Day: February 26, 2026

Does yesterday’s gunfight between Cuban forces and a Florida speedboat put the US on the brink of a new crisis? Havana says it killed four people trying to infiltrate the island … Bill and Hillary Clinton begin their closed-door testimony today on the Epstein saga. Will they say anything of substance? … Nuclear talks with Iran resume. Is this the last chance for diplomacy of a prelude to a US military strike? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Putin is trying to lock down the Russian open internet because he needs to demand greater war sacrifices from Russians but may not be as confident in his regime’s stability entering the fifth year of his war.

Sharing my latest with Christina Harward & @TheStudyofWar 🧵 https://t.co/nRVkaF9fOy

— Kateryna Stepanenko (@KatStepanenko) February 26, 2026

Armenia and Azerbaijan: dialogue or performance?

Despite the rhetoric, there is little trace of an independent civil society shaping/monitoring the peace process. @arzugeybulla https://t.co/B6l4yWW91X

— Global Voices (@globalvoices) February 26, 2026

“The Trump administration has debated two plans. One would be a major strike aimed at hitting a huge number of targets over a sustained period of time. Critically, it would also try to decapitate the government by forcing the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, from power.

“But Mr. Trump seems to favor a targeted, limited strike on the missile and nuclear sites. The purpose, in addition to damaging missile stocks and production, would be to force the Iranians to negotiate.

“American officials have said that if Iran did not accept their demands after a targeted strike, Mr. Trump would then consider the larger strike as a follow-on mission.”  nytimes.com/2026/02/26/us/po…

— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) Feb 26, 2026