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.

New Atlanticist
Mar 6, 2025

How European leaders are responding to Trump’s approach to Ukraine and Europe

From London and Berlin to Paris and Brussels, European leaders have taken several notable steps this week on security. This follows the blow-up between the Ukrainian and US presidents on February 28.

New Atlanticist
Feb 26, 2025

Why the US should not lift sanctions against Russia

By
Charles Lichfield

Sanctions are having an unmistakable effect, albeit below the inflated expectations of many in the West in early 2022. Lifting them now would be a mistake.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist
Mar 5, 2025

The Egyptian plan for postwar Gaza is a good starting point—but it needs changes

By
Thomas S. Warrick

While many obstacles remain, the Egyptian proposal could form the starting point for negotiations over a workable plan for postwar Gaza.

Conflict
Crisis Management

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New Atlanticist

Apr 14, 2018

Syria: Mission Accomplished?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The morning after US, French, and British jets targeted chemical weapons facilities in Syria, US President Donald J. Trump took to Twitter to declare “Mission Accomplished.” That declaration—the two words that former US President George W. Bush came to regret—has left many scratching their heads. “I found the comment itself puzzling because I don’t know […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Apr 14, 2018

World Reaction to Strikes on Syria

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The United States, the United Kingdom, and France on April 13 launched strikes on Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack which they blamed on Bashar al-Assad’s regime. While US Defense Secretary James Mattis described the strikes as a “one-time” shot, the Western allies warned more strikes could come in the event of […]

France Germany

New Atlanticist

Apr 14, 2018

The United States, Britain, and France Launch Strikes on Syria

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The United States and its European allies have launched strikes against Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack blamed on Bashar al-Assad’s regime. US President Donald J. Trump announced the strikes on April 13. In remarks at the White House, Trump said he had “ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Apr 14, 2018

Follow-Up Will Be Key in the Wake of Strikes on Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

The attacks on Syrian targets are not aimed at ending the regime of Bashar al-Assad, even though the United States called on that regime and its leader to step aside nearly seven years ago. For this murderous crime family and entourage to be brought down, a much more sustained military campaign—one involving a robust ground […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Apr 13, 2018

A Question Mark Over the Fate of Libya’s Haftar

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Reports that Libyan Gen. Khalifa Haftar is in a coma will deepen the chaos in a country that has been in flux for the past seven years. Haftar is a military strongman whose forces have fought Islamist militias, but has himself proven to be an obstacle in efforts to unite Libya. Media organizations reported that […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Apr 12, 2018

Trump’s Change of Heart on TPP

By Ashish Kumar Sen

On January 23, 2017, his first full business day as president, Donald J. Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). A little more than a year later, on April 12, 2018, Republican lawmakers said Trump had instructed his staff to look into rejoining the multilateral trade agreement with eleven other Asia-Pacific […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

New Atlanticist

Apr 12, 2018

Russia, Iran Eyed for Solution to Syria War

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As missile strikes are contemplated, France’s ambassador to the United States says political transition in Damascus must be explored The United States and its European allies should explore with Russia and Iran the possibility of a credible political transition in Syria that can end the seven-year war in that country, France’s ambassador to the United […]

France Russia

New Atlanticist

Apr 11, 2018

Missile Strikes on Syria, But Then What?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Frederic C. Hof says Assad will not be deterred by a one-off strike With missile strikes imminent in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, the looming question is: what next, said Frederic C. Hof, a nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. “The […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2018

Syria: All Eyes on Trump (and His Tweets)

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump is weighing his options as he decides how to respond to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. He has not ruled out military strikes. In a tweet on April 11, Trump warned Russia that missiles targeting its ally, Syria, “will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!'”

France Germany

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2018

A new era for Uzbekistan

By Aziz Egamov and Rafael Sattarov

Shavkat Mirziyoyev has charted a fiercely independent foreign policy that aims to mend ties with Uzbekistan’s neighbors and boost its economy.

Central Asia

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