Munich Security Conference: Four Takeaways

Good morning!

At last year’s Munich Security Conference, JD Vance and other White House officials threw down the gauntlet at Europe, with unusually blunt critiques of European allies on defense spending, migration and democratic governance. It was part of a year in American- European relations that was tumultuous, to say the least.

At this year’s conference this weekend, America struck a different tone by sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was far more diplomatic. But certain hard realities remain. Here are four takeaways from this year’s conference:

1) Merz—Germany must defend the world order: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered the opening speech, setting the tone for the conference. And in it, he took a good, hard swing at America.

Merz said the rules-based world order is dead, a jab at America’s abandonment of international organizations. “The leadership claim of the U.S. is being challenged, perhaps already lost,” he said. He also said, “We Germans know a world in which might makes right would be a dark place. Our country has gone down this path in the 20th century until the bitter and dreadful end.”

The implication is clear: Trump believes might makes right and is therefore a Nazi.

Another key quote: “A deep divide has opened between Europe and the United States. The culture wars of the U.S. are not ours. And we do not believe in tariffs and protectionism, but in free trade.”

Merz spoke of bracing for a future where America cannot be relied on. “We Europeans are taking precautions. In doing so, we arrive at different conclusions than the administration in Washington,” he said. He confirmed that Germany is in discussions with France about developing a nuclear arsenal, strategy and sharing agreement that involves only Europe and no longer the U.S.

While acknowledging that Germany’s power needed to be limited after World War ii, Merz argued that insufficient German power endangers Europe’s freedom. He sees Germany as the defender of the post-1945 order. The U.S. had to intervene to stop German power politics, he implied, and soon, it may be Germany’s turn to stop the U.S.

2) Rubio—America and Europe belong together: Secretary Rubio worked hard to praise his European hosts. He emphasized the deep historical, cultural and strategic ties the U.S. shares with Europe. He called the U.S. a “child of Europe” and urged a revitalized friendship.

He did express concern that Europe’s policies on mass migration and climate change are weakening the Continent and said America doesn’t want to be “polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline.” But while acknowledging recent disagreements, he reiterated that “America and Europe belong together.”

The speech got a standing ovation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Rubio’s words reassuring. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called Rubio a “true partner.” EuroIntelligence said, “The Europeans hated Vance’s speech. And they loved Rubio’s because he sugarcoated the message.”

Other leaders, however, recognized the sugarcoating for what it was. European skepticism remains over U.S. commitment to shared goals, particularly on long-term defense strategy. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he understood why Rubio drew applause, but said, “Is it going to change our strategy? Of course not.”

3) Starmer—Brexit is ancient history: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared: “We are 10 years on from Brexit—we are not the Britain of the Brexit years. We’re a Britain that wants to work with the EU even more closely in light of the challenge that we face here 10 years on.”

Starmer agreed to bind the UK more closely to the European Union in a “dynamic alignment” on net-zero and renewable energy rules, which hands Brussels greater control over British climate law—almost as if Brexit never happened.

He called for closer defense cooperation within Europe and with nato partners to address ongoing global tensions. “There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain,” he said. “That is the lesson of history, and it is today’s reality too.” He also underscored Europe’s need to reduce over-dependence on the U.S. for defense.

4) Europe—we must unite and arm! Speeches throughout the conference emphasized Europe’s need build defense capabilities and strategic independence from nato.

Conference head Wolfgang Ischinger stressed the need to “ramp up defense production and to create a more cohesive and globally competitive European defense market.” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, titled her address “Europeans Assemble! Reclaiming Agency in a Rougher World.” She said Europe needs to create new alliances and trade deals and boost its military: “We are getting there, dusting off our capes, pulling on our boots, revving up our engines.”

“This weekend made it clear that Europe is prioritizing non-U.S. partnerships,” Deutsche Welle wrote. “European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen explicitly singled out what she called Europe’s ‘closest partners’ Norway, Iceland, the UK and Canada for new security collaborations, with the U.S. a notable omission.”

We are witnessing a monumental shift in the postwar world order. The trans-Atlantic relationship is prophesied to break. The consequences will be grave.

Word of the Day: Kriegstüchtig

Kriegstüchtig is the rallying cry of Gen. Carsten Breuer, Germany’s top-ranking military officer. It means “war ready,” but as the Wall Street Journal explained, krieg carries more weight in German than in English. Unlike in “American English usage, where war is waged on everything from drugs to poverty, the Germans reserve krieg for armies fighting armies. And it plucks a nerve in a country still scarred by its history of militarism.”

Kriegstüchtig means more than being prepared to defend against attack. It means being prepared to launch an attack.

“Breuer has been waging a multifront campaign to rally Germany’s politicians, business people, soldiers and the general public behind efforts to speed the nation’s rearmament,” reports the Wall Street Journal. He believes Russia is three years away from being able to wage a wider war across Europe, with another smaller-scale attack possible at any time. “Breuer is racing to prepare Germany’s armed forces for war,” it reports.

As part of that effort, Breuer is giving commanders money to buy drones off the shelf so they can experiment with new tactics. There’s no time to wait for traditional bureaucratic procurement processes.

Security through warfare: Kriegstüchtig was front and center this weekend as Germany hosted generals, defense officials and journalists from around the world for the Munich Security Conference from Friday through Sunday. The Wall Street Journal‘s profile was timed for the conference, and so too was an op-ed Breuer wrote with his British counterpart, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, published yesterday in Die Welt and the Guardian. The two leaders urged nations across Europe to work together, unify their forces, and form a strong military.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reminded the conference of his goal to make the Bundeswehr “the strongest conventional army in Europe as quickly as possible.”

