Trump Has No Idea How to Do Diplomacy | For China, the Ukraine War Is a Laboratory | How RFK Jr Is Systematically Undermining Vaccines Around the World | Nuclear Nightmares Are Back, and more

So, what are the political issues that need to be resolved before a Palestinian state becomes a reality? And what is the point of recognition if it doesn’t overcome these seemingly intractable obstacles?

Iran Reshuffles the Deck. Will it Matter? (Behnam Ben Taleblu, National Interest)
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has restructured the Islamic Republic’s national security apparatus to cover up Iran’s gaping weaknesses.

For Syrian Druze, Latest Violence Is One More Chapter in a Centuries-Long Struggle Over Autonomy (Rami Zeedan, The Conversation)
Fighting has flared on and off in southern Syria for nearly a month, despite a fragile ceasefire. Violence in July 2025 left more than 1,600 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, including at least 166 civilians. The group, which is based in the United Kingdom, also recorded 401 cases of extrajudicial executions by state security forces.
The full extent of the destruction and humanitarian crisis is still emerging in areas around Sweida, a region that’s home to most of the country’s Druze minority. Fighting first flared in mid-July after Bedouins attacked a Druze resident at a checkpoint.
As violence between Druze militias and Bedouin fighters escalated, Syrian forces entered to purportedly calm the tensions. But forces aligned with the Syrian government have been accused of targeting the Druze, including atrocities such as a massacre at a local hospital and executing unarmed civilians. Despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, access to Sweida remains restricted, with only limited aid allowed in.
At the core of the conflict lies Syria’s long-standing challenges integrating peripheral regions and minorities, which has proved particularly dangerous for the Druze. Many leaders in the new regime have roots in the extremist Islamic militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which grew out of a group affiliated with al-Qaida, prompting concerns that the central government will try to impose its religious and cultural norms.

ALASKA SUMMIT: REFLECTIONS

Trump Has No Idea How to Do Diplomacy | Putin Played Trump Like an Agent Handler Plays an Asset | Putin Got Exactly What He Wanted from Trump | Trump Bows to Putin’s Approach on Ukraine, and more

Trump Has No Idea How to Do Diplomacy (Stephen M. Walt, Foreign Policy)
Even when he’s partly right, he’s wrong.
The combination of that weird summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin and the only slightly less bizarre gathering of NATO leaders in Washington, was the latest reminder that U.S. President Donald Trump is a terrible negotiator, a true master of the “art of the giveaway.” He doesn’t prepare, doesn’t have subordinates lay the groundwork beforehand, and arrives at each meeting not knowing what he wants or where his red lines are. He has no strategy and isn’t interested in the details, so he just wings it.
As we learned during his first term, when he wasted time on those irrelevant reality-show meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, all Trump really craves is attention, coupled with dramatic visuals that suggest he is in charge. The substance of any deal he might make is secondary if not irrelevant, which is why some of the trade agreements he’s recently announced are less favorable for the United States than he claims.
The only reason that anyone pays any attention to Trump’s erratic diplomatic blundering is that he happens to be the president of the world’s most powerful country, and cowardly members of Congress from the cult-like Republican Party continue to indulge his every whim. But when lightweights like Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and amateur diplomat Steve Witkoff go up against the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, you should expect the latter side to pick U.S. pockets cleanly. Just ask yourself: Is there anything Trump got for the United States, its allies, or Ukraine when he met with Putin in Alaska? Did Putin give anything up? For that matter, what concessions did Trump get from those European leaders who showed up to persuade him not to abandon Ukraine?
Conducting a successful negotiation with a serious adversary requires a cold-blooded and ruthlessly realistic assessment of each side’s interests, power, and resolve. You aren’t going to charm a leader like Putin into making concessions just because he likes you or because you’ve rolled out a red carpet on the tarmac, and you aren’t going to get anywhere by indulging in wishful thinking or making threats or promises that nobody takes seriously.

