U.S. Allies Rebuff Trump’s Appeal for Help in Strait of Hormuz

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Germany and other nations rejected President Trump’s call for warships to reopen the vital oil route. The Israeli military escalated ground attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump is expected to speak soon.

American allies around the world have responded coolly to — or outright rebuffed — President Trump’s call to send warships to escort merchant vessels in and out of the Persian Gulf, illustrating the consequences of his dismissive approach to global alliances.

The sharpest refusal came Monday from Germany, whose defense minister, Boris Pistorius, said, “This is not our war; we did not start it.” Top officials of Japan, Italy and Australia said Monday that their countries would not participate in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Others were noncommittal, including France, South Korea and Britain, whose prime minister, Keir Starmer, said his country would not be “drawn into wider war.”

Mr. Trump’s call on social media on Saturday for other nations to join the United States in an escort effort came just a week ago, he turned down Mr. Starmer’s offer to send two British aircraft carriers to the region. “We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!” Mr. Trump said at the time.

As Iran blockades most traffic through the oil shipping choke point, Mr. Trump’s appeal was the first time he had sounded eager to build a broad coalition against Iran. But he was asking for backup from allies who were not consulted ahead of the U.S.-Israeli decision to go to war, and who were derided by Mr. Trump in the past.

The American-Israeli air war against Iran, now in its third week, has killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and has drawn in much of the Middle East, as Iran has launched rockets and drones at neighboring countries and at ships in the Gulf. Global energy prices have skyrocketed with tanker traffic all but stopped through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for around a fifth of the world’s oil shipments. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, briefly reached $106 on Monday.

The United States appears to have been unprepared for the extent of that retaliation and the need to escort ships through the strait — something that administration officials have discussed publicly since the first week of the war, but has not yet begun.

Mr. Trump said NATO member nations should help, and told The Financial Times on Sunday, “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.” He called on China to send naval escorts, too, but Beijing has little incentive to cooperate; Iran, which sells oil to China, is letting its ships pass safely. Mr. Trump has threatened to postpone a planned summit meeting with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, as he focuses on the war. Iran War Live Updates » | David E. Sanger, Christopher F. Schuetze, Megan Specia and Aaron Boxerman | Monday, March 16, 2026

Goldilocks started this war, so let Goldilocks finish it! — © Mark Alexander

Europe’s Quiet Break-up with US Big Tech

March 15, 2026

Trump and the Death of the Atlantic Partnership

Mar 14, 2026 | From detained tourists and phone-searching ICE agents to Steve Bannon dismissing Britain as "pre-Islamic", the Special Relationship is exposed as the diplomatic fiction it always was. With the FIFA World Cup heading to Trump's America, British fans need to think hard. And so does Keir Starmer. It's time for the UK to stop turning up on Washington's doorstep with flowers, and start building something real with the neighbours who actually share our values. Europe is right there. It always has been.

I am in total agreement with the sentiments expressed in this video. My regular visitors will know that I have been saying similar things in my comments for a very long time. These things need to be said over and over. The concept of the so-called, one-way, and often very elusive “Special Relationship” is almost indelible in the psyche of the average Brit, because it has been repeated so many times. But the fact remains that any relationship with the USA is always lobsided and always on the side of being pleasing to America. It is not, and never could be, a relationship between two equals. Further, the undeniable fact of the matter is that Brits are Europeans, whether we are in the European Union or not, so our sensibilities and perceptions are fashioned by European mores and thought.

It is high time that we stopped harping on about this elusive special relationship, turned our backs on it, and rejoined our family and friends in Europe.

Naturally, we need to maintain good relations with America, but our future lies in and with Europe. The sooner we accept this incontrovertible fact, the better. — © Mark Alexander

Iranians in Europe: A Cry for Freedom | ARTE.tv Documentary

Mar 3, 2026 | In Iran, the crackdown on the latest wave of protests has probably been the most brutal since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Human rights organisations estimate tens of thousands injured or dead. This report focuses on the Iranian diaspora in Europe who are following events from afar.

Iranians in Europe: A Cry for Freedom | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until: 12/02/2031

Homosexuality in Europe between Two Dictatorships I PART 1 | SLICE Who | Reupload

Jan 19, 2026 | In 1920s Europe, before fascism reshaped the continent, a brief moment of freedom emerged.

Through personal photos and journals, this documentary traces the life of Pilou, a young gay man discovering desire, identity, and artistic expression in the Roaring Twenties.

From small-town France to Parisian cabarets, his story reveals a hidden world rarely documented.

A portrait of queer life before repression returned. In 1920s Europe, before fascism reshaped the continent, a brief moment of freedom emerged. Through personal photos and journals, this documentary traces the life of Pilou, a young gay man discovering desire, identity, and artistic expression in the Roaring Twenties.

