
king treatment for the first time at the hospital&#39;s outpatient clinics,=
&quot; says Saltzman, head of the Children and Youth Department at Geha Men=
tal Health Center. &quot;This is a dramatic figure,&quot; he says, &quot;pe=
ople don&#39;t rush to psychiatric hospitals; it&#39;s a sign that they are=
 desperate, that they are crying out for help.&quot;=C2=A0</p><blockquote s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%;margin-left:2px;margin-right:6px;padding-left:16px;b=
order-left-width:3px;border-left-style:solid"><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&=
#39;The research shows significant rates of delayed reactions. It&#39;s pre=
cisely periods of quiet that allow traumatic content to erupt. Many dischar=
ged soldiers are ticking time bombs.&#39;</p></blockquote><div style=3D"max=
-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Prof. Zahava Solom=
on, a world-leading researcher in the field of trauma. Credit: Itai Ron" al=
t=3D"Prof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading researcher in the field of traum=
a." src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb2763000=
1/3a/0f/c01cddbd428c9508046d79512941/330176-2.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;heig=
ht=3D281&amp;cmsprod" class=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=
=3D"cursor: pointer; outline: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; di=
splay: block; width: 420px;"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;marg=
in-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Prof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading r=
esearcher in the field of trauma.</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%=
;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Itai Ron</span><p style=3D=
"max-width:100%">The call for help is also evident in the results of a larg=
e-scale survey conducted by Maccabi Health Services, a major healthcare pro=
vider, which examined the rate of Israelis who feel they need mental health=
 assistance. It was at 18 percent a month into the war, 25 percent 6 months=
 into the war, and reached 32 perfect by the end of 2025.=C2=A0</p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">A Health Ministry report published last month also show=
ed a significant increase in the number of referrals to community resilienc=
e centers, which provide psychological and organizational support to Israel=
is in crisis situations. According to the report, the number of people trea=
ted in the centers jumped from 5,000 in 2022, to 36,000 in 2025. The report=
 also indicated that use of certain mental health medications has jumped, d=
escribing a 16.7 percent increase in sedatives, and a 14 percent increase i=
n anti-depressants and sleeping pills.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"=
>Many Israelis are seeking alternative methods of coping, with consequences=
. A report published by the Israel Center for Addictions and Mental Health =
in June 2025 found that, during the war, one in four Israelis has been usin=
g alcohol, cannabis, prescription sedatives or painkillers at an increased =
risk level. Before the war, the rate was one in seven. Among those reportin=
g significant PTSD symptoms, the rate jumps to 54.2 percent.=C2=A0</p><p st=
yle=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;This is a severe blow,&quot; says Wiersch. &qu=
ot;I visit wounded people and see insane amounts of cocaine, people finishi=
ng whole bottles of vodka to get through another day, some even falling int=
o heroin and other hard drugs, from which there&#39;s no return. There were=
 always cases like these, but they were fringe. Now it&#39;s everywhere.&qu=
ot;=C2=A0</p><blockquote style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-left:2px;margin-rig=
ht:6px;padding-left:16px;border-left-width:3px;border-left-style:solid"><p =
style=3D"max-width:100%">&#39;Israeli society is exhausted, feeling a sharp=
ly intense burnout. It&#39;s grappling with moral questions, with a sense o=
f betrayal by the state and its leaders.&#39;</p></blockquote><div style=3D=
"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Prof. Yossi Le=
vi-Belz. Credit: Rami Shlush" alt=3D"Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz." src=3D"https:/=
/img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb28220001/48/07/5bd95e8a4b=
41b1c5010152a6677e/865807.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D296&amp;cmsprod=
" class=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer;=
 outline: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width:=
 420px;"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin=
-bottom:0.25em">Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz.</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width=
:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Rami Shlush</span><p =
style=3D"max-width:100%">Prof. Solomon is also particularly concerned about=
 the massive use of drugs and alcohol among the recently wounded. &quot;In =
the period after the Yom Kippur War, this was a marginal phenomenon, affect=
ing only a few,&quot; she explains. &quot;Today, access to drugs and alcoho=
l is much higher, and this greatly affects consumption, even decades after =
the fact. When American soldiers were in Vietnam, they consumed quantities =
of mind-altering substances to dull the pain, and when they returned to the=
 U.S., they didn&#39;t stop; the opposite happened. They tried to mask thei=
r feelings, and hid a lot of pain underneath drugs.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">This sort of grief can end in death. In the last few ye=
ars, there have been highly public=C2=A0<a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" styl=
e=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%">cases of suicide</a>=C2=A0by dis=
charged soldiers who were unable to cope the mental pain caused by their mi=
litary service. More families of suicide victims have been breaking the sil=
ence since October 7, and not without reason. While there&#39;s no noticeab=
le increase in suicides among the general public during the war, it&#39;s p=
resent among former soldiers. The Ministry of Defense&#39;s Rehabilitation =
Department recorded six suicides in 2024, and in 13, 2025. However, suicide=
s tend to increase more drastically, Prof. Fruchter says,=C2=A0<a rel=3D"no=
referrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%">after the=
 fighting is over,</a>=C2=A0when wars end. He predicts an increase of 20-30=
 percent.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">The increase in suicides isn=
&#39;t just worrying experts =E2=80=93 veterans with PTSD are also highly c=
oncerned, including veterans of the Second Lebanon War (2006), the Second I=
ntifada (2000-2005), and even the Yom Kippur War (1973). Last July, a group=
 of veterans gathered outside the Rehabilitation Department branch in Petah=
 Tikva, chanting &quot;PTSD veterans are stopping the next suicide&quot; ov=
er and over.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">One of the veterans at th=
e protest, Or Aflalo, had been traumatized only recently, in fighting in th=
e Gaza Strip. He also didn&#39;t need media reports to realize the rise in =
veteran suicides =E2=80=93 he was intimately familiar with the issue. His b=
rother in-law, Eliran Mizrahi, operated a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer =
in Gaza, returned home with a severe mental injury, and was diagnosed with =
PTSD. In June 2024, two days before he was supposed to return to combat, he=
 took his own life. &quot;I&#39;m here to request that the state make sure =
there won&#39;t be any more cases like Eliran&#39;s,&quot; Aflalo told Haar=
etz. &quot;It&#39;s our duty =E2=80=93 all of society&#39;s duty =E2=80=93 =
to help people before they fall into the abyss, before we lose them.&quot;=
=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img =
title=3D"People hug in a public shelter in Jaffa, in March. &#39;We live in=
 a state of uncertainty. The phone might ring again in an hour, and missile=
s from Iran could be launched. We&#39;re in survival mode =E2=80=93 and thi=
s has consequences.&#39;. Credit: Itai Ron" alt=3D"People hug in a public s=
helter in Jaffa, in March. &#39;We live in a state of uncertainty. The phon=
e might ring again in an hour, and missiles from Iran could be launched. We=
&#39;re in survival mode =E2=80=93 and this has consequences.&#39;" src=3D"=
https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb29c00001/bb/6c/644=
cb73b4ef1a2e12f858008fa9a/284432-2.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&am=
p;cmsprod" class=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor:=
 pointer; outline: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: bloc=
k; width: 420px;"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25=
em;margin-bottom:0.25em">People hug in a public shelter in Jaffa, in March.=
 &#39;We live in a state of uncertainty. The phone might ring again in an h=
our, and missiles from Iran could be launched. We&#39;re in survival mode =
=E2=80=93 and this has consequences.&#39;</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Itai Ron=C2=A0</sp=
an><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Some of the protestors spoke, almost in whis=
pers, about about another phenomenon besides suicide: fatal overdoses by th=
e mentally disabled. Haaretz tried unsuccessfully to obtain data on this is=
sue over the past year. Sources in the Defense Ministry admitted that they =
had identified an increase in the phenomenon in the last few years. &quot;T=
he public remains completely unaware of these cases,&quot; one of them said=
. &quot;These people die quietly, in silence.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"ma=
x-width:100%">Last February, Aflalo was found lifeless in his home. He was =
24 years old. The cause of death was an overdose.=C2=A0</p><h3 style=3D"fon=
t-size:1.25em;max-width:100%"><strong style=3D"max-width:100%">770 patients=
 per worker</strong></h3><p style=3D"max-width:100%">It was a turbulent tim=
e. The Netanyahu government was racing unchecked towards a judicial overhau=
l. Some chanted in the streets and blocked roads, while others began planni=
ng backup plans for their futures.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Dur=
ing that time, a British headhunter arrived in Israel. He wasn&#39;t recrui=
ting for Chelsea football club, nor a high-tech firm. Instead, he was searc=
hing for psychiatrists. &quot;He arranged for U.K. work permits, helped the=
m sell homes, and all the logistics of relocating,&quot; Saltzman recounted=
. The result? &quot;Ten senior psychiatrists moved to Bristol.&quot;=C2=A0<=
/p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">They weren&#39;t the only ones. According to=
 Prof. Fruchter, dozens of psychiatrists left Israel during the war. &quot;=
Many of them say they&#39;re going on sabbatical, but they just don&#39;t c=
ome back,&quot; Saltzman explains. &quot;They&#39;re in New Zealand, Canada=
, and the U.S., and when you talk to them, you realize: they&#39;re not com=
ing back.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">According to experts, =
the situation gets even worse when you take into account the fact that Isra=
el was grappling with a severe shortage of mental health professionals even=
 before the war. &quot;The state began the war with about 270 vacant public=
 service psychiatrist positions,&quot; Fruchter says. &quot;There&#39;s a t=
otal of about 1,000 psychiatrists in Israel, and more than 50 percent are o=
ver the age of 56. In a good year, we certify about 40 new specialists, and=
 maybe 35 of them will stay in the country. That means that, each year, the=
re&#39;s less entering the profession than leaving it.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div =
style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Or Afl=
alo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demonstration outside the Rehabili=
tation Department, last year. In June 2024, two days before he was supposed=
 to return to combat, he took his own life. Credit: Tomer Applebaum" alt=3D=
"Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demonstration outside the R=
ehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2024, two days before he was s=
upposed to return to combat, he took his own life." src=3D"https://img.haar=
ets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb2b410002/dd/ba/d3b61adf4358a03f8b5=
8e5205b99/286666.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" class=
=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; outlin=
e: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: 420px;=
"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom=
:0.25em">Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demonstration outsi=
de the Rehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2024, two days before =
he was supposed to return to combat, he took his own life.</span>=C2=A0<spa=
n style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: T=
omer Applebaum</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Patients are paying the pr=
ice. &quot;There are dozens of psychiatric departments in Israel with just =
a single doctor; in Israel&#39;s north, there are even doctors managing two=
 departments at the same time,&quot; Saltzman says. The demand is so high t=
hat it&#39;s sometimes difficult to decide where they&#39;re most needed, h=
e says.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;I used to sit with [Dire=
ctor-General of the Ministry of Health] Moshe Bar Siman Tov and argue with =
him over every single psychiatrist,&quot; a former senior official at the R=
ehabilitation Department says. &quot;How are you even supposed to decide [s=
omething like] if a psychiatrist is more needed in a committee for determin=
ing disability level for a PTSD sufferer, or in an eating disorder departme=
nt?&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">The shortage of mental healt=
h professionals is not limited to psychiatrists; it exists across the entir=
e spectrum of care. &quot;As of today, there&#39;s a shortage of about 500 =
psychologists against vacant positions in the public service,&quot; says Fr=
uchter. &quot;There&#39;s also a severe shortage of social workers.&quot; C=
urrently, the Rehabilitation Department has 113 rehabilitation workers, and=
 they&#39;re responsible for realizing the rights of about 87,000 wounded a=
nd disabled individuals, meaning each worker is responsible for about 770 p=
atients.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;I&#39;ve got to tell th=
e truth, there are patients I haven&#39;t even spoken to once,&quot; one of=
 the Defense Ministry workers told Haaretz. &quot;Even if I wanted to send =
a message to each patient once a month, I couldn&#39;t; I simply don&#39;t =
have the time. Every morning, I have to decide on whether it&#39;s more imp=
ortant to treat a patient who lost a leg in Gaza or a post-trauma sufferer =
who wets the bed. It&#39;s an impossible task; I&#39;m doomed to fail befor=
e I even start my workday.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Last =
year, the Ministries of Defense and Finance launched the Mor-Yosef committe=
e=C2=A0<a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-wi=
dth:100%">to expand services for the IDF wounded</a>, addressing, among oth=
er things, the critical lack of mental health professionals. A draft of one=
 of the committee&#39;s conclusions, which reached Haaretz, recommended tha=
t the Defense Ministry work to reduce the ratio of rehabilitation workers t=
o patients to 1:50. However, the recommendation was ultimately dropped from=
 the official report.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"=
max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Cen=
ter for Traumatic Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University. Credit: Tom=
er Applebaum" alt=3D"Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for T=
raumatic Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University." src=3D"https://img.=
haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb2c0c0000/70/51/a8d0df7a4798a01=
03467225881b9/442677.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" cla=
ss=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; outl=
ine: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: 420p=
x;"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bott=
om:0.25em">Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for Traumatic S=
tress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University.</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max=
-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Tomer Applebaum=
</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;Even if they come and say, &#39;le=
t&#39;s add 600 social workers to the Defense Ministry right now,&#39; wher=
e would you get them from? There&#39;s nowhere to get these people from,&qu=
ot; Saltzman says. Instead, the committee recommended recruiting &#39;perso=
nal connection women,&#39; who aren&#39;t social workers, and whose role wo=
uld be to assist patients realize their rights. Social workers, according t=
o the recommendations, would instead be responsible for more complex issues=
, such as driving patients&#39; rehabilitation process and integrating them=
 into employment and education. For now, the recommendation, like many othe=
rs, remains on paper.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Meanwhile, the n=
umber of patients continues to grow, and the government isn&#39;t finding a=
ny solutions. &quot;The burden only increases, and the burnout is immense,&=
quot; says Saltzman. &quot;Experts are abandoning public service, one after=
 another.&quot; The shortage, according to experts, is not only in medical =
health professionals. It even applies to emotional support dogs, hospital b=
eds, and balancing homes (a form of halfway house for those in acute mental=
 distress).=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Fruchter, who also serves =
as chairman for Israel&#39;s Collective Action for Resilience, an NGO, emph=
asizes that a comprehensive, system-wide approach is required to address th=
e issue. &quot;A lot of organizations are being created, and no one knows h=
ow to guide them from above. There also isn&#39;t enough communication betw=
een the various public and semi-public agencies involved, such as the Healt=
h Ministry, Defense Ministry, National Insurance Institute, and health care=
 providers. An inter-ministerial committee on this issue needs to be establ=
ished. In a perfect world, this issue should have been at the top of candid=
ates&#39; election platforms, but the government chooses to look away. It&#=
39;ll explode on us in the future like a very powerful bomb. There will be =
unprecedented consequences =E2=80=93 in academia, the labor market, and the=
 entire Israeli economy.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div =
style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Traffic on the Tel Aviv Ayalon highw=
ay due to an accident, last year. Credit: Itai Ron" alt=3D"Traffic on the T=
el Aviv Ayalon highway due to an accident, last year." src=3D"https://img.h=
aarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb2d720000/c1/f7/bcfe3aa5470fa2aa=
e01ecac07ea8/223462.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" clas=
s=3D"gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex=3D"0" style=3D"cursor: pointer; outli=
ne: 0px; max-width: 420px; margin: 0.5em auto; display: block; width: 420px=
;"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-botto=
m:0.25em">Traffic on the Tel Aviv Ayalon highway due to an accident, last y=
ear.</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bot=
tom:0.25em">Credit: Itai Ron</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">A report in =
January by NATAL, an NGO, for example, estimated the damage to the economy =
at 100 billion shekels ($33.44 billion) per year. 40 billion is the direct =
cost of impaired work capacity for hundreds of thousands of people, as well=
 as their treatment costs. The other 60 billion is the indirect cost of ass=
ociated phenomena, such as an increase in accidents, violence, addictions, =
and serious illnesses.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Another example=
 of the massive cost is the Rehabilitation Department&#39;s budget, which j=
umped from 5.2 billion shekels before the war, to 10 billion this year. Def=
ense and Finance Ministry officials are expected to wage a fierce battle so=
on over billions in additions to the budget. According to the Finance Minis=
try, every day of fighting incurs additional costs, which will make marks o=
n the budget for many years to come.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&=
quot;I have many recommendations I could give to decision-makers,&quot; Pro=
f. Bar-Haim said, &quot;but it seems that there&#39;s one that tops any oth=
er: we must strive to end the war. I&#39;m not a diplomat or a military man=
, but I can say that, there are military, economic, and social reasons behi=
nd relatively short wars, but there also psychological reasons.=C2=A0</p><p=
 style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;A year and a half ago, we examined a very l=
arge sample of reservists who participated in the war, and found a signific=
ant PTSD rate of 12%. Among American soldiers who stayed in Iraq and Afghan=
istan for years, it reached 15%, and at one point even 19%. It&#39;s not wi=
thout a reason,&quot; Bar-Haim said. &quot;Every round of combat produces t=
housands of newly wounded, and repeated traumatic events weaken individuals=
. Every time a reservist goes on another round, his mental resilience is [f=
urther] eroded =E2=80=93 the wall cracks. Even if it didn&#39;t happen in t=
he first few rounds, it could happen in the sixth or seventh.&quot;=C2=A0</=
p><div style=3D"max-width:100%">In addition to the soldiers, Bar-Haim conti=
nued, there are also hundreds of thousands of Israelis who, before October =
7, were below the clinical threshold for various mental diagnoses, and have=
 crosses those thresholds since the war began. &quot;These are people who w=
ere melancholic and anxious by nature, but who functioned like normal human=
 beings. The stress eroded their mental resilience, and they crosses the th=
reshold to be substantially impaired in functioning. Many more civilians ma=
y join them,&quot; he warned. &quot;We must stop, before this tsunami washe=
s us all away.&quot;</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><=
/div></div>

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Subject: [Salon] Trump Sanctions Punished These Judges. Now They're Hitting
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FM: John Whitbeck

As reported in the article transmitted below, three judges of the
International Criminal Court are trying to fight back against their
personal victimhood as intimidatory targets of the Trump regime's
full-scale war against international law.

Whether the American "justice" system will provide them relief from
political persecution remains to be seen.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/world/europe/trump-sanctions-judges-laws=
uit.html
Trump Sanctions Punished These Judges. Now They=E2=80=99re Hitting Back.

Kimberly Prost, a Canadian judge at the International Criminal Court, and
two colleagues are suing the administration, saying the sanctions were a
form of retaliation.
[image: A person with a brown bob and a gold and silver patterned jacket
speaks while gesturing with one hand bearing a ring.]
Kimberly Prost, a Canadian judge at the International Criminal Court, along
with two others, is suing President Trump and his administration, claiming
the penalties exceeded his authority. Credit...Geert Vanden
Wijngaert/Reuters

By Jeanna Smialek <https://www.nytimes.com/by/jeanna-smialek> and Amanda
Taub <https://www.nytimes.com/by/amanda-taub>
June 24, 2026

The Trump administration imposed sanctions
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/us/politics/international-criminal-cour=
t-us-sanctions.html>
last year against Kimberly Prost, a Canadian judge at the International
Criminal Court. Now, she and two other judges are suing President Trump and
his administration, claiming the penalties exceeded his authority.

The case, filed in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, is the
latest effort to challenge what many experts have described as the Trump
administration=E2=80=99s efforts to undermine international law.

If successful, the lawsuit could curb the American government=E2=80=99s abi=
lity to
use sanctions to punish judges for making rulings it disagrees with.

Ms. Prost is joined in the suit by Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou from Benin
and Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda. A copy of the newly filed
complaint was provided to The New York Times by one of the judge's lawyers.

The White House said in a statement that Mr. Trump =E2=80=9Clawfully=E2=80=
=9D exercised his
powers, and that =E2=80=9Cthe administration will continue to vigorously de=
fend the
President=E2=80=99s actions =E2=80=94 protecting the national security and =
foreign policy
of our country first and foremost.=E2=80=9D

In February 2025 the State Department imposed sanctions
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/us/politics/trump-icc.html> over the
I.C.C.=E2=80=99s investigations into actions by Israelis and Americans. Nei=
ther
Israel nor the United States are members of the court, which is based in
The Hague and was officially established in 2002 to prosecute the most
serious international crimes, like genocide.

Over the following months, the list of sanctioned judges on the court grew.
In June, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on four judges
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/us/politics/international-criminal-cour=
t-sanctions-rubio-state.html>,
including Ms. Alapini-Gansou and Ms. Bossa, for issuing arrest warrants
against Israeli leaders.

In August, officials added two judges to the list, including Ms. Prost. She
was targeted for her role in authorizing an investigation into U.S.
military personnel at secret C.I.A. sites in the years after the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks. The administration then imposed sanctions against two more
judges
<https://www.reuters.com/world/rubio-says-us-sanctioning-icc-judges-targeti=
ng-israel-2025-12-18/>
in December.

The United States has also placed other I.C.C. officials under sanctions,
including the chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.

[image: A bald person with a goatee and a blue suit stares intently while
sitting at a table with a microphone. Blurred red lights are in the
background.]
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Credit...Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters

Officials under sanction have faced asset freezes, travel bans and
restrictions on services from U.S. companies.

The new lawsuit argues that the sanctions exceeded Mr. Trump=E2=80=99s auth=
ority
under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act because they were not
based on a national emergency and they conflict with international and
federal law.

The suit also argues that the State and Treasury Departments violated the
Administrative Procedure Act, which prohibits decisions that are =E2=80=9Ca=
rbitrary
and capricious.=E2=80=9D These sanctions fall into that category, according=
 to the
lawsuit, which argues that the State Department has not even shown that the
judges fall within the category of people against whom sanctions have been
authorized.

Ms. Prost and Ms. Bossa also claim that blocking their U.S.-based bank
accounts violated the Fifth Amendment, which requires due process under
American law.

