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"Anthropic's standoff with the Pentagon, France's nuclear overhaul."

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March 07, 2026 Hi everyone, this is Elliot Waldman, WPR’s editor-in-chief. Welcome back to our Weekly Review, where we recap the highlights from our coverage this week and preview what’s on deck. If you have any comments or feedback, just hit reply to send them along. Top Stories The news this week was dominated by the U.S.-Israeli work against Iran, which began last weekend. Here are some of the major aspects of that conflict that we covered in our Daily Review newsletter. (If you don’t already receive the Daily Review, you can adjust your settings here.)     Diplomacy Wasn’t Given a Chance: Ahead of his decision to commence strikes against Iran, Trump cited his frustration with what he claimed was a lack of progress in diplomatic negotiations: “We thought we had a deal, but then they backed out,” he said. That contradicts what the foreign minister of Oman … Read more here or purchase an all-access subscription to get all of the top stories each week.         The Economic Toll: A sell-off in global equity markets has been intensifying as the second-order impacts of the war come into clearer view. Energy prices are rising, as are shipping costs and war risk insurance premiums—costs that will at least partly be passed on to consumers in the form of higher inflation. And the longer the conflict drags on, the steeper the economic toll will be. Crude oil benchmarks are up, translating into … Read more here or purchase an all-access subscription to get all of the top stories each week.         Israel Wants an Unstable Iran. Does Trump?: Should the Iranian regime fall, the White House has evidently not thought through what would come next. When asked earlier this week whether Reza Pahlavi, son of the deceased former shah of Iran, might be appropriate as an interim leader, Trump poured cold water on the idea, saying “someone from within” the regime would be a better fit. The president also said that he … Read more here or purchase an all-access subscription to get all of the top stories each week.     This Week’s Highlights President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine at the White House, Sept. 5, 2025 (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) Anthropic’s Standoff With the Pentagon Is a Test of U.S. Credibility. On Thursday, Kat Duffy examined the implications of the recent implosion of the relationship between the U.S. Department of Defense and the leading AI company Anthropic. Amid a contentious and very public contract dispute over how Anthropic’s models could be used by the U.S. military, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Anthropic a supply chain risk in a statement so broad that it can only be seen as a power play aimed at destroying the company. Shortly thereafter, OpenAI, one of Anthropic’s main rivals, announced it had reached its own deal with the Pentagon, claiming it had secured all the safety terms that Anthropic sought. But critically, only one enforcement mechanism exists to force governmental compliance with the contract: OpenAI’s freedom to walk away if the government won’t respect the terms. Anthropic also assumed it enjoyed that freedom and negotiated accordingly. But after Anthropic rejected the Pentagon’s final offer … Purchase an all-access subscription to get the full weekly highlights. Macron Wants to Put Europe Under France’s Nuclear Umbrella. And on Wednesday, Ulrike Franke looked at a little-noticed but nonetheless groundbreaking development in European nuclear deterrence. Changes to France’s nuclear doctrine and posture that French President Emmanuel Macron announced this week in a speech at Ile Longue, where France’s nuclear-armed submarines are based, represent a momentous shift that could reshape nuclear deterrence on the European continent for years to come. Macron said France would increase the size of its nuclear arsenal and expand cooperation with European allies to deter attacks. Importantly, the speech by France’s “think-tanker in chief” was immediately followed by a joint declaration from him and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, confirming that Macron’s proposals will be followed by action. Macron’s proposed what he called “dissuasion avancée,” which is best translated as … Purchase an all-access subscription to get the full weekly highlights. This Week’s Most-Read Story A soldier stands guard by a charred vehicle in Cointzio, Mexico, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP photo by Armando Solis) U.S.