New Atlanticist

Sharp insights and bold ideas from across the Council

From climate change to the China challenge and the contest between democracy and dictatorship, the New Atlanticist is where top experts and policymakers at the Atlantic Council and beyond offer exclusive insight on the most pressing global challenges—and the US role in addressing them alongside allies and partners.

The Council’s flagship section features big ideas, groundbreaking research, lightning-fast expert reactions, in-depth analyses, and thought-provoking commentary to shape public policy.

Iraqi parliament calls for troop withdrawal: What next for the United States?

New Atlanticist Sep 4, 2025

Dispatches from Damascus: The state of Syria’s postwar transition nine months after Assad’s fall

On a recent trip to the Syrian capital, Atlantic Council experts took note of how far the country has come since the Assad regime’s fall and what still needs to happen to secure peace and prosperity.

New Atlanticist Aug 29, 2025

Twenty questions (and expert answers) about the negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine

By Atlantic Council experts

August saw a flurry of diplomatic activity to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As September nears, Atlantic Council experts share their insights on what to expect next.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

New Atlanticist Aug 28, 2025

Germany wants to double its defense spending. Where should the money go?

By Atlantic Council experts

After decades of Berlin underinvesting in its defense, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has plans to transform the Bundeswehr into Europe’s strongest military.

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

Experts React

Dive deep into developing stories, guided by continually updated expert analysis that leaves you better informed about the most pressing global issues behind the headlines.

Markup

Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

New Atlanticist

Jan 5, 2020

Iraqi parliament calls for troop withdrawal: What next for the United States?

By Atlantic Council

"If this vote tells us anything," Abbas Kadhim says, "it confirms that if Iraqis are cornered and forced to choose between the United States and Iran, they will find it safer to choose Iran."

Conflict
Iran

New Atlanticist

Jan 4, 2020

The Soleimani assassination: A view from Britain

By John M. Roberts

While UK political commentators were phrasing Britain’s low-key response to the assassination as even-handedness, the actual response on the ground is likely to be anything but.

Iran
Iraq

New Atlanticist

Jan 4, 2020

The implications of the Soleimani assasination

By Peter Westmacott

There will be plenty of people advising the US president that, even with Soleimani gone, the risk of leaving the stage completely is that Iran will find it even easier to fill the vacuum.

Conflict
Iran

New Atlanticist

Jan 3, 2020

Questions and certainties in the killing of Qasem Soleimani

By Borzou Daragahi

Just as certainly, the United States’ failing Iran policy has not made Iran militarily weaker or reined in its actions. But it has alienated and frightened US friends in Europe and Asia, who gaped with the same shock at the assassination of Soleimani as the crowd watching King Joffrey order the beheading of Eddard Stark on Game of Thrones.

Conflict
Iran

New Atlanticist

Jan 3, 2020

Iraq’s parliament may be about to do President Trump a big fat favor

By Kirsten Fontenrose

The biggest favor the Iraqi Parliament can do for US President Donald J. Trump right now is to vote to evict the United States from Iraq. The US president has been clear on his preference for drawing down the US presence in the region rather than beefing it up. Right now, he is asking his advisers why the United States should stay in Iraq, where the two stated missions are to train the Iraqi Security Forces and conduct counterterrorism operations.

Conflict
Iran

New Atlanticist

Jan 3, 2020

Soleimani killing threatens to break open US-Iranian conflict

By David A. Wemer

The assassination of a top Iranian military official in Iraq on January 2 is the most dramatic step yet in the ongoing escalation between the United States and Iran in the Middle East.

Conflict
Iran

New Atlanticist

Jan 1, 2020

New low in US-Iraq relations: What’s next for 2020

By Abbas Kadhim

The attention on Iraq will shift away from the protesters and the reforms they are calling for to the “more newsworthy” events in the Green Zone and the aftermath of the attack on the US Embassy.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

New Atlanticist

Dec 31, 2019

US strikes in Iraq and Syria: Managing the escalation

By C. Anthony Pfaff

It is a very bad idea to turn Iraq into a battlefield (again). However, it is a worse idea to let Tehran use certain militias to continue to derail Iraq’s recovery, reconciliation, and reconstruction. It is certainly the case that the United States will have to accept a role for Iran in Iraq; however, the Iranians will likewise have to accept a role for the United States. If they do not, then the fault for turning Iraq into a battlefield lies with them.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

New Atlanticist

Dec 29, 2019

Experts react: United States retaliates against Iran-backed forces in Iraq and Syria

By Atlantic Council

The United States launched a series of airstrikes against the Iranian-backed group Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq and Syria on December 29, 2019.

Conflict
Iraq

New Atlanticist

Dec 24, 2019

Saudi failure to convict Saud al-Qahtani is glaring

By Kirsten Fontenrose

For a purported lack of sufficient evidence, Saud al-Qahtani was not even brought to trial. This tells us one of three things: One, Saudi Arabia no longer values its relationship with the United States; two, the US intelligence community sees greater value in monitoring al-Qahtani’s activities than in seeing him imprisoned; or three, the Saudi court system is, impressively, more evidence-based than we knew.

Saudi Arabia

Share

Issue briefs and reports