Nowhere on earth is global warming proceeding more rapidly than inside the Arctic Circle. Over the past two decades, the Arctic has grown five degrees Celsius warmer. And the trend is accelerating, with the Arctic warming nearly four times as rapidly as the rest of the planet. Climate scientists expect that Arctic median temperatures will […]
Browsing Category: NATO
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Estonia cribbing Ukraine’s script for provoking Russia
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princeps, a Bosnian-Serb radical, shot and killed Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. Princeps did not act alone. He was one of at least six principals in an organization called Young Bosnia, and his group and others were seeking independence from the Austro-Hungarian empire. He […]
Arctic Competition / Block 3 / China in Arctic / Donald Trump / Greenland / Greenland Annexation / NATO / News / Norway / Svalbard / The Arctic / The Conversation / US-Russia rivalry / World
Thawing Arctic heats up US-Russia imperialist instincts
“You cannot annex another country.” This was the clear message given by the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, at a recent press conference with the outgoing and incoming prime ministers of Greenland. It did not appear aimed at Russian president Vladimir Putin, but at Donald Trump, the president of one of her country’s closest allies, […]
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Germany’s Lithuanian base complicates grand US-Russia deal
Germany just opened its first permanent military base abroad since World War II amidst the competition for leadership of post-conflict Europe between itself, France and Poland. Located in southeastern Lithuania near the Belarusian border and in proximity to Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, it’s strategically positioned to give Germany outsized influence in shaping Europe’s future security architecture. That’s because Germany is now a […]
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Romania epicenter of liberal-globalist vs populist-nationalist struggle
Observers were shocked on Wednesday (February 26) after former Romanian presidential front-runner Calin Georgescu was temporarily detained and charged on six counts amidst police raids against some of his closest supporters as he was preparing to file for his candidacy in May’s election redux. The first round last December was annulled on the basis that an unnamed state actor […]
BRICS / Donald Trump / NATO / News / Russia / Russia Economy / Russia Oil Exports / Russia-China relations / Russian Energy / Syria Civil War / The Conversation / Ukraine war / Vladimir Putin / World
Putin’s diminishing returns and Russia’s shrinking world
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a guarded message of congratulations to Donald Trump on inauguration day but then held a long direct call with his “dear friend,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping. From Putin’s perspective, this makes sense. Russia gets billions of dollars from energy sales to China and technology from Beijing, but from Washington, until […]
China / Donald Trump / NATO / NATO Article 5 / News / Pete Hegseth / Quad / The Conversation / Ukraine war / US-China rivalry / World
US makes clear Europe’s security isn’t a Trump priority
European defense ministers left their meeting in Brussels on February 12 in shock after the new US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, told them they could no longer rely on the US to guarantee their security. Hegseth said he was there “to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from […]
AfD / David P. Goldman / Germany / NATO / News / Trump / Ukraine / World
Can the Alternative for Germany save NATO?
“We are at an existential milestone for our freedom and security,” declared German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who demanded European involvement in the Ukraine peace talks initiated this week by Presidents Trump and Putin. Better said, it is an existential moment for Baerbock’s Green Party, the most aggressive war hawks on the European political spectrum. Despite the Greens’ […]
AfD / Block 3 / Deutschland / NATO / News / World
Kann die Alternative für Deutschland die NATO retten?
Ein existenzieller Wendepunkt für Europa “Wir stehen an einem entscheidenden Wendepunkt für unsere Freiheit und Sicherheit”, erklärte Deutschlands Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock, als sie eine stärkere europäische Beteiligung an den Ukraine-Friedensverhandlungen forderte. Diese Gespräche wurden in dieser Woche von den Präsidenten Donald Trump und Wladimir Putin initiiert. Dieser Moment ist nicht nur eine Herausforderung für Europa, sondern auch für Baerbocks Partei, die Grünen, die sich […]
JD Vance / MAGA / Munich Security Conference / NATO / News / Pete Hegseth / Romania Election / US Nuclear Umbrella / US-EU Relations / World
Time for Europe to get up, stand up
America is not coming to save Europe this time. That is the clear message of two landmark speeches from the past week — one by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the other by Vice President JD Vance. Hegseth, speaking at a summit in Brussels on February 12th, declared that Europe is no longer America’s primary security […]