COMMENTARY
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How Trump Is Weakening the Atlantic Alliance
For decades, the great strategic assumption underpinning the Western alliance was simple: the United States might at times be impatient, overbearing or self-interested, but it remained fundamentally committed to the security and sovereignty of its allies. That assumption is now…
Keir Starmer Promises Rearmament While His Government Unravels
For a Prime Minister fighting for his political life, there is nothing quite so comforting as a large number with a pound sign in front of it. Sir Keir Starmer’s reported £18 billion “boost” to defence spending has all the…
EU Defence Ministers Move to Strengthen European Defence Agency as Procurement Pressure Grows
EU defence ministers have agreed to reinforce the European Defence Agency, including through new structures for innovation, experimentation and collaborative procurement, as member states face pressure to turn higher defence spending into usable military capability. EU defence ministers have agreed…
Putin’s Sarmat Missile Claim Leaves Questions Over Russia’s Strategic Deterrent
Moscow has presented the latest Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile launch as a strategic success. Yet the limited wording of the official announcement, the system’s troubled record and the timing of the claim leave important questions unresolved. Russia has sought to…
Pakistan Accused of Hosting Iranian Military Aircraft Despite Mediator Role in US-Iran Conflict
Pakistan’s role as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington has come under scrutiny after US officials alleged that Islamabad allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on Pakistani airfields during the conflict between Iran and the United States. According to CBS…
The Decline of British Military Power Is Europe’s Greatest Security Risk
For decades Britain has comforted itself with a dangerous fiction: that it remains one of the world’s foremost military powers. The uniforms are still impressive, the ceremonial pageantry remains unmatched, and politicians continue to speak the language of “global Britain”…
Taiwan Defence Budget Delay Raises Capability Gap Concerns
Taiwan’s parliament has approved a reduced supplementary defence package, prompting concern in Washington and warnings in Taipei that delays to domestic drone, missile and air defence projects could weaken deterrence against China. Taiwan’s delayed supplementary defence budget has exposed a…
Trump’s Blind Spot: How America’s European Bases Serve Washington, Not Brussels
Donald Trump’s periodic threats to reduce—or even dismantle—America’s military footprint in Europe betray a strikingly narrow understanding of what those bases are for. The popular shorthand, often repeated in political rhetoric, is that the United States stations troops in Europe…
Trump’s Germany troop drawdown renews debate over Europe’s reliance on US security guarantees
Washington’s decision to withdraw around 5,000 troops from Germany, and cancel a planned long-range fires deployment, has raised concern in Congress and renewed pressure on Europe to accelerate its own defence planning. President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce the United…
Britain Faces a “Severe” Threat — But Starmer Won’t Say From Whom
The decision to raise Britain’s national threat level to “severe” — meaning an attack is now “highly likely” — should have been one of those moments demanding clarity, honesty, and resolve. Instead, what we have from Sir Keir Starmer’s government…