=E2=80=9CTargeting international judges for carrying out their judicial dut=
ies is
an unprecedented attack on judicial independence and the rule of law,=E2=80=
=9D said
James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice
Initiative, a rights-focused legal organization that is representing Ms.
Prost in the case.

Their executive-power arguments bear some similarities to those other
plaintiffs have used successfully to challenge Trump administration
policies, including the sweeping global tariffs that the Supreme Court
struck down in February.

Legal experts said, however, that courts might be less willing to apply
that type of reasoning to sanctions.

=E2=80=9CCourts have always said that it is not the domain of federal judge=
s to
second-guess factual, policy-infused judgments of emergencies or foreign
policy matters that are made by the executive branch,=E2=80=9D said Aziz Hu=
q, a law
professor at the University of Chicago. That makes this case different from
one challenging an economic policy like tariffs or a domestic law, he said.

The administrative-law claim may be more likely to succeed, experts say.

=E2=80=9CThe low hanging fruit for them is to challenge the process rather =
than the
president=E2=80=99s ability to have done it at all,=E2=80=9D said Nabeel Yo=
usef, who leads
the global sanctions, export and trade practice at Freshfields, an
international law firm. =E2=80=9CI think there might be something there.=E2=
=80=9D

Plaintiffs ordinarily must exhaust administrative remedies for those claims
before filing a federal suit, however, and it is not clear whether the
judges have done so.

(Mr. Huq and Mr. Yousef spoke about this area of law generally. They have
not reviewed the new lawsuit.)

This challenge, if it works, could build on another case, one involving
Francesca Albanese, a United Nations official appointed to report on human
rights in the West Bank and Gaza.

This year, a U.S. federal judge temporarily blocked
<https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/world/middleeast/sanctions-albanese-fre=
e-speech.html>
the administration=E2=80=99s sanctions against Ms. Albanese for her contrib=
utions
to the I.C.C. case against Israel, though an appeals court later halted the
injunction while the case is pending.

[image: A person with gray hair, a black jacket and a light-colored scarf
with red floral patterns wears large black glasses, large earrings and red
lipstick.]
Francesca Albanese, a United Nations official, was appointed to report on
human rights in the West Bank and Gaza.Credit...Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau
Scanpix, via Reuters

Legally, the cases are different. Ms. Albanese, who only submitted
information to the court, challenged the sanctions against her on First
Amendment grounds.

The lawsuit filed on Wednesday is intended, in part, to push back on what
the judges believe is the punitive way in which the Trump administration is
using sanctions.

Ms. Prost was at home, standing in her kitchen, when the call came
informing she was being sanctioned. It wasn=E2=80=99t a complete surprise, =
given
that many of her colleagues had already been sanctioned, she said during an
interview at The Hague this year.

Within hours, she said, she had received a message from Amazon canceling
her accounts. Before long, Google and her banks got in touch. Over the
following days, credit cards ceased to work.

=E2=80=9CHotel bookings are just a nightmare, because everyone wants that c=
redit
card,=E2=80=9D she explained. At one point, she said, she had to borrow som=
eone
else=E2=80=99s credit card to pay a 15 euro bill for a highway toll pass.

Ms. Prost has a history of working on the other side of sanctions: Between
2010 and 2015, she worked with the U.N. body responsible for putting in
place international sanctions against the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. She
reviewed those measures.

=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m still a believer in sanctions, believe it or not, beca=
use properly
applied, I think they=E2=80=99re an extremely important tool,=E2=80=9D Ms. =
Prost said.

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div><div=
><div><font size=3D"4">FM: John Whitbeck<br>
          <br>
          As reported in the article transmitted below, three judges of
          the International Criminal Court are trying to fight back
          against their personal victimhood as intimidatory targets of
          the Trump regime&#39;s full-scale war against international law.<=
br>
          <br>
          Whether the American &quot;justice&quot; system will provide them=
 relief
          from political persecution remains to be seen.<br>
          <br>
          <a href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/world/europe/trump-=
sanctions-judges-lawsuit.html" target=3D"_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/20=
26/06/24/world/europe/trump-sanctions-judges-lawsuit.html</a><br>
        </font>
       =20
       =20
          <div>
            <h1 id=3D"m_2976347561589032942link-5aa1f534">Trump Sanctions P=
unished These
              Judges. Now They=E2=80=99re Hitting Back.</h1>
          </div>
          <p id=3D"m_2976347561589032942article-summary"><font size=3D"4">K=
imberly Prost, a Canadian judge at the
              International Criminal Court, and two colleagues are suing
              the administration, saying the sanctions were a form of
              retaliation.</font></p>
          <div>
           =20
              <div><u></u><u></u><u></u><u></u><img alt=3D"A person with a =
brown bob and a gold and silver patterned jacket speaks while gesturing wit=
h one hand bearing a ring." src=3D"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/06/=
24/multimedia/24icc-trump-hfo-qcwp/24icc-trump-hfo-qcwp-articleLarge.jpg?qu=
ality=3D75&amp;auto=3Dwebp&amp;disable=3Dupscale" width=3D"600" height=3D"4=
00"><u></u></div>
              <span>Kimberly Prost, a
                  Canadian judge at the International Criminal Court,
                  along with two others, is suing President Trump and
                  his administration, claiming the penalties exceeded
                  his authority.</span><span><span>=C2=A0Credit...</span><s=
pan><span aria-hidden=3D"false">Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Reuters</span></span=
></span>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <div>
                <p><font size=3D"4"><span>By </span><a href=3D"https://www.=
nytimes.com/by/jeanna-smialek" target=3D"_blank">Jeanna Smialek</a> and <a =
href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/by/amanda-taub" target=3D"_blank">Amanda Ta=
ub</a></font></p>
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div><font size=3D"4"><span>June 24, 2026</span></font></div>
       =20
        <div id=3D"m_2976347561589032942NYT_ABOVE_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION">
          <div>
            <div>
              <div>
                =20
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
        </div>
       =20
          <div>
            <div> </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <p><font size=3D"4">The Trump
                  administration imposed <a href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com=
/2025/08/21/us/politics/international-criminal-court-us-sanctions.html" tit=
le=3D"" target=3D"_blank">sanctions</a> last
                  year against Kimberly Prost, a Canadian judge at the
                  International Criminal Court. Now, she and two other
                  judges are suing President Trump and his
                  administration, claiming the penalties exceeded his
                  authority.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">The case,
                  filed in the Southern District of New York on
                  Wednesday, is the latest effort to challenge what many
                  experts have described as the Trump administration=E2=80=
=99s
                  efforts to undermine international law.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">If
                  successful, the lawsuit could curb the American
                  government=E2=80=99s ability to use sanctions to punish j=
udges
                  for making rulings it disagrees with.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Ms. Prost
                  is joined in the suit by Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou
                  from Benin and Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda.
                  A copy of the newly filed complaint was provided to
                  The New York Times by one of the judge&#39;s lawyers.</fo=
nt></p>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <p><font size=3D"4">The White
                  House said in a statement that Mr. Trump =E2=80=9Clawfull=
y=E2=80=9D
                  exercised his powers, and that =E2=80=9Cthe administratio=
n
                  will continue to vigorously defend the President=E2=80=99=
s
                  actions =E2=80=94 protecting the national security and fo=
reign
                  policy of our country first and foremost.=E2=80=9D </font=
></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">In
                  February 2025 the State Department <a href=3D"https://www=
.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/us/politics/trump-icc.html" title=3D"" target=3D"_b=
lank">imposed sanctions</a>
                  over the I.C.C.=E2=80=99s investigations into actions by
                  Israelis and Americans. Neither Israel nor the United
                  States are members of the court, which is based in The
                  Hague and was officially established in 2002 to
                  prosecute the most serious international crimes, like
                  genocide.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Over the
                  following months, the list of sanctioned judges on the
                  court grew. In June, Secretary of State Marco Rubio
                  announced sanctions on <a href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com=
/2025/06/05/us/politics/international-criminal-court-sanctions-rubio-state.=
html" title=3D"" target=3D"_blank">four judges</a>,
                  including Ms. Alapini-Gansou and Ms. Bossa, for
                  issuing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.</font></=
p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">In August,
                  officials added two judges to the list, including Ms.
                  Prost. She was targeted for her role in authorizing an
                  investigation into U.S. military personnel at secret
                  C.I.A. sites in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001,
                  attacks. The administration then imposed sanctions
                  against <a href=3D"https://www.reuters.com/world/rubio-sa=
ys-us-sanctioning-icc-judges-targeting-israel-2025-12-18/" title=3D"" rel=
=3D"noopener noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">two more judges</a> in
                  December.</font></p>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <p><font size=3D"4">The United
                  States has also placed other I.C.C. officials under
                  sanctions, including the chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.</f=
ont></p>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
             =20
                <div><br>
                  <div>
                    <div style=3D"height:auto"><u></u><u></u><u></u><u></u>=
<img alt=3D"A bald person with a goatee and a blue suit stares intently whi=
le sitting at a table with a microphone. Blurred red lights are in the back=
ground." src=3D"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/06/24/multimedia/24icc=
-trump-hfo-pbwj/24icc-trump-hfo-pbwj-articleLarge.jpg?quality=3D75&amp;auto=
=3Dwebp&amp;disable=3Dupscale"><u></u></div>
                  </div>
                </div>
                <span>Karim Khan, the chief
                    prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.=C2=A0</=
span><span><span>Credit...</span><span><span aria-hidden=3D"false">Luisa Go=
nzalez/Reuters</span></span></span>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Officials
                  under sanction have faced asset freezes, travel bans
                  and restrictions on services from U.S. companies.</font><=
/p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">The new
                  lawsuit argues that the sanctions exceeded Mr. Trump=E2=
=80=99s
                  authority under the International Emergency Economic
                  Powers Act because they were not based on a national
                  emergency and they conflict with international and
                  federal law.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">The suit
                  also argues that the State and Treasury Departments
                  violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which
                  prohibits decisions that are =E2=80=9Carbitrary and
                  capricious.=E2=80=9D These sanctions fall into that categ=
ory,
                  according to the lawsuit, which argues that the State
                  Department has not even shown that the judges fall
                  within the category of people against whom sanctions
                  have been authorized.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Ms. Prost
                  and Ms. Bossa also claim that blocking their
                  U.S.-based bank accounts violated the Fifth Amendment,
                  which requires due process under American law.</font></p>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <p><font size=3D"4">=E2=80=9CTargeting
                  international judges for carrying out their judicial
                  duties is an unprecedented attack on judicial
                  independence and the rule of law,=E2=80=9D said James A.
                  Goldston, executive director of the Open Society
                  Justice Initiative, a rights-focused legal
                  organization that is representing Ms. Prost in the
                  case.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Their
                  executive-power arguments bear some similarities to
                  those other plaintiffs have used successfully to
                  challenge Trump administration policies, including the
                  sweeping global tariffs that the Supreme Court struck
                  down in February.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Legal
                  experts said, however, that courts might be less
                  willing to apply that type of reasoning to sanctions.</fo=
nt></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">=E2=80=9CCourts
                  have always said that it is not the domain of federal
                  judges to second-guess factual, policy-infused
                  judgments of emergencies or foreign policy matters
                  that are made by the executive branch,=E2=80=9D said Aziz=
 Huq,
                  a law professor at the University of Chicago. That
                  makes this case different from one challenging an
                  economic policy like tariffs or a domestic law, he
                  said. </font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">The
                  administrative-law claim may be more likely to
                  succeed, experts say.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">=E2=80=9CThe low
                  hanging fruit for them is to challenge the process
                  rather than the president=E2=80=99s ability to have done =
it at
                  all,=E2=80=9D said Nabeel Yousef, who leads the global
                  sanctions, export and trade practice at Freshfields,
                  an international law firm. =E2=80=9CI think there might b=
e
                  something there.=E2=80=9D</font></p>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Plaintiffs
                  ordinarily must exhaust administrative remedies for
                  those claims before filing a federal suit, however,
                  and it is not clear whether the judges have done so.</fon=
t></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">(Mr. Huq
                  and Mr. Yousef spoke about this area of law generally.
                  They have not reviewed the new lawsuit.)</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">This
                  challenge, if it works, could build on another case,
                  one involving Francesca Albanese, a United Nations
                  official appointed to report on human rights in the
                  West Bank and Gaza.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">This year,
                  a U.S. federal judge <a href=3D"https://www.nytimes.com/2=
026/05/21/world/middleeast/sanctions-albanese-free-speech.html" title=3D"" =
target=3D"_blank">temporarily blocked</a>
                  the administration=E2=80=99s sanctions against Ms. Albane=
se
                  for her contributions to the I.C.C. case against
                  Israel, though an appeals court later halted the
                  injunction while the case is pending.</font></p>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
             =20
                <div><br>
                  <div>
                    <div style=3D"height:auto"><u></u><u></u><u></u><u></u>=
<img alt=3D"A person with gray hair, a black jacket and a light-colored sca=
rf with red floral patterns wears large black glasses, large earrings and r=
ed lipstick." src=3D"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/06/24/multimedia/=
24icc-trump-hfo-pgbq/24icc-trump-hfo-pgbq-articleLarge.jpg?quality=3D75&amp=
;auto=3Dwebp&amp;disable=3Dupscale"><u></u></div>
                  </div>
                </div>
                <span>Francesca Albanese, a
                    United Nations official, was appointed to report on
                    human rights in the West Bank and Gaza.</span><span><sp=
an>Credit...</span><span><span aria-hidden=3D"false">Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritz=
au
                        Scanpix, via Reuters</span></span></span>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Legally,
                  the cases are different. Ms. Albanese, who only
                  submitted information to the court, challenged the
                  sanctions against her on First Amendment grounds. </font>=
</p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">The
                  lawsuit filed on Wednesday is intended, in part, to
                  push back on what the judges believe is the punitive
                  way in which the Trump administration is using
                  sanctions. </font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Ms. Prost
                  was at home, standing in her kitchen, when the call
                  came informing she was being sanctioned. It wasn=E2=80=99=
t a
                  complete surprise, given that many of her colleagues
                  had already been sanctioned, she said during an
                  interview at The Hague this year.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Within
                  hours, she said, she had received a message from
                  Amazon canceling her accounts. Before long, Google and
                  her banks got in touch. Over the following days,
                  credit cards ceased to work.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">=E2=80=9CHotel
                  bookings are just a nightmare, because everyone wants
                  that credit card,=E2=80=9D she explained. At one point, s=
he
                  said, she had to borrow someone else=E2=80=99s credit car=
d to
                  pay a 15 euro bill for a highway toll pass.</font></p>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div>
            <div>
              <p><font size=3D"4">Ms. Prost
                  has a history of working on the other side of
                  sanctions: Between 2010 and 2015, she worked with the
                  U.N. body responsible for putting in place
                  international sanctions against the Islamic State and
                  Al Qaeda. She reviewed those measures.</font></p>
              <p><font size=3D"4">=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m still
                  a believer in sanctions, believe it or not, because
                  properly applied, I think they=E2=80=99re an extremely
                  important tool,=E2=80=9D Ms. Prost said.</font></p>
            </div>
          </div>
       =20
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>


<p></p>

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*How Much is Already Too Much*

By Robert Pearson - June 24, 2026

Thinking about the collapse of moral and legal integrity under the Trump
administration, I was reminded of Dante=E2=80=99s 14th century masterpiece,=
 the
Divine Comedy, in which Dante addressed humankind=E2=80=99s failures. In to=
day=E2=80=99s
secular world Dante=E2=80=99s work reminds us of the moral and legal framew=
ork for
a good society and the dark places of loss and degradation. For Dante, the
deepest layer of Hell was reserved for those who betray the people who
trusted them - the worst of moral sins. Today, we are witnessing that
betrayal and the unravelling of what Americans can be and could be.

All of Donald Trump=E2=80=99s behavior - lies and deception, pretense of be=
ing
right when totally wrong, and deep offense when caught out without fact or
reason, demonstrate that betrayal. We - and the world - know who he is: a
convicted felon, twice impeached. He told Americans disappointed in their
lives that he would remake America to give them wealth and jobs. The jobs
would come from imposing tariffs on Europe and China. Tariffs are illegal
and have caused great damage. He seduced the less fortunate with promises
of tax relief and then ripped the floor from under their health and medical
care. He has betrayed a promise of 250 years that immigrants would build
our country and join our prosperity. Instead we see hateful attacks on
millions of people of color who are working hard, paying taxes and
supporting our economy while trying to pursue the privilege to be American
citizens.

His racism is obvious and abhorrent. He called African states =E2=80=9Csh.t=
 hole=E2=80=9D
countries, has cut off immigration from many non-white countries and
refused visa privileges for many others. He stands by as his defense
secretary blocks promotions and fires from key positions African-Americans
and women Black and white. He wants a white man=E2=80=99s country.

His betrayal of the Constitution keeps eating away at the body of American
democracy like an uncontrolled cancer. He wants a voting act that will
prevent millions of women from voting and make new voters prove citizenship
first. He has shut down American government institutions in open violation
of Congressional power. He has ignored standing federal legislation
repeatedly. He has violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution
multiple times, benefitting himself, his family and his friends. He wants
to deny birthright citizenship in an effort to exclude non-whites as much
as possible. He has gone to war without notifying the Congress or the
American people.

The corruption under his regime has blossomed. On January 20, 2026, a
report by Robert Garcia, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform said Trump and family had generated $2.25 billion in
risk-free profits from foreign payments, corrupt businessmen and others and
as much as $9.72 billion when including unrealized paper wealth. Another
report lists 25 different times that Trump, his family, high ranking
members of the Executive Branch, and allies have used their power and
offices to benefit personally. One more study by the American Economic
Liberties Project lists a number of examples of USG favors to corporations
here and overseas that benefit Trump or his donors. Trump=E2=80=99s own ret=
ail
enterprises generated about $600 million last year, with products that
feature his name and image.

The American Bar Association Human Rights magazine of March 2026 addresses
unauthorized actions dealing with Federal agencies, violations of statutory
limits on Executive power, illegal termination of legislated federal
grants, including funding grants for universities. He has used threats to
cut off funds to extort university concessions to favor administration
racial and cultural demands, and used presidential power to pursue
retribution against political enemies. Multiple reputable groups and legal
experts identify potential violations across spending laws, ethics rules,
agency-structure statutes and constitutional constraints.

Immunity has been granted to Trump and family from IRS audits of pass
actions. The Anti-Interference Act (26 U.S.C. section 7217) makes it a
crime for the president or executive office to request that the IRS
terminate or halt an ongoing audit of any taxpayer. Forbes magazine
reported on May 21 that =E2=80=9CTrump=E2=80=99s Tax Immunity Could Save Hi=
m More Than $600
Million.=E2=80=9D

Trump=E2=80=99s $1.8 billion slush fund is drawing clear GOP Congressional
opposition. Former GOP Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell said this
about the $1.8 billion slush fund, =E2=80=9CSo the nation=E2=80=99s top law=
 enforcement
officer is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly
stupid, morally wrong.=E2=80=9D Current Senate Majority Leader Thune said =
=E2=80=9Che was
=E2=80=9Cnot a big fan=E2=80=9D and did not see =E2=80=9Ca purpose=E2=80=9D=
 for the fund.

The administration is converting July 4 into a celebration for Trump, not
our country=E2=80=99s history. Trump formed an organization - Freedom 250 -=
 to
compete with the Congressionally funded America250 - in order to promote
his own political preferences. Some taxpayer funds were transferred from
the Congressional legislation to Trump=E2=80=99s own organization. His orga=
nization
allows people to make tax-deductible donations to gain access to, and seek
favor with him. His organization - Freedom 250 - is now free to use the
July 4 date to concentrate only what Trump sees as his own accomplishments.

The Supreme Court has expanded or confirmed Trump=E2=80=99s presidential po=
wer on a
number of occasions. The Court has issued decisions often without
explanation through the Shadow Docket and has a habit of ruling as though
the issues were merely technical but which in fact will have substantial
effect on America=E2=80=99s legal framework and society. The Trump vs Unite=
d States
decision of 2024 is a perfect example. Of course a president should have
immunity for actions taken under his authority. However, the administration
has taken the ruling=E2=80=99s reach far beyond this principle. To the Trum=
p
clique, the decision was a carte blanche for the unitary theory of
executive action. The decisions on the Voting Rights Act in 2013 and 2026
are cast as simple truths but have eviscerated the voting power of Black
Americans in the South.

Trump=E2=80=99s economic decisions have weakened the US economy. The Center=
 on
Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the 2025 economy was weaker than
in 2024 and the past decade. The tariff and immigration policies were
mainly responsible. Extra tariff costs through October were a 9-fold
increase over 2024 with a result of an extra $1.2 trillion in costs to
companies. Uncertain and incoherent implementation of tariffs keep
companies guessing and hedging.

Prices are rising. For May 2026 the inflation rate was 4/2% - the highest
in three years. Defense funding will face a challenge. At roughly $1.5
trillion, the FY 2027 defense request would be the largest military budget
in American history and the largest year-over-year increase in defense
spending since the Korean War. Trump has spent probably $100 billion
already on the Iran War and more will come.

Trump=E2=80=99s immigration crackdown has cost the U.S. economy 668,000 job=
s. New
evidence suggests that those crackdowns are not only decreasing employment
opportunities for both U.S. and foreign-born workers, but also preventing
entrepreneurs from launching new businesses. A 2022 report states that
fully 55 percent of billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. And
when you include companies in which immigrants were co-founders alongside
native-born Americans, the total climbs to nearly two-thirds.

New data reveals mass deportations and strict visa crackdowns are shrinking
the labor pool=E2=80=94hitting both foreign-born and American workers. Agri=
culture
lost 155,000 jobs between March 25 and July 25, 2025. The comparable period
in 2024 saw a gain of 49,000. American farmers have suffered badly from
tariffs under Trump. China has turned more often to Brazil for soybeans.
New soybean purchases by China this year are below the norm. Farm
bankruptcies were up 46% in 2025, with major filings in the Midwest and
Southeast regions. Growing dependence on off-farm income makes some farms
ineligible for filing bankruptcies and may force them to close completely.
Rural America is declining while Trump praises inflation and denies the
affordability issue.

