WORLD ROUNDUPTrump’s New National Security Strategy Goes Full “America First” | How Israeli Settlements Are Reshaping the West Bank | Syria’s Transition Has Gone Better Than Expected, and more

Trump’s New National Security Strategy Goes Full “America First”  (Rishi Iyengar and Christina Lu, Foreign Policy)
The long-anticipated plan aims to selectively impose the U.S. president’s worldview around the globe.

Trump Administration Says Europe Faces “Civilizational Erasure”  (Michael D. Shear, Jeanna Smialek, and Lara Jakes, New York Times)
America’s goal should be “to help Europe correct its current trajectory,” the administration said in its new National Security Strategy.

After 1945, Germany Constrained Its Army. He’s Trying to Revive It.  (Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times)
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, is pushing to expand its military in case tensions with Russia escalate. That’s tricky in a country where the Nazi era casts a long shadow.

How Israeli Settlements Are Reshaping the West Bank  (Stephanie Bosset, The Times)
With a ceasefire in place in Gaza after two years of conflict, attention is shifting towards the West Bank.
The territory has been under the control of the Israeli military for more than 50 years, and settlements have continued to expand.
Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, tensions, land disputes and restrictions in the West Bank have increased, raising questions about the future of the territory, Palestinian governance and whether a two-state solution remains viable.

Satellite Images Reveal Major Chinese Naval Build-up in Disputed Waters  (Iona Cleave, The Telegraph)
Detailed visuals expose sweeping flotilla that heightens concern among Indo-Pacific neighbors.

Syria’s Transition Has Gone Better Than Expected  (Economist)
The president has been a deft diplomat, but must do more reassure Syrians.

Does Europe Finally Realize It’s Alone?  (Nathalie Tocci, Foreign Affairs)
Washington’s new National Security Strategy ratifies an adversarial relationship.