Nick Mertens

Waarom Trump door Epstein-problemen op ‘antichrist’ Obama schiet De Amerikaanse president Donald Trump deelt een AI-filmpje over hoe zijn voorganger Barack Obama in de gevangenis wordt gegooid. Waarom moet Obama het nu opeens ontgelden?

"Auteur en Amerika-kenner Nick Mertens denkt dat het kappen op Obama wel eens een averechts effect kan hebben."

www.demorgen.be/nieuws/waaro...

Yesterday, I attended an event where Tom Sauer spoke with Robert D. Kaplan about his latest book 'Waste land'. Very interesting!

Absent at the Creation? American strategy and the delusion of a post-Trump restoration.

Whoever follows #Trump will have to reckon with a complex, multipolar international order and decide what role the United States should play in it.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Dispensable Nation America in a post-American world.

Under #Trump, the United States has gone from indispensable to insufferable...
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

at times well planned, at others impromptu, today’s more lethal and technologically adept versions of yesterday’s hijacked planes and buses, hostage takings, and suicide attacks." 2/2
#Iran

The Perils of Middle East Triumphalism Iran, Israel, and the ghosts of history.

"It may not be long before more Palestinians, Lebanese, Iranians, and others motivated by their cause—desperate, friends or family members wiped out, craving revenge, with darkness as their sole horizon—resort to unconventional forms of warfare, 1/2

www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/peril...

America's War With Iran What comes after U.S. strikes.

'But the track record of American military interventions in the Middle East and the nature of war over human history shows that American involvement comes with tremendous risk." #Iran

www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/...

The World Needs a Stronger NATO A Plan to Invest in the Alliance

"#China already has the world’s largest navy; its overall battle force is expected to grow to 395 ships this year and to 435 by 2030. China also aims to have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030."
reader.foreignaffairs.com/2025/06/20/t...

America Is on the Verge of Catastrophe in the Middle East U.S. Intervention in Iran Would Be a Terrible Gamble

"It is presumably not lost on Iranian leaders that governments that give up their nuclear program (Libya, Iraq) are toppled, while those that do not (North Korea) survive."
#Iran
reader.foreignaffairs.com/2025/06/21/a...

In @demorgen.be laat ik vandaag mijn licht schijnen over de mogelijke gevolgen van het einde van de bromance tussen Elon #Musk en Donald #Trump

Marco Rubio is now temporarily serving as both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor. Since Henry Kissinger under the Nixon and Ford administrations, no other official has held both roles at the same time.

Michael #Waltz wordt VN ambassadeur, Marco Rubio vervangt hem als veiligheidsadviseur tot er een vervanger gevonden is.

How Photography From the Vietnam War Changed America The images changed how the world saw Vietnam, but especially how Americans saw their country, soldiers and the war itself, which ended 50 years ago this month.

50 jaar geleden eindigde de #VietnamWar
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/w...

Maggie Haberman (NYT) over de eerste 100 dagen van #Trump zijn tweede ambtstermijn: "He has already changed the way America is perceived more than any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt."

‘Als er geen doorbraak komt, vrees ik dat de samenleving verlamd geraakt’: waarom iedereen buigt voor Trump Van Ivy League-universiteiten tot prestigieuze advocatenkantoren: bijna geen enkele Amerikaanse instelling ontsnapt aan de brute machtspolitiek van Donald Trump. Wie legt de president nog wat in de we...

Voor De Morgen analyseer ik vandaag waarom zoveel universiteiten en advocatenkantoren plat op de buik gaan voor #Trump

www.demorgen.be/nieuws/het-w...

Thx 🙏

#CartoonOfTheDay Elon #Musk poured $25 million into the campaign of a #Trump-aligned candidate for the #Wisconsin Supreme Court – and lost. Turns out voters aren’t that easy to buy after all.
#SusanCrawford #ElonMusk #SCOTUS #JudicialElections

#CartoonOfTheDay

Opinion | Nothing Ever Goes Wrong in Trump’s White House The problem is that competence and execution matter.

"I suspect historians will one day remember the Department of Government Efficiency the way we now remember lobotomies. It seemed, to some at the time, like a good idea."
#DOGE
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/o...

Dank aan iedereen die al geabonneerd is op mijn nieuwsbrief/blog 🙏 Aan alle anderen: abonneren op unickus.substack.com is VOLLEDIG GRATIS 😀!!!

The new book by Russel Shorto has finally arrived. Shorto is a master storyteller—he has a unique ability to bring history to life. His books are captivating from start to finish. And this one is beautifully designed as well 😍

Left-Wing Democrats Wait on AOC’s Decision as They Look to 2028 Election With Bernie Sanders unlikely to run for president again and Democratic voters fuming at party leaders, many progressives see an open lane. But who will fill it?

Met het oog op de verkiezingen van 2028 en Bernie Sanders die wellicht geen presidentskandidaat meer is, zien sommigen aan de linkerzijde Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez als de volgende leider van de progressieven. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/u...

Schumer’s Retreat From a Government Shutdown Has Young Democrats Fuming A generational divide, seen in newer lawmakers’ impatience with bipartisanship and for colleagues who don’t understand new media, has emerged as one of the deepest rifts within the party.

Bij de Democraten woedt er een generatiestrijd: “The generation that got us to this point does not have the skills or stomach to get us to the next point” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/u...

Aan het genieten van @bsoenensvrt.bsky.social zijn boek. Het is niet alleen een reis langs de Amerikaanse geschiedenis, maar staat ook vol boeken- en filmtips 🇺🇲

Pete Buttigieg, a Possible 2028 Contender, Won’t Run for Senate in Michigan The former transportation secretary, who moved to Michigan from Indiana in 2022, had been seen as the most prominent potential candidate in next year’s marquee contest.

Pete #Buttigieg for President! www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...

Opinion | A Great Unraveling Is Underway Trump’s foreign policy philosophy is not “containment” or “engagement,” but “smash and grab.”

“#Trump is an isolationist-imperialist. He wants all the benefits of imperialism, including your territory and your minerals, without sending any U.S. troops or paying any compensation." www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/o...

U.S. Agrees to Resume Military Assistance to Ukraine The announcement followed talks in Saudi Arabia where Kyiv said it would support the Trump administration’s proposal for a 30-day cease-fire with Russia.

U.S. Agrees to Resume Military Assistance to #Ukraine
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/w...

The Great Forgetting Andrew Cuomo has come back from scandals once seen as career-ending.

Andrew #Cuomo is de #Trump van de Democraten

www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

Gavin Newsom Splits With Democrats on Transgender Athletes: ‘It’s Deeply Unfair’ The remarks by Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a potential White House hopeful, were an extraordinary break from fellow Democrats and signaled a newly defensive position on the issue.

Gavin Newsom is likely considering a presidential run, and being too progressive on gender issues may not be a smart move right now...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...

Gisteren een heel interessant gesprek mogen bijwonen tussen @bsoenensvrt.bsky.social en Bart Kerremans over de democratie in Amerika. Dank ook aan Björn Soenens in het bijzonder voor de korte maar fijne kennismaking en het signeren van zijn laatste boek 🙏 (een echte aanrader trouwens!)