Trump=E2=80=99s budget for 2027 calls for $73 billion deep cuts to health, =
housing,
and other assistance for low and moderate Income families. According to the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, shortly after signing massive tax
cuts that largely benefit those at the top of the economic ladder, Trump is
cutting basic assistance that millions of struggling families need to help
pay the rent, put food on the table, and get health care. The cuts will
affect a broad range of low- and moderate-income people, including parents,
children, seniors, and people with disabilities. Taken together, the cuts
are far deeper than any ever enacted and would deepen poverty and hardship
and swell the ranks of the uninsured.

Serious questions remain about the release of the Epstein files. The DOJ on
January 30, 2026, issued what it called its last major release, making
public 3.5 million pages of documents, 180,000 images, and 2,000 videos.
DOJ claims an additional 3 million or so pages should not be released
because of ongoing cases and to protect sources. Critics claim the
explanation is a cover-up for material that should be made public. Internal
White House leaks revealed that President Trump fought bitterly with top
aides behind the scenes, resisting pressure to allow a full, un-redacted
release of the files. Millions doubt that all the information has been
disclosed, and the MAGA base has weakened.

Ego projects: Trump is pushing for taxpayer dollars to pay for additions to
his ballroom project, his arc of triumph, and other ego projects. At the
moment, Trump is adding security-linked ideas like drone ports and a
hospital to the ballroom project to try to justify public spending. The
National Endowment for the Arts says it will offer $15 million towards the
arc of triumph. The reflecting pool upgrade estimated cost was $1.5 million
and is now at $16 million with more repairs required.

Polls register declining support for Trump. A Pew Research poll on April 30
compared percentages in November 2024 to those in April 2026 and showed the
following; (1) stands up for what he believes in - fall from 68 to 64, (2)
mentally sharp - fall from 55 to 44, (3) keeps his promises - fall from 51
to 38, (4) honest - fall from 42 to 34, and (5) a good role model - fall
from 34 to 26. A poll from the American Research Group, out Monday June 22,
found that approval for Trump stands at 30%, the lowest figure recorded
across both of his terms.

Americans are in a tug of war between incomes and expenses, growing
increasingly tired of the chaos of our society and world. Trump wants
people to support him because he=E2=80=99s president. But he is not earning=
 that
support. He has ignored the rising costs of living, he has praised
inflation, he talks about his favorite pet projects more than he does about
people=E2=80=99s concerns. His behavior is at the least downright puzzling =
and at
most quite bizarre from time to time. Often with his offhand remarks and
vulgar descriptions he does harm to his own interests.

Trump focuses on himself and his vanity projects in the face of a losing
war, a highly expensive domestic market, and deep cuts in social support
programs. His refusal to admit the truth mark him as bound to his own
biases and of declining value to common American citizens trying to keep
their lives in order and their finances secure. Trump has betrayed the
American citizens who trusted him and made clear to those opposed to him
the moral emptiness of his character and his failure to actually work for
the benefit of all Americans.

Next week, I will cover US foreign relations. Thank you for reading.

--000000000000ca2fa106551b866c
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"font-family:arial,sans-seri=
f"><div style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b style=3D"background-color:transparent=
"><font size=3D"6">How Much is Already Too Much</font></b></div></div><div =
style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif"><div dir=3D"auto"><=
p><font size=3D"4">By Robert Pearson -=C2=A0</font><span style=3D"font-size=
:large;background-color:transparent">June 24, 2026</span></p><p>Thinking ab=
out the collapse of moral and legal integrity under the Trump administratio=
n, I was reminded of Dante=E2=80=99s 14th century masterpiece, the Divine C=
omedy, in which Dante addressed humankind=E2=80=99s failures. In today=E2=
=80=99s secular world Dante=E2=80=99s work reminds us of the moral and lega=
l framework for a good society and the dark places of loss and degradation.=
 For Dante, the deepest layer of Hell was reserved for those who betray the=
 people who trusted them - the worst of moral sins. Today, we are witnessin=
g that betrayal and the unravelling of what Americans can be and could be.<=
br><br>All of Donald Trump=E2=80=99s behavior - lies and deception, pretens=
e of being right when totally wrong, and deep offense when caught out witho=
ut fact or reason, demonstrate that betrayal. We - and the world - know who=
 he is: a convicted felon, twice impeached. He told Americans disappointed =
in their lives that he would remake America to give them wealth and jobs. T=
he jobs would come from imposing tariffs on Europe and China. Tariffs are i=
llegal and have caused great damage. He seduced the less fortunate with pro=
mises of tax relief and then ripped the floor from under their health and m=
edical care. He has betrayed a promise of 250 years that immigrants would b=
uild our country and join our prosperity. Instead we see hateful attacks on=
 millions of people of color who are working hard, paying taxes and support=
ing our economy while trying to pursue the privilege to be American citizen=
s.</p><p>His racism is obvious and abhorrent. He called African states =E2=
=80=9Csh.t hole=E2=80=9D countries, has cut off immigration from many non-w=
hite countries and refused visa privileges for many others. He stands by as=
 his defense secretary blocks promotions and fires from key positions Afric=
an-Americans and women Black and white. He wants a white man=E2=80=99s coun=
try.<br><br>His betrayal of the Constitution keeps eating away at the body =
of American democracy like an uncontrolled cancer. He wants a voting act th=
at will prevent millions of women from voting and make new voters prove cit=
izenship first. He has shut down American government institutions in open v=
iolation of Congressional power. He has ignored standing federal legislatio=
n repeatedly. He has violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution mul=
tiple times, benefitting himself, his family and his friends. He wants to d=
eny birthright citizenship in an effort to exclude non-whites as much as po=
ssible. He has gone to war without notifying the Congress or the American p=
eople.<br><br>The corruption under his regime has blossomed. On January 20,=
 2026, a report by Robert Garcia, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Ov=
ersight and Government Reform said Trump and family had generated $2.25 bil=
lion in risk-free profits from foreign payments, corrupt businessmen and ot=
hers and as much as $9.72 billion when including unrealized paper wealth. A=
nother report lists 25 different times that Trump, his family, high ranking=
 members of the Executive Branch, and allies have used their power and offi=
ces to benefit personally. One more study by the American Economic Libertie=
s Project lists a number of examples of USG favors to corporations here and=
 overseas that benefit Trump or his donors. Trump=E2=80=99s own retail ente=
rprises generated about $600 million last year, with products that feature =
his name and image.<br><br>The American Bar Association Human Rights magazi=
ne of March 2026 addresses unauthorized actions dealing with Federal agenci=
es, violations of statutory limits on Executive power, illegal termination =
of legislated federal grants, including funding grants for universities. He=
 has used threats to cut off funds to extort university concessions to favo=
r administration racial and cultural demands, and used presidential power t=
o pursue retribution against political enemies. Multiple reputable groups a=
nd legal experts identify potential violations across spending laws, ethics=
 rules, agency-structure statutes and constitutional constraints.<br><br>Im=
munity has been granted to Trump and family from IRS audits of pass actions=
. The Anti-Interference Act (26 U.S.C. section 7217) makes it a crime for t=
he president or executive office to request that the IRS terminate or halt =
an ongoing audit of any taxpayer. Forbes magazine reported on May 21 that =
=E2=80=9CTrump=E2=80=99s Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million=
.=E2=80=9D<br><br>Trump=E2=80=99s $1.8 billion slush fund is drawing clear =
GOP Congressional opposition. Former GOP Majority Leader Senator Mitch McCo=
nnell said this about the $1.8 billion slush fund, =E2=80=9CSo the nation=
=E2=80=99s top law enforcement officer is asking for a slush fund to pay pe=
ople who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong.=E2=80=9D Current Sena=
te Majority Leader Thune said =E2=80=9Che was =E2=80=9Cnot a big fan=E2=80=
=9D and did not see =E2=80=9Ca purpose=E2=80=9D for the fund.<br><br>The ad=
ministration is converting July 4 into a celebration for Trump, not our cou=
ntry=E2=80=99s history. Trump formed an organization - Freedom 250 - to com=
pete with the Congressionally funded America250 - in order to promote his o=
wn political preferences. Some taxpayer funds were transferred from the Con=
gressional legislation to Trump=E2=80=99s own organization. His organizatio=
n allows people to make tax-deductible donations to gain access to, and see=
k favor with him. His organization - Freedom 250 - is now free to use the J=
uly 4 date to concentrate only what Trump sees as his own accomplishments.<=
br><br>The Supreme Court has expanded or confirmed Trump=E2=80=99s presiden=
tial power on a number of occasions. The Court has issued decisions often w=
ithout explanation through the Shadow Docket and has a habit of ruling as t=
hough the issues were merely technical but which in fact will have substant=
ial effect on America=E2=80=99s legal framework and society. The Trump vs U=
nited States decision of 2024 is a perfect example. Of course a president s=
hould have immunity for actions taken under his authority. However, the adm=
inistration has taken the ruling=E2=80=99s reach far beyond this principle.=
 To the Trump clique, the decision was a carte blanche for the unitary theo=
ry of executive action. The decisions on the Voting Rights Act in 2013 and =
2026 are cast as simple truths but have eviscerated the voting power of Bla=
ck Americans in the South.<br><br>Trump=E2=80=99s economic decisions have w=
eakened the US economy. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports =
that the 2025 economy was weaker than in 2024 and the past decade. The tari=
ff and immigration policies were mainly responsible. Extra tariff costs thr=
ough October were a 9-fold increase over 2024 with a result of an extra $1.=
2 trillion in costs to companies. Uncertain and incoherent implementation o=
f tariffs keep companies guessing and hedging.<br><br>Prices are rising. Fo=
r May 2026 the inflation rate was 4/2% - the highest in three years. Defens=
e funding will face a challenge. At roughly $1.5 trillion, the FY 2027 defe=
nse request would be the largest military budget in American history and th=
e largest year-over-year increase in defense spending since the Korean War.=
 Trump has spent probably $100 billion already on the Iran War and more wil=
l come.<br><br>Trump=E2=80=99s immigration crackdown has cost the U.S. econ=
omy 668,000 jobs. New evidence suggests that those crackdowns are not only =
decreasing employment opportunities for both U.S. and foreign-born workers,=
 but also preventing entrepreneurs from launching new businesses. A 2022 re=
port states that fully 55 percent of billion-dollar startups were founded b=
y immigrants. And when you include companies in which immigrants were co-fo=
unders alongside native-born Americans, the total climbs to nearly two-thir=
ds.<br><br>New data reveals mass deportations and strict visa crackdowns ar=
e shrinking the labor pool=E2=80=94hitting both foreign-born and American w=
orkers. Agriculture lost 155,000 jobs between March 25 and July 25, 2025. T=
he comparable period in 2024 saw a gain of 49,000. American farmers have su=
ffered badly from tariffs under Trump. China has turned more often to Brazi=
l for soybeans. New soybean purchases by China this year are below the norm=
. Farm bankruptcies were up 46% in 2025, with major filings in the Midwest =
and Southeast regions. Growing dependence on off-farm income makes some far=
ms ineligible for filing bankruptcies and may force them to close completel=
y. Rural America is declining while Trump praises inflation and denies the =
affordability issue.<br><br>Trump=E2=80=99s budget for 2027 calls for $73 b=
illion deep cuts to health, housing, and other assistance for low and moder=
ate Income families. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Prioritie=
s, shortly after signing massive tax cuts that largely benefit those at the=
 top of the economic ladder, Trump is cutting basic assistance that million=
s of struggling families need to help pay the rent, put food on the table, =
and get health care. The cuts will affect a broad range of low- and moderat=
e-income people, including parents, children, seniors, and people with disa=
bilities. Taken together, the cuts are far deeper than any ever enacted and=
 would deepen poverty and hardship and swell the ranks of the uninsured.<br=
><br>Serious questions remain about the release of the Epstein files. The D=
OJ on January 30, 2026, issued what it called its last major release, makin=
g public 3.5 million pages of documents, 180,000 images, and 2,000 videos. =
DOJ claims an additional 3 million or so pages should not be released becau=
se of ongoing cases and to protect sources. Critics claim the explanation i=
s a cover-up for material that should be made public. Internal White House =
leaks revealed that President Trump fought bitterly with top aides behind t=
he scenes, resisting pressure to allow a full, un-redacted release of the f=
iles. Millions doubt that all the information has been disclosed, and the M=
AGA base has weakened.<br><br>Ego projects: Trump is pushing for taxpayer d=
ollars to pay for additions to his ballroom project, his arc of triumph, an=
d other ego projects. At the moment, Trump is adding security-linked ideas =
like drone ports and a hospital to the ballroom project to try to justify p=
ublic spending. The National Endowment for the Arts says it will offer $15 =
million towards the arc of triumph. The reflecting pool upgrade estimated c=
ost was $1.5 million and is now at $16 million with more repairs required.<=
br><br>Polls register declining support for Trump. A Pew Research poll on A=
pril 30 compared percentages in November 2024 to those in April 2026 and sh=
owed the following; (1) stands up for what he believes in - fall from 68 to=
 64, (2) mentally sharp - fall from 55 to 44, (3) keeps his promises - fall=
 from 51 to 38, (4) honest - fall from 42 to 34, and (5) a good role model =
- fall from 34 to 26. A poll from the American Research Group, out Monday J=
une 22, found that approval for Trump stands at 30%, the lowest figure reco=
rded across both of his terms.<br><br>Americans are in a tug of war between=
 incomes and expenses, growing increasingly tired of the chaos of our socie=
ty and world. Trump wants people to support him because he=E2=80=99s presid=
ent. But he is not earning that support. He has ignored the rising costs of=
 living, he has praised inflation, he talks about his favorite pet projects=
 more than he does about people=E2=80=99s concerns. His behavior is at the =
least downright puzzling and at most quite bizarre from time to time. Often=
 with his offhand remarks and vulgar descriptions he does harm to his own i=
nterests.<br><br>Trump focuses on himself and his vanity projects in the fa=
ce of a losing war, a highly expensive domestic market, and deep cuts in so=
cial support programs. His refusal to admit the truth mark him as bound to =
his own biases and of declining value to common American citizens trying to=
 keep their lives in order and their finances secure. Trump has betrayed th=
e American citizens who trusted him and made clear to those opposed to him =
the moral emptiness of his character and his failure to actually work for t=
he benefit of all Americans.<br><br>Next week, I will cover US foreign rela=
tions. Thank you for reading.</p></div></div></div>
</div>

--000000000000ca2fa106551b866c--

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-LeoUCGDE8

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<div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-LeoUCGDE8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-LeoUCGDE8</a></div>

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From: Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 18:39:02 -0400
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Subject: [Salon] Ethnic Cleansing 3.0: How Israel Became the Transfer State
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*https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-06-25/ty-article-opinion/.premium/eth=
nic-cleansing-3-0-how-israel-became-the-transfer-state/0000019e-fb3a-d58e-a=
fbf-ff7b22970000
<https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-06-25/ty-article-opinion/.premium/eth=
nic-cleansing-3-0-how-israel-became-the-transfer-state/0000019e-fb3a-d58e-a=
fbf-ff7b22970000>*

*Ethnic Cleansing 3.0: How Israel Became the Transfer State*
*Gideon Lev =E2=80=A2 June 25 2026*
[image: Palestinians flock to the area where the humanitarian aid packages
land over western Gaza City, in August 2025.]
*Palestinians flock to the area where the humanitarian aid packages land
over western Gaza City, in August 2025.Credit: Mahmoud Abu Hamda/Reuters*

*Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood is being emptied of its inhabitants. Under
bizarre and outrageous pretexts, families are being evicted from the homes
they have lived in for decades. In the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands of
displaced people are being crowded into uninhabitable refugee camp. Some
will never return to their homes, of which nothing remains. The head of
Israel's National Security Council called an emergency meeting on
"encouraging the voluntary emigration" of Gazans. *

*Himnuta, Elad, the Jewish National Fund, the National Security Council,
the Israel Defense Forces, the Sephardi hevra kadisha burial society and
the Israeli Civil Administration are all government bodies or nonprofit
organizations working toward one goal: Ethnic Cleansing 3.0. After the
successful cleansings of 1948 and 1967, the next stage of the Zionist
enterprise that serves as the bedrock of the Jewish state has arrived.
Everything is going according to the phased plan.*

*There has been a recent string of seemingly spontaneous events over the
past few days. What looks, on the face of it, to be the anarchy of rioting
settlers =E2=80=93 extremists bent on avenging October 7 =E2=80=93 has a gr=
eater purpose.
The right has an orderly plan and a clear strategy, and it is hard at work
to implement it. While the left has lost its way, enmeshing itself in
hollow clich=C3=A9s and all but comatose since the assassination of Yitzhak
Rabin, the right continues to shape an irreversible reality.*

Israel has become a transfer state, one for whom ethnic cleansing is a
central policy plank. This ethnic cleansing has a variety of different
names and faces; it is sometimes overt and sometimes covert and repressed,
but it is growing into a historical phenomenon in full swing, far from
everyone's sight. After the creation of apartheid, which was never the goal
of Zionism or of the state, the transfer has arrived, the one goal for
which the apartheid was created in the first place.

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr"><b style=3D"background-color:transparent"><fo=
nt face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-=
06-25/ty-article-opinion/.premium/ethnic-cleansing-3-0-how-israel-became-th=
e-transfer-state/0000019e-fb3a-d58e-afbf-ff7b22970000" target=3D"_blank">ht=
tps://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-06-25/ty-article-opinion/.premium/ethnic=
-cleansing-3-0-how-israel-became-the-transfer-state/0000019e-fb3a-d58e-afbf=
-ff7b22970000</a></font></b></div><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><b=
><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><br></font></b></div><div><h1 style=3D"line-=
height:1.2141em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;max-width:100%;color:rgb=
(27,27,27)"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4"><i>Ethnic Cleansing 3.=
0: How Israel Became the Transfer State</i></font></h1><div style=3D"margin=
-bottom:1.45em;max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><b><font face=3D"georgia=
, serif"><a rel=3D"author" style=3D"margin:0px;max-width:100%;display:inlin=
e">Gideon Lev</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=A2 June 25 2026</font></b></div><div style=3D=
"max-width:100%;color:rgb(27,27,27)"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div sty=
le=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Palestinians flock to the area where th=
e humanitarian aid packages land over western Gaza City, in August 2025. Cr=
edit: Mahmoud Abu Hamda/Reuters" alt=3D"Palestinians flock to the area wher=
e the humanitarian aid packages land over western Gaza City, in August 2025=
." width=3D"412" height=3D"239" src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019=
8-eb99-d56f-affe-ef9f417f0000/fd/e3/45c7473a41219f8bb55f5fa62c30/672428-2.j=
pg?precrop=3D2400,1395,x0,y164&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D244&amp;cmsprod=
" style=3D"margin:0.5em 0px 0.5em auto;display:block"></div></div><b><font =
face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;mar=
gin-bottom:0.25em">Palestinians flock to the area where the humanitarian ai=
d packages land over western Gaza City, in August 2025.</span><span style=
=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Mahmoud =
Abu Hamda/Reuters</span></font></b></div><div style=3D"max-width:100%;color=
:rgb(27,27,27)"><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif=
">Jerusalem&#39;s Silwan neighborhood is being emptied of its inhabitants. =
Under bizarre and outrageous pretexts, families are being evicted from the =
homes they have lived in for decades. In the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousa=
nds of displaced people are being crowded into uninhabitable refugee camp. =
Some will never return to their homes, of which nothing remains. The head o=
f Israel&#39;s National Security Council called an emergency meeting on &qu=
ot;encouraging the voluntary emigration&quot; of Gazans.<span>=C2=A0</span>=
</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif"=
>Himnuta, Elad, the Jewish National Fund, the National Security Council, th=
e Israel Defense Forces, the Sephardi hevra kadisha burial society and the =
Israeli Civil Administration are all government bodies or nonprofit organiz=
ations working toward one goal:<span>=C2=A0</span><a style=3D"color:rgb(65,=
110,210);max-width:100%">Ethnic Cleansing 3.0.<span>=C2=A0</span></a>After =
the successful cleansings of 1948 and 1967, the next stage of the Zionist e=
nterprise that serves as the bedrock of the Jewish state has arrived. Every=
thing is going according to the phased plan.</font></b></p><p style=3D"max-=
width:100%"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif">There has been a recent string=
 of seemingly spontaneous events over the past few days. What looks, on the=
 face of it, to be the anarchy of rioting settlers =E2=80=93 extremists ben=
t on avenging October 7 =E2=80=93 has a greater purpose. The right has an o=
rderly plan and a clear strategy, and it is hard at work to implement it. W=
hile the left has lost its way, enmeshing itself in hollow clich=C3=A9s and=
 all but comatose since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the right conti=
nues to shape an irreversible reality.</font></b></p><div style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div st=
yle=3D"max-width:100%"><p style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.4em;margin-b=
ottom:0.4em"></p><h5 style=3D"margin:1em 0px;max-width:100%"><font face=3D"=
georgia, serif" size=3D"2"><span style=3D"color:rgb(27,27,27)">Israel has b=
ecome a transfer state, one for whom ethnic cleansing is a central policy p=
lank. This ethnic cleansing has a variety of different names and faces; it =
is sometimes overt and sometimes covert and repressed, but it is growing in=
to a historical phenomenon in full swing, far from everyone&#39;s sight.<sp=
an>=C2=A0</span><a style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%">After the=
 creation of apartheid</a>, which was never the goal of Zionism or of the s=
tate, the transfer has arrived, the one goal for which the apartheid was cr=
eated in the first place.<span>=C2=A0</span></span><br></font></h5></div></=
div></div></div><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"=
><h3 style=3D"max-width:100%"><br></h3></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>
</div></div>

