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Hegseth retires top US Army Europe general, US-Iran talks in Switzerland and Bern wants a VAT tax hike to cover defense spending increase

Hegseth retires top US Army Europe general, US-Iran talks in Switzerland and Bern wants a VAT tax hike to cover defense spending increase

 

While Giorgia Meloni may have said, "Neither I nor Italy ever beg," a doormat once laid out is hard to retrieve. Similarly, all the calls over the last decade to refrain from "normalizing" the unthinkable has of course led to the normalization of many things that were previously unthinkable, however with guard rails.

With the NATO summit coming up, it is important to recall a few truths of the transatlantic relationship that ought be self-evident by now but will vanish in a flurry of opinion articles and think pieces before July 7-8 in Ankara.

First, the US and Europe are each other's strategic depth. All the crazy in Europe—the US took in a lot of that in from before 1776 to after 1848 to after all that hustle and bustle Europe committed itself to so tirelessly in the first half of the last century.

Europe did not stop there and just give America poor, tired and downtrodden. Europe gave the US everyone who was pounding on the ceiling and bursting through the walls to do something greater than Europe's antiquated, hierarchical, patriarchical, rigid societal structures would allow or would simply pass on because it was "too much". America, by contrast, never saw something that others might pass on as "too much" and refuse it.

When America sneezes, Europe catches a cold. This is particularly true in the present. Most of America has moved on from Trump, whether you are in a red or blue state. The success story of 80s New York turned failed casino entrepreneur, property developer for the Russian mafia, reality TV star, Twitter microblogger and ultimately US President is not Kardashian-level ubiquitous anymore. Ivanka is off enjoying her money and discovering a Mediterranean island, triggering local protests. Whereas perhaps a decade ago, we Americans were breathlessly divided over Trump, it is Europe now that woke up as if it is the day after the 2016 election to realize Donald Trump is really in fact the American President.

And here is where Europe's far-right nationalists might fist pump in half solidarity. Europe's breathlessness rests on a glorious past. The US by contrast is all about the future. Don't look back. Things can change so fast in America that by the time Europe has pneumonia, we might be putting on a sparkly dress to go out and celebrate our birthday.

Which brings us to this week's transatlantic kerfuffle. According to Reuters, NATO Secretary General Mark "Rutte, speaking to Fox News television, cited Italy as an example of European support for the US and said 500 US planes had taken off from US bases in Italy 'to ​support Epic Fury', Washington's name for the war it launched alongside Israel." To which Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto replied: "the government authorised exclusively technical and logistical, non-kinetic activities".

You can parse that however you wish and raise your fist with disain or in solidarity, it fundamentally does not matter. However, when Europe needs muscle and America shows up, the hatchet gets buried in a flurry of statements of concern flying out of Brussels. The political leaders who enabled US forces when it comes to Middle East conflicts often pay the price as those conflicts are much closer to Europe. But the result is another one of these truths Europeans find it hard to accept, being boxed in and all by reality. Talk to your smarter generals and wiser colonels and they will tell you, it is still cheaper and politically more expedient in Europe to lean on the Americans than it is to raise an army and equip it domestically.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Hegseth moves to oust top US Army Europe general

  • The Wall Street Journal reports Wednesday that Gen. Chris Donahue, the US Army's top commander in Europe, "will relinquish his US command at a ceremony in Germany on July 2" as "his European assignment" has been "cut short by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's push".
  • Famous for being the last American soldier to depart Afghanistan in 2021, "Donahue's abrupt departure" is being explained away by the Pentagon "as part of Hegseth's broader push to shrink the number of generals and admirals by 10% overall" as well as "a 20% cut to the number of four-star positions".
  • Further recommendations regarding "other planned reductions" are expected to hit Hegseth's desk next week.

