Frederick Deknatel
@freddydeknatel.bsky.social
Journalist, fellow at Century International, editor of @Hidden-Cities.com https://www.hidden-cities.com/
Previously: Founding executive editor, Democracy in Exile @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social; managing editor @wpr.bsky.social; staff editor @foreignaffairs.com
Previously: Founding executive editor, Democracy in Exile @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social; managing editor @wpr.bsky.social; staff editor @foreignaffairs.com
Pinned
Frederick Deknatel - The Century Foundation
Frederick Deknatel is a journalist, editor and fellow at Century International, where he writes about Middle Eastern affairs. From 2021 to 2025, he was
tcf.org
I'm thrilled to join the Century Foundation as a fellow at Century International, where I'll be writing on Syria's future, from the huge challenges of reconstruction to the prospects for U.S.-Syria ties after Assad. @centuryintl.bsky.social @tcfdotorg.bsky.social
tcf.org/experts/fred...
tcf.org/experts/fred...
As I wrote here for @tcfdotorg.bsky.social, insular investor-driven reconstruction under Sharaa "risks ushering in a new era of clientelism and corruption in Syria, benefiting only Sharaa’s allies and international developers."
And, it seems, some Assad-era cronies too. tcf.org/content/comm...
And, it seems, some Assad-era cronies too. tcf.org/content/comm...
February 17, 2026 at 5:58 PM
As I wrote here for @tcfdotorg.bsky.social, insular investor-driven reconstruction under Sharaa "risks ushering in a new era of clientelism and corruption in Syria, benefiting only Sharaa’s allies and international developers."
And, it seems, some Assad-era cronies too. tcf.org/content/comm...
And, it seems, some Assad-era cronies too. tcf.org/content/comm...
A reminder of how Mohammed Hamsho profited off Syria's war:
Working with Maher al-Assad's 4th Division, soldiers and regime militia, "some of whom call themselves 'men of Hamsho,'" looted steel from the rubble of ravaged cities and sent it to Hamsho’s factories. www.ft.com/content/525e...
Working with Maher al-Assad's 4th Division, soldiers and regime militia, "some of whom call themselves 'men of Hamsho,'" looted steel from the rubble of ravaged cities and sent it to Hamsho’s factories. www.ft.com/content/525e...
February 17, 2026 at 4:30 PM
A reminder of how Mohammed Hamsho profited off Syria's war:
Working with Maher al-Assad's 4th Division, soldiers and regime militia, "some of whom call themselves 'men of Hamsho,'" looted steel from the rubble of ravaged cities and sent it to Hamsho’s factories. www.ft.com/content/525e...
Working with Maher al-Assad's 4th Division, soldiers and regime militia, "some of whom call themselves 'men of Hamsho,'" looted steel from the rubble of ravaged cities and sent it to Hamsho’s factories. www.ft.com/content/525e...
Great report on the billionaire Al-Khayyat brothers — Qatari tycoons originally from Syria — who are now looking to cash in on Syrian reconstruction as Sharaa courts Gulf investors.
Their uncle is notorious Assad-era business baron Mohammad Hamsho… www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Their uncle is notorious Assad-era business baron Mohammad Hamsho… www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Qatar’s Billionaire Al-Khayyat Brothers Turn to Syria’s Reconstruction
The Al-Khayyat brothers have businesses present in many elements of Qatari life and are now poised to play a leading role in rebuilding their homeland.
www.bloomberg.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Great report on the billionaire Al-Khayyat brothers — Qatari tycoons originally from Syria — who are now looking to cash in on Syrian reconstruction as Sharaa courts Gulf investors.
Their uncle is notorious Assad-era business baron Mohammad Hamsho… www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Their uncle is notorious Assad-era business baron Mohammad Hamsho… www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"This is the Epstein class in all its glory. It’s an elite that schemes to remain as unaccountable for sexual crimes as it does for corporate crimes. It has its own hierarchy of friends and foes, and it will defend those friends no matter what they do, while the spoils of privilege flow."
Guys I found the best Epstein Files email. The one that illuminates an elite class that's cocooned themselves into an unaccountable shell of wealth and privilege, fighting to protect their secrets and offenses.
