| | | | NATO, Russian Pilots Playing Dangerous Game: WSJ | | NATO and Russian fighter pilots have revived a Cold War game of chicken, increasing the likelihood of an accident -- and conflict being sparked, write Nathan Hodge and Julian E. Barnes in the Wall Street Journal.
"Over the past three years, the number of adversarial flights near the other side's planes and ships have increased significantly," they write.
"Concerns have risen to the point where they now figure large in conversations between NATO and Russia. The NATO-Russia Council, a body established in 2002 to encourage cooperation and consultation between Moscow and the alliance, is set to meet Thursday to discuss large-scale Russian exercises in September. Western officials worry the exercises could lead to a new surge in midair incidents.
"The Baltic Sea has become the focal point for this new white-knuckle geopolitical tussle. Rhetoric is rising in the region, where newer NATO members on Russia's border are nervous and Russia's military has shown a willingness to use close intercepts as political messages."
| | The Message Macron Wants to Send to Trump | | French President Emmanuel Macron was clearly trying to send a message with his viselike handshake with President Trump in May. And he will be trying to send another one about his country's strength when the U.S. president attends France's Bastille Day celebrations on Friday, argues Nicholas Vinocur in Politico EU.
"The trip's timing, and its military backdrop, is designed to send a double-edged message. On one hand, Trump is being offered a rare privilege. In a two-day visit far grander than that enjoyed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in June, he will have a front-row seat at a celebration of French national pride that asserts the close relationship between France and the U.S.," Vinocur writes.
"But if Trump is being drawn so close, it is also because Macron wants to remind him of the United States' role in Europe and France's role as a military power. A hundred years after the U.S. entered World War I, and one year after a bloody terror attack in Nice, Macron will show Trump that France is a fully operational military force ready to stand by the United States' side as a NATO ally." - Critics: We saw it coming. President Trump is likely looking forward to the "Gallic splendor" of his trip to France. After all, he will be leaving behind a White House that is "paralyzed," CNN reports. But the current travails aren't exactly a surprise.
"For months, Republicans close to the White House have been wringing their hands about Trump's reliance on his family members -- political neophytes -- for everything from political advice to domestic policy to international affairs.
"A number of those officials warned that the combination of power and naïveté was sure to get Trump's family members in trouble. But even these sources expressed surprise about the damaging nature of the meeting between Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and a Russian lawyer."
| | Russian Diplomacy Could Be About to Get Tougher | | | Russia's diplomacy is poised to take on a harder edge with the appointment of a "noted hardliner" to replace the controversial Sergey Kislyak, suggests Ali Watkins in Politico.
"Where Kislyak dealt in soft power -- known for lavish parties, calls for better relations between the U.S. and Russia, and a genial if unyielding demeanor – [Anatoly] Antonov's reputation as a hardline Kremlin acolyte precedes him," Watkins writes.
"Antonov comes to Washington as tensions between the U.S. and Russia reach a fever pitch, in an environment that could be uniquely suited to his aggressive approach. His penchant for taking the hard line is a yet-untested strategy with the Trump administration, which has given clear, early indications that it wants to work more cooperatively with the Kremlin.
"Though his reputation precedes him, Antonov is also respected for his skills as a diplomat. And if the Trump administration needs a softer touch, he's capable of using it." | | China's (Too High) Great Wall | | By announcing plans to prevent access to virtual private networks, China has made clear its intention to make it even more difficult for its citizens to peer over the country's so-called Great Firewall, writes Adam Minter for Bloomberg View. But the move could hurt the economy – and unsettle the influential middle class.
"For most Chinese, not having access to Facebook, Google and the Wall Street Journal -- all blocked sites – isn't a major concern. Chinese companies have developed robust alternatives to many Western online services, while news stories of interest to Chinese will usually make their way onto social media and into email threads," Minter writes.
"But those alternatives can't satisfy the needs of all Chinese. For example, scientists, engineers and programmers need access to forbidden sites such as Google Scholar and GitHub; journalists hoping to follow the flow of global events will want Twitter; and Chinese students who studied abroad are looking to keep up with their overseas friends via Facebook. In general, all of these groups are educated, relatively affluent and important to the Chinese government's legitimacy and hold on power."
| | An Attack America Isn't Ready For | | The possibility of a cyber version of the 9/11 attacks is growing. And the United States simply isn't ready for it, argue H. Rodgin Cohen and John Evangelakos in the Wall Street Journal.
"The problem has not been lack of action. It is the multiplicity of programs and division of responsibility that diminish their effectiveness. At least 11 federal agencies bear significant responsibility for cybersecurity: the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Treasury Department, three branches of the military, and three federal banking agencies," they write.
"Congress should merge these disparate cybersecurity programs into one cabinet-level agency that also serves as the focal point for collaboration with the private economy. Call it the Department of Cybersecurity. This would be an extraordinary and risky measure, requiring careful implementation. But the magnitude of the danger, and the limits of America's current ability to defend against the cyber threat, compel a bold response."
| | China Gets Religion, Environment Celebrates | | Millions of Chinese are increasingly turning to faiths including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Taoism as they search for meaning in a consumerist culture, reports Javier Hernandez for the New York Times. And that's proving good for the environment.
"Spiritual leaders are invoking concepts like karma and sin in deriding the excesses of economic development. Religious followers are starting social service organizations to serve as watchdogs against polluters. Advocates are citing their faith to protest plans to build factories and power plants near their homes," Hernandez writes.
"President Xi Jinping has championed the study of Chinese traditions, including Taoism and Confucianism, in part to counter the influence of Western ideas in Chinese society. Mr. Xi, in articulating the so-called Chinese dream, has called for a return to China's roots as an 'ecological civilization' -- a vision he has described as having 'clear waters and green mountains' across the land." | | | | | | |
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