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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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NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, June 5, 2013

NATOSource

Feb 26, 2014

Secretary General: No BSA Means No NATO Troops in Afghanistan After 2014

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

NATO defense ministers will discuss plans for a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 should Afghanistan and the U.S. fail to reach agreement on a key long-term security deal, the alliance’s top official said Wednesday.

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

New Atlanticist

Feb 26, 2014

Let’s Give Somalia’s Government the Non-Recognition It Deserves

By J. Peter Pham

One year ago the Obama administration broke with the Somalia policy of its three predecessors by according diplomatic recognition to the government of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Last month, in his annual Worldwide Threat Assessment report to Congress, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper bemoaned that the Somali regime’s “persistent political infighting, weak leadership […]

Africa East Africa
Meeting of NATO Defense Ministers, June 4, 2013

NATOSource

Feb 26, 2014

NATO Defense Ministers Declare Their Support for ‘Ukrainian Sovereignty and Independence’

By NATO

We continue to follow developments in Ukraine very closely. We deplore the tragic loss of life. We welcome the fact that violence has been stopped through negotiations that paved the way for a peaceful outcome.

NATO NATO Partnerships
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Oct. 22, 2013

NATOSource

Feb 26, 2014

NATO Ready to Help Ukraine Democratic Reforms

By AFP

From AFP:  NATO said Wednesday it will continue to help Ukraine, which has close ties with the military alliance, to push ahead with democratic reforms.

NATO NATO Partnerships

MENASource

Feb 26, 2014

Top News: Cairo Court Sentences Twenty-Six Defendants to Death in Absentia

By EgyptSource

An Egyptian court convicted twenty-six people Wednesday of forming a terrorist group to launch an attack on the country’s vital Suez Canal waterway, with almost all receiving death sentences in absentia. Prosecutors also accused the defendants of making rockets and explosives while monitoring various security headquarters to plan attacks on them, the sources said.

MENASource

Feb 26, 2014

Top News: Zidan Pledges Security For Today’s Constitutional Rerun Elections

By MENASource

Confirming that the re-run elections for the Constitutional Committee will be held today, Prime Minister Ali Zidan said that his government had made every effort to provide security for these elections.

New Atlanticist

Feb 26, 2014

Hagel’s Defense Cuts: The Least Bad Choice

By James Joyner

Defense secretary Chuck Hagel announced Monday force cuts that would leave the United States with the smallest Army it has had since 1940. While the Pentagon concedes that this comes with strategic “risks,” the biggest risk is that a future president will nonetheless commit our country to wars that require a massive ground presence.

United States and Canada

MENASource

Feb 26, 2014

EconSource Headlines- February 26, 2014

By EconSource

Follow the latest in economic news and developments about the Arab transition countries. 

MENASource

Feb 26, 2014

Factbox: The Formation of Egypt’s New Cabinet

By Sarah Saleeb

On Monday, Hazem El-Beblawy’s cabinet unexpectedly submitted its resignation to interim President Adly Mansour, giving no reason for the surprise move. Mansour accepted the resignation within hours, commending Beblawy for the work he had done during Egypt’s “critical and hard time following the June 30 revolution.” Some speculate the resignation is tied to Defense Minister Abdel […]

North Africa

MENASource

Feb 25, 2014

Reform or Insurgency in Bahrain

By Adam Simpson

The use of more violent means of confrontation in Bahrain is becoming more prevalent—at least on the part of a minority of anti-regime groups—as state security forces continue to use repressive measures against dissidents, employing beatings, tear gas, and birdshot on otherwise peaceful demonstrators.

The Gulf