 

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND – US-Iran open preliminary talk with Vance in attendance

  • The New York Times reports Saturday that American Vice-President "JD Vance arrived in Switzerland" before "talks to flesh out a preliminary deal to end the war in Iran".
  • Prior to Vance's arrival, "An Iranian negotiating team arrived hours ealier" with a delegation including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Gen. Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, "Tehran's lead negotiator in past talks". Trump's negotiating team includes the dynamic duo of golf buddy turned special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Pakistan having "served as an intermediary in the peace effort" announced the beginning of "technical talks" Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in attendance. Qatari mediators are also expected.
  • The Israel-Lebanon conflict currently "threatens efforts to build a broader peace and keep shipping flowing in the Strait of Hormuz." Talks were scheduled to start Saturday but were delayed a day instead due to "continued clashes between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon."

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – 0.5% VAT hike proposed to cover defense spending

  • Swissinfo reports Wednesday that "the Federal Council has scaled back a planned increase in the value added tax (VAT) rate to fund the armed forces" from a 0.8% to 0.5% increase.
  • Certain items like hotel stays, food and medicine will have a VAT increase of only 0.3%.
  • According to the proposal, "The additional revenue will be allocated in full to military expenditure."

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss open talks with Israel for air defense systems

  • The Jerusalem Post reports Thursday that the Swiss government opened talks to purchase David's Sling air defense system from Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems "to accelerate its long-range air defense capabilities".
  • Switzerland is investigating alternatives to the US Patriot air defense systems as production delays and cost overruns have forced Bern to look elsewhere for systems that can deploy more rapidly.
  • On Wednesday, the Federal Council said it had opened "negotiations with Israeli, French, and South Korean manufacturers for an additional system". The Swiss Defense Ministry also resumed payments to US manufacturers RTX and Lockheed "that had been paused" due to delays in delivery as a result of Russia's war against Ukraine.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Germany reaches deal to acquire 40% stake in tank maker KNDS

  • The Financial Times reports Sunday that "The German government has reached a deal with Franco-German tank maker KNDS and its owners to acquire 40 per cent of the company, paving the way for a long-awaited IPO."
  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said acquiring 40% of KNDS, maker of the Leopard 2, allows Berlin to "safeguard" its interests.
  • Germany will acquire the stake "from the German families who own half of KNDS" while Paris "is expected to reduce its stake to 40 per cent".

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Berlin scraps Rheinmetall's 'multi-billion-euro' F126 frigates

  • CNBC reports Wednesday "Defense stocks plummeted" on news that "Germany will abandon plans to build six warships," specifically Rheintmetall's F126 frigate.
  • News of the program being scrapped appeared in "Multiple media reports" and would have been "the biggest warship commission" at €15.2 billion ($17.2 billion) for Germany in the postwar period, according to The Wall Street Journal. Berlin now plans to "buy eight smaller Meko A-200 frigates from the German company TKMS."
  • Shares in Rheinmetall dropped 18% on the news "marking one of its worst days since 1989". Armin Papperger, Rheinmetall's CEO, was reportedly "blindsided" when he got first word on Tuesday morning that the deal was being scrapped, according to The Financial Times Friday.

 

MAGDEBURG, GERMANY – Far-right Saudi doctor who attacked Christmas market gets life

  • Deutsche Welle reports Friday that Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, "a 51-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia guilty of murder for driving a rental car into a crowd at the Christmas market in the eastern city" of Magdeburg in 2024.
  • Al-Abdulmohsen was convicted of six counts of murder as well as "multiple cases of attempted murder and aggravated bodily harm" after five women and a nine year old boy were killed in the attack which also injured more than 300 others.
  • He "had been granted asylum in Germany in 2006" and was considered "a staunch critic of the Saudi government's political and religious persecution." In Germany, al-Abdulmohsen "had clashed with German authorities on multiple occasions" and "expressed support for the far-right online".

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Prosecutors investigate Swiss HSBC unit over Lebanon central bank scam

  • The Financial Times reports Wednesday that "French prosecutors this month confirmed that they had brought preliminary charges against HSBC's Swiss Private Bank" after an account controlled by the brother of Lebanon's central bank saw "More than a hundred million dollars" pass "through the account with little information about the nature of the transactions."
  • That brother, Raja Salameh, controlled Forry Associates, whose brother Riad was "Lebanon's central bank governor at the time". A compliance officer at the bank in February 2013 "raised concerns with the bank's financial crimes investigation team".
  • Between 2002 and 2015, "Investigators allege that $330mn"—or €290 million—"was transferred" from Lebanon's central bank, the Banque du Liban, to Forry Associates. Almost two thirds of those funds ended up in "Raja Salameh's personal HSBC account in the period between 2009 and 2016". Salameh "long claimed" that "he had 'nothing to do' with Forry" whereas "Lebanese and European investigators allege the company was central to the alleged scheme to siphon off public funds that ultimately benefited Riad Salameh and his relatives."

