Happy Saturday! Overtime is for everyone. If you’re a Bulwark+ member: thank you. If you’re not, there’s no better time to subscribe to Bulwark+ than today. If you like today’s issue, you can share this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
Yes, Russia Is Losing the War in Ukraine
FROM LATE 2023 UNTIL LATE 2025, I got a jittery feeling every time I pushed back against the prevailing narrative of Ukraine’s inevitable defeat. That line was quite common in mainstream punditry, but most assiduously promoted by Donald Trump and his worshipers, who assured us that Ukraine doesn’t “have any cards” and in any case Russia always wins its wars. What if I was just engaging in wishful thinking and cherry-picking the facts to fit my own preferred narrative of Ukrainian resilience?
Tell Me How the Iran War Ends
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS SPENT a great deal of the last three months highlighting how much of Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure has been destroyed—in particular, its missile launch sites, command centers, nuclear facilities, air defenses, and navy. The discussion has largely centered on battle damage assessments and the visible effects of military power. But focusing solely on destruction misunderstands the purpose of military operations.
The Europeans Don’t Trust Us
FOR MORE THAN EIGHTY YEARS, the Pax Americana has protected the world. Imperfect and incomplete as it was, American reliability was a pillar of Cold War stability. NATO membership and the American nuclear umbrella were, to a large degree, the reason for European safety f…
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Greetings from the road! It’s summer, and while that means vacation for some (namely, my children), all of this travel is getting awfully expensive. Still, there’s something to be said for a change of scenery, time with family, and catching up with friends. And, of course, the chance to indulge in local delicacies I can’t get back in the Queen City, like Lion’s Choice.
Get your book club questions in! Mona and Mark are doing the first episode of Bulwark Book Club on Monday night, live for subscribers. Get your questions in while you can!
Rare Days, &c… Jay Nordlinger on June, character, ideas, ‘attitudinizing,’ moms, and more!
Food for thought: “When the administration goes streaking through America with their perpetual, naked corruption, their twig’n’berries flapping in the breeze, and a huge chunk of the population still pretends not to see it (or worse, doesn’t have to pretend, since the news sources they ingest make no mention of it), how can truth or reconciliation ever be realized? It’s difficult not to make the same mistakes again, when there’s no acknowledgment that mistakes were made at all.” —Matt Labash at Slack Tide on The Un-Trousered State.
Which inspires this week’s comment prompt: What are your most effective tactic(s) for combatting MAGA denialism and nihilism?
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"What are your most effective tactic(s) for combatting MAGA denialism and nihilism?"
Let me know when you find out.
Based on occasionally dipping my toe in on my brother's Facebook page, nothing yet has swayed him from the MAGA path. Although he thinks going to war with Iran was stupid and will "damage Trump's legacy."
Giant eyeroll accompanied by the sound of my heart breaking.
Thanks Jim for the link to General Hertling's article; i missed it. Truly an exceptional read.