As Vladimir Putin ramps up spending on his military,Europe’s war chest is shrinking.
There is no excuse for conservatives to turn a blind eye to the threat Donald Trump poses to values which they have always considered sacrosanct.
Large NATO drills in the frigid fjords of northern Norway may be just war games,but they feel more real than ever for those taking part amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Everything that Putin sought to prevent,he has actually precipitated by his actions,by his aggression,” Antony Blinken said of the Russian president.
The 29 files leaked to the Financial Times detail war games and potential scenarios for use of tactical nuclear weapons.
There are fears of further Russian aggression on its eastern flank,but NATO’s preparedness remains in question.
The French president dared to raise the taboo subject,drawing the ire of the Kremlin that said a wider war would be inevitable.
The comments come after Trump bragged he once told a NATO member that he would “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes to “delinquent” allies.
Finland,which shares a 1330-kilometre border with Russia,joined NATO after years of avoiding doing so to placate Russia. Alexander Stubb will determine whether that move backfires.
Never before has a president of the United States – even a former one aspiring to reclaim the office – suggested he would incite an enemy to attack American allies.
The White House described the former president’s latest incendiary campaign speech as “unhinged”,while critics viewed it as startling – even by Trump’s often inflammatory standards.