i host Cosmopolitics on Substack. Founder @zivvymedia, @AmericanU, @CNN alum, #Badgers, proud Jersey girl.
Joined January 2009
- Tweets11.6K
- Following6.1K
- Followers31.5K
- Likes2.4K
Kyiv is done waiting on Washington.
Ukraine struck a Russian refinery overnight, defying Trump's demand to stop.
open.substack.com/pub/labott…
Elise Labott retweeted
*THIS* post perfectly encapsulates the decadence and degeneracy of the contemporary US foreign policy establishment. In this view, a US Secretary of State is only *supposed* to travel to NATO capitals because a successful US foreign policy is what makes diplomatic counterparts in Paris, Berlin, and Brussels raise a champagne toast to “shared values” while flinging open their borders, destroying their economies, and apologizing for Western civilization. God forbid a US Secretary of State show his face in Bogotá, Quito, or Lima because that’s where mere “Assistant Secretaries” are supposed to tread. This smug approach led not only to predictably catastrophic results in the Western Hemisphere but also in Europe itself, where the combination of moral vanity and strategic incoherence also proved toxic. But sure: keep holding your academic seminars, writing your unread articles, awarding each other meaningless prizes, and looking down your noses at Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.
Secretaries of State travel the world, to our biggest allies and to address the most pressing issues. But Marco Rubio does neither. His solo travels take him where assistant secretaries go. Rarely the boss. open.substack.com/pub/ivodaa…
Israel transformed the Mideast and can impose its will on the region. Can it build a future in which it no longer has to? open.substack.com/pub/labott…
Elise Labott retweeted
Beijing is looking to establish a new trade route — and it is cooperating with Russia to do it.
@EliseLabott explains why this should be a wakeup call for the United States.
🔗 Read more: wapo.st/47uEY4H
Elise Labott retweeted
The US State Department lobby used to display the flags of the roughly 200 countries with which the US maintains diplomatic relations. Now, it displays 200 American flags, to remind State Department employees who they work for.
Elise Labott retweeted
Great piece. And of course I think so because I share your analysis!: michaelmcfaul.substack.com/p…
Elise Labott retweeted
"The Arctic is beginning to change from a forbidding frontier into a usable commercial corridor, and China and Russia are building the capacity to exploit it together."
The latest from @EliseLabott: wapo.st/3TiaC20
Xi doesn’t need to outmaneuver Washington. He only has to watch it outmaneuver itself.
open.substack.com/pub/labott…
The Arctic is beginning to change from a forbidding frontier into a usable commercial corridor, and China and Russia are building the capacity to exploit it together. My latest for @postopinions washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, Saudi air defenses and Iran’s economic leverage aren’t separate problems. Washington needs to treat them as one — before the region starts improvising on its own.
open.substack.com/pub/labott…
In 2001, most Americans processed the day through a shared American identity first. In 2026, a lot of us run it through a political filter first, and get to the American identity second, if we get there at all.
open.substack.com/pub/labott…
I second this emotion @bstarrreports
Respect to the Pentagon Press Corps 25 years ago today. To: Jack/ABC my mentor, Mik/NBC, David/CBS, also Bob/ AP, Charlie/Reuters, Susanne/Ap, Jamie and Chris /CNN, Thom and Eric/NYT and so many others. That day, and every day after they never stopped reporting. Some have moved on, some have passed, some are still here. They are not forgotten and their work informed a generation.
The Houthis are closing in on the Bab al-Mandab, a critical artery for Saudi oil and global trade. With Hormuz closed, they’re helping Iran strangle the global economy.
The US sees Iran as the main threat. By the time it prioritizes the Red Sea, there may be no backup route left
Yemen’s Houthi militia is pioneering a kind of naval strategy that doesn’t require going to sea.
@EliseLabott, a former CNN global affairs correspondent who authors “Cosmopolitics” on Substack, explains more: wapo.st/4xSzOLw
1985 called and wants its military back.
The real measure of Hegseth’s tenure will be whether the force he leaves behind has the people and capabilities to win wars that will look very different from the ones that shaped his idea of a warrior.
open.substack.com/pub/sharon…
Elise Labott retweeted
Hegseth’s decision to poly 50 Joint Staff members to see if they leaked info to reporters leaves one huge gaping and very serious hole. Did Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen Caine challenge Hegseth? Did he threaten to resign? Did he say well then poly me too? Or did he let this widespread vote of no confidence in his staff stand? Hegseth might not have signed the order but he would have known. What does this tell us about Caine’s loyalty to his people? Thoughts?
Trump’s Venezuela deal is being sold as an energy deal, but it’s really another window into his doctrine for the Western Hemisphere. The president is correcting decades of American neglect of Latin America by mistaking engagement for domination.
open.substack.com/pub/labott…
Elise Labott retweeted
"The Houthis command one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors, and geography can matter as much as firepower," @EliseLabott writes. wapo.st/3U57p5R
As I write here for @postopinions
Washington is still treating the Houthi primarily as a military threat and missing their strategic evolution.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/… washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
Elise Labott retweeted
I write in @FT that Iran’s leaders suspected that the MoU was a temporary retreat by the US, intended to relieve pressure on the global economy and prepare for another round of war.
Iran’s current rulers believe that any display of restraint will only invite further American pressure. To deter the US, and to compel it to negotiate in earnest for an end to the war and a broader nuclear deal that would give Tehran the security and economic relief it craves, they believe Iran has to be aggressive and escalate the conflict beyond what the US is prepared to countenance. The one point of leverage Iran is not prepared to part with is its claim to the Strait of Hormuz and its ability to control access to it. Losing dominance in the strait would leave Iran without any leverage in future negotiations. Iran’s leaders have decided that retaining control of the strait is essential to securing future wins at the negotiating table and ensuring that the US implements the deal rather than walking away from it.
ft.com/content/22fdb2d5-b454…
Elise Labott retweeted
This week on World Review: Iran has Trump is boxed in; the big dream of turning Gaza into the Rivera has died; and Zelensky ousts the man who brought Ukraine the drones. With @KaminskiMK , @EliseLabott , and @alexbward. newsletter.ivodaalder.com/p/…
