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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost

@abuaardvark.bsky.social

7.6K followers 1.7K following 2.7K posts

Marc Lynch. GW Professor, on leave AY24-25. The one true Abu Aardvark. AMERICA’S MIDDLE EAST (Hurst) on the way! Find me at https://abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io

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Marc Lynch is a Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University, where he is also director of both the Institute for Middle East Studies and the Middle East Studies Program. .. more

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · Aug 14

“Written with passion, precision, honesty and courage. Essential reading on how American myopia, bias and hypocrisy set the stage for Gaza” — David D. Kirkpatrick

“The world needs this book, now more than ever.’ — Fida Jiryis

Pre-order America’s Middle East

www.hurstpublishers.com/book/america...

America's Middle East | Hurst Publishers

From the Gulf War to Gaza, a compelling critique of how and why Washington ensnared itself so destructively in the Middle East.

www.hurstpublishers.com

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 4h

I’m a huge Google scholar user but it’s gotten really bad

Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 4h

I’ve been trying out various AI tools this week since students use them. I came away not that worried about ChatGPT and other LLMs - they have clear limitations - and extremely worried about video generation AI tech. I easily produced convincing videos of public figures saying shocking things.

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 4h

I need to write up a version of the two talks I just gave in London for my blog.

I am have had a few pints and I’m badly jet lagged and need to sleep.

Choose your own adventure: one new core supporter in next hour and I’ll stay up and write a blog post.

abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io

The Ghost of Abu Aardvark

Middle East Politics and the Academy

abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io

Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 4h

What

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8h

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."

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 4h

I’ve been offline most of the day was Trump thrilled about the Nobel Peace Prize announcement for an opposition figure in a country he wants to go to war with for no reason or no

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Reposted by Marc Lynch

Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 4h

Israel publishes list of 250 prisoners slated for release as part of Gaza deal
Several heavyweights demanded by Hamas, incl Barghouti, omitted; terror group reportedly claims list not approved; 11 Fatah convicts swapped out at last minute for Hamas members

www.timesofisrael.com/israel-publi...

Israel publishes list of 250 security prisoners slated for release as part of Gaza deal

Several heavyweights demanded by Hamas, including Barghouti, omitted; terror group reportedly claims list not approved; 11 Fatah convicts swapped out at last minute for Hamas members

www.timesofisrael.com

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Reposted by Marc Lynch

Alf Martens @alf-martens.bsky.social · 6h

Great! 👏👏👏
MIT rejects the compact proposed by the Trump administration, explaining that:
"the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”
wapo.st/4niC09b

MIT rejects Trump administration deal for priority federal funding

MIT is one of the nine schools that were asked to agree to adopt conservative priorities and policies in exchange for funding perks.

wapo.st

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Reposted by Marc Lynch

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai @lorenzofb.bsky.social · 7h

SCOOP: Spyware maker NSO Group confirmed to us that the company has been acquired by a U.S. investment group.

NSO's spokesperson said the group "has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership," but declined to say who is behind the investment.

Spyware maker NSO Group confirms acquisition by US investors | TechCrunch

NSO Group confirmed to TechCrunch that an unnamed group of American investors has taken “controlling ownership” of the surveillance tech maker.

techcrunch.com

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Reposted by Marc Lynch

Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 7h

Khaled Elgindy proving that you can in fact talk to Isaac Chotiner without sounding like you've recently been lobotomized with a cheese grater

Why Hamas Agreed to Release the Hostages

And why it might not matter much for Gaza’s future, or for Palestinian statehood.

www.newyorker.com

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Reposted by Marc Lynch, Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan , and 2 more Marc Lynch, Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Michael Kevane, Robert C. Richards

Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 8h

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source:
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8h

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."

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Reposted by Cas Mudde, Marc Lynch, Jan W. Mueller , and 3 more Cas Mudde, Marc Lynch, Jan W. Mueller, Norbert Schwarz, Cary P. Gross, Joshua S. Weitz

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 12h

Thank you @nytopinion.nytimes.com for publishing this rot. Marc Rowan has run hundreds of companies into the dust to extract profits from their failure and bankruptcies. Now he wants to do the same to American higher education. Do not believe a word this man says. 1/ www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o...

