Odds and Ends — 15 March 2026

Hegseth’s presentation gave no remotely skeptical viewer any new reasons to trust that the administration expected the war to go as it has nor that there is a realistic plan to end it. Instead, his briefing suggests he believes that the administration’s only challenge in the Middle East is to prevent news organizations from reporting on anything but Iran’s desperation.
Hegseth is fond of the trick of using a dismissive tone while actually conceding skeptics’ main point.

https://twitter.com/brianschatz/status/2032876036946383201

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/2032492954221191667

https://twitter.com/laraseligman/status/2032597499249414640

https://twitter.com/ripplebrain/status/2032825972836180434

U.S. Tells Citizens to Leave Iraq

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad urged all American citizens to leave Iraq immediately on Saturday after the embassy was attacked overnight for the second time since the war with Iran started.
The warning said militias allied with Iran had carried out numerous attacks on targets associated with the United States, including diplomatic facilities, American companies and hotels frequented by foreigners. It recommended Americans travel overland to neighboring countries because commercial flights were not operating and warned them not to come to the embassy or a U.S. consulate in the northern city of Erbil.

Israel Planning Massive Ground Invasion of Lebanon

https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/2032444073618145286

https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux/status/2032492063803998344

https://twitter.com/HQNewsNow/status/2032446902063497435

https://twitter.com/ShadowofEzra/status/2032559485399568406

Panicked Pentagon Sends Land Invasion Force to Middle East

Hegseth Says There’s No Need to Worry About Strait of Hormuz

“We have been dealing with it, and don’t need to worry about it.”

https://twitter.com/alon_mizrahi/status/2032705992673341565

https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/2032803960239595562

https://twitter.com/Paul_Heron_/status/2032557055173644371

Politics:

https://twitter.com/SkyYaldaHakim/status/2032472839748489383

https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/2032563282536448469

The Republican Party’s Nazi Problem Is Getting Worse

Not so long ago, hugging Hitler was one of those lines you just didn’t cross in a decent democracy, and for good reason: fascism, the Second World War and genocide. Murdering millions of humans should never inspire admiration.
But that’s what’s been happening with increasing regularity, revealed by a recent string of unhinged text chains revealed among young Republican leaders. This isn’t an outlier or a one-off. It’s a pattern and a problem.

https://twitter.com/TheMaineWonk/status/2032563762071208240

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

https://twitter.com/AmberWoods100/status/2032645997046698196

https://twitter.com/JakeG_Official/status/2032647951873618389

———— Autocracy R Us ————

Judge Throws Out Subpoenas to Federal Reserve

A federal judge threw out a pair of subpoenas the Justice Department issued to the Federal Reserve, handing a victory to the Fed and dealing a heavy blow to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s criminal investigation into Chair Jerome Powell.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/2032542678089380300

https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/2032670387616498173

The seizures have put the U.S. government in a financial bind. The ships are highly expensive to maintain. And the Trump administration cannot legally sell their oil without a judge’s permission.
Maintaining the seized tankers has already cost the United States tens of millions of dollars — in one case, $47 million in only three months — and complicates Mr. Trump’s claims of swift financial victories from his military operations targeting Venezuela and Iran.

https://twitter.com/johnpelwood/status/2032571069026980261