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Cry me a river


Sent from my iPad

On Thu, Jun 25, 2026 at 6:19=E2=80=AFPM Chas Freeman via Salon <salon@lists=
erve.com>
wrote:

>
>
>
> https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-06-25/ty-article=
-magazine/.premium/a-collapsing-society-israel-suffers-national-mental-cris=
is-due-to-the-war/0000019e-fa7f-d4c5-a9fe-ff7f0f720000?utm_source=3Dmailchi=
mp&utm_medium=3Demail&utm_content=3Dauthor-alert&utm_campaign=3DTom+Levinso=
n&utm_term=3D20260625-20:48
>
> A Collapsing Society: Israel Suffers a National Mental Crisis Due to the
> War
> Tom Levinson 08:45 PM =E2=80=A2 June 25 2026 IDT
> [image: Mentally injured people Israel]
>
> Credit: Eliahu Hershkovitz, Ilan Assayag, IDF Spokesperson, Itay Cohen.
> Design: Aron Ehrlich
>
> Anxiety, sleep disorders, domestic violence, eating disorders, road
> accidents. Statistic after statistic reveals the unprecedented impact of
> the war on Israelis' mental health
>
> Nadav Wiersch's telephone never stops ringing. "Excuse me," he says. "I
> can't miss a call." Some talk to him in a whisper, others anxiously.
>
> His last caller was the wife of a reservist. "He left the house hours ago
> and doesn't answer his phone," she says. Wiersch went looking for him wit=
h
> the help of the police. After several hours, he was found in a nearby
> woods. Confused, angry, suicidal. If they had found him a few hours later=
,
> it might have ended differently. Another name would have been added to th=
e
> lesser-known list of war casualties: those with psychological injury.
>
> Until the war began, the man had been functioning perfectly well, working
> as a crane operator. He no longer does. A Defense Ministry committee rule=
d
> that he was completely unfit for employment.He went from being a tax-payi=
ng
> citizen and an active-duty reservist, to someone dependent, and dangerous
> to himself and those around him. None of his caregivers know if he'll eve=
r
> return to society.
>
> <https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections>
>
> "This has become a regular occurrence," sighed Wiersch, chairman of
> Yahalomei Krav (Battle Diamonds), an association for war wounded. "There
> are many like him."
> [image: Nadav Wiersch. 'Many don't want to be recognized by the Defense
> Ministry.']
> Nadav Wiersch. 'Many don't want to be recognized by the Defense Ministry.=
'
>  Credit: Tomer Applebaum
>
> Since the start of the Gaza war, Haaretz has reported on people whose
> mental health has deteriorated. They describe torment, a mental pain that
> casts a heavy shadow on their functioning.
>
> Readers may feel that these are extreme cases. However, the conversations
> that Haaretz conducted in recent weeks with mental health officials paint=
 a
> different, alarming picture. "The numbers leave no shadow of doubt," says
> Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma.
> "Israel faces a national crisis."
>
> Start with the figures from the Defense Ministry. Before the war, the
> rehabilitation branch dealt with 62,000 injured, of whom 11,000 were
> dealing with mental health issues.As of last month, the numbers had shot =
up
> to 82,000 and 31,000 respectively.
>
> However, it is not these numbers that worries the experts. "The damage
> that we're seeing today constitutes just a small part, even the tip of th=
e
> iceberg, of what will be coming," says Prof. Zahava Solomon, a
> world-leading researcher in the field of trauma. "The research shows
> significant rates of delayed reactions. It's precisely periods of quiet
> that allow traumatic content to erupt. Many discharged soldiers are ticki=
ng
> time bombs."
> [image: War mental impact info]
>
> The Defense Ministry doesn't try to minimize or deny the problem. Several
> months after the Hamas attack, the ministry invited several journalists t=
o
> a briefing. "We expected that by 2030, the [Ministry of Defense's
> Rehabilitation Department] will be taking care of 100,000 people, 30
> percent of whom are expected to be coping with mental health issues," the
> ministry said. Some Finance Ministry officials dismissed the claims as a
> means of getting more funding. They soon admitted that they were wrong.
>
> In the past year, the rehabilitation branch has revised its forecast and
> now expects to reach the 100,000 figure by 2028, with the share of those
> dealing with mental health issues rising to half the total. More recently=
,
> it has said it expected to reach the six-digit figure by next year. Yet,
> even those numbers tell only part of the story. "Many don't want to be
> recognized by the ministry," says Wiersch.
>
> Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for Traumatic Stress and
> Resilience at Tel Aviv University, knows people like that. "In our clinic=
,
> we've taken care of hundreds of reservists with obvious symptoms, who
> without a doubt are eligible for recognition by the rehabilitation
> department, but don't want to deal with all the bureaucratic
> complications."
>
> Others, says Wiersch, are afraid of the consequences of recognition, such
> as having their driver's licenses or gun taken away, or not being able to
> find work in the defense system. And there are others who are simply
> embarrassed. "Mainly older people or those dealing with 'moral injuries.'
> They're afraid of being judged, of being called traitors."
> Everyone's in an at-risk group
>
> If this were a war like all wars, military forces would be the lion's
> share of psychological casualties. But this war is different, more comple=
x.
> Civilians are not only watching the war from afar, in the background: The
> horrors have reached the home front, leaving civilian victims with physic=
al
> and mental challenges. They include residents of the Gaza envelope, Nova
> victims and those whose homes were hit by an Iranian missile. As the war
> continues, the circle of casualties grows.
> [image: Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. 'The damage that we're seeing
> today constitutes just a small part, even the tip of the iceberg, of what
> will be coming,' says Prof. Zahava Solomon.]
> Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. 'The damage that we're seeing today
> constitutes just a small part, even the tip of the iceberg, of what will =
be
> coming,' says Prof. Zahava Solomon. Credit: IDF Spokesperson
>
> On the eve of October 7, the number of citizens injured in hostile acts
> and recognized by the National Insurance Institute as disabled due to
> mental health issues was at 6,412. This week, the number of those
> recognized by the Institute as having mental injuries reached more than
> 69,000, with about 35,000 of them having already undergone committee revi=
ew
> and been recognized as disabled. Thus, in less than three years, the numb=
er
> has jumped by more than tenfold.
>
> "Everyone's talking about the wounded soldiers, but what's happening over
> here is simply insane," says a senior official at the National Insurance
> Institute, "Even in the most severe extreme scenarios, we couldn't have
> imagined such numbers."
>
> Additionally, these numbers, explains Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz, don't
> adequately represent the intensity of mental pain that Israeli citizens
> have faced in the last three years. According to him, public and clinical
> discourse often focuses on people diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
> disorder after meeting specific diagnostic criteria. However, a
> longitudinal study he's leading found that the number of Israelis who
> exhibited PTSD symptoms during the war is much higher. Levi-Belz, head of
> the Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide & Mental Pain Studies at Ruppin Academ=
ic
> Center, began the study for a completely different reason: the judicial
> overhaul.
>
>    - War has triggered clinical mental illness in millions of Israelis Gi=
d'on
>    Lev
>    - Military suicides surge as IDF scales back mental health support Tom
>    Levinson
>    - IDF withholds data on mental health discharges despite legal
>    obligation Tom Levinson
>
> About a month before the war, he found that the rate of PTSD symptoms in
> the population was about 16 percent; a month after October 7, it jumped t=
o
> about 30 percent; and two years and three months later, it was about 19.7
> percent. "This is significantly higher than the global rate," Levi-Belz
> says. The World Health Organization, for example, found in 2021 that the
> global rate of people who experienced post-trauma symptoms was about 3.9
> percent.
>
> Levi-Belz also found that some populations are at a much higher risk of
> developing symptoms than the general population. For example, compared to
> the general population, reservists have 2.57 times the risk, those direct=
ly
> exposed to the horrors of October 7 have 3.3, and those who lost a loved
> one in the war have 1.6. Arabs have four times the risk of Jews.
>
> However, when examining Israeli society from a macro perspective,
> Levi-Belz says, it's clear that all of us are, to some extent, in a risk
> group.
> [image: Trauma info 222]
>
> "In professional terms, this is called 'collective trauma' =E2=80=93 a di=
fficult
> event that affects us not only as individuals, but also as a community, a=
s
> a society, as a state," he explains. The October 7 massacre and the war
> that followed, he says, are intertwined with our social structures, our
> identity and our interpersonal relationships. "Israeli society is
> exhausted, feeling a sharply intense burnout. It's grappling with moral
> questions, with a sense of betrayal by the state and its leaders."
>
> Collective trauma, Levi-Belz continues, "is insidious; it doesn't stop yo=
u
> like PTSD. Sometimes people seem fine, even too fine, going out and
> socializing. But can't forget that it's not over; it's not just the outwa=
rd
> appearance [that matters]. The questions gnaw at them [from inside], the
> fears."
>
> According to him, the choice, sometimes conscious, of leaders in Israel t=
o
> deny or downplay the mental pain and collective anxiety of the public lea=
ds
> to denial, and sometimes even shame, among those who suffer. "In such a
> situation, everything seems okay, but then [PTSD] erupts in other places.
> The amount of honking and road rage on the road, for example, is a snapsh=
ot
> of the water boiling beneath the surface of Israeli society."
> [image: Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for
> Post-Trauma. 'The numbers leave no shadow of doubt, Israel faces a nation=
al
> crisis.']
> Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma.
> 'The numbers leave no shadow of doubt, Israel faces a national crisis.' C=
redit:
> Rami ShlushCrying out for help
>
> And sometimes, the water comes to a boil. During the war, there was a
> surge in traffic fatalities =E2=80=93 from 361 in 2023, to 439 in 2024, t=
o 459 in
> 2025. On the surface, these figures have no connection to the war. Howeve=
r,
> some of the experts who spoke with Haaretz explained that, according to a
> consensus in research literature, people experiencing post-traumatic
> symptoms tend to exhibit problematic driving patterns more frequently tha=
n
> that of the general population. A sharp increase was also recorded in 200=
7,
> after the Second Lebanon War, when 437 people were killed in road acciden=
ts
> =E2=80=93 an exceptionally high number compared to the years before and a=
fter it.
>
> The war's effects are not only evident on the roads. A report by the
> National Council for the Child, for example, found that the number of new
> anxiety diagnoses among adolescents (ages 12 to 17) in the second year of
> the war (October 2024 to October 2025) was 31 percent higher compared to
> the year before the war. The number of new eating disorder diagnoses in
> this age group also rose by about 23 percent compared to the situation in
> the year before the war.
> [image: PTSD info 444444]
>
> A report by the Women's International Zionist Organization found a 65
> percent increase of domestic violence in Israel's general population in t=
he
> first six months of the war, compared to the corresponding period in the
> year before it =E2=80=93 4,566 calls to its shelters compared to 2,760. A=
 2024
> study found an eight times higher chance of physical or sexual violence a=
t
> home when both partners are serving in the reserves.
>
> According to experts, the war is also having a significant negative impac=
t
> on the quality of sleep of Israelis. A study by Hebrew University's Schoo=
l
> of Medicine found that before October 7, 5 percent of the population in
> Israel suffered from clinical insomnia (1 percent severe, and 4 percent
> moderate). By the end of 2025, the rate reached 28 percent: 7 percent
> severe and 21 percent moderate.
> [image: Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon in 2024.]
> Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon in 2024. Credit: IDF Spokesperson
>
> "When I lecture to people, I ask the audience, who here slept seven
> consecutive hours last night, who had good and refreshing sleep? Out of a=
n
> audience of 200 people, maybe three raise their hand," illustrates Prof.
> Gil Saltzman, one of Israel's leading psychiatrists. "This is not
> surprising; we live in a state of uncertainty. The phone might ring again
> in an hour, and missiles from Iran could be launched. We're in survival
> mode =E2=80=93 and this has consequences."
>
> Mental health professionals in psychiatric hospitals are intimately
> familiar with these consequences; they experience them daily in psychiatr=
ic
> hospitals, far from public view. "Since October 7, there has been a 30
> percent to 40 percent increase in the number of Israelis seeking treatmen=
t
> for the first time at the hospital's outpatient clinics," says Saltzman,
> head of the Children and Youth Department at Geha Mental Health Center.
> "This is a dramatic figure," he says, "people don't rush to psychiatric
> hospitals; it's a sign that they are desperate, that they are crying out
> for help."
>
> 'The research shows significant rates of delayed reactions. It's precisel=
y
> periods of quiet that allow traumatic content to erupt. Many discharged
> soldiers are ticking time bombs.'
>
> [image: Prof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading researcher in the field of
> trauma.]
> Prof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading researcher in the field of trauma. =
Credit:
> Itai Ron
>
> The call for help is also evident in the results of a large-scale survey
> conducted by Maccabi Health Services, a major healthcare provider, which
> examined the rate of Israelis who feel they need mental health assistance=
.
> It was at 18 percent a month into the war, 25 percent 6 months into the
> war, and reached 32 perfect by the end of 2025.
>
> A Health Ministry report published last month also showed a significant
> increase in the number of referrals to community resilience centers, whic=
h
> provide psychological and organizational support to Israelis in crisis
> situations. According to the report, the number of people treated in the
> centers jumped from 5,000 in 2022, to 36,000 in 2025. The report also
> indicated that use of certain mental health medications has jumped,
> describing a 16.7 percent increase in sedatives, and a 14 percent increas=
e
> in anti-depressants and sleeping pills.
>
> Many Israelis are seeking alternative methods of coping, with
> consequences. A report published by the Israel Center for Addictions and
> Mental Health in June 2025 found that, during the war, one in four Israel=
is
> has been using alcohol, cannabis, prescription sedatives or painkillers a=
t
> an increased risk level. Before the war, the rate was one in seven. Among
> those reporting significant PTSD symptoms, the rate jumps to 54.2 percent=
.
>
> "This is a severe blow," says Wiersch. "I visit wounded people and see
> insane amounts of cocaine, people finishing whole bottles of vodka to get
> through another day, some even falling into heroin and other hard drugs,
> from which there's no return. There were always cases like these, but the=
y
> were fringe. Now it's everywhere."
>
> 'Israeli society is exhausted, feeling a sharply intense burnout. It's
> grappling with moral questions, with a sense of betrayal by the state and
> its leaders.'
>
> [image: Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz.]
> Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz. Credit: Rami Shlush
>
> Prof. Solomon is also particularly concerned about the massive use of
> drugs and alcohol among the recently wounded. "In the period after the Yo=
m
> Kippur War, this was a marginal phenomenon, affecting only a few," she
> explains. "Today, access to drugs and alcohol is much higher, and this
> greatly affects consumption, even decades after the fact. When American
> soldiers were in Vietnam, they consumed quantities of mind-altering
> substances to dull the pain, and when they returned to the U.S., they
> didn't stop; the opposite happened. They tried to mask their feelings, an=
d
> hid a lot of pain underneath drugs."
>
> This sort of grief can end in death. In the last few years, there have
> been highly public cases of suicide by discharged soldiers who were
> unable to cope the mental pain caused by their military service. More
> families of suicide victims have been breaking the silence since October =
7,
> and not without reason. While there's no noticeable increase in suicides
> among the general public during the war, it's present among former
> soldiers. The Ministry of Defense's Rehabilitation Department recorded si=
x
> suicides in 2024, and in 13, 2025. However, suicides tend to increase mor=
e
> drastically, Prof. Fruchter says, after the fighting is over, when wars
> end. He predicts an increase of 20-30 percent.
>
> The increase in suicides isn't just worrying experts =E2=80=93 veterans w=
ith PTSD
> are also highly concerned, including veterans of the Second Lebanon War
> (2006), the Second Intifada (2000-2005), and even the Yom Kippur War
> (1973). Last July, a group of veterans gathered outside the Rehabilitatio=
n
> Department branch in Petah Tikva, chanting "PTSD veterans are stopping th=
e
> next suicide" over and over.
>
> One of the veterans at the protest, Or Aflalo, had been traumatized only
> recently, in fighting in the Gaza Strip. He also didn't need media report=
s
> to realize the rise in veteran suicides =E2=80=93 he was intimately famil=
iar with
> the issue. His brother in-law, Eliran Mizrahi, operated a Caterpillar D9
> armored bulldozer in Gaza, returned home with a severe mental injury, and
> was diagnosed with PTSD. In June 2024, two days before he was supposed to
> return to combat, he took his own life. "I'm here to request that the sta=
te
> make sure there won't be any more cases like Eliran's," Aflalo told
> Haaretz. "It's our duty =E2=80=93 all of society's duty =E2=80=93 to help=
 people before
> they fall into the abyss, before we lose them."
> [image: People hug in a public shelter in Jaffa, in March. 'We live in a
> state of uncertainty. The phone might ring again in an hour, and missiles
> from Iran could be launched. We're in survival mode =E2=80=93 and this ha=
s
> consequences.']
> People hug in a public shelter in Jaffa, in March. 'We live in a state of
> uncertainty. The phone might ring again in an hour, and missiles from Ira=
n
> could be launched. We're in survival mode =E2=80=93 and this has conseque=
nces.' Credit:
> Itai Ron
>
> Some of the protestors spoke, almost in whispers, about about another
> phenomenon besides suicide: fatal overdoses by the mentally disabled.
> Haaretz tried unsuccessfully to obtain data on this issue over the past
> year. Sources in the Defense Ministry admitted that they had identified a=
n
> increase in the phenomenon in the last few years. "The public remains
> completely unaware of these cases," one of them said. "These people die
> quietly, in silence."
>
> Last February, Aflalo was found lifeless in his home. He was 24 years old=
.
> The cause of death was an overdose.
> *770 patients per worker*
>
> It was a turbulent time. The Netanyahu government was racing unchecked
> towards a judicial overhaul. Some chanted in the streets and blocked road=
s,
> while others began planning backup plans for their futures.
>
> During that time, a British headhunter arrived in Israel. He wasn't
> recruiting for Chelsea football club, nor a high-tech firm. Instead, he w=
as
> searching for psychiatrists. "He arranged for U.K. work permits, helped
> them sell homes, and all the logistics of relocating," Saltzman recounted=
.
> The result? "Ten senior psychiatrists moved to Bristol."
>
> They weren't the only ones. According to Prof. Fruchter, dozens of
> psychiatrists left Israel during the war. "Many of them say they're going
> on sabbatical, but they just don't come back," Saltzman explains. "They'r=
e
> in New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S., and when you talk to them, you
> realize: they're not coming back."
>
> According to experts, the situation gets even worse when you take into
> account the fact that Israel was grappling with a severe shortage of ment=
al
> health professionals even before the war. "The state began the war with
> about 270 vacant public service psychiatrist positions," Fruchter says.
> "There's a total of about 1,000 psychiatrists in Israel, and more than 50
> percent are over the age of 56. In a good year, we certify about 40 new
> specialists, and maybe 35 of them will stay in the country. That means
> that, each year, there's less entering the profession than leaving it."
> [image: Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demonstration
> outside the Rehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2024, two days
> before he was supposed to return to combat, he took his own life.]
> Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demonstration outside the
> Rehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2024, two days before he wa=
s
> supposed to return to combat, he took his own life. Credit: Tomer
> Applebaum
>
> Patients are paying the price. "There are dozens of psychiatric
> departments in Israel with just a single doctor; in Israel's north, there
> are even doctors managing two departments at the same time," Saltzman say=
s.
> The demand is so high that it's sometimes difficult to decide where they'=
re
> most needed, he says.
>
> "I used to sit with [Director-General of the Ministry of Health] Moshe Ba=
r
> Siman Tov and argue with him over every single psychiatrist," a former
> senior official at the Rehabilitation Department says. "How are you even
> supposed to decide [something like] if a psychiatrist is more needed in a
> committee for determining disability level for a PTSD sufferer, or in an
> eating disorder department?"
>
> The shortage of mental health professionals is not limited to
> psychiatrists; it exists across the entire spectrum of care. "As of today=
,
> there's a shortage of about 500 psychologists against vacant positions in
> the public service," says Fruchter. "There's also a severe shortage of
> social workers." Currently, the Rehabilitation Department has 113
> rehabilitation workers, and they're responsible for realizing the rights =
of
> about 87,000 wounded and disabled individuals, meaning each worker is
> responsible for about 770 patients.
>
> "I've got to tell the truth, there are patients I haven't even spoken to
> once," one of the Defense Ministry workers told Haaretz. "Even if I wante=
d
> to send a message to each patient once a month, I couldn't; I simply don'=
t
> have the time. Every morning, I have to decide on whether it's more
> important to treat a patient who lost a leg in Gaza or a post-trauma
> sufferer who wets the bed. It's an impossible task; I'm doomed to fail
> before I even start my workday."
>
> Last year, the Ministries of Defense and Finance launched the Mor-Yosef
> committee to expand services for the IDF wounded, addressing, among other
> things, the critical lack of mental health professionals. A draft of one =
of
> the committee's conclusions, which reached Haaretz, recommended that the
> Defense Ministry work to reduce the ratio of rehabilitation workers to
> patients to 1:50. However, the recommendation was ultimately dropped from
> the official report.
> [image: Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for Traumatic
> Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University.]
> Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National Center for Traumatic Stress and
> Resilience at Tel Aviv University. Credit: Tomer Applebaum
>
> "Even if they come and say, 'let's add 600 social workers to the Defense
> Ministry right now,' where would you get them from? There's nowhere to ge=
t
> these people from," Saltzman says. Instead, the committee recommended
> recruiting 'personal connection women,' who aren't social workers, and
> whose role would be to assist patients realize their rights. Social
> workers, according to the recommendations, would instead be responsible f=
or
> more complex issues, such as driving patients' rehabilitation process and
> integrating them into employment and education. For now, the
> recommendation, like many others, remains on paper.
>
> Meanwhile, the number of patients continues to grow, and the government
> isn't finding any solutions. "The burden only increases, and the burnout =
is
> immense," says Saltzman. "Experts are abandoning public service, one afte=
r
> another." The shortage, according to experts, is not only in medical heal=
th
> professionals. It even applies to emotional support dogs, hospital beds,
> and balancing homes (a form of halfway house for those in acute mental
> distress).
>
> Fruchter, who also serves as chairman for Israel's Collective Action for
> Resilience, an NGO, emphasizes that a comprehensive, system-wide approach
> is required to address the issue. "A lot of organizations are being
> created, and no one knows how to guide them from above. There also isn't
> enough communication between the various public and semi-public agencies
> involved, such as the Health Ministry, Defense Ministry, National Insuran=
ce
> Institute, and health care providers. An inter-ministerial committee on
> this issue needs to be established. In a perfect world, this issue should
> have been at the top of candidates' election platforms, but the governmen=
t
> chooses to look away. It'll explode on us in the future like a very
> powerful bomb. There will be unprecedented consequences =E2=80=93 in acad=
emia, the
> labor market, and the entire Israeli economy."
> [image: Traffic on the Tel Aviv Ayalon highway due to an accident, last
> year.]
> Traffic on the Tel Aviv Ayalon highway due to an accident, last year. Cre=
dit:
> Itai Ron
>
> A report in January by NATAL, an NGO, for example, estimated the damage t=
o
> the economy at 100 billion shekels ($33.44 billion) per year. 40 billion =
is
> the direct cost of impaired work capacity for hundreds of thousands of
> people, as well as their treatment costs. The other 60 billion is the
> indirect cost of associated phenomena, such as an increase in accidents,
> violence, addictions, and serious illnesses.
>
> Another example of the massive cost is the Rehabilitation Department's
> budget, which jumped from 5.2 billion shekels before the war, to 10 billi=
on
> this year. Defense and Finance Ministry officials are expected to wage a
> fierce battle soon over billions in additions to the budget. According to
> the Finance Ministry, every day of fighting incurs additional costs, whic=
h
> will make marks on the budget for many years to come.
>
> "I have many recommendations I could give to decision-makers," Prof.
> Bar-Haim said, "but it seems that there's one that tops any other: we mus=
t
> strive to end the war. I'm not a diplomat or a military man, but I can sa=
y
> that, there are military, economic, and social reasons behind relatively
> short wars, but there also psychological reasons.
>
> "A year and a half ago, we examined a very large sample of reservists who
> participated in the war, and found a significant PTSD rate of 12%. Among
> American soldiers who stayed in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, it reache=
d
> 15%, and at one point even 19%. It's not without a reason," Bar-Haim said=
.
> "Every round of combat produces thousands of newly wounded, and repeated
> traumatic events weaken individuals. Every time a reservist goes on anoth=
er
> round, his mental resilience is [further] eroded =E2=80=93 the wall crack=
s. Even if
> it didn't happen in the first few rounds, it could happen in the sixth or
> seventh."
> In addition to the soldiers, Bar-Haim continued, there are also hundreds
> of thousands of Israelis who, before October 7, were below the clinical
> threshold for various mental diagnoses, and have crosses those thresholds
> since the war began. "These are people who were melancholic and anxious b=
y
> nature, but who functioned like normal human beings. The stress eroded
> their mental resilience, and they crosses the threshold to be substantial=
ly
> impaired in functioning. Many more civilians may join them," he warned. "=
We
> must stop, before this tsunami washes us all away."
> --
> Salon mailing list
> Salon@listserve.com
> https://mlm2.listserve.net/mailman/listinfo/salon
>

