War Scholar | Chair of War Studies Madison Policy Forum | Executive Director @urbanwarfareins | UWP podcast | Thoughts/Posts my own RT/Quote/Like ≠ Official Gov
United States
- Tweets 46,216
- Following 1,516
- Followers 359,443
- Likes 115,052
Pinned Tweet
"Ernest Hemingway couldn't have made up the real life of John Spencer. Facing Bullets, Bombs, and Bees (yes, bees, he was actually attacked by killer bees), Spencer writes about his adventures with humility, relatability, and humor. this book will leave you hungry for the next time he almost dies." -- Max Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of World War Z, Devolution, and the official Minecraft novels. amazon.com/Twenty-Times-Almo…
30
68
262
121,654
John Spencer retweeted
Spread lies, get called out and then try to change the topic. Quite the journalist you are.
How about you take a look at the evidence then get back to us? idf.il/en/mini-sites/the-pre…
880
1,237
14,768
2,417,424
John Spencer retweeted
Mogadishu was the most visible urban battle involving westerners for decades. It led to thinking & action to revitalise 🇺🇲 capability, especially in USMC. GWOT stripped those efforts except minor tactics for COIN. As John points out, there is still no urban school.
Today marks the 33 year anniversary for the beginning of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. To read what happened and the urban warfare lessons the U.S. military should have taken from it, read the @WestPoint_USMA @MWI_editor Urban Warfare Case Study @LiamSCollins @JaysonGeroux and I wrote about it. mwi.westpoint.edu/urban-case…
3
19
2,473
John Spencer retweeted
.@CNN should issue a correction and an apology.
CNN published a deeply misleading story and headline suggesting that my diplomatic work in the Middle East somehow benefited investments in Israeli defense companies.
But CNN’s own reporting says otherwise. Buried behind a paywall, it acknowledges: “CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed.”
Phoenix is not a defense company. It is one of Israel’s largest publicly traded financial institutions, highly regulated and managing approximately $220 billion across thousands of investments.
Think of Phoenix as the Israeli equivalent of Vanguard or Fidelity. It manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis. The savers don’t choose the individual investments, and neither do I. I have no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells. It has performed very well for Affinity and our investors, up more than five times since our initial investment.
Affinity is an SEC-registered investment firm. Our investment in Phoenix is public and dates to before President Trump was re-elected and before I returned to public service. Affinity does not own the defense companies highlighted in CNN’s story.
Those facts make for a less provocative headline, but a much more accurate story.
Misleading stories will not distract me from the work President Trump asked me to do: help end wars, bring people together and pursue peace. That work is too important.
605
842
7,226
162,372
The most thorough response to the actual accusations in the NAZA documentary I've read. From an IDF officer, (name/rank/unit provided) in which we can validate he was a part of and observed the processes the documentary attempts to cover. yairmiron.com/media/yair-mir…
20
272
841
37,474
Some battles have an extraordinary impact on a military’s thinking towards urban warfare, Mogadishu is one of those battles. By the time of the 2003 Battle of Baghdad, the U.S. military (from the four-star generals to the NCO leaders in the field) had Somalia on their mind.
"The planned sixty-minute raid had turned into a complicated rescue operation that had lasted nearly fifteen hours. In the aftermath of the battle several bodies of US soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by local civilians and clansmen. US and UN forces collectively suffered twenty killed (eighteen Americans and two Malaysians) with another eighty-eight wounded. Estimates of enemy casualties ranged from the hundreds to the low thousands. On October 14, the Somali captors released Durant and the remains of the other Americans killed after Ambassador Robert B. Oakley brokered a deal."
Today marks the 33 year anniversary for the beginning of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. To read what happened and the urban warfare lessons the U.S. military should have taken from it, read the @WestPoint_USMA @MWI_editor Urban Warfare Case Study @LiamSCollins @JaysonGeroux and I wrote about it. mwi.westpoint.edu/urban-case…
3
16
120
11,722
John Spencer retweeted
Correct a massive ignorant lie (a nation that is trying to genocide a population doesn’t take extraordinary steps to protect civilians in urban warfare nor feed, vaccinate, provide water, electricity, gas, medical aid to the group they are trying to genocide).
If October 7 happened to the United States, we would use overwhelming military force to stop rockets coming out of enemy territory, return our hostages, destroy the enemy military, seize enemy territory and remove them from political power, and ensure they never had a chance to conduct an operation against us again. We would take reasonable and feasible precautions to protect civilians. Just as Israel has.
In war, killing the enemy’s military forces (combatants) isn’t a war crime, it is part of the goal.
2
41
269
8,736
John Spencer retweeted
The attempted hijacking of a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight carrying hundreds of Israelis was thwarted by the extraordinary heroism of Capt. Smit Machchhar and passengers who subdued the hijacker and brought the plane to safety against incredible odds.
Thanks to the courage of Capt. Machchhar and the passengers who acted, an attempt to murder hundreds of civilians was stopped.
He (Captain Smit Machchhar) is an Indian version of Sully, a hero...the terrorists lost today, a lot of men of character showed up, Captain Smit, Yaniv Hayoun, the others that responded to save all. My talk with @ChrisCuomo @NewsNation tonight.