“We have launched big conventional procurement projects in the field of air defense, deep precision strikes and satellite technology,” he said. “We are reviving our defense industry. New factories are opening. New jobs are being created. New technologies are emerging.”

“The most important thing is to turn the switch in our minds now,” he said. “We have understood that in the era of big powers, our freedom is no longer a given. It is at stake. We will need to show firmness and determination to assert this freedom.”

Munich Security Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger also urged EU nations to “ramp up defense production” yesterday, and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told the conference that Germany aims to learn from what “is happening in Ukraine and benefit from the vast amounts of data and the experience being gathered from the combat taking place there.”

Alarm bells: The switch in German minds is turning. Its military is rising quickly. The world watches as Germany builds its newest war machine, yet almost no one is concerned. History alone should warn us of the dangers, but the warning of Bible prophecy rings even louder. The Trumpet and the Plain Truth under Herbert W. Armstrong have been sounding the prophetic alarm for decades.

‘Europe Must Rediscover Its Soul’

Europe must put unification over sovereignty and Catholic Christianity above all in order “to offer the entire world its indispensable contribution to the ‘common good.’” That was the message from the presidents of the French, German, Italian and Polish bishops’ conferences, published in Catholic media on Friday in an open letter to “Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christians in Europe.”

In the letter, titled “The Strength of Hope,” the bishops write:

• “Exacerbated nationalism is a form of idolatry.”
• “The united Europe was not born against homelands but against the nationalisms that destroyed them.”
• “Christians are called to share their hope of universal fraternity with all inhabitants of the European continent.”

The letter is a call for Europeans to meet the challenges of international disorder, political instability, violence and war with not only increased religious devotion to Catholicism but also increased political unification between nations.

• The bishops aren’t content with the EU being just an economic bloc. They see nationalism as a form of idolatry and unification as a solution.

Cause for concern: Europeans unifying under a renewed belief in God sounds like a positive development. But the Word of God actually warns, specifically and repeatedly, that false Christianity exists, that it has destroyed true Christianity, and that it devastates not only individuals but nations.

“Reflecting on what helped found Europe” and looking to Europe’s “founding fathers” will unify the Continent, the bishops claim. Bible prophecy shows they are not wrong.

• The letter references West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, French Prime Minister Robert Schuman and Italian Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi as founding fathers who were “inspired by their Christian faith” to begin unifying Europe.

As the Trumpet has noted in the past, for men like these, “the European project was as much a religious ambition as a political one.”

Adenauer, De Gasperi, Schuman, the bishops and many other leading religious and political figures in Europe earnestly desire a new Catholic European empire.

The bishops’ letter ends with a call for European Christians, who account for 70 percent of the population of the European Union, to “share their hope of universal fraternity with all inhabitants of the European continent.”

As our booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire states: “Very soon now, 10 nations, or groups of nations, in Europe will band together in a union influenced by a great church. Everything about the union will seem right: the religion, the prosperity, the military might. But the final fruits of this union will be horrifying.” This union, envisioned by powerful European political-religious leaders for decades, is forming now. It is indeed a revival of the Holy Roman Empire.

IN OTHER NEWS

EU still importing Russian gas: The European Union imported $8.8 billion worth of Russian liquefied natural gas in 2025, a mere 3 percent decrease from 2024, according to Eurostat. EU countries continue to rely on Russia for more than 15 percent of their liquefied natural gas, paying into Vladimir Putin’s war machine four years into his invasion of Ukraine. This is another indication that Russia and Europe, Germany in particular, have a secret deal like the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact that propelled the world into World War ii. As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry summarized in the July 2022 issue, “It is in both Germany’s and Russia’s interest to weaken everyone else and strengthen themselves and each other.”

Navalny’s death confirmed to be murder: A joint statement from Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden released on Saturday confirmed what most already suspected: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by the Russian government in prison. The specific toxin used, they said, is extracted from a poisonous frog and is likely only feasible for use by a government-level agency. Russia is believed to have also poisoned other victims, including using dioxin against Viktor Yuschenko, Gelsemium against Alexander Perepilichnyy, and Polonium-210 against Alexander Litvinenko. Using such poisons against political opponents violates international law and further highlights the reality that Vladimir Putin is a murderous dictator, just as Bible prophecy specifically describes him.

250,000 protest Iranian regime in Germany: On Saturday, 250,000 people gathered in Munich to protest Iran’s Islamist regime and support exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s call for Western nations to apply further pressure. The protests coincided with the prestigious annual Munich Security Conference, where numerous Western leaders gathered. Similar protests occurred in Toronto, Los Angeles and other Western cities. The growing desire to do something about the regime’s radically violent brand of Islam will not moderate Iran’s overall trajectory: The Bible shows that it will dramatically disrupt European security, and that Europe will strike back.

U.S. military preparing “weeks-long” operation against Iran: The United States is preparing for what Reuters on February 14 called “the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack.” The U.S. is pursuing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and has sent the uss Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and now the uss Gerald R. Ford to the Middle East. The blood of tens of thousands of Iranian protesters killed by the regime last month is still fresh, and tensions in the Middle East remain strained. President Trump said regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.” But as Trumpet managing editor Joel Hilliker explained in “Is Iran’s Regime Finished?”, even if Iran suffers a major blow, Bible prophecy indicates the radical Islamists in Tehran will retain their deadly grip on power.