What Caught My Eye (no. 44)
Some interesting articles and podcasts that caught my eye this week
Here’s this week’s edition of articles I thought worth reading and sharing. Don’t hesitate to recommend your own reads; I may include some as well.
Deborah Haynes, “The Wargame,” Sky News / Tortoise, 2025. In this five-part podcast series, Haynes builds on her earlier work, Into the Grey Zone, to examine how a hypothetical Russian attack on the UK might unfold. Drawing on insights from former ministers, senior military leaders, and security experts, the series explores Britain’s vulnerabilities and challenges listeners to consider how the country would respond under pressure. The Wargame situates the scenario within modern conflict, where cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage, and political coercion blur the line between peace and war, revealing how states can exploit weaknesses without triggering full-scale conflict.
Shane Harris, Isaac Stanley-Becker, and Jonathan Lemire, “Trump Seizing Greenland Could Set Off a Chain Reaction,” The Atlantic, January 5, 2026. Harris, Stanley-Becker, and Lemire report that European governments—especially Denmark—are now taking Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland seriously, following U.S. military action in Venezuela. The article shows how Trump’s fixation on Greenland, driven by Arctic security, mineral wealth, and strategic positioning, has shifted from rhetorical provocation to a credible threat backed by coercion or force. European leaders warn that any U.S. move against Greenland would shatter transatlantic trust and force allies to confront the once-unthinkable prospect of an American president seizing the territory of a fellow NATO member.
Bobby Ghosh, “The Real Reason Why Trump’s Venezuela Strike Should Scare Taiwan,” TIME, January 6, 2026. Ghosh argues that fears about Trump’s seizure of Venezuela setting a “precedent” for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan misunderstand Beijing’s calculus. China has never been constrained by international norms or precedents when it comes to Taiwan, which it considers an internal matter. The real lesson for Taiwan, Ghosh contends, lies elsewhere: the danger of overreliance on a great-power patron. Taiwan, dependent on American backing, should worry less about Xi Jinping being emboldened and more about U.S. attention and resources being diverted by a potentially prolonged Venezuelan entanglement. If Washington becomes bogged down in the Western Hemisphere, Ghosh warns, China could find the strategic opening it needs.
Yaroslav Trofimov, “Trump’s Plan to Run the Hemisphere Scares Friends and Puzzles Foes,” The Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2026. Trofimov, the WSJ’s chief foreign correspondent, reports that President Trump’s seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro signals a dramatic revival of hemispheric dominance. Allies and adversaries alike are reassessing U.S. intentions as Trump hints at possible interventions across the Americas and even beyond, including Greenland and Iran. Trofimov argues that Trump’s approach reflects a worldview centered on spheres of influence and raw power rather than alliances or norms, forcing allies to shoulder more responsibility while opening strategic opportunities for rival powers.
George Packer, “Iraq Was Bad. This Is Absurd.” The Atlantic, January 8, 2026. Packer argues that Trump’s seizure of Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro is not merely reckless but fundamentally incoherent, driven less by strategy than by impulse. Unlike Iraq, the Venezuela operation lacks even the flawed ideological justifications, planning, or international framework that once constrained U.S. power. Packer contends that Iraq now looks like the last war of the postwar liberal international order, however damaged by hypocrisy and hubris. Trump’s Venezuela strike instead signals a clean break toward naked imperialism: unilateral force, transactional dominance, and contempt for law, alliances, and universal values.
Finally, in case you missed it here are links to some of the things I did and wrote this week.
I wrote for NOTUS on how history will view the Trump Administration’s decision to depose Maduro.
I spoke to Politico’s West Wing Playbook on how U.S. threats to Greenland will affect the transatlantic relationship.
I wrote in Politico Europe on Trump’s efforts to turn the United States into a petrostate.
On America Abroad, I shared a joint statement from 14 former officials, from both Democratic and Republican administrations, on the importance of the U.S. relationship with Denmark and NATO.
I spoke with Sky News on the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers.
I appeared on Cosmopolitics with Elise Labott on Greenland and the future of NATO.
I joined CNN International to discuss how Trump’s embrace of power politics benefits our Chinese and Russian adversaries.
I wrote in America Abroad on the possible consequences of the Untied States taking Greenland.
I joined CNN’s Richard Quest to discuss U.S. threats to seize Greenland.
I wrote in America Abroad on who will rule Venezuela now that Maduro is gone.
I joined Dutch-language De Tijd to discuss how Europe must take Trump’s threats seriously.
Finally, this week’s World Review focused on the aftermath of U.S. strikes in Venezuela, Trump’s ambitions in Greenland, and demonstrations in Iran.
Happy reading, watching, and listening!