Kragdar
@kragdar.bsky.social
1K followers 670 following 1.6K posts
Lawyer, California supremacist, observer of the Middle East / West Asia. فارسی بلدم; biraz Azərbaycanca.
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kragdar.bsky.social
Yeah, and the problem with being allied with Qatar is not that they are scary Muslims who want to impose Sharia law on American soil.
kragdar.bsky.social
Something something Dems looking at themselves in the mirror saying “we have to get more racist” to win the next election.
kragdar.bsky.social
Just to make this clear: even if Qatar wanted to apply “Sharia” law to this base, “Sharia” would allow our beautiful, wonderful troops to crack open a cold one from the commissary no problem, even if Muslims wouldn’t be allowed to.
kragdar.bsky.social
I respectfully disagree, but I see the general point that our opposition party largely lacks both the communicative skill and drive to forcefully use all available levers to point out the outrageousness of something like this.
kragdar.bsky.social
“Sharia” law is not one set of rules, but a body of legal methods. It’s like saying “common law” applies. What does that mean? So many different rules, methods, forms of reasoning.

+ Sharia largely applies to Muslims. There are different rules for non-Muslims even in “Sharia” countries.
kragdar.bsky.social
So as an American Muslim who is now watching the worst abuses of the war on terror era being extended to the rest of the country I don’t actually think this is the framing we should put on this
nationalsecuritylaw.org
Here's the framing we should put on this.

"Hegseth announces that sharia law will apply to part of Idaho AF base"

Yes Qatar is governed by sharia law. UAE is more complicated but it partially follows sharia.
atrupar.com
Hegseth: "I'm also proud that today we're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emeri air force facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho."
kragdar.bsky.social
Just realized that they were also British. Lecturing me about the “nature” of US and executive powers. Classic Bsky experience.
Reposted by Kragdar
someforeignfield.bsky.social
Also the Biden ambassador to Israel and a Biden USAID appointee conspired to kill the Famine Early Warning Systems Network report that confirmed famine conditions in the north. Oops!
someforeignfield.bsky.social
Noteworthy that the North has been cut off via the Netzarim Corridor for most of the last two years. There were no GHF distribution sites in the North, and famine conditions have been confirmed in North Gaza since at least October/November of 2024 (who was President then 🤔🤔🤔)
maks23.bsky.social
🇵🇸🇮🇱 Gaza residents are returning to north after the partial Israeli withdrawal.
kragdar.bsky.social
Today someone told me I don’t understand the “legalistic” nature of the US because Biden would have needed a treaty passed by the US Senate to end the war in Gaza (?).

Lawyer is the first word in my bio lol
kragdar.bsky.social
This is quite literally true and why there are literally millions on the streets of Europe and not in the US.
donmoyn.bsky.social
The media coverage of Gaza in the US is already massively out of step with almost any other country you might visit.
maxtani.bsky.social
New: Bari Weiss booked Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo, and Antony Blinken for a roundtable on Gaza, her first major move at CBS.

Notably on a CBS call today in which the panel was floated, one producer also repeatedly emphasized the need to hear from Palestinians in Gaza (Weiss did not respond).
kragdar.bsky.social
I’m a lawyer and it’s plainly ridiculous to suggest a treaty is necessary, something not one of the many elite lawyers who made up Biden’s advisors & his teams at State or USAID ever thought was necessary. And you clearly haven’t read even a few basic articles. Have a great day.
Reposted by Kragdar
jamalzuhir.bsky.social
I know that if I post a picture of me dirty or suffering, it will get a lot of interaction and participation and it will be attractive, but my friends, I was living the best life and because my geographical location in Gaza my life was destroyed. I am just trying to rebuild
jamalzuhir.bsky.social
Here is Jamal from Gaza whose family lost everything and he is trying with all his might to rebuild their lives and help them with the crazy costs in Gaza and travel outside Gaza when the crossings open. I hope you support us. Your little support, even if it is $5

chuffed.org/project/1389...
Help Jamal’s family leave the war zone and rebuild their life!
Hi my loves! My name is Caroline, and I created this fundraiser to help Jamal support his family as they fight to survive the genocide in Gaza, evacuate to safety, and eventually rebuild their lives f...
chuffed.org
kragdar.bsky.social
The latter, which isn’t anything different than what was on offer under Biden. The bar for Biden was already pretty low: no genocide.

