THREAD: For the past several weeks, @ErikSperling, an antiwar activist and former US congressional aid, has been relentlessly trolling academics, analysts, displaced Yemenis, etc who have spent years trying to separate fact from fiction in Yemen’s exceptionally complex war

Erik has demonstrated no grasp of the complexities of Yemen’s war and doesn’t seem interested in learning them. In defending his oversimplified ideas, he aggressively trolls you, misrepresenting your views, belittling you, calling for the cancellation of your Twitter acct, etc.

If you criticize Erik for attacking you he’ll accuse you of personal attacks. If you challenge his gaslighting he’ll accuse you of gaslighting. He most often accuses people of working on behalf of Saudi Arabia, without any evidence to back up these claims.

To amplify his trolling, Erik follows up attacks from his personal account with attacks from the account of his antiwar organization Just Foreign Policy @justfp

All that said, Erik isn’t your average lone troll trying to piss off strangers. He’s the former congressional staffer for US congressman @RoKhanna, who pushes for many of the same oversimplified prescriptions for Yemen’s war.

Their eagerness to end US support and punish the Saudi coalition (while ignoring Houthis) seems driven more by DC politics than their purported concern for Yemenis. I'm all for Saudi accountability, but not in a way that fuels the civil war and enshrines Houthi rule/supremacy.

Covering Yemen on and off since 2012, I’ve seen many simplistic narratives take root, misinform policymakers and hurt Yemenis. The least we can do as observers is embrace Yemen’s complexities so perceptions and decisions can be based on a more informed understanding.

Erik isn’t interested in debating to develop a deeper understanding. He is campaigning for a narrow set of actions that could very well help enshrine the uncontested rule of a group that has brutally repressed millions of Yemenis with impunity for six years.

If you come across Erik on Twitter, be prepare to be trolled relentlessly and drained emotionally. My advice would be to screen shot his abusive tweets and report them if they break Twitter’s community guidelines.