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AfD delegation to visit Washington, US sanctions Antifa Ost and Germany's Finance Minister takes Beijing, sort of

AfD delegation to visit Washington, US sanctions Antifa Ost and Germany's Finance Minister takes Beijing, sort of

At the core of the Alpine region are two countries (and two additional tiny principalities) that continue to pursue strategies of self-interest and Europe à la carte. Switzerland successfully saw its US tariff rate reduced from 39% to 15%. Guy Parmelin, who will hold the rotating Swiss presidency next year, said of the flashy gifts to the Trump presidential library that accompanied the delegation of Swiss industry leaders to the White House a few weeks back that, "We haven't sold our soul to the devil," according to Reuters. Interesting word choice.

Well, Uncle Sam met Parmelin at his word this week and has returned with the Steve Witkoff-Kirill Dimitriev Pact. The 28-point "peace deal" hashed out by the two amateur diplomats in Miami is based on Ukrainian capitulation primarily. It is unlikely the frontline states, foremost among them Ukraine, will agree, but what strategic depth do they have? For its part, the big capitals of Europe are natürlich displeased but not matching their displeasure with a course correction.

As if that is not enough bad news from "the devil," retired General Keith Kellogg, Ukraine's most forceful advocate in the Trump administration as the President's Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia, announced he is departing his post in January, Reuters reports. Who is left but Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and the Europeans themselves? Can Europe, which repeatedly states so desperately, breathlessly it wants a say in its own affairs but fails to back these words up with action, i.e. weapons, step up? Well, look no further than French President Emmanuel Macron's "hot air" promise of 100 fighter jets for Ukraine this week. Or Austrian company Swarovski Optik's continued sales of high-caliber rifle scopes to Russia. Very demure, very neutral.

The music is off and the lights are on, though many are still drunk on the old ways and insist the party is still on. Is this too harsh or not nearly harsh enough? The complaint box is open: amanda.rivkin@securitydialogue.org as is the tip jar.

Welcome to the new Alpine Security Monitor! You can subscribe (and become a paid subscriber!) for weekly updates on security and geopolitics as it concerns the Alpine region, namely Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland (ok, little Liechtenstein and Monaco too when merited). If this was forwarded to you, welcome!

Housekeeping note: newsletter subscribers perhaps noticed last week's monitor mistakenly wrote that two-thirds of terrorism suspects in France since 2020 were known to authorities when rather they were *unknown* previously. A correction has since been appended.

WASHINGTON, DC – Trump ally in Congress announces large AfD delegation next month

  • Politico reports last Friday that Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Trump ally who received a senior Russian official when he was in Washington last month, told German newspaper Die Welt that 40 far-right German AfD party members will go to Washington next month on the invitation of US House Republicans.
  • The German far-right AfD is "increasingly looking for support from MAGA Republicans" as they frame their difficulties in Germany "as a struggle against political persecution and censorship at home."
  • A spokesperson for AfD would "neither confirm nor deny" the number of party members travelling to Washington.

 

WASHINGTON, DC – State Department designates Germany's Antifa Ost a terrorist group

  • The US Department of State announced late last week that it had designated "German-based Antifa Ost, along with three other violent Antifa groups in Italy and Greece, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists".
  • All four groups were designated Foreign Terrorist Organization officially as of Thursday.
  • The press release describes the groups named as movements that "ascribe to revolutionary anarchist or Marxist ideologies," in addition to being anti-capitalist and anti-Christian. The State Department notes the Antifa entities named "justify violent assaults domestically and overseas." Despite the US' spotty record on sanctions enforcement, one point of irony of such a designation will reveal itself: just how "anti-capitalist" in fact the individuals involved are. In other words, who can afford to be a Marxist anarchist in this economy?

