Atlantic Council blogs

Obama and Komorowski: The Strategic Partnership between Poland and the U.S.

By the White House

From the White House:  Both Presidents applauded the outcomes of the Lisbon NATO Summit, including the allied commitment to reaffirm the primacy of our Article 5 obligations to one another’s security and to adopt territorial missile defense as a core mission.

NATO helps Albania combat floods

By Xinhua

FromXinhua:  NATO has come to the rescue of Albania amid floods, the worst ever the small western Balkan country has witnessed in decades, local media said on Monday. NATO member states Greece and Turkey have sent five military transport helicopters to Albania to help the army and local authorities with the relief efforts. On Monday, […]

Presidential Decision Punts

By Harlan Ullman

To use a football metaphor, the United States needs an able quarterback in the Oval Office. As three new books out this fall vividly reveal, we have had a punter in that position for some considerable time where fumbling has been a long suit.

Leaked memo offers insight to Russian security agencies

By Walter Pincus, the Washington Post

From Walter Pincus, the Washington Post:  New insights into Russia and its security services can be gained from a Nov. 5, 2009, confidential cable written to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III before his visit to Moscow that month.

Eurozone: Time For Drastic Action?

By James Joyner

IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn today said that, while he did not believe the euro was at risk, the EU must take  a more “comprehensive, integrated” plan rather than the current "piecemeal approach." These remarks, FT reports, come the day after a meeting with EU finance ministers yielded only frustration, with officials "divided over the two most high-profile proposals, increasing the […]

Wikileaks cables: Poland furious over getting “potted plants,” not missiles

By Ian Traynor, the Guardian

From Ian Traynor, the Guardian:  It is the biggest single concrete example of US support for Polish security on the ground. But the leaked embassy cables show that a battery of Patriot missiles in the north-east of the country lacked one crucial component – live missiles.

Georgia Arrests More Suspected Russian Spies

By the AP

From the AP:  Georgia has arrested six people suspected of being agents for Russia, accusing them of causing a series of explosions, including one outside the US embassy, officials said. [Deputy Interior Minister Eka] Zguladze said the six suspects are accused of staging an explosion outside the US embassy in Tbilisi in September and several […]

Russia objects to NATO plan to defend Baltics

By Slobodan Lekicby, the AP

WikiLeaks: One Foreign Service Officer’s View

By Susan Ball

As a career Foreign Service Officer, I guess I should be gratified that various analysts and news outlets have declared, as a result of leaked State Department dispatches, that the U.S. diplomatic corps is dedicated, astute and insightful.   However, I think I can speak for the majority of my colleagues when I say that […]

Ratify the New Start Treaty

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the International Herald Tribune

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the International Herald Tribune:  As a former member of the Danish Parliament, I know better than to tell U.S. senators what to do. But I do want to highlight the importance of the treaty from a NATO perspective.