A fine reaction to the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy: “But as usual, the Trump teamp has, on a foundation of pre-existing stupidity, built a tower of absurdity” open.substack.com/pub/blueblaz...

Hard to imagine anyone being so foolish & ill-informed as to think Putin wants a peace deal - unless by that Witkoff meant Ukrainian capitulatn. Will we ever reach the point when European leaders accept the US is now acting against Ukraine's & Europe's interests, & they must protect themselves?

Just spoke to @skynewsrss.bsky.social on Trump's Ukraine 'peace plan' (or plan for a new war). In short - a lot of it wd be bad for UA & Europe. Some parts might be OK if Putin & Trump cd be trusted to implement them (they can't). Europeans will have to try to improve it while flattering Trump.

It is easy to track the Kremlin's wishlist in Witkoff's plan - much harder to see any US ideas that favor #Ukraine or #Europe. If applied Ukraine would lose its sovereignty and Russia expand its sphere of interest. It would be a very dangerous path not leading to durable peace.

Sigh. Just HOW long must the dude abide???

I, however, Have such meagre power, Clutching at a Moment, While you control An hour. But your hour is A stone. My moment is A flower. -Langston Hughes, "Poet to Bigot" #everynightapoem As ever.

Watching the inevitable critics of Carney's performance with Trump today, I am reminded of the two bits of advice I used to give clients: Don't antagonize people who can inflict serious harm on you. Don't start fights with crazy people. There are other routes to success than confrontation. #cdnpoli

Thoughts ahead of Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy & European leaders. First, Trump wants both sides to stop fighting, but is only prepared to put pressure on Ukraine. If Putin had any worries on that score, the Alaska summit will have reassured him. Sanctions are postponed, again. 1/16

We’re not worthy…. (Cannot wait!) youtube.com/watch?v=70DD...

A very short NATO Summit Declaration, even shorter:

Canada should spend even a 10th of this on more robust foreign affairs capacity: - Double Cdn embassy and multilateral staff and widen their skillsets - Create ability to bring outside experts into GAC and DND - Cultural change at GAC - Increase development spend on democracy and rights

The NATO summit is underway and should be wrapping up shortly. We’ll see how my predictions hold up. Here’s my conversation yesterday with Menaka Raman-Wilms of the Globe’s Podcast, The Decibel. How Canada fits into the high-stakes NATO summit

"If the Iran war... ends in the summer of 2025, the major outcome of it will be that it was a military act to preserve the hold on power by three men." — @dougsaunders.bsky.social, tonight at 8/11pm with Erin O’Toole, Arne Kislenko, Janice Stein, and @spaikin.bsky.social

On The Current this morning talking about the NATO Summit today and tomorrow in The Hague… www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

This should be a fun read! Thanks Madelaine @mdrohan.bsky.social

What to expect at the upcoming @NATO summit in The Hague June 24-25th www.linkedin.com/posts/lvandu...

Canada’s military took on southern Kandahar province, which every single American I met in Afghanistan admitted was the toughest patch there was. One hundred and sixty-six Canadians died fighting a war provoked by an attack on U.S. soil, including my colleague Michelle Lang

Can Canada punch above its weight in a changing global order? @spaikin.bsky.social asks former CSIS director Richard Fadden, Royal Military College of Canada professor of defence studies @achapnick.bsky.social, and former Canadian ambassador to NATO @kerrybuck.bsky.social (@uottawa.ca) #cdnpoli

This shouldn’t be a surprise when it happens at the Summit. And it’s absolutely in Canadas interest to support the move by NATO, not just because of Trump. Here’s me on #TheAgenda last night on defence spending and the Summit, inter alia… www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4HE...

This shouldn’t be a surprise when it happens at the Summit. And it’s absolutely in Canadas interest to support the move by NATO, not just because of Trump. Here’s me on #TheAgenda last night on defence spending and the Summit, inter alia…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4HE3JWm_G4

But it’s a brilliantly tactical beige. Seriously. Anything else would have been folly.