 

BEIJING, CHINA – German Finance Minister takes Beijing, sort of

  • Reuters reports German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil "became the first representative of the new coalition government" to land in Beijing Monday "as a record trade gap widens and supply chains wobble."
  • The meeting comes more than six months after the new Christian Democrat (CDU)-led coalition took office and after the German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul cancelled his trip last month over a dearth of scheduled meetings.
  • Klingbeil was accompanied by a "small delegation of German banks and insurance companies" and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel. A sit down with Vice-Premier He Lifeng was on the agenda along with discussion over export controls on rare earth minerals.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – German government announces additional €150 million for Ukraine

  • The German government announced last Saturday that it had earmarked "military aid worth an additional €150 million for Ukraine" after a meeting with European counterparts from France, Italy, Poland and the UK as well as the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas last Friday.
  • The additional funding will "supply US arms and munitions to Ukraine" as part of the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which encourages US NATO allies to purchase weapons and munitions from the US for Ukraine to defend itself.
  • German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Russian President Vladimir Putin intended "to make winter as unbearable as possible for Ukraine".

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Germany resumes arms exports to Israel following Gaza ceasefire

  • The BBC reports the German government announced plans to restart arms exports to Israel Monday in the wake of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza on October 10.
  • Exports are scheduled to resume November 24 following the suspension of sales "of military equiment that could be used in the Gaza Strip in August."
  • Germany is the second largest supplier of arms to Israel after the US. Those exports ground to halt "after Israel approved a ground offensive to take over Gaza City."

 

FLENSBURG, GERMANY – Sixth alleged operative in Hamas network arrested

  • The Jerusalem Post reports last Saturday that a sixth Hamas operative in an alleged European cell of the militant Palestinian Islamist group, identified only as Mahmoud Z. in accordance with strict German privacy laws, was arrested last Thursday in Flensburg.
  • Lebanese-born Mahmoud Z. was arrested after entering Germany from Denmark aboard a train and has been charged "with multiple firearm violations." He allegedly received weapons and ammunition from another alleged Hamas operative Borhan El-K. in Hesse before transporting them to Wael FM in Berlin. The cell allegedly received "a Kalashnikov automatic rifle, eight Glock pistols, and 600 rounds of ammunition" in August. All three men are born in Lebanon.
  • Borhan El-K. was arrested last week Tuesday in Germany after entering the country from the Czech Republic, likely en route to Denmark where he lived. His residence in Copenhagen was searched by Danish authorities. Wael FM was arrested October 1 along with two other alleged Hamas operatives in the cell, German nationals Abed Al G. and Ahmad I. A sixth suspect, the son of Hamas official Bassem Naim, was arrested in London two and a half weeks ago. While no targets were specified, German authorities "stated broadly that the weapons were to be used against Israeli and Jewish sites in Germany and the rest of Europe."

 

CELLE, GERMANY – Trial of alleged Hezbollah member who aided drone program starts

  • The BBC reports Tuesday the trial of an alleged member of Hezbollah, Fadel Z., 35, in accordance with strict German privacy laws, who "played a key role in procuring products for Hezbollah's drone programme," began in the northern city of Celle.
  • Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office alleges Fadel Z. joined Hezbollah 10 years ago, initially doing PR for the terror group. In a statement, the prosecutor's office alleges Fadel Z. became active in the drone program in 2022 while in Barcelona, Spain and in 2023, he began work in Germany.
  • The drone program involves working with a network of "foreign operatives who covertly purchase components in Europe and export them to Lebanon," a statement said. Fadel Z. allegedly ran a network that purchased components worth €1.2 million ($1.4 million) prior to his arrest in July 2024.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Anti-Hamas Arabic school principle says nearly shoved before train

  • The Jerusalem Post reports Hudhaifa al-Mashhadani, the principal of an Arabic school in the German capital, told German newspaper Tagesspiegel that "he was attacked by a man at the Rathaus Neukölln subway station" last Friday morning and that he believes "the unknown assailant intended to push him in front of an oncoming train."
  • Mashhadani, who also serves as the Secretary General of the German-Arab Council, said he field a police report afterwards and believes he was recognized as the man who attacked him made "threatening hand gestures". After describing the incident to others, Mashhadani believes he "has clues" about who may have attacked him.
  • Berlin mayor Kai Wegner condemned the "cowardly act" last Friday evening. The school where Mashhadani works, Ibn Khaldun, "became the target of multiple threats after Hamas's October 7 attacks" from pro-Palestinian groups that objected to "Mashhadani's co-existence ethos and advocacy of Arab-Israeli exchange." As a result, the school "has reportedly been under police protection for months."

