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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

Aug 12, 2009

How Secure are Pakistan’s Nukes?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Is Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal theft-proof? Former President Pervez Musharraf and his successor Asif Ali Zardari and their army and intelligence chiefs repeatedly have assured both the Bush and Obama administrations that their 80-odd nuclear weapons are as secure as the U.S. arsenal of some 7,000 city busters. The Pakistanis have separated warheads from delivery systems […]

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Aug 12, 2009

National Security in the 21st century

By Harlan Ullman

Last Sunday Barack Obama’s national security adviser, retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, made the television morning talk show rounds. Perhaps the most provocative question fired at him was why he was playing a far less visible – and critics would add even an invisible – role than his more famous predecessors such as Henry […]

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Aug 11, 2009

Moscow Signals Widening Rift With Ukraine

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: The Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, assailed his Ukrainian counterpart on Tuesday, blaming him for anti-Russian policies that he said have brought relations between the two countries to “unprecedented lows.” In a letter to President Viktor A. Yushchenko of Ukraine, Mr. Medvedev announced that Russia would not dispatch its new […]

Ukraine United States and Canada

NATOSource

Aug 11, 2009

Russia’s Medvedev: Georgia war changed map for good

By Reuters

From Reuters: A year after Russia defeated neighbour Georgia’s military bid to retake a pro-Moscow region from rebels, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday the war had redrawn the map of the Caucasus for good . . . “Last year’s events have finally redrawn the political map of the Caucasus,” Medvedev told the 58th […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 11, 2009

The Myth of Western Decline and G7-OECD Obsolescence

By Ira Louis Straus

Despite widespread belief in a decline of the West and obsolescence of G7-G8, the actual statistics show that G7-8 remains overwhelmingly important, both as a vehicle for mutual cooperation and a guide for the world economy. A G14 or G20 could not provide an adequate substitute for it.

New Atlanticist

Aug 11, 2009

An Alternative Counter-Terrorism Strategy: Domestic Elements

By Bernard Finel

Yesterday, I posted some thoughts on counter-terrorism strategy that charted a different vision from the one laid out by John Brennan last week.  Today, I will be discussing some domestic steps – homeland security measures – that would also provide better security than current measures.

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Aug 11, 2009

Somali Pirates: Al Qaeda’s Navy?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Hollywood’s glamorization of the Barbary Pirates over the years blurred the horror of a seaborne plague. Between 1530 and 1789, some 1.5 million European Christians and Jews, and American sailors and travelers, were kidnapped and enslaved in Islamic North Africa.

Somalia

New Atlanticist

Aug 11, 2009

Nabucco No Guarantee of EU Energy Security

By Alexandros Petersen

Last month’s euphoria over the European Union’s agreement with Turkey on the Nabucco gas pipeline was perhaps a little premature—Brussels still has a long way to go to reduce its energy dependence from Russia.

Energy & Environment European Union

New Atlanticist

Aug 10, 2009

An Alternative Counter-Terrorism Strategy: International Elements

By Bernard Finel

My colleague Evelyn Farkas challenged me to provide a follow-on to my somewhat critical review of John Brennan’s speech outlining the Obama Administration’s counter-terrorism policy. 

New Atlanticist

Aug 10, 2009

Pakistan and the Taliban: Leaders Caught Betwixt and Between

By Shuja Nawaz

Following the reported death of Baitullah Mehsud from an American drone attack, Pakistan faces a number of challenges. Will it be able to take an offensive against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as it faces disarray? Will it be able to resist the US pressure to “do more” against the Afghan Taliban now that the United […]