Jason Davidson

US: Europe risks civilizational erasure from too much migration.
Also US: chooses policies that increase migratory flows.

Europe braces itself for Middle East migration surge

What these quotes miss is that Trump and Hegseth 1. expect the world to fall at their feet, no matter what they are told 2. they most likely did not seek the views of those with expertise on what the UK was likely to do in this scenario.

This is an important and significant step, but it in no way means that Europe has a sufficient nuclear arsenal to deter Russia without the US.
France offers to station nuclear weapons across Europe for the first time

Absolutely shameful. Four years of war and the United States sends nobody to mark it.

Europe’s African Southern Flank Runs Through Rome Through the Mattei Plan, Italy is pushing Europe to treat Africa as a core arena for security, energy resilience, and supply-chain competition.

nationalinterest.org/feature/euro...

Friedrich Merz says fighter jet project fails to meet Germany’s needs Chancellor’s comments contradict Emmanuel Macron and hint at probable unravelling of the Future Combat Air System

A troubling breakdown of cooperation on European defense. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Inside Ukraine’s ‘kill zone’ Drones are reshaping the frontline with Russia — and the future of warfare

Excellent reporting with video and other visuals.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

An excellent article on my new book in National Defense magazine:

www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/202...

Trump aides struggle with how to spend $500 billion more on military Some senior officials resisted the decision to approve the major military spending increase, people familiar with the matter say.

The Trump admin has argued that Europe has to take responsibility for its own defense because the US has to focus limited resources on China/W. Hemisphere.
But then they proposed a 50% increase in defense spending, so why can't the US continue w/ same role in Europe?

wapo.st/40sgBRz

Pentagon aggressively lobbies EU against Buy European weapons push In previously unreported remarks, the U.S. administration warned Brussels that it will retaliate if Europeans “strong-arm American companies out of the market.”

Apparently, the Trump administration cannot understand that if Europe is to spend more on defense, domestic politics will require that much of the new spending be with European manufacturers.

www.politico.eu/article/wash...

US presses NATO for major reset, ending mission in Iraq The push by Washington, which also wants to scale down a peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, has become known internally as a “return to factory settings,” four diplomats told POLITICO.

The US is pushing for NATO to cut out of area operations and activity with partners to focus on core mission.
What about allies who see those ops as important for their national interest?

www.politico.eu/article/us-p...

Romania calls for NATO Black Sea mission The plea comes as Romania faces mounting aerial and maritime security threats from Russia, Defense Minister Radu Miruță says.

NATO efforts to bolster security on the Eastern flank v. Russia must also include the Black Sea.

www.politico.eu/article/roma...

Berlin urges Paris to boost defense spending by cutting other costs German officials are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as French President Emmanuel Macron’s failure to deliver on his calls for European “strategic autonomy.”

Europe is unlikely to attain the ability to defend itself if large states like France continue to spend so little (2.0% in 2025) on defense.

www.politico.eu/article/berl...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference - United States Department of State SECRETARY RUBIO:  Thank you very much.  We gather here today as members of a historic alliance, an alliance that saved and changed the world.  When this conference began in 1963, it was in a nation – ...

Here's the link to the full text: www.state.gov/releases/off...

To anyone who thinks Rubio's MSC speech has put the transatlantic relationship back on traditional footing (or even that it is focused on Europe taking responsibility for its defense), I urge you to read the speech.
Here is just a taste of his core point 👇

The kind of language he uses isn't hostile, but it's also typical of the Trump admin (shared civilisation, heritage, Christianity) and tries to give the impression of friendship and alliance while actually not offering either ("your fate will never be irrelevant to our own").

It doesn't mean that a Rubio presidency would want or be able to commit the diplomatic and other resources necessary to fully repair the alliance with Europe, but it would almost certainly be less hostile. You can see him trying to lay the groundwork for that here.

Marco Rubio is positioning himself as the "I'm not disloyal to Trump, but I'm also not JD Vance" 2028 candidate. A Rubio presidency would have a very different foreign policy to the Trump administration. Maintaining/repairing relations with Europe now will be helpful later on.

There will be people who are understandably desperate to hear this, but it's important to be clear-eyed about Rubio himself and what the Trump administration is doing. 🧵

A Europe that no longer trusts the US as a security partner would also have significant consequences for US trade, perhaps above all in the defence sector. All these are big incentives to try to stop a full breach with Europe taking place.

Rubio has a personal interest in saying nice(ish) things to Europe; the Trump administration as a whole has a strong interest in Europe not acting on the rupture the White House has created. None of this means an actual change of direction in US foreign policy.

Three Roadblocks on Europe’s Path to Defense Independence Dependence on US military equipment, differing priorities, and distinct identities all impede the formation of a unified European defense.

In this piece for The National Interest I argue that differing threat perceptions and identities (in addition to resources and coordination challenges) are major roadblocks on Europe's path to defense independence.

nationalinterest.org/feature/thre...

Right now at Munich Security Conference, Thom Tillis is desperately trying to blame tariffs on Trump’s staff and FP’s Ravi Agrawal is saying he’s “gobsmacked” by that claim.

If the Trump admin's only policy toward Europe was to ask them to take responsibility for their own defense, it would have been very likely to succeed.
Instead, 🇺🇸 has also threatened to seize territory of an ally & intervene in allies' domestic politics.

www.war.gov/News/Speeche...

I guess the only hope is that they are so bad at trying to bolster these forces that European governments don't have to take it seriously.

The MAGA-friendly European think tanks Trump wants to fund The Heritage Foundation identified European groups for U.S. backing.

It seems like people in the Trump admin don't realize that you can't say the US cares about European security (as Colby did yesterday) while simultaneously funding forces that seek to undermine mainstream European political forces.

www.politico.eu/article/maga...

💯

To be clear: the issue is NOT with the US asking Europe to do more to provide for their own defense, but with the Trump administration's threats to seize the territory of a NATO ally by force and "cultivate resistance" against mainstream political parties in Europe.

NATO is Vital to U.S. National Security A joint statement by 16 U.S. Ambassadors to NATO and Supreme Allied Commanders, arguing "NATO is not an act of American generosity. It is a strategic bargain that ensures the United States remains the...

An all-star diplomatic and military cast making the clear case for the 🇺🇸 to stay engaged in NATO because doing so is in the US' national interest.

www.belfercenter.org/research-ana...

Island swept by mistral wind: over 800 calls for help to firefighters - L'Unione Sarda English Fallen trees, roofs blown off buildings, families evacuated: hundreds of rescue operations are still pending from north to south in Sardinia. Telephone lines are affected in the Sarrabus and Ogliastra...

Since the beginning of 2026 in Italy:

1) Sicily/Calabria experienced the biggest cyclone in 50 years

2) Venice raised the sea wall (Mose) a record of 18 times in last 2 weeks

3) Sardinia is currently in extreme wind alert (100km/h) with more than 800 calls for help to firefighters in 24 hours