Warfare continues to define foreign policy (instead of the other way around)

(Originally published July 29 in “What in the World“) Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that, if the U.S. proceeded with plans to return long-range missiles to Germany, Russia would deploy long-range missiles within striking distance of the U.S.

The U.S. and Germany announced earlier this month that the U.S. would return long-range missiles to Germany for the first time since the Cold War. The missiles were removed as part of a 1988 arms treaty between Washington and Moscow. But the U.S. pulled out of the treaty in 2019 after accusing Russia of violating it. The U.S. will begin deploying SM-6, Tomahawk, and hypersonic weapons in Germany in 2026.

While the U.S. and Germany bolster defenses against Russia, the U.S. and Japan are beefing up defenses against China. Washington and Tokyo announced Sunday that they would create a joint military headquarters for the Indo-Pacific in Japan, commanded by a U.S. general, and boost co-production of missiles. The move enables U.S. forces at bases in Japan to act without waiting for orders from U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii. It also underscores the fact that U.S. foreign policy in Asia is these days being developed and executed by the U.S. Navy, and not by the White House, which has been relegated to a largely supervisory role.

Israel, meanwhile, launched airstrikes Sunday across southern Lebanon to retaliate against a rocket launched from there Saturday that hit a soccer field in an Arab village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The rocket killed 12 children the same day an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza killed 30 people, including 15 children. The latest volley of retaliatory strikes rekindled fears that the war against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza would spread to Lebanon, as Israel blamed Iran-backed Hezbollah for the rocket attack. Hezbollah denied the attack.