 

NEUSS, GERMANY – Auction of Holocaust artifacts called off after outrage mounts

  • The AP reports the Ulrich Felzmann Auktionhaus in Neuss, Germany near Düsseldorf has called off an auction of Holocaust artifacts Sunday after public outrage from Holocaust survivors and the government of Poland.
  • Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski wrote on X that he agreed with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul "that such a scandal must be prevented." His ministry also appealed "for the return of the artifacts" to the Auschwitz Museum, adding that, "The memory of Holocaust victims is not a commodity and cannot be the subject of commercial trade."
  • The auction had carried the name "The System of Terror" and included lots of "letters written by prisoners from German concentration camps" as well as "Gestapo index cards and other perpetrator documents". Never again until next time.

 

VÉLIZY-VILLACOUBLAY MILITARY BASE, FRANCE – Macron announces 100 jets for Ukraine

  • Reuters reports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron inked a deal at a military airbase on the outskirts of Paris Monday that would provide 100 Rafale jets to Ukraine over the next 10 years.
  • The letter of intent will provide Ukraine with air defense systems, munitions and drones. Shares in French aircraft manufacturer Dassault were up 8% on the news.
  • However, the deal comes with significant caveats such as the fact that the letter of intent is "a political commitment, rather than a purchase deal". The Élysée said that "would come later." The plan for now is to finance the acquisition with frozen Russian assets which, nearly four years into Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine, still requires EU approval. The Wall Street Journal headline was more blunt: "Neither Has the Cash," which also notes the announcement is "more rooted in politics than military procurement", with one researcher at the French Institute of International Relations calling it "hot air". Despite the conditions, Politico reports Zelensky called the deal "historic" and said Ukraine "valued France's support".

 

VERDUN, FRANCE – Legal action taken over Marshal Pétain rehabilitation effort

  • France24 reports Saturday that the government prefect of the Meuse department, Xavier Delarue, "said he would take legal action over comments made following a mass" for Philippe Pétain, the leader of the Nazi collaborationist Vichy regime, that was organized by an association that seeks to rehabilitate his reputation.
  • Jacques Boncompain, the President of so-called Association to Defend the Memory of Marshal Pétain told journalists after the mass in Verdun, where Pétain was responsible for a victory in a brutal war of attrition over Germany in 1916, that Pétain should be considered "the first resistant fighter of France." Twenty members of the association were met with 100 protesters.
  • Delarue denounced the comments as "clearly revisionist" while France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez wrote on X that the remarks "go against our collective memory." Efforts by the mayor of Verdun Samuel Hazard to ban the event were overturned by an administrative court.

 

VERSAILLES, FRANCE – Muslim school boy sentenced for gang rape of Jewish girl retried

  • The Jerusalem Post reports a Muslim school boy who was 13 years old when he sentenced to nine years for his role in the 2024 gang rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl was retried at the Versailles Court of Appeal Tuesday and had his prison sentence reduced from nine years to seven years, "sparking renewed outrage."
  • Two boys who were 13 years old at the time of the incident were sentenced to seven and nine years apiece on June 15, 2025. A third boy who was involved was under 12 years old, which is the age of criminal responsibility in France. He received five years in an "educational facility."
  • The incident took place when the girl was ambushed on her way home from school on June 15, 2024 in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie. The details are horrific and confirmed by video taken by the perpetrators; she was also called a "dirty Jew" when her attackers asked what religion she was. After the attack, she was asked to convert to Islam and the boys made her "swear to Allah" she would not tell anyone including her parents or the police, according to the girl's mother.