Putin Played Trump Like an Agent Handler Plays an Asset (Ben Wallace, The Telegraph)
Europe must now properly invest in defense and give Ukraine the tools it needs to defend itself.

Trump Keeps Defending Russia (Tom Nichols, The Atlantic)
The president sees the Ukraine war through Kremlin-tinted glasses.

Trump Bows to Putin’s Approach on Ukraine: No Cease-Fire, Deadlines or Sanctions (Peter Baker, New York Times)
The net effect of the Alaska summit was to give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a free pass to continue his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending talks on a broader peace deal.

Russia Sees Victory as Trump Adopts Putin’s Approach to Ending Ukraine War (Francesca Ebel, Robyn Dixon, Ellen Francis, Catherine Belton, and Siobhán O’Grady, Washington Post)
In President Donald Trump’s warm red-carpet greeting at the Alaska summit, Russians saw an opening to pull America away from its traditional allies in Europe.

No Deal, but No Consequence for Putin (David E. Sanger, New York Times)
President Trump’s failure to reach an accord on Ukraine only made his warm welcome for the Russian leader more striking.
In ordinary times, the failure of the leaders of the world’s two largest nuclear powers to reach agreement on ending a brutal, three-year conflict at the heart of Europe might be cause for despair.
But to the Ukrainians and their European neighbors, the breakup of talks between President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin after less than three and a half hours contained an element of relief.
Desperate as they are to end the death and destruction, their deepest fear was that Mr. Trump would give in to the Russian president’s territorial demands, and force President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine into a painful choice between giving up more than 20 percent of his country or rejecting a peace accord that he fears is a poison chalice.
There were many reasons to worry:
Absent was any public discussion of secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil. Gone were the deadlines previously set by Mr. Trump — including one that passed last week — for Russia to enter a lasting cease-fire. With smiles, handshakes and a personal meeting, Mr. Putin had washed away Mr. Trump’s talk of “serious consequences” if the meeting ended without a cessation of hostilities.
Most of all, gone was any hint of Mr. Putin’s status as an international pariah, a leader who could not land in most European countries for fear that he might be detained by officials acting on the arrest warrant issued against him for how the war in Ukraine was conducted.
To those who have followed Mr. Trump’s diplomacy, this meeting seemed to have a natural comparison: Mr. Trump’s first encounter seven years ago with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, which was marked by embraces, handshakes, letters testifying to their mutual admiration — and a continued buildup of the North’s nuclear arsenal.
“Just like the Kim summits,” said Robert Litwak of George Washington University, who studies superpower relations, “this was high on atmospherics, low on substance.”
“There was scant preparation,” he added, “and the moral hazard of legitimizing, in this case, a war criminal.”

Trump Backs Putin’s Route for Talks, Dashing Ukraine’s Hopes for Swift Cease-Fire (Jim Tankersley and Ivan Nechepurenko, New York Times)
President Trump appeared on Saturday to split from Ukraine and key European allies after his summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, adopting Mr. Putin’s preference for pursuing a sweeping peace agreement instead of the urgent cease-fire Mr. Trump said he wanted before the meeting.
Doing so would give Russia an advantage in the talks, which are due to continue on Monday when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visits Mr. Trump at the White House. It breaks from a strategy Mr. Trump and European allies, as well as Mr. Zelensky, had agreed to before the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, and it provoked a chilly reception in Europe, where leaders have time and again seen Mr. Trump reverse positions on Ukraine after speaking with Mr. Putin.