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<div dir=3D"auto">Cry me a river</div><div><br clear=3D"all"><br clear=3D"a=
ll"><div><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_signature" data-smartmail=3D"gmail=
_signature">Sent from my iPad</div></div></div><div><br><div class=3D"gmail=
_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">On Thu,=
 Jun 25, 2026 at 6:19=E2=80=AFPM Chas Freeman via Salon &lt;<a href=3D"mail=
to:salon@listserve.com">salon@listserve.com</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div><blockq=
uote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc =
solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"font-size:13px;font-=
family:&quot;bookman old style&quot;,&quot;new york&quot;,times,serif"><div=
><span style=3D"color:rgb(38,40,42);font-family:&quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;,=
Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><img src=3D"cid:ii_19f00f8ba2fe43e89fd2" style=
=3D"width:480px;max-width:100%"></span></div></div><div id=3D"m_-8133720113=
491288502m_374427615350983777ydp13fd6357yahoo_quoted_3362075564"><div style=
=3D"font-family:&quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-=
size:13px;color:rgb(38,40,42)"><div><div id=3D"m_-8133720113491288502m_3744=
27615350983777ydp13fd6357yiv8357000524"><div><br><div><div><br><a href=3D"h=
ttps://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-06-25/ty-article-ma=
gazine/.premium/a-collapsing-society-israel-suffers-national-mental-crisis-=
due-to-the-war/0000019e-fa7f-d4c5-a9fe-ff7f0f720000?utm_source=3Dmailchimp&=
amp;utm_medium=3Demail&amp;utm_content=3Dauthor-alert&amp;utm_campaign=3DTo=
m+Levinson&amp;utm_term=3D20260625-20:48" rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" targe=
t=3D"_blank">https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-06-25=
/ty-article-magazine/.premium/a-collapsing-society-israel-suffers-national-=
mental-crisis-due-to-the-war/0000019e-fa7f-d4c5-a9fe-ff7f0f720000?utm_sourc=
e=3Dmailchimp&amp;utm_medium=3Demail&amp;utm_content=3Dauthor-alert&amp;utm=
_campaign=3DTom+Levinson&amp;utm_term=3D20260625-20:48</a><br><br></div><di=
v id=3D"m_-8133720113491288502m_374427615350983777ydp13fd6357yiv8357000524a=
rticle" style=3D"font-family:-apple-system-font;font-size:1.2em;line-height=
:1.5em;margin:0px;padding:0px"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><h1 style=3D"f=
ont-size:1.95552em;line-height:1.2141em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;=
max-width:100%">A Collapsing Society: Israel Suffers a National Mental Cris=
is Due to the War</h1><div style=3D"margin-bottom:1.45em;max-width:100%"><a=
 rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);margin:0px;max-=
width:100%;font-size:1em;display:inline">Tom Levinson</a><span style=3D"mar=
gin:0.07em 0.45em 0px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;font-size:1em"></span>=C2=
=A008:45 PM =E2=80=A2 June 25 2026 IDT</div><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><=
div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Credit: Eliahu Hershkovitz, Ilan=
 Assayag, IDF Spokesperson, Itay Cohen. Design: Aron Ehrlich" alt=3D"Mental=
ly injured people Israel" src=3D"cid:ii_19f00f8ba2f322d10a01" style=3D"widt=
h:480px;max-width:100%"></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%"><span style=3D"ma=
x-width:100%">Credit: Eliahu Hershkovitz, Ilan Assayag, IDF Spokesperson, I=
tay Cohen. Design: Aron Ehrlich</span></p></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%"=
>Anxiety, sleep disorders, domestic violence, eating disorders, road accide=
nts. Statistic after statistic reveals the unprecedented impact of the war =
on Israelis&#39; mental health</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><p style=3D=
"max-width:100%">Nadav Wiersch&#39;s telephone never stops ringing. &quot;E=
xcuse me,&quot; he says. &quot;I can&#39;t miss a call.&quot; Some talk to =
him in a whisper, others anxiously.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Hi=
s last caller was the wife of a reservist. &quot;He left the house hours ag=
o and doesn&#39;t answer his phone,&quot; she says. Wiersch went looking fo=
r him with the help of the police. After several hours, he was found in a n=
earby woods. Confused, angry, suicidal. If they had found him a few hours l=
ater, it might have ended differently. Another name would have been added t=
o the lesser-known list of war casualties: those with psychological injury.=
=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Until the war began, the man had been=
 functioning perfectly well, working as a crane operator. He no longer does=
. A Defense Ministry committee ruled that he was completely unfit for emplo=
yment.He went from being a tax-paying citizen and an active-duty reservist,=
 to someone dependent, and dangerous to himself and those around him. None =
of his caregivers know if he&#39;ll ever return to society.=C2=A0</p><a hre=
f=3D"https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections" rel=3D"noreferrer noope=
ner" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%" target=3D"_blank"><br><=
/a><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;This has become a regular occurrence,&=
quot; sighed Wiersch, chairman of Yahalomei Krav (Battle Diamonds), an asso=
ciation for war wounded. &quot;There are many like him.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div=
 style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Nadav=
 Wiersch. &#39;Many don&#39;t want to be recognized by the Defense Ministry=
.&#39;. Credit: Tomer Applebaum" alt=3D"Nadav Wiersch. &#39;Many don&#39;t =
want to be recognized by the Defense Ministry.&#39;" src=3D"https://img.haa=
rets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb23480001/9c/15/6962d4da40ef9c70e3=
28a53b559c/603696.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" style=
=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em auto;display:block;width:420px=
"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom=
:0.25em">Nadav Wiersch. &#39;Many don&#39;t want to be recognized by the De=
fense Ministry.&#39;</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0=
.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Tomer Applebaum</span><p style=3D"max-w=
idth:100%">Since the start of the Gaza war, Haaretz has reported on people =
whose mental health has deteriorated. They describe torment, a mental pain =
that casts a heavy shadow on their functioning.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%">Readers may feel that these are extreme cases. However, the conve=
rsations that Haaretz conducted in recent weeks with mental health official=
s paint a different, alarming picture. &quot;The numbers leave no shadow of=
 doubt,&quot; says Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council fo=
r Post-Trauma. &quot;Israel faces a national crisis.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p styl=
e=3D"max-width:100%">Start with the figures from the Defense Ministry. Befo=
re the war,=C2=A0<a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,2=
10);max-width:100%">the rehabilitation branch</a>=C2=A0dealt with 62,000 in=
jured, of whom 11,000 were dealing with mental health issues.As of last mon=
th, the numbers had shot up to 82,000 and 31,000 respectively.=C2=A0</p><p =
style=3D"max-width:100%">However, it is not these numbers that worries the =
experts. &quot;The damage that we&#39;re seeing today constitutes just a sm=
all part, even the tip of the iceberg, of what will be coming,&quot; says P=
rof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading researcher in the field of trauma. &qu=
ot;The research shows significant rates of delayed reactions. It&#39;s prec=
isely periods of quiet that allow traumatic content to erupt. Many discharg=
ed soldiers are ticking time bombs.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:=
100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img alt=3D"War mental impact info" src=
=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fb1a-d803-abdf-ffba21d20001/67/34=
/2c84ea3449e083ac033e0edf9027/wars-impact-mob.png?&amp;width=3D420&amp;heig=
ht=3D2172&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em au=
to;display:block;width:420px"></div></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%">The D=
efense Ministry doesn&#39;t try to minimize or deny the problem. Several mo=
nths after the Hamas attack, the ministry invited several journalists to a =
briefing. &quot;We expected that by 2030, the [Ministry of Defense&#39;s Re=
habilitation Department] will be taking care of 100,000 people, 30 percent =
of whom are expected to be coping with mental health issues,&quot; the mini=
stry said. Some Finance Ministry officials dismissed the claims as a means =
of getting more funding. They soon admitted that they were wrong.=C2=A0</p>=
<p style=3D"max-width:100%">In the past year, the rehabilitation branch has=
 revised its forecast and now expects to reach the 100,000 figure by 2028, =
with the share of those dealing with mental health issues rising to half th=
e total. More recently, it has said it expected to reach the six-digit figu=
re by next year. Yet, even those numbers tell only part of the story. &quot=
;Many don&#39;t want to be recognized by the ministry,&quot; says Wiersch.=
=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The Nati=
onal Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University, kno=
ws people like that. &quot;In our clinic, we&#39;ve taken care of hundreds =
of reservists with obvious symptoms, who without a doubt are eligible for r=
ecognition by the rehabilitation department, but don&#39;t want to deal wit=
h all the bureaucratic complications.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:=
100%">Others, says Wiersch, are afraid of the consequences of recognition, =
such as having their driver&#39;s licenses or gun taken away, or not being =
able to find work in the defense system. And there are others who are simpl=
y embarrassed. &quot;Mainly older people or those dealing with &#39;moral i=
njuries.&#39; They&#39;re afraid of being judged, of being called traitors.=
&quot;=C2=A0</p><h3 style=3D"font-size:1.25em;max-width:100%">Everyone&#39;=
s in an at-risk group</h3><p style=3D"max-width:100%">If this were a war li=
ke all wars, military forces would be the lion&#39;s share of psychological=
 casualties. But this war is different, more complex. Civilians are not onl=
y watching the war from afar, in the background: The horrors have reached t=
he home front, leaving civilian victims with physical and mental challenges=
. They include residents of the Gaza envelope, Nova victims and those whose=
 homes were hit by an Iranian missile. As the war continues, the circle of =
casualties grows.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-=
width:100%"><img title=3D"Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. &#39;The damage=
 that we&#39;re seeing today constitutes just a small part, even the tip of=
 the iceberg, of what will be coming,&#39; says Prof. Zahava Solomon. Credi=
t: IDF Spokesperson" alt=3D"Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. &#39;The dama=
ge that we&#39;re seeing today constitutes just a small part, even the tip =
of the iceberg, of what will be coming,&#39; says Prof. Zahava Solomon." sr=
c=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb24380001/fd/e=
f/401d28e64ec3bef2ceb3863decea/268475.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D280=
&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em auto;displa=
y:block;width:420px"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0=
.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 2024. &#39;The dama=
ge that we&#39;re seeing today constitutes just a small part, even the tip =
of the iceberg, of what will be coming,&#39; says Prof. Zahava Solomon.</sp=
an>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25=
em">Credit: IDF Spokesperson</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">On the eve o=
f October 7, the number of citizens injured in hostile acts and recognized =
by the National Insurance Institute as disabled due to mental health issues=
 was at 6,412. This week, the number of those recognized by the Institute a=
s having mental injuries reached more than 69,000, with about 35,000 of the=
m having already undergone committee review and been recognized as disabled=
. Thus, in less than three years, the number has jumped by more than tenfol=
d.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;Everyone&#39;s talking about =
the wounded soldiers, but what&#39;s happening over here is simply insane,&=
quot; says a senior official at the National Insurance Institute, &quot;Eve=
n in the most severe extreme scenarios, we couldn&#39;t have imagined such =
numbers.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Additionally, these num=
bers, explains Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz, don&#39;t adequately represent the in=
tensity of mental pain that Israeli citizens have faced in the last three y=
ears. According to him, public and clinical discourse often focuses on peop=
le diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after meeting specific dia=
gnostic criteria. However, a longitudinal study he&#39;s leading found that=
 the number of Israelis who exhibited PTSD symptoms during the war is much =
higher. Levi-Belz, head of the Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide &amp; Mental =
Pain Studies at Ruppin Academic Center, began the study for a completely di=
fferent reason: the judicial overhaul.=C2=A0</p><ul style=3D"max-width:100%=
"><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;max-width:100%"><a rel=3D"noreferrer noopen=
er" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width=
:100%"></span>War has triggered clinical mental illness in millions of Isra=
elis=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%">Gid&#39;on Lev</span></a></li><li =
style=3D"margin-left:15px;max-width:100%"><a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" st=
yle=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"=
></span>Military suicides surge as IDF scales back mental health support=C2=
=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%">Tom Levinson</span></a></li><li style=3D"=
margin-left:15px;max-width:100%"><a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"co=
lor:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%"><span style=3D"max-width:100%"></span>I=
DF withholds data on mental health discharges despite legal obligation=C2=
=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%">Tom Levinson</span></a></li></ul><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">About a month before the war, he found that=C2=A0<a rel=
=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%">the=
 rate of PTSD symptoms</a>=C2=A0in the population was about 16 percent; a m=
onth after October 7, it jumped to about 30 percent; and two years and thre=
e months later, it was about 19.7 percent. &quot;This is significantly high=
er than the global rate,&quot; Levi-Belz says. The World Health Organizatio=
n, for example, found in 2021 that the global rate of people who experience=
d post-trauma symptoms was about 3.9 percent.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%">Levi-Belz also found that some populations are at a much higher ris=
k of developing symptoms than the general population. For example, compared=
 to the general population, reservists have 2.57 times the risk, those dire=
ctly exposed to the horrors of October 7 have 3.3, and those who lost a lov=
ed one in the war have 1.6. Arabs have four times the risk of Jews.=C2=A0</=
p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">However, when examining Israeli society from =
a macro perspective, Levi-Belz says, it&#39;s clear that all of us are, to =
some extent, in a risk group.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%"><img alt=3D"Trauma info 222" src=3D"https://img.haa=
rets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fb19-d803-abdf-ffb9187f0001/68/2a/f2de20cb425985841d=
b6ccf94247/rise-in-the-number-mob.png?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D1218&am=
p;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em auto;display:b=
lock;width:420px"></div></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;In professi=
onal terms, this is called &#39;collective trauma&#39; =E2=80=93 a difficul=
t event that affects us not only as individuals, but also as a community, a=
s a society, as a state,&quot; he explains. The October 7 massacre and the =
war that followed, he says, are intertwined with our social structures, our=
 identity and our interpersonal relationships. &quot;Israeli society is exh=
austed, feeling a sharply intense burnout. It&#39;s grappling with moral qu=
estions, with a sense of betrayal by the state and its leaders.&quot;=C2=A0=
</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Collective trauma, Levi-Belz continues, &qu=
ot;is insidious; it doesn&#39;t stop you like PTSD. Sometimes people seem f=
ine, even too fine, going out and socializing. But can&#39;t forget that it=
&#39;s not over; it&#39;s not just the outward appearance [that matters]. T=
he questions gnaw at them [from inside], the fears.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">According to him, the choice, sometimes conscious, of l=
eaders in Israel to deny or downplay the mental pain and collective anxiety=
 of the public leads to denial, and sometimes even shame, among those who s=
uffer. &quot;In such a situation, everything seems okay, but then [PTSD] er=
upts in other places. The amount of honking and road rage on the road, for =
example, is a snapshot of the water boiling beneath the surface of Israeli =
society.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-wid=
th:100%"><img title=3D"Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Counci=
l for Post-Trauma. &#39;The numbers leave no shadow of doubt, Israel faces =
a national crisis.&#39;. Credit: Rami Shlush" alt=3D"Prof. Eyal Fruchter, c=
hairman of the National Council for Post-Trauma. &#39;The numbers leave no =
shadow of doubt, Israel faces a national crisis.&#39;" src=3D"https://img.h=
aarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb25160001/74/4b/34bba6b04cdcbcbc=
9f72747acb7e/242020.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" styl=
e=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em auto;display:block;width:420p=
x"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-botto=
m:0.25em">Prof. Eyal Fruchter, chairman of the National Council for Post-Tr=
auma. &#39;The numbers leave no shadow of doubt, Israel faces a national cr=
isis.&#39;</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;marg=
in-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Rami Shlush</span><h3 style=3D"font-size:1.25em;m=
ax-width:100%">Crying out for help</h3><p style=3D"max-width:100%">And some=
times, the water comes to a boil. During the war, there was a surge in traf=
fic fatalities =E2=80=93 from 361 in 2023, to 439 in 2024, to 459 in 2025. =
On the surface, these figures have no connection to the war. However, some =
of the experts who spoke with Haaretz explained that, according to a consen=
sus in research literature, people experiencing post-traumatic symptoms ten=
d to exhibit problematic driving patterns more frequently than that of the =
general population. A sharp increase was also recorded in 2007, after the S=
econd Lebanon War, when 437 people were killed in road accidents =E2=80=93 =
an exceptionally high number compared to the years before and after it.=C2=
=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">The war&#39;s effects are not only evide=
nt on the roads. A report by the National Council for the Child, for exampl=
e, found that the number of new anxiety diagnoses among adolescents (ages 1=
2 to 17) in the second year of the war (October 2024 to October 2025) was 3=
1 percent higher compared to the year before the war. The number of new eat=
ing disorder diagnoses in this age group also rose by about 23 percent comp=
ared to the situation in the year before the war.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"ma=
x-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img alt=3D"PTSD info 444444" s=
rc=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fb27-d0cc-af9e-ffff20450001/df/=
97/bf5559d044c29119b839558edd55/ptsd-symptoms-mob.png?&amp;width=3D420&amp;=
height=3D486&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em=
 auto;display:block;width:420px"></div></div><p style=3D"max-width:100%">A =
report by the Women&#39;s International Zionist Organization found a 65 per=
cent increase of domestic violence in Israel&#39;s general population in th=
e first six months of the war, compared to the corresponding period in the =
year before it =E2=80=93 4,566 calls to its shelters compared to 2,760. A 2=
024 study found an eight times higher chance of physical or sexual violence=
 at home when both partners are serving in the reserves.=C2=A0</p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">According to experts, the war is also having a signific=
ant negative impact on the quality of sleep of Israelis. A study by Hebrew =
University&#39;s School of Medicine found that before October 7, 5 percent =
of the population in Israel suffered from clinical insomnia (1 percent seve=
re, and 4 percent moderate). By the end of 2025, the rate reached 28 percen=
t: 7 percent severe and 21 percent moderate.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-wid=
th:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Israeli soldiers in so=
uthern Lebanon in 2024. Credit: IDF Spokesperson" alt=3D"Israeli soldiers i=
n southern Lebanon in 2024." src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-f=
ad8-d514-a9bf-fafb26890000/09/0a/001da2d343f7a96a6713b583b6b2/280868.jpg?&a=
mp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D280&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width=
:420px;margin:0.5em auto;display:block;width:420px"></div></div><span style=
=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Israeli soldiers=
 in southern Lebanon in 2024.</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;mar=
gin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: IDF Spokesperson=C2=A0</span><=
p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;When I lecture to people, I ask the audien=
ce, who here slept seven consecutive hours last night, who had good and ref=
reshing sleep? Out of an audience of 200 people, maybe three raise their ha=
nd,&quot; illustrates Prof. Gil Saltzman, one of Israel&#39;s leading psych=
iatrists. &quot;This is not surprising; we live in a state of uncertainty. =
