A look at life in Bahrain, home to the US 5th Fleet, after Iranian attacks that prompted a mass US evacuation.

Poll finds broad global opposition to US military bases

First Germany, now Poland.

For the sailors and military families who fled Bahrain during the Iran war, there is no mental health playbook. That's partly because PTSD care is largely built around troops going to war -- not war arriving at their homes. A deeply reported piece by @starsandstripes.bsky.social's Shannon Renfroe.

In a widely distributed community newsletter, an Army garrison in Germany warned: “DO NOT ENGAGE WITH MEDIA.” Officials later clarified to Stars and Stripes that it wasn’t a blanket ban. But military legal experts warn it could still discourage troops and their families from exercising free speech.

Army garrison says no blanket speech ban after ‘do not engage with media’ message

ANALYSIS | Operation Epic Fury has sunk Iran’s largest naval ships, degraded its air defenses and killed many of its top leaders. It has also laid bare the vulnerabilities of the American presence in the Middle East, experts say. From Stars and Stripes' Lara Korte:

"American military and intelligence officials estimate that, after weeks of war, Iran still has about 40 percent of its arsenal of attack drones and upward of 60 percent of its missile launchers — more than enough to hold shipping in the Strait of Hormuz hostage..." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

I spoke to Stars & Stripes about the takeaways for US forces in Europe from Iran's long-range Indian Ocean missile launches last Friday www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...

“If you are willing to actually allow and fund to a certain extent a newspaper that you understand will hold you to account at times,” he said, “I think it’s a really wonderful expression of those values in the First Amendment.”

Very happy to report that I am now the Europe/Mideast bureau chief for Stars and Stripes. I've long been impressed from afar at the work this outlet has done in communicating to the US military community, and two days in I'm more convinced than ever about the importance of that mission.

!!!

“I believe they see my writing style as excessively objective and they see it as a problem,” he said. “I say positive things about North Korea sometimes, and when negative, not in a hysterical style.”

Yoon Suk-yeol has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Front page news here in Taipei:

A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange planned to give customers a small cash reward of 2,000 won - $1.37 - but instead gave them 2,000 bitcoins on Friday.

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has vowed to use her dominance of Japan’s parliament after her huge election win to attempt to amend the country’s constitution for the first time in almost 80 years.

POLL: Danish perceptions of the relationship with the United States have taken a stark downturn in the wake of President Donald Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland. Read more: www.stripes.com/theaters/eur... #Flashes

We will not stop.

"While it has existed since 2009, the EU’s Article 42.7 mutual defense clause was rarely seen as necessary because NATO’s Article 5 served a similar purpose. But Europe's governments have started to doubt whether the U.S. really would come to Europe's rescue."

“We will never have true strategic independence, absent our own nuclear deterrent...let’s keep our options open."

FROM OUR OMBUDSMAN: Given the overall press restrictions and the moves to take over editorial control of Stars and Stripes, the future of a reputable newspaper that dates to the Civil War is in danger. Here's what's happening, why & what you can do about it. Gift article🔗: bit.ly/4k7MF6F #Flashes

"The idea that China is ready to seize Greenland at any moment is absurd, and Trump’s claims that Chinese destroyers and submarines are circling the island are blatantly false."

Trump's threats to take Greenland "should be the final wake-up call for the UK, Europe and Canada never to allow themselves to slide into such a position of profound weakness again."

"I think we should possess nuclear weapons...in the end, we can only rely on ourselves."

"This vanishing of North Korea from 2017 to 2025 alone should caution the reader to take this text, whether you see things you like or dislike, with a gigantic grain of salt."

Denmark’s military intelligence service has for the first time classified the US as a security risk, a striking shift in how one of Washington’s closest European allies assesses the transatlantic relationship.

MAGAZINER: How many veterans have you deported? NOEM: We haven't deported veterans MAGAZINER: We are now joined on Zoom by a combat veteran you deported to Korea

Instead of the word “denuclearization,” the paper emphasized “resolving the Korean peninsula issue through political means.

Japan frustrated at Trump administration’s silence over row with China – FT: ‘Some people said the lack of US support was ironic given that Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy, had pushed Japan to make clear what role it would play if the US and China went to war over Taiwan.’

The Muppets Christmas Carol is just top notch stuff, man. So many great performances, including obviously by Michael Caine but also Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and the vegetable muppets. I could go on and on.

Just saw another mosquito in Seoul. It's December 7th. We've already had snow. How in the world do these creatures survive this.

China’s National Security Office in Hong Kong Summons Foreign Journalists

North Korea Not Mentioned in U.S. National Security Strategy www.chosun.com/english/worl...

The White House just released its National Security Strategy.

“Landau, a longtime NATO skeptic, told ministers not to ‘bully’ his country’s defense firms out of participating in Europe’s rearmament.”

The Trump administration will highlight South Korea and Israel as "model allies" in its National Defense Strategy. Expected to be released by the Pentagon in coming weeks, the NDS will commend both countries for acting as partners rather than dependents. asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/tr...

"The first requirement for successful negotiations is accurately understanding the opponent. However, President Lee is unaware of even basic facts about North Korea."

Clint Work: "It seems as though some South Korean political hands that are the firmest proponents of wartime OPCON transition are more interested in the optics and symbolism of the transition than they are the mechanics of the combined command." Wonky stuff but important for US-ROK relations.

South Korea's president: getting nukes would be "great," but it would be impossible to get the approval of the international community.

Trump: "Countries were ripping off for years, including allies. I won't use the names. I won't mention Japan. I will refuse to mention South Korea. I will not mention names."

Franklin The Turtle’s publisher responds to Pete Hegseth.

Prominent South Korean liberal Moon Chung-in: "The issue here is excessive dependence on the US for its security. And that’s not limited to Korea — Japan, Saudi Arabia and even the countries of Europe are prone to structural vulnerabilities deriving from the US’ security umbrella."

U.S. Forces Japan is halting unilateral military police patrols on Okinawa while it investigates the viral video of an American civilian being aggressively detained outside a bar in Okinawa city. Read more here: bit.ly/4okqCd6

This is very different from how it has been reported in the Japanese press, but this is *exactly* what they've been worried about in Tokyo.

Since early September, U.S. forces have launched at least 21 separate strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. By comparison, at least 28 U.S. strikes in Somalia have occurred during that same time, according to AFRICOM.

South Koreans' confidence in domestic institutions is increasing, months after former President Yoon was removed from office for declaring martial law, a Gallup poll shows.

South Korea intends to abolish provisions obligating soldiers and civil servants to follow superiors’ commands even when they may be improper or unlawful.

Following Australia's lead, Malaysia aims to implement a ban on social media use for children under the age of 16 from next year www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nat...

The tiny House majority about to get a little tinier for some months after MTG's last day on January 5th, 2026.