day fifty-seven (13. 380)

For some time we’ve been dealing with Schrödinger’s Strait, is it open or is it closed, and the on-again, off-again peace talks—which Tehran denies requesting and remains insistent that there will be no direct negotiations under duress, the blockade of the blockade. 

The Trump administration is sending Kushner and Witkoff without Vance to Pakistan, whilst the latest situation report from the US secretary of war says that limited transit is occurring through the Strait of Hormuz but at risk due to Iran’s threatening of vessels and the uncertainty of the sea mines, reiterating that American force are poised to resume their air campaign at a moment’s notice.  US secretary of state is drafting more sanctions against Iranian economic interest, and meanwhile, though other European leaders are not bought in and call the proposal premature, Chancellor Merz has suggested the easing of the overall embargo as a peace offering (see previous post). 

Switzerland reopens its embassy—which has served to represent American interests since 1979 when relations were broken off—in Tehran in anticipation of supporting renewed diplomatic initiatives. Despite there being no mechanism for giving demerits to members of the transatlantic defensive alliance, a leaked memorandum is exploring ways to kick Spain out of NATO for refusing to allow the US to use its bases to prosecute its war of choice and disparages other members generally. The memo also attacks the UK for its lack of enthusiasm and again brings up its decision on Diego Garcia. Claiming to have killed six terrorist fighters in southern Lebanon, Israel is accusing Hezbollah of sabotaging the fragile truce.

synchronoptica

one year ago: US products get a tariff label in Canadian markets (with synchronopticæ), celebrities in cars plus artificial intelligence literacy

fifteen years ago: post-war Trümmelbergen plus foot mittens

unsg (13. 375)

With auditions for the leadership role only governed by custom and consensus and not specifically enshrined by charter, rotating by region after each five-year term (though the length is also discretionary and upheld by the office-holder, subject to renewal) with Latin America due for the turn and reserved for the middle-powers, by tradition members from the Security Council excluded, few have this session have put themselves forward for the job of United Nations secretary-general, only four candidates compared with the thirteen contenders under consideration during the selection process of 2016. At a time when norms have been proven insufficient to contain imperial ambitions, particularly with the US allowing a magisterial presidency, record numbers of veteran senators and congressional representatives retiring—which whilst not a universal condition, the home-grown breach in ceremony is an export—in response to that power imbalance, the influence of the UN ill-equipped to mediate the divide between world powers, blocked by permanent members who have vetoed stopping the fighting in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran (whom also reserve the right to overturn a nomination by the general assembly for leader), the position appears rather thankless. The frontrunner, Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is already facing opposition from the American delegation over her gender and purported extremist agenda.

day fifty-four (13. 373)

Trump unilaterally announced a two-week extension of the ceasefire in Iran as the second round of negotiations fail to materialise as Tehran sits them out over untenable US demands, reversing his threats of an immediate resumption of airstrikes hours before the original deadline, the prospect particularly disturbing after unsubstantiated yet plausible rumours that the president was restrained after lunging for the nuclear football during a meeting in the White House situation room. General Majid Mousavi, head of the aerospace division of the Revolutionary Guard, promised to end oil production in the Middle East, again issuing warnings to gulf states that cooperate with America if the blockade on Iranian ports is not lifted as exports virtual stop with tankers unable to be refilled and Kharg Island ground based storage at capacity, exerting pressure on the country to return to the table by eliminating its remaining revenue streams. Meanwhile, the traffic snarl in the Persian Gulf has caused ships to be diverted to arrive in the East by going West through the Panama Canal, resulting in significant queuing there. France and the UK hold separate meetings on reopening the Strait of Hormuz to maritime navigation, the Americans disinvited. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will chair direct talks with Lebanon in Washington regarding their own fragile truce and extricating themselves from Hezbollah influence.

synchronoptica

one year ago: emerald glasses (with synchronopticæ) plus the return of Home Star Runner 

fourteen years ago: keeping the internet open and free plus open borders

fifteen years ago: Big Brother and the Snitch Mob plus Earth Day

day fifty-three (13. 371)

