Atlantic Council blogs

Analysis: ‘Safe Zone’ on Lebanon Border Would Benefit Hezbollah, Iran

By Abdulrahman al-Masri

OTTAWA, CANADA – On February 3, Lebanese president Michel Aoun called on the international community to establish a safe zone on the Syria-Lebanon border. A political ally of Hezbollah, Aoun said world powers must work with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to set up the proposed zone and facilitate the return of more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Addressing Asia’s Security Challenges

By Jack Gloss

When approaching security in the Asia-Pacific region, new trends such as deepening intra-Asian defense cooperation and significant increases in Asian defense spending, now on par with that of North America, must be considered, said an Atlantic Council analyst. “There is a trend of very significant increases in Asian defense spending, as well as concomitant intra-Asian […]

Merkel Puts Europe First

By Ashish Kumar Sen

German chancellor’s visit to Washington puts focus on US-German, US-European relationships, says Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a tough re-election battle in September and a meeting with US President Donald J. Trump is perhaps not the best way for her to burnish her credentials with the German electorate. The fact that […]

Trump and Merkel Cannot Afford to Fail

By Ariel Cohen

The massive snowstorm that postponed German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the White House is symbolic of the chill in US-German relations. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Merkel’s open borders policy, which has brought over 1,250,000 refugees to Germany since 2015. Merkel has responded with a strong defense of freedom of movement and […]

The Effects of Suspending American Aid to Moderate Syrian Opposition Groups

By Hosam al-Jablawi

Multiple sources within moderate Syrian opposition groups have confirmed that the CIA has stopped supervising the distribution of logistical and military assistance to groups within the Free Army in northern Syria. According to these sources, fighters in these Syrian opposition groups who oppose Assad’s rule, and who receive salaries from the operations room known as […]

Reject Populists’ Slogans and Work Hard to Make Things Better, Gontareva Urges

By Melinda Haring

The governor of the National Bank of Ukraine may be diminutive, but she speaks powerfully. “For the previous two decades we were not brave enough,” Valeria Gontareva, 52, said in a March 8 interview. “The real transition from post-USSR to [a] modern competitive economy did not happen when Ukraine gained its independence.” Instead, Ukraine continued […]

Discussion with Amb. Frederic Hof on the Anniversary of the Syrian War

By Frederic C. Hof and Faysal Itani

March 15 marks the anniversary of Syria’s war—a war that has changed the world. In light of this, Rafik Hariri Center senior fellow Faysal Itani conducts an interview with former Ambassador Frederic C. Hof on how the war has impacted the region and broader international community, with a specific look at how the United States’ […]

While All Eyes On Mosul, Extremists Return To Other Iraqi Provinces

By Mustafa Habib

In the town of Baiji in central-northern Iraq, a senior police commander has been recording attacks by extremists – almost every day. “Before, extremist attacks were more rare,” the police chief, Saad al-Azzawi, told NIQASH. “But over the past few weeks, the numbers have increased in a very frightening way.

When Political Realities Get in the Way of Transatlantic Growth

Political realities on both sides of the Atlantic have a significant impact on economic opportunity, and policymakers must address this dynamic in order to begin the process of stimulating European economic growth, José Manuel Barroso, a former president of the European Commission and former prime minister of Portugal, said at the Atlantic Council on March […]