Michael Brill

Go figure--the US & Israel had better intelligence on Iran's nuclear program & uranium stockpile prior to when Tehran ceased cooperation with the IAEA, which was an entirely predictable response to the 12-Day War waged by Israel & the US against Iran last June. 🤔

When President Trump voiced hope last weekend that the air war he was unleashing against Iran would topple the country’s regime, he was making a bet against history. 🔗 on.wsj.com/4btXeOt

How the Assad Regime Disappeared Thousands of Children New testimony and unearthed records expose a deliberate policy of family separation and years of systematic abuse

During the 14-year war that killed more than half a million people and displaced 13 million more, the Assad regime also forcibly disappeared more than 150,000 Syrians.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/ho...

"He did call Trump several times asking him not to attack." -Bernard Haykel on Muhammad Bin Salman's efforts

This is an important correction to inaccurate reports claiming Netanyahu & MBS both lobbied for war & distracts from the fact this is an US-Israeli war.

open.spotify.com/episode/5Wdj...

Paul Bremer ran Iraq for Bush. His emails reveal panic and chaos

Paul Bremer ran Iraq for Bush. His emails reveal panic and chaos

Why Washington’s Kurdish Gambit Could Backfire in Iran The Trump administration should abandon any plans to arm Iranian Kurdish forces before the first fighter crosses the Iraqi-Iranian border. Not refine it.

Dr Albert B Wolf, who knows Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraqi Kurdistan etc very well: Washington should abandon the Kurdish gambit. Every day it remains on the table, Turkey, Iraq, and Pakistan edge further toward the conclusion...1/2 via @warontherocks.bsky.social warontherocks.com/2026/03/why-...

Remembering Desert Storm and the Gulf War(s) Odyssey of Iraq’s Air Force, Part 2 In part two of his article on the Iraqi Air Force and the Gulf Wars, Michael Brill examines the long-term consequences of Saddam Hussein's decision to transport a portion of his air force to Iran in 1...

Many of the the aircraft still in service were returned to Iraq by Iran in 2014, to help in the fight against ISIS. 3/3

www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/re...

Remembering Desert Storm and the Gulf War(s) Odyssey of Iraq’s Air Force, Part 1 Part I of a two-part series, Michael Brill recounts the bizarre story of Iraq's transfer of much of its airforce to Iran during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Saddam Hussein tried to save the bulk of...

I wrote about this strange episode several years ago. Iran did not return the aircraft to Iraq after the 1990-1991 Gulf War, much to Saddam's continued chagrin. 2/3

www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/re...

Tehran Is Fighting With Jets That Date Back to the Vietnam War Held together with scrounged parts and ingenuity, Iran’s aging jets are falling in dogfights.

Minor correction: Saddam ordered surviving jets to Iran during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. The pilots weren't defecting. 1/3

"Iran’s arsenal of jets got a boost from defectors from Iraq during the two countries’ bitter war." @wsj.com

www.wsj.com/world/middle...

A small museum brings Israel's most famous spy to life | The Jerusalem Post In a small museum in Herzliya, Eli Cohen’s secret life unfolds in documents, artifacts, and a new English tour.

"The Mossad is still examining the newly recovered materials, & the museum is waiting to see what may be turned over to them.

'The returned artifacts are still being checked,' Shasha said. 'We hope to get some – when & if.'" @thejerusalempost.bsky.social

www.jpost.com/jerusalem-re...

My latest for EI on why Trump’s idea for a Venezuela-style solution in Iran is unlikely to work:

The Burden That Should Not Be Theirs: How Congress Turned the Military into the Last Check on Illegal War Congress has unintentionally shifted the burden of preventing an unconstitutional war squarely onto the military. By failing to exercise its war powers,

A dangerous expectation is growing in Washington: that the military will stop unconstitutional wars if Congress won’t. A law professor and retired Air Force officer weighs in.

When confronted with a trove of disturbing photos gathered from the former Assad regime in Syria, a reporting team had to figure out a method to analyze the images while limiting exposure to the traumatic materials.
Originally published at the Data and Research Center
https://twp.ai/E6GBDB

How the Damascus Dossier Investigation Failed Families of Syria’s Forcibly Disappeared The landmark international effort has been nominated for a prestigious award, but those living with the effects of Assad’s killing machine called it a media stunt

"I wish these journalists had thought of me as a mother before they thought of their scoop." | Melvyn Ingleby and Hazar Yazji on how the Damascus Dossier investigation failed the families of Syria’s forcibly disappeared

𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 as we host 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 for an engaging and timely lecture:

“𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬: 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲, 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫”

📅 March 11
⏰ 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST

🔗 Register: zoom.us/meeting/regi...

