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NATOSource

Feb 22, 2013

NATO Afraid Of Russian Snooping At Ulyanovsk?

By Nikolaus von Twickel, Moscow Times

From Nikolaus von Twickel, Moscow Times:  NATO and Russia pride themselves on cooperation over Afghanistan and the fight against terrorists and pirates, but a planned logistics hub to transport military hardware from Afghanistan is not taking off.

United Kingdom

MENASource

Feb 22, 2013

Syria: From Objective to Strategy

By Frederic C. Hof

The objective of US policy for Syria should be a Syria fundamentally inclined to cooperate with the United States in the region and beyond, as discussed in a previous commentary. Achieving this objective would involve seven conditions: elimination of the Assad regime; its replacement by a non-sectarian government of citizenship and civil society, one governing […]

Syria

NATOSource

Feb 22, 2013

Panetta, Germany differ on troop numbers in Afghanistan

By Lolita C. Baldor, AP

From Lolita C. Baldor, AP:  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his German counterpart offered conflicting accounts Friday of a discussion about how many U.S. and European forces would remain in Afghanistan after the anticipated end of combat after 2014.

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Feb 21, 2013

Defense minister says France’s lack of drones is ‘incomprehensible’

By Steven Erlanger, New York Times

From Steven Erlanger, New York Times:   “I had always been the boss of regional councils, but not in a situation to decide a war,” he [French Defense Minister  Jean-Yves Le Drian] said.

Drones European Union

NATOSource

Feb 21, 2013

Report: US expects NATO allies and partners to provide 10,000 trainers in post-2014 Afghanistan

By Matthias Gebauer and Christoph Schult, Spiegel

From Matthias Gebauer and Christoph Schult, Spiegel:  The United States envisions only a minimal presence of American troops in Afghanistan once the NATO mission comes to an end in late 2014.

MENASource

Feb 21, 2013

Preparing for Egypt’s Parliamentary Elections: A Guide

By Nancy Messieh

Last updated: 2/21/2013  With Parliamentary elections slated for April, and President Mohamed Morsi adamantly stating that they will go on as expected, a few of Egypt’s political parties have begun to prepare for the ballot boxes.  With no date set as of yet, Morsi has until February 25 to announce the date, as per the […]

North Africa

NATOSource

Feb 21, 2013

Even the home country of NATO’s Secretary General ignores his pleas to stop defense cuts

By Naftali Bendavid and Adam Entous, Wall Street Journal

From Naftali Bendavid and Adam Entous, Wall Street Journal:  Thursday’s meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense ministers was yet another sign that Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is struggling to convince the alliance’s members to preserve military spending amid economic pressures.

NATOSource

Feb 21, 2013

NATO to consider funding larger Afghan security force after 2014

By Lolita C. Baldor, AP

From Lolita C. Baldor, AP:  Senior NATO officials say the alliance is strongly considering a proposal to continue funding an Afghan security force of 352,000 troops through 2018

NATOSource

Feb 21, 2013

Air Force commander is likely candidate for top NATO post

By Thom Shanker, New  York Times

From Thom Shanker, New  York Times:  Senior NATO officials said on Thursday that Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, currently the commander of American Air Force units in Europe and Africa, was emerging as the likely candidate to be nominated by President Obama to be the alliance’s supreme military commander.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Feb 21, 2013

The Pyongyang Persian Pickle

By Harlan Ullman

In English slang, “pickle” means a bad situation or a state of disorder. The provenance is Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” And pickle well applies to the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, Iran and U.S. policy.

Korea Nuclear Nonproliferation