Category: NATOSource

Hagel: U.S. ‘has grown weary of war and skeptical of foreign engagements’

By Chuck Hagel, Department of Defense

From Chuck Hagel, Department of Defense :  The United States is emerging from more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the threat of violent extremism persists and continues to emanate from weak states and ungoverned spaces in the Middle East and North Africa.

Georgia against military solutions of territorial disputes

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Georgia rules out any type of military solutions to the territorial disputes with its former republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Alasaniya said on Tuesday.

Russian military says CFE treaty has no future

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Six years after announcing a unilateral moratorium on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), the Russian Defense Ministry has reaffirmed that the original document has no prospects in the future.

European industry flocks to U.S. to take advantage of cheaper gas

By Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post

From Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post:  The sprawling chemical plant in this city along the Rhine River has been a jewel of Germany’s manufacturing-led economy for more than a century. But the plunging price of natural gas in the United States has European companies setting sail across the Atlantic to stay competitive.

U.S., Russia, and Britain preparing to spend half a trillion dollars on modernizing their nuclear arsenals

By Des Browne, Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov, and Sam Nunn, International Herald Tribune

From Des Browne, Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov, and Sam Nunn, International Herald Tribune:  [T]oday’s leaders should move decisively and permanently toward a new security strategy, one that considers offensive and defensive military forces, nuclear and conventional weapons, and cybersecurity and space.

Has France ‘made the right choices in terms of leaders and policies in recent decades?’

By Dominique Moisi, Project Syndicate

From Dominique Moisi, Project Syndicate:  [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel has changed profoundly while in office. Five years ago, she did not exude the natural authority that she now possesses.

NATO seeks cheaper alternative to Russian transport hub – official

By RT

NATO’s role in Obama’s Syria debate

By Adam Entous, Wall Street Journal

From Adam Entous, Wall Street Journal:  The U.S.’s Syria strategy is emblematic of the administration’s policy of limiting Washington’s role as global policeman.

‘Internal divisions, miscalculations and bureaucratic inertia’ in Obama’s Syria policy

By Adam Entous, Wall Street Journal

From Adam Entous, Wall Street Journal:  A reconstruction of months of conversations within the administration—based on interviews with two dozen senior officials in Washington, Europe and the Middle East—suggests that process has been slowed by internal divisions, miscalculations and bureaucratic inertia.

Will Russia take ‘yes’ for an answer?

By Steven Pifer, New York Times

From Steven Pifer, New York Times:  When Secretary of State Chuck Hagel announced this month that the Pentagon would increase the number of missile interceptors in Alaska, he noted that the U.S. missile defense program in Europe would be restructured.