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Nearly 2,500 acts of hate recorded in France last year

  • Le Monde reports Friday that while "French people's tolerance toward others remains strong" there were however "a high number of racist, antisemitic and antireligious acts in 2025", numbering a total of "2,489 incidents recording according to the Interior Ministry" suggesting tolerance is not universal nor synonymous with acceptance.
  • The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights noted the findings in its annual report published on Thursday.
  • The French have attempted to quantify their hate and tolerance and give it a 64 with 0 being death factories for undesirables and 100 being peace, love and harmony. By placing the level of hate to tolerance at 64, "the fourth-highest rate since records began", it is unclear what the objective of "The longitudinal tolerance index" has ultimately.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – 20 Iranian opposition front group members arrested at protest

  • The Times of Israel reports Saturday that French police arrested 20 protesters who "gathered for a protest against repression and executions in Iran, defying an official ban."
  • Several buses of demonstrators gathered at the Place Vauban in the center of the French capital "despite police having banned the rally over what they said was concerns about potential clashes", citing "the current particularly tense national and international context."
  • The protest appears to be linked to the Maryam Rajavi-led Mujahideen el-Khalq (MeK), a US-backed Marxist cult positioned in opposition to the regime in Tehran, as "Afchine Alavi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)", a known MeK front group known to be its "political arm", is quoted in the story, "They arrested about 20 people for no reason". Previously, "The group has organized numerous protests in Paris without incident, including in recent months".

 

ROME, ITALY – Italian PM Meloni rebuffs Trump's pic bluff, FM Tajani cancels DC trip

  • CNN reports Sunday that "US President Donald Trump deepened his feud with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, doubling down on claims that she insisted on a photo with him at the G7 summit in France this week" to which she replied that neither she nor Italy begs.
  • Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelled his trip to Washington after Meloni posted a video message to social media refuting Trump's claim.
  • Trump also "claimed that Meloni's popularity was plummeting, suggesting it was a result of her refusing to help the US in its conflict with Iran" which NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte informed the world was not true. She called his attacks "constant and gratuitous", labeling them "senseless".

 

NEAR SICILY, ITALIAN TERRITORIAL WATERS – French seize Russian 'shadow fleet' ship

  • Reuters reports Thursday that the French Navy intercepted another Russian "shadow fleet" ship after "The tanker left Primorsk" before it was "intercepted near Sicily as it headed towards the Suez Canal en route to Singapore."
  • A "Western military source" told Reuters this was the third such "shadow fleet" ship to be intercepted in the Mediterranean "as part of a European naval mission".
  • The Russian Embassy in Paris labeled the incident "another case of piracy". Ironic given the ship, Deliver, was circumventing sanctions under a Cameroonian flag "despite having been formally struck Cameroon's registry weeks earlier". While there were no Russian citizens reportedly on board at the time of seizure by the French Navy, Deliver "was navigating without nationality and breaching international maritime law."

 

PRAGUE, CZECHIA – Constitutional Court orders President Pavel to attend NATO summit

  • Reuters reports Wednesday that "The Czech Constitutional Court ordered the government on Wednesday to allow President Petr Pavel to attend the NATO summit in Turkey next month," with an "injunction" issued "in response to a request from the head of state."
  • On Monday, Prime Minister Andrej Babis, a populist oligarch, vowed "it would break with tradition and not let the president lead the Czech delegation."
  • Broken down, "the government sets and conducts Czech foreign policy," however, "the Czech constitution also stipulates that the president represents the country abroad." Ergo, Pavel successfully made the case that "by not including him in the delegation, his powers were being impeded."

 

 

Stay safe and would you rather have 'sister republic' status or NATO protecting you?

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