Faysal ItaniVerified account

@faysalitani

Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Professor at George Washington University. Motorcyclist. Amateur parrot trainer. All views my own.

Washington, DC
atlanticcouncil.org/about/experts/…
Joined October 2012
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  1. Pinned Tweet
    11 Sep 2018

    Latest by me and on seven years of US policy in .

    NEW Issue Brief→ US Policy in Syria: A Seven-Year Reckoning by and
    4 replies 37 retweets 78 likes
  2. Retweeted
    9 hours ago

    Hey it seems that it was not who did this weird poll but ORB int. Yet the poll results are intersting but the sampling methdology and selection of the 601 were not clear enough to be reflecting or influencing the public opinon.

    Our latest opinion poll from raqqa and hasakah shows support for Turkey and US withdrawal but majority prefer to live under Daesh to Assad. Full tables and analysis to follow soon.
    1 reply 1 retweet 3 likes
  3. 11 hours ago

    And more....

    Replying to @Charles_Lister
    The poll you refer to was done by Orb International: It is a member of the Gallup International association. We have invited them to discuss the methodology and results in a…
    3 replies 6 likes
  4. Retweeted
    13 hours ago
    Replying to and

    from doing further research the polling isnt credible with the company actually being dubious however the company is Russian linked so this polling is more accurate then it lets on since Russia supports Assad and the YPG more than its relations with turkey

    1 reply 1 retweet
  5. 18 hours ago

    This is of course true and important. A poll is a poll and it's a small one. Also methodology is key. One piece of a much larger puzzle so I caution against using limited results to support/undermine specific loaded policy positions. But interesting anyway.

    Though the Gallup poll has a lot of interesting and correct conclusions, be careful not to generalise the results to the whole of NE-Syria. Although it is claimed the sample is weighed, it does not guarantee a solid representation for the whole of the region.
    Show this thread
    1 reply 14 likes
  6. Retweeted
    20 hours ago

    Lebanon’s parliament speaker has just filed a lawsuit against local TV channel and its owner…

    4 retweets 4 likes
  7. Retweeted
    21 hours ago

    I spoke to about a dozen former & current supporters about how affected their relationship with the party. Most, including the 5 referenced here, spoke of increasing disillusionment. (Text below)

    11 replies 47 retweets 109 likes
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  8. Nov 12

    what surprised me was 1. depth of intra-Kurdish divide 2. the importance of fear of conscription in shaping opinions 3. degree of support for Turkish invasion (including significant Kurdish support) 4. unrivaled hostility to the regime especially though not only among Arabs

    8 replies 30 retweets 40 likes
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  9. Nov 12

    Some very interesting and (to me at least) unexpected findings in this Gallup opinion poll in northern . Sure to also ruffle some feathers in an otherwise sober, balanced debate about Kurds, Arabs, and Turkey in Syria.

    14 replies 45 retweets 79 likes
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  10. Nov 12

    Though I will admit, I enjoy his alliterations.

    Long week ahead.
    1 like
  11. Nov 12

    Long week ahead.

    “The circus is coming to town. The corrupt, compromised, coward & congenital liar Adam Schiff Show on Capital Hill, brought to you by his raging psychotic Democrats & the top allies in the Media Mob. Everything you’re going to see in the next two weeks is rigged.....
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    1 reply 2 retweets 2 likes
  12. Nov 12

    In fact this would be symbolic of the kind of impunity and and arrogance driving public anger, albeit in military rather than civilian circles. I am hoping this is not what happened.

    1 reply 1 retweet 3 likes
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  13. Nov 12

    "Media reports said the soldier is the personal driver of an army colonel as protesters said he was driving a white vehicle with no plates." Well now that's quite different than some hapless soldier shooting someone in the chaos of clearing a road.

    1 reply 3 retweets 3 likes
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  14. Nov 12

    So we have a resigned prime minister, an isolated if not warped president, and a military that has inflicted the first casualty of this period. Forecast? Let's just say the military's relationship with the protesters, which may unravel, has a brighter future than the politicians'

    1 reply 3 retweets 15 likes
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  15. Nov 12

    This reflects Aoun's temperament and likely his declining mental faculties but also his insistence on setting himself apart from the political class. Needless to say people will not exempt a sitting president from grievances against a governing class.

    1 reply 1 retweet 12 likes
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  16. Nov 12

    The second, and the backdrop for the escalation in protests in which Abou Fakhr was killed, was an astounding speech by President Aoun was, to put it mildly, contemptous toward the protest movement, suggesting that Lebanese who are unhappy with political class can emigrate.

    1 reply 3 retweets 10 likes
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  17. Nov 12

    In another, he was shot at a roadblock for mouthing off at a soldier riding a passing car. We'll see. Regardless, this is the first killing of the protests, and inserts enormous tension into military-protester interactions which I expect to worsen.

    2 replies 1 retweet 10 likes
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  18. Nov 12

    (Thread) Today was a rough day for Lebanon. Couple of incidents with particular implications. The first is the killing of a protester, Alaa Abou Fakhr, in front of his family by the military. Details are scant. In one version he was shot dead by soldiers trying to clear a road

    1 reply 19 retweets 35 likes
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  19. Nov 12

    Eager to see who he is.

