Atlantic Council blogs

Top News: Military Moves Up Date of Presidential Election

By Mara Revkin

Under growing pressure for an expedited transfer of power to civilians, the SCAF has agreed to move up the start date for presidential candidate registration to March 10, originally scheduled for April 15.

U.S. Sees Europe as Not Pulling Its Weight Militarily

By Judy Dempsey, the International Herald Tribune

From Judy Dempsey, the International Herald Tribune:  When Thomas de Maizière described the state of the trans-Atlantic relationship to a packed audience in Munich, he shied away from unpalatable truths.

Fixing All the World’s Problems

By Bernard Finel

Okay, I’m king for a day, and I am going to fix all the world’s problems.

Transatlantic Relationship Words at Odds with Deeds

By James Joyner, the New Atlanticist

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said all the right things about the transatlantic relationship at the Munich Security Conference. Alas, Panetta made a mockery of them on his way there.

Britain and France had to insist US allow their warships to join Iran flotilla

By James Kirkup, the Telegraph

From James Kirkup, the Telegraph:  Defence sources have revealed that the Americans only relented and allowed a Royal Navy frigate to join the mission following an intervention from Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.

Dean Rusk on NATO: ‘The surest way to lose the peace is to destroy or weaken the instruments that are preserving the peace’

By Dean Rusk, U.S. Department of State

From Dean Rusk, U.S. Department of State:  The facts of the world situation require that NATO remains strong and alert. They require that free nations not repeat the tragic errors of the past — that they not make one-sided reductions in defense that tempt adversaries to resort once again to force or threats ….. that […]

Transatlantic Relationship Words at Odds with Deeds

By James Joyner

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said all the right things about the transatlantic relationship at the Munich Security Conference. Alas, Panetta made a mockery of them on his way there. Panetta declared that “peace and prosperity of Europe is critically important to the United States, but because Europe remains […]

Is Chinese espionage responsible for the rising costs of the F-35?

By David Fulghum, Bill Sweetman, and Amy Butler, Aviation Week

From David Fulghum, Bill Sweetman, and Amy Butler, Aviation Week:  How much of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s spiraling cost in recent years can be traced to China’s cybertheft of technology and the subsequent need to reduce the fifth-generation aircraft’s vulnerability to detection and electronic attack?

World must aid Syria’s rebels

By Shadi Hammid, CNN

NATO clears funding hurdle to buy five Global Hawks

By Stephen Trimble, Flight Global