Russia is holding its biggest military drills since the end of the Cold War—and China is invited. The exercises have prompted analysts to hail “an open declaration of a Russo-Chinese military alliance” and warn that the two are practicing for war. Trumpet contributing editor Richard Palmer examines the rise of these powers. Also on today’s show, I discuss Angela Merkel’s whirlwind summer holiday: The German chancellor has traveled around the fringes of the Middle East, from West Africa to Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Germany is getting more involved in Turkey, Syria and Iraq. What’s behind Germany’s policies in the Middle East?