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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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Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Dec. 9, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 15, 2014

Secretary General Welcomes Jordan’s Decision to Join NATO Response Force

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

Jordan has contributed to different operations together with other NATO Allies and we are very grateful for that.

Cybersecurity NATO

MENASource

Dec 15, 2014

Top News: UN Struggles to Move Aid Inside Syria as EU Leaders Advance Ceasefire Agenda in Brussels

By MENASource

Aid workers report that minimal progress has been made in delivering aid to thousands of besieged residents. They have called for the UN Security Council to renew a resolution that permits the UN to move more aid through four border crossings in Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq without the regime’s approval, but deteriorating security conditions are […]

General Mikhail Kostarakos

NATOSource

Dec 15, 2014

Greek General Appointed to Lead EU Military Committee

By European Union

From the European Union:  The Council today appointed General Mikhail Kostarakos as next Chairman of the EU Military Committee.

European Union Greece

MENASource

Dec 15, 2014

Syria: The Diplomatic Placebo

By Frederic C. Hof

Ambassador Brett McGurk, the deputy to anti-Islamic State (anti-ISIS or -ISIL) coalition coordinator General John Allen, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on December 10, “We do not see a situation in which the [nationalist] rebels are able to remove Assad from power … It will have to be a diplomatic process.”

Syria
NATO and Gulf leaders meeting in Qatar, Dec. 11, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 12, 2014

NATO Seeks to Deepen Cooperation with Gulf Partners

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

For 10 years, NATO’s relations with the Gulf partners have grown deeper and stronger. And this is good, because the more we cooperate, the safer we will be.

International Organizations NATO

MENASource

Dec 12, 2014

Egypt’s New Terrorism Law

By Ryan J. Suto

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al Sisi approved a new terrorism law earlier this month. While disturbing, the law is not surprising when viewed in the context of Egypt’s consistent rhetoric of its war against terror. With the Egyptian militant organization Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis recently pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), […]

North Africa
Former SACEUR, Adm. James Stavridis, Nov. 14, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 12, 2014

Former Commander Urges NATO to Send Arms to Ukraine

By Julian Borger, Guardian

A former commander of Nato in Europe has called for the alliance to send arms and military advisers to Ukraine to help it fight Moscow-backed separatists.

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Dec 12, 2014

Ukraine: Suddenly, an Information Ministry Is Born

By Irena Chalupa

Poroshenko’s Team Creates a Government Agency in 60 Hours; Critics Ask if This Is the Way to Counter Kremlin Propaganda President Petro Poroshenko’s government created a Ministry of Information Policy last week in sixty hours from first proposal to parliamentary approval—and did so over the objections of pro-reform legislators, journalists, and democracy activists.

Ukraine
Defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, Dec. 12, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 12, 2014

Baltic and Polish Defense Ministers Agree on Joint Response to Deter Russia

By Latvian Ministry of Defense

On 11–12 December the Baltic and Polish Defence Ministers at a meeting in in Cesis (Latvia) agreed on joint response to deter Russia in the region.

NATO Northern Europe

MENASource

Dec 12, 2014

Top News: US Congressional Leaders Authorize New Powers For the US-led Anti-ISIS Fight

By MENASource

US lawmakers on Thursday passed a sweeping defense bill, including a new congressional authorization for President Barack Obama’s ongoing campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The new war powers measure will be limited to three years and would require the administration to report on the fight against the Islamic state every sixty days.