New Atlanticist

The Rebirth of President Putin

By Don Snow

Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday that he will trade places with current president Dmitry Medvedev next year, running for the presidency while Medvedev settles for the number two spot of prime minister. Under revisions to the Russian constitution, the presidency has been lengthened from a four-year to a six-year term, and presidents can run for […]

Creeping Annexation

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

In the perennial Palestinian-Israeli crisis, Barack Obama decided to enhance his 2012 re-election chances by giving his pro-Israel credentials a much-needed boost. By the same token Obama scuttled his chances of improving America’s image in the Arab world. The Palestinians are no nearer to achieving statehood and U.N. membership. And the land for the creation […]

Redrawing Europe’s Energy Map: Poland’s Offer

The Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom enjoys unwavering control of gas exports to Europe with little current viable competition. The European Union, overall, receives 25 percent of its natural gas supply via pipelines from Russia, with some (mostly Eastern European) consumers almost completely dependent on the large supplier. These consumers have been actively in pursuit […]

Whither the African Union?

By Peter Pham

With their attention largely focused in recent months on the unprecedented challenges faced by some of the pillars of the transatlantic community—NATO during and after the intervention in Libya, the European Union as it struggles to contain the sovereign debt crisis, and the United States where partisan wrangling over the budget deficits again threatens to […]

The SAS War Diaries: Who Thinks Wins

By Julian Lindley-French

They literally leapt to prominence in May 1980 when Britain’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) stormed Iran’s hijacked London embassy. I was watching snooker on the BBC at the time as coverage was interrupted to cover the assault live. It was the dawn of the 24/7 media age in which we live today. I can […]

Another Swing, Another Missed Opportunity for Leadership

By Alexei Monsarrat

Does anyone read G20 communiqué’s anymore?  In case you missed it, the G20 finance ministers yesterday released a statement saying they are “committed to a strong and coordinated international response to address the renewed challenges facing the global economy.” 

The Afghan National Police

By William B. Caldwell IV

Last week’s attack in Kabul underscored two points. First, insurgents groups have the intent to undermine international efforts to bring security and stability to Afghanistan. Second, the Afghan Army, Air Force, and Police have the means to minimize insurgent ambition.

The Ahmadinejad Show

By Barbara Slavin

Tormenting Western journalists must be among the few pleasures left to Iran’s beleaguered president. On Thursday afternoon in his New York hotel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad punted questions about human rights, expressed sympathy for the downtrodden masses of Europe and America, and otherwise managed to wear down an august assembly of American media, from New Yorker editor […]

Obama Must Choose Between Israel and the Arab World

By Rena Zuabi

On the margins of the United Nations Security Council vote on the Palestinian Authority’s bid for statehood, President Obama met with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan this week in New York to discuss the future of Turkey’s deteriorating relations with Israel. Since Israel’s attack on the Gaza Flotilla in 2010, which killed nine Turkish citizens, […]

Transatlantic Leadership Absent But Desperately Needed

By James Joyner

As the transatlantic community faces its greatest challenges since the end of World War II, it is more vital than ever. That theme resonated through the speeches of all three honorees at the second annual  Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award dinner. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, pointed to the crisis in the […]