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Will post-war Ukraine be Trump’s Trojan horse in Europe?

26 February 2026 Mike Scrafton

The US National Security Strategy declares that an American goal should be “to help Europe correct its current trajectory”. With the US taking the lead in post-war reconstruction, Ukraine’s expected entry into the EU provides a ready-made Trojan horse.

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Beware the view from the barracks: weighing national priorities is for governments, not defence chiefs

19 February 2026 Mike Scrafton

Publicly-expressed opinions of current senior military officers are rare in democracies, having the potential to carry outsized weight, to shape public opinion, and to constrain government policy-making. The current trend is disturbing.

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Recent

Responding to Bondi: can evil be addressed by government policy?

3 February 2026

On its current trajectory, no settlement outcome in Ukraine bodes well for Europe

24 November 2025

It’s the company you keep – Rules of Engagement and the future of ANZUS

21 November 2025

The Gordian knots – security guarantees and borders for Ukraine

5 October 2025

Trump’s romantic nationalism and the direction of US foreign policy

30 September 2025

A European farce de réassurance

16 September 2025

Hypocrisy undermines international law

9 September 2025

In the Rimlands America’s hegemony is receding

12 August 2025

Trump’s pre-modern approach to Sovereignty must be resisted

25 February 2025

Trump’s quick deal with Putin could reshape the global order

19 September 2024

How democratic are the Western democracies?

15 September 2024
Kamal Harris addresses DNC August 2024

Would Harris adopt the militarism of the failed Biden Doctrine?

29 August 2024

Featured

Pseudo-science, race and the US National Security Strategy 2025

19 December 2025

Threads of former dark episodes in America’s past are woven through its 2025 National Security Strategy. Unmistakable echoes of anti-democratic elitism, race theories, and eugenics. America’s allies should be alarmed at the vision promised to be imposed by strength and direct interference.

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You may have missed

A requiem for the Indo-Pacific Strategy: Trump’s Arctic pivot

13 March 2025

Don’t expect to hear Trump going on about the Indo-Pacific. His designs on Canada and Greenland signal a shift in prime strategic focus to access to mineral and other resources in the Arctic. And with it a willingness to collude with strong players to divide up the resources.

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Three compelling reasons to exit ANZUS

15 May 2024

How long can Australian politicians continue with the pretence that the American alliance aligns with the nation’s interests? Trump or Biden? It doesn’t really matter except for determining the path of America’s decline into illiberalism. ANZUS must be exited, but the impetus will have to come from voters.

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About Mike Scrafton

Mike Scrafton is a regularly-published writer on Australian and international affairs. A former government senior executive, ministerial adviser and consultant, Mike now combines travelling, research and writing – with a particular focus on current issues in defence and strategic policy, and responses to climate change. Read more about Mike here.

Most viewed posts

  • Are we paying enough attention to Trump’s Gleichschaltung-like ‘Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership’? 27 September 2023
  • Could Australia find the courage to end its alliance with America? 23 June 2023
  • Republicans push for Mexican-American war: Don’t rule it out 30 August 2023
  • Ethics-free realism explains, but shouldn’t justify, Western responses to Gaza 28 January 2024
  • Trump and Vance’s theocratic republic of America 3 August 2024
  • An American theocracy: the advance of Christian nationalism 26 January 2021
  • Trump’s quick deal with Putin could reshape the global order 19 September 2024
  • Postwar Ukraine will pose the hardest problems 13 March 2023
  • Australia’s foreign policy: Resurgent realism or the survival of multilateralism? 5 July 2020
  • Western leaders must acknowledge Israel’s rights are not untrammelled 17 November 2023

Disclaimer

Mike is an independent writer and derives no income from his writing. He has no current association with any commercial or profit-making organisation, and does not endorse the products or services of any business entity.

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