Atlantic Council blogs

UK Foreign Minister: ‘We Cannot Allow the Use of Chemical Weapons’

By William Hague, Telegraph

We all live under the protection of this global system of arms control, just as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has spared us from the threat of nuclear holocaust, which blighted my parents’ generation.

Top News: Nour Party Submits Future Vision to Interim Government

By EgyptSource

Salafi Nour Party has laid out their position on Egypt’s political road map, according to Party Chairman Younis Makhyoun, who submitted the plan to Ahmed al-Muslimany, the president’s media advisor, along with their reservations on various constitutional amendments. 

Jobs for Guns in Libya

By Svetlana Milbert and Lara Talverdian

The wave of violence and instability that has gripped Libya over the last few months continues to undermine political progress and threatens to derail economic developments.

Pavel and Itani Discuss Response Options for Syria

From Obama’s “red line” to confirmation of the use of chemical weapons, events in Syria are developing quickly. Atlantic Council experts are appearing in the media daily and posting analysis as events unfold.

NATO Supports but Stays Out of Possible Syria Strikes by its Members

By Paul Richter and Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times

The White House got a vote of support from the 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the key Western military alliance.

Restoring US Credibility in Syria?

By Faysal Itani

The United States appears likely to attack targets in Syria in the next few days. This has triggered speculation in policy circles and the media about possible responses from Syria, Hezbollah, and Iran.

The Baltic Way

By Damon Wilson

A Scenesetter for the Meeting of US-Baltic Presidents As President Obama prepares to meet the three Baltic presidents on Friday, I am reminded of standing on the floor of the Riigikogu in the summer of 1992:  as I watched Estonia’s restored parliament conduct business amidst the political jostling in the run-up to the nation’s first […]

US Strike on Syria Could Be Prelude to Diplomacy

By Barbara Slavin

It’s hard to accuse the Barack Obama administration of being trigger happy.   While Obama has been willing to use force to kill Taliban and al-Qaida militants, he has studiously avoided embroiling the United States in another war in the Middle East or South Asia.   The apparent U.S. decision to strike Syria for what […]

Fighting Lions and Brothers in Mansoura

By Eric Knecht

In the summer of 2011 Sayed al-Essawi, an Egyptian man claiming superhuman strength, briefly made international news when he challenged a lion to a death match. The bout—which al-Essawi described as a means to revive Egyptian tourism and prove that man is stronger than lion—was anticlimactic. With cameras rolling, Essawi shuffled around an oversized cage […]

Turkey may Open İncirlik Base for NATO Mission in Syria

By Murat Yetkin, Hurriyet Daily News

Turkey may open its strategic İncirlik air base for possible military operations into neighboring Syria, if the Western defense alliance NATO decides for an intervention in the ongoing civil war, a ranking Turkish official told the Hürriyet Daily News on Aug. 26.