Rutte is absolutely correct: 700 troops does not change the reality of NATO's capability to defend its Eastern Flank against Russia. www.politico.eu/article/nato...

Mira Rapp Hooper making the argument that Trump's concessions to Xi will only beget more Chinese demands, thus ensuring US-China competition will endure. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

In other words, the air people are breathing has been infused with this stuff, but they inhale it without even knowing the effort that went into getting it there. My eldest and others I spoke with take a far right win in the 2027 presidential election as a given. Frightening stuff.

Provocative @ifri.bsky.social report on the balance of power between Europe and Russia. www.ifri.org/en/studies/e...

Because I didn't have to teach on election day, I was able to read some recently published articles. The highlight was @johnrdeni.bsky.social's recent analysis of NATO's response to the "shock" of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. I highly recommend it.

If true: this is not how you should treat your allies. www.politico.eu/article/us-a...

Start by sauteing ground beef, diced onion and, if you like, carrot. When browned, add red wine to cover + a wooden spoon full of tomato sauce, turn down the heat and cook for about 4 hours adding more wine if necessary. Serve over pasta, grating some Parmesan cheese on top.

Roast 3-4 tomatillos till brown and juicy. Blend them with cilantro, jalapeno(s), lime juice, salt. Mix with mashed avocado. Add chopped red onion or Roma tomato if you like that. Best. Guacamole. Ever. (A Rick Bayless hack)

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Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching

Awful... European leaders including Friedrich Merz and Ursula von der Leyen will skip the EU’s summit with Latin American and Caribbean states due in part to concerns over angering Donald Trump.

I am glad to see Republicans in Congress push back against the Trump administration on troop withdrawals from Europe. Hopefully, the administration takes the hint and doesn't make significant changes in the posture review.

President Trump's interview on 60 Minutes did very little to clarify his stance on the United States resuming full-scale nuclear tests for the first time in more than three decades. Let's look at some of his statements. 1/11

1/When @himself.bsky.social and I wrote about the future of US economic coercion we hoped that the tools could be used for global collective goods like climate. Now US “evaluating sanctions on officials sponsoring activist-driven climate policies”’ on.ft.com/4qJF3Ko

This quote continues to rattle me to my core: "So what you’re telling us is you need less evidence to kill somebody than you do to hold them." That's Rep Adam Smith to Pentagon officials in a briefing on Trump's illegal boat bombings. As he told me in this piece, they didn't answer his objection:

Those of us in academia can either give in to AI or we can resist and do our students a great service. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...

Excellent interview w/ Rep. Jim Himes on the Trump admin's strikes off Venezuela. warontherocks.libsyn.com/congressman-...

We calculate that Ukraine will need approximately $389bn in cash and arms over four years. Whether Europe rises to this challenge will be a test of its aspirations to act without depending on America

Vladimir Putin never misses an opportunity to undermine Russia's national interest. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

So Republicans are just murdering random people on boats with no idea whether they are running drugs or not? newrepublic.com/post/202502/...

More waste of money from this incredibly wasteful administration.

Two conclusions from the US-China trade "deal" 1. We are in a bipolar world--China is a "peer rival" of the US and no other states/actors are close. 2. The US under Trump isn't particularly concerned with China as a military threat to E. Asia. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

“Xi stared down Trump and Trump blinked,” said Scott Kennedy, a China expert at CSIS, a think-tank. “Xi has mastered managing Trump. Meeting US threats with larger threats . . . has gotten Washington to back down.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

I don't think 700 fewer US troops in Romania will have a real effect on Putin's calculus, but hopefully the protests from Wicker and Rogers will prevent further, more consequential withdrawals. www.politico.com/live-updates...

The European reaction to US action in Venezuela thus far suggests that if the US forces regime change in Caracas, European allies will cough and look the other way. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Here is the long and short of it.

I agree with @gspataf95.bsky.social The direction of travel is clear. Let's just hope that any cuts to other contingents on the eastern front are kept to a minimum.

Joshua Treviño (America First Policy Institute) arguing that the 🇺🇸 should/will remove Maduro, resulting in a smooth transition to opposition control in 🇻🇪 & sending a strong signal to the cartels and government in 🇲🇽. A brief 🧵on the flaws in his arguments. nebulouspodcasts.com/shows/school...

Local pacifism can be quite powerful in blocking Europe's necessary (in my view) rearmament. on.ft.com/47Gvl3P

Sick burn, Senator

"In financial terms, domestic firms dominate; politically, however, the few foreign systems define the country’s most sensitive military roles." www.politico.eu/article/germ...

The problem with the EU as an actor in international affairs is that there is almost always one state--like Belgium here--that blocks action so that it can pursue its own national interest over what would be best for the group. on.ft.com/42W5IcJ

If Trump follows through on these sanctions, it will be the best thing he's done since taking office. www.politico.eu/article/dona...

Looking to understand why attempts to negotiate with Russia keep failing from three former members of the US intelligence community? Take a listen: www.podbean.com/ew/pb-x4wdh-...

It seems to me that governments aren't buying more weapons based on the current conflict but rather based on their expectations about future conflict.

Germany and Europe needs more like General Sollfrank, willing to provide a frank warning about the threat Russia poses to Europe and the urgent response required. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/w...

My prediction is that if Republicans lose the House in the midterms, Trump will focus on something like Greenland with terrible consequences for all involved. www.politico.eu/article/gree...

Agreed.

Wondering how much regret there is in European capitals on having conceded as much as they did over trade given Trump's recent turn on Ukraine policy. www.politico.eu/article/ukra...

Defence Secretary John Healey warns of “a new era of threat”, announcing new powers to down unidentified drones over UK military sites and pledging an age of “hard power, strong alliances and sure diplomacy” to secure Europe. ukdefencejournal.org.uk/?p=63226

There are real differences in European perceptions of the threat from Russia, as this recent polling shows. I'd argue that it is more than just a question of proximity. Other factors include prior history w/ Russia, pacifism, information warfare just to name a few. www.politico.eu/article/russ...

I once walked into Elysée as someone's +1, though their invitation did not allow for one, with no ID or security check. I must have passed through a metal-detector, but I don't clearly remember it. I then stood a few meters from Sarkozy as he delivered one of the presidential veoux du nouvel ans.

German media reports that Germany will buy 15 additional F-35 jets. (So 50 in total). augengeradeaus.net/2025/10/luft...

RESILIENCE!, we scream, as we fail to open our doors because we replaced simple things like keys with apps

I will be absolutely shocked if we ever get to an endgame where the Trump administration brokers a ceasefire in Ukraine that is acceptable to Kyiv.

Dutch intelligence suspends sharing arrangements with the US after concluding that high level intel was routinely being shared by the White House with their friends in the Kremlin. www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/n...

What could possibly go wrong?

Brilliant.

Rather than ending US alliances Donald Trump is expanding the number of countries the US is committed to defend. America first? on.ft.com/47hc0oA