Category: NATOSource

EU ambassadors blast Belarus over diplomatic spat with Sweden, mull new sanctions

By Reuters

From Reuters:  Belarus’s relations with the West took a turn for the worse on Friday as EU governments agreed to reprimand Minsk for expelling the Swedish ambassador in a row over a pro-democracy stunt involving an air drop of teddy bears on Belarus’s territory.

Belarus: Lithuania ‘must answer to us’ for role in ‘teddy bear incident’

By the Local (Sweden)

Obama’s Europe Pivot

By John Vinocur, the International Herald Tribune

The US has ‘neither the money, nor the forces, nor the will, nor the concepts’ for new interventions

By Paradigm Cure

From Paradigm Cure:  The idea of putting in tens of thousands of troops to enforce order, generating a “civilian surge” of development and state building experts, and otherwise launching ourselves into yet another “stability operation” of indeterminate length has zero appeal, and for good reason. 

U.S. and Gulf Allies Pursue a Missile Shield Against Iranian Attack

By Thom Shanker, the New York Times

From Thom Shanker, the New York Times:  The United States and its Arab allies are knitting together a regional missile defense system across the Persian Gulf to protect cities, oil refineries, pipelines and military bases from an Iranian attack, according to government officials and public documents.

A Call to Arm Syria’s Rebels

By Malcolm Rifkind, the International Herald Tribune

From Malcolm Rifkind, the International Herald Tribune:  I accept that Western military combat in Syria would be mistaken. Unlike the NATO-supported action in Libya, there is no prospect of Russia ending its veto in the Security Council. Nor has the Arab League called for such action, as it did with the rising against Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Cyberweapon targets Middle East bank accounts

By David Goldman, CNN Money

From David Goldman, CNN Money:  A new cyberweapon that secretly steals bank account information from its victims was exposed on Thursday.

The Obama Doctrine’s First Term

By Joseph S. Nye, Project Syndicate

From Joseph S. Nye, Project Syndicate:  Obama’s rhetoric during his 2008 campaign and the first months of his presidency was both inspirational in style and transformational in objective.

America and Europe’s Pacific Partnership

By Patryk Pawlak and Eleni Ekmektsioglou, the Diplomat

From Patryk Pawlak and Eleni Ekmektsioglou, the Diplomat:  The joint statement touches upon several important issues for the region’s stability: North Korea’s denuclearization, democratization in Burma, territorial claims in the South China Sea, and human rights.

U.S.-EU Statement on the Asia-Pacific Region

By the Department of State

From the Department of State:  Secretary Clinton and High Representative Ashton noted that interdependence between Asia, the United States and the European Union has reached unprecedented levels.