The NATO Summit held on June 25, 2025, was the shortest in the alliance’s history—and yet, perhaps one of the most consequential. In less than 24 hours, leaders of the 32-member alliance endorsed a communiqué that outlined a dramatic reorientation of NATO’s strategic and financial posture. Secretary General Mark Rutte hailed it as “transformational,” citing a new defense spending target, pledges to ramp up military-industrial capacity, and an “ironclad” recommitment to collective defense under Article V.

But behind the polished language lies a more complex story: one of political compromise, shifting transatlantic power dynamics, and unresolved tensions over Ukraine, nuclear strategy, and industrial sovereignty. While the summit avoided the rupture many feared under President Donald Trump’s second term, it may ultimately be remembered less for its declarations and more for its omissions and ambiguities…

For all the geopolitical fanfare that surrounds the U.S.-India relationship — the shared democratic identity, the pivot to Asia, common concerns about an aggressive China — this remains a partnership with limits. It is forged more by converging interests than shared grand strategies. It is stable, but brittle. Warm, but cautious. And after the 2025 Pahalgam crisis, it faces its most intense test yet.

The U.S.-India relationship matters already, and its importance will grow in future. India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy. It’s critical to global supply chains, arms trade, and regional maritime stability. But India is also increasingly nationalistic, militarily assertive, resistant to external influence (including from Washington) and in many ways encumbered by its past.

As the recent crisis in Kashmir revealed, the U.S. may believe India is a cornerstone of its evolving Indo-Pacific strategy. But India doesn’t see itself as a cornerstone of anything but its own grand design. And, sadly, its inability to establish a stable relationship with Pakistan may threaten Washington’s ability and willingness to expand relations…

On Saturday, President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address to the class of 2025 at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Presidents normally deliver graduation remarks at one of our nation’s service academies each year. Trump spoke to the class of 2020 during his first term.

Commencement speeches are difficult. They are intended to celebrate the students upon their graduation and offer words of encouragement and guidance as they transition into the next phase of their lives. I imagine most speakers hope they might say something that graduates will remember in future, but we must admit that most fail.

But military academy graduations are unique. Unlike other college graduations, every cadet about to receive a diploma knows what their first job is going to be and where.

I was one of those cadets over 50 years ago and remember the day well. Our speaker was Gen. William Westmoreland, who had recently returned from command in Vietnam and assumed responsibilities as Army chief of staff.

All my classmates were excited that the day we had long awaited had finally arrived. Each of us privately had a bit of trepidation about what the future might bring. We also knew it was the last time we would all be together. So, if I were able to tell Trump or his speechwriters what suggestions might I make?