Atlantic Council blogs

Top News: In Alleged Leak, Shafiq says Presidential Elections will be Rigged

By EgyptSource

Ahmed Shafiq has questioned the wisdom of a Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ (SCAF) nomination of its top general – Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi – for the upcoming presidential elections, according to an alleged leaked phone call attributed to the former presidential candidate. The authenticity of the sound clips attributed to Shafiq could not be […]

Why Barrel Bombs in Syria Threaten US National Security

By Mohammed Alaa Ghanem and Shlomo Bolts

As Syria peace talks deadlock at Geneva, forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad have unleashed a potentially decisive military offensive that may eliminate the possibility of a political settlement.

Convene Major Transatlantic Powers to Stop Russia

By Richard Burt and Lee Feinstein

It now seems almost certain that this weekend’s referendum by the Crimean parliament on joining the Russian Federation will pass. There is also a real threat that Russian president Vladimir Putin will seek to follow up that referendum by announcing Russian plans to incorporate Crimea into the Russian Federation. These moves would represent not only […]

Putin’s Illusion of Victory in Crimea

By James Rupert

Two weeks after Russian forces began seizing control of Crimea, the daily news from there suggests that Vladimir Putin has won a virtually uncontested victory in his mission to re-absorb former lands of Russia’s empires. Russian troops in Crimea steadily have taken military posts and facilities where Ukrainians refused to surrender their loyalty to the […]

Ukrainian Leaders Gather Support in Washington

On his fourteenth day as Ukraine’s interim prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk hustled through Washington today to gather support for his country against Russia’s invasion of Crimea. He visited the White House, the State Department, Congresss, the Atlantic Council, and the International Monetary Fund. At the White House, President Obama welcomed Yatsenyuk by commending the Ukrainian […]

Will Long Simmering Problems Make NATO a Relic?

By William Cohen and James Jones, Spiegel

[I]t’s important for our European friends to understand that discontent can, and does, flow in more than one direction.

Belarus to Ask Russia for Warplanes in Response to NATO Drills

By AFP and Reuters

From AFP:  Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said Wednesday he would ask Russia to station up to 15 jets in his country in response to NATO’s moves over the Ukraine crisis.

A Margin for Democracy

By Amr Hamzawy

A series of questions for those who have long stayed silent