With the end of the two-week ceasefire approaching, confusion and mixed messages continue to emerge from the White House, with chief negotiator JD Vance’s whereabouts unknown, contradicting claims he was already en route to peace talks in Pakistan aimed to forestall a resumption in fighting with reports the vice president has remained in Washington, though now apparently scheduled to depart. It is unclear if any meeting will take place with Tehran insisting no negotiations will happen under duress and threat as the blockade continues to be enforced. Trump, confident and denying news of pressure to restore stability, insists, “the DEAL that we are making with Iran will be FAR BETTER than the JCPOA,” referring to the agreement struck under the Obama administration in 2015. The spokesman of the Iranian paramilitary hints that the country still has unexercised options for the battlefield. Global stock markets are surrendering gains as optimism fades for a quick and tidy resolution and energy prices again rise. Clashes escalate in Gaza between the IDF and Hamas fighters.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the death of Pope Francis (with synchronopticæ)

thirteen years ago: GMO apples plus a pheromone party

fifteen years ago: energy-saving light bulbs 

sixteen years ago: the internet is for crying-wolf 

day fifty-two (13. 368)

The confusion and chaos of yesterday’s developments surely merited an addendum as well, but it was very hard to keep up or know what might happen next.  Following confusion on who might lead the US delegation in Pakistan, first saying that the vice president would not attend due to the short notice and security protocols of the Secret Service, it turns out that the same tired and ineffectual cast of Vance, Kushner and Witkoff are travelling back to Islamabad for peace talks on Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry announced that it would not participate in negotiations with the US over the American naval blockade of the country’s ports, calling the collective punishment a violation of the ceasefire and tantamount to a war crime and would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until a peace deal is reached. Escalating tensions further, US marines incepted and boarded the M/V Touska that tried to run the cordon. Despite the uncertainty of talks, cargo planes have landed in Pakistan to prepare for the arrival of delegates, which Tehran fears might be cover for a sneak attack.  Oil prices and other other commodities have surged. The death toll of joint Israeli and American airstrikes pass five thousand with neighbours in Beirut’s southern suburbs being demolished by bulldozers.   Despite clearing stating he did not wish to debate Donald Trump on the merits of just wars and wars of choice and further distract from his pastoral tour of Africa, JD Vance, a recent Catholic convert, still thought it necessary to lecture the Pope on religion, in keeping with his berating of US allies during the Munich Security Conference and every time he feels the opportunity presents itself.  Secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, amid shoehorning piety and holy wrath into military manoeuvrers, has labelled the dissenting press as Pharisees for being critical of their claims and questioning their lauded victories.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a return visit to the Hubertusburg (with synchronopticæ) 

thirteen years ago: chess derived vocabulary plus Berlin’s East Side Gallery under threat

fourteen years ago: German-American relations plus a salvaged garden 

fifteen years ago: calculating Easter 

sixteen years ago: travel disrupted due to an Icelandic volcanic eruption 

 

day fifty-one (13. 366)

With the rapidly degrading situation in the Middle East, yesterday merited a post-meridian post-script but we wanted to wait for an update to see how the renewed tensions played out, especially with pending peace talks and the weekend running out of runway. Israel accused Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire in Beirut, including a deadly attacked on UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, created in 1978 to enforce withdrawal of Israelis from the country, its mandate renewed several times) peacekeepers and, meanwhile in Gaza, whose station has not improved, two UNICEF aid workers by IDF occupying forces. The Revolutionary Guard Corps has reasserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, closing it to commercial traffic with two India tankers taking light arms fire, in response to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports a day after declaring the waterway open. This move likely dashed the hopes of investors and bettors hoping to capitalise on the earlier positive turn for in the markets, besting the US administration at their game of stock manipulation and privileged information. Convening an emergency meeting in the White House situation room, Trump said that unless there was a significant breakthrough in peace negotiations—again not yet scheduled, Iranian deputy foreign minister Saaed Khatibyadeh insisting that a framework must be agreed upon, workable by both sides in the face of America’s unrealistic agenda, before talks can take place—he would resume airstrikes on Iran, bombardments already having killed over thirty-four hundred civilians. Trump went golfing afterwards.

