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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

Feb 3, 2012

US replacing 2 brigades with twice yearly battalion exercises in Europe

By Leon Panetta, the Department of Defense

From Leon Panetta, the Department of Defense:  I also should mention that I again reaffirm that as part of our strategy, one of the pillars in our strategy is to maintain our strong partnership with NATO

United States and Canada

MENASource

Feb 3, 2012

Why Legal Entanglements of an Aging Movie Star and Billionaire Represent Crucial Tests for “New Egypt”

By Kurt Werthmuller

On Thursday, February 2, fallout from the previous day’s violent soccer clashes in Port Said overshadowed reports that Egyptian film star Adel Imam had been sentenced to three months of hard labor for “insulting Islam” throughout his long filmmaking career.  This is the second religious defamation case against an Egyptian public figure in as many […]

NATOSource

Feb 3, 2012

Panetta on Afghanistan 2013: ‘We will engage in combat operations as necessary’

By Leon Panetta, the Department of Defense

From Leon Panetta, the Department of Defense:  First, as an alliance, obviously we are fully committed to the Lisbon framework:  in together, out together.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Feb 3, 2012

A Leaner NATO Needs a Tighter Focus

By Hans Binnendijk

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have an opportunity this weekend as they address the Munich Security Conference to suggest ways to stabilize NATO’s ailing defense capabilities. European nations have slashed their defense budgets to record low levels without much regard for NATO’s overall defense requirements. And last week […]

NATO Security & Defense

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