Atlantic Council blogs

Libya, The Time to Avoid Escalation is Now

By Karim Mezran and Mattia Toaldo

Libya risks a new escalation and a deepening of the division between the eastern region under General Khalifa Haftar and the rest of the country nominally under the control of an ever-weaker UN-backed government headed by Fayez Serraj. On March 3, fighting started in the Oil Crescent, the part of Libya’s central coast where 60 […]

Germany Rejects Trump’s Claim It Owes NATO and US ‘Vast Sums’ for Defense

By Reuters and Politico Europe

From Reuters: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump‘s claim that Germany owes NATO and the United States “vast sums” of money for defense.

Ukraine’s Parliamentary Internship Program May Be in Jeopardy

By Amanda Abrams

Over the past twenty-two years, the Ukrainian Parliamentary Internship program has introduced more than 1,500 university-age men and women to the legislative process by employing them in committees and departments of the Verkhovna Rada. The program gives young professionals practical experience with the parliament’s institutions and procedures by allowing them to participate in legislative work. […]

Trump Tweets: ‘Germany Owes Vast Sums of Money’ to NATO

By Julie Hirshfeld Davis, New York Times

President Trump criticized Germany on Saturday for paying too little to both NATO and the United States for security support

A ‘Strange Allegation’ About UK Spying

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Trump administration must defuse crisis with its ally, says Sir Peter Westmacott, a former UK ambassador to the United States US President Donald J. Trump’s support for an unsubstantiated claim that his predecessor, Barack Obama, asked Britain’s spy agency to eavesdrop on him is a “strange allegation” that “calls into question very important elements of […]

Six Years of War: Is Assad Still Relevant?

By Frederic C. Hof

Six years ago, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad betrayed his country by authorizing lethal fire on peaceful protesters. As war in Syria enters its seventh year, the price for the political preservation of one man, one family, and one entourage has been staggering, in Syria and far beyond. Observers numbed by the enormity of a humanitarian […]

‘Mexico Has Options’

Energy sector reform will continue with or without the United States, said former Mexican official Though recent political tensions threaten the stability of US-Mexico relations, Mexico’s ongoing energy sector reform will continue without US partnership, if necessary, according to Mexico’s former deputy secretary of energy. “Mexico’s energy reform does not depend on the United States,” […]

Trump to Merkel: Our NATO Allies Need ‘to Pay’

By Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, and Reuters

Donald Trump: I reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO, as well as the need for our NATO allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defense.

The Side Conflict to the Liberation of Raqqa

By Feras Hanoush

Statements from American officials about the possibility of an increase in US military presence in Syria escalated with talks of increasing special operations forces, fighter jets, and supplies for local combat forces. This comes as battles surrounding the city of Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh), draw closer. Reports indicate […]