Ending the occupation is another matter entirely.
kragdar.bsky.social
Whataboutism about Trump isn’t going to work when Biden had many available levers, arms restrictions and sanctions just one of a million options, and didn’t pull them or barely did so. He didn’t want to! Pretty simple!
kragdar.bsky.social
Read the Baskin and Akbar Shahid Ahmed articles just from today. Trump hasn’t gone that far, still has gotten farther than Biden.

The clearer and simpler answer, one confirmed by all available reporting, is Biden didn’t want it & didn’t value Palestinian lives much. Or it’s a skill issue.
kragdar.bsky.social
Biden needed nothing from the Senate at all. And definitely didn’t need a treaty, what? That’s not even something he or his advisors ever claimed. He could have simply followed existing US law that bans arms sales to countries violating U.S. law. His USAID & State Dept both concluded that.
Reposted by Kragdar
ahmadalgohbary.bsky.social
Breaking: French presidential adviser to Al Jazeera, “The Gaza agreement would not have been possible without President Trump’s pressure on Israel.”
kragdar.bsky.social
And if your argument is that Biden wouldn’t have R support, that’s a reason to think Trump would just be better on the issue overall.
kragdar.bsky.social
Self-imposed and unnecessary constraints Biden, and not convincing ones either IMO. Majority of Senate Dems just voted to restrict arms. He didn’t want it. It’s simple.

The deal has been available for over a year. It’s entirely up to the whims of the US president, whoever it is, to impose it.
Reposted by Kragdar
akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com
NEW: Trump clinched a Gaza deal by breaking with 2 years of failed US war policy. It's likely doomed if he sustains patterns Biden began & he intensified:

-deferring to Netanyahu
-disregarding Palestinians
-dismissing domestic+global critics of US-Israeli choices

www.huffpost.com/entry/gaza-p...
Trump’s Peace Deal Might Be Doomed From The Start
The chance of continued peace between Israel and Hamas depends on bigger and more complex decisions that there's no guarantee Donald Trump will pursue.
www.huffpost.com
Reposted by Kragdar
divyampersaud.com
Bisan Shrafi - “Postponed for the fourth time!! Channel 14 Israel: The government meeting to discuss the Gaza agreement has been postponed due to Netanyahu's meeting with Witkoff and Kushner.”

While the occupation continues massacres in the north

#Gaza #Palestine
kragdar.bsky.social
Just btw rules of thumb I have for analysts I read: do they speak at least one relevant language? Time in the region living and talking to actual people, not just elites? Any academic credentials?

Everyone else is just a pundit with good posts. That’s fine. But you should know the difference.
kragdar.bsky.social
Baskin is the second informed analyst I’ve seen who agrees that if this deal holds—and it’s much closer than past deals were—Trump deserves the Nobel.

And observes and confirms again what we all know. Biden chose to do nothing.
kragdar.bsky.social
Again, the dog wags the tail. Gershon Baskin confirming it again.

I’m going to guess the people lecturing me (lol) about the Iran hostage crisis (?) do not know who Gershon Baskin is. Time to learn!
The Blogs: We can begin to breathe again: Initial thoughts on this morning’s developments
A quick take on the end of the war from my backchannel perspective: It could have been done long ago; Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize
blogs.timesofisrael.com
kragdar.bsky.social
Again, the dog wags the tail. Gershon Baskin confirming it again.

I’m going to guess the people lecturing me (lol) about the Iran hostage crisis (?) do not know who Gershon Baskin is. Time to learn!
The Blogs: We can begin to breathe again: Initial thoughts on this morning’s developments
A quick take on the end of the war from my backchannel perspective: It could have been done long ago; Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize
blogs.timesofisrael.com