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Scott Hielen

@scotthielen.bsky.social
774 followers 1.5K following 481 posts

Diplomacy Stuff • Flew Navy • Geopolitical Risk • Veteran • Nebraskan • Kid and Cat Dad • Bibliophile • Itinerant by Design 🌍 🇺🇸🇳🇱🇹🇷🇩🇪🇧🇪 📍Brussels

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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Congress and the American people have a vested interest in preparing DoD’s infrastructure for new climate realities even if the “SOW” doesn’t. Infrastructure will be there long after Pete is a footnote to an ugly history.
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Mike Walker @newnarrative.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Trump wants to build a huge arch, the largest one in the world. He wants it to honor himself. But it stains America’s tribute to fallen veterans at Arlington. It must not be built. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/b...
nytimes.com
A Huge Arch
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
US gives aid and comfort to global adversaries while continuing to abuse its historic allies and partners www.reuters.com/business/ene...
reuters.com
US extends waiver for Lukoil gas stations outside of Russia
The Trump administration has extended a waiver ​allowing Lukoil retail service stations to ‌operate outside of Russia until late October, a narrow allowance in sanctions the U.S. imposed last ​year to...
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ChrisO_wiki @chriso-wiki.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
1/ The Russian army has been taken over by an organised crime syndicate, says a Russian journalist. The mass recruitment of criminals means that crimes and corruption of all sorts – murder, torture, extortion, prostitution, drug and alcohol smuggling – are now routine. ⬇️
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
What a concept. One-year, renewable visas predicated on valid employment and clean criminal records, rather than just ripping them out of the workforce with high drama, tearing apart families, and sending them back to unknown peril. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Spain approves plan to give around 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said migrants helped "build the rich, open and diverse Spain that we are and to which we aspire".
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Kori Schake 🎃 @kschake.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
"since America’s problems with Iran are inherently political, military objectives cannot be proper war aims. And proper war aims are what’s missing: a desired end state that can be served by a ledger of destruction but must be more than the ledger itself.” @ryanevans.bsky.social
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Like Civil War era democrats, it should take a generation before the Republican Party (or some reinvention of it) ever gets the keys to the White House again.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Foes get waivers and exceptions while friends (Allies) get excoriated for not helping Washington out of a disaster of its own creation. We’re still in the upside down.
media.tenor.com
there is a lightning storm in the sky with a red lightning bolt coming out of the sky .
ALT: there is a lightning storm in the sky with a red lightning bolt coming out of the sky .
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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 13/04/2026
Some of the Framers understood. George Mason, namesake of my university, gave the warning below as Virginia debated ratifying the new US Constitution on June 18, 1788. Perversion of our Constitution will harm all Conservative and Liberal Americans
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Category: Problems Europe didn't have before Trump and Bibi went wilding in Iran www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/b...
nytimes.com
European Airports Warn of Jet Fuel Shortages if Strait of Hormuz Remains Shut
An association of airports told European Union officials that fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz had to restart within three weeks to avoid a “systemic” shortage.
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Dr. Stephanie Seul @stephanieseul.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
"In other words, Google has created a misinformation crisis. Studies have shown that people tend to trust what an AI tells them without question (...)." #AI #KI
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Jim LaPorta @jimlaporta.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
New at CBS News - Army survivors of deadly attack in Kuwait dispute Pentagon's account, say unit "was unprepared" to defend itself — this is a photograph of the tactical operations center struck by an Iranian drone on March 1. www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-wa...
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
The world went from two superpowers to one when Pope John Paul II pulled the Poland piece on the USSR jenga tower. Pope Leo is looking at you, America.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
They can turn to a pillar of stability and reason, one happy to provide market relief and predictable policy. 🇨🇳 Of course, there would be some compromises, but they may be ever more palatable as the crazy train trundles on.
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Dr Emma Salisbury @salisbot.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
The Delphic Oracle told King Croesus of Lydia that if he attacked Persia "a great empire will fall." He saw this as a prediction of victory and attacked. It was his own great empire that fell.
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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Trump's explicit threat of genocide against a nation of 90 million people is being treated by the New York Times as just another story on a Tuesday morning.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
A statement that should be impeachable in the United States, but it's certainly damnable in almost every faith.
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BenB 🇺🇦 @benborges.xyz · 05/04/2026
Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show American F-15 Crew Member After Rescue From Iran -- It's AI-Generated Is an image of a smiling man in a combat uniform holding an American flag a real photo of a U.S. F-15 crew member after his rescue from Iran? No, that's not true: The image wa...
leadstories.com
Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show American F-15 Crew Member After Rescue From Iran -- It's AI-Generated | Lead Stories
Is an image of a smiling man in a combat uniform holding an American flag a real photo of a...