day fifty (13. 362)

With echoes of Bush’s hubris in his premature announcement of “Mission accomplished” six weeks into the 2003 invasion of Iraq from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, Trump’s triumphal crowing of victory seems as likely, stacked with dubious and unverified claims that all the details and sticking points have been ironed out in advance of peace talks hurriedly arranged to resume in Islamabad, to not be judged kindly by history. Ten tankers and a cruise ship have passed the strait. Peace in our time—another poisoned pronouncement—comes with the backdrop of Washington hosting the IMF spring summit, during a witheringly warm heatwave in the capital, possibly timed so for the optics, but delegates are not expressing gratitude for the status quo ante bellum or deliverance from villainy of the administration’s own making with others left to clean up his mess and economies in turmoil despite the the immediate horizon of the stock market, his inner-circle sure to make a hearty profit on Trump’s chaotic misadventure. Not only has the lustre worn thin for the fantasy kingdoms the gulf states created to diversify away from oil and attract investment and what little esteem that the world, especially allies held for America’s place in the global order eroded beyond repair—not necessarily a bad turn of events for the petronations to reaffirm that their only exports are regressive and ill-willed—but representatives fear for a worldwide recession from enduring aftereffects stemming from disruptions that are not easily undone by this precarious peace that’s at risk of falling apart at any moment.

synchronoptica

one year ago: court jesters (with synchronopticæ) 

fourteen years ago: consequences of tax delinquency 

fifteen years ago: achievement unlocked 

dire straits (13. 361)

The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in response to the ceasefire brokered for Lebanon, has announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be unconditionally opened for commercial shipping for the duration of the cessation of hostilities, a key point in Tehran’s list of demands. In response and trying to flatten and take ownership of the narrative, Trump dispatched a celebratory series of seemingly detached missives that read as if from some mirror universe wire-services, simplifying the yet tenuous and unresolved situation, offering thanks and demands that the rest of the world acknowledge this gratitude and tribute, stating that Iran promises to never block the waterway again, that the US had prohibited Israel from bombing Beirut, that Iran will surrender its supplies of enriched uranium (“nuclear dust”) to the US, sanctions will remain in place and Iranian funds will continue to be frozen, and America will maintain its blockade of Iranian ports until a peace deal is finalised—claims all (except the last) unverified with the Revolutionary Guard still requiring clearance, escort and Netanyahu insisting that it has not yet finished operations against Hezbollah, throwing shade at and reifying the concept of the fog of war.

day forty-nine (13. 359)

A truce negotiated between Lebanon and Israel begins a ten-day ceasefire, though IDF troops will not withdraw from occupied areas south of Beirut and reserves the right to defend itself from Hezbollah attacks. Islamabad prepares to receive foreign delegates for a second round of trilateral peace talks—Trump pronouncing that the war with Iran is going “swimmingly and we can do whatever we want” and that it is almost over—though concrete plans for negotiations have yet to coalesce. The wisdom of the masses in world markets tick upwards on hopes for a settlement that will allow the recovery process to begin but a return to pre-war stability and production will take months under the best case scenario.  The US continues to rally against NATO inaction and is sharply critical of partners in the Indo-Pacific ahead of a summit with China’s president Xi.

day forty-eight (13. 355)

Contradicting earlier pronouncements that the tenuous ceasefire between Washington and Tehran would not be extended and then it would not be necessary as the second round of peace negotiations were imminent and that the war is nearly over, Trump and Iranian leadership seem poised to prolong their truce in anticipation of another summit to be hosted by Pakistan over the weekend. Despite rumours that Israel is contemplating a one week armistice in Lebanon, actions seems to rule out the possibility of a respite, Netanyahu seizing a historic opportunity to route out the Iranian backed terror group once and for all, declaring land south of the Litani river a Hezbollah “kill zone.” The US claims it maritime blockade to be water-tight though telemetry suggests that some ships are transiting the Strait of Hormuz and exiting the Persian gulf, whilst Iran threatens to close of access to the Red Sea and the Suez via their proxies in Yemen, the Houthi rebels should the US keep up their embargo, an economic pressure campaign that has repercussions for worldwide markets.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Hartsfield-Jackson airport of Atlanta (with synchronopticæ) plus an infinite botanical quilt

fourteen years ago: the murder of Trayvon Martin plus a papal birthday

fifteen years ago: donkey rescue society 

sixteen years ago: fire and ice 

seventeen years ago: clearing one’s cache 

day forty-seven (13. 352)

