New Atlanticist

In Egypt, Watch this (Shrinking) Space

By Ashish Kumar Sen

President’s plan for state of emergency could further reduce space for dissent, said Atlantic Council’s Mirette Mabrouk Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi’s decision to impose a three-month state of emergency in response to deadly church bombings will likely further shrink the space for freedom of expression and dissent in Egypt, according to Mirette Mabrouk, director […]

This is How the World is Reacting to the US Strikes in Syria

On April 6, US President Donald J. Trump announced that the United States had carried out a missile strike on a Syrian air base in response to a chemical attack by the Syrian government, which killed nearly eighty civilians on April 4. Trump said the strike was in the “vital national security interest of the […]

Assad Must Be Held Accountable for All Types of Terror

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US missile strikes cannot be a one-off response, said the Atlantic Council’s Frederic C. Hof US missile strikes on a Syrian air base from where a deadly chemical weapons attack is believed to have been launched send a clear message that the United States is now “directly engaged” in addressing the mass homicide perpetrated by […]

Innovation Key to Maintaining US Defense Leadership

The United States’ role as a global leader in defense is not “automatic,” it must be maintained and improved by building bridges between the technology and security sectors to encourage innovation in military operations, former US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said at the Atlantic Council on April 4. While the US military “is the finest […]

Brexit Bargain Should Not Include Defense

By Lisa Aronsson

One might have hoped that the United Kingdom’s security relationship with Europe could be kept out of the Brexit negotiations, which will be difficult enough without an added layer of political complexity. Alas, just a week after the UK fired the starting gun on its departure from the European Union, it is already clear that […]

Trump Has Few Options to Respond to Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria

The United States has limited options when it comes to responding to the deadly chemical attack likely carried out by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria’s Idlib province on April 4, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. The international community has so far imposed sanctions on Syria, which haven’t worked, said Faysal Itani, a senior fellow […]

Trump-Xi Summit: ‘America First’ Paves the Way for the ‘Chinese Dream’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s “America First” policy—marked by a retreat from multilateralism—has paved the way for China to step into the void and for its president, Xi Jinping, to realize his “Chinese Dream,” according to two Atlantic Council analysts. Trump and Xi met at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on April 6 […]

Arab Leaders Try to Get Trump’s Attention

By Shehab al-Makahleh

Eager to unlock the door to US-Arab cooperation on tackling regional issues following decades of disappointment with Washington’s lack of understanding of their concerns, three Arab leaders are engaging US President Donald Trump’s new administration over the next month. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Trump at the White House on April 3; Jordan’s King […]

US Needs ‘Strategic and Moral Clarity’ for Russia Reset

By Jack Gloss

The presence of “strategic and moral clarity” in Washington is essential before a reset in the US-Russia relationship can be attempted, John E. Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center and a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said in Washington on March 28. US President Donald J. Trump has expressed a desire […]

Update NAFTA, But First Understand Why It’s Important

By Carla A. Hills

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was heavily criticized during our recent presidential campaign. The day after US President Donald J. Trump’s swearing in, it was posted on the White House website that “the President is committed to renegotiating NAFTA [to give] American workers a fair deal.” Before moving forward to “renegotiate,” it is […]