Stay updated

Subscribe to our daily newsletter to receive the best expert intelligence on world-changing events


Explore our unique analysis

Content

New Atlanticist

Mar 20, 2009

Counterinsurgency Consensus Misguided

By Steve Hynd

John McCain and Joe Lieberman have an op-ed in the Washington Post  telling President Obama to…do exactly what he’s already doing in Afghanistan. McCain and Lieberman, the former the designated point man for neocon pressure to keep the Afghan occupation long and strong, have found themselves arguing against previous Obama administration rhetoric designed to keep […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 20, 2009

Escalation in Pakistan?

By Bernard Finel

David Sanger and Eric Schmitt’s report in the  New York Times that “President Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the American covert war in Pakistan far beyond the unruly tribal areas to strike at a different center of Taliban power in Baluchistan, where top Taliban leaders are orchestrating attacks into southern Afghanistan” […]

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2009

Swiss-German Tax Squabble Turns Ugly

By James Joyner

Parliamentarians say the darnedest things: A tax row between Switzerland and Germany took a venomous turn on Thursday, with Nazi accusations against German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck after he likened the Swiss to cowed “Indians.” 

Economy & Business Germany

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2009

SCO Offers Neutral Venue for Engagement

By Lynn Roche

The Obama administration’s decision to sit in on next week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) meeting in Moscow is a welcome sign of U.S. readiness to engage on many levels to deal with real world issues. 

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2009

France in Collision Course on NATO?

By James Joyner

French defense minister Herve Morin signaled that his country will attempt to be a counterweight to the United States now that it rejoined the NATO military command.  In addition to reiterating that France will not send more troops to Afghanistan, it will oppose a “global NATO” and insist on a Russian veto over further eastward […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2009

Obama Rethinks Armenia Genocide Declaration

By James Joyner

The Spectator‘s Alex Massie and Reason‘s Matt Welch hammer President Obama for joining a long line of politicians who use the phrase "Armenian genocide" on the campaign trail and then scrupulously avoid the G-word once in office.

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2009

Stavridis, SACEUR Pick, Surprises Europe

By James Joyner

Some European leaders think the Obama administration pulled a bait-and-switch by appointing James Stavridis rather than James Mattis as the new Supreme Allied Commander. 

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2009

Russia Revamps Military in Response to NATO Expansion

By Peter Cassata

Speaking to high-level generals this week, Dmitry Medvedev vowed to move forward with controversial personnel reforms and rearmament plans for Russia’s military.  He cited NATO expansion as the primary motivator for the plans, sparking concerns about a renewed arms race in the face of deteriorating U.S.-Russia relations.

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2009

French NATO Return Provides Opportunity to Reflect

By James Joyner

Kenneth Weisbrode, a fellow at the European University Institute, argues in a U.S. News essay that the return of France to NATO’s military command offers an opportunity to clarify the institution’s missions but is otherwise no great panacea.

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2009

Pakistan: Peril or Promise?

By Harlan Ullman

You are president of Pakistan.  Your country faces seemingly intractable and simultaneous crises. You rightly believe that an existential threat to your nation is posed by the insurgencies led by religious zealots and extremists.

Pakistan