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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

May 12, 2016

Give (Arab) Peace (Initiative) a Chance

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Deal would elevate Arab-Israeli cooperation to take on challenges posed by ISIS, Iran, says Atlantic Council’s Bilal Y. Saab In the absence of a credible Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, Gulf Arab states and Israel will find it hard to elevate their security cooperation to deal with the threats posed by Iran and the Islamic State of […]

Israel Saudi Arabia
USS Fitzgerald participating in missile defense test, Oct. 25, 2012

NATOSource

May 11, 2016

NATO to Switch on Missile Defense System Tomorrow

By AP and Reuters

From Vanessa Gera, AP:  A U.S. missile defense system aimed at protecting Europe from ballistic missile threats is moving into higher gear this week, with a site in Romania becoming operational on Thursday

Central Europe Missile Defense

Bremain vs Brexit

May 11, 2016

Brexit Could Lead to ‘Dismembering’ of the European Union

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former US national security advisors, Stephen J. Hadley and Thomas E. Donilon, warn against the UK leaving the EU A British exit from the European Union would weaken the United Kingdom, likely unravel the EU by setting off a “cascade of referendums,” and endanger US national security interests, two former US national security advisors said […]

European Union International Organizations

MENASource

May 11, 2016

Everything You Need to Know about the Raid on Egypt’s Press Syndicate

By Margaret Suter

On May 1, police raided the headquarters of Egypt’s Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo and arrested journalists Mahmoud al-Sakka and Amr Badr. The incident is the latest development in a period of mounting tensions between journalists and the government in the wake of the April 25 public protests against the state. The protests, which were […]

North Africa

UkraineAlert

May 11, 2016

One Year Later, Ukraine’s Patrol Police Enjoy Massive Spike in Trust

By Katie LaRoque

If one were to merely follow national politics in Ukraine, it would be easy to become discouraged about the state of reforms. Headlines from top media suggest that Ukraine’s longstanding oligarchic power structures and institutionalized corruption have persisted in the wake of the Revolution of Dignity, frustrating citizens and the international community. Indeed, the many […]

Europe & Eurasia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 11, 2016

Let’s Do the Numbers: What Would Ukraine’s Parliament Look Like if Elections Were Held Today?

By Brian Mefford

Ukraine will likely avoid early parliamentary elections this year. Some analysts feared that early elections would bring populists to power, while others reasoned that they might bring more reformers into parliament. Barring a collapse of the thin parliamentary majority that made Volodomyr Groisman Ukraine’s prime minister on April 14, he has one year to perform […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2016

Chuck Hagel to Next US President: Talk to Putin

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former Defense Secretary warns against ‘Cold War buildup’ as NATO deploys in Europe’s eastern flank As it ramps up its troop presence in Europe’s eastern flank, NATO must be careful not to get embroiled in a “Cold War buildup” with Russia, and the next US president must make it a priority to engage directly with […]

NATO Russia

MENASource

May 10, 2016

In Jarablus, a Chance for a Better Turkish Policy against ISIS

By Faysal Itani and Aaron Stein

The Turkish government is the most important external, pro-opposition actor in northern Syria. It will remain involved in the Syrian conflict despite concurrent political instability within the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Yet the war has undermined US-Turkish relations, due in large part to disagreement over the strategy to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS), […]

Syria Turkey

SyriaSource

May 10, 2016

Iran Deal Fuels Syria’s War

By Omar Hossino and Suhayla Sibaai

In 2015, President Obama announced the framework for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran deal. Obama claimed that a deal would make Iran “operate in a responsible fashion.” Obama’s adviser Ben Rhodes said that the deal would “produce an evolution in Iran’s behavior” and ran a sophisticated media campaign […]

Syria
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, March 23, 2016

NATOSource

May 10, 2016

Germany to Boost Troop Numbers for First Time Since Cold War

By Stefan Wagstyl, Financial Times

Germany is to raise troop numbers for the first time since the cold war in response to growing international challenges, including Islamist terrorism, instability in Africa, cyber attack threats and Russia’s newfound assertiveness.

Germany NATO