Notices by Ulrike Franke (rikefranke@bagarrosphere.fr)

This is more relevant than any Vance speeches or National Security Strategies. This is Europe home alone.
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/nato-usa-wollen-militaerische-beitraege-fuer-europas-sicherheit-kuerzen-a-98cdf71e-c6c6-4c1d-bee7-180d4a6592a3?sara_ref=re-so-app-sh

FT editorial board welcomes the “return of German military might “, but also warns that “Germany still lacks a strategic culture. It will take more than a strategy document to acquire it.”

https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/25357b36-a8f6-41e9-94b3-3a4cc2dd2282 The welcome return of German military might

Definitely

This story should be covered waaaaayy more than it is.

The US has sanctioned six judges if the international criminal court ICC, because Trump didn’t like them issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/11/19/nicolas-guillou-french-icc-judge-sanctioned-by-the-us-you-are-effectively-blacklisted-by-much-of-the-world-s-banking-system_6747628_4.html

The situation these judges are being put in for doing their work is unbelievable. They can’t use any US services - and not just for work, in their private lives too.

“Without sovereignty - military, health, financial and digital - we can no longer guarantee the rule of law.”

This is likely to increasingly become a topic.

Tomorrow, at 10am, my discussion with NZZ’s Eric Gujer on the state of European security will be broadcast on TV on 3Sat.

And here we go. I never wrote this article, and yet it is cited here.

https://www.liberalbriefs.com/geopolitics/power-without-mandate-the-perils-of-germanys-military-ambition

And of course, it sounds so plausible, I seriously checked whether I had forgotten it, or the footnote was slightly wrong.

The other sources are hallucinated too.

#AIisnotresearch

This feels like something Mastodonusers in particular are gonna love 😆

https://on.ft.com/3H2aWLC
Three things we learned about Sam Altman by scoping his kitchen

“However, Ukraine could also just be a peak moment for drone warfare. The factors that made drones relevant in Ukraine might look different in future wars.”
- my latest on the lessons from #drone use in Ukraine for ECFR

https://ecfr.eu/article/drones-in-ukraine-four-lessons-for-the-west/

So basically, Scholz is doing a Macron. But because he is ach so besonnen, instead of a few weeks of craziness and uncertainty, we get months?

Mastodon is the platform where you post an article and can be 100% sure that the replies will be about 1) paywalls, 2) the (usually unacceptable) political stance of the publication and 3) tracking and cookies, but CERTAINLY NOT an engagement with the content of the article.

Self righteousness may feel good but doesn’t make for good exchange.

Recommended #podcast discussion (in French). Lots of interesting insights from the different guests.
https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/affaires-etrangeres/moyen-orient-le-retour-de-la-guerre-7113775

“Hamas’s ability to launch such a well planned attack from within the confines of the impoverished, hemmed-in Gaza Strip, which is surrounded by Israeli military fences and checkpoints, suggests a massive intelligence failure that will send shockwaves — and fear — through Israeli society.”

Audacious Hamas attack is a pivotal moment for Israel
https://on.ft.com/3rGyluY

Looks like Hamas has succeeded in an attack that the IDF and Israeli intelligence services did not foresee. That is a big success for them.
However, I wonder what the long term plan is - such an attack is likely to lead to *massive* retaliation. So what’s the expected gain?

“The growth of the UGV industry has been a slow burn, but it finally looks like it is heating up.”

The military robots are coming — at some point

https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2023/07/06/the-military-robots-are-coming-at-some-point/

My expression when I hear that THIS MAP is causing geopolitical issues. 😳

Btw, where did they find the nine dash line here? The eight dashes to the right of “Asia”??