Escalate to deescalate.

Iran launches missile attacks against Iraqi bases hosting US troops, though in a manner to avoid casualties. Iraq was warned ahead of time. 1/19

“The US military was anticipating an attack and personnel had taken cover. Iran can claim it took revenge. Feels more like an escalation to deescalate.” 2/19

Some thoughts from one of 43’s lawyers on 45’s legal justifications for attacking Iran. 3/19

Geraldine Brooks: Let’s remember the downing of Iran Air 655, and the blood on our hands, too. 4/19

Related/unrelated: A Ukrainian airliner leaving Tehran crashes shortly after take-off, killing 176 people on board. 5/19

Massive reporting uncovers a botched US raid in Afghanistan that killed nearly 60 children. 6/19

American foreign policy tends toward four worldviews: Hamiltonian, Wilsonian, Jacksonian, and Jeffersonian. Trump’s Iran policy shows the limits of Jacksonianism. 7/19

From a game theory perspective, Trump's talk of cultural sites was a weak move, "but silence never has been Trump’s strong suit." 8/19

Spiritual guru Marianne Williamson remains a serious candidate for president—for people who meditate in southeastern Iowa. 9/19

“No one could name what had happened to us.” Now trending: Seeing the movie Cats while stoned or tripping. 10/19

Australia’s government is sticking to its position that there’s no link between the climate crisis and the country’s devastating bushfires. 11/19

A startup near Tel Aviv has found a way to make sugar more effective—not artificial, but higher-potency. 12/19

"Go first to the rack by the fitting room." Tips on how to thrift in January, apparently prime season for visiting Goodwill. 13/19

A short film pays tribute to Ernest Whiteley & Co. Ladies Outfitters in Bridlington, Yorkshire, a shop that “has hardly changed since it first opened its doors in 1901.” 14/19

See also: The faded beauty of Britain's vintage laundrettes. 15/19

Some of the world's prettiest architecture is being built for scientists in Antarctica. 16/19

One way to look back on the last decade: as a remarkable period in automobile design history, led by Tesla. 17/19

"What if Toulouse-Lautrec was an EVA fan?" and other works by Caitlyn Cold. 18/19

Related: The high highs and low lows of dating a much younger person. 19/19

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