Donald Trump’s Gift to Vladimir Putin (Economist)
Russia’s leader is honored, but offers little in return.
The honors for Mr. Putin were in sharp contrast to the public humiliation that Mr Trump and his advisers inflicted on Mr. Zelensky during his visit to the White House earlier this year. Since then relations with Ukraine have improved, but Mr. Trump has often been quick to blame it for being invaded; and he has proved strangely indulgent with Mr. Putin. Mr. Trump told Fox you have to “weave and bob” to reach deals, but his constant shuffling in the run-up to the summit suggests indecision and frustration with a Russian leader who will not respond to his entreaties.
Mr. Putin insisted that “we need to eliminate all the primary causes of that conflict”. Given that he thinks the primary cause is Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty, and its right to join European institutions including NATO, his formula is a recipe for continuing the war. Mr. Trump did nothing to disabuse him. The Russian president left with a smile, and even tried a little English in public: “Next time in Moscow”, he told his host. To which Mr. Trump replied, “I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”

Trump Drops Ceasefire Demand for Ukraine War After Summit with Putin (David L. Stern and Ellen Francis, Washington Post)
An immediate ceasefire to the war in Ukraine had long been a bedrock demand by the U.S., Ukraine and their European allies.

Well, What Did You Think Would Happen? (Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic)
Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin but failed to make a deal.

Putin Got Exactly What He Wanted from Trump (Dominic Nicholls, The Telegraph)
After US president’s pampering, Russian leader will feel he has shown the world he is back where he belongs.
The sight of American soldiers kneeling before Putin’s plane to secure the red carpet to the Tarmac is an image that will appall many.
Critics of Mr. Trump, Putin or both will see it as a craven act by a weak president courting favor with a man considered a war criminal. Others might say it is the necessary underbelly of international diplomacy.
As the circus drew to a close, Putin had succeeded in getting his handshake with the US president. He would feel he had shown the world Russia was back where it belongs - at the top table of global politics. He would be glad his actions had drawn no consequences.
If European leaders don’t act to support Ukraine after this, they will have to answer to history.

Who Will America’s President Listen to Next on Ukraine? (Economist)
The problem with Donald Trump’s fast-moving, unpredictable diplomacy

Why Steve Witkoff Is Trump’s Master of Disaster (Christian Caryl,Foreign Policy)
The helpless envoy embodies everything that is dysfunctional about current U.S. foreign policy.

Trump and Putin Find Common Ground on One Issue: Biden (Peter Baker, New York Times)
The Alaska summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders showcased their mutual animosity for the former president.
President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia did not agree on a cease-fire to the war in Ukraine during their meeting in Alaska. But they did agree on something else: They both despise Joe Biden.
During their private meeting and their public appearance in Anchorage on Friday, both leaders blamed Mr. Biden for the war in Ukraine, never mind that Mr. Putin was the one who ordered troops to invade his neighbor and keeps authorizing strikes against civilian targets.
By Mr. Trump’s account, Mr. Putin behind closed doors also endorsed the lie that Mr. Trump actually won the 2020 election, only to have it stolen by Democrats.
It was unorthodox, to say the least, to see a sitting American president join a foreign dictator accused of war crimes onstage in Anchorage to bash a former American president. But it underscored that Mr. Trump, with his increasingly authoritarian tendencies, in some ways finds more common ground with the repressive leader of Russia than he does with his own country’s leaders.

To Get Peace in Ukraine, Trump Should Play the Nuclear Card (Matthew Kroenig, Foreign Policy)
The White House needs to learn from the Kremlin’s success with nuclear blackmail.

Well, What Did You Think Would Happen? (Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic)
Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin but failed to make a deal.

THE LONG VIEW

Nuclear Nightmares Are Back (Economist)
A grim anniversary points to fading memories and a fraying world order.

How RFK Jr Is Systematically Undermining Vaccines Around the World (Christina Pagel and Sheena Cruickshank, The Conversation)
Vaccines are one of the greatest public health success stories of all time. Over the past 50 years, they’ve saved an estimated 154 million lives. But in the US, both access to vaccines and public trust in them are being systematically undermined – not by conspiracy theorists online, but from within the highest levels of government.
In January 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr – long associated with vaccine misinformation – was confirmed as US health secretary. Despite being pressed during his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy insisted he was not anti-vaccine and pledged to maintain scientific standards.
Seven months later, his actions tell a different story.
Kennedy has launched a sweeping assault on the US vaccine infrastructure: gutting oversight committees, sowing doubt about settled science, politicizing ingredient safety, limiting access to vaccines and halting funding for research. His strategy doesn’t involve outright bans. But the cumulative effect may prove just as damaging.

