Atlantic Council blogs

Russian Spy Arrests: James Bond Meets Woody Allen

By Harlan Ullman

Reports of the arrests last week of 11 alleged Russian agents operating a deep cover espionage ring for Moscow Center in the heart of the United States sounded more like farce and folly than serious spying. So far no classified material has been found in the spies’ possession and the major charge against them is […]

NATO chief slams EU over ‘unfair’ Turkish treatment

By AFP

From AFP:  NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen criticized the European Union on Wednesday for what he called its "unfair" treatment of Turkey, writing in the Danish center-left daily Politiken. The NATO secretary-general advised the EU to "take a series of pragmatic steps to improve relations with Turkey, entirely outside the negotiations" between Ankara and Brussels […]

British troops to leave Sangin this year, Liam Fox says

By the Telegraph

From the Telegraph:  British troops will be withdrawn from the Sangin area of Afghanistan later this year, Defence Secretary Liam Fox told MPs. He said the UK had agreed to a redeployment which will see US Marines assume responsibility for the area where nearly a third of UK deaths in the conflict have occurred.

France sanctions general who spoke out on Afghanistan

By AFP

From AFP:   France will punish a general who criticised the US-led war effort in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Herve Morin said Wednesday, amid growing doubts about the NATO war strategy. General Vincent Desportes, director of France’s Joint Forces Defence College, which trains staff officers, last week told the daily Le Monde that the situation in Afghanistan […]

Poland Has a New President: What Does It Mean for the Transatlantic Relationship?

By Sally McNamara, Heritage Foundation

Significance of U.S. Treasury’s Iran Sanctions

By Jonathan Schanzer

The U.S. Treasury Department recently announced targeted financial sanctions on a long list of Iranian companies, people, and entities. Some of the designations specifically target Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, while others target its energy sector.  Still others target the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a brutal group of regime loyalists who crush democratic […]

Ukraine, NATO to hold Sea Breeze military drills in July

By RIA Novosti

America’s Uncertain Trumpet

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

No better proof of a dysfunctional — and broke — system of government than the U.S. Congress passing additional funding for the Afghan war — $300 billion thus far — while simultaneously denying the unemployed an extension of benefits — and then taking a 10-day Independence Day vacation. With the jobless hovering just less than […]

Why Is Turkey Funding Muslim Preachers in Germany?

By Paul Hockenos, Foreign Policy

From Paul Hockenos, Foreign Policy:  For decades, no one in Germany took much notice of the imported Islamic holy men in their midst. Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs sent imams inconspicuously, on four-year postings, to minister to the spiritual needs of West Germany’s Turkish migrant workers and their families — while keeping them in line […]

NATO Wants To Increase Cooperation With South Korea, Non-Members

By Yonhap News Agency

From Yonhap News Agency:  The world’s biggest military alliance, NATO, is looking to increase cooperation with South Korea and other partners beyond Europe and North America to meet global challenges such as proliferation and piracy, a senior NATO official said Tuesday. "Our security interests and security interests of countries like Korea coincide today more than […]