Atlantic Council blogs

Atlantic Update 4/11/11

By Klee Aiken

Europe is divided as the Netherlands and the U.K. sue Iceland, politics cloud the one year anniversary of the air disaster in Smolensk,  and Italy uses "dirty tricks" to deal with the influx of refugees.

In Libya, an Odd-Couple Alliance

By Mark Landler, the New York Times

From Mark Landler, the New York Times:  At home in France, he has long been called “Sarko l’Américain.

Grounds for U.S. military intervention

By Henry A. Kissinger and James A. Baker III, the Washington Post

From Henry A. Kissinger and James A. Baker III, the Washington Post: Like most Americans, we believe that the United States should always support democracy and human rights politically, economically and diplomatically

Cold War neutrals now taking sides, timidly

By Karl Ritter, the AP

From Karl Ritter, the AP:  Swedish fighter jets are roaring into action over Libya under NATO command.

US announces smaller troop cuts in Europe

By the Department of Defense

From the Department of Defense:  The Department of Defense announced today that it is revising its 2004 plan to withdraw two of its four brigade combat teams (BCTs) from Europe.

Tensions emerge in NATO’s Libya mission

By the Financial Times

Netherlands unveils severe military cuts

By the AP

From the AP:  The Dutch government will cut 12,000 military jobs, or more than one in six of all armed forces personnel, as part of spending cuts aimed at balancing the budget by 2015, officials said Friday.

Libya SNAFU: You Get What You Train For

By James Joyner

Continuing problems with the coalition operation in Libya reinforce an old military adage: You fight like you train. Yesterday, we learned that Swedish jets were grounded because the air base didn’t stock the right type of fuel. Today, we learned Libyan rebels were painting their vehicles pink after yet another incident in which NATO mistakenly fired on them, […]

Russia wants joint “red-button” control over NATO missile defense system

By Simone Baribeau and Henry Meyer, Bloomberg

From Simone Baribeau and Henry Meyer, Bloomberg: Russia wants to join in the planned U.S. missile shield in Europe with “red-button” rights to launch strikes at incoming weapons, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said. Russia, which is pursuing talks on the issue with the U.S., will only accept an agreement that allows it to have a […]

British Say NATO Faces Jet Shortage

By Alistair MacDonald and Stephen Fidler, the Wall Street Journal

From Alistair MacDonald and Stephen Fidler, the Wall Street Journal:  The U.S. pullout from the front line of military activity in Libya has left a shortage of ground-attack jets, prompting the British government to pressure its European allies to send more aircraft into the theater.