What Caught My Eye (no. 20)
Some interesting articles and podcasts that caught my eye this week
Here’s this week’s edition of articles I thought worth reading and sharing. Don’t hesitate to recommend your own reads; I may include some as well.
Nir Hasson, Yarden Michaeli, and Avi Scharf, Rafah is gone. Razed to the ground. It's not the only city decimated by the Israeli army, Haaretz, June 12, 2025. A detailed, visually compelling analysis by the left-leaning Israeli newspaper of how Israel has wiped the city of Rafah in southern Gaza from the map. It makes for disturbing reading.
Andrew Dowell, Shayndi Raice, and Michael R. Gordon, Israel Races to Reshape the Middle East With Few Checks, Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2025. A detailed look by the expert Journal team on how Israel has reshaped the Middle East in the past year. Written before President Trump decided to launch devastating strikes against Iran’s nuclear program (a key request of the Israeli government), the piece underscores Israel’s freedom of maneuvering in the region to try and ensure its security.
Robin AlexanderThe Night Chancellor Merz Changed His Mind About Donald Trump, Politico Magazine, June 22, 2025. A fascinating inside look by a correspondent for the Axel Springer Global Network, excerpted from his book, Last Chance: The New Chancellor and the Fight for Democracy, on how Germany changed course. The driver was Frederich Merz, who shortly after his election realized Germany could no longer trust America and needed to find the resources to take care of its own security. The result was the deal on the debt break that freed up over €1 trillion (including €650 for defense in next 5 years).
Joshua Yaffe, How Donald Trump Got NATO to Pay Up, The New Yorker, June 23, 2025. A look at how the NATO alliance has been transformed over the years and why European countries have finally decided to beef up their defense spending. The title gives Trump more credit than the piece (rightly) suggests. With a cameo by yours truly.
Christine Lagarde, This is Europe’s ‘global euro’ moment, Financial Times, June 16, 2025. The head of there European Central Bank argues that the moment for a “global euro” has arrived. The fundamental argument relates to the strength of the European market and its leading place in the global trading system. But undergirding it is the realization that America’s fiscal difficulties, trade uncertainties, and overall unpredictability may be signally the end of America’s exceptionalism.
Kim Ghattas, Netanyahu is good at starting wars, but it’s ending them that matters, Financial Times, June 17, 2025. The Lebanese journalist and writer argues persuasively that Benjamin Netanyahu knows how to start wars better than how to end them (though he’s hardly alone in this). That’s true in Gaza, in Lebanon, and may become true in Iran (even if the ceasefire holds for now).
Yoav Gallant The Alliance That Was Never Signed, But Delivered When It Mattered Most, The Defense Memo Substack, June 26, 2025. The former Israeli Defense Minister, who parted ways with Netanyahu over Gaza, writes about the informal alliance the United States built with Israel and Gulf States that helped protect Israel from Iranian attacks in 2024.
Susan Glasser, A Week for the Ages in the Annals of Trump Suck-Uppery, New Yorker, June 26, 2025. The incomparable New Yorker columnist takes a look at the ways foreign leaders have learned to get their way by sucking up to Trump. NATO’s Mark Rutte took suck-uppery to a whole new level last week.
Finally, in case you missed it here are links to articles I wrote, interviews I did, panels I joined, and a synopsis of my weekly podcast on world news.
NATO survives another day, Politico Europe, June 26, 2025
NATO 76 years on: Grovel, grovel to 'reaffirm fundamental American commitment to European security', France 24, June 25, 2025.
Trump Repeats Claims Nuclear Sites “Obliterated,” MSNBC, June 25, 2026.
NATO leaders arrive at summit in the Netherlands, BBC News, June 24, 2025.
Trump Lands in Netherlands for NATO Summit, CNN, June 24, 2025.
Israel-Iran Top of Mind at NATO Summit, MSNBC, June 24, 2025.
Was the NATO Summit a victory for Donald Trump, The Observer News Meeting Podcast, June 27, 2025.
Happy reading, watching, and listening!