As the the US announces that it will not extend the pause in sanctioning Iranian oil at sea and the blockade continues of the Persian gulf, Trump hints that negotiations could resume within the next couple of days in Islamabad, urging the Tehran delegation to stay put with JD Vance saying a grand bargain is in the offering which would make the country thrive in return for giving up its nuclear ambitions. European nations are working on an independent plan to open the Strait of Hormuz without the involvement of belligerents. Talks between the Lebanese government and Israel take place on the sidelines as the world roundly condemns the killings of more UN peacekeepers and the targeting of healthcare workers in the Beirut suburbs and over a million residents remain displaced, those remaining fearful that a coup is being stoked for their nation dragged into the conflict.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Great Seattle Windshield Pitting Panic (with sychronopticæ) plus the Gleichschaltung 

 

thirteen years ago: Germany reacts to Russian oppressive and regressive social policies 

 

fourteen years ago: rubbish superpowers plus Olympic demands

 

fifteen years ago: a proposed giant see-saw for Berlin 

 

sixteen years ago: data dressing 

 

seventeen years ago: a slow day for blogging 

daddy, what’s sundowning? (13. 351)

The most memorable and harrowing instalment of the series of commercials from Time-Life, aired first in December of 1985, the twenty-five volume serialisation of the conflict bookended the Reagan administration, released from 1981 to 1988, The Vietnam Experience sought from a mostly American perspective to bridge the rifts across the Greatest Generation, the Baby Boomers and generations next through exposure of tactics, cultural gaps, secret, parallel waging of conflicts by assaying the social and political aftermath and reckoning. To these ends, the two-minute spot features a plaintive question as father and son (the other timely response is “Look it up, dear” promoting Encyclopaedia Britannica from the following year and maybe prompting a generation of independent-research) whilst touring the newly dedicated and controversial veterans’ memorial wall of Maya Lin. The gravelly narration is provided by Martin Sheen, delivered with the intonation of his role as CPT Willard in Apocalypse Now, framed as a “question a child might ask” and followed by several others in the same vein, “Daddy, did we win?” and portentously warning that these queries must not go unanswered. Though in the fullness of time technically not forever wars as eternity will eventually embrace the Sun’s supernova, we have to wonder what cold-comfort we might offer in terms of explaining what’s a late night rage tweet, what’s a golden shower, covfefe, self-own, projection, deflection, hamberder, etc to someone who has not directly lived through these time.

day forty-six (13. 349)

All NATO members refuse to participate in the US naval blockade of the Persian gulf as a sanctioned Chinese flagged tanker transits through the strait, testing the seriousness of the American resolve, as France and the UK devise other strategies for reopening the vital waterway. Trump refuses to apologise to the Pope for his harsh and crude language and in response posts an AI-generated image of the himself as a Christ-figure—although Trump claims he thought it was “supposed to be me as a doctor making people better…And I do make people better, I make them a lot better.” Hezbollah is urging Lebanon to not engage in direct talks with Israel and pledges to not abide by any deals made.  JD Vance, following a failed first round of negotiations with Tehran says the ball is in their court for compromise and concession, with Iran hinting it may accept a five year moratorium on nuclear research, counter to American demands a two-decade suspension.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ)

 

fourteen years ago: the new Great Game plus an impossible typeface

 

fifteen years ago: bad faith Big Ed plus antique hunting

 

sixteen years ago: a rival tablet computer, reversing a mandate to replace old traffic signs plus a satirical recall of the US flag

day forty-five (13. 347)

