President Donald Trump is continually criticized for just about every policy his government undertakes. Among the strongest criticisms is his foreign policy, including his negative stance towards the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He has even raised the possibility of the United States (US) pulling out of the organization altogether.
This sort of talk causes considerable anxiety among the media and politicians in other NATO member countries, including Canada.
Several Western intelligence agencies were sent scrambling this summer to figure out what — if anything — of value an accused Canadian spy managed to access during internships at multiple agencies and government departments.
Biwei Zhang, a Canadian intern at NATO military’s headquarters in Mons, Belgium, was arrested by Belgian authorities in July on suspicion of espionage and communicating with a foreign crime entity. She has been held in pretrial detention since being taken into custody and was this week denied an appeal for release.
How does someone caught lying fail upwards?
BRUSSELS – A Belgian appeals court on Monday rejected the release appeal of Biwei Zhang, the Canadian intern accused of involvement in a criminal organization and of espionage inside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s military command. The Chamber of Indictments in Brussels extended her pre-trial detention by a month.
The ruling comes days after a European investigative consortium published the most detailed reporting yet on how the closely guarded case began, and on what Canada’s part in it was.
WASHINGTON—Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to test NATO’s resolve with a limited assault on an allied country in the next few years, according to new U.S. intelligence reports that posit possible scenarios ranging from a cyberattack to a small-scale land incursion.
The assessments, described by U.S. officials, come amid a shortfall in certain critical munitions that the military would need to confront Russia or China in a potential future war. The U.S. has severely degraded its stockpile of these weapons because of transfers to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, as well as the U.S. conflict with Iran. Stockpiles at risk include long-range Precision Strike Missiles and Army Tactical Missile Systems, as well as short-range Stinger surface-to-air missiles, other officials said.
No problem, Carney will have us allied with China.
The NATO intern arrested last month by Belgian authorities on espionage charges has a work history with the Canadian government that is more extensive than previously reported, according to employment records she filed in court.
Biwei Zhang, a 33-year-old who has also used her English name, Claire Zhang, was charged with espionage while working for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the city of Mons. The Globe and Mail has previously reported that a source said the overseas posting was sponsored by Global Affairs Canada, and that the department was responsible for her security check.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that Canada has “been involved from the start” in the case of a Canadian intern at NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium now facing espionage charges,
Carney spoke in Toronto on Wednesday after making a housing announcement, and was asked whether he has spoken with NATO or the Belgian authorities about what Canada will do next and about the security risk posed by the spying case.
That’s Carney speak for “We gave Biwei her marching orders.”
Poland, with an imminent high-priced military ramp-up, is betting that the cost of peace is cheaper than the price of war with Russia.
In a watershed defence spend, coming from a European Union loan, Warsaw is pouring nearly 44 billion euros ($71 billion) into stepping up its military infrastructure. Why now? That’s obvious for anyone following Moscow’s unyielding provocations.
OTTAWA — The Canadian woman of Chinese origin held in Belgium on suspicion of spying inside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) military command for a third country, and of membership in a criminal organization, was vetted by CSIS and the RCMP and cleared for the posting — despite a finding by Canada’s public service watchdog that she committed fraud in a hiring competition run by the CBSA, CSIS’s sister agency inside the Public Safety Canada portfolio.
The Federal Court upheld that finding in a published judgment 11 months before she took up her post at allied command.
Spy charges against Canadian intern at NATO triggers ‘cascade of issues’ for multiple agencies
OTTAWA — A Canadian intern accused of spying at NATO’s strategic headquarters will make her first appearance in a Belgium court Tuesday to seek bail, and while the hearing will be held behind closed doors, the outcome will be released to the public.
The female suspect is accused of working on “behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organization,” according to the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, adding that the chamber will decide if “pre-trial detention should be maintained.”
… As per protocol, the intern was vetted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the RCMP before being hired at NATO.
More … Ottawa vows to ‘get to the bottom’ of spying allegations against Canadian NATO intern says foreigner in charge of stealing your guns.
A Canadian woman of Chinese origin who was an intern at NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium has been arrested on spying charges, Belgian prosecutors said Saturday.
“She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organization,” the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
h/t Ontario John
Why do so many Americans oppose the war against Iran?
The biggest reason is that they do not believe Iran was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon. If Iran was nowhere near a bomb, President Donald Trump’s decision to use military force looks unnecessary, even reckless. But if Iran was close, as Trump claims, the debate changes dramatically.
That is why NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s recent assessment should have been a major news story.
The number of young men applying to be conscientious objectors and refuse armed military service in Germany has risen sharply this year, undermining a drive by Berlin to create Europe’s strongest conventional army and deter the Russian threat.
More people had applied to exclude themselves from service on religious or moral grounds in the first half of 2026 than in the whole of last year, according to figures provided by the government on Tuesday.
Canada leaves this week’s NATO Summit in Ankara with good reason for cautious optimism. After years of debating defence budgets and delayed procurements, the Alliance has reached an important turning point. The discussion is no longer about promises. It is about military capability. That is precisely where Canada’s focus must remain.
For years, NATO measured commitment by the percentage of GDP devoted to defence. That benchmark still matters, but it is no longer sufficient. The true measure of national security is whether those dollars produce soldiers, ships, submarines, aircraft, armoured vehicles and ammunition that can fight. Capability deters aggression. Announcements do not.
EU militaries continue to rely heavily on US weaponry. This was again evident at July’s NATO summit in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, which also included the high-level Defense Industry Forum, at which US companies were able to secure lucrative contracts.
It was also decided that European governments would play a bigger role in producing and maintaining the missiles that are so crucial to the continent’s defense. Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly produce ATACMS missiles in Germany. This is one step towards increasing stockpiles without upsetting the United States, but in the long term Europe is aiming for greater independence.
NATO countries are bolstering their militaries after U.S. President Donald Trump “won the argument” on defence spending, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday.
Trump has long said allies don’t spend enough on defence and that the U.S. has carried more than its fair share of NATO’s defence spending burden.
Carney told reporters in Turkey on the last day of the summit that Trump is looking to shift that burden – something former U.S. president Barack Obama had sought as well.
🚨 UPDATE: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has just stunned the world, telling all allies to "ADMIT TRUMP WAS RIGHT"
"The alliance that has leaned TOO HEAVILY on U.S. muscle is building its own — and buying American."
GOOD! No more free rides, Trump called it 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/VHPnguiVmy
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 7, 2026
h/t Hermes
