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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

This is completely insane

Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 9h

Haddon Barth for @syriatransition.bsky.social on how depictions of Syria as "rubble" – that is, a blank slate – make it easier to ignore the real politics of how Syria now rebuilds and resources are redistributed: www.syriaintransition.com/en/home/opin...

syriaintransition.com

Syria in Transition – Rubble as an 'Anti-Politics Machine'

Long a fixture of Syria policy writing, the metaphor has found a new political use under the Syrian authorities.

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 28/09/2026

My latest for @foreignaffairs.com on potentially destabilizing effects of rapid liberalization of Syrian economy: www.foreignaffairs.com/syria/syrias...

foreignaffairs.com

Syria’s Imperiled Transition

How shock therapy threatens the post-Assad peace.

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

darth™️ @darthbluesky.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

in your next zoom interview have not only a cup of ice coffee but seven or eight different cups of various beverages just off camera and casually drink from each of them throughout the interview the drinks should have fancy straws or colorful parasols or large pieces of fruit on the edge of the cup

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 22/09/2026

My latest for @foreignaffairs.com: On Syria's acute cost-of-living crisis – which I think poses a real danger to the country's political transition – and the ways the Shara' government is making it worse: www.foreignaffairs.com/syria/syrias...

foreignaffairs.com

Syria’s Imperiled Transition

How shock therapy threatens the post-Assad peace.

0115

Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Thomas Sorlie @thomassorlie.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"Of all the problems Syria now faces, including intercommunal violence and the possible fragmentation of the country, the economy is the biggest one. Yet the country’s new leadership has insisted on austerity measures that have made the cost of living even more unbearable for the average Syrian."

foreignaffairs.com

Syria’s Imperiled Transition

How shock therapy threatens the post-Assad peace.

001

Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 22/09/2026

The Shara government’s austerity measures are making “life harder for ordinary Syrians,” writes @abujamajem.com. “If basic needs are not met soon, people could lose faith in the country’s post-Assad political order.”

foreignaffairs.com

Syria’s Imperiled Transition

How shock therapy threatens the post-Assad peace.

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

aljumhuriya.net @aljumhuriya.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Syria’s Energy Ministry called its 13 September fuel price hike “temporary,” citing global costs and refinery maintenance. Minister Mohammed al-Bashir later said the state oil company could no longer finance imports, as Syria shifts toward a market economy. #Syria #Energy

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Syria’s new leaders have successfully navigated daunting political risks, but their haphazard economic policymaking may end up wrecking the post-Assad transition, warns @abujamajem.com in @foreignaffairs.com. www.foreignaffairs.com/syria/syrias...

foreignaffairs.com

Syria’s Imperiled Transition

How shock therapy threatens the post-Assad peace.

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 22/09/2026

foreignaffairs.com

Syria’s Imperiled Transition

How shock therapy threatens the post-Assad peace.

0115

Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 21/09/2026

“This is what researchers have long argued: conflict, not poverty, is the main driver of irregular migration” 🤔 Since December 2024, European countries have substantially limited access to asylum.

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 21/09/2026

Ya, a bunch of goobers got mad at me when I said this at the time: x.com/AbuJamajem/s...

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

An @enabbaladi.bsky.social writeup of the Refai affair includes a comment from Abdullah al-Moheisini who is shocked and saddened to hear that someone would make a link between Salafism and extremism. www.enabbaladi.net/826011/

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 21/09/2026

Alex Martin Astley for @thenewarab.bsky.social on Israel-Lebanon negotiations and Israel's occupation of the South: www.newarab.com/analysis/sco... Includes my thoughts.

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 20/09/2026

Has anyone written something good about the extent to which Sanaa's armed forces are comprised of factional Houthi structures, versus a reconfigured Yemeni military?

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 19/09/2026

Bashir and Qablawi presser from Thursday provides useful insight into economics of Syrian energy sector: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U930... From ~35:04, Bashir also elaborates on how energy policy fits into Shara' government's broader liberalizing vision for Syrian economy.

youtube.com

التفاصيل الكاملة للمؤتمر الصحفي لوزير الطاقة محمد البشير ومدير الشركة السورية للبترول يوسف قبلاوي

YouTube video by قناة الإخبارية السورية

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 18/09/2026

@crisisgroup.org's Noah Bonsey and Yazer Othman on the state of northeast Syria integration: www.crisisgroup.org/cmt/middle-e... Flags how incorporation into a new, Damascus-led economic regime has made life harder for northeast residents👇🏻 I should have a related piece out next week.

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 18/09/2026

The sequencing and conditionality to which Aziz is now objecting were presumably included in the trilateral agreement because U.S. policymakers do not trust Lebanese leaders.

