Atlantic Council blogs

Germany calls for decade of engagement after Afghan troop withdrawal

By Deutsche Welle

From Deutsche Welle: Germany called on the international community on Monday to remain engaged in Afghanistan over the next decade even though NATO troops are scheduled to withdraw from the war-torn nation by 2014.

Poised for a Parliamentary Majority, Islamists Shed Restraint

By Magdy Samaan

For decades, Egyptians knew only fraudulent elections under the harsh constraints of Mubarak’s authoritarian rule. Faced with pervasive ballot fraud, violence and intimidation by the repressive security forces, they largely withdrew from the political process, choosing to boycott rather than casts ballots that had no hope of bringing about meaningful change. But in last week’s […]

No Russian Revolution, But Seeds of Opposition Growing

By Dean Jackson

The Russian parliamentary elections may not be the start of another Russian Revolution, but they do prove that something is rotten in the state of Russia, and the Russian people know it. What is to be done?

News Update: December 6, 2011

By Mara Revkin

Voting for the 52 individual seats that were not decided in the first round continued for a second day on December 6. The second round of voting has brought out sharp divisions between rival Islamist parties, which are trading accusations of campaign violations. Twenty-four of the runoff races are between candidates from the Freedom and […]

Sen. Kirk Objects to Giving Missile Data to Russia

By Mike Tobin, Fox News

From Mike Tobin, Fox News:  Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., plans to present an ultimatum of sorts to the Obama administration.

NATO and Russia Can Defend Together

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, New York Times

Puncturing the U.S. Base Myths

By J. Randy Forbes, the Diplomat

From J. Randy Forbes, the Diplomat:  As Washington continues to debate the consequences of defense cuts, one line of popular thinking is that we can save tax dollars without sacrificing security if we close down our overseas bases and bring our forces home. Why do we still have bases in Europe?

The end of military interventions or the rise of R2P?

By Doug Saunders, the Globe and Mail

From Doug Saunders, the Globe and Mail:  Ten years and seven weeks ago, this paper’s front-page headline read, in banner letters, “Canadians head off to war.” That would become the longest, and possibly the most controversial, military combat operation in Canadian history.

Stumbling Over a Pakistan Policy

By Shuja Nawaz

After a week of delay, as anger against the United States mounted inside Pakistan over the November 26 attack by U.S. forces that killed two officers and 22 soldiers of the Pakistani army at border posts Volcano and Boulder in Mohmand agency, the President of the United States finally entered the picture directly.