New Atlanticist

Hof Looks at Kerry’s Syria Statement

In a piece on MENASource, Fred Hof looks at Secretary of State Kerry’s recent statements about Syria.

What Is China’s Endgame?

By Robert A. Manning and James J. Przystup

Hugh White’s recent post appears to question the premise of my recent East Asia Forum piece arguing that counterbalancing China is not containment, implying that it is a distinction without a difference. He argues that the US strategic goal in Asia is to maintain its primacy, something that China’s rise is overtaking. It is the […]

Parody of Democracy

By Julian Lindley-French

Aung San Suu Kyi said recently, “Sometimes I think that a parody of democracy could be more dangerous than a blatant dictatorship because that gives people an opportunity to avoid doing anything about it.”  Some reports suggest 1700 people were murdered by a Sarin gas attack this week in a Damascus suburb.  The Assad regime or some […]

Clapper’s Bodyguard of Lies

By James Joyner

Winston Churchill declared, “In war-time, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” In the current environment, it’s difficult to know where the truth ends and the lies begin. Last week the Washington Post reported, “The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority […]

Iran a Bright Spot in a Bleak Middle East?

By Barbara Slavin

As President Barack Obama returned from vacation this week – a short break interrupted by his need to react to the mayhem in Cairo – he may have been thinking that prospects for a major foreign policy achievement in his second term were fading.

The Myth of US-India Containment

By Robert A. Manning

US Vice-President Biden’s recent trip to India appears to have reinforced fears in China of a containment strategy. This notion exaggerates US policy and underestimates India as an independent strategic actor.

No No-Fly Zone over Syria

By Paul Rasmussen

Last week’s meeting between General Dempsey and King Abdullah II of Jordan was noteworthy in that the subject of military intervention in Syria was not discussed.  After two years of endless strategic and political debate it seems that recent events have put an end to the suggestion that the United States should intervene in Syria.  […]

Hollande Finds Confidence, Vision, and Voice—Now It’s the French People’s Turn

By Nicholas Dungan

Earlier today, President François Hollande provided what many had been waiting for since his inauguration a year ago: a confident vision of the future and a clear idea of France’s place in it. It would be easy, but erroneous, to underestimate how big a difference this change of discourse can make.