Marc Champion

US Gaza Plan Is Working, But Will Take Sustained Pressure When Donald Trump returned to office promising to end to the war in Gaza, he not unreasonably touted his first term success in negotiating the so-called Abraham accords between Israel and its Arab nei...

Trump's decision to make time for negotiations over his Gaza peace plan was a good one, but he'll need a patience and focus he isn't renowned for to produce a lasting peace. My column for @opinion.bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Ukraine Is Now The Strongest Ally Europe Can Rely On Trump’s U-turn leaves the pair to fight Putin on their own.

Trump walked away from the Russia-Ukraine war and is clearly ambivalent about NATO. What next for Europeans? To recognize that Kyiv, its army and drones are now their strongest reliable defense against Russia. My column for Bloomberg Opinion
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Russia’s War on Elections in Moldova Is No Hoax Sunday’s vote may decide if it’s too late for Europe there.

We all need to watch and learn in Moldova on Sunday. Russia is exploiting the new reality of elections by TikTok to the full, and it won't be the only one. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Five Lessons From Putin’s Reckless Polish Drone Strike The US and Europe have a lot to learn from Russia’s warning shot at Poland

The drone is very much in NATO's court after Russia's shot at Poland. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Netanyahu's bet fails The consequences of Israel's attack in Qatar

This is an (unsurprisingly) excellent post from Lawrence Freedman on Netanyahu's miss in Qatar. Well worth the read. open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/n...

Western Dysfunction Is Bolstering China This week’s Tianjin military summit shone by its coherence alone.

China didn't have to build new institutions or lasting alliances for its summit to succeed. It just had to show coherent goals and the means to achieve them - the contrast with chaos and weakness in the West do the rest. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Trump Says Ceasefires Don’t Matter. Oh Yes They Do. Even the six peace deals he cited as evidence don’t support him.

Trump says he ended six wars and they prove his belief that ceasefires -including for Ukraine - are just "nice to haves." That's wrong on so many counts. My column for Bloomberg Opinion
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Ukraine Got a Reprieve in Washington — Not an Escape Trump thinking that Putin wants to make peace as a favor really is “crazy.”

The Alaska de-brief went better than expected, but don't lose track of the ball: no ceasefire and no US pressure on Putin means the war goes on. My column on @opinion.bloomberg.com

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Trump and Putin’s Alaska Theatrics Imperil Ukraine — and Europe Two versions of the US president could have attended the tete-a-tete. Unfortunately, the wrong one did.

In Alaska, Putin looks to have gotten all he needed: Trump's permission to continue the war while pretending the negotiate a peace. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Putin Is About to Outplay Trump Again in Alaska Talking to foes is a great idea, but successful summits demand a lot more preparation.

Trump looks set to get outplayed by Putin for a second time when they meet in Alaska this week. He'd be better off delaying and doing more to pressure and prepare. My column for Bloomberg @opinion www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Israel Is Heading Toward an Isolation It Can’t Afford Netanyahu has doubled down on war in Gaza — again. That can only threaten his country’s long-term survival.

Netanyahu has doubled down on war, again, in pursuit of security. It's a strategy that works for now but at enormous cost to Gaza's civilians and Israel's long term interests, if not survival. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Palestinian Recognition Is a Political Gesture, Not a Strategy The UK’s diplomatic conditions give needless and risky leverage to Hamas.

The UK says it will recognize Palestine unless there's a ceasefire in Gaza. Great. Except that gives Hamas a reason to block one,
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy Needs to Rescue His Own Presidency A misstep on corruption has punctured his once heroic image.

It's great Zelenskiy has backtracked on seizing control of Ukraine's independent anti-corruption bodies. Now he needs to clean house to restore trust and his presidency. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Is There Famine in Gaza? Let’s Not Wait to Find Out. Enough is clear to know that a ceasefire should be the only priority.

Instead of debating whether there is a famine yet in Gaza, stop the war and there won't be one. My column for @opinion.bloomberg.com

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Ukraine Has a Self-Inflicted Handicap in Its War for Survival Corruption threatens European aid for arms.

