{"id":317,"date":"2026-07-16T16:40:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T16:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalconsumerreportss.com\/?p=317"},"modified":"2026-07-16T16:40:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T16:40:44","slug":"rational-security-the-hip-to-be-a-square-state-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalconsumerreportss.com\/?p=317","title":{"rendered":"Rational Security: The \u201cHip to Be a Square State\u201d Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This week, Scott sat down with his colleagues Lawfare<\/em> Foreign Policy Editor Daniel Byman, Lawfare<\/em> Public Service Fellow Julia Curlee, and Lawfare<\/em> Contributing Editor and Vice President of Research, Security and Defense at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Ariane Tabatabai, to talk through the week\u2019s big news in foreign policy, including:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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  • \u201cTruce or Consequences.\u201d The fragile ceasefire that had paused the U.S.-Iran war since the spring now appears to have collapsed. After Iran struck several commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the United States has launched several successive nights of strikes, hitting more than 300 targets across Iran. Iran has in turn retaliated against U.S. bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. Speaking from the NATO summit in Ankara, President Trump declared the June memorandum of understanding \u201cover\u201d even as he insisted that talks toward a lasting peace could still continue. By the weekend, Iran had declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, and U.S. officials were describing the ceasefire as fully \u201cbroken down.\u201d Then, on Monday, Trump escalated further\u2014declaring that the United States would \u201ckeep\u201d and \u201crun\u201d the Strait as its self-styled \u201cGuardian,\u201d reinstate its blockade on Iranian ships, and charge a 20% fee on all cargo passing through, an arrangement Tehran has flatly rejected. Is the war back on? And is there any diplomatic path left to pull both sides back from the brink? <\/li>\n
  • \u201cRutte Awakening.\u201d NATO\u2019s leaders gathered in Ankara last week for a summit that Secretary General Mark Rutte billed as the launch of \u201cNATO 3.0\u201d\u2014a stronger, more self-reliant Europe inside an alliance less dependent on the United States. Allies touted rapid progress toward last year\u2019s pledge to spend 5% of GDP on defense, announcing more than $50 billion in new procurement and at least \u20ac70 billion in fresh military aid for Ukraine. But the gathering was overshadowed by friction with President Trump, who publicly berated allies for declining to help in the Iran war and briefly revived his campaign to acquire Greenland before ending on a somewhat more conciliatory note. What did the Ankara summit actually accomplish? And what does \u201cNATO 3.0\u201d mean for the alliance\u2019s future?<\/li>\n
  • \u201cBad Bromance.\u201d The once-close alliance between Washington and Jerusalem\u2014and between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu\u2014is showing unusual public strain. Trump has repeatedly clashed with Netanyahu over Israel\u2019s continued operations in Lebanon\u2014which have threatened the Iran ceasefire\u2014and over the stalled second phase of his Gaza peace plan, which has all but wilted as Hamas refuses to disarm and Israel refuses to withdraw. Defense Secretary Hegseth abruptly canceled a planned trip to Israel, and a possible F-35 sale to Turkey has added to the unease. The tensions turned vivid this past week when Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said he was detained for more than an hour by armed Israeli settlers\u2014and then by IDF soldiers\u2014during a West Bank visit, and armed settlers attacked a CNN crew and other journalists days later. At home, Israeli confidence in Trump has plummeted in advance of Israeli elections in October, even as U.S. primaries have produced a record number of candidates critical of Israel, particularly on the left. Just how strained is the U.S.-Israeli relationship? And how might Israel\u2019s coming elections\u2014and America\u2019s midterms\u2014reshape it? (Also see the Atlantic article by Thomas Wright that Julia references here.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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