The Daily Populous Tuesday March 17th, 2026 day edition
Authored by politico.eu and submitted by 1-randomonium

The German government said it would not assist in that effort as long as the war rages on.

"As long as this war continues, there will be no involvement, not even in an option to keep the Strait of Hormuz open by military means," Kornelius said, adding that he was not aware of an official request by the U.S. government to Germany to take part in such a mission.

"I would also like to remind you that the U.S. and Israel did not consult us before the war, and that Washington explicitly stated at the start of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired," Kornelius said.

Germany’s Merz was initially far more supportive of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran than many of his European peers.

While French President Emmanuel Macron and other EU leaders condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes as illegal, Merz traveled to the Oval Office and told Trump he was on the “same page” on the need to topple the regime in Tehran.

But as the war grinds on and the economic and security impacts of the war on the EU's biggest economy become clearer, Merz has become far more openly critical of the U.S. and Israeli attacks, publicly airing his fears that Trump has no exit strategy to end the fighting in the Persian Gulf.

"Germany’s position has always been that we agree in principle with the goal, namely, bringing about a change in the political situation in Iran in order to facilitate a peaceful solution for the region," Kornelius said Monday. "However — and this is the second point, which is no less important — we increasingly have questions about the correct path to achieving this goal."

APC2_19 on March 16th, 2026 at 19:24 UTC »

We cant lend them our ships we need them to protect Greenland.

CellNo5383 on March 16th, 2026 at 17:59 UTC »

India already has an agreement with Iran to let their ships pass unmolested. If the US can't figure this out, there is every incentive for other nations to follow. For the middle east, that will probably come in exchange for closing US military bases. If Trump isn't careful, this may just turn into a major strategic setback in the region.

As for Europe, I think we should take this as an incentive to further decouple our economies from fossil fuels all together. Then they can all bomb each other as much as they want down there.

1-randomonium on March 16th, 2026 at 17:20 UTC »

There's a lot more to add from Germany. Friedrich Merz has been incredibly patient and accomodative of Trump until now but the energy crisis seems to have finally forced him and his government to say openly what has been on the minds of most American allies until now.

https://www.ft.com/content/35a07cb7-109c-47a5-a85d-7701fa7becf4

> Boris Pistorius, the German defense minister, said at a news conference in Berlin on Monday. “We want diplomatic solutions and a swift end to the conflict, but sending more warships to the region will likely not help achieve that,” he said.

> “What does Donald Trump expect from, say, a handful or two of European frigates in the Strait of Hormuz?” he added. “He needs them to achieve what the mighty US Navy cannot manage on its own there, is that it? That’s the question I’m asking myself.”

Well said.

Till now the Trump administration and its MAGA base has been openly contemptuous of any and all dissent regarding this war from European leaders and declared them all as weak and irrelevant.

Now that it is clear that not even a single American ally anywhere in the world is going to come forward to help them secure Benjamin Netanyahu's Greater Israel fantasies and re-election campaign, perhaps they'll finally introspect on whether this war was actually a bad idea after all.