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Badly Needed

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Kori Schake, Marc Lynch

Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 1d

Disconcerting, but article suggests they will not enter Gaza, and the US already has troops in Israel on various missions (THAAD batteries, construction engineers, a JSOC advisory cell, the 3-star security coordinator and his staff in Jerusalem) so this would not be some crossing of a Rubicon

US sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor ceasefire deal in Gaza

The United States is sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and privat...

apnews.com

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 1d

“Marc Lynch is angry. The word ‘rage’ appears six times on the first page. This should be sufficient warning to anyone expecting a cool, calm, dispassionate analysis of the Middle East….he is a fierce and compelling voice.” @hurstpublishers.bsky.social

www.spectator.com.au/2025/10/will...

Will Israel always have America’s backing?

Marc Lynch is angry. The word ‘rage’ appears six times on the first page, and comes in response to Israel’s…

www.spectator.com.au

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Reposted by Marc Lynch

Hurst Publishers @hurstpublishers.bsky.social · 1d

Publication day: @abuaardvark.bsky.social's timely and incisive America's Middle East: The Ruination of a Region is out now.

‘No one is better equipped than Lynch to tell this tragic story ... essential reading.’ — David D. Kirkpatrick

25% off w/code LYNCH25➡️ tinyurl.com/yvxua6u8

A copy of America's Middle East held up in the stairwell of Somerset House. The cover of the book has a photo of an orange, fiery sunset with a helicopter silhouetted in front of the moon. There is white, orange and red writing that reads 'America's Middle East: The Ruination of a Region. Marc Lynch.'

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Reposted by Marc Lynch

The New Arab @thenewarab.bsky.social · 1d

An initial outpouring of national solidarity with Gen Z protests has turned to public anxiety, revealing Morocco's deep-rooted fear of instability:

’We felt invisible’: Why Gen Z protests are shaking Morocco

An initial outpouring of national solidarity with Gen Z protests has turned to public anxiety, revealing Morocco’s deep-rooted fear of instability

www.newarab.com

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Reposted by Marc Lynch

Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 1d

If Trump, who has put in zero effort and done it through hacks, can get here simply by yelling and being impatient, it's yet another reminder that Biden's steadfast support for the first 16 months of killing was a choice he made to disastrous consequences abroad and at home.

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Reposted by Marc Lynch

Maryam Aldossari @maryamaldossari.bsky.social · 1d

Saudi Arabia’s investment in Twitter boosted its influence while being used at home to silence regime critics. “They’re surveillance states.They’re police states. They want to use the latest tech to stay in power and surveil their populations.” www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Money talks: the deep ties between Twitter and Saudi Arabia

The long read: Saudi Arabia’s investment in Twitter increased its influence in Silicon Valley while being used at home to shut down critics of the regime

www.theguardian.com

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 1d

DC right now feels like Beirut a few years ago - the best restaurants are doing fine and all the others outside the bubble are dying, the streets are oddly empty, a lot of people are just traumatized, and the government and security forces seem either helpless or actively hostile.

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 1d

I have a friend who owns a restaurant. He says tourism and travel to DC in recent months has devastated many restaurants in DC. So, yes, Trump is lying. Again.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "You can go and eat at the restaurants. The restaurants are booming. They were closing one after another and now they're booming, they're opening. Nobody has ever seen a transformation like they have in Washington DC. It's as hot as it can get."

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Reposted by Marc Lynch, Alan Richardson

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 1d

I have a friend who owns a restaurant. He says tourism and travel to DC in recent months has devastated many restaurants in DC. So, yes, Trump is lying. Again.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 1d

If you want an actually brilliant album by a revered female singer in her mid-30s Hayley’s gotcha. It’s so good. If you don’t like it find her in Whole Foods, bitch.

open.spotify.com/album/0U0Qv2...

Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party

open.spotify.com

Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 1d

Omg it’s just me 😳

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 1d

Fact check: not true. And a damn shame, too.

Mike Murphy @mjamurphy.bsky.social · 1d

Apparently when you're a 40yo man with a bluesky account they just send you this stuff

Shot of hand holding hardcover book Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 1d

What “guarantor of the agreement” means is going to be kinda important

Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 1d

Trump plans to speak in the Knesset.

He’s also signed on as the guarantor of the agreement.

President Trump told me he is "likely going to Israel in the coming days" to address the country's parliament, the Knesset, in the wake of the Gaza peace deal

www.axios.com/2025/10/09/t...

Trump tells Axios he's "likely" going to Israel for speech after Gaza deal

"It is a great day for Israel and for the world," he said in a call with Axios.

www.axios.com

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Abu Aardvark’s Ghost @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 1d

I’ll fucking sign Trumps Nobel Peace Prize myself if it ends the genocide, starts aid, prevents Israeli annexation and stops the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. We are a long way from that. Still better than Biden’s crew of super-geniuses managed.

abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/gazas-tomorr...