New Atlanticist

NATO’s Half Pregnant Strategy

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Exeunt Pakistan Experts, Pursued by Bear

By Shuja Nawaz

With apologies to Shakespeare’s for appropriating his memorable line from A Winter’s Tale, I worry about the state of Pakistan expertise that is fading from the scene in key Washington policy making positions.

Death of Transatlantic Relationship Wildly Exaggerated

By James Joyner

The blistering farewell speech to NATO by U.S. defense secretary Robert Gates warning of a "dim, if not dismal" future for the Alliance drew the Western public’s attention to a longstanding debate about the state of the transatlantic relationship. With prominent commenters voicing concern about much more than just a two-tiered defensive alliance, questioning whether […]

Turkish Election: An AKP Victory with Limits

By Ross Wilson

The unprecedented third consecutive electoral victory won by Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Sunday’s parliamentary elections owes to a widespread feeling of satisfaction with eight years of the Erdogan government’s rule. According to preliminary results, the party won 50 percent of the vote. This was at the top end of expectations and exceeded […]

Goldilocks and Afghanistan: How Big a Withdrawal?

By Don Snow

President Obama’s stated promise to begin the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by July 2011, a commitment he made when he committed 30,000 additional troops to the war early in his presidency, is coming near. The major question is how large a withdrawal he will order, and what the consequences of whatever size drawdown […]

Atlantic Update 6/13/2011

By HuiHui Ooi

Is Erdogan’s win in Turkey good for its future? NATO is in a dilemma about its future after the critical speech by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Private creditors in Europe are assuming some burden to the Greek financial crisis whereas Germany seeks to attach strings to bailout packages. 

Solidarity: On the Front Line of Freedom’s Defense

By Julian Lindley-French

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is right. "In the past, I’ve worried about NATO turning into a two-tiered alliance.  Between members who specialize in ‘soft’ humanitarian, development, peacekeeping, and talking tasks, and those conducting the ‘hard’ combat missions.

Gates: NATO a Two-Tiered Alliance with a Dim, Dismal Future

By James Joyner

Rumors that Robert Gates would deliver a provocative farewell to the European allies were well founded. Going further than he had to date, he bluntly warned that NATO has become a two-tiered Alliance and said it faces a "dim, if not dismal" future. Gates has been displaying increasing frustration with the European Allies and pointedly criticized Germany, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and […]

Protecting Humanitarian Interests in Cyber Conflict

By Jason Healey

Recently, the EastWest Institute held a conference that, among other topics, considered possible “markers” for cyber warfare.   As they described the potential problem, “The Geneva and Hague Conventions direct that protected entities, protected personnel and protected assets [such as doctors, ambulances, or hospitals] be marked in a clearly visible and distinctive way [e.g., with a […]