New Atlanticist

Strange Bedfellows: Saudi Arabia, Israel Oppose Iran Nuclear Deal for Different Reasons

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Saudis worry about regional power, Israelis about an ‘existential threat,’ say analysts Saudi Arabia and Israel find themselves in the same camp as opponents of a nuclear deal with Iran, but the Sunni kingdom and Jewish state have very different reasons for their opposition. Israelis are concerned mainly with a nuclear-armed Iran, while the Saudis […]

US Foreign Policy Falls Victim to Partisan Gridlock Ahead of 2016 Elections

By Larry Luxner

Atlantic Council launches strategy initiative to boost Washington’s global influence With the 2016 presidential elections a little over a year and a half away, analysts agree that the partisan bitterness consuming Washington is hurting US leadership on the world stage. That bitterness reached a new low in March when a group of 47 Republican senators […]

‘Global Solution’ Needed to Fight Climate Change, Says Kerry

By Ashish Kumar Sen

‘There is no Planet B’: In Atlantic Council address, Secretary turns up heat on global warming deniers Climate change is “one of the biggest threats” facing the Earth today, and anything less than a “global solution” to fight it will not work, US Secretary of State John F. Kerry said March 12. In an impassioned […]

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. […]