Atlantic Council blogs

NATO and the Transatlantic Bargain

By Franklin D. Kramer, the New Atlanticist

From Franklin D. Kramer, the New Atlanticist:  [T]here are questions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Strengthening NATO’s Special Ops Forces is real Smart Defense

By Franklin D. Kramer and Jordan Becker, the New Atlanticist

From Franklin D. Kramer and Jordan Becker, the New Atlanticist:  Smart defense requires prioritization and cooperation, and investing in capacity and interoperability among NATO’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) will have outsized returns.

With Iran, Syria Looming, Can Obama Save NATO from Disaster at Chicago Summit?

By Barry Pavel and James Joyner

Coming off the heels of a very successful NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in November 2010, it looked like President Obama would make the coming NATO summit in Chicago May 20 and 21 – an election-year meeting of America’s strongest allies on American soil – a centerpiece of his campaign, highlighting great successes in his […]

NATO and the Transatlantic Bargain

By Franklin Kramer

The United States’ recent defense strategy emphasizes a “strategic turning point” and a “broader range of challenges and opportunities.” The NATO Summit, which will be held in Chicago May 20 and 21, will offer the transatlantic countries a first opportunity to respond and two key elements will be “pivoting”—expanding the focus on the larger world […]

Moussa and Aboul Fotouh Face Off in Historic Televised Presidential Debate

By Tarek Radwan

Presidential candidates Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh traded barbs in the Arab world’s first televised presidential debate on May 10.

Egypt’s Administrative Judiciary Meets Politics: A Dangerous Intersection / الثورة و القضاء الإداري المصري: التقاطع الخاطئ

By Yussef Auf

One of the most remarkable new phenomena to appear on Egypt’s political scene since the revolution has been a radical decentralization of decision-making.Download the PDF

Determining Libya’s Trajectory

By Sarwar Kashmeri

Some six months after the end of the war in Libya the situation on the ground appears unstable and chaotic. Is what one sees in Libya simply the normal chaos that precedes a new state? Sarwar Kashmeri, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, speaks with Dartmouth Professor Dirk Vandewalle, a noted expert on Libya. (8.5 minutes)

Reports that Pakistan not invited to NATO summit in Chicago

By the International News (Pakistan)

From the International News (Pakistan):  NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday that Pakistan had not been invited to the upcoming Chicago summit.

Who will participate in NATO’s ‘special partners meeting’ in Chicago?

The following 13 countries have been invited to NATO’s upcoming summit in Chicago to attend "an unprecedented meeting to discuss ways to further broaden and deepen NATO’s cooperation with partner nations."

Saving NATO

By Franklin Kramer and Jordan Becker

As the United States engages in a “strategic pivot” toward the Asia-Pacific region—and as defense budgets tighten on both sides of the Atlantic—the debate on burden sharing within NATO has once again been rekindled. Last summer, outgoing secretary of defense Robert Gates, a staunch Atlanticist, chided European allies publicly over the issue, warning of “dire” […]