16
54
436
20,227
John Spencer retweeted
“He’s my kind of guy. He can be my plumber, he can be whatever he wants to be."
President @realDonaldTrump salutes Israeli flyDubai hero Yaniv Hayoun, who helped take down the terrorist pilot.
11
41
277
9,682
Today marks the 33 year anniversary for the beginning of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. To read what happened and the urban warfare lessons the U.S. military should have taken from it, read the @WestPoint_USMA @MWI_editor Urban Warfare Case Study @LiamSCollins @JaysonGeroux and I wrote about it. mwi.westpoint.edu/urban-case…
3
25
73
18,640
John Spencer retweeted
If you want to know more about the Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia (03-04 October 1993) which occurred 33 years ago today, @SpencerGuard, @LiamSCollins & myself wrote this short-read Urban Warfare Project case study with a battle synopsis & lessons learned:
mwi.westpoint.edu/black-hawk…
4
12
38
4,305
UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Crown Prince of Dubai Hamdan bin Mohammed visits Indian Hero Pilot Captain Smit Machchhar in Abu Dhabi Hospital.
During a visit to Captain Smit Machchhar… the flydubai pilot who embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life.
From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise.
We are proud that he is part of our team… part of the story of our nation… and part of what the UAE stands for… a nation of compassion… a nation of peace… and a nation of life.
16
151
1,445
22,392
John Spencer retweeted
Here's How 'The New York Times' Reported 9 Historic Attacks
41
848
5,063
187,029
John Spencer retweeted
Ukraine confirms first combat use of new ballistic missile...Ukraine has used its homegrown FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Oct. 1, adding that the next step is production.
defence-blog.com/ukraine-con…
5
20
94
11,502
John Spencer retweeted
📣 COMING SOON to Australia‼️
Join me in Melbourne the evening of 8 Oct, when I'll be debating - LIVE and in person - Chris Sidoti, member of the UN Commission of Inquiry that has accused @Israel of genocide.
Links to register for in-person attendance OR to view the live-stream in the first 2 replies.
See you in Melbourne - either in person or online - then!!
“There can be no doubt” Chris Sidoti (UN Commission of Inquiry) noted that the evidence documented in their report shows that “every international legal norm has been violated by the actions of the Israeli authorities towards Palestinian children.”
un.org/unispal/document/coi-…
2
19
63
7,802
About those generalized aggregated Gaza death toll numbers with no context, just blame Israel.
Gaza Ministry of Health has now released mortality numbers for 2025. For the first time since the war, they give numbers for all deaths, including natural deaths.
In 2025 there were a total of 24,650 deaths in Gaza. 18,870 (76.6%) of these were violent, of which 17,286 (70.1%) were due to "war operations" and 1,584 (6.4%) were classified as accidents. There were a total of 5,780 (23.4%) non-violent deaths, including disease, old age, and all other causes.
5,780 deaths is about the same as the annual non-violent mortality in Gaza before the war, and the age distribution is similar to 2022. There is no significant excess of non-violent deaths.
In other words, despite frequent and loud claims to the contrary, there seems to be very few indirect deaths due to the war in Gaza in 2025.
As there were 50,227 births in 2025, this gives a natural population growth of 25,577 or 1.2% in Gaza in 2025, which is higher population growth than most countries in the world and more than the world average.
There are currently ~6,000 births/month in Gaza, per GMH. Assuming a similar number of non-violent deaths in Gaza in 2026 as in 2025, that means there are currently 12x more births than deaths in Gaza, and that Gaza is now experiencing one of the highest population growths in the world.
8
57
487
14,905
John Spencer retweeted
U.S. OFFICIAL: U.S. sending 3rd carrier to mideast @gen_jackkeane
65
260
1,489
41,588
John Spencer retweeted
For the last 10 years, I have ignored false and misleading stories about me and focused on the work.
But the cycle has gotten out of control where old lies get repeated as fact, new ones get added, and the record becomes increasingly distorted.
So from time to time, I’m going to respond, not to every allegation. But when the truth matters, I’ll put the facts and supporting information out publicly, and people can judge for themselves.
12,938
4,462
56,631
8,661,710
John Spencer retweeted
CNN published a deeply misleading story and headline suggesting that my diplomatic work in the Middle East somehow benefited investments in Israeli defense companies.
But CNN’s own reporting says otherwise. Buried behind a paywall, it acknowledges: “CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed.”
Phoenix is not a defense company. It is one of Israel’s largest publicly traded financial institutions, highly regulated and managing approximately $220 billion across thousands of investments.
Think of Phoenix as the Israeli equivalent of Vanguard or Fidelity. It manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis. The savers don’t choose the individual investments, and neither do I. I have no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells. It has performed very well for Affinity and our investors, up more than five times since our initial investment.
Affinity is an SEC-registered investment firm. Our investment in Phoenix is public and dates to before President Trump was re-elected and before I returned to public service. Affinity does not own the defense companies highlighted in CNN’s story.
Those facts make for a less provocative headline, but a much more accurate story.
Misleading stories will not distract me from the work President Trump asked me to do: help end wars, bring people together and pursue peace. That work is too important.
4,805
5,929
31,239
1,943,807