NATO is the biggest and longest-serving alliance in history, with 32 members. It was founded in 1949. It was about that time that the US was first called the Leader of the Free World. (Prior to World War II Britain had the same status.). Seventy-five years later, there is increasing talk of ending the alliance. That would mean the US ending its leadership role. It would no longer be called the Leader of the Free World. That role would be passed to another member of NATO.
Note the following quotes from Wikipedia:
“On 6 May 2010, upon an address to the plenary chamber of the European Parliament, the then US Vice President Joe Biden, stated that Brussels had a “legitimate claim” to the title of “capital of the free world,” normally a title reserved for Washington. He added that Brussels is a “great city which boasts 1,000 years of history and serves as capital of Belgium, the home of many of the institutions of the European Union and the headquarters of the NATO alliance.”
“When Time declared the German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Time Person of the Year for 2015, they referred to her as “Europe’s most powerful leader,” and the cover bore the title “Chancellor of the Free World.” Following the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency in November 2016, The New York Times called Merkel “the Liberal West’s Last Defender,” and a number of commentators called her “the next leader of the free world.” Merkel herself rejected the description. An article by James Rubin in Politico about a White House meeting between Merkel and Trump was ironically titled “The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump.”
“Is Europe ready?”
“Russia is becoming more dangerous. America is less reliable and Europe remains unprepared. The problem is simply put, but the scale of its solution is hard to comprehend. The security arrangements based on NATO that emerged from the Second World War – and have prevented a third – are so much part of Europe’s fabric that remaking them will be an immense task. European leaders urgently need to jettison their post-Soviet complacency. That means raising their defense spending to a level not seen in decades, restoring Europe’s neglected military traditions, restructuring its arms industries and preparing for a possible war. The work has barely begun.
“The murder of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s main opposition leader, in a penal colony on February 16th ought to have shattered any remaining illusions about the ruthlessness and violence of Vladimir Putin. As the violence enters its third year, Russia is winning in Ukraine. Having put the economy on a war footing, Russia’s president is spending 7.1% of GDP on defense. Within three to five years, Denmark’s defense minister has said, Mr. Putin could be ready to take on NATO, perhaps by launching hybrid operations against one of the Baltic states. His aim would be to wreck NATO’s pledge that if one country is attacked, the others will be ready to come to its aid.” (“Is Europe ready?” The Economist 2/24)
In its 75 year history, only once has Clause 5 of the treaty been invoked. That was on Sept 11, 2001. The country helped was America.
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WHAT’S BORIS JOHNSON UP TO IN VENEZUELA?
Boris Johnson is back in the news again – but not for the reasons you might think. The former UK prime minister secretly flew by private jet to Venezuela last month for talks with President Nicolás Maduro, according to an exclusive in The Sunday Times.
Apparently with the knowledge of Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Johnson spoke to the widely sanctioned autocrat Maduro about the war in Ukraine, amid fears that the “oil-rich socialist republic” could supply weapons to Russia, its stalwart ally. But Johnson also reportedly discussed the possibility of the UK normalizing relations with Venezuela – as the US did last year – in exchange for its first “free and fair presidential elections” since 2013.
The UK (and most of the world) doesn’t accept Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, after the fraudulent 2018 elections. But as we discussed in our end-of-year The Week Unwrapped podcast, the poverty-stricken nation has become a focal point in the global tug-of-war between authoritarianism and democracy. A long-time ally of Iran, Venezuela is also attractive to the US for its massive oil reserves and for its potential to help stem the flow of desperate Venezuelan migrants into America.
Maduro has agreed to hold elections on 28 July – but will likely run without a challenger, after banning his strongest adversary from public office for alleged corruption. Johnson’s back-channel visit is bound to raise eyebrows in Westminster, but whether it will move the dial on democracy in Caracas looks much less likely. (The Week, 3/11/2024)
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INDIA’S NEW CITIZENSHIP LAW
EDITOR’S COMMENT: India has some of the strictest laws on immigration and citizenship. Whereas the Indian PM is always calling for the US, UK and Australia to allow in more Indians, the doors are always closed the other way. The new proposed citizenship law will tweak that, a little.
