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New Atlanticist

May 23, 2012

NATO’s Ballistic Missile Defense: A Promising Triumph of Prudence

By Boyko Noev

At their Chicago summit, NATO heads of state and government declared that the Alliance had achieved an interim ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability. This political-military project is one the most important achievements in NATO’s post- Cold War history and goes far beyond the technical aspects of a very unique and complex defense system. First and […]

Missile Defense NATO

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2012

The Lost Alliance: NATO in Chicago

By Tomas Ries

A ship is adrift in a foggy sea. The crew are in their bunks, the officers argue about their mortgages, and the captain has left. The captain has left because the United States no longer believes NATO can contribute significantly against any serious global strategic challenges. An occasional bit player, yes: a partner with the […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2012

Why Centcom Chief Really Wanted Third Aircraft Carrier in the Gulf

By Barbara Slavin

Eli Lake of the Daily Beast reports that Gen. James Mattis, the head of US Central Command, unsuccessfully sought permission to send a third US aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region in January in an effort to deter Iran from escalating tensions in the Gulf.

Iran

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2012

NATO Muddles Through in Chicago

By James Joyner

The twenty-eight NATO heads of state just met for two days in Chicago and agreed that NATO was a very fine organization, indeed. They then kicked several cans down the road before posing for pictures and having a nice meal. The Chicago Summit Declaration was mostly boilerplate, declaring commitment to the transatlantic bond, the Washington Treaty, the troops […]

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2012

To Survive, NATO Must Globalize

By Anne-Marie Slaughter

Sixty-three years after the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, binding the United States, Canada, and ten European states to consider an attack on one an attack on all, NATO is transforming itself into a twenty-first-century global security organization. The result will be a safer world.  In 1949, the world was rapidly dividing into two principle […]

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2012

Anchoring NATO with Leadership

By R. Nicholas Burns and Damon Wilson

The long-term need for stronger political leadership is NATO’s most important challenge. The eurozone debt crisis and substantial reductions in defense spending have badly weakened Europe’s military capabilities and sapped its ambitions for global leadership. The decline is so severe that former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned of a “dim, if not dismal” future […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2012

The G Fiddle, Dissemble and Wait Communiqué

By Julian Lindley-French

The G-8 Summit communique, translated into plain language.

Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

May 20, 2012

NATO Needs Leadership Rethink to Remain Relevant

By Sarwar Kashmeri

After 64 years, it is time to share the baton of Nato’s leadership with the European Union. What is needed is bold vision of the kind that created the alliance in 1947.  Unfortunately, this is not on tap in Chicago. Which is why the Nato summit will be a missed opportunity to recalibrate the alliance […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

May 20, 2012

NATO: When I’m Sixty-Four

By R. Nicholas Burns and David Manning

NATO was 63 in April and will celebrate its birthday at today’s summit meeting in Chicago, no doubt accompanied by much debate about what purpose the alliance now serves and whether it has a future. The backdrop is somber. The NATO heads of government will focus on the withdrawal of the alliance’s forces from Afghanistan […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 19, 2012

Continue NATO Expansion

By Damon Wilson

This weekend, NATO leaders gather in Chicago to tackle an agenda dominated by Afghanistan, coping with defense budget cuts and global partnerships. These are key issues, yet alliance leaders cannot afford to ignore enlargement. The goal should be for this summit to advance, not set back, the candidacies of Macedonia, Montenegro, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. First, […]

NATO Security & Defense