The International Correspondent

10/01/2025

Druze Families Grieve the Massacre in Sweida From London

As massacres unfold in southern Syria, Druze families in Britain share their grief and beg for the world to pay attention.

09/25/2025

"Eight Years Later, Kurdistan Continues to Work Toward Independence"

Kurdistan has shifted from chasing statehood to fortifying its economy and governance, positioning itself as one of the Middle East’s rare zones of stability.

09/19/2025

"For decades, the Middle East has been seen only through the lens of oil and conflict. The notion that it could become a hub of entrepreneurship was dismissed as wishful thinking. Startups are born in Silicon Valley or Shenzhen, not in Baghdad, Beirut, or Cairo. But that story is shifting. A new book by venture capitalist Noor Sweid, Coming of Age: How Technology and Entrepreneurship are Changing the Face of MENA, argues that the region is at an inflection point. Against every expectation, a generation of founders is building companies that matter."

The question is no longer whether the Middle East can produce viable, valuable startups, but whether it can sustain them long enough to rewrite the region’s economic story.

09/19/2025

My article this morning about one of the leading voices against inside .

For decades, Hezbollah has framed itself as the defender of Lebanon’s Shia. Mohammad Barakat’s dissent shows that many now reject endless war in favor of normal life.

09/16/2025

Interesting world we live in.

09/12/2025

A geninue question for parents:

If someone like Tyler Robinson with loving parents, a stable upper middle-class home, family traditions, friends, got a scholarship to go to engineering school.

Everything looks "normal" from the outside.

A person like this can be radicalized into committing political murder…

Then how safe is any family from this risk?

09/12/2025

"Kirk and I were on different sides of most political arguments. We were on the same side on the continued possibility of American politics. It is supposed to be an argument, not a war; it is supposed to be won with words, not ended with bullets. I wanted Kirk to be safe for his sake, but I also wanted him to be safe for mine and for the sake of our larger shared project. The same is true for Shapiro, for Hoffman, for Hortman, for Thompson, for Trump, for Pelosi, for Whitmer. We are all safe, or none of us are." Ezra Klein

The foundation of a free society is the ability to participate in politics without fear of violence. To lose that is to risk losing everything.

09/12/2025

🕯️ Remembering 9/11

Twenty four years later New York still carries the wound with quiet dignity and fierce defiance.

But you cannot bomb an idea out of existence. Extremism is defeated by freedom dignity and opportunity.

America woke up on 9/11. Has it truly learned

👉 Read my op-ed here:

https://www.theinternationalcorrespondent.com/p/america-woke-up-on-911-has-it-learned

09/11/2025

I want to address something I’ve seen in response to my post about Charlie Kirk.

Some people brought up Melissa Hortman and questioned why I didn’t mention her. The truth is: I did not know about her tragic killing before today. I cannot condemn something I am unaware of, and I do not believe anyone should be attacked for that.

For those who do not know, Melissa Hortman, a respected Minnesota lawmaker and former Speaker of the State House, and her husband Mark were shot and killed at their home on June 14, 2025.

Her death is tragic. So is Charlie Kirk’s. So is every act of political violence. Families are grieving, lives are stolen, and our ability to disagree without fear is under threat.

This should not be a competition over which tragedy matters more. Every act of political violence deserves condemnation. Always.

What we must reject is the growing culture where violence becomes a substitute for ideas. When we normalize that, we lose the very freedoms we claim to defend.

Political violence has no side. It threatens us all.

09/10/2025

now faces a stark choice. It can double down on the illusion of neutrality, hoping these strikes were exceptions to the rule. Or it can face the truth and pick a side. The actions of both Iran and Israel convey the same message: Hosting everyone means protecting no one, not even yourself.

The age of fence-sitting is over. In the Middle East of 2025, you cannot host everyone and expect immunity—or spend your way out of the consequences. Qatar has been burned by and . How many warnings will it take before it changes course?

Full article:

https://www.themiddleeastuncovered.com/p/qatars-strategic-reckoning

09/08/2025

Inside the Taliban’s Secret Drone Program

A whistleblower reveals how front companies, foreign markets, and student engineers are fueling an emerging threat