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NATOSource

Feb 14, 2012

Turkey sticks with Iran for oil instead of supporting EU and US sanctions

By Humeyra Pamuk and Evrim Ergin, Reuters

From Humeyra Pamuk and Evrim Ergin, Reuters:  Turkey has no plans to cut its imports of Iranian oil, remaining a rare loyal customer of Tehran despite rising pressure from international sanctions and initial signals it may buy more Saudi oil

Energy & Environment European Union

New Atlanticist

Feb 14, 2012

As Athens Burns: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?

By Alexei Monsarrat and Garrett Workman

Greece produces a mere 2.6 percent of the Eurozone’s GDP but remains front and center in the Eurozone crisis and the larger debate over the proper role of austerity and government spending in resolving the West’s economic woes. Sunday night, Greek parliamentarians overwhelming accepted the latest round of painful cuts—a precondition to receive the next […]

European Union Greece

MENASource

Feb 14, 2012

Al-Azhar Huwwa al-Hall? The Most Influential Sunni Institution in the Arab World Emerges as a Voice for Moderate Islam

By Denis Sullivan

“Al-Islam huwwa al-hall” (“Islam is the solution”) has been the refrain and political slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood for decades – long before members of the formerly banned organization  could openly run for political office.   Forced underground by the repressive policies of Hosni Mubarak’s former regime – including torture and arbitrary detention – the Brotherhood […]

MENASource

Feb 13, 2012

Top News: Gen. Dempsey Discusses NGO crisis with Field Marshal Tantawi

By Mara Revkin

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed the NGO crisis with Field Marshal Tantawi in Cairo on February 11. Results of the discussion were not made public, but Field Marshal Tantawi later stressed the importance of maintaining strong ties with the U.S. in a meeting with the cabinet.

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2012

The Illogic of Intervention

By Daniel Trombly

The first two installments of this series have explored the difficulties of successful intervention in Syria from the air and ground. Yet, without foreign intervention, further violence and civil war are likely to ensue, leading to external spillover effects including refugees and a region more awash in arms and unaccountable paramilitaries.

Syria United States and Canada

NATOSource

Feb 13, 2012

NATO to Iran: Don’t worry about missile shield unless you plan attack

By Fatma Demirelli, Today’s Zaman

From Fatma Demirelli, Today’s Zaman:  In an exclusive interview with Today’s Zaman in Brussels last week, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen added his voice to the growing regional controversy over the nascent missile defense system

United States and Canada

NATOSource

Feb 13, 2012

McRaven Seeks Freer Hand in Deployment of Special Operations forces

By Eric Schmitt, Mark Mazzetti, and Thom Shanker, the New York Times

From Eric Schmitt, Mark Mazzetti, and Thom Shanker, the New York Times:  As the United States turns increasingly to Special Operations forces to confront developing threats scattered around the world

United States and Canada

NATOSource

Feb 13, 2012

Head of US Army Cyber Command: ‘Cyberspace requires a world-class cyber warrior’

By Peter Apps, Reuters

From Peter Apps, Reuters:  With growing worries about the threat of "cyber warfare," militaries around the world are racing to recruit the computer specialists they believe may be central to the conflicts of the 21st century. But whilst money is plentiful for new forces of "cyber warriors," attracting often individualistic technical specialists and hackers into […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2012

Desperate or Serious? U.S. Must Drag Policies Out of Old Mindsets

By Harlan Ullman

A century ago, gallows humor about the inevitability of an otherwise avoidable world war permeated the upper ranks of the Kaiser’s Army. The German General Staff quipped that this gathering crisis, when viewed from Paris, was dismissed as serious but not yet desperate. In Berlin, however, conditions were seen as the opposite — desperate but […]

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2012

Syria: Tragic Epicentre of the New Great Game

By Julian Lindley-French

Rudyard Kipling’s famous 19th century novel Kim is set against the background of the Great Game, the fight for supremacy over Central Asia between the British and Russian Empires. The book’s hero captures the essence of the struggle with a simple, chilling phrase, “The Great Game is not over until everyone is dead. Not before.”

Syria