The phone might ring again in an hour, and missiles from Iran could be laun=
ched. We&#39;re in survival mode =E2=80=93 and this has consequences.&quot;=
=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Mental health professionals in psychi=
atric hospitals are intimately familiar with these consequences; they exper=
ience them daily in psychiatric hospitals, far from public view. &quot;Sinc=
e October 7, there has been a 30 percent to 40 percent increase in the numb=
er of Israelis seeking treatment for the first time at the hospital&#39;s o=
utpatient clinics,&quot; says Saltzman, head of the Children and Youth Depa=
rtment at Geha Mental Health Center. &quot;This is a dramatic figure,&quot;=
 he says, &quot;people don&#39;t rush to psychiatric hospitals; it&#39;s a =
sign that they are desperate, that they are crying out for help.&quot;=C2=
=A0</p><blockquote style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-left:2px;margin-right:6px=
;padding-left:16px;border-left-width:3px;border-left-style:solid"><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">&#39;The research shows significant rates of delayed re=
actions. It&#39;s precisely periods of quiet that allow traumatic content t=
o erupt. Many discharged soldiers are ticking time bombs.&#39;</p></blockqu=
ote><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=
=3D"Prof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading researcher in the field of trauma=
. Credit: Itai Ron" alt=3D"Prof. Zahava Solomon, a world-leading researcher=
 in the field of trauma." src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8=
-d514-a9bf-fafb27630001/3a/0f/c01cddbd428c9508046d79512941/330176-2.jpg?&am=
p;width=3D420&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:=
420px;margin:0.5em auto;display:block;width:420px"></div></div><span style=
=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Prof. Zahava Sol=
omon, a world-leading researcher in the field of trauma.</span>=C2=A0<span =
style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Ita=
i Ron</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">The call for help is also evident i=
n the results of a large-scale survey conducted by Maccabi Health Services,=
 a major healthcare provider, which examined the rate of Israelis who feel =
they need mental health assistance. It was at 18 percent a month into the w=
ar, 25 percent 6 months into the war, and reached 32 perfect by the end of =
2025.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">A Health Ministry report publish=
ed last month also showed a significant increase in the number of referrals=
 to community resilience centers, which provide psychological and organizat=
ional support to Israelis in crisis situations. According to the report, th=
e number of people treated in the centers jumped from 5,000 in 2022, to 36,=
000 in 2025. The report also indicated that use of certain mental health me=
dications has jumped, describing a 16.7 percent increase in sedatives, and =
a 14 percent increase in anti-depressants and sleeping pills.=C2=A0</p><p s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%">Many Israelis are seeking alternative methods of co=
ping, with consequences. A report published by the Israel Center for Addict=
ions and Mental Health in June 2025 found that, during the war, one in four=
 Israelis has been using alcohol, cannabis, prescription sedatives or paink=
illers at an increased risk level. Before the war, the rate was one in seve=
n. Among those reporting significant PTSD symptoms, the rate jumps to 54.2 =
percent.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;This is a severe blow,&=
quot; says Wiersch. &quot;I visit wounded people and see insane amounts of =
cocaine, people finishing whole bottles of vodka to get through another day=
, some even falling into heroin and other hard drugs, from which there&#39;=
s no return. There were always cases like these, but they were fringe. Now =
it&#39;s everywhere.&quot;=C2=A0</p><blockquote style=3D"max-width:100%;mar=
gin-left:2px;margin-right:6px;padding-left:16px;border-left-width:3px;borde=
r-left-style:solid"><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&#39;Israeli society is exh=
austed, feeling a sharply intense burnout. It&#39;s grappling with moral qu=
estions, with a sense of betrayal by the state and its leaders.&#39;</p></b=
lockquote><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img =
title=3D"Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz. Credit: Rami Shlush" alt=3D"Prof. Yossi Lev=
i-Belz." src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb28=
220001/48/07/5bd95e8a4b41b1c5010152a6677e/865807.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;h=
eight=3D296&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em =
auto;display:block;width:420px"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;m=
argin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz.</span>=C2=A0<=
span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit=
: Rami Shlush</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Prof. Solomon is also parti=
cularly concerned about the massive use of drugs and alcohol among the rece=
ntly wounded. &quot;In the period after the Yom Kippur War, this was a marg=
inal phenomenon, affecting only a few,&quot; she explains. &quot;Today, acc=
ess to drugs and alcohol is much higher, and this greatly affects consumpti=
on, even decades after the fact. When American soldiers were in Vietnam, th=
ey consumed quantities of mind-altering substances to dull the pain, and wh=
en they returned to the U.S., they didn&#39;t stop; the opposite happened. =
They tried to mask their feelings, and hid a lot of pain underneath drugs.&=
quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">This sort of grief can end in de=
ath. In the last few years, there have been highly public=C2=A0<a rel=3D"no=
referrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);max-width:100%">cases of =
suicide</a>=C2=A0by discharged soldiers who were unable to cope the mental =
pain caused by their military service. More families of suicide victims hav=
e been breaking the silence since October 7, and not without reason. While =
there&#39;s no noticeable increase in suicides among the general public dur=
ing the war, it&#39;s present among former soldiers. The Ministry of Defens=
e&#39;s Rehabilitation Department recorded six suicides in 2024, and in 13,=
 2025. However, suicides tend to increase more drastically, Prof. Fruchter =
says,=C2=A0<a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:rgb(65,110,210);ma=
x-width:100%">after the fighting is over,</a>=C2=A0when wars end. He predic=
ts an increase of 20-30 percent.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">The i=
ncrease in suicides isn&#39;t just worrying experts =E2=80=93 veterans with=
 PTSD are also highly concerned, including veterans of the Second Lebanon W=
ar (2006), the Second Intifada (2000-2005), and even the Yom Kippur War (19=
73). Last July, a group of veterans gathered outside the Rehabilitation Dep=
artment branch in Petah Tikva, chanting &quot;PTSD veterans are stopping th=
e next suicide&quot; over and over.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">On=
e of the veterans at the protest, Or Aflalo, had been traumatized only rece=
ntly, in fighting in the Gaza Strip. He also didn&#39;t need media reports =
to realize the rise in veteran suicides =E2=80=93 he was intimately familia=
r with the issue. His brother in-law, Eliran Mizrahi, operated a Caterpilla=
r D9 armored bulldozer in Gaza, returned home with a severe mental injury, =
and was diagnosed with PTSD. In June 2024, two days before he was supposed =
to return to combat, he took his own life. &quot;I&#39;m here to request th=
at the state make sure there won&#39;t be any more cases like Eliran&#39;s,=
&quot; Aflalo told Haaretz. &quot;It&#39;s our duty =E2=80=93 all of societ=
y&#39;s duty =E2=80=93 to help people before they fall into the abyss, befo=
re we lose them.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D=
"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"People hug in a public shelter in Jaffa, in =
March. &#39;We live in a state of uncertainty. The phone might ring again i=
n an hour, and missiles from Iran could be launched. We&#39;re in survival =
mode =E2=80=93 and this has consequences.&#39;. Credit: Itai Ron" alt=3D"Pe=
ople hug in a public shelter in Jaffa, in March. &#39;We live in a state of=
 uncertainty. The phone might ring again in an hour, and missiles from Iran=
 could be launched. We&#39;re in survival mode =E2=80=93 and this has conse=
quences.&#39;" src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-=
fafb29c00001/bb/6c/644cb73b4ef1a2e12f858008fa9a/284432-2.jpg?&amp;width=3D4=
20&amp;height=3D281&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margi=
n:0.5em auto;display:block;width:420px"></div></div><span style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">People hug in a public shelt=
er in Jaffa, in March. &#39;We live in a state of uncertainty. The phone mi=
ght ring again in an hour, and missiles from Iran could be launched. We&#39=
;re in survival mode =E2=80=93 and this has consequences.&#39;</span>=C2=A0=
<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credi=
t: Itai Ron=C2=A0</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Some of the protestors =
spoke, almost in whispers, about about another phenomenon besides suicide: =
fatal overdoses by the mentally disabled. Haaretz tried unsuccessfully to o=
btain data on this issue over the past year. Sources in the Defense Ministr=
y admitted that they had identified an increase in the phenomenon in the la=
st few years. &quot;The public remains completely unaware of these cases,&q=
uot; one of them said. &quot;These people die quietly, in silence.&quot;=C2=
=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Last February, Aflalo was found lifeless=
 in his home. He was 24 years old. The cause of death was an overdose.=C2=
=A0</p><h3 style=3D"font-size:1.25em;max-width:100%"><strong style=3D"max-w=
idth:100%">770 patients per worker</strong></h3><p style=3D"max-width:100%"=
>It was a turbulent time. The Netanyahu government was racing unchecked tow=
ards a judicial overhaul. Some chanted in the streets and blocked roads, wh=
ile others began planning backup plans for their futures.=C2=A0</p><p style=
=3D"max-width:100%">During that time, a British headhunter arrived in Israe=
l. He wasn&#39;t recruiting for Chelsea football club, nor a high-tech firm=
. Instead, he was searching for psychiatrists. &quot;He arranged for U.K. w=
ork permits, helped them sell homes, and all the logistics of relocating,&q=
uot; Saltzman recounted. The result? &quot;Ten senior psychiatrists moved t=
o Bristol.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">They weren&#39;t the =
only ones. According to Prof. Fruchter, dozens of psychiatrists left Israel=
 during the war. &quot;Many of them say they&#39;re going on sabbatical, bu=
t they just don&#39;t come back,&quot; Saltzman explains. &quot;They&#39;re=
 in New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S., and when you talk to them, you reali=
ze: they&#39;re not coming back.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%"=
>According to experts, the situation gets even worse when you take into acc=
ount the fact that Israel was grappling with a severe shortage of mental he=
alth professionals even before the war. &quot;The state began the war with =
about 270 vacant public service psychiatrist positions,&quot; Fruchter says=
. &quot;There&#39;s a total of about 1,000 psychiatrists in Israel, and mor=
e than 50 percent are over the age of 56. In a good year, we certify about =
40 new specialists, and maybe 35 of them will stay in the country. That mea=
ns that, each year, there&#39;s less entering the profession than leaving i=
t.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100=
%"><img title=3D"Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demonstrati=
on outside the Rehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2024, two days=
 before he was supposed to return to combat, he took his own life. Credit: =
Tomer Applebaum" alt=3D"Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at a demo=
nstration outside the Rehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2024, t=
wo days before he was supposed to return to combat, he took his own life." =
src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb2b410002/dd=
/ba/d3b61adf4358a03f8b58e5205b99/286666.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=3D2=
81&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em auto;disp=
lay:block;width:420px"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top=
:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Or Aflalo, right, and other PTSD veterans at =
a demonstration outside the Rehabilitation Department, last year. In June 2=
024, two days before he was supposed to return to combat, he took his own l=
ife.</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bot=
tom:0.25em">Credit: Tomer Applebaum</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Patie=
nts are paying the price. &quot;There are dozens of psychiatric departments=
 in Israel with just a single doctor; in Israel&#39;s north, there are even=
 doctors managing two departments at the same time,&quot; Saltzman says. Th=
e demand is so high that it&#39;s sometimes difficult to decide where they&=
#39;re most needed, he says.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;I u=
sed to sit with [Director-General of the Ministry of Health] Moshe Bar Sima=
n Tov and argue with him over every single psychiatrist,&quot; a former sen=
ior official at the Rehabilitation Department says. &quot;How are you even =
supposed to decide [something like] if a psychiatrist is more needed in a c=
ommittee for determining disability level for a PTSD sufferer, or in an eat=
ing disorder department?&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">The sho=
rtage of mental health professionals is not limited to psychiatrists; it ex=
ists across the entire spectrum of care. &quot;As of today, there&#39;s a s=
hortage of about 500 psychologists against vacant positions in the public s=
ervice,&quot; says Fruchter. &quot;There&#39;s also a severe shortage of so=
cial workers.&quot; Currently, the Rehabilitation Department has 113 rehabi=
litation workers, and they&#39;re responsible for realizing the rights of a=
bout 87,000 wounded and disabled individuals, meaning each worker is respon=
sible for about 770 patients.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;I&=
#39;ve got to tell the truth, there are patients I haven&#39;t even spoken =
to once,&quot; one of the Defense Ministry workers told Haaretz. &quot;Even=
 if I wanted to send a message to each patient once a month, I couldn&#39;t=
; I simply don&#39;t have the time. Every morning, I have to decide on whet=
her it&#39;s more important to treat a patient who lost a leg in Gaza or a =
post-trauma sufferer who wets the bed. It&#39;s an impossible task; I&#39;m=
 doomed to fail before I even start my workday.&quot;=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"=
max-width:100%">Last year, the Ministries of Defense and Finance launched t=
he Mor-Yosef committee=C2=A0<a rel=3D"noreferrer noopener" style=3D"color:r=
gb(65,110,210);max-width:100%">to expand services for the IDF wounded</a>, =
addressing, among other things, the critical lack of mental health professi=
onals. A draft of one of the committee&#39;s conclusions, which reached Haa=
retz, recommended that the Defense Ministry work to reduce the ratio of reh=
abilitation workers to patients to 1:50. However, the recommendation was ul=
timately dropped from the official report.=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width=
:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, hea=
d of The National Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv Un=
iversity. Credit: Tomer Applebaum" alt=3D"Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The =
National Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University.=
" src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb2c0c0000/=
70/51/a8d0df7a4798a0103467225881b9/442677.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;height=
=3D281&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em auto;=
display:block;width:420px"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin=
-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of The National=
 Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University.</span>=
=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;margin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em"=
>Credit: Tomer Applebaum</span><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;Even if th=
ey come and say, &#39;let&#39;s add 600 social workers to the Defense Minis=
try right now,&#39; where would you get them from? There&#39;s nowhere to g=
et these people from,&quot; Saltzman says. Instead, the committee recommend=
ed recruiting &#39;personal connection women,&#39; who aren&#39;t social wo=
rkers, and whose role would be to assist patients realize their rights. Soc=
ial workers, according to the recommendations, would instead be responsible=
 for more complex issues, such as driving patients&#39; rehabilitation proc=
ess and integrating them into employment and education. For now, the recomm=
endation, like many others, remains on paper.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-widt=
h:100%">Meanwhile, the number of patients continues to grow, and the govern=
ment isn&#39;t finding any solutions. &quot;The burden only increases, and =
the burnout is immense,&quot; says Saltzman. &quot;Experts are abandoning p=
ublic service, one after another.&quot; The shortage, according to experts,=
 is not only in medical health professionals. It even applies to emotional =
support dogs, hospital beds, and balancing homes (a form of halfway house f=
or those in acute mental distress).=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">Fr=
uchter, who also serves as chairman for Israel&#39;s Collective Action for =
Resilience, an NGO, emphasizes that a comprehensive, system-wide approach i=
s required to address the issue. &quot;A lot of organizations are being cre=
ated, and no one knows how to guide them from above. There also isn&#39;t e=
nough communication between the various public and semi-public agencies inv=
olved, such as the Health Ministry, Defense Ministry, National Insurance In=
stitute, and health care providers. An inter-ministerial committee on this =
issue needs to be established. In a perfect world, this issue should have b=
een at the top of candidates&#39; election platforms, but the government ch=
ooses to look away. It&#39;ll explode on us in the future like a very power=
ful bomb. There will be unprecedented consequences =E2=80=93 in academia, t=
he labor market, and the entire Israeli economy.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=
=3D"max-width:100%"><div style=3D"max-width:100%"><img title=3D"Traffic on =
the Tel Aviv Ayalon highway due to an accident, last year. Credit: Itai Ron=
" alt=3D"Traffic on the Tel Aviv Ayalon highway due to an accident, last ye=
ar." src=3D"https://img.haarets.co.il/bs/0000019e-fad8-d514-a9bf-fafb2d7200=
00/c1/f7/bcfe3aa5470fa2aae01ecac07ea8/223462.jpg?&amp;width=3D420&amp;heigh=
t=3D281&amp;cmsprod" style=3D"outline:0px;max-width:420px;margin:0.5em auto=
;display:block;width:420px"></div></div><span style=3D"max-width:100%;margi=
n-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Traffic on the Tel Aviv Ayalon highway d=
ue to an accident, last year.</span>=C2=A0<span style=3D"max-width:100%;mar=
gin-top:0.25em;margin-bottom:0.25em">Credit: Itai Ron</span><p style=3D"max=
-width:100%">A report in January by NATAL, an NGO, for example, estimated t=
he damage to the economy at 100 billion shekels ($33.44 billion) per year. =
40 billion is the direct cost of impaired work capacity for hundreds of tho=
usands of people, as well as their treatment costs. The other 60 billion is=
 the indirect cost of associated phenomena, such as an increase in accident=
s, violence, addictions, and serious illnesses.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-wi=
dth:100%">Another example of the massive cost is the Rehabilitation Departm=
ent&#39;s budget, which jumped from 5.2 billion shekels before the war, to =
10 billion this year. Defense and Finance Ministry officials are expected t=
o wage a fierce battle soon over billions in additions to the budget. Accor=
ding to the Finance Ministry, every day of fighting incurs additional costs=
, which will make marks on the budget for many years to come.=C2=A0</p><p s=
tyle=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;I have many recommendations I could give to d=
ecision-makers,&quot; Prof. Bar-Haim said, &quot;but it seems that there&#3=
9;s one that tops any other: we must strive to end the war. I&#39;m not a d=
iplomat or a military man, but I can say that, there are military, economic=
, and social reasons behind relatively short wars, but there also psycholog=
ical reasons.=C2=A0</p><p style=3D"max-width:100%">&quot;A year and a half =
ago, we examined a very large sample of reservists who participated in the =
war, and found a significant PTSD rate of 12%. Among American soldiers who =
stayed in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, it reached 15%, and at one point =
even 19%. It&#39;s not without a reason,&quot; Bar-Haim said. &quot;Every r=
ound of combat produces thousands of newly wounded, and repeated traumatic =
events weaken individuals. Every time a reservist goes on another round, hi=
s mental resilience is [further] eroded =E2=80=93 the wall cracks. Even if =
it didn&#39;t happen in the first few rounds, it could happen in the sixth =
or seventh.&quot;=C2=A0</p><div style=3D"max-width:100%">In addition to the=
 soldiers, Bar-Haim continued, there are also hundreds of thousands of Isra=
elis who, before October 7, were below the clinical threshold for various m=
ental diagnoses, and have crosses those thresholds since the war began. &qu=
ot;These are people who were melancholic and anxious by nature, but who fun=
ctioned like normal human beings. The stress eroded their mental resilience=
, and they crosses the threshold to be substantially impaired in functionin=
g. Many more civilians may join them,&quot; he warned. &quot;We must stop, =
before this tsunami washes us all away.&quot;</div></div></div></div></div>=
</div></div></div></div></div></div>
-- <br>
Salon mailing list<br>
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</blockquote></div></div>