I could write a novel about this email.
prospect.org/2026/02/17/e...
I could write a novel about this email.
prospect.org/2026/02/17/e...
The Quintessential Epstein Files Email - The American Prospect
Jeffrey Epstein and his friends standing up for Mary Jo White against Elizabeth Warren tells you everything about the class war at the heart of the files.
prospect.org
February 17, 2026 at 2:35 PM
"This is the Epstein class in all its glory. It’s an elite that schemes to remain as unaccountable for sexual crimes as it does for corporate crimes. It has its own hierarchy of friends and foes, and it will defend those friends no matter what they do, while the spoils of privilege flow."
“Let’s do the fucking news.” 🙃
Recent CBS News news:
1. Anderson Cooper leaves 60 Minutes after two decades
2. Stephen Colbert reveals network won’t let him air interview with Dem
3. Producer says politics dictating what airs
4. Owner’s bid for CNN parent back on the table.
5. Not firing Epstein pal.
1. Anderson Cooper leaves 60 Minutes after two decades
2. Stephen Colbert reveals network won’t let him air interview with Dem
3. Producer says politics dictating what airs
4. Owner’s bid for CNN parent back on the table.
5. Not firing Epstein pal.
February 17, 2026 at 2:23 PM
“Let’s do the fucking news.” 🙃
“Syria was siloed forever, and people were siloed to it, and even those who were there couldn’t express themselves freely, so now it's the first time that I feel people can come and they can be themselves without fear, at least in Damascus.” www.gqmiddleeast.com/article/syri...
A Rebirth Is Happening on the Dance Floors of Damascus
Inside an underground rave in a deserted shopping mall on the outskirts of the capital city, and the reemergence of Syrian nightlife
www.gqmiddleeast.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:03 PM
“Syria was siloed forever, and people were siloed to it, and even those who were there couldn’t express themselves freely, so now it's the first time that I feel people can come and they can be themselves without fear, at least in Damascus.” www.gqmiddleeast.com/article/syri...
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
not nitpicking i just find it funny that this is insane story about government censorship is item 1 in "late night roundup"
Stephen Colbert said that the FCC and CBS - which is in no way a compromised or complicit organization - wouldn’t allow him to broadcast an interview with Democratic State Rep James Talarico. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
Colbert Doesn’t Give an FCC About Calling Out CBS
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:49 PM
not nitpicking i just find it funny that this is insane story about government censorship is item 1 in "late night roundup"
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
Stephen Colbert said that the FCC and CBS - which is in no way a compromised or complicit organization - wouldn’t allow him to broadcast an interview with Democratic State Rep James Talarico. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
Colbert Doesn’t Give an FCC About Calling Out CBS
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Stephen Colbert said that the FCC and CBS - which is in no way a compromised or complicit organization - wouldn’t allow him to broadcast an interview with Democratic State Rep James Talarico. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
The Axios-style "smart brevity" take on AOC's stumble (which you won't find in Axios) is that America's One China policy doesn't make much sense.
America's One China policy, from which strategic ambiguity over Taiwan emerges, is such a logic-defying formulation that very few people who aren't China specialists can accurately articulate or explain it, and even some China specialists stumble at times.
The political media will now spend the week covering AOC's stumble to articulate America's policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan—rather than analyzing and explaining that policy, why it is ambiguous in the first place, and most of all, what the current president actually thinks of it.
February 16, 2026 at 10:46 PM
The Axios-style "smart brevity" take on AOC's stumble (which you won't find in Axios) is that America's One China policy doesn't make much sense.
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
America's One China policy, from which strategic ambiguity over Taiwan emerges, is such a logic-defying formulation that very few people who aren't China specialists can accurately articulate or explain it, and even some China specialists stumble at times.
The political media will now spend the week covering AOC's stumble to articulate America's policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan—rather than analyzing and explaining that policy, why it is ambiguous in the first place, and most of all, what the current president actually thinks of it.
February 16, 2026 at 10:24 PM
America's One China policy, from which strategic ambiguity over Taiwan emerges, is such a logic-defying formulation that very few people who aren't China specialists can accurately articulate or explain it, and even some China specialists stumble at times.
