Atlantic Council blogs

Syrian opposition receiving equipment from ‘western sources but not western governments’

By Borzou Daragahi, the Financial Times

All NATO staff withdrawn from Afghan ministries after killing of US soldiers

By the BBC

From the BBC:  Two Nato officers have been killed in the interior ministry in the Afghan capital Kabul, coalition officials say.

The U.S. and Denmark – NATO Allies and Global Partners

By the White House

Time to Shave: When Public Safety Trumps Religious Expression

By Tarek Radwan

Those following Egypt’s transition may have stumbled upon one of the more peculiar debates that have emerged among the foot soldiers of the Ministry of Interior: the beard issue. This past week, tensions between policemen and senior ministry officials flared over whether or not police officers could grow their beards. The ban on beards among […]

The Westphalian System and US Defense Policy

By Derek Reveron

Last week, Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told an audience at the Atlantic Council that building partnership capacity or security force assistance will remain an important component of US defense policy. The talk was grounded in the 2012 strategic defense guidance that notes “building partnership capacity…remains important for sharing the costs and responsibilities of global leadership. Across the […]

French Left seeks a little distance from U.S. and Germany, but plans to stay in NATO command structure

By John Irish, Reuters

Islamist Presidential Candidate Hospitalized After Carjacking

By Mara Revkin

Presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh was attacked by three masked gunmen in a carjacking incident on February 23. Aboul-Fotouh sustained a concussion while his driver was wounded and both men were hospitalized on February 24. The assailants made away with Fotouh’s car after the overnight carjacking on a Cairo highway.

The European Union and the Syrian Gridlock

By Vivien Pertusot

The United Nations account of the 8317 dead and counting in Syria is disturbing, even more so as the international community remains divided and actions to curb violence have proved unsuccessful. In this apparent gridlock, the European Union has adopted a hard-pressed and steady posture against the regime. The pressure may be growingly biting, yet […]

Eurozone Crisis: ‘Behind the name-calling… lies a complete breakdown of trust’

By Philip Stevens, the Financial Times

From Philip Stevens, the Financial Times:  Another week, another sticking plaster. The deal to prop up Greece has bought some more time. The important thing – or so we are led to believe – is that the wound has been cauterised. Again.

How to Halt the Butchery in Syria

By Anne-Marie Slaughter, the New York Times