Charlie Laderman

Absolutely thrilled that Hitler's American Gamble has been selected as a New York Times Editor's Choice!

France took its leap in the dark with Germany in 1950 because it could afford to swap its old security alliance with Britain for the greater guarantee of American power. If America withdraws, everything changes. For all of us.

The single greatest squad reveal video in the history of squad reveal videos

This is President Nixon's book recommendations for students interested in history, biography and historical novels.

Sylvia Kauffman in the FT today on the regressive nature of modern warfare:

So the biggest take-away from the Putin-Xi summit is that *despite* the crazy situation in the Strait of Hormuz, China is still refusing to back Power of Siberia 2. Despite Putin trying very hard before the visit to hint that a breakthrough was in the offing. Wow.

My colleague @rosenthal_jon looks at quiet Nordic/Baltic debates over what command & control structures might be usable if the US blocked NATO channels. The problem is that while JEF is agile & well suited to smaller crises in northern Europe, it's still a million miles away from being a suitable vehicle to co-ordinate large-scale collective defence in central/east Europe. We are still at the very early stages of these 'how to hedge' debates and the main effort is still on building up the so-called 'European pillar' within NATO, not outside it. economist.com/europe/2026/05…

Scoop: The Trump admin is planning to tell NATO allies this week that it will shrink the pool of military capabilities the US would have available to assist European nations in a major crisis, like an invasion of a NATO member, sources said w @JonathanLanday @andrew_r_gray

‘The Labour Party is always talking about getting rid of its leader and it never does. The Conservative Party never talks about getting rid of its leader and then, suddenly, there's a flash of cold steel…’ - Sir Harold Wilson on how the parties remove their leaders (1977)

NEW!!! Portuguese military shoots down Russian drone in Estonia 👇

"The UK has both the opportunity and the responsibility to lead." FASI's @ArunPDawson & Lord Stirrup explore how Britain must join efforts to boost European space capabilities if it is to lead Nato in the High North. Read 👇 ow.ly/PyoM50Z03OF

NEW!! U.S. removes highly enriched uranium from Venezuela in ‘accelerated’ secret mission 👇

The last remaining person in Parliament who served in the Armed Forces in the Second World War retired on Wednesday. Labour peer Lord Christopher, aged 101, bowed out, 81 years after WWII ended.

Day 1 of the Trump-Xi summit is over. Here are my key takeaways from the readouts, interviews, and the banquet. (1) New Chinese Formulation: Most interesting takeaway for me is that China is out with a new frame for the relationship: “I have agreed with President Trump on a new vision of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability. This will provide strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations over the next three years and beyond.” Beijing appears to me to wish to lock in a "truce" favorable to them, and they want to do so beyond Trump, with this post-trade war detente setting the baseline. Presumably, any U.S. actions to reckon with excess capacity or deter conflict could be framed by Beijing as a violation of this new frame. Beijing acknowledges the relationship as competitive - as they did with us in 2023 - but talks about keeping it within acceptable limits. (2) Rare Earths, Export Controls: Surprisingly absent from both readouts despite their centrality to the current detente. (3) Taiwan: China emphasizes mishandling it could cause "clashes and even conflicts," elevated public language, while the U.S. doesn't mention it. (4): Artificial Intelligence: Nothing in readouts, but Bessent said to CNBC after (1) there will be talks and (2) that U.S. leadership in AI is the reason why China is willing to talk at all: "The two AI superpowers are gonna start talking. We’re gonna set up a protocol in terms of how do we go forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don’t get a hold of these models....The reason we are able to have wholesome discussions with the Chinese on AI is because we are in the lead. I do not think we would be having the same discussions if they were this far ahead of us." (5) Iran and Characterizing Xi: Normally we don't say, "Xi Jinping said X" in a readout, because that's for them to say. But the White House readout does so over Iran: "President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China's dependence on the Strait in the future. Both countries agreed Iran can never have a nuclear weapon." (6) Chinese Investment in the US. This is mentioned in the White House readout. Bessent then said on television, "we’re going to talk about a board of investment that will be responsible for investment in nonsensitive areas." (7) Fentanyl. The US readout emphasizes "the need to build on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States. No mention in the Chinese readout. (8) Mil-Mil Channels: Notably, the Chinese readout calls to "make better use of communication channels in the political and diplomatic and military-to-military fields." No mention in the U.S. readout, and historically something the US - not China - keeps in the foreground. (9) Xi Visit: At the banquet, Trump invited Xi to visit in September. Seems like it may align with the UN General Assembly, which Xi hasn't addressed in some time.

Ships transit the Strait of Hormuz after coordinating directly with Tehran; meanwhile rampant Iranian violence and piracy targeting other vessels. This can't continue.

This is hilarious. They have literally changed Rubio’s name to get around the fact that he remains sanctioned (and therefore barred from) China.

In this 🧵I will analyze Xi Jinping's statement to President Trump on Taiwan. First, here is the statement from the MFA readout:

U.S. Treasury Sec. Bessent on Iran: "We believe we're at a point where Iran is not paying soldiers or replenishing weapons stocks from abroad."

No advance notice but within a few minutes, word spreads and the King brings Golders Green to a jubilant standstill - just yards from the scene of the April 28 attack. #kc3 #goldersgreen

"The PLA would likely attempt to move troops, weapons, and matériel onto Taiwan or another territory through an amphibious landing, an air assault, airborne landings, or a combination of these means," writes @CSISDefense. More: csis.org/analysis/unite…

A new CNN investigation finds that a Russian cargo ship likely carrying two nuclear reactors and possibly destined for North Korea, sank in unexplained circumstances off the coast of Spain. @npwcnn's exclusive report: edition.cnn.com/2026/05/12/wor…