    And the official statement from the Lebanese army. The person who shot dead one of the protesters is under custody.
    1 reply 5 likes
  20. Retweeted
    Nov 12

    - So Lebanon's President Michel Aoun just said in a prerecorded interview - addressing the Lebanese people: "If you don't like anyone within this authority, just immigrate and leave the country." Ladies and Gentlemen, the president just asked his people to leave.

    "إذا ما عاجبهم ولا حدا آدمي بالسلطة يروحوا يهاجروا..." ميشال عون - رئيس جمهورية لبنان 12-11-2019…
    6 replies 45 retweets 74 likes
  21. Retweeted
    Nov 12

    Sounds of banging pots and pans in on the 27th day of the revolutionary movement sweeping

    3 retweets 11 likes
  22. Nov 12

    Once in a while I stumble on someone who's mastered whatever era it is we live in. Brett mcgurk, AOC and this lady are on the list. I'm humbled.

    A high-ranking State Department official made a fake Time Magazine cover with her face on it, and even brought it with her to interviews.
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    4 replies 3 retweets 22 likes
  23. Retweeted
    Nov 12

    What radicalized Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi? New scholarship shows that the Islamic State leader was shaped by the chaos of post-2003 Iraq - Samuel Helfont, : I agree.

    5 replies 59 retweets 96 likes
  24. Nov 12

    1 like
  25. Nov 11

    It's his intimate connection to the people that's kept him in office for 25 years.

    BREAKING: Speaker Nabih Berri postpones tomorrow Parliament's session to the following the Tuesday (November 19) Says opposition over the session (originally scheduled for tomorrow) is…
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    2 replies 12 likes
  26. Retweeted
    Nov 11

    Can someone explain to me why far left politicians in the US who are so big on supporting real people's voices here, tend to ignore these voices abroad and instead stand up for wannabe dictators (or actual dictators)? I honestly don't understand it. Thx.

    6 replies 22 retweets 71 likes
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  27. Nov 11

    Ya habibi.

    Lebanese bank employees announce general strike starting tmrw until situation stabilizes
    1 reply 2 retweets 21 likes
  28. Nov 10

    A miscalculation and an accident aren't the same thing. That's idiotic.

    2:16
    Uber CEO on Saudi Arabia's killing of Jamal Khashoggi: "It's a serious mistake. We've made mistakes too, right, with self-driving ... So I think that people make mistakes. It doesn't mean that they can never be forgiven"
    10 likes
  29. Nov 10

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  30. Retweeted
    Nov 10

    U.S. will leave up to 600 troops in northeastern Syria to prevent ISIS resurgence, top general says.

    4 replies 13 retweets 11 likes
  31. Nov 10

    This really is out of control.

    The Iraqi people cannot afford to be held back by the past nor by partisan interests. Rising hope asks for a leap forward. The risk of ‘spoilers’ hijacking peaceful protests is increasing, potentially derailing any attempt at…
    2 replies 4 retweets 10 likes
  32. Retweeted
    Nov 10

    Great and important work. Apologism to the rebels in the north only make them worse and worse; pressure on Turkey to boost discipline will be more helpful. Imagine if the SDF did the same (it didn’t.)

    ‘Filled with hatred and a lust for blood’: Turkey’s proxy army in northern Syria accused of abusing civilians. by .
    8 replies 15 retweets 27 likes
  33. Nov 10

    Plus ca change...

    1 retweet 7 likes
  34. Retweeted
    Nov 10

    Intra-elite negotiations in Beirut have nothing to do with improving governance, but are a way to buy time and protect the system. Deal will be made, things will inevitably get worse, demoralized youth will chose to emigrate. Same applies to Iraq I guess.

    3 replies 13 retweets 42 likes
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  35. Retweeted
    Nov 10

    🇱🇧, an interesting survey of the main demands, in this thread👇🏻

    LCPS surveyed protesters in Riad al-Solh and Martyrs’ Square on Oct. 23-26 to see what their main demands are. Here is what we found: 2/3 of the demands are political, and 1/3 are socio-economic and for better…
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    2 replies 10 retweets 13 likes
  36. Retweeted
    Nov 10
    Replying to

    One will say everything is under control and the system is healthy and the other will say the people are nobody and he the Lebanese have the government they deserve.

    1 reply 1 retweet 2 likes
  37. Nov 10

    Double whammy 🙄

    Two speeches to keep an eye out for on Monday: • Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh at 12:30 • Hezbollah SG Nasrallah at 2:30
    3 replies 7 likes
  38. Nov 10

    في اليوم الخامس والعشرين للانتفاضة... ملاحظات وحقائق لا بدّ منها via

    1 like
  39. Retweeted
    Nov 9

    Another conversation with on the podcast which chronicles the revolution day by day from Lebanon.

    We're joined by Nadim Shehadi for Episode 45, and we discuss the country's power-sharing structure and its durability throughout modern Lebanese history.…
    3 retweets 11 likes
  40. Retweeted
    Nov 9

    Saturday night Twitter appeal: We're raising money to translate and curate 20 never-before-seen KGB training manuals, still in use today in Putin's spy academies. We've got 19 to go:

    6 replies 201 retweets 318 likes
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  41. Nov 9

    A snapshot from Lebanon by

    8 retweets 14 likes