Documentary: Snapshots of History EP:20 Pierre Louis
”Pilou”, Homosexuality in the Interwar Years
Direction : Delphine Deloget
Production : Bonne Compagnie

Lindsey Graham Berated Denmark’s Prime Minister (w/ Frank Dikötter) | Shield of the Republic

Feb 23, 2026 | Eric and Eliot debate the merits and deficiencies of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s attempt to present “Trumpism with a human face” at the Munich Security Conference before turning to the dilemmas Trump faces in Iran. They discuss the administration’s uncertain strategic objective, the failure to consult Congress and the public, and the potential for a much longer military engagement than Trump is accustomed to. In the second half of the show, they welcome Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Frank Dikötter to discuss his newly published book, Red Dawn Over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity. They explore the weakness of the communist movement before World War II; the extensive role Soviet support played in sustaining it and in equipping and training what would become the People’s Liberation Army; the deep Stalinist ideological impact on the party; and the extraordinary violence and barbarity the CCP inflicted on the Chinese populace in the territories it occupied.

Ben Hodges: Europe Has the Power — But Not the Political Will | DW News

Feb 20, 2026 | Four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war is far from over — and its outcome remains uncertain.

DW’s Washington Bureau Chief sits down with retired U.S. General Ben Hodges for a blunt conversation about what went wrong and what comes next. Hodges criticizes U.S. leadership for lacking a clear objective, calls Trump’s negotiation strategy “doomed from the start,” and explains how NATO emerged stronger with the addition of Sweden and Finland.

He also delivers a stark message to Europe: the power to stop Russia exists — but the political will does not.

Is Russia Getting Ready to Wage War on Europe?

The Financial Times enlightens us on what is going on.

Finland’s President: Europe Can Defend Itself without America

Alexander Stubb, the Finnish president, doesn’t like language that talks about European weakness or Europe’s inability to defend itself.

Why US Failure in Ukraine Could Collapse Trump's Government

Feb 17, 2026 | "The midterms are going to see a tsunami, that is going to wash over the Republican Party and dramatically weaken the Trump regime if the elections are free and fair."

Trump's failure to end Putin's invasion of Ukraine has damaged him politically says Ken Harbaugh, Former US Navy Pilot and President of Valour Media Network.

Three American Speeches at Munich, and Plenty of Confusion

THE NEW YORK TIMES: As the U.S. message veered from shared heritage and values to shared interests and back again, Europeans wondered what kind of alliance they were left with.

In the space of just a year, European leaders have heard three descriptions of how the Trump administration is reimagining the American relationship with its allies. Each strikes a bit of a different tone, but all are intended to push them into a new era in which Washington’s commitment to defend them faces new limits.

One was delivered by Vice President JD Vance last year, a blistering condemnation of European-style democracy, arguing that waves of immigrants and Europe’s restrictions on its own far-right parties pose a greater threat to the continent than Russia’s aggression.

The second was a far easier-to-swallow version of a similar message from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday. He described a hazy and sometimes idealized cultural history shared by Europe and the United States and argued that each faced “civilizational erasure” unless it figured out a way to control its borders.

Then, at the same conference, the most senior defense official to attend, Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, offered a classic American national-security message about shared interests, not values, recommending that both sides focus on “nuts and bolts kind of stuff.”

If the Europeans emerged a bit confused, it’s understandable. » | Steven Erlanger and David E. Sanger | Steven Erlanger and David E. Sanger write about American and European diplomacy and security. They reported from the Munich Security Conference. | Sunday, February 15, 2026

Trump’s Relationship with Allies in ‘Worst Place Ever’ | Former US Ambassador

Feb 14, 2026 | “A majority of Europeans now look at the US as a threat rather than a friend.”

The US is in the “worst place we’ve ever been in terms of standing with our allies”, says former US ambassador Matthew Bryza, as allies have “lost faith” in transatlantic unity.


Marco Rubio’s FULL SPEECH and MY COMMENT on it here.

Is Trump Destroying the Western Alliance? Will Europe Ally with China?

Feb 1, 2026 | As Donald Trump hits the EU with tariffs and threatens to colonize Greenland (an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark), European leaders are improving relations with China and seeking new trade partners. Is this the end of the political West and the transatlantic alliance? Ben Norton explains.

Homosexuality in Europe Between Two Dictatorships I PART 2 | SLICE WHO

Jan 26, 2026 | Between the wars, being gay in Europe meant living under constant surveillance.

Through the personal memories of Pierre-Louis “Pilou”, this documentary traces a hidden life shaped by love, fear and repression.

From Paris to Italy, from quiet freedoms to fascist crackdowns, his story reveals how homosexuality was tolerated, medicalized, then criminalized. As Nazism and fascism spread, private lives became political threats.

Documentary : Snapshots Of History
EP:20 Pierre Louis ”Pilou”, Homosexuality in the Interwar Years
Direction : Delphine Deloget
Production : Bonne Compagnie


PART 1 can be watched here.