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From: Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 19:24:06 -0400
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Subject: [Salon] Back where we started?
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https://www.pogo.org/?emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f=
9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249

*STATUS QUO ANTE BELLUM*
Back where we started?

*Following the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, we have ended up with status quo
ante bellum =E2=80=94 Latin for =E2=80=9Cthe state existing before the war.=
=E2=80=9D Or perhaps we
should term it status trump ante bellum =E2=80=94 STAB, as in between the s=
houlder
blades =E2=80=94 given that it:*

   - *Befuddled U.S. allies who Trump didn=E2=80=99t consult before going t=
o war,
   and who he bizarrely berated for not supporting it after he launched it.=
*
   - *A pusillanimous Congress, which has only drawn attention to its
   increasing irrelevance by lacking the courage to rein in a wayward
   commander-in-chief.*
   - *A confused U.S. public, who awoke the morning of February 28 to learn
   their president had launched a surprise attack on a long-time foe that,
   nonetheless, posed no imminent threat to their nation.*
   - *Israel, which thought Trump had its back in its wholehearted effort
   to destroy Iran. In reality, he only half-heartedly attacked, unilateral=
ly
   pulling back as the war began dragging down his political fortunes. In s=
o
   doing, he gave up whatever leverage the U.S. military might have given h=
im,
   which has led to the vacuous 14-point peace plan
   <https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882960/629443692/-1485030345?nvep=3D=
ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGl=
zdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZW=
QwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hm=
ac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f1=
11-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201=
249>
signed
   June 17 between Washington and Tehran.*
   - *Clarity, which is all but absent in that peace deal. =E2=80=9CIn my 5=
2 years
   in the foreign policy world,=E2=80=9D the CIA=E2=80=99s former top lawye=
r said
   <https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882961/629443693/1692494468?nvep=3De=
w0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlz=
dHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQ=
wIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hma=
c=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f11=
1-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D2012=
49#:~:text=3DMany%20experienced%20lawyers%20and%20diplomats%20share%20the%2=
0view%20of%20Jeffrey%20Smith%2C%20a%20former%20CIA%20general%20counsel%2C%2=
0who%20told%20me%20bluntly%3A%20%E2%80%9CIn%20my%2052%20years%20in%20the%20=
foreign%20policy%20world%2C%20I%20have%20never%20seen%20such%20a%20poorly%2=
0drafted%20document.%E2%80%9D>,
   =E2=80=9CI have never seen such a poorly drafted document.=E2=80=9D*
   - *Victory, which is decidedly MIA. Instead of the =E2=80=9Cunconditiona=
l
   surrender=E2=80=9D demanded by Trump, Iran (as of now) keeps its nukes, =
ballistic
   missiles, terrorist proxies, and regime. As battered as they all may be,
   Tehran=E2=80=99s pledges to rein them in are belied by history. =E2=80=
=9CThis is the worst
   foreign policy blunder in decades,=E2=80=9D Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) =
says
   <https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882962/629443694/342014767?nvep=3Dew=
0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzd=
HJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQw=
IiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>.*
   - *The 13 U.S. troops
   <https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882963/629443695/-755635926?nvep=3De=
w0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlz=
dHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQ=
wIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hma=
c=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f11=
1-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D2012=
49>
who,
   under orders from their commander-in-chief without the backing of U.S.
   allies, the U.S. Congress, or the U.S. public, died honorable deaths in =
a
   poorly planned war.*

*Reams have been written, with much more to come, about the costs and
benefits of this conflict. But make no mistake about it: Its fleeting
tactical triumphs, as worthy and hard-earned as they may have been, pale
alongside its long-term strategic shortcomings.*

*CARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY*
Teaming up to supply the Pentagon

*Lockheed Martin, the country=E2=80=99s biggest defense contractor
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882964/629443697/1150411307?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>,
is joining forces with General Motors, the nation=E2=80=99s biggest car
manufacturer
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882965/629443698/-1476874181?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>,
to provide the Pentagon with more weapons. =E2=80=9CWhat does a THAAD air d=
efense
interceptor
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882966/629443699/-1508569989?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
have
in common with Corvette
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882968/629443700/856198005?nvep=3Dew0KI=
CAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJp=
YnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiw=
NCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3D=
Xl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac=
9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249>?=
=E2=80=9D
Lockheed=E2=80=99s operations chief Frank St. John asked
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882969/629443701/2024101107?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
last
week. =E2=80=9CWell, both of them are highly engineered, both of them are p=
recision
manufactured, both of them have broad and diverse supply chains, and both
of them are produced at rate.=E2=80=9D*

*The Iran war has punctured the myth that a few costly weapons can prevail
over lots of cheap ones. The Pentagon is alarmed
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882970/629443702/876278540?nvep=3Dew0KI=
CAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJp=
YnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiw=
NCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3D=
Xl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac=
9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249>.
President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to urge arms
makers to churn out more weaponry. =E2=80=9CI hereby find that conditions e=
xist
which may pose a direct threat to the national defense or its preparedness
programs,=E2=80=9D Trump wrote Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the June 1=
1 memo
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882971/629443704/-2013044361?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
(PDF).He
cited =E2=80=9Climited production capacity, fragile supply chains, long-lea=
d
dependencies, and related production bottlenecks.=E2=80=9D*

*Funny how the Lockheed chief mentioned the Chevrolet Corvette, among GM=E2=
=80=99s
most costly models =E2=80=94 up to $218,000
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882973/629443705/-1698509444?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
=E2=80=94
in this current partnership. They accounted for a modest 25,835
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882974/629443706/-1016454777?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
of
the 4,547,918
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882975/629443707/1254867320?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9#:~:text=3Dplaced%20sixth%20with-,4%2C547%2C918,-units%20sold%20globally>
vehicles
=E2=80=94 0.6% =E2=80=94 GM built last year. And while it=E2=80=99s admitte=
dly an =E2=80=9Cexquisite=E2=80=9D
automobile, that=E2=80=99s precisely the kind of weaponry the Pentagon can=
=E2=80=99t afford
to buy
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882976/629443709/330630217?nvep=3Dew0KI=
CAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJp=
YnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiw=
NCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3D=
Xl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac=
9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249#:=
~:text=3DWar%20has%20a%20way%20of%20exposing%20illusions.%20One%C2%A0illusi=
on%C2%A0now%20shattered%20is%20the%20notion%20that%20America%20can%20rely%2=
0on%20small%20inventories%20of%20exquisite%2C%20ultra-expensive%20weapons%2=
0to%20carry%20the%20day.>
in
the quantities needed. Alas, it seems the initial Lockheed-GM effort is
dedicated to buying more such silver bullets
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882978/629443710/2024101107?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9#:~:text=3DAmong%20other%20goals%2C%20the%20partnership%20will%20help%20Lo=
ckheed%20fill%20a%20Pentagon%20request%20to%20triple%20and%20quadruple%20pr=
oduction%20rates%20of%20PAC-3%20Missile%20Segment%20Enhancements%20and%20TH=
AAD%20interceptors%2C%20respectively%2C%20over%20the%20next%20several%20yea=
rs%20by%20leveraging%20GM%E2%80%99s%20supply-chain%20expertise%2C%20accordi=
ng%20to%20St.%20John.%C2%A0%C2%A0>.*

*The Bunker has an interest in this marriage made in carnage, having driven
products made by both Lockheed and GM. As a rookie reporter more than 45
years ago, he took a swell spin in an F-16, impressed by its power,
agility, and the immense human pyramid it takes to keep such a plane
flying.*

*But he was decidedly less impressed with the GM product sitting back home
in his driveway at the time. Thankfully, St. John didn=E2=80=99t cite that =
Pontiac
Sunbird
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882979/629443711/813570328?nvep=3Dew0KI=
CAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJp=
YnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiw=
NCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3D=
Xl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac=
9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249>
as
an exemplar of excellence. The Bunker bought a 1979 Sunbird for $3,500
because of fond memories of Dad=E2=80=99s 1957 Pontiac. =E2=80=9CFor someon=
e primed to love
the Pontiac brand, the Sunbird was a disheartening experience,=E2=80=9D The
Bunker wrote
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882980/629443713/320119821?nvep=3Dew0KI=
CAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJp=
YnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiw=
NCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3D=
Xl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac=
9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249>
of
its first brand-new car, following Pontiac=E2=80=99s demise in 2009. =E2=80=
=9CIt was a
lemon, a cut-rate and an ill-aimed stab at beating the Japanese competition
in the growing market for smaller cars spawned by rising fuel prices.=E2=80=
=9D*

*Granted, that was a long time ago. JD Power=E2=80=99s latest dependability=
 ratings
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882982/629443716/-1327808235?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9#:~:text=3Djohn%40jroderick.com-,About%20JD%20Power,-and%20Advertising/Pro=
motional>show
that GM=E2=80=99s brands =E2=80=94 Buick, Chevy, and Cadillac =E2=80=94 ran=
k higher than nameplates
from Audi, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes, Porche, Toyota,
Volvo, and Volkswagen.*

*Now that=E2=80=99s an impressive victory.*

*TANKER CANKER*
Gassing up up there is still tough

*It=E2=80=99s challenging for us civilians to assess military hardware, giv=
en its
complexity. That=E2=80=99s why we pay special attention to simpler stuff, l=
ike the
Air Force=E2=80=99s 25-year quest
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882986/629443718/-1074649070?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
to
replace its ancient aerial tanker fleet with Boeing=E2=80=99s new KC-46
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882989/629443721/2034177343?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>.
Such planes are vital in combat, topping off tanks of thirsty fighters and
bombers via hoses protruding from the tankers=E2=80=99 tails. How hard can =
it be to
build a flying gas station?*

*Plenty, it turns out. According to a June 10 report
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882992/629443724/2033935391?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
from
the Government Accountability Office, the Air Force missed its tanker
targets from 2019 to 2025
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882995/629443728/-2109924047?_gl=3D1%2A=
o95qpd%2A_ga%2AMTQ0MDU1NTY3OS4xNzc3OTIzNzc4%2A_ga_V393SNS3SR%2AczE3ODIwNjA4=
ODckbzE1JGcxJHQxNzgyMDYwOTAyJGo0NSRsMCRoMA..&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjo=
gIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSW=
QiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkc=
mVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08B=
MpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&em=
di=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DFrom%20fi=
scal%20year%202019%20through%20fiscal%20year%202025%2C%20the%20Air%20Force%=
20did%20not%20meet%20its%20availability%20and%20capability%20standards%20fo=
r%20the%20aerial%20refueling%20tanker%20fleet>,
in large part because of its troubled KC-46. The plane=E2=80=99s
remote camera-to-screen refueling boom
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883000/629443731/-803653937?v=3DThbmESQ=
TZrU&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjI=
iLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMD=
AwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvb=
SINCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d7=
18cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed=
0&ceid=3D201249>,
a video-game-like contrivance controlled by an operator in the cockpit far
away from the boom itself, continues to be plagued
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883003/629443735/-2109924047?_gl=3D1%2A=
o95qpd%2A_ga%2AMTQ0MDU1NTY3OS4xNzc3OTIzNzc4%2A_ga_V393SNS3SR%2AczE3ODIwNjA4=
ODckbzE1JGcxJHQxNzgyMDYwOTAyJGo0NSRsMCRoMA..&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjo=
gIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSW=
QiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkc=
mVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08B=
MpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&em=
di=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DThis%20is=
%20about%20a%209-year%20delay%20from%20the%20original%20schedule%20due%20to=
%20issues%20with%20the%20aircraft%E2%80%99s%20remote%20vision%20system%20an=
d%20refueling%20boom.>
with
problems. It is a considerably more complicated system than the physical
eyeballs
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883006/629443739/-803653937?v=3DV-_L_n4=
yBDE&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjI=
iLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMD=
AwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvb=
SINCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d7=
18cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed=
0&ceid=3D201249>
peering
through a window that refueling-boom operators at the rear of older tankers
use to guide the refueling probe. In fact, the last time
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883012/629443742/-1697022399?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9#:~:text=3DThe%20Eisenhower-era%20KC-135%20had%20a%20mission%20capable%20r=
ate%20of%20just%20under%2068%20percent%20in%20fiscal%202024%2C%20the%20last=
%20year%20the%20Air%20Force%20released%20those%20rates.%20That%20same%20yea=
r%2C%20the%20KC-46%20had%20a%2062%20percent%20MC%20rate>
the
service released its mission-capable rates (for 2024), the
Eisenhower-era KC-135
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883014/629443747/-1884921716?nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
tankers
were ready 68% of the time, compared to the new KC-46=E2=80=99s 62% (the
service wouldn=E2=80=99t let
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883017/629443749/-2109924047?_gl=3D1%2A=
o95qpd%2A_ga%2AMTQ0MDU1NTY3OS4xNzc3OTIzNzc4%2A_ga_V393SNS3SR%2AczE3ODIwNjA4=
ODckbzE1JGcxJHQxNzgyMDYwOTAyJGo0NSRsMCRoMA..&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjo=
gIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSW=
QiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkc=
mVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08B=
MpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&em=
di=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DIn%20May%=
202026%2C%20we,rates%20from%20this%20report.>
GAO
publish the planes=E2=80=99 current readiness rates). The Air Force has bou=
ght 183
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883019/629443752/-1886942466?uxmode=3Dr=
uby&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIi=
LA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDA=
wZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbS=
INCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d71=
8cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0=
&ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DThe%20purchase%20of%2075%20new%20aircraft%20would%=
20be%20on%20top%20of%20183%20tankers%20already%20purchased.>
of
the roughly $235 million planes
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883023/629443755/-1886942466?uxmode=3Dr=
uby&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIi=
LA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDA=
wZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbS=
INCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d71=
8cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0=
&ceid=3D201249>,
and it wants 75 more (at $334 million apiece.)*

*The GAO said
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883026/629443758/-2109924047?_gl=3D1%2A=
o95qpd%2A_ga%2AMTQ0MDU1NTY3OS4xNzc3OTIzNzc4%2A_ga_V393SNS3SR%2AczE3ODIwNjA4=
ODckbzE1JGcxJHQxNzgyMDYwOTAyJGo0NSRsMCRoMA..&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjo=
gIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSW=
QiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkc=
mVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08B=
MpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&em=
di=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DDuring%20=
our%20site,other%20structural%20issues.>
that
KC-46 operators =E2=80=9Cexpressed concerns about Boeing=E2=80=99s quality =
control
procedures and described a variety of issues that they observed with the
new aircraft, including frequently failing electrical components on the
boom, sensors that do not perform accurately, airframe cracks, and other
structural issues.=E2=80=9D*

*Two days after the GAO report, the Air Force released an investigation
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883030/629443762/171160861?ver=3DD9Tm1F=
TIpEprkuzk6t2Ouw%3D%3D&nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR=
08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2=
Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF=
5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB7=
8BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f11=
1-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D201249#page=3D2>(PDF)
into
a 2025 accident that sent a $10 million KC-46 refueling boom plummeting
into the Atlantic Ocean. The mishap occurred during a failed midair effort
to refuel an F-22 fighter. No one was hurt. The inquiry blamed both
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883034/629443766/1718173506?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9#:~:text=3DThe%20AIB%20president%E2%80%99s,stiff%20boom%20characteristics.=
>
the
boom operator and F-22 pilot for failing to coordinate their fuel handoff.
The resulting =E2=80=9Cnozzle binding=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 where the tanker=
=E2=80=99s gas supply line gets
stuck inside the receiving aircraft=E2=80=99s fuel inlet =E2=80=94 stressed=
, then snapped,
the 2,500-pound boom.*

*But veteran refuelers suggest another cause. They insist such problems
rarely happen aboard the older, non-video refueling systems. This latest
stuck-nozzle case is the fourth
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883038/629443770/-651470766?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
involving
the KC-46 since 2022. Flinging such hardware amid flowing aviation fuel and
two airplanes flying within 35 feet of each other at 25,000 feet is
dangerous work. The KC-135 =E2=80=9Chad the boom op[erator] staring out a p=
hysical
window and the boom=E2=80=99s controls were more manual,=E2=80=9D one forme=
r refueler
posted in response to a Task & Purpose article
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883044/629443773/1464140183?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
on
the mishap. =E2=80=9CThis new system uses an electronic joystick on the fli=
ghtdeck
with the boom [operator] wearing VR [Virtual Reality] goggles fed through
stereoscopic cameras to give it a 3D sensation. The manual feedback has
been removed.=E2=80=9D*

*An ex-fighter pilot agreed. =E2=80=9CFunny, in almost 2,000 hours of fight=
er time
with hundreds of refuelings, I have never experienced nor heard of such
incidents on any other tanker,=E2=80=9D he wrote. =E2=80=9CMaybe they shoul=
d examine the
boom=E2=80=99s engineering.=E2=80=9D*

*Turns out, the Pentagon inspector general did that five years ago. It
resulted in a damning report
<https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883046/629443780/1740241614?nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=
=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&ceid=3D20124=
9>
(PDF). It
seems that when it comes to military hardware, complicated and costly beats
cheap and conventional every time. Here=E2=80=99s hoping that the Air Force=
=E2=80=99s luck
holds out in its continuing game of refuelers=E2=80=99 Russian roulette.*

