Gaza’s Raw Deal, Trump the Peacemaker, German Guns, and More
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With the rapid-fire pace of reporting coming out of Washington, it can be a struggle to keep up with every piece of news. But as part of a collaboration between Inkstick and the Greece-based Incubator for Media Education and Development (iMEdD), Michael Picard revisited a strange piece of news from earlier this year: The Trump administration granted a contract to a little-known private military company to operate a checkpoint in the heart of the Gaza Strip.
Halfway across the world, Johannes Streeck looked at the return of German weapons — a piece that comes amid the European Union’s fresh talk of rearming itself due to fears that it can no longer count on the US as a dependable ally.
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“In the Gaza Strip, the Art of the Raw Deal” by Patrick Strickland (March 10)
A recent AI video is the latest installment in the US president’s proposal to “take over” and “own” the Strip, a plan he first floated in early February. The way Trump put it, Palestinians would have to leave, abandon the option of returning, and ostensibly give up on the enclave, now fresh from Israel’s deadliest and most destructive of five wars on the Strip since late 2008.
“Will He or Won’t He? Trump’s Record on Peacemaking” William D. Hartung (March 11)
Trump the peacemaker contrasts sharply with the Donald Trump who makes casual reference to taking over other nations, launches trade wars, orders mass deportations, empowers high-tech billionaires intent on getting ever more Pentagon contracts, and dismantles America’s foreign aid apparatus, putting millions of lives at risk.
“In Gaza, Trump Embraces Private Military Contractors” by Michael Picard (March 12)
A little-known American private military security company (PMSC) will reportedly operate a checkpoint in the middle of the Gaza Strip as part of the fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Donald Trump’s first presidency showed that such contractors come with a bad track record and hidden costs.
“The Return of Germany's Big Guns” by Johannes Streeck (March 13)
As tacit and careful as German governments have been in sending its own soldiers abroad, it has been much less reserved with the distribution of its weapons. While the process of obtaining a license to own a firearm within the country is lengthy, German small arms are found in gun shops and conflict zones across the world.
“Deep Dive: When Venture Capital Meets the Defense Industry” by Inkstick (March 14)
Artificial Intelligence is upending the world, and Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists are raking in money hand over fist. But how are these venture capitalists transforming one of the United States’ mainstays across decades, the military industrial complex? A new paper explores.