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David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Watch responses to this from mainstream media. The inability to call insane behavior insane is a major failure of contemporary “journalism.” Same with the failure to call out threatened or enacted war crimes for what they are.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Shameful to see willful misrepresentation of NATO by current and former Sec States. NATO was purpose-built. The North Atlantic treaty language is specific. FAFO outside of its territory (Art. 6) is not its remit. Lay guilt on individual states for not following the U.S. into folly, but not NATO.
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Kori Schake 🎃 @kschake.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Further incentivizing politicization of our military. This should be penalized, not rewarded.
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Joshua Foust 🪖🎮 @joshuafoust.com · 03/04/2026
“They’re destroying more than fifty research facilities across thirty-one states, labs that house decades of irreplaceable long-term science…And they’re replacing all of it — the offices, the scientists, the institutional knowledge, the professional independence — with fifteen political appointees”
hatchmag.com
Trump administration orders dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service
Late Tuesday afternoon, with the subtlety of a wrecking ball and the morality of a foreclosure notice, the Trump administration announced the most devastating attack on the U.S. Forest Service in the ...
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
The Swiss electorate is difficult to please, making government deals hard to get and easy to lose. Sunk cost may keep them in for now, but they’ll avoid any future US opportunities after getting shoved down the procurement stairs. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/foreign-...
swissinfo.ch
US circumvents Swiss payment freeze for Patriot air-defence system
The US has been redirecting Swiss payments intended for the F‑35 fighter jet to cover Patriot costs.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
NATO comes with instructions, in the form of treaty language. In the same way you don’t make toast in the bathtub, you don’t drag a defensive alliance into an offensive ME adventure with no apparent strategy.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
One must credit this administration for its unceasing and innovative efforts, finding new ways to tarnish America’s reputation abroad and zeroize any remaining trust with our allies. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
US directs embassies to team up against foreign ‘hostility’ – and use X to ‘counter anti-American propaganda’
Cable signed by Marco Rubio and seen by Guardian suggests staff work with Pentagon psychological operations unit
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Petisia @petisia.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
This regime has detained the parents of more than 11,000 U.S. citizen kids – New Directive: officials revised a document advising how ICE officers should interact with parents, removing the word “humane.” #PINKS www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 U.S. Citizen Kids
A ProPublica analysis of new ICE data shows that Trump has detained parents of U.S. citizen children at about twice the rate that Biden did, and moms have been deported four times as often.
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Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
"Trump, who took office promising to keep the U.S. out of 'stupid' military interventions, now appears to control neither the outcome nor the messaging of a conflict he helped to initiate." Via Reuters
reuters.com
Three weeks in, Iran war escalates beyond Trump's control
Donald Trump took office promising to keep the U.S. out of "stupid" military interventions. He now appears to control neither the outcome nor the messaging of a conflict he helped to initiate.
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Wayne E. Lee @milhistlee.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Let's be sure and give Kori the full Streisand effect.
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Lynn @lynnf.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
@hcrichardson.bsky.social
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Bob Van Brabant @bobvanbrabant.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 16/03/2026
The vaccines worked
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
"In interview after interview, veterans across the country told ProPublica that one year into the second Trump administration it’s become more difficult to get treatment, as hundreds of therapists and social workers have left the VA." www.propublica.org/article/vete...
propublica.org
Veterans Who Depend on Mental Health Care Keep Losing Their Therapists Under Trump
Hundreds of mental health professionals have left the Department of Veterans Affairs since President Donald Trump took office, leaving staff “at a breaking point” and some veterans waiting as long as ...
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
As an F-16 dude, it should be obvious to Gen. Caine what's next when the single source of power doesn't respond to throttle inputs. CJCS's one job is to provide military advice to the President. It didn't work. At all. Fire lights and the master caution are blinking and he's not in a great place.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
He expects loyalty, which is not how states operate. He expects participation to confer legitimacy on his unilateral actions, which it would. He expects transactional behaviors like his own. He expects smaller actors to pick up after him, which a unified Europe is not.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Some 20 years ago, drastically short of grey hulls, USN leaders saw the utility of organizing navies and maritime resources around shared interests; cooperative security, not coercive. A good idea, but wholly incompatible with American unilateralism. www.usni.org/magazines/pr...
usni.org
The 1,000 Ship Navy: Global Maritime Network
A changed world requires an international approach.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Customer irate that his car insurance does not cover boats outside of the region defined by the policy. Hints (again) that he will stop paying his premiums.