Ukraine is cracking down on ... anti-corruption agencies and NGOs. This is something Russia can get away with, but Kyiv cannot afford. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Bomb Moscow? Trump Surely Couldn’t Be That Reckless Will he or won’t he? That’s a question nobody needs right now now.

The Financial Times reported Trump asked Zelenskiy if, given US missiles, he could bomb Moscow. Let's hope these are fantasies for Kremlin consumption, writes @MarcChampion1 www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Russia’s Frozen Assets Can Pay for New US Ukraine Bill Make Moscow foot the tab for the European aid to Kyiv that Trump just doubled.

Trump just doubled Europe's bill for aiding Ukraine's defense, and Putin knows that can't last. To make him end the war, send the billions in frozen Russian assets to Kyiv, @MarcChampion1 writes www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Ukraine Doesn't Need a Recovery. It Needs a Rescue A donor conference in Rome this week is well-meant but off point.

Ukraine's recovery conference in Rome is a little surreal. What's needed first is a rescue conference. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Ukraine Doesn't Need a Recovery. It Needs a Rescue A donor conference in Rome this week is well-meant but off point.

Ukraine's recovery conference in Rome is a little surreal. What's needed first is a rescue conference. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
shorturl.at/eqDz7

The US Bombing Iran Was a Win for ... Putin The possibility of another war in the Middle East has sucked attention, energy and resources away from Ukraine.

Many people think Putin lost from the US-Israeli bombing of Iran. This is wrong. It may well allow him to break Ukraine, which is vastly more important to him. My column for Bloomberg @opinion.
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There Is No One-and-Done on Iran Trump still faces tough calls that will decide the future of non-proliferation.

Trump's Iran intervention couldn't have gone better, but now comes the hard, non-military part, because there's no one-and-done on the nuclear program. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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How Bombing Iran Can Set Back Non-Proliferation In a wider context of might makes right, the attack on Iran will pile onto a trend.

Bombing Iran may spawn other nuclear non-proliferation problems, even if it can solve this one. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Netanyahu’s Big Gamble Risks a Quicker Iranian Bomb Rather than destroy or even delay Iran’s emergence as a nuclear power, Israel's war risks bringing it closer.

Netanyahu has gambled big by attacking Iran. He can emerge a hero, but more likely has doomed Israel to a less secure future. My column for @opinion.bloomberg.com (no paywall)
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Interesting

Ignore Greta Thunberg’s Circus, There’s a Real Path to Help Gaza Netanyahu’s Haredi conscription problem offers a glimmer of hope.

There are important developments to focus on in Israel and Gaza right now; Greta Thunberg's flotilla isn't one of them. My column for @opinion.bloomberg.com
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Putin Worries NATO Much More Than You Think It’s time to end debate over whether there’s a genuine risk of attack on the alliance. There is.

Western generals aren't debating whether Putin will have the means or motive to test NATO by attacking a member state. He does; the question is in what form, where and how soon. My column for Bloomberg @opinion
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Ukraine’s New Way of War American weapons are important, but Ukrainian drones have changed everything.

Worth a read: www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

Russia and America Have Made Nationalism Scary Again Unless centrist leaders find more political courage, their respite will be brief.

Centrists are winning elections again - thanks to US chaos and Russian aggression - but not for long. My column for Bloomberg Opinion
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Russia and America Have Made Nationalism Scary Again Unless centrist leaders find more political courage, their respite will be brief.

Centrists are winning elections again - thanks to US chaos and Russian aggression - but not for long. My column for Bloomberg Opinion
shorturl.at/1GkQI

Romania’s Revote Will Judge 30 Years of Graft Traditional parties won’t be able to blame Russia. They failed.

Romanians will likely again lurch far right in Sunday's election re-rerun. Why? More than 30 years of graft and missed opportunities that began with the 1989 revolution. My column, from the village of Sapanta, for Bloomberg @opinion
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