President Trump’s suggestion that the United States should cut off trade with Spain over defense spending is one of those foreign-policy moments where a real issue gets paired with a very Trumpian solution: take a legitimate complaint, attach a flamethrower to it, and see who blinks first. The basic dispute is simple enough. Trump is…
Turkey, the F-35, and the Price of Alliance Trust
President Trump’s reported push to reopen the door for Turkey to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet program has revived one of NATO’s messier family arguments. And yes, this is very much a “family argument” situation: Turkey is a NATO ally, the U.S. wants strong partners against Russia and Iran, Israel is raising alarms, Congress has…
What the Pentagon’s Europe Deployment Pause Means
The Pentagon has reportedly halted troop deployments to Poland and Germany as part of President Trump’s broader order to reduce the U.S. military presence in Europe by about 5,000 troops. According to AP, roughly 4,000 troops from the Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, were no longer heading to Poland, and a…
Trump, Germany, and the Cost of a Feud
When foreign policy starts to look less like long-range strategy and more like a high-stakes personality clash, it’s worth pausing and asking whether the adults are still in the room. That’s the uncomfortable backdrop to President Trump’s reported order to withdraw roughly 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, a move unfolding amid a heated dispute with…
East Timor Joins ASEAN: A Small Country with a Big Lesson for the World
East Timor just made history by becoming the 11th member of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. That might sound like bureaucratic alphabet soup, but it’s a big deal, both for Asia and for anyone who still believes in freedom, sovereignty, and self-determination. This marks ASEAN’s first expansion since the 1990s, and it welcomes…
Oops, Wrong Border? A Look at Russia’s Violation of Polish Airspace
I’ve been mulling over the latest drama out of Eastern Europe. Between September 9th and 10th, Poland found itself playing host to dozens of uninvited Russian drones. The fallout? Airports went into panic mode, flights grounded, fighter jets scrambled, and Polish air defenses got a live-fire training exercise they didn’t exactly sign up for. NATO…
The Voice of America Shake-Up
When news broke that more than 1,300 Voice of America (VOA) employees were placed on leave and funding was terminated for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), a lot of folks immediately hit the panic button. Headlines started screaming about “censorship” and “authoritarianism,” but let’s take a breath and actually break…
The ICC vs. U.S. Sovereignty: A Christian Conservative Perspective on Global Justice, Hypocrisy, and Israel
President Trump has responded decisively to the ICC’s overreach, imposing sanctions on its officials after they issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Unfazed, the ICC has doubled down, insisting on its authority while receiving unwavering support from European nations, the UN,…
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