Atlantic Council blogs

Putin Learns the Hard Way that Crimean Crime Does Not Pay

By Peter Dickinson

Ever since the stunning Russian takeover of Crimea in early 2014, it has become popular to regard Russian President Vladimir Putin as some kind of geopolitical genius. The international media regularly depicts him as a James Bond-style supervillain, always a few steps ahead of his hapless Western opponents as he determines the fate of the […]

Interview with the Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo (FMAA)

By Youssef Sadaki

While Moscow is re-classifying armed groups as terrorist organizations on the ground in Syria, and the new US administration is attempting to identify and enable partners in its fight against the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) coalition in order to set policies, we are now faced with questions that have long haunted the Syrian […]

Britain’s Defense Capabilities and the Future of Transatlantic Security

By Steve McCarthy

Last week, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon stood alongside US Defense Secretary James Mattis as they reaffirmed our countries’ commitment to NATO

Trump and Putin: The Shortest Honeymoon Ever Is Over

By Ariel Cohen

As Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster takes over President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, conducting a bottom-up review and developing a Russia policy at the NSC, Pentagon, and State Department should be a top priority for the administration. Russia has resumed a quasi-Cold War posture. In the last few weeks, Russia escalated fighting in the occupied […]

What Pence Should Have Said: Russia, Not Terrorism, Is the Most Urgent Security Threat

By Stephen Blank

Whatever else occurred at the annual Munich Security Conference on February 17-19, reassurances were not part of it. None of the statements made by high-ranking American officials allayed European fears about President Donald Trump’s administration because, simultaneously, the White House was busy undermining them. Moreover, Vice President Mike Pence’s “unwavering” support of NATO was balanced […]

A Stronger NATO for a Safer World

By Joseph Whited and Alex Gallo, The Hill

Given the level of effort that the United States has put into reinvigorating its involvement in European security, it is understandable that the president and the American people expect our allies to meet their treaty requirements.

America is Not an Ethno-State

By Daniel Fried

My forty years in the Foreign Service—and the careers of many of my friends—became associated with the fall of the Soviet Empire and the putting in order of what came after:  the building of a Europe whole, free and at peace.  It is hard to recall today how improbable victory in the Cold War appeared.  […]

Here’s Why Mexico Matters

If the current tension in the US-Mexico relationship gets out of hand it could disrupt crucial cooperation between the two countries on checking the flow of unauthorized migrants into the United States, said an Atlantic Council analyst. “The great danger here is that, in all of this tension, something is going to boil over,” said […]

Report Summary: More Than the Authority of Repression – The Status of Free Speech in Egypt 2016

By MENASource

On Sunday, February 12, 2017, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression released their fourth annual report on the state of freedom of expression in Egypt in 2016 under the title “More Than the Authority of Repression.” This report presents thorough evidence and accurate observations on freedom of speech in Egypt. 

Don’t Expect a New NATO Strategic Concept Any Time Soon

By Stanley Sloan

The uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump’s questioning of whether the Alliance remains in the US’ interest has stalled the production of a new NATO strategic concept. The last NATO strategic concept—the Alliance’s consensus statement on the threats and intended responses—was agreed in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2010. In 2016, some astute observers suggested that […]