How US Inconsistency Undermines Its Central Asia Position (Miras Zhiyenbayev, National Interest)
President Trump’s recent tariffs on Kazakhstan are largely symbolic. Yet, the move underscores a deeper problem in US engagement in Central Asia.

Is Ukraine the Future of Asia? (C. Raja Mohan, Foreign Policy)
Washington’s switch to accommodating Moscow’s geopolitical goals sends an ominous signal.

The Looming Military Threat in the Arctic (Economist)
Great-power competition in the far north puts renewed attention on Svalbard.

How to Halt the Flow of Weapons Arming Mexican Cartels (William M. LeoGrande, Foreign Policy)
Trump should use terrorist designations to target U.S. suppliers.

Bee Sting: The Varroa-mite Incursion Is a Biosecurity Warning (Andrew Henderson, The Strategist)
When the varroa mite was first detected in Australia in 2022, many outside the beekeeping and horticultural industries viewed it as a nuisance—a distant problem for a few farmers. This was dangerously naive.
In breaching our perimeter, the varroa mite has created a strategic vulnerability. The mite, which attacks bees, reminds us that Australia’s island geography no longer shields us from biosecurity threats.

MORE PICKS

At Least 18 Die in Colombia in Two Attacks Attributed to FARC Dissidents (Reuters)
At least 18 people died and more than forty were injured on Thursday after two attacks in Colombia attributed to different dissident factions of the former FARC guerrilla group, authorities reported. In Cali, the country’s third most populated city, a cargo vehicle with explosives detonated near a Colombian Aerospace Force base, in an incident that left six people dead and 71 injuries, according to the mayor’s office.

Bolivia Says “No MAS” (Catherine Osborn, Foreign Policy)
After two decades as a bastion of the left, the country is taking a right turn.

The Choices Facing Britain’s Next MI6 Chief (Economist)
Human espionage has never been harder, costlier—or more important

Trump Is Inching Toward a Major Strategic Blunder in Myanmar (Derek Grossman, Foreign Policy)
Washington appears poised to reach out to the military junta as part of its obsession with critical minerals.

The US Is Losing the Plot on India (Bill Drexel, National Interest)
Secondary issues risk derailing the United States’ approach to India and its opportunity to counterbalance Chinese power in Asia.

South Korea’s Biggest National Security Threat: Low Birthrates (Peter Suciu,National Interest)
Seoul’s low fertility rate poses a national security threat, as the South Korean armed forces are struggling to meet recruitment targets.

Will Trump’s India Tariffs Affect a Critical U.S. Partnership? (Kenneth I. Juster, CFR)
The Trump administration’s proposed high tariffs on Indian imports raise concerns about the U.S.-India partnership. But the rates seem to be part of a negotiating tactic aimed at concluding a trade deal and possibly even a peace agreement.

Phone Searches at the US Border Hit a Record High (Matt Burgess, Wired)
Customs and Border Protection agents searched nearly 15,000 devices from April through June of this year, a nearly 17 percent spike over the previous three-month high in 2022.

FEMA Now Requires Disaster Victims to Have an Email Address (Molly Taft, Wired)
Workers at FEMA worry that demanding disaster survivors access services using email could shut out people without internet connectivity from receiving government aid.

Deportation of 6-Year-Old Puts Spotlight on ICE’s Detention of Families (Luis Ferré-Sadurní, New York Times)
Immigration authorities have detained about 50 children younger than 18 in the New York City area since January. At least 38 of them have been deported.

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Trump Has No Idea How to Do Diplomacy | For China, the Ukraine War Is a Laboratory | How RFK Jr Is Systematically Undermining Vaccines Around the World | Nuclear Nightmares Are Back, and more

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