The Indian government implemented a new citizenship law on Monday after over four years of delay that critics say may be used to discriminate against the country’s large Muslim minority.
What’s the new law? The amendment extends Indian citizenship to Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Christians who moved to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh before Dec. 31, 2014.
Supporters say the law is meant to help members of those faiths escape persecution in their countries of origin, but critics worry it is one step of a two-part plan. In combination with a proposed national register of citizens, they say this law could be used to render Muslims stateless. When the law was first passed in 2019, it triggered months of protests and riots that left dozens dead and hundreds injured, which is why the government waited years to implement it.
Why now? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has never looked stronger, and he’s aiming to fire up Hindu nationalist sentiment ahead of elections this spring. Modi is expected to win comfortably, but he’s aiming to run up his party’s vote count as high as possible and solidify its long-term prospects.
To that end, earlier this year he opened a controversial Hindu temple on the grounds of a former mosque in a massive symbolic victory, which had been the site of violent confrontation for over a century. And to woo less spiritually motivated voters, Modi announced he was spending $15 billion on infrastructure in the south and east, where he hopes to make inroads into opposition strongholds. (Gzero Signal, 3/12/2024)
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GAINING WAR EXPERIENCE
Following the death of three sailors in another Houthi militia attack on a freighter in the Gulf of Aden, the situation in the operational area of Germany’s state-of-the-art frigate, The Hessen, continues to worsen. In response to the attack, there is likely to be a renewed wave of US-British strikes on Houthi (Ansar Allah) positions in Yemen. Yet it is highly unlikely that this firepower will dissuade Ansar Allah from launching further attacks on merchant shipping. The Hessen has been deployed to the Red Sea and neighboring waters as part of Operation Aspides, the EU’s own maritime security mission to protect merchant ships. The vessel’s initial actions have not been a success. Its anti-drone missiles have missed their target several times, including an attempt to bring down a misidentified US drone. German naval circles speak of beginner’s mistakes and the need to learn lessons: “What the ship and crew lack is war experience.” The German navy is keen to gain this war experience. The Hessen can spy on large parts of Yemen thanks to its advanced technical equipment. The data yielded can be passed on to the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, taking place alongside the EU’s own Operation Aspides in the Red Sea. This capability could have far-reaching consequences for regional tensions, although it remains uncertain as to whether the data will be used for strikes on Houthi positions. (German Foreign Policy, 3/11/2024)
TALKING POINT
Church of England and the Slavery Reparations Row
The Church of England is appealing for other organizations to help it establish a £1 billion fund to address its former connections to slavery.
A £100 million sum was initially pledged by the Church to tackle the issue, but following a review by an independent oversight group, it was viewed as “insufficient,” The Guardian reported. Instead, it has been suggested a far greater sum is necessary to properly “reflect the scale of moral sin.” The Church hopes to “attract co-investors to increase the fund’s value” to “invest globally in black-led businesses.”
The original commitment to reparations, supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was made following findings that a “significant chunk” of the Church’s £10.3 billion wealth could be traced back to profits made from slavery, said The Times.
‘It’s not a lot’
Rosemarie Mallett, the Bishop of Croydon, led the review into the church’s original fund. Speaking to The Guardian, she said £100 million is “a heck of a lot of money,” but “that it is not a lot when you consider the harm done.”
A call for reparations is intrinsically linked to faith, said Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, in The Sunday Times. Acknowledging the past demonstrates the Church is “serious about justice and serious about the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
A ‘trinity of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’
But Niall Gooch on UnHerd said it was an “un-Christian” move. When it comes to reparations, “there is a distinct whiff of the Church leaping on board a passing secular bandwagon.” Christians “ought to be in the business of promoting racial harmony,” said Gooch, “not crank theories about how all the problems of society are the fault of a certain group.”
