Atlantic Council blogs

Atlantic Council blogs provide short-form analyses from Council experts and a wider community of global voices on the world’s most important news stories.
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New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2011

Guido Westerwelle: Europe’s New Hillary Clinton?

By Julian Lindley-French

Watching German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle with British Foreign Secretary William Hague this week I was reminded of a John F. Kennedy quote; “The problem with power is how to achieve its responsible use, rather than its irresponsible or indulgent use”. That is not to suggest that Westerwelle is in any way irresponsible. Indeed, what […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2011

Mission Not Accomplished

By Harlan Ullman

Last week, the Obama administration announced the end of U.S. engagement in the Iraq war, honoring a campaign promise and the agreement that U.S. President George W. Bush reached with Baghdad to remove combat forces by the end of 2011.   But violence and instability in Iraq and the region are far from over. And […]

Iraq

NATOSource

Dec 21, 2011

Georgia soon to surpass Australia as largest non-NATO troop contributor in Afghanistan

By Civil Georgia

From Civil Georgia:  The Parliament approved on Tuesday President Saakashvili’s request to send one additional infantry battalion to Afghanistan on top of 936 Georgian soldiers who already serve as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

MENASource

Dec 21, 2011

News: Women rally in Alexandria; FJP rejects calls for early presidential election; Salafis pledge to honor treaty with Israel

By Mara Revkin

The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has rejected a proposal from several revolutionary groups calling for early presidential elections in January 2012. Meanwhile, the National Association for Change (NAC) is calling for nationwide protests to “regain Egypt’s dignity” following the “crime committed near the Cabinet by the military.” PROTESTS: 1) Following a massive women’s march […]

NATOSource

Dec 21, 2011

European Worries Over US Commitment a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

By James Joyner, the New Atlanticist

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, delivering his annual lecture to the Royal United Services Institute, identified as the first of his Grand Strategy concerns "Greater US military focus on the Pacific meaning less emphasis on Europe and her problems.

United Kingdom United States and Canada

NATOSource

Dec 21, 2011

The End of America’s Two-Ocean Navy?

By James Holmes, the Diplomat

From James Holmes, the Diplomat:  If the United States can no longer afford two navies, it may have to resurrect an older tradition for managing commitments, assets, and risk. Naval historian Alfred Thayer Mahan was a founding father of this tradition.

New Atlanticist

Dec 20, 2011

European Worries Over US Commitment a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

By James Joyner

The perennial worry in London about the state of the “special relationship” took a new twist last week, with the chief of the British military chief publicly wondering what America’s Pacific focus will mean for his country’s security. General Sir David Richard, Chief of the Defence Staff, delivering his annual lecture to the Royal United Services […]

United Kingdom

NATOSource

Dec 20, 2011

The power of the anglosphere

By Neil Reynolds, the Globe and Mail

From Neil Reynolds, the Globe and Mail:  Now, in The New World Order, a study published in November by the London-based Legatum Institute, [American geographer Joel] Kotkin and nine academic associates conclude that the anglosphere will remain the ascendant player on the world stage for a long time to come.

United Kingdom United States and Canada

MENASource

Dec 20, 2011

Interview with Sarah Abdelrahman [Faces of Egypt]

By Bahaa Hashem

Bold, outspoken, and admittedly stubborn, Sarah Abdelrahman has not become one of Egypt’s most prominent political activists by keeping her opinions to herself. With over 20,000 followers on Twitter – where she cranks out live updates from Tahrir Square at a dizzying pace –Abdelrahman has successfully leveraged social media and her hit YouTube video series, […]

MENASource

Dec 20, 2011

Egyptian Women Take a Stand

By Tarek Radwan