Prigozhin Unbound
Plus: The Taliban Are Who We Thought They Were
Recently in The Bulwark:
CHARLIE SYKES: Here Comes Chris Christie
THE NEXT LEVEL 🎥: Chris Licht Gets The Boot 🔐 (Live @ 7 ET)
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
CATHY YOUNG: Prigozhin Unbound.
OVER THE PAST SPRING, amid the tense wait for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the segment of the Russian invading forces that commanded the most attention was the Wagner Group, the “private military company” founded by food-service tycoon (and longtime Vladimir Putin crony) Yevgeny Prigozhin. As Wagner units took the leading role in the grinding, gruesomely bloody, months-long fight for Bakhmut, Prigozhin himself became something of a star—not only of his own viral videos appeared with some regularity, but of reports from independent Russian media and Western journalists.
Yet back in February 2022 when Putin’s “special military operation” began, Prigozhin was still denying his connection with Wagner, even via legal action—and whatever role Wagner played in the war was kept very much on the down-low.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice. Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
NATALIE GONNELLA-PLATTS AND JESSICA LUDWIG: The Taliban Are Who We Thought They Were.
When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, they established one of the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the world and harbored international terrorists. Since regaining control of the country in 2021, they have reverted to their old behavior, once again using violence against Afghans to maintain their grip on power. As a result, Afghanistan has become a “significant coordination site” for threats to the United States, Europe, and Asia, according to a leaked Pentagon assessment.
Terrorism both at home and abroad is a core, unchanging element of what the Taliban are and have always been. It shouldn’t shock anyone that the Taliban broke their purported promise to curb terrorism. They rely on violence and corruption to control the population.
MONA CHAREN: Is the GOP Tiptoeing Toward Normality?
EVERY MORNING, before we open our eyes, every one of us must grapple with the excruciating possibility that Donald Trump could be re-elected. It’s the nightmare from which we cannot awake, at least for now. And yet, while we go through our days under this sword of Damocles, we can also detect that something is stirring in the Republican party. After eight vertiginous years of rot and decay made no less alarming by their often buffoonish character, the GOP seems to be taking some tentative steps toward normality.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Smokey Wednesday! Looks like we’re gonna be staying indoors as air quality in the east is getting worse.
The House comes to a standstill… No votes until next week, and a reminder of how this never happened under Pelosi.
A Whole Herd of Stripe-less Zebras… Holly Berkley Fletcher explains why she’s a Bulwark super-fan. (Have you seen her parodies? They’re amazing.)
Chris, Licht… Inside the CNN chief’s firing and why he really failed.
The LIV-PGA Shit-Eating Tour… Is A Marvel To Behold.
RIP, Jabroni… The Iron Sheikh is dead.
Ron DeSantis’s approval rating… Plummets.
The devil in the grooves… The case against forensic firearms analysis, by the great Radley Balko.
D.C. may have legalized weed… Now it has to deal with the nuisance.
More about the sonic boom… From our friend and former Naval Aviator Ward Carroll.
So close!! Trump die-hard Ken Cuccinelli drew laughs with his hemming and hawing in front of a House committee regarding the truth about the 2020 election.
Tucker on Twitter… Was a sad, low-energy affair, that apparently violated his contract with Fox.
What am I doing here? I read this column from Chris Cillizza with interest because sometimes I feel the same way. But not often, because most readers get what we’re doing here.
Is Meadows making a deal? New reporting in the Independent says so.
From Hollywood to January 6… A Bob’s Burgers voice actor was just arrested for his actions.
—30—
Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.