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Jamie Abrams @jrabrams.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
37-1. Yet another stunning global marker of how far we’ve descended and exactly how concretely regressive the Administration’s agenda is. www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-stands-al...
ibtimes.co.uk
US Under Trump Stands Alone Against UN Women's Rights Resolution As Vote Passes 37–1 To Cheers
The US was the only nation to vote against a landmark gender-equality document at the UN's women's rights body, leading to a standing ovation from 37 nations.
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Christoph Harig @charig.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
This is very good on how the cult of tactics and lethality is about to do serious damage to US PME I'd add that anti-intellectualism is a major threat to PME elsewhere, too
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Matthew Ford @warmatters.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
What I thought was a dangerous thing to do has indeed become a dangerous thing to do.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Before NDIA ethical standards, there was Fenning's Universal Spelling Book with "Lessons both moral and divine" (1755), which was used in Colonial-era (and later) American schools. Moral: unchanged Note: recall "f" with no crossbar makes a "long s" sound in English - prior to the 19th cent.
Engraving depicts four Colonial American tradesmen standing in an open area near a town, holding a discussion amongst themselves.
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
“I know more about wars than the generals do, believe me.” — DJT
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Rather than face a power hitter, Air War College opts to walk the Doc in what would’ve been a timely pre-season exhibition. Signs of a weak bullpen and fearful management.
media.tenor.com
a baseball player with the number 5 on his jersey is swinging his bat
ALT: a baseball player with the number 5 on his jersey is swinging his bat
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Almost like it was a mistake to alienate all of our allies with idiotic trade wars, and then launch an actual hot war where we needed their help gcaptain.com/trump-calls-...
gcaptain.com
Trump Calls for Allied Warships to Secure Strait of Hormuz
President Donald J. Trump said Saturday that allied nations could deploy warships alongside the United States to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, signaling a potential multinational naval effort to r...
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Türkiye has had their sights set on this for a long time, in addition to becoming more self sufficient in sourcing their own defense requirements. Must admire Ankara’s drive. 📈🇹🇷
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
This is, to put it mildly, a double standard. This guy was part of a government that encouraged online social media figures to engage in routine harassment of government employees to the point that many were fired or went into hiding. Some of it was done by Elon Musk, this guy's boss.
To give a sense of scale, 33 million people saw Musk’s post. Ashley Thomas has since made her social media accounts private after the wave of online harassment from Musk’s followers. She is one of an increasing number of public officials who are learning that bullying and intimidation is part of the game plan for how the right governs now. She might reasonably infer that she will be fired from her job for no reason other than the fact that one of Trump’s courtiers wants to show that he can follow through on his threats.
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 09/03/2026
OMG they released the deposition videos where they revealed that these two DOGE bros were just feeding grants into ChatGPT and saying "tell me if this is DEI in less than 120 characters." www.techdirt.com/2026/02/19/d...
techdirt.com
DOGE Bro’s Grant Review Process Was Literally Just Asking ChatGPT ‘Is This DEI?’
Federal grants that had been approved after a full application and review process were terminated by some random inexperienced DOGE bros based on whether ChatGPT could explain—in under 120 characte…
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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
"U.S. officials called London insurers and brokers, trying to figure out how the market operates, industry insiders said." When applied to the current administration, I urge caution in using terms like "plans," "strategy," "policy," or "doctrine." www.wsj.com/finance/u-s-...
wsj.com
U.S. Plan to Unblock Strait of Hormuz Collides With Realities of Global Insurance
The U.S.-centric insurance idea runs counter to the realities of an international market, according to industry executives.
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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 11/03/2026
DOGE said it was cutting government waste. So they gutted USAID — the agency that feeds starving people around the world. Meanwhile the Pentagon spent millions on lobster, ribeye, and even a $98,000 piano. open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...
open.substack.com
We Stopped Feeding the World to Buy Lobster
The administration gutted global aid in the name of fighting government waste. At the same time, the Pentagon spent millions on steak, crab, furniture, and even a $98,000 piano.
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Scott Hielen @scotthielen.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
🔌"China also recognized its strategic vulnerability to oil shocks years ago and has been methodically decreasing it..." ⛽ "The Trump administration has ended E.V. subsidies, discouraged investment in charging infrastructure and weakened U.S. fuel economy standards."
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