We can now count on the NYT to print every Trump quote verbatim, right? Especially ones where he "struggled at times to formulate succinct answers"? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
February 16, 2026 at 10:02 PM
We can now count on the NYT to print every Trump quote verbatim, right? Especially ones where he "struggled at times to formulate succinct answers"? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
Have you ever once seen the New York Times quote Trump like this?
February 16, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Have you ever once seen the New York Times quote Trump like this?
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
Twitter down AGAIN. They keep boasting about how easy it was to fire 90% of engineers… well yeah firing them was easy. But the price was an app that now collapses every week.
February 16, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Twitter down AGAIN. They keep boasting about how easy it was to fire 90% of engineers… well yeah firing them was easy. But the price was an app that now collapses every week.
The Trump administration “is telling American manufacturers, ‘You guys go build gasoline cars again.’ The Chinese government is telling its manufacturers, ‘You go build the advanced vehicles that are going take over the world.’” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/c...
With Latest Rollback, the U.S. Essentially Has No Clean-Car Rules
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 12:28 PM
The Trump administration “is telling American manufacturers, ‘You guys go build gasoline cars again.’ The Chinese government is telling its manufacturers, ‘You go build the advanced vehicles that are going take over the world.’” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/c...
Imagine a prominent Democrat whose message is not, “we’re tough on immigration too, look how many people we deported!,” but instead challenges the entire fanatical narrative — set by the right — of a borderless country “invaded” by migrants.
You can’t really, can you?
You can’t really, can you?
Hillary Clinton: "More people were deported under my husband and Barack Obama without killing American citizens and without putting children into detention camps than were in the first Trump term or this first year of Trump's second term."
February 16, 2026 at 12:28 AM
Imagine a prominent Democrat whose message is not, “we’re tough on immigration too, look how many people we deported!,” but instead challenges the entire fanatical narrative — set by the right — of a borderless country “invaded” by migrants.
You can’t really, can you?
You can’t really, can you?
The State Department channeling the AfD and its Völkisch nationalism.
How long until Rubio calls the Holocaust memorial in Berlin a "monument of shame”?
How long until Rubio calls the Holocaust memorial in Berlin a "monument of shame”?
February 15, 2026 at 3:42 PM
The State Department channeling the AfD and its Völkisch nationalism.
How long until Rubio calls the Holocaust memorial in Berlin a "monument of shame”?
How long until Rubio calls the Holocaust memorial in Berlin a "monument of shame”?
“Baghdad has always been a city remade by power. It is happening again now—as its inhabitants decide what to forget, what to carry forward, and what to surrender to money or modernity. In a place that has learned too well how to bury the past, remembering becomes its own kind of architecture.”
What’s Buried by Baghdad’s Construction Boom
The politics of rebuilding in a city of memories.
foreignpolicy.com
February 15, 2026 at 3:29 PM
“Baghdad has always been a city remade by power. It is happening again now—as its inhabitants decide what to forget, what to carry forward, and what to surrender to money or modernity. In a place that has learned too well how to bury the past, remembering becomes its own kind of architecture.”
Trump’s readymade excuse for not recognizing the authority and oversight of a Democratic House — and maybe Senate — will be that it only came to power through “voter fraud.”
It’s the same propaganda that allows him to pretend he didn’t lose in 2020 and has never lost the popular vote.
It’s the same propaganda that allows him to pretend he didn’t lose in 2020 and has never lost the popular vote.
I will continue to beat this drum: this is not about what happens on Election Day, but afterwards.
The key tell is her articulation of the core MAGA belief that the legitimacy of elections is entirely determined by the results: if they win, it’s legitimate; if they lose, it’s not.
The key tell is her articulation of the core MAGA belief that the legitimacy of elections is entirely determined by the results: if they win, it’s legitimate; if they lose, it’s not.
Kristi Noem: "When it gets to Election Day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country."
February 14, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Trump’s readymade excuse for not recognizing the authority and oversight of a Democratic House — and maybe Senate — will be that it only came to power through “voter fraud.”