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 17/09/2026

“Anything could happen with me” is extremely birdbrained

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The dumbest asshole in the country and the President need to be two different people moving forward

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

It's important at CIP that we float new concepts, and I couldn't be prouder of this one. New Zealand has an opportunity to rebuild its navy in a way that better meets local needs while keeping it away from an obligation to join big wars. They should take it. internationalpolicy.org/publications...

internationalpolicy.org

Rebuilding New Zealand’s Navy for Security, Not Aggression - CIP

A frigate-less New Zealand navy can avoid sunk costs and create a non-provocative defense strategy for the 21st century

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 16/09/2026

In @thenation.com: new @cipolicy.bsky.social colleague @mattduss.bsky.social on how the Democratic Party continues to elevate Middle East hawks to positions of foreign policy leadership, in defiance of the party voters' expressed preference: www.thenation.com/article/worl...

thenation.com

The Reality Today Is That Foreign Policy Hawks Are a Minority in the Democratic Party

It is damn time we all started acting like it.

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Matt Duss @mattduss.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Democratic voters are overwhelmingly anti-war, yet foreign policy hawks remain massively overrepresented in leadership roles. It’s a problem we need to fix. My piece in @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/worl...

thenation.com

The Reality Today Is That Foreign Policy Hawks Are a Minority in the Democratic Party

It is damn time we all started acting like it.

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Soldiers of the IDF Nahal Brigade’s 50th Battalion describe their deputy battalion commander, Maj. Mendi Lasri, after being wounded early on in Gaza, ordering the execution of a blindfolded Gazan woman, pioneering the use of “Mosquito” human shields, and torturing a wounded prisoner

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

“No amount of public support in polling or public protest will influence how or when those in power drastically change Israel policy.” Fascinating, tell me more.

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 13/09/2026

In March, Hizbullah justified return to open war with Israel partly in terms of Lebanese authorities' failure to halt near-daily Israeli attacks over preceding 15 months:

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 13/09/2026

"Senior Lebanese official" tells Times of Israel that Israeli actions in south Lebanon are making it harder for Lebanese authorities to collaborate; says Israel should revert to targeted strikes as during fifteen months following November 2024: www.timesofisrael.com/lebanese-off...

timesofisrael.com

Lebanese official to ToI: ‘Indiscriminate’ IDF strikes hinder Hezbollah disarmament

In rare engagement with Israeli news outlet, official from Beirut says widescale destruction in south Lebanon delegitimizing country's efforts to collaborate with Israel against Iran-backed group

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 13/09/2026

Belated September 11 reflection: all-time stupid policy decision and analytical error to respond to an attack by this narrow vanguardist organization, with no real popular base, by entering conflict with the broader Arab/Muslim world and pathologizing popular opposition to U.S. policies. 1/2

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Micah @rincewind.run · 11/09/2026

“the Houthis are trying to resist the American empire” bluesky: :) “they’re using Claude to do it” bluesky: >:(

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 11/09/2026

Hilarious

In the Israel-Hamas conflict, do you support more Israel or more Hamas?
74%
July: 77%
26%
Column %
Israel
Hamas
Column %
Israel
Hamas
Israel
DEM
67%
33%
18-24
40%
60%
• Hamas
GOP
82%
18%
25-34
65%
35%
35-44
70%
30%
IND/OTH
74%
26%
45-54
74%
26%
55-64
84%
16%
65+
89%
11%

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Then again, how could anyone possibly have foreseen that Iran, of all countries, would respond violently and asymmetrically to U.S. economic pressure

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Patrick Osgood @patrickosgood.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Again: the US’s regional base network is not secure. Aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti sustained damage despite a large spray of winnowing Patriot stock. The bases can’t be feasibly secured in short order and will be otherwise untenable if/when resources would permit sustainment. They are, in effect, gone

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Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 08/09/2026

@crampell.bsky.social Hello! Just listened to your last Receipts pod with JVL. On gold reserves: sounds like what the Europeans are concerned about is a lot like what the Trump administration did to Iraq earlier this year: www.wsj.com/world/middle...

wsj.com

Exclusive | U.S. Blocks Iraq’s Dollar Shipments to Squeeze Its Iran-Backed Militias

The Trump administration also suspended security cooperation with Baghdad in an escalating pressure campaign.

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Reposted by Sam Heller | سام هيلر

Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This particular statement might not be much to get worked up about, but I suspect the phenomenon it represents—frustrated conservatism as both fuel & vehicle for contestation, latching onto symbolic affronts to wage culture war—will be a big thing in Syria’s not-distant future.

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