WORLD ROUNDUPWhy NATO Should Move Nuclear Weapons to Poland | Pakistan’s Economy Is Back. But So Is Terrorism | How Horror of Chemical Weapons Attacks Sealed Assad’s Fate, and more

The Trap Vladimir Putin Set for Donald Trump  (Economist)
The Russian president wants to suggest that Ukraine is just a detail in a wider relationship.

Why NATO Should Move Nuclear Weapons to Poland  (Peter Doran, National Interest)
Expanding the nuclear-sharing program to Warsaw would send a clear message to Putin: any attack on Poland would be a catastrophic mistake.

How Horror of Chemical Weapons Attacks Sealed Assad’s Fate  (Richard Spencer, The Times)
Thousands died in Syria’s gas assaults in 2013, 2017 and 2018. Workers who built stockpiles of sarin precursor agents thought Israel was the target, not their fellow citizens

European Officials Pull Out of Israel’s Antisemitism Conference Due to Far-Right Political Invitees  (Etgar Lefkovits, JNS)
An international antisemitism conference scheduled to take place in Jerusalem was hemorrhaging after various planned European participants backed out due to the inclusion of far-right French lawmakers, despite their strong support of Israel. The extraordinary development at a time of global antisemitism set off by the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, highlights the chasm that exists between liberal Jewish and non-Jewish officials, and ultra-nationalist and populist parties in Europe that have become increasingly vocal supporters of Israel in recent years in the wake of Arab migration.
The cancellation by prominent European officials scheduled to attend the gathering indicated that the inclusion of the far-right politicians was unacceptable to them in light of their parties’ history, irrespective of the lawmakers’ current support for Israel.

ADL Chief Greenblatt Drops Out of Israeli Antisemitism Confab Over Far-Right Invitees  (Zev Stub, Times of Israel)
The Anti-Defamation League confirmed Tuesday that CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has backed out of an upcoming Israeli conference on combating antisemitism, following the lead of other officials who are boycotting the event to protest the inclusion of far-right European politicians.
Many are concerned that participation in the conference helps provide legitimacy to a growing class of populist parties, many of whom have histories of racism and antisemitism.
Other people who have announced they will not attend the conference in Jerusalem next week include French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, who had been slated as the event’s keynote speaker, British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, UK government adviser on antisemitism Lord John Mann, veteran academic and activist David Hirsh, German antisemitism czar Felix Klein, and German politician Volker Beck.
The conference guest list includes Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right French National Rally party founded by noted antisemite and Holocaust denier Jean-Marie Le Pen; Marion Marechal, a far-right French member of the European Parliament and Le Pen’s granddaughter; Hermann Tertsch, a far-right Spanish member of the European Parliament; Charlie Weimers of the far-right Sweden Democrats party; and Kinga Gál, of Hungary’s Fidesz party.

Pakistan’s Economy Is Back. But So Is Terrorism  (Mihir Shrma, Bloomberg)
Pakistan’s military —which, rather than the civilian government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, retains control over national security —was quick to blame the Afghan Taliban government in Kabul for allowing the BLA to operate from its soil. Relations between the two countries are at a familiar low. Certainly, the establishment is no longer gloating that the extremists it supported managed to outlast the US military. The Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul has emboldened its fellow travelers. The Pakistani Taliban killed 558 people in 2024, almost twice as many as in the previous year. Baloch separatists murdered more than 500, up from 116 in 2023.

Menaced by Trump, Canada Prepares to Join E.U. Military Industry Buildup  (Matina Stevis-Gridneff, New York Times)
Canada’s draft deal to participate in Europe’s defense industry will bring contracts to Canadian manufacturers and help lessen dependence on the United States.

Putin’s Key Demand Is Designed to Inflict Maximum Damage on Ukraine  (Kieran Kelly and Jack Leather, The Telegraph)
Analysts say Moscow has struggled to defend its oil facilities because most of its resources are on the front line.