The "usual suspects" among the middle powers (minus India) and a very good concise read.

That sounds healthy… “He spends more time in underground bunkers micromanaging the war and has grown more detached from civilian affairs, according to people who know Putin in Moscow”

Seems like this would be the ultimate gamble, but something European policymakers should be ready for. www.politico.eu/article/euro...

Never underestimate Donald Trump's capacity to ignore reality. www.politico.eu/article/us-d...

Any decline in US presence in Italy or Spain would only hurt US interests. Which is not to say that Donald Trump actually understands US interests and is willing to act to preserve them. www.politico.eu/article/dona...

More support for the view that Russia is not so good at war (or war-related activities). giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

It is April 30, 2026 and today the Trump administration sees the value of allies--at least in aiding with this specific task. Stay tuned for further developments. www.wsj.com/world/as-hor...

One of the most useful discussions on the future of NATO and European security I have heard this year with @shashj.bsky.social asking the tough questions and Rachel Ellehus, director general of @rusi.bsky.social with thoughtful, detailed answers. www.economist.com/insider/insi...

Estonia's government is right on this. A complete ban on former Russian military is just common sense. www.politico.eu/article/esto...

Germany is doing this not to please Trump but because they can no longer trust the US to fulfill its commitment to NATO allies. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Excellent analysis from the always insightful Jennifer Kavanagh of @defpriorities.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/o...

> @bloomberg.com

How NATO must change from one of the most important thinkers on the alliance, @ivodaalder.bsky.social www.politico.eu/article/diff...

Tusk is right that Europe needs a plan B, recognizing the gap between the capabilities it has and the capabilities it needs. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Trust retired officials (with impeccable transatlantic credentials) to say what current officials will not say publicly. The UK--like the rest of Europe--cannot remain dependent on the US because it is not reliable. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

And apparently the US will be investing in upgrades to the Naval base in Rota 🇪🇸. Trying to figure out how that fits with Trump's idea that he will refuse to protect allies that don't behave as he likes? 🤷‍♂️ www.democrata.es/en/defense/u...

Putin has a PR problem. His myth is crumbling My latest for @theipaper.com. I do think the decay of the "good tsar" myth and its repurposing as a means of expressing safe(r) criticism is important. inews.co.uk/news/world/p...

Russia is a nuclear threat to the whole world. ‼️Russia has repeatedly launched missiles and drones over the Chornobyl NPP and the Khmelnytskyi NPP, raising the risk of a major accident, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said.

If Trump was genuinely concerned with the threats from China or Russia, he would not be waging this war against Iran.

Trump will punish US allies who don't allow it to use their bases by taking US forces out of those countries. That will really teach them! www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

everyone with real American manliness and a basic knowledge of military history knows that serious war efforts have never been derailed by such trifling matters as "communicable diseases"

Fascinating. I got away from chinos many years ago because I associate them with twenty something Hill staffers (also why I don't own a navy blazer with gold buttons) but I'm going to have to give them a rethink.

Republicans facing competitive races in November must view the Iran War with great trepidation. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/u...

My thoughts for Newsweek on the Trump-Meloni beef. www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...

Really surprised that this article doesn't discuss the importance of either 1. US threats to seize a NATO's ally by force and 2. the incoherence of US goals and strategy on Iran in leading European allies to stand back. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Just different levels and kinds of pessimism from NATO experts on whether the alliance will survive. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...

US threats to seize the territory of a NATO ally by force drastically reduced the value of the US as an ally, contributing to allies' refusal to assist the US in the Iran war. Apparently, Trump's takeaway was that allies should have forced Denmark to concede?

Next up, the Mar-a-Lago papacy.

This NATO poll suggests a high degree of public support for the alliance's nuclear deterrent. It fails, however, to show the extreme variation within the alliance, including very low public support in allies that participate in nuclear sharing like 🇮🇹, 🇹🇷, and 🇳🇱. www.cambridge.org/core/books/e...

FT scoop - Iran will demand that shipping companies pay tolls in cryptocurrency for laden oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. One official says it could be equivalent to $1 per barrel of oil www.ft.com/content/02ae...

As Trump declares victory over Iran, just a reminder....

"NATO is broken" says @ivodaalder.bsky.social It brings me no joy to agree with Ambassador Daalder. I firmly believe that NATO has served European and American interests since its creation in 1949. It is very hard, however, to see how it survives the current crisis. p.dw.com/p/5Bkcs

When one of the most pro-US governments in Europe is publicly saying this, it's pretty clear what leaders across Europe are thinking privately.

Good rundown of Trump/NATO scenarios with likelihoods and ramifications. www.politico.eu/article/five...

Let's not forget that the Trump administration already caused so much damage to the transatlantic relationship (Greenland, "civilizational erasure") that even pro-US allies aren't willing to make big sacrifices to save it. www.politico.eu/article/dona...

“With Trump in office, NATO is worthless,” said a German official. The "will he" v. "won't he" is irrelevant. Trump has already hollowed out the credibility of the US commitment to NATO in a way that is irreparable. www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

Allies are great if they do what I want even if it has nothing to do with our alliance and I didn't discuss what I'm doing with them first and I have no clear strategy for achieving my goals.

I'm sure Donald Trump is fully fluent in the details of the 1954 base agreement. LOL! www.politico.eu/article/ital...

If Republicans in Congress appropriate anything close to $1.7 trillion, they will be signing their own political death warrant. Good luck to any of them trying to argue that this would put America first!

Proximity to Trump is political poison in many European polities www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"Mr. Buria [Hegseth's chief of staff] told Mr. Driscoll [Secretary of the Army] that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events, the officials said." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/u...

If only there was an explanation for _why_ some NATO allies spend more than others on defense (v. just giving them "grades"). www.politico.eu/article/nato...

Really hard to understand why European allies wouldn't want to help the US clear the strait of Hormuz.

“the Pentagon notified Congress… that it intended to divert about $750 million in funding provided by NATO countries through the PURL program to restock the U.S. military’s own inventories, rather than to send additional assistance to Ukraine.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Trump’s 🇺🇸 revealing itself to be very dangerous and very incoherent. www.politico.eu/article/donl...

Before Greenland Pistorius might have thought this but wouldn’t have said it publicly. An indicator of the state of transatlantic relations.

Rutte is watching NATO's cohesion dissolve before his eyes and there is little/nothing he can do about it. www.politico.eu/article/iran...

This is disgusting. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...