I have offered that Ukraine military unconditionally ceases fire for 72 hours.

“Be the wolf pack, not the six pack”

This is my reporting — with Zia Rehman and Wazhma Hamidi — on the extremely dangerous situation these Afghans face, stuck in a Pakistan that’s trying to expel them. Quite a few of them, including Wazhma herself, are now in greater danger www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

"The catch is that in order to get attention, you have to be terrible. You have to lie or embrace evil. In the attention economy there is enormous demand for civic blasphemy. What’s hard is getting attention for messages about truth, or virtue, or love."

Trump called to discuss me agreeing to a ceasefire and ended up asking Ukrainians to surrender.

A must read from my friend Steven Erlanger. I spent most of my career working on human rights - this scares me. x.com/stevenerlang...

Truly honoured to have been awarded the King Charles III coronation medal. And very sad to have missed the ceremony with Minister Blair and my colleagues from UofOttawa. www.uottawa.ca/en/news-all/...

On CTV Power Play with Peter Mackay talking about the US plans (or lack thereof) for Ukraine peace talks m.youtube.com/watch?v=FyJb...

There are many compelling reasons for Canada to urgently expand its military capacity right now. One of them is the growing threat of a further emboldened Vladimir Putin. The security of our European democratic allies remains a core Canadian interest. www.rolandparis.com/single-post/...

Extortion as foeign and security policy

On The Current this morning talking about last week’s unveiling in Brussels and Munich of the new US administration’s policy on Ukraine peace, NATO and transatlantic security. Bottom Line Up Front? Very bad for Ukraine, the Euro-Atlantic, NATO and and Canada…. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Thank you! Updated version that takes into account early days of Trump Presidency coming out in Policy Magazine later today. @lisavandusen.bsky.social

Meanwhile in Greenland….

👀

Some Canadian provincial premiers are way out of their lanes on Canada-US relations. My interview with BC Today from this afternoon:

Assad named Trump's deputy director of national intelligence.

Geneviève Bergeron Hélène Colgan Nathalie Croteau Barbara Daigneault Anne-Marie Edward Maud Haviernick Maryse Laganière Maryse Leclair Anne-Marie Lemay Sonia Pelletier Michèle Richard Annie St-Arneault Annie Turcotte Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz We remember them.

This was the period when the intl community began to wake up to the scourge of gender-based violence, eventually leading to intl norms to prevent and prosecute it. Every intl negotiation I & my colleagues did to build those norms was guided by & to honour the young women murdered that day.

The Ecole Polytechnique massacre was an appalling tragedy: women murdered because they were women. A couple of years later, reports started coming out of former Yugoslavia & Rwanda about rape used as a weapon of war…. 2/

Register for the upcoming conference hosted by CIPS, @uqam.ca & MINDS: ➡️NATO’s Eastern Flank: Challenges and Implications in the Context of the Ukraine War @srdj.bsky.social @smsaideman.bsky.social @kerrybuck.bsky.social @hozic.bsky.social @filipejdus.bsky.social >>> bit.ly/3CyT8FZ

Today Putin changed Russia’s doctrine on nuclear use to allow a strike in the event of an attack by a non-nuclear country with the support of a nuclear state. Very low bar…. Reposting my OpEd from two years ago on Putin’s nuclear threats.. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

See two new pieces by me & @michaelmanulak.bsky.social in the International Journal explaining how the UN serves Canada’s interest & refuting the “UN is broken” trope.

Podcast with CDAI on what might happen to NATO under a Trump Presidency and what can Canada do to protect its interests. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ3c...

An honour to talk to @spaikin.bsky.social @timsayle.bsky.social and Arne Kislenko on Remembrance Day about Canada’s past, current and future on the world stage.

A good article on why friend-shoring or closing our doors to foreign goods, workers or students is not in Canada’s interest. Beware the punishing costs of isolationism