New Atlanticist

Trump’s Reaction to London Bombing Bolsters ISIS Narrative

By Jasmine El-Gamal and Kathryn Elliott

In a reaction that is sure to bolster the narrative of those claiming responsibility for the attack, US President Donald J. Trump released a series of tweets labeling the incident at London’s Parsons Green subway station on  September 15 an act of terrorism before British authorities had done so. Trump claimed, among other things, that […]

Libya’s Oil Recovery Over a Barrel

By Reed Blakemore and Elissa Miller

A recent series of militant attacks that forced the closure of three of Libya’s key oil fields represents the latest blow to the North African nation’s efforts to revive its energy sector while reigning in the chronic instability that has plagued the country since its 2011 revolution. Over the course of two weeks in late […]

The Kremlin’s Agent in the United States

By Rachel Ansley

The US Department of Justice’s demand that a US affiliate of Russian state-sponsored news agency RT register as a foreign agent  follows an Atlantic Council report, which suggested that RT be labelled a tool of the Kremlin. “We suspect that RT is likely violating US law by spreading propaganda on behalf of a foreign government […]

Time is Running Out: The Case for US Investment in its Energy Infrastructure

By Cynthia L. Quarterman

As Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful ever recorded, leaves Florida battered in its wake, US energy infrastructure continues to bear the strain of long-term planning neglect. The damage wrought by the storms and the impact on the energy sector demonstrates that the time is right to prioritize infrastructure, particularly pipeline infrastructure planning.

NAFTA Negotiations: Why Are They So Controversial?

By Sara Van Velkinburgh

In the midst of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations in August, US President Donald J. Trump tweeted saying that NAFTA is the “worst trade deal ever made,” and threatened to withdraw the United States from the agreement because Canada and Mexico are being “difficult”. While many have brushed these statements off ahead of […]

A Strategy for Dealing with North Korea

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former US undersecretary of state, R. Nicholas Burns, discusses US options, the importance of Chinese pressure, and lessons learned from the Iran nuclear crisis New sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council on September 11 in response to North Korea’s latest nuclear test are “not significant enough,” according to R. Nicholas Burns, an Atlantic […]

Rescinding DACA Undermines Trump’s Central America Policy

By Juan Felipe Celia

US President Donald J. Trump’s September 4 decision to rescind a program that has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people who were illegally brought to the United States to remain in the country undermines his administration’s stance towards Central America. While Trump reportedly vacillated until the last hour about whether to end the program […]

An Atlantic Council Roadmap for State Department Reform

A new Atlantic Council report that seeks to enhance the US State Department’s effectiveness recommends, among other things, a more results-oriented budget and streamlined foreign aid.  A key recommendation is to use the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as “the platform to build a more robust, effective civilian assistance capacity, empowering it with an […]

Iran, Turkey Key to Turkmenistan Realizing its Energy Potential

By Masoud Mostajabi

Turkmenistan must invest in new infrastructure to export its vast energy resources if it is to become a substantial player in the global energy market. Achieving this objective would reduce Turkey and the European Union (EU)’s dependence on Russian gas. Turkmenistan boasts the sixth-largest natural gas reserves in the world, an estimated 617 trillion cubic […]

The United States’ ‘Horrible Options’ for Dealing with North Korea

By Ashish Kumar Sen

With Kim Jong-un ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula, US President Donald J. Trump is left with two “horrible” options to deal with the threat posed by the North Korean regime, according to Atlantic Council board member and a former acting and deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Michael Morell. Acknowledging that […]