#ZahraInstitute #KurdishPolitics #MiddleEastStudies

Operation Earnest Will II, The Sequel. Hopefully Iranian naval mines won't prove to be the menace they were during the first installment. For the first Earnest Will convoy, the tankers ended up escorting/leading the US Navy ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Honoring Operation Desert Storm: Waging a battle to build a war memorial In 1991 more than half a million Americans served in Operation Desert Storm; 148 were killed in action, to free Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. Yet, when Marine veteran Scott Stump set out to build a memo...

"More than half a million Americans served in Operation Desert Storm; 148 were killed in action. Yet today, it is all but forgotten." @cbsnews.com

www.cbsnews.com/news/honorin...

Israeli author claims Mossad recruited Hafez Al-Assad’s advisor New book claims Mossad secretly recruited Syrian general al-Hassan, influencing regional intelligence and preventing potential conflict.

The book also allegedly describes Israel's June 2025 campaign against Iran, including what it calls the "Mossad army" in Tehran, alongside a series of other operations ⬇️

“Massive” war launched by a man with no plan. Again. Donald Trump is repeating George W. Bush's catastrophic mistakes.

My latest: "Trump has no plan for Iran. Just blow shit up, kill some people, and hope for the best. It is the war of a Mad King."

Zaid Brifkani | A Conversation on His Novels and the Kurdish Story from an American Perspective YouTube video by Zahra Institute

Missed our recent conversation with Zaid Brifkani?

The recording of “A Conversation on His Novels and the Kurdish Story from an American Perspective” — part of Zahra Institute’s Spring Speaker Series, moderated by Mucahit Bilici — is now live.

Watch the full talk here 👇 youtu.be/GSHNsxmAtts

Next up in Qadisiyat Trump-call on the Arab population of Khuzestan/Arabistan to rise up against the Islamic Republic! Like Saddam, Trump will be very interested if someone tells him that's where most of Iran's oil is!

This reads like Iraqi propaganda announcing that Qadisiyat Saddam/the Whirlwind War would be a rapid victory. While US military capabilities may be infinitely greater than Ba'thist Iraq's were, on a political level, the strategic plan appears about as sophisticated. @hooverinstitution.bsky.social

Twice Bombed, Still Nuclear: The Limits of Force Against Iran’s Atomic Program On Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched coordinated but separately named military campaigns against Iran — the United States under Operation

Can military force in Iran succeed against Iran's atomic program where diplomacy did not?

THE LONG ARC OF THE IRAQ WARS Samuel Helfont joins host Ron Granieri to discuss his book, The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction, which covers the Gulf War of 1991, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and subsequent years of...

I had a great time speaking with @rjgranieri.bsky.social on the War Room podcast about The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction. Listen here: warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/ira...

Opinion | An Unwise and Unconstitutional Attack on Iran More war isn’t the answer. If it were, the past 70 years would have produced a better outcome than what we see today.

Sen Tim Kaine (D-VA): “As a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, with access to ample classified information about threats from Iran and others, I can state plainly that there was no imminent threat from Iran to America…” www.wsj.com/opinion/an-u...

President Trump just started a dangerous, pointless war against Iran The war is not the result of deliberations or consultation. It is the impulsive decision of one man—like dictators do.

“Trump went to war on a whim, solely on his order, alone and imperial." @joecirin.bsky.social writes in a new piece for the Bulletin.

It actually seems remarkably similar to Saddam's thinking--bomb Iran for a week, then a domestic uprising will take care of the rest. That worked out great!

While there was some debate about Khobar Towers, Iran as behind the Cole bombing is up there with the Saddam did 1st WTC, Oklahoma City, Flight 800 & 9/11 conspiracy theories laundered by Wolfowitz & those adjacent to him. Closer ties between AQ & Iran in more recent years do not validate this. 2/2

Government Still Building Case for U.S.S. Cole Trial 25 Years After Attack

Curious this was in the news just prior to Trump's recent tinfoil hat claim that Iran was responsible for the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Aden, added onto the list of things the Islamic Republic actually was involved in from 1979 to present. 1/2 @nytimes.com

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/u...

Exactly, other than "winning".....