<h1>President's diplomatic efforts fail to stop Ukraine and Gaza escalations, creating legal, policy and alliance risks</h1> The U.S. president's recent diplomatic initiatives with the Russian leader and in the Middle East have failed to halt escalations in Ukraine and Gaza, exposing legal and policy risks: diminished interagency coordination after National Security Council staffing cuts may limit lawful, coherent foreign-policy decisionmaking; use of U.S.-supplied weapons in strikes affecting an ally could trigger legal and congressional scrutiny over arms transfers and end-use controls; allies may seek altered security commitments that would require statutory funding and affect treaty obligations; and equivocal U.S. positions risk complicating international law questions about responsibility for escalation and collective defense under NATO frameworks.