UK’s Keir Starmer reiterates that his country wants no part of the blockade of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices and other commodities are surging back to levels before the ceasefire with the potential of the cost of petrol to double, the failure of the talks attributed at least in part to Israeli pressure wanting the fighting to continue until they’ve finished the job decapitating Hezbollah, a claim put forward during the war in Gaza despite evidence to the contrary like Trump’s boasts of eliminating the capacity for Tehran to respond militarily or conduct nuclear research and development and looking for any pretext for walking out. Following Leo XIV’s criticism of warmongering, Trump launched into an extraordinary attack on the Pope, accusing him of being bad at his job and to “stop catering to the Radical Left” adding he is weak on crime and does not want a spiritual leader who thinks that it is acceptable for Iran to pursue its nuclear ambitions.

synchronoptica

one year ago: standing up to Nazis (with synchronopticæ), Freelandia airlines, a new music video from OK Go plus a bleak series about incel culture

thirteen years ago: eurozone instability plus a visit to Bad Soden-Salmünster

fifteen years ago: quantitative easing 

sixteen years: the right to be forgot 

 

but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing nuclear power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people (13. 344)

Making a bad situation of his own creation far worse, following the failure (by design) of the peace summit hosted by Pakistan, American president Trump lightly elaborated on his plan to simultaneously open the Strait of Hormuz with a coalition from the NATO countries he has disparaged, led by the UK—which Trump said earlier has no navy—and to blockade it, stopping any ships from entering or exiting the vital waterway and further placing an interdict on all vessels in international waters that had paid a toll to the Iranian government for passage. The threat, which is not conducive to further talks (Tehran had no pretensions that a treaty would be reached in a day, Obama’s 2015 nuclear settlement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA—nullified by Trump, took twenty months of negotiations during times of relatively less tension and not twenty hours under duress), would reignite hostilities should Iran remain obdurate over US demands or intervene militarily should US ships try to enter the strait and, if carried out, would embargo tankers from France, Japan, the Philippines, India, South Korea and China that have successfully obtained passage, likely already subject to US sanctions for the breach and with attendant economic consequences, affecting global supplies of not only oil and natural gas but also helium for semi-conductors and phosphate, urea and sulfur for agriculute. After walking back from the brink of destroying the entire culture, from an individual lobbying for the Nobel Peace prize not too long ago, Trump again reiterated his options of targeting civilian energy infrastructure and wantonly commit war crimes.

day forty-four (13. 342)

After twenty-one hours of intense negotiations, Vance and his delegation left Islamabad to return to the United States with no deal following direct three-party talks. From the sidelines, Israel reiterates its commitment to fight Iran and its proxies on all fronts as the death toll in Lebanon exceeds two thousand. For its part, Iran is willing to uphold the ceasefire but is under no pressure to rush a permanent peace.  Citing in part safety concerns for maritime vessels as the military lost oversight of all the sea mines laid in the vital waterway during the first days of the war and only knows for sure that a narrow corridor allows for secure passage, thus the trickle of ships allowed through, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.Lashing out against the fake news media for suggesting that the US is not winning or that Iran retains any leverage—before finally announcing as he attended a wrestling match in Miami he does not care if a deal is reached, Trump claims that American warships have entered the strait to conduct mine-sweeping operations, a development that Iran denies and cannot be independently verified. The White House maintains that there Trump card is a naval blockade, which seems to be what is already in place from the Iranian side, and Pope Leo, after being threatened by the administration for his pacifist stance has become a very staunch critic of the war, decrying the “delusion of omnipotence.” A case study in the Streisand Effect as the distraction from the Epstein files seemed to be working with the public attention focused on more immediate matters, first lady Melania Trump testified before congress that she was not Jeffrey Epstein’s friend and the disgraced financier and rapist had not in fact been her pimp, introducing her to her present husband and to please leave her out of this—please and thank you. Maybe Netanyahu has had the kompromat along.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: Trump’s tariff war escalates (with synchronopticæ) plus binding spells to settle accounts for the departed

 

fourteen years ago: another Bulli called Lady

 

fifteen years ago: the Nuremberg Chronicle plus historic precedent in Libya

day forty-three (13. 339)

