John Ismay
@johnismay.bsky.social
2.4K followers 120 following 220 posts
Reporter, The New York Times. Former U.S. Navy EOD & Iraq vet. Reach me securely via Signal at: johnismay.01 or by email at: [email protected]
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Reposted by John Ismay
adamweinstein.bsky.social
Years ago, I got a fellowship from the Marine Corps to research counterinsurgency in Vietnam, and in part of it I wrote specifically about the Vietnam stab-in-the-back thesis, its historical precedents and motivations, and how it persisted in political and military thought. That was 2007
Reposted by John Ismay
bcfinucane.bsky.social
TFW you’re reading a profile of a war criminal and realize you probably have multiple mutual acquaintances.

Sigh
johnismay.bsky.social
Thursday night: @nekocasefans.bsky.social playing Deep Red Bells at the Lincoln Theater in DC
johnismay.bsky.social
Bobbie Scholley, one of the Navy's first deep-sea dive officers, and Kate Wilder, the first woman to graduate from Army Special Forces training, shared their thoughts after watching Pete Hegseth's remarks about women in combat www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
What Women Heard in Hegseth’s Remarks About Physical Standards
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by John Ismay
charliesavage.bsky.social
Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told

A notice calls the people the U.S. military recently killed on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea “unlawful combatants.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...
Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told
www.nytimes.com
johnismay.bsky.social
"Military policy and norms evolved from [Gen. Ulysses S.] Grant’s example. The military discourages political rallies in front of troops, and those on active duty are urged to avoid partisan politics" - via Helene Cooper www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/u...
‘Dangerous Cities,’ the Military, Trump and the Founding Fathers
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by John Ismay
carolrosenbergnyt.bsky.social
During his address today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invited the U.S. military’s generals and admirals to quit, “if the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink.” Here's a confidential questionnaire for any flag officers resigning their commissions.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...
Are You Quitting the Military? We Want to Hear From You.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by John Ismay
nytimes.com
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of the military’s most senior officers and their enlisted counterparts to attend a gathering on Tuesday at a military base in Virginia. Military officials and historians say the event is without precedent in size and scope.

Here's what we know.
Hegseth and Trump to Meet With Military Brass: What We Know
Tuesday’s meeting at a Marine Corps base appears to be without precedent, and a lack of explanation for it has led to speculation and fear.
nyti.ms
Reposted by John Ismay
adamweinstein.bsky.social
I think a lot about my exchange trip to Uzbekistan and Russia as a teen in 1995, watching street cops saunter around in tactical cammies like soldiers and thinking to myself, man, I'm glad I'm American
johnismay.bsky.social
$578 million for Stingers. The Biden Administration sent more than 3,000 of them to Ukraine
johnismay.bsky.social
The Hong Kong Police Bureau EOD team is world-class, and they do these kinds of high profile UXO call-outs all the time. Got to work with them in 2009 and have nothing but respect for those folks
starsandstripes.bsky.social
About 6,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Hong Kong overnight so experts could defuse a large U.S.-made bomb left over from World War II that was discovered at a construction site.
Thousands evacuated in Hong Kong after discovery of large WWII-era bomb
www.stripes.com
Reposted by John Ismay
nhannahjones.bsky.social
One stark marker of how much our society has devolved in just a few years is Bob Iger personally got on a call to convince us to let Disney/HULU make the 1619 Project. That America no longer exists.
Reposted by John Ismay
nhannahjones.bsky.social
My friend and colleague Wesley Morris and I had a very sobering conversation about America since the 1619 Project published and how it feels to be falling back under the veil that W.E.B. Du Bois so mournfully wrote about. I hope you’ll listen to this episode of Cannonball @nytimes.com
Reposted by John Ismay
Reposted by John Ismay
nytimes.com
The Pentagon said on Friday that it would require journalists to pledge not to gather or use any information that had not been formally authorized for release or risk losing their credentials to cover the military.
Pentagon Expands Its Restrictions on Reporter Access
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by John Ismay
freedom.press
“This policy operates as a prior restraint on publication which is considered the most serious of First Amendment violations,” we told @kenbensinger.bsky.social “The government cannot prohibit journalists from public information merely by claiming it’s a secret or even a national security threat.”
Pentagon Expands Its Restrictions on Reporter Access
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by John Ismay
charliesavage.bsky.social
A draft Authorization for Use of Military Force, circulating in exec branch & on the Hill, would grant Trump the power to kill people he deems narcoterrorists and to attack any nations he says are aiding/harboring them (e.g. a Venezuela regime change war). www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/u...
Draft Bill Would Authorize Trump to Wage Drug Trafficking War
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by John Ismay
capitolhillbooks.bsky.social
I love it when the right books find the right people.
Reposted by John Ismay
ditzkoff.bsky.social
Robert Redford playing a gentle incarnation of death, coming for a frightened old woman in The Twilight Zone episode "Nothing in the Dark" (1962). An extraordinary performance then, terribly bittersweet today
Reposted by John Ismay
ericlipton.nytimes.com
Proud to work for an organization that says this so directly. "The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people."