Instead of fault, “the Church of England stands close to the top of the heroes’ table” when it comes to addressing the horrors of the slave trade, said Daniel Hannan in The Telegraph. William Wilberforce, widely viewed as the main driving force in Britain for the abolition of the “foul business,” discussed being motivated by his Anglican faith.
Reparations only show the traditional doctrine of the Church is being abandoned in favor of the “newer trinity of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”
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HAITI’S CONTINUING AGONY
Regional leaders are meeting Monday in Jamaica to discuss Haiti’s political crisis after intense violence in Port-au-Prince saw gangs burn down the country’s Interior Ministry this weekend. They also attacked police stations near the National Palace in offensives that have paralyzed the country. The US Embassy has evacuated non-essential staff.
Washington is pushing for a transitional council to replace unpopular Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is stuck outside Haiti. He left for Nairobi on Feb. 25 to try to salvage a multinational intervention force to be led by Kenya. The leader of the largest gang coalition, Jimmy Chérizier (aka Barbecue), used Henry’s absence as an opportunity to play for power.
What happens now? Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, the president of regional bloc CARICOM, says he is in talks with Henry and other Haitian power players.
We expect Henry to step down – without support from Haitians, the US, or regional leaders, how can he hang on?
The tricky question is who comes next. Guy Philippe, a convicted drug trafficker who led the 2004 coup, is building support for his “National Awakening” movement, and some Haitians say he is in a position to negotiate with the gangs. But considering he’s fresh out of a US prison, don’t expect Washington to back him. (Gzero Signal, 3/12/2024)
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QUOTES OF THE DAY
“All I want is my country back.” (Lee Anderson, the former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, explains why he has defected to Reform UK)
“Americans have kind of had it with wars “ (General Mark Milley, Financial Times, 3/2/2024)
“Israel has forfeited the right to exist.” (George Galloway’s assistant)
Thomas Sowell gave a one-word answer to the question: “What can Jews do to defeat rising antisemitism?” Answer: Fail (brilliant).
“Twice in my lifetime I’ve used the mute button on my remote to stop listening to a president. One was President Trump; the other Obama.” (Thomas Sowell, who has endorsed Trump for president)
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STAT OF THE WEEK
67.7% / 73.9%
Irish voters delivered “two wallops” to their government when they shot down efforts to modernize the “very old-fashioned” 1937 constitution. About 67.7% of voters rejected broadening the definition of family (it currently specifies marriage as the basis) and 73.9% voted against removing a suggestion that women’s value derives from “duties in the home” (the biggest constitutional defeat in Ireland’s history). The proposed replacements to these “notions from a bygone era” were criticized as rushed, “maddeningly vague and threatening to property rights,” said Politico. (The Week, 3/11/2024)
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SCRIPTURE CORNER
Jesus came to take away the guilt and shame of our sin. And he did that by taking on the most shameful death No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame . . .
(Psalm 25:3)
Shame is different from guilt. If you are guilty, you did something wrong, and you realize you are responsible for it. You can feel shame from being guilty, but feelings of shame are not always tied to guilt. Shame has more to do with a lack of self-worth, and that can come from not measuring up to a standard, from feeling insecure, from being bullied or abused in various ways, from public disgrace, ridicule, and more. When you are ashamed, you may or may not have done something wrong, but when others see you, you feel exposed, dirty, unworthy of respect.
When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they realized they had done wrong. They saw that they were naked. They were exposed and felt shame. They tried to cover up and hide. But they couldn’t hide from God—and that was a good thing, because God loved them and valued them, despite what they had done wrong. God loves us all too, despite any bad we have done.
Jesus came to take away the guilt and shame of our sins and he did that by taking on the most shameful death possible: crucifixion on a Roman cross. He hung there naked, in public disgrace, exposed to the abuse of the jeering crowd. And yet he was innocent. “He endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2), so that we can be freed from all shame and live fully with him. Now, because of Jesus, we are forever clean. (Kent Van Til, Our Daily Bread, 3/8/2024)
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