 

KILSTETT, FRANCE – US fugitive pedophile arrested, allegedly molested adopted son

  • France24 reports last Saturday that Michael Robert Wiseman, 51, of Arizona "who fled the United States years ago while on probation" for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was arrested November 1 in the northeastern French town of Kilstett.
  • Before settling in France, he had travelled to Vietnam and Poland. In Vietnam, he adopted two children and in Poland he obtained "a legitimate Polish passport under an alias." He was captured after he tried to use his real name to obtain a pilot's license in Spain and "His potential employer Googled his name and found that he was on Scottsdale's most wanted list" and alerted Spanish authorities, Scottsdale Police Sgt. Dustin Patrick told a Phoenix television station. Authorities found evidence he had abused his adopted 10-year-old and were working to determine whether he had also violated the 8-year-old he adopted as well.
  • Wiseman had twice fled the US to escape prosecution for CSAM, once in 2008 after his wife left him following his arrest. He was apprehended the following year in Spain and spent two years in jail. He was sentenced in 2012 to lifetime probation and a one-year deferred sentence, which was later removed from his record by a judge. He fled the US for the second time during his sentencing in 2012 by removing an ankle monitor. Wiseman will be extradited to the US after he faces charges in France.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Investigation opened into Holocaust denial on Elon Musk's X

  • Politico reports the Paris public prosecutor's office opened an investigation into "antisemitic comments" made by Grok, "Elon Musk's artificial intelligence platform" on social media site X, formerly Twitter.
  • "Several posts" that circulated widely Wednesday such as one suggesting there were not "mass executions" at Auschwitz will be included in a criminal investigation that was opened last July "over allegations that the company manipulated its algorithms for the purpose of 'foreign interference.'"
  • The League for Human Rights also announced it was filing a complaint.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Travel ban on Telegram founder Pavel Durov lifted

  • Politico reports France lifted the travel ban on Telegram founder Pavel Durov late last week following his August 2024 arrest on "several organized crime offenses."
  • Prosecutors alleged Durov's Telegram refused to cooperate with authorities on matters including illegal content such as child pornography.
  • He had been sequestered in a luxury hotel, using his social media platform to attack France and French officials in recent months, alleging visits from intelligence agents while under the travel ban that prevented him from leaving France.

 

ROME, ITALY – High court approves extradition of Nord Stream2 suspect

  • The AP reports Italy's highest court in Rome approved the extradition to Germany Wednesday of Serhii Kuznietsov, suspected of involvement in the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
  • Kuznietsov's lawyer said he believed Kuznietsov would be handed over to German authorities in the coming days.
  • Kuznietsov was detained in the Italian resort town of Rimini while on vacation with his family in August.

 

ABSAM, AUSTRIA – Swarovski Optik still sending sniper scopes to Russia despite neutrality

  • Meduza reports Thursday that "Despite Austria's declared neutrality and its refusal to send weapons to Kyiv," Swarovski Optik is continuing to supply Russia with "high-end rifle scopes," citing a report in Russian outlet iStories.
  • According to customs records, "dozens of scopes – the kind used by elite Russian units" have found their way to the front via intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates. In total, €244,000 ($261,800) worth of Swarovski Optik sniper scopes have found their way into Russia. Bravo.
  • Vienna has previously cited the country's "permanent neutrality" when denying weapons to Kyiv. However, Steyr rifles and pistols from the country have made their way into Russia.

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Trial of Chinese man for human trafficking, prostitution opens

  • Swissinfo reports the trial of a 39-year-old Chinese man accused of forcing Chinese women without papers into prostitution began Tuesday in the capital Bern.
  • The man stands accused of luring others with false promises of work before forcing them into prostitution. He faces ten counts, with a recorded 60 attempts to force others into prostitution by searching the web for "massage girls for Switzerland".
  • The women forced into prostitution were in Switzerland without proper documents and faced perilous situations while being forced to hand half their income to the accused who "used the money to finance his livelihood and gambled some of it away in the casino."

 

Stay safe and slava Ukraine!

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