Atlantic Council blogs

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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New Atlanticist

New Atlanticist is the Atlantic Council’s public policy blog. It seeks to provide expert analysis, accessible to a broad readership, on the most pressing issues facing the transatlantic community.

Inflection Points

A weekly column by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe, Inflection Points focuses on the global challenges facing the United States and how to best address them.

UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics, economy, civil society, and culture, with commentary drawn from a wide-array of thought-leaders, politicians, experts, and activists from Ukraine and the global community.

MENASource

The MENASource blog follows the transitions in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Syria, as well as other political and economic changes throughout the region. MENASource provides a platform for diverse perspectives from the US, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa on major issues that are at stake in the post-Arab Spring era.

SyriaSource

SyriaSource, a project of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, amplifies Syrian voices, alongside Atlantic Council researchers and fellows, to showcase issues most pertinent to Syrians. The blog features news and analysis directly from Syrian sources as well as international experts.

IranSource

IranSource provides a holistic look at Iran’s internal dynamics, global and regional policies, and posture through unique analysis of current events and long-term, strategic issues related to Iran.

EnergySource

EnergySource provides analysis and insight on key energy issues, making sense of key energy trends and their implications for geopolitics, geoeconomics, policy, and markets.

AfricaSource

AfricaSource provides in-depth analysis and incisive commentary by the Africa Center’s experts on the people and events shaping the present and future of the world’s most dynamic regions.

Econographics

Econographics help visualize and contextualize the most important trends and developments in the global economy.

TURKEYSource

TURKEYSource provides analysis and insight on Turkey and related developments with coverage from Turkish, regional, and international experts. This blog offers timely news and commentary on key issues related to transatlantic relations, energy, business, migration, and key players.

SouthAsiaSource

SouthAsiaSource is the Atlantic Council’s premier publication for South Asian affairs, covering areas such as economics and trade, governance, education, climate and environmental issues, politics and diplomacy, migration, security, and other areas.

Latest from across our blogs

New Atlanticist

Feb 3, 2012

Early Afghanistan Withdrawal Least Bad Option

By James Joyner

The Obama administration’s acceleration of its Afghanistan withdrawal deadline to 2013, a year earlier than planned, is a break with America’s commitment to its NATO and Afghan allies, an abandonment of a mission Obama deemed “essential” in his 2008 campaign, and kills any chances of negotiating an acceptable settlement with the Taliban. It’s also the right thing […]

Afghanistan NATO

NATOSource

Feb 3, 2012

A Leaner NATO Needs a Tighter Focus

By Hans Binnendijk, the International Herald Tribune

From Hans Binnendijk, the International Herald Tribune:  European nations have slashed their defense budgets to record low levels without much regard for NATO’s overall defense requirements.

United Kingdom United States and Canada

NATOSource

Feb 3, 2012

NATO defence ministers achieve breakthrough on Baltic air patrol mission

By the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania

From the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania:  On February 2, Thursday, Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Rasa Juknevičienė while at the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels noted that a breakthrough had been achieved in the effort to have a prolonged Baltic Air policing mission

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Feb 3, 2012

NATO defense ministers ‘consumed by semantics’ over end of combat missions in Afghanistan

By Elisabeth Bumiller, the New York Times

From Elisabeth Bumiller, the New York Times:  Reacting to consternation among NATO allies, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta sought to clarify on Thursday night that American troops would not step back entirely from combat in Afghanistan next year

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Feb 2, 2012

Turkey prevents French military from using its airspace and territorial waters

By Hürriyet

From Hürriyet:  French state aircraft and warships are no longer using Turkish airspace and territorial waters after permission requests in three different cases were rejected by the Turkish government, France’s top diplomat in Ankara said

New Atlanticist

Feb 2, 2012

Post-American Iraq: Forgotten Piece of Land?

By Anna Borshchevskaya

The last convoy of US soldiers pulled out of Iraq on December 18, 2011, leaving Iraqis with mixed feelings: pride in gained sovereignty, but anxiety about sectarian violence and the inability of Iraq’s security forces to maintain peace on their own. While publically Iraqis may have supported the withdrawal, in private, they often expressed reservations. […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Feb 2, 2012

The Splintering of Al Shabaab

By Bronwyn Bruton & Peter Pham

For the better part of five years, much of Somalia’s long-suffering population has been caught in a deadly stalemate between al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked militant group, and African Union peacekeepers, known as AMISOM. The peacekeepers are tasked with defending the country’s weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which, despite years of backing from regional powers […]

NATOSource

Feb 2, 2012

Why Obama Is Right to Withdraw From Afghanistan Early

By James Joyner, the Atlantic

From James Joyner, the Atlantic:  The Obama administration’s acceleration of its Afghanistan withdrawal deadline to 2013, a year earlier than planned, is a break with America’s commitment to its NATO and Afghan allies

United States and Canada

NATOSource

Feb 2, 2012

NATO to consolidate air command operations at Ramstein

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

From John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes:  As part of a plan to consolidate its air command headquarters, NATO officials have decided to make Ramstein Air Base the hub for alliance missions that range from NATO’s air police operations to a growing missile defense program

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Feb 2, 2012

U.S., NATO seek to clarify Panetta comments on ending Afghan mission

By Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post

From Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post:  U.S. and NATO officials struggled Thursday to clarify how long their troops would remain engaged in combat in Afghanistan, a day after Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said U.S. forces would shift toward a training and advisory role next year.

NATO Security & Defense
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