Category: Blogs

Trump Has Few Options to Respond to Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria

The United States has limited options when it comes to responding to the deadly chemical attack likely carried out by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria’s Idlib province on April 4, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. The international community has so far imposed sanctions on Syria, which haven’t worked, said Faysal Itani, a senior fellow […]

Commander of NATO Naval Forces Discloses Details of Operation Sea Guardian

By Clive Johnstone, NATO Maritime Command

Central to NATO’s effort to project stability in the South is Operation Sea Guardian [OSG]. This is NATO’s new maritime security operation in the Mediterranean.

Will Syria’s Chemical Attack Be a Turning Point in US Policy?

By SyriaSource

A chemical attack by regime warplanes in the Syrian province of Idlib has left over 70 civilians dead and at least another 100 seeking treatment for exposure to toxic gases. Though details are still being revealed, initial reports suggest that attack used sarin gas, the same deadly gas the regime used in an attack on […]

Admiral: NATO’s Standing Naval Forces are the Alliance’s ‘First Responders’

By Clive Johnstone, NATO Maritime Command

As a sailor, I have a particular interest in the battle of Salamis. It stands as the classic example of a small, allied but unified force acting boldly to defeat a much larger, clumsy and disorganized opponent.

Trump-Xi Summit: ‘America First’ Paves the Way for the ‘Chinese Dream’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s “America First” policy—marked by a retreat from multilateralism—has paved the way for China to step into the void and for its president, Xi Jinping, to realize his “Chinese Dream,” according to two Atlantic Council analysts. Trump and Xi met at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on April 6 […]

No Guns, No Justice: The Geopolitics of Law and the Culture of Impunity in the Levant

By Anthony Elghossain

Yesterday, the Assad regime rained chemicals down from the skies—killing scores of civilians, including children, as it has been doing daily since it triggered Syria’s struggle by killing peaceful protestors in 2011. In six years of war, the Assad regime has committed countless atrocities: it has massacred civilians in Daraya, gassed Ghouta, set up a […]

The Coming Crackdown on Ukraine’s Anticorruption Crusaders

By Daria Kaleniuk

President Petro Poroshenko’s new restrictions on anticorruption groups are appalling and threaten to reverse much of the progress Ukraine has made since the Euromaidan. Some analysts who defend the new law have got the details all wrong. Others have sounded the alarm, but the fine points of the regulations remain murky. On March 27, Poroshenko […]

Lithuania Says Russia has Ability to Launch Baltic Attack in 24 Hours

By Andrius Sytas, Reuters

Russia has developed the capability to launch an attack on the Baltic states with as little as 24 hours’ notice

Arab Leaders Try to Get Trump’s Attention

By Shehab al-Makahleh

Eager to unlock the door to US-Arab cooperation on tackling regional issues following decades of disappointment with Washington’s lack of understanding of their concerns, three Arab leaders are engaging US President Donald Trump’s new administration over the next month. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Trump at the White House on April 3; Jordan’s King […]