Attention to the Unseen

Rolling Stone reports: Within Donald Trump’s government-in-waiting, there is a fresh debate over whether and how thoroughly the president-elect should follow through on his campaign promise to attack or even invade Mexico, as part of the “war” he’s pledged to wage against powerful drug cartels. “How much should we invade Mexico?” says a senior Trump transition member. “That is the question.” It is a question that would have seemed batty for the GOP elite to consider before, even during Trump’s…

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Orly Noy writes: The international media was awash yesterday with clips of people in Lebanon celebrating news of the looming ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which came into force early this morning. As one report explained alongside a video, “The news has brought a moment of hope and relief to those affected by the ongoing conflict.” The same video was shared by the Hebrew Instagram page “Push – Real-Time Reports,” which has more than 860,000 followers. They captioned it rather…

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The Times of Israel reports: Ousted defense minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that Israel’s taking security responsibility for the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip would set it down the path of military governance in the enclave at an unacceptable cost to the lives of soldiers. “The discussion about ‘distributing food to residents of Gaza by private companies with IDF security’ is a euphemism for the start of a military government,” Gallant wrote on X. “The price will…

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Politico reports: Sweden on Monday started to distribute copies of a booklet advising its citizens how to prepare for war, as Nordic countries teach people how to brace for a potential Russian attack. The 32-page brochure, which is also available in English and several other languages, advises citizens on warning systems, how to seek shelter during an air raid and even psychological and digital security. “We live in uncertain times. Armed conflicts are currently being waged in our corner of…

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The New York Times reports: President Biden has authorized the first use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia, U.S. officials said. The weapons are likely to be initially employed against Russian and North Korean troops in defense of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of western Russia, the officials said. Mr. Biden’s decision is a major change in U.S. policy. The choice has divided his advisers, and his shift comes two months before President-elect Donald J….

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Axios reports: The Israeli attack on Iran in late October destroyed an active top secret nuclear weapons research facility in Parchin, according to three U.S. officials, one current Israeli official and one former Israeli official. Why it matters: The strike — which targeted a site previously reported to be inactive — significantly damaged Iran’s effort over the past year to resume nuclear weapons research, Israeli and U.S. officials said. One former Israeli official briefed on the strike said it destroyed sophisticated equipment used…

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  As Donald Trump’s administration picks are revealed, the Middle East watches closely for the implications of the new White House in the region. This comes at a time when Israel’s Foreign Minister has rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state, while the Saudi Crown Prince has harshly criticized Netanyahu, accusing Israel of ‘genocide’ against Palestinians in Gaza. Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President at The Quincy Institute, and Alon Pinkas, former Israel Consul General in New York, join CNN’s Becky…

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Phillips Payson O’Brien writes: Europeans should pay Donald Trump the compliment of believing what he does and says, not what they desperately want to hear. He has clearly indicated that he wants the United States out of the Ukraine war as soon as possible. Both the president-elect and his most important supporter, Elon Musk, have reportedly been in frequent contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vice President–elect J. D. Vance has outlined a “peace” deal with Ukraine that would serve…

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Politico reports: Arab American leaders for months warned Vice President Kamala Harris that she needed to separate herself from President Joe Biden’s support of Israel in the war in Gaza — or face an electoral backlash from this influential community in a key battleground. But those pleas went largely ignored. Instead, Harris made strategic errors that deeply insulted Arab American voters reeling from intense grief as the death toll in the Middle East climbed. She refused to host a Palestinian…

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The Washington Post reports: President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, the first phone conversation between the two men since Trump won the election, said several people familiar with the matter. During the call, which Trump took from his resort in Florida, he advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of Washington’s sizable military presence in Europe, said a person familiar with the call, who, like others interviewed for…

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