New Atlanticist

Rights and Wrongs: US Law Hurting Ties, Says Nigerian Official

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Leahy amendment curbs US military aid to foreign troops accused of atrocities A US law that bans the sale of weapons to foreign forces accused of human rights violations is “hindering” cooperation between the United States and Nigeria, even as Abuja wages war against Boko Haram militants, a top Nigerian intelligence official said March 11. […]

US Sanctions will Produce More Repression in Venezuela

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council analysts say Maduro will further try to shift focus from economy to ‘imperialist threat’ The Obama administration’s decision to declare Venezuela a national security threat and slap sanctions on seven officials from the oil-rich nation gives President Nicolás Maduro another excuse to blame the United States for his country’s economic plight, according to […]

How will a €1.1 trillion bid to energize the eurozone economy work?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

QE benefits will depend on ‘many factors exogenous to monetary policy,’ says Atlantic Council’s Roscini The European Central Bank (ECB)’s €1.1 trillion attempt to energize the eurozone economy will have several positive effects, but these will depend on “many factors exogenous to monetary policy,” says the Atlantic Council’s Dante Roscini. The ECB this week began […]

Don’t Ignore Coal, Nuclear Power, Says Southern CEO Fanning

By Larry Luxner

A sound energy policy must not ignore coal and nuclear power, says Thomas A. Fanning, CEO of Southern Co., one of the largest utilities in the United States. “Let’s take advantage of all the resources we have. Let’s use every arrow in our quiver,” Fanning said at a March 10 meeting hosted by the Atlantic […]

US, EU Pressure Sought on Congo’s Kabila

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Opposition leaders see signs President is trying to cling to power The United States and the European Union must continue to press Congolese President Joseph Kabila to leave office at the end of his second term in 2016 because the country’s constitution bars him from seeking a third term, opposition officials from the Democratic Republic […]

Ukraine: The High Cost of Ignoring Russia’s Land Grab in Crimea

Report documents rights abuses; Kremlin ‘greatest security challenge,’ says Atlantic Council’s Herbst The apparent US indifference toward the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in February 2014 amounts to giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a green light to commit similar acts of aggression against other countries, panelists warned during a March 6 conference at the Atlantic […]

Unprecedented Uncertainty in Turkey’s AK Party

By Ross Wilson

Turkey today appears more unsettled than at any time since the Justice and Development (AK) Party came to power in late 2002.  The difficulties it faces now differ substantially from those during previous periods of discord, such as the Gezi Park-related protests in May-June 2013 or when the military intervened in the 2007 presidential election. […]

South Sudan: Kicking the Can Down the Road, Again

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Rivals and international community lack political will to end crisis, says Atlantic Council’s Pham South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President Riek Machar failed to resolve their differences by the March 5 deadline not only because they lack the political will to do so, but also because the international community lacks the […]

Vietnam on the Tigris and Euphrates?

By Harlan Ullman

For those of us old enough to recall the Vietnam War, fact and reality were obscured and mangled by successive White Houses anxious to reach the delusional “light at the end of the tunnel.” Tragically, at the end of the tunnel lay a quagmire that consumed 58,000 American and countless Vietnamese lives. In the highly complex […]

Can Morocco Talks Unite Libyan Rivals?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council analyst says ISIS threat must galvanize political foes Rival factions in Libya must come together for talks in Morocco this week to take on the threat posed by an affiliate of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), says Atlantic Council analyst Fadel Lamen. An ISIS affiliate has exploited the political and […]