-Mexico Cooperation on the El Mencho Raid Obscures Deeper Divides. And in this week’s top story by pageviews, James Bosworth explained that the U.S. and Mexico have different interests in the fight against Mexico’s criminal cartels: Mexico and the United States measure the success of any individual mission as well as the overall campaign against cartels differently. Sheinbaum will almost certainly judge the El Mencho operation by whether security improves in the months ahead, whether homicides and disappearances go down, whether the Jalisco New Generation Cartel’s retaliatory violence subsides and whether ordinary Mexicans feel safer. Her political fortunes are tied to those domestic outcomes. The Trump administration is likely more concerned with a different set of metrics: whether the cartels’ capacity to threaten the United States diminishes, whether fentanyl flows decrease and whether the administration can claim a visible win in its declared war on the cartels. Earlier this year, the Trump administration designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel—along with more than a dozen other cartels and gangs in Mexico and the region—as a foreign terrorist organization, framing it not as a Mexican criminal group to be managed through bilateral law enforcement cooperation, but as an existential threat to be contained and destroyed. That framing, too, has consequences. It raises expectations for decisive outcomes and leaves little room for the messy, incremental reality of how tackling organized crime actually works in the region. What’s On Tap And coming up next week, we’ve got: A briefing by Shukriyah Mahmoodee on what to make of reports that the Trump administration is seeking to back Iranian Kurdish militias as part of a push to overthrow the regime in Tehran. A briefing by Jonathan Fenton-Harvey on Pakistan’s growing security role in the Middle East and North Africa. A briefing by Arsalan Bukhari on what India’s recent trade deal with the EU means for BangladeshThat’s it for now. Until next week, —Elliot Waldman This Week On WPR Africa   The Islamic State’s Worrying Resurgence in Niger For the country’s ruling military junta, a recent jihadist attack on a facility housing more than 1,000 tons of uranium is a major blow. Americas   For Mexico, El Mencho’s Death Was a Promising—and Perilous—Turning Point The killing of the drug kingpin was a laudable development, but it could undermine Mexico’s already fragile security environment.   U.S.-Mexico Cooperation on the El Mencho Raid Obscures Deeper Divides Mexico and the U.S. measure the success of any individual mission—as well as the overall campaign against cartels—differently. Asia-Pacific   In Thailand, Anutin’s Upset Election Win Bodes Ill for the Conflict With Cambodia Having won an election by stoking nationalist sentiments, the Thai leader has a mandate to continue his tough approach to Cambodia.   Xi Is Remaking China’s Economy on His Own Terms—and at His Own Risk Those looking for a major shift toward domestic consumption or structural reform in China’s next five-year plan will be disappointed.   Nepal’s Elections Pit Gen Z Activists Against the Old Guard Last year’s uprising ousted a government, torched public buildings and left dozens of people dead. For many, the wounds are still fresh. Europe   Putin Watches From the Sidelines as Another Russian Partner Falls Since he launched his all-out invasion of Ukraine, Putin has repeatedly shown that an alliance with Russia is little more than a paper shield.   Macron Wants to Put Europe Under France’s Nuclear Umbrella The changes to France’s nuclear posture that Macron announced this week could reshape nuclear deterrence in Europe for years to come.   Plus Ça Change? French Anti-Americanism in the Trump Era Anti-American sentiments in France did not begin with Trump’s return to office last year. But they have been supercharged under his presidency. Middle East & North Africa   Air Power Alone Won’t Achieve Trump’s Objectives in Iran Trump may learn the hard way that in addition to being ineffective, bombing campaigns alone can actually be counterproductive.   Israel Wants an Unstable Iran. Does Trump? The administration appears to be preparing to take full credit in the event that things go well, while preserving the option to declare “mission accomplished” if things go poorly.   The Economic Toll of the War in Iran A sell-off in global equity markets is intensifying today as the second-order impacts of the war against Iran come into clearer view.   Diplomacy With Iran Wasn’t Given a Chance By launching a war of choice while talks were ongoing, the Trump administration has made a future diplomatic resolution less likely. United States   Anthropic’s Standoff With the Pentagon Is a Test of U.S. Credibility The terms under which American AI tools are deployed in warfare are being set by some men in a room, with no democratic input.

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