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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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NATOSource

Dec 22, 2012

Turkey and NATO disclose Patriot missile sites

By  Seda Sezer, Reuters

From Seda Sezer, Reuters:  Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Patriot missiles being sent by NATO members to bolster Turkey’s defenses against a possible missile attack from Syria will be deployed near the southeastern cities of Adana, Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras. . . . "We made our application to NATO and they gave us six batteries […]

United States and Canada

NATOSource

Dec 21, 2012

Canada extends commitment to NATO mission in Kosovo

By Canada’s Ministry of Defense

From Canada’s Ministry of Defense:  Today, the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, announced that the Government of Canada has extended its commitment to provide members of the Canadian Armed Forces to support the NATO-led Kosovo Force based in Pristina until December 2014.

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2012

The World Won’t End Today; Neither Will Apocalyptic Hysteria

By Paul Saffo

The world will not end today, the date of the so-called “Mayan Apocalypse.”

NATOSource

Dec 21, 2012

Georgian Soldier in NATO Afghan Force Is Missing

By Graham Bowley, New York Times

From Graham Bowley, New York Times:  A soldier from Georgia belonging to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan has been missing since Wednesday in the southwest of the country, the coalition said on Friday.

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2012

The Decisive African Youth Vote

By Adrienne Chuck

The Arab Spring underscored the pivotal role that youth can play in a country’s economic and political stability. This is even truer in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 70 percent of the population is under the age of 30.

Economy & Business Elections

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2012

NATO’s Syria Red Line

By Joanna Buckley

What began in March 2011 as peaceful protests against the Syrian regime has developed into a bloody civil war with an estimated 40,000 people killed. The launch of Scud missiles this week has escalated the conflict and has been seen by some analysts as a sign that President Bashar al-Assad is becoming increasingly desperate and […]

NATO Security & Defense

MENASource

Dec 21, 2012

The Troublesome Politics Behind Libya’s Southern Militarization

By Karim Mezran and Eric Knecht

 This past Sunday Libya’s legislative assembly, the General National Congress (GNC), made perhaps its boldest announcement to date: to seal off the southern border, declare the area a military zone, and appoint a military governor with full authority to arrest wanted criminals. Libya’s south has been plagued by drug smuggling, human and arms trafficking, and […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2012

Syria’s Time Is Running Out

By Frederic C. Hof

In March 2011, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a fateful and catastrophic choice. In Deraa, regime thugs had pulled the fingernails off of teenagers guilty of the high crime of spray-painting anti-regime graffiti. Instead of going there to console and compensate families, he ordered the same thugs to open fire on demonstrators.

Security & Defense Syria

MENASource

Dec 21, 2012

Top News: Islamist Rally Turns Violent Outside Alexandria Mosque

By Egypt Source

Clashes erupted shortly after several thousand demonstrators gathered at Alexandria’s Qaed Ibrahim Mosque Friday to "defend [Islamic] scholars and mosques," and to call for Sharia (Islamic law). The rally, which was initially peaceful after Friday noon prayers, turned violent when clashes broke out between Islamist demonstrators and rival opposition group

NATOSource

Dec 21, 2012

NATO confirms that Syria has fired more Scud missiles

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO:  I can confirm that we have detected the launch of Scud-type missiles. We strongly regret that act. I consider it acts of a desperate regime approaching collapse.

United States and Canada