Attention to the Unseen

Anne Applebaum writes: It’s not too late, because it’s never too late. No outcomes are ever preordained, nothing is ever over, and you can always affect what happens tomorrow by making the right choices today. The U.S. Congress is finally making one of those right choices. Soon, American weapons and ammunition will once again start flowing to Ukraine. But delays do have a price. By dawdling for so many months, by heading down the blind alley of border reform before…

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In testimony to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Timothy Snyder said: Democracy is in decline, dragged down by the autocratic lie. The autocrats offer no new visions; instead they lie about democracies and insert lies into democracies. The test of disinformation is its power to alter the course of crucial events, such as wars and elections. Russia undertook a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the basis of a big lie about Nazis. Even as we meet today, Russian (and…

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The Observer reports: After months of stalling, the US House of Representatives finally approved more than $61bn worth of military assistance to help Ukraine in its desperate defense against Russia, as well as billions for other allies including Israel and Taiwan. In a bipartisan vote, 210 Democrats and 101 Republicans joined to support Ukraine, with 112 Republicans – a majority of the GOP members – voting against. It came after the Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, forced a series of bills…

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The New York Times reports: An Israeli weapon deployed in a retaliatory strike against Iran on Friday damaged a defense system responsible for detecting and destroying aerial threats near Natanz, a central Iranian city critical to the country’s secret nuclear weapons program, according to two Western officials and two Iranian officials. The strike, the Western officials said, was calculated to deliver a message to Iran that Israel could bypass Iran’s defense systems undetected and paralyze them, using a fraction of…

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  Of the more than 300 Iranian projectiles launched Israel’s way last week, the vast majority were shot down by Israel and its allies. Israel’s response on Friday against military targets in Isfahan also had more to do with spectacle than substance. Whatever comes next, Iran’s attack – and the way it was characterised in the Western media – may have garnered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government some more support in this global battle of perceptions. Contributors: Laleh Khalili –…

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The Daily Beast reports: Iran’s tightly controlled state media made fun of Israel’s reprisal attack on Friday, claiming that a few drones had been intercepted and no serious damage was done—with a top Israeli minister appearing to agree. World capitals have been on edge since Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel last week, with President Joe Biden among those pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to respond with a direct attack on Iran. Late on Thursday, U.S….

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Politico reports: Speaker Mike Johnson’s sudden bid to deliver aid to Ukraine came days after fresh intelligence described the U.S. ally at a true make-or-break moment in its war with Russia. It was exactly the kind of dire assessment that President Joe Biden and the White House had spent months privately warning Johnson was inevitable. The House GOP leader is embracing $60.8 billion in assistance to Ukraine in a push to prevent deep losses on the battlefield, amid warnings that…

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The New York Times reports: Israel was mere moments away from an airstrike on April 1 that killed several senior Iranian commanders at Iran’s embassy complex in Syria when it told the United States what was about to happen. Israel’s closest ally had just been caught off guard. Aides quickly alerted Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser; Jon Finer, the deputy national security adviser; Brett McGurk, Mr. Biden’s Middle East coordinator; and others, who saw that the strike could…

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The Times of Israel reports: Iran could review its “nuclear doctrine” following Israeli threats to strike the country, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander said on Thursday, as the world braces for an Israeli response to Tehran’s unprecedented April 13 drone and missile attack on it. Tehran has always insisted its nuclear program was strictly for peaceful purposes, a claim Israel and much of the Western world dismiss. “The threats of the Zionist regime against Iran’s nuclear facilities make…

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