It’s the same propaganda that allows him to pretend he didn’t lose in 2020 and has never lost the popular vote.
It’s the same propaganda that allows him to pretend he didn’t lose in 2020 and has never lost the popular vote.
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
I will continue to beat this drum: this is not about what happens on Election Day, but afterwards.
The key tell is her articulation of the core MAGA belief that the legitimacy of elections is entirely determined by the results: if they win, it’s legitimate; if they lose, it’s not.
The key tell is her articulation of the core MAGA belief that the legitimacy of elections is entirely determined by the results: if they win, it’s legitimate; if they lose, it’s not.
Kristi Noem: "When it gets to Election Day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country."
February 14, 2026 at 10:35 PM
I will continue to beat this drum: this is not about what happens on Election Day, but afterwards.
The key tell is her articulation of the core MAGA belief that the legitimacy of elections is entirely determined by the results: if they win, it’s legitimate; if they lose, it’s not.
The key tell is her articulation of the core MAGA belief that the legitimacy of elections is entirely determined by the results: if they win, it’s legitimate; if they lose, it’s not.
This shows that Columbia didn’t need to cave, neither did the big law firms. They said they had to “strike a deal” with Trump—capitulate—because they didn’t want to fight.
This is a genuinely huge, sweeping victory today for the University of California—or rather, for us, its faculty, acting through our faculty associations, while the UC itself maintained a strict policy of deer-in-headlights silence.
The Trump admin has given up its appeal of a powerful injunction:
The Trump admin has given up its appeal of a powerful injunction:
Trump administration drops appeal of court order blocking $1.2-billion UCLA settlement
The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a major higher education case in which a federal judge blocked its $1.2-billion settlement proposal to UCLA over alleged civil rights violations. It will...
www.latimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 7:29 PM
This shows that Columbia didn’t need to cave, neither did the big law firms. They said they had to “strike a deal” with Trump—capitulate—because they didn’t want to fight.
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
It's not a new observation at this point but that wild Noem/Lewandowski story in WSJ really brings home the extent to which all the Trump 2 cabinet-level goblins see their jobs as flying private, doing short-form video, and screaming at underlings. They all hate each other and none of them can read.
February 13, 2026 at 4:48 AM
It's not a new observation at this point but that wild Noem/Lewandowski story in WSJ really brings home the extent to which all the Trump 2 cabinet-level goblins see their jobs as flying private, doing short-form video, and screaming at underlings. They all hate each other and none of them can read.
Kathy (“Uncle Jeffrey") Ruemmler is resigning from Goldman, she says, since the "media attention was becoming a distraction"—not because she regrets her actual relationship with Epstein, as the emails reveal.
The through line in the Epstein files is the elite shamelessness of his many accomplices.
The through line in the Epstein files is the elite shamelessness of his many accomplices.
February 13, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Kathy (“Uncle Jeffrey") Ruemmler is resigning from Goldman, she says, since the "media attention was becoming a distraction"—not because she regrets her actual relationship with Epstein, as the emails reveal.
The through line in the Epstein files is the elite shamelessness of his many accomplices.
The through line in the Epstein files is the elite shamelessness of his many accomplices.
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
On top of the cost of the lease, something like $10,000 per flight hour.
February 13, 2026 at 2:32 PM
On top of the cost of the lease, something like $10,000 per flight hour.
So what is the total cost of waste, fraud and abuse at DHS that is paying for Noem and Lewandowski's affair—including the 737 MAX jet, "with a private cabin in back," that they fly around the country? www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
February 13, 2026 at 2:14 PM
So what is the total cost of waste, fraud and abuse at DHS that is paying for Noem and Lewandowski's affair—including the 737 MAX jet, "with a private cabin in back," that they fly around the country? www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Frederick Deknatel
Extremely telling that Tricia McLaughlin won’t put her name behind the defenses of like 12 different scandals here and is instead quoted as an anonymous “DHS spokeswoman.”
February 13, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Extremely telling that Tricia McLaughlin won’t put her name behind the defenses of like 12 different scandals here and is instead quoted as an anonymous “DHS spokeswoman.”