Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
NATO. The US doesn’t want anyone else attacking Europe.
CANADA. Beyond Ontario lies Quebec.
VENEZUELA. Trump leans on Caracas to replenish the SPR.
IRAN. Washington won’t talk, so Tehran sends a letter.
ISRAEL. Netanyahu faces a challenge from the right.
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NATO. Twist and shout
The US doesn't want anyone else attacking Europe.
Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby told allies the US wanted Europe to lead its own defence. The Guardian said the US Navy was using its payroll to fund combat operations. Diverging reports over John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow continued.
INTELLIGENCE. Triangulating the commentary on the CIA director’s trip, it seems he was as likely to have warned Russia off attacking Europe out of NATO solidarity as because conventional US munitions are so low it would force a nuclear response. Of course, none of this is particularly new, but the message was in the messenger. It has separately been reported that Ratcliffe warned Russia off supplying Iran with military aid with much the same threats.
FOR BUSINESS. We may never know what really ensued, but “beyond critical” interceptor shortages in Europe and the Gulf leave only a deterrence of last resort. Donald Trump said Thursday he didn’t think Russia would attack NATO, but it’s arguably already happening via hybrid means. This puts yet more pressure on European defence firms to not only produce more conventional arms but the strategic kind. Joining the UK and France, Germany may foot the bill.
CANADA. French provincial
Beyond Ontario lies Quebec.
Ottawa said it “welcomed clarification” that French labelling was not a dealbreaker after Howard Lutnick said Mark Carney had merely used it as an excuse to nix negotiations on account of local politics. The US renamed Lake Ontario.
INTELLIGENCE. Lake Ontario, or “Lake America”, is on the front page, but Quebec is