Fresh from a campaign rally in Hungary in support of the reelection of the incumbent, Viktor Orbán—accusing the EU of election interference by withholding funds to the country over its affinity for Russian and regressive civil-rights policies whilst the US vice president tells Hungarians who to vote for and indicting Ukraine without evidence or context in meddling in the 2024 American election, JD Vance and delegation arrives in Pakistan. Flanked by the same tired crew of incompetents, Witkoff and Kushner who’ve managed to torpedo every other round of negotiations including the one resulting in all out warfare, Vance warns Iran not “to play”—given a real poisoned chalice in his first high profile, high stakes assignment to either concede to Tehran’s terms to preserve the fragile ceasefire or resist and provoke a resumption of the fighting, US assets with their finger on the trigger already for a very domestically unpopular and illegal conflict of their own making. Israeli Operation Eternal Darkness continues indiscriminate bombing raids on Lebanon and only a slow trickle of ships, thirteen mostly dry cargo ships and empty tankers returning to port for reloading, have passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

synchronoptica

one year ago: digital preservation jumpers (with synchronopticæ), the art of basket weaving plus emoji as autobiographical vocabulary

fourteen years ago: beer-brewing season, unlucky thirteen plus extraordinary rendition

fifteen years ago: the Libyan revolution 

sixteen years ago: a tragic aviation accident in Poland 

advanced avionics (13. 337)

Appearing on German broadcaster RTL (Radio Télévision Luxembourg, the cosmopolitan media group founded as Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion as one of the first private programmers in 1931 and representative of the broader spirit of transnational cooperation) on this day in 1976, Belgian prime minister Leo Tindemans (to the right of Helmut Schmidt and Luxembourg PM Gaston Thorn), previously charged with defining what the European Union was to be as a political entity with his eponymous report that helped to guide the formation of the EU and its institutions, defended the country’s decision to purchase US fighter jets rather than French Dassault Mirages, in the context of forming a common defensive strategy for the continent. Despite what was interpreted as a slight by the domestic aerospace industry at the time, later that year Tindemans was awarded the international Charlemagne prize for his contributions towards unity, economic integration and the strengthening of citizen rights.

day forty-two (13. 335)

Continued assaults on Beirut threatening the fragile ceasefire, Trump has reportedly urged Netanyahu to be more “low key” in his attacks on Lebanon as the delegation headed by JD Vance for the US and Iranian leaders are scheduled to meet in Islamabad for peace talks. The White House warns government employees from using insider knowledge to leverage bets on the outcome of negotiations and direction of the war on prediction markets. Israel will hold direct talks with the Lebanese government aimed at disarming Hezbollah and limiting collateral casualties. Underscoring Tehran’s continued control of the strait, tankers are being selectively let through and still only a trickle of the ships parked on either side of the gulf. Kuwaiti territory is still being targeted although Iran denies to be behind retaliatory attacks and the Emirates has reported clear skies.

synchronoptica

one year ago: The Great Gatsby (with synchronopticæ), market reaction dulls Trump tariffs plus assorted links worth the revisit

twelve years ago: NATO and Ukraine plus English orthography 

thirteen years ago: the Night of the the Long Knives 

fourteen years ago: a planned Star Trek casino 

fifteen years ago: a catalogue of Star Trek characters 

addenda (13. 333)

The Orange Menace actually articulated his interest in a profit sharing scheme for the transit fees that Iran is securing for the Strait of Hormuz (which was free for all ships prior to the war) as the “ayatollah booth.” Jesus wept. The waterway is almost immediately closed in retaliation for Israel’s relentless attacks on southern Lebanon in breach of the ceasefire agreement, having displaced a million residents from Beirut and surroundings and having killed over three-hundred civilians in its latest wave of air raids. US president Trump leaves his standing army in the region, threatening in a social media post that should Tehran fail to fully comply with the terms of the truce, “—if for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the “Shootin’ Starts,” bigger and better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!” Whilst grateful for the fragile peace, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez spoke out against Netanyahu and IDF efforts to expand its “buffer zone” and of Trump, he refuses to “applaud those who set the world on fire and they then show up with a bucket.” Described only as frank, Trump held a private discussion with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte to air his frustrations with the alliance—no details were given other than Trump has circled back to his preoccupation with Greenland, calling the Danish territory a poorly managed piece of ice.