No unimportant lives

Dear Colleagues,

On Saturday, U.S. forces successfully rescued and extracted the missing crew member of an American fighter jet. The Air Force officer was one of two aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down on Friday. Both had ejected over southwestern Iran.

Another American, journalist Shelly Kittleson, was kidnapped on a busy street last Tuesday evening. A day later, the Iran‑aligned Kata’ib Hezbollah offered Kittleson’s release in exchange for detained militia members.

During my first time with RFE/RL, colleagues and I managed the case of 29-year-old Jumana Al-Obaidi.

Jumana was our Baghdad correspondent. On a warm autumn morning, she was taken from a car on her way to an interview at the Iraqi Environment Ministry. Jumana’s driver, a young man named Abdullah, was shot in the head by kidnappers who dumped his body in a ditch.

A second stint with RFE/RL connected me to the wrongful detention and global campaign to free Alsu Kurmasheva.

In summer 2023, Alsu traveled from Prague to Kazan, 500 miles east of Moscow, to care for her elderly mother. Alsu was fined the equivalent of $103 by Russian authorities for neglecting to disclose her U.S. citizenship. But then came the masked men. Alsu was cuffed, hauled away from her mother’s home, pressured to confess to bogus spying charges, and sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

Vladimir Putin’s regime is skillful in discouraging dissent. Tyrants loathe independent journalism.

The War with Iran

Yesterday, Kata’ib Hezbollah was threatening new waves of violence in response to U.S. ultimatums to open the Straight of Hormuz. Since the war with Iran began on February 28, Iranian-backed armed groups have claimed some 450 attacks across Iraq and the wider region.

Our work is important as ever.

U.S. troops continue to arrive in the Middle East. Andres, Matt, and Leila provide context. MBN’s Iran Briefing takes deep dives, including into Tehran’s multi-layered defense strategy in case of a land invasion.

Our audiences want to know about the Houthis; about their entry into the war, and a potential disruption of the the Strait of Bab El-Mandeb – a gateway through which 12 to 15 percent of global trade passes each year.

Dalshad Hussein reports on regime activity abroad. Tehran ships parts for weapons and drones to Europe via cells in Gulf countries and Turkey, building hidden arsenals outside Iran that can be used to target Western interests. IRGC cyberattacks have continued and seem to have increased since the start of the war.

Keep forwarding our newsletters with the note to friends, subscribe here. Keep reminding the growing MBN network that our Friday Briefing is published in Arabic and in English. It’s one of many MBN products now getting traction and gaining trust. Site and social media numbers are up (thanks, Moatz).

Strategic Reinvestment — and Today’s 11 am EDT Town Hall

For those local, we’ll meet in person for today’s town hall meeting in MBN’s new offices today at 11 am EDT. Let’s memorialize the move and thank Deirdre as lead for tremendous work — and colleagues from across departments who have made relocation possible.

My tip of hat to Z, Mary and Ed for countless hours and care. Our gratitude always to the MBN board, including to Susan Ziadeh who has served as board liaison for the move.

There’s still plenty to do. We’re down from 70,000 to 22,000 square feet. Architects are assisting with designs for the construction of studios and additional offices. We’re pushing ahead across fronts.

A new MBN website is in the works. Thanks, Kristina, Alina, Leila, Matt, Abed, Mahmoud, Mohamed, Min, and team.

Plans for strategic reinvestment are underway. We’re building out, judiciously. We’ll continue to save taxpayer money, a million dollars a year in rent alone. Details at 11.

An Awesome Responsibility

The responsibility MBN now shoulders is awesome. Across the Middle East, we’re covering war — including hard politics, security, culture, and human rights.

The people of Iran are on tenterhooks. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is still a menace. Hundred of thousands of Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli strikes in the south of the country. On Sunday, Israeli attacks prompted Syria to temporarily close its main border crossing with Lebanon.

Trust with our audiences is everything. Credibility means impact.

Randa (as investigative reporter), Sam KC (as editor), and Ala’a Suleiman (filming) have received a Webby Award nomination for their video report on Lebanon’s first-ever criminal slavery case. It was a suit filed by an Ethiopian domestic worker against a recruitment agency and her former employer.

Human trafficking is one of the most profitable activities in international organized crime with an estimated 50 million people enslaved worldwide. The problem is prevalent in North Africa and the Middle East.

The MBN report produced by Randa, Sam, and Ala’a integrated harrowing survivor testimony with compelling legal analysis to illuminate a landmark case in a fight for justice in Lebanon and beyond.

From Gaza to Yemen, journalistic work is becoming exceptionally dangerous. In Iraq, Shelly Kittleson is reportedly being held in Jurf Al-Sakhar, a militia stronghold some 40 miles south of the capital.

Back in the day, we won the release of Jumana Al-Obaidi from kidnappers in Baghdad.

Alsu Kurmasheva came out in a historic prisoner swap with the Kremlin in August 2024. A culture reporter, Alsu is an ethnic Tatar who has covered religious freedom and minority issues in the Russian Federation.

In the midst of war and escalating crisis in our region, it’s important to affirm: Individuals matter. There are no unimportant lives.

Sincerely, Jeff