Atlantic Council blogs

NATO Hones Old Role, Preparing for New

By Stephen Fidler, Wall Street Journal

Here in Poland’s northern plains, one of Europe’s historic battlegrounds, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is carrying out its biggest military exercise in seven years.

Top News: Egypt to Hold Parliamentary Vote in February/March: Foreign Minister

By EgyptSource

Egypt said on Friday it would hold parliamentary elections in February or March, with presidential polls in early summer, and that the political arm of ousted president Mohamed Morsi’s banned Muslim Brotherhood could participate. Fahmy told Reuters in an interview that the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party “is still legal in Egypt” and free to participate in […]

This Week in South Asia: November 2-8

Commentary from the South Asia Center on the most relevant news from the region, and suggested “must-read” analyses from the week.

Amr Hamzawy on Egypt’s Turn for the Worse

By MENASource

Amr Hamzawy, prominent Egyptian academic, founder of the Freedom Egypt Party, and former parliamentarian in 2012, wrote a particularly poignant article describing his experience at the funeral at St. Mark’s church in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis and reflecting on the sad and dangerous turn in the course of Egypt’s political and social development.

Two Sorrowful Scenes at a Church Funeral

By Amr Hamzawy

While attending the funeral of my colleague’s aunt at St. Mark’s church in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis, a woman in attendance approached me asking if she could ask a question. While I was expecting a question about my position on the course of events of July 3, 2013 and after, this delicate woman’s voice […]

MEADS Missile Defense Destroyed Two Targets at Once – Lockheed

By Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters

The MEADS missile defense system developed by the United States, Italy and Germany intercepted and destroyed two targets simultaneously in a final test on Wednesday before Washington pulls out of the program, Lockheed Martin Corp said.

Protecting the East Coast from Iranian Missiles

By Ian Brzezinski

In the wake of the government shutdown’s interruption of fiscal 2014 budget deliberations, Congress still faces tough decisions about national defense priorities. One controversial issue that will resurface shortly is the need to protect the East Coast from the threat of Iran’s growing ballistic-missile capability. When it does so, Washington should avoid repeating what has been an unnecessarily bipolar debate […]