--000000000000d692bd06551c4ac2
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<div dir=3D"ltr"><a href=3D"https://www.pogo.org/?emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=
=3D201249">https://www.pogo.org/?emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed=
0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249</a><br>=
<div><br></div><div><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" =
cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cell=
spacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0p=
x;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:borde=
r-box;padding-bottom:0px;padding-top:5px;vertical-align:top"><table border=
=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"1=
00%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"=
><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;pad=
ding-bottom:0px"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;line-height:1.2"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-heig=
ht:1.2;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-wo=
rd;letter-spacing:0.04em"><strong style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font fac=
e=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000">STATUS QUO ANTE BELLUM</font></stron=
g></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border=3D"0" cell=
padding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:25px;padding-top:2px;text-align=
:center;width:600px"><h2 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;directio=
n:ltr;line-height:1.2;text-align:left"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"2" color=3D"#=
000000">Back where we started?</font></span></h2></td></tr></tbody></table>=
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center"=
 border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" wid=
th=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" bor=
der=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=
=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=
=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10=
px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D=
"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><t=
body style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
d style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b=
>Following the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, we have ended up with=C2=A0<i styl=
e=3D"box-sizing:border-box">status quo ante bellum</i>=C2=A0=E2=80=94 Latin=
 for =E2=80=9Cthe state existing before the war.=E2=80=9D Or perhaps we sho=
uld term it=C2=A0<i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">status trump ante bellu=
m =E2=80=94</i>=C2=A0STAB, as in between the shoulder blades =E2=80=94 give=
n that it:</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td>=
</tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center" bord=
er=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D=
"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:borde=
r-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" border=
=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"6=
00" style=3D"width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:5px;vertical-align:top"><t=
able border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation"=
 width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box;line-height:1.5"><ul style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5;=
padding-left:40px;margin:0px"><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;box-sizing:bord=
er-box"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font f=
ace=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b><i style=3D"box-sizing:border-b=
ox">Befuddled U.S. allies</i>=C2=A0who Trump didn=E2=80=99t consult before =
going to war, and who he bizarrely berated for not supporting it after he l=
aunched it.</b></font></span></li><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;box-sizing:=
border-box"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><fo=
nt face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b><i style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box">A pusillanimous Congress</i>, which has only drawn attention to its=
 increasing irrelevance by lacking the courage to rein in a wayward command=
er-in-chief.</b></font></span></li><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;box-sizing=
:border-box"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><f=
ont face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b><i style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box">A confused U.S. public</i>, who awoke the morning of February 28 t=
o learn their president had launched a surprise attack on a long-time foe t=
hat, nonetheless, posed no imminent threat to their nation.</b></font></spa=
n></li><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;box-sizing:border-box"><span style=3D"=
box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" =
color=3D"#000000"><b><i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">Israel</i>, which t=
hought Trump had its back in its wholehearted effort to destroy Iran. In re=
ality, he only half-heartedly attacked, unilaterally pulling back as the wa=
r began dragging down his political fortunes. In so doing, he gave up whate=
ver leverage the U.S. military might have given him, which has led to the v=
acuous=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882960/629443692/=
-1485030345?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEv=
Nzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWF=
jOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYW=
lsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&=
amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f1=
11-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box">14-point peace plan</a>=C2=A0signed June 17 between Washingt=
on and Tehran.</b></font></span></li><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;box-sizi=
ng:border-box"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word">=
<font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b><i style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box">Clarity</i>, which is all but absent in that peace deal. =E2=80=
=9CIn my 52 years in the foreign policy world,=E2=80=9D the CIA=E2=80=99s f=
ormer top lawyer=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882961/=
629443693/1692494468?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08=
vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi=
1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c=
29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTux=
B78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3ce=
a-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DMany%20experience=
d%20lawyers%20and%20diplomats%20share%20the%20view%20of%20Jeffrey%20Smith%2=
C%20a%20former%20CIA%20general%20counsel%2C%20who%20told%20me%20bluntly%3A%=
20%E2%80%9CIn%20my%2052%20years%20in%20the%20foreign%20policy%20world%2C%20=
I%20have%20never%20seen%20such%20a%20poorly%20drafted%20document.%E2%80%9D"=
 target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">said</a>, =E2=80=9CI hav=
e never seen such a poorly drafted document.=E2=80=9D</b></font></span></li=
><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;box-sizing:border-box"><span style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=
=3D"#000000"><b><i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">Victory</i>, which is de=
cidedly MIA. Instead of the =E2=80=9Cunconditional surrender=E2=80=9D deman=
ded by Trump, Iran (as of now) keeps its nukes, ballistic missiles, terrori=
st proxies, and regime. As battered as they all may be, Tehran=E2=80=99s pl=
edges to rein them in are belied by history. =E2=80=9CThis is the worst for=
eign policy blunder in decades,=E2=80=9D Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)=C2=A0<=
a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882962/629443694/342014767?nve=
p=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICA=
iRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNT=
RiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3=
D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d7=
18cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a5=
4bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">=
says</a>.</b></font></span></li><li style=3D"margin-left:15px;box-sizing:bo=
rder-box"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font=
 face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b><i style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box">The=C2=A0</i><a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882963/629=
443695/-755635926?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUE=
dPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mM=
TExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29u=
QGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78=
BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-b=
b6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box"><i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">13 U.S. troops</i><=
/a>=C2=A0who, under orders from their commander-in-chief without the backin=
g of U.S. allies, the U.S. Congress, or the U.S. public, died honorable dea=
ths in a poorly planned war.</b></font></span></li></ul></div></div></td></=
tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><tab=
le align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=
=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table=
 align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"=
presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0=
px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:1=
0px;padding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D=
"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-br=
eak:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" co=
lor=3D"#000000"><b>Reams have been written, with much more to come, about t=
he costs and benefits of this conflict. But make no mistake about it: Its f=
leeting tactical triumphs, as worthy and hard-earned as they may have been,=
 pale alongside its long-term strategic shortcomings.</b></font></span></p>=
</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><=
/tbody></table><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cells=
pacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspaci=
ng=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"width:600px;margin:0p=
x auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;vertical-align:to=
p"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presenta=
tion" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:20px=
;padding-top:20px"><div align=3D"center" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
able border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation"=
 width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1px;border-t=
op:1px solid rgb(209,213,220)"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-br=
eak:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>=E2=80=
=8A</b></font></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></ta=
ble></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"cen=
ter" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation"=
 width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center"=
 border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" wid=
th=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td widt=
h=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:0px;padding-top:5p=
x;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"=
0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tb=
ody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:0px"><div style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.2"><p style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.2;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box;word-break:break-word;letter-spacing:0.04em"><strong style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000">=
CARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY</font></strong></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbo=
dy></table><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"=
presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bot=
tom:25px;padding-top:2px;text-align:center;width:600px"><h2 style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box;margin:0px;direction:ltr;line-height:1.2;text-align:left"><=
span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"ge=
orgia, serif" size=3D"2" color=3D"#000000">Teaming up to supply the Pentago=
n</font></span></h2></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></t=
d></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"=
0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" c=
ellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius=
:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
r style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table bo=
rder=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=
=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;mar=
gin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font =
face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Lockheed Martin, the country=
=E2=80=99s=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882964/629443=
697/1150411307?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPL=
zEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTEx=
LWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGd=
tYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=
=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6=
f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box">biggest defense contractor</a>, is joining forces with G=
eneral Motors, the nation=E2=80=99s=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyacti=
on.com/k/133882965/629443698/-1476874181?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5=
ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOi=
AiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzc=
yI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08B=
MpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed=
0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=
=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">biggest car manufacturer</a>, t=
o provide the Pentagon with more weapons. =E2=80=9CWhat does a=C2=A0<a href=
=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882966/629443699/-1508569989?nvep=3D=
ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGl=
zdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZW=
QwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&am=
p;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd=
-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed=
0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">THAA=
D air defense interceptor</a>=C2=A0have in common with=C2=A0<a href=3D"http=
s://click.everyaction.com/k/133882968/629443700/856198005?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVG=
VuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0a=
W9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAg=
IkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DX=
l0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=
=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">Corvette</a>?=
=E2=80=9D Lockheed=E2=80=99s operations chief Frank St. John=C2=A0<a href=
=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882969/629443701/2024101107?nvep=3De=
w0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlz=
dHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQ=
wIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp=
;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-=
346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0=
&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">asked=
</a>=C2=A0last week. =E2=80=9CWell, both of them are highly engineered, bot=
h of them are precision manufactured, both of them have broad and diverse s=
upply chains, and both of them are produced at rate.=E2=80=9D</b></font></s=
pan></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></t=
d></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"=
0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" c=
ellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius=
:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
r style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table bo=
rder=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=
=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;mar=
gin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font =
face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>The Iran war has punctured the=
 myth that a few costly weapons can prevail over lots of cheap ones. The Pe=
ntagon is=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882970/6294437=
02/876278540?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzE=
vNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLW=
FjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtY=
WlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D=
&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f=
111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box">alarmed</a>. President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense=
 Production Act to urge arms makers to churn out more weaponry. =E2=80=9CI =
hereby find that conditions exist which may pose a direct threat to the nat=
ional defense or its preparedness programs,=E2=80=9D Trump wrote Defense Se=
cretary Pete Hegseth in the=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k=
/133882971/629443704/-2013044361?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjo=
vL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5Yj=
NjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjY=
XJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9E=
GtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;em=
di=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_bla=
nk" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">June 11 memo</a>=C2=A0<i style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box">(PDF).</i>He cited =E2=80=9Climited production capacity, =
fragile supply chains, long-lead dependencies, and related production bottl=
enecks.=E2=80=9D</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table=
></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center=
" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" wi=
dth=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing=
:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" bo=
rder=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=
=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=
=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10=
px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D=
"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><t=
body style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
d style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b=
>Funny how the Lockheed chief mentioned the Chevrolet Corvette, among GM=E2=
=80=99s most costly models =E2=80=94 up to=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.ev=
eryaction.com/k/133882973/629443705/-1698509444?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJp=
IjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXV=
lSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQW=
RkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSE=
vIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d=
3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249"=
 target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">$218,000</a>=C2=A0=E2=80=
=94 in this current partnership. They accounted for a modest=C2=A0<a href=
=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882974/629443706/-1016454777?nvep=3D=
ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGl=
zdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZW=
QwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&am=
p;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd=
-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed=
0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">25,8=
35</a>=C2=A0of the=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/13388297=
5/629443707/1254867320?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR=
08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2=
Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF=
5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvT=
uxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3=
cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3Dplaced%20sixth%=
20with-,4%2C547%2C918,-units%20sold%20globally" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"=
box-sizing:border-box">4,547,918</a>=C2=A0vehicles =E2=80=94 0.6% =E2=80=94=
 GM built last year. And while it=E2=80=99s admittedly an =E2=80=9Cexquisit=
e=E2=80=9D automobile, that=E2=80=99s precisely the kind of weaponry the Pe=
ntagon=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882976/629443709/=
330630217?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNz=
g5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjO=
WMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWls=
LmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&am=
p;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DWar%20has%20a%20way%20of%20e=
xposing%20illusions.%20One%C2%A0illusion%C2%A0now%20shattered%20is%20the%20=
notion%20that%20America%20can%20rely%20on%20small%20inventories%20of%20exqu=
isite%2C%20ultra-expensive%20weapons%20to%20carry%20the%20day." target=3D"_=
blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">can=E2=80=99t afford to buy</a>=C2=
=A0in the quantities needed. Alas, it seems the initial Lockheed-GM effort =
is dedicated to buying more such=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.=
com/k/133882978/629443710/2024101107?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZ=
hbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNm=
Y5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6I=
CJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHY=
mA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&am=
p;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DA=
mong%20other%20goals%2C%20the%20partnership%20will%20help%20Lockheed%20fill=
%20a%20Pentagon%20request%20to%20triple%20and%20quadruple%20production%20ra=
tes%20of%20PAC-3%20Missile%20Segment%20Enhancements%20and%20THAAD%20interce=
ptors%2C%20respectively%2C%20over%20the%20next%20several%20years%20by%20lev=
eraging%20GM%E2%80%99s%20supply-chain%20expertise%2C%20according%20to%20St.=
%20John.%C2%A0%C2%A0" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">sil=
ver bullets</a>.</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table=
></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center=
" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" wi=
dth=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing=
:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" bo=
rder=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=
=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=
=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10=
px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D=
"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><t=
body style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
d style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div=
 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b=
><i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">The Bunker</i>=C2=A0has an interest in =
this marriage made in carnage, having driven products made by=C2=A0<i style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box">both</i>=C2=A0Lockheed and GM. As a rookie repor=
ter more than 45 years ago, he took a swell spin in an F-16, impressed by i=
ts power, agility, and the immense human pyramid it takes to keep such a pl=
ane flying.</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td=
></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center" bor=
der=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=
=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" borde=
r=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"=
600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D=
"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;=
vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0"=
 role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbod=
y style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;w=
ord-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Bu=
t he was decidedly less impressed with the GM product sitting back home in =
his driveway at the time. Thankfully, St. John didn=E2=80=99t cite that=C2=
=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882979/629443711/813570328=
?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0=
KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZD=
NhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINC=
n0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3D=
c0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000=
d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-b=
ox">Pontiac Sunbird</a>=C2=A0as an exemplar of excellence.=C2=A0<i style=3D=
"box-sizing:border-box">The Bunker</i>=C2=A0bought a 1979 Sunbird for $3,50=
0 because of fond memories of Dad=E2=80=99s 1957 Pontiac. =E2=80=9CFor some=
one primed to love the Pontiac brand, the Sunbird was a disheartening exper=
ience,=E2=80=9D=C2=A0<i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">The Bunker</i>=C2=
=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882980/629443713/320119821=
?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0=
KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZD=
NhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINC=
n0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3D=
c0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000=
d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-b=
ox">wrote</a>=C2=A0of its first brand-new car, following Pontiac=E2=80=99s =
demise in 2009. =E2=80=9CIt was a lemon, a cut-rate and an ill-aimed stab a=
t beating the Japanese competition in the growing market for smaller cars s=
pawned by rising fuel prices.=E2=80=9D</b></font></span></p></div></div></t=
d></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>=
<table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" ro=
le=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><=
tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tab=
le align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=
=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;marg=
in:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing=
:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bott=
om:10px;padding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpaddin=
g=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"wor=
d-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box=
-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, ser=
if" color=3D"#000000"><b>Granted, that was a long time ago. JD Power=E2=80=
=99s=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882982/629443716/-1=
327808235?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNz=
g5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjO=
WMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWls=
LmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&am=
p;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111=
-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3Djohn%40jroderick.com-,About%=
20JD%20Power,-and%20Advertising/Promotional" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box=
-sizing:border-box">latest dependability ratings</a>show that GM=E2=80=99s =
brands =E2=80=94 Buick, Chevy, and Cadillac =E2=80=94 rank higher than name=
plates from Audi, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes, Porche, T=
oyota, Volvo, and Volkswagen.</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr></=
tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table al=
ign=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"pre=
sentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=
=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presen=
tation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px aut=
o"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;pa=
dding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" ce=
llspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:br=
eak-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D=
"#000000"><b>Now=C2=A0<i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">that=E2=80=99s</i>=
=C2=A0an impressive victory.</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr></t=
body></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table ali=
gn=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"pres=
entation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=
=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presen=
tation" width=3D"600" style=3D"width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D=
"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"10=
0%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" =
cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><t=
body style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
d style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:20px;padding-top:20px"><div=
 align=3D"center" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table border=3D"0" cellp=
adding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1px;border-top:1px solid rgb(209,21=
3,220)"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font f=
ace=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>=E2=80=8A</b></font></span></td=
></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></t=
able></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpad=
ding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=
=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"borde=
r-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box;padding-bottom:0px;padding-top:5px;vertical-align:top"><ta=
ble border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" =
width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:b=
order-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box;padding-bottom:0px"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.2"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;line-height:1.2;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-bre=
ak:break-word;letter-spacing:0.04em"><strong style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000">TANKER CANKER</font></str=
ong></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border=3D"0" ce=
llpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbo=
dy style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:25px;padding-top:2px;text-ali=
gn:center;width:600px"><h2 style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;direct=
ion:ltr;line-height:1.2;text-align:left"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-b=
ox;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"2" color=3D=
"#000000">Gassing up up there is still tough</font></span></h2></td></tr></=
tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table al=
ign=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"pre=
sentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=
=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presen=
tation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px aut=
o"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;pa=
dding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" ce=
llspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:br=
eak-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D=
"#000000"><b>It=E2=80=99s challenging for us civilians to assess military h=
ardware, given its complexity. That=E2=80=99s why we pay special attention =
to simpler stuff, like the Air Force=E2=80=99s=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://clic=
k.everyaction.com/k/133882986/629443718/-1074649070?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50=
VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5=
pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYW=
lsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHi=
jsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-=
000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201=
249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">25-year quest</a>=C2=
=A0to replace its ancient aerial tanker fleet with Boeing=E2=80=99s new=C2=
=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882989/629443721/203417734=
3?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA=
0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZ=
DNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSIN=
Cn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=
=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-=
000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:borde=
r-box">KC-46</a>. Such planes are vital in combat, topping off tanks of thi=
rsty fighters and bombers via hoses protruding from the tankers=E2=80=99 ta=
ils. How hard can it be to build a flying gas station?</b></font></span></p=
></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr>=
</tbody></table><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cell=
spacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspac=
ing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;wi=
dth:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D=
"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%=
" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
r style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div =
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-he=
ight:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"=
><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"=
georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Plenty, it turns out. According to a J=
une 10=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133882992/629443724/=
2033935391?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvN=
zg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFj=
OWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWl=
sLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&a=
mp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f11=
1-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box">report</a>=C2=A0from the Government Accountability Office, th=
e Air Force missed its tanker targets=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyac=
tion.com/k/133882995/629443728/-2109924047?_gl=3D1%2Ao95qpd%2A_ga%2AMTQ0MDU=
1NTY3OS4xNzc3OTIzNzc4%2A_ga_V393SNS3SR%2AczE3ODIwNjA4ODckbzE1JGcxJHQxNzgyMD=
YwOTAyJGo0NSRsMCRoMA..&amp;nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhb=
i9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEt=
YmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5=
ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFax=
KVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6=
f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DFrom%20fisc=
al%20year%202019%20through%20fiscal%20year%202025%2C%20the%20Air%20Force%20=
did%20not%20meet%20its%20availability%20and%20capability%20standards%20for%=
20the%20aerial%20refueling%20tanker%20fleet" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box=
-sizing:border-box">from 2019 to 2025</a>, in large part because of its tro=
ubled KC-46. The plane=E2=80=99s remote=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.every=
action.com/k/133883000/629443731/-803653937?v=3DThbmESQTZrU&amp;nvep=3Dew0K=
ICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJ=
pYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIi=
wNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hm=
ac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346=
f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&am=
p;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">camera-t=
o-screen refueling boom</a>, a video-game-like contrivance controlled by an=
 operator in the cockpit far away from the boom itself,=C2=A0<a href=3D"htt=
ps://click.everyaction.com/k/133883003/629443735/-2109924047?_gl=3D1%2Ao95q=
pd%2A_ga%2AMTQ0MDU1NTY3OS4xNzc3OTIzNzc4%2A_ga_V393SNS3SR%2AczE3ODIwNjA4ODck=
bzE1JGcxJHQxNzgyMDYwOTAyJGo0NSRsMCRoMA..&amp;nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjo=
gIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSW=
QiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkc=
mVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIr=
Q08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a5=
4bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:=
text=3DThis%20is%20about%20a%209-year%20delay%20from%20the%20original%20sch=
edule%20due%20to%20issues%20with%20the%20aircraft%E2%80%99s%20remote%20visi=
on%20system%20and%20refueling%20boom." target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box">continues to be plagued</a>=C2=A0with problems. It is a consi=
derably more complicated system than the=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.ever=
yaction.com/k/133883006/629443739/-803653937?v=3DV-_L_n4yBDE&amp;nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;h=
mac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-34=
6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&a=
mp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">physica=
l eyeballs</a>=C2=A0peering through a window that refueling-boom operators =
at the rear of older tankers use to guide the refueling probe. In fact, the=
=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883012/629443742/-16970=
22399?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5Mj=
IiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtM=
DAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNv=
bSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;em=
ci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9=
c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DThe%20Eisenhower-era%20KC-135%20=
had%20a%20mission%20capable%20rate%20of%20just%20under%2068%20percent%20in%=
20fiscal%202024%2C%20the%20last%20year%20the%20Air%20Force%20released%20tho=
se%20rates.%20That%20same%20year%2C%20the%20KC-46%20had%20a%2062%20percent%=
20MC%20rate" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">last time</a=
>=C2=A0the service released its mission-capable rates (for 2024), the Eisen=
hower-era=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883014/6294437=
47/-1884921716?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPL=
zEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTEx=
LWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGd=
tYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=
=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6=
f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box">KC-135</a>=C2=A0tankers were ready 68% of the time, comp=
ared to the new KC-46=E2=80=99s 62% (the service=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://cl=
ick.everyaction.com/k/133883017/629443749/-2109924047?_gl=3D1%2Ao95qpd%2A_g=
a%2AMTQ0MDU1NTY3OS4xNzc3OTIzNzc4%2A_ga_V393SNS3SR%2AczE3ODIwNjA4ODckbzE1JGc=
xJHQxNzgyMDYwOTAyJGo0NSRsMCRoMA..&amp;nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncH=
ZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiN=
mY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6=
ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpH=
YmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&a=
mp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3D=
In%20May%202026%2C%20we,rates%20from%20this%20report." target=3D"_blank" st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box">wouldn=E2=80=99t let</a>=C2=A0GAO publish the=
 planes=E2=80=99 current readiness rates). The Air Force=C2=A0<a href=3D"ht=
tps://click.everyaction.com/k/133883019/629443752/-1886942466?uxmode=3Druby=
&amp;nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjI=
iLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMD=
AwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvb=
SINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emc=
i=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c=
-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DThe%20purchase%20of%2075%20new%20=
aircraft%20would%20be%20on%20top%20of%20183%20tankers%20already%20purchased=
." target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">has bought 183</a>=C2=
=A0of the roughly=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883023=
/629443755/-1886942466?uxmode=3Druby&amp;nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5=
ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOi=
AiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzc=
yI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08B=
MpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed=
0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=
=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">$235 million planes</a>, and it=
 wants 75 more (at $334 million apiece.)</b></font></span></p></div></div><=
/td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></tabl=
e><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" =
role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"=
><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><t=
able align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=
=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;marg=
in:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing=
:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bott=
om:10px;padding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpaddin=
g=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"wor=
d-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box=
-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, ser=
if" color=3D"#000000"><b>The GAO=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.=
com/k/133883026/629443758/-2109924047?_gl=3D1%2Ao95qpd%2A_ga%2AMTQ0MDU1NTY3=
OS4xNzc3OTIzNzc4%2A_ga_V393SNS3SR%2AczE3ODIwNjA4ODckbzE1JGcxJHQxNzgyMDYwOTA=
yJGo0NSRsMCRoMA..&amp;nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR0=
8vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Z=
i1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5=
c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTu=
xB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3c=
ea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249#:~:text=3DDuring%20our%20s=
ite,other%20structural%20issues." target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box">said</a>=C2=A0that KC-46 operators =E2=80=9Cexpressed concerns abo=
ut Boeing=E2=80=99s quality control procedures and described a variety of i=
ssues that they observed with the new aircraft, including frequently failin=
g electrical components on the boom, sensors that do not perform accurately=
, airframe cracks, and other structural issues.=E2=80=9D</b></font></span><=
/p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></t=
r></tbody></table><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" ce=
llspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellsp=
acing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;=
width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr sty=
le=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-=
box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table border=
=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"1=
00%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"=
><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><d=
iv style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line=
-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0=
px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=
=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Two days after the GAO report, the=
 Air Force released an=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/1338=
83030/629443762/171160861?ver=3DD9Tm1FTIpEprkuzk6t2Ouw%3D%3D&amp;nvep=3Dew0=
KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdH=
JpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwI=
iwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;h=
mac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-34=
6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&a=
mp;ceid=3D201249#page=3D2" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
">investigation</a><i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">(PDF)</i>=C2=A0into a=
 2025 accident that sent a $10 million KC-46 refueling boom plummeting into=
 the Atlantic Ocean. The mishap occurred during a failed midair effort to r=
efuel an F-22 fighter. No one was hurt. The inquiry=C2=A0<a href=3D"https:/=
/click.everyaction.com/k/133883034/629443766/1718173506?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVu=
YW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9=
uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIk=
VtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0=
DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-a=
c9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=
=3D201249#:~:text=3DThe%20AIB%20president%E2%80%99s,stiff%20boom%20characte=
ristics." target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">blamed both</a>=
=C2=A0the boom operator and F-22 pilot for failing to coordinate their fuel=
 handoff. The resulting =E2=80=9Cnozzle binding=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 where th=
e tanker=E2=80=99s gas supply line gets stuck inside the receiving aircraft=
=E2=80=99s fuel inlet =E2=80=94 stressed, then snapped, the 2,500-pound boo=
m.</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></t=
body></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0"=
 cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><=
tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><=
td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cel=
lpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=
=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizi=
ng:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;vertical-ali=
gn:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"pre=
sentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"b=
ox-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-s=
izing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-he=
ight:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:br=
eak-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>But veteran re=
fuelers suggest another cause. They insist such problems rarely happen aboa=
rd the older, non-video refueling systems. This latest stuck-nozzle case=C2=
=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883038/629443770/-65147076=
6?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA=
0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZ=
DNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSIN=
Cn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=
=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-=
000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:borde=
r-box">is the fourth</a>=C2=A0involving the KC-46 since 2022. Flinging such=
 hardware amid flowing aviation fuel and two airplanes flying within 35 fee=
t of each other at 25,000 feet is dangerous work. The KC-135 =E2=80=9Chad t=
he boom op[erator] staring out a physical window and the boom=E2=80=99s con=
trols were more manual,=E2=80=9D one former refueler posted in response to =
a=C2=A0<i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">Task &amp; Purpose</i>=C2=A0<a hr=
ef=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883044/629443773/1464140183?nvep=
=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvNzg5MjIiLA0KICAi=
RGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFjOWMtMDAwZDNhNTR=
iZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWlsLmNvbSINCn0%3D=
&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&amp;emci=3Dc0d71=
8cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54=
bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">a=
rticle</a>=C2=A0on the mishap. =E2=80=9CThis new system uses an electronic =
joystick on the flightdeck with the boom [operator] wearing VR [Virtual Rea=
lity] goggles fed through stereoscopic cameras to give it a 3D sensation. T=
he manual feedback has been removed.=E2=80=9D</b></font></span></p></div></=
div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody><=
/table><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=
=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-=
box"><table align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"=
0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600=
px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box=
-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;paddi=
ng-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cel=
lpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=
=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:=
1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><spa=
n style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;word-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georg=
ia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>An ex-fighter pilot agreed. =E2=80=9CFunny,=
 in almost 2,000 hours of fighter time with hundreds of refuelings, I have =
never experienced nor heard of such incidents on any other tanker,=E2=80=9D=
 he wrote. =E2=80=9CMaybe they should examine the boom=E2=80=99s engineerin=
g.=E2=80=9D</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td=
></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align=3D"center" bor=
der=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=
=3D"100%"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box"><td style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><table align=3D"center" borde=
r=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" width=3D"=
600" style=3D"border-radius:0px;width:600px;margin:0px auto"><tbody style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td width=3D=
"100%" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;padding-bottom:10px;padding-top:10px;=
vertical-align:top"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0"=
 role=3D"presentation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"word-break:break-word"><tbod=
y style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><td s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><div st=
yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.5"><p style=3D"box-sizing:border=
-box;line-height:inherit;margin:0px"><span style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;w=
ord-break:break-word"><font face=3D"georgia, serif" color=3D"#000000"><b>Tu=
rns out, the Pentagon inspector general did that five years ago. It resulte=
d in a=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://click.everyaction.com/k/133883046/629443780/=
1740241614?nvep=3Dew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9QR08vUEdPLzEvN=
zg5MjIiLA0KICAiRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uVW5pcXVlSWQiOiAiNmY5YjNjZWEtYmI2Zi1mMTExLWFj=
OWMtMDAwZDNhNTRiZWQwIiwNCiAgIkVtYWlsQWRkcmVzcyI6ICJjYXJtZW5ncmF5c29uQGdtYWl=
sLmNvbSINCn0%3D&amp;hmac=3DXl0DMHijsSEvIrQ08BMpHYmA9EGtjFaxKVvTuxB78BI=3D&a=
mp;emci=3Dc0d718cd-346f-f111-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;emdi=3D6f9b3cea-bb6f-f11=
1-ac9c-000d3a54bed0&amp;ceid=3D201249" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizin=
g:border-box">damning report</a>=C2=A0<i style=3D"box-sizing:border-box">(P=
DF).</i>=C2=A0It seems that when it comes to military hardware, complicated=
 and costly beats cheap and conventional every time. Here=E2=80=99s hoping =
that the Air Force=E2=80=99s luck holds out in its continuing game of refue=
lers=E2=80=99 Russian roulette.</b></font></span></p></div></div></td></tr>=
</tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><=
/div>

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-LeoUCGDE8

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<div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-LeoUCGDE8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-LeoUCGDE8</a></div>

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