Homosexuality in Europe Between Two Dictatorships I PART 1 | SLICE WHO

Jan 19, 2026 | In 1920s Europe, before fascism reshaped the continent, a brief moment of freedom emerged.

Through personal photos and journals, this documentary traces the life of Pilou, a young gay man discovering desire, identity, and artistic expression in the Roaring Twenties.

From small-town France to Parisian cabarets, his story reveals a hidden world rarely documented.

A portrait of queer life before repression returned. In 1920s Europe, before fascism reshaped the continent, a brief moment of freedom emerged. Through personal photos and journals, this documentary traces the life of Pilou, a young gay man discovering desire, identity, and artistic expression in the Roaring Twenties.

Documentary : Snapshots Of History
EP:20 Pierre Louis ”Pilou”, Homosexuality in the Interwar Years
Direction : Delphine Deloget
Production : Bonne Compagnie

"Europe Won't Be Trump's Vassal" – How Davos '26 Changed Everything | Wider View from Brussels

Jan 26, 2026 | After Davos 2026, Europe is rethinking its relationship with the United States. Transatlantic ties are under unprecedented strain.

We discuss why “transactional Trumpism” is now completely unviable. From defense and AI technology to NATO and strategic autonomy, Europe stopped being America’s vassal.

Europe Needs a Dramatic Strategic Revolution - Now: Historian Robert Kagan

Jan 20, 2026 | Investigative journalist and co-founder of the Nerve Carole Cadwalladr talks to conservative historian and former historian Robert Kagan about the critical geopolitical moment we are in. With the Trump administration moving rapidly towards dictatorship, Kagan says, European governments need to completely change tack, fast. “I feel like the administration has done everything except climb up on the roof of the White House and yell what they're going to do,” says Kagan. ”Trump is already talking about how you don't really need these midterm elections.” "Europe needs to become self-sufficient in both military and economic terms" and without drastic action, “risks becoming a collection of fiefdoms of the great empires of the world... Some of them under Russia's thumb, some under America's thumb, maybe some influenced more by China.”

The Nerve is a new, fiercely independent media platform covering culture, politics and tech. Set up by a collective of five former Guardian journalists, including the investigative reporter Carole Cadwalladr, who believe that the UK needs more truly independent journalism as we have never been more in need of an independent, fearless press. Having nerve is the key quality the world needs now.

Trump’s Wrecking Ball Pushes US Allies Closer to China

THE GUARDIAN: n the search for stability, some western nations are turning to a country that many in Washington see as an existential threat

f geopolitics relies at least in part on bonhomie between global leaders, China made an unexpected play for Ireland’s good graces when the taoiseach visited Beijing this month. Meeting Ireland’s leader, Micheál Martin, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China’s president, Xi Jinping, said a favourite book of his as a teenager was The Gadfly, by the Irish author Ethel Voynich, a novel set in the revolutionary fervour of Italy in the 1840s.

“It was unusual that we ended up discussing The Gadfly and its impact on both of us but there you are,” Martin told reporters in Beijing.

China is on a charm offensive with western leaders, a path cleared by Donald Trump’s increasingly erratic and destabilising power grabs on the global stage. Although Europe breathed a sigh of relief this week when Trump withdrew the threat of using military force in Greenland and said he would not impose tariffs on opponents of his plans in the Arctic, the US no longer seems like a reliable partner.

An editorial in the Chinese newspaper the Global Times made Beijing’s pitch clear: headlined “Europe should seriously consider building a China-EU community with a shared future”, the state media article said the world risked “returning to the law of the jungle” and that China and the EU should cooperate in building “a shared future for mankind”.

No country can afford to cut ties or truly antagonise the world’s biggest economy. But in the search for stability, US allies are turning to the country that many in Washington see as an existential threat: China. » | Amy Hawkins, Senior China correspondent | Sunday, January 25, 2026

Are America and Europe Finally Divorcing?

Jan 24, 2026 | In a week that's marked an inflection point in European history and transatlantic relations, Tom and Patrick discuss whether the two continents' world views are, finally, irreconcilable. And, were America to walk away from NATO, what are the military gaps that Europe would rapidly have to fill? Could it do so, and how fast?

Hosts: General Sir Patrick Sanders & Tom Newton Dunn
Producer: Shabnam Grewal

Politicians React as Trump Claims NATO Troops Avoided Front Lines | BBC Question Time

Jan 23, 2026 | Following a tense week for European nations over Donald Trump’s threats to Greenland, fresh outrage has been sparked as the US President claimed NATO troops avoided Afghanistan's front line.

Trump told Fox News on Thursday: "They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan... and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”

The UK was among several allies to join the US in Afghanistan from 2001, and a total of 457 British service personnel were killed in the conflict.