Atlantic Council blogs

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.
View all
of our blogs
Subscribe to our
newsletters

Latest from across our blogs

MENASource

Oct 2, 2014

Top News: ISIS Closes in on Kurdish Border Town; Beheads Seven Men, Three Women

By MENASource

ISIS militants tightened their grip on a Syrian border town on Thursday—coming within two miles on three sides, despite coalition air strikes meant to weaken them—sending thousands more Kurdish refugees into Turkey and dragging Ankara deeper into the conflict.

MENASource

Oct 2, 2014

Top News: Egypt Militant Group Threatens Deadly Attacks during Eid Holiday

Egypt’s deadliest militant group has vowed fresh deadly attacks against security forces next week during the country’s major Muslim feast.

MENASource

Oct 2, 2014

Iconoclasm & the Islamic State: Image-Maker vs. Image-Breaker

By Matthew Hall

A Q&A With Dr. James Noyes, Part II of III More than merely a terror group, the Islamic State is a violent state-building project, conquering territory with the intent to rule. In clearing the landscape to impose this political agenda, an essential component of the group’s military advance has been the systematic destruction of holy […]

Syria

MENASource

Oct 2, 2014

Tunisia Prepares For Its Ultimate Democratic Ordeal

By Christine Petré

As Tunisia prepares for upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, low turnout or time constraints are a main concern. Aside from the fact that they have their own ramifications for political legitimacy, Tunisian leaders also fear that militant groups could compound the legitimacy problem by disrupting the elections and potentially destabilizing the Arab Spring country’s democratic […]

North Africa
Estonian President Toomas Henrik Ilves, Nov. 6, 2013

NATOSource

Oct 1, 2014

Estonia’s President: ‘Does Putin Believe in Article 5?’

By Lally Weymouth, Washington Post

Excerpts from interview of Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves by Lally Weymouth of the Washington Post.

NATO Northern Europe

New Atlanticist

Oct 1, 2014

Beyond the Immediate Tragedy: Ebola’s Long-Term Implications

By J. Peter Pham

The deaths of more than 3,000 people from the Ebola virus have stunned and, indeed, frightened the world. The outbreak now hits home — ever since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first case in which Ebola has been diagnosed outside Africa, in a man from Liberia who took a commercial flight […]

Africa

MENASource

Oct 1, 2014

Top News: Saudis Align Themselves With Yemeni Internal Forces Against Houthis

By MENASource

According to an anonymous Yemeni official, Saudi Arabia will put its support behind Yemeni tribes to counter the rapid rise of the Houthis.

MENASource

Oct 1, 2014

Top News: Egypt Offers Military Training to Libya

By EgyptSource

Egypt has offered to train pro-government forces battling rival armed groups in Libya, stepping up efforts to eradicate what it says is a threat to its own stability from the anarchy engulfing its neighbor.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, October 1, 2014

NATOSource

Oct 1, 2014

New secretary general: NATO Military presence in eastern Allies ‘for as long as necessary’

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

It is indeed an honour to take up the post of Secretary General of NATO. The most successful Alliance in history.

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

MENASource

Oct 1, 2014

Independence of Egyptian Media At Stake

By Khaled Dawoud

In a speech delivered in early August at the opening of an ambitious Suez Canal development project, President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi said, “I demand that Egyptians should be united, and the media has a great responsibility to help achieve that goal. I envy late leader Gamal Abdel-Nasser because when he spoke, he had all the media […]

North Africa