Category: Blogs

Tallinn Manual 2.0: Defending Cyberspace

It is the international community’s responsibility to maintain peace and security in the face of growing cyber threats to a society that is increasingly vulnerable because of its dependence on connected technology, Henne Schuwer, the Netherlands’ ambassador to the United States, said at the Atlantic Council on February 8. “We have to all band together […]

Al-Nadeem Center for Torture Victims Fights its Closure in Cairo

By Jihad Abaza

On Thursday, February 9th, the doctors and lawyers working in the Al-Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims found that “a huge police force” had sealed their center and clinic with red wax and took their porter to the police station for questioning, the co-founders said in a statement.  Al-Nadeem is an NGO founded […]

Keeping TTIP Alive By Any Other Name!

By Andrea Montanino and Dante Roscini

US President Donald Trump has been outspoken in his opposition to multilateral trade agreements.  He will seek only to sign bilateral agreements in order to leverage the strength of the United States, the larger economy in any negotiation.  In such an environment, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a free-trade agreement between the United […]

Multiculturalism Is the Answer to Ukraine’s Identity Crisis

By Peter Dickinson

Celebrating diversity: that’s the official theme of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in Kyiv this May. This is an inspired choice; Ukraine has been one of Europe’s most diverse and multicultural lands for centuries. Since the Soviet collapse, this organic multiculturalism has played a disappointingly minor role in Ukraine’s nation-building efforts. […]

Arm Ukraine Now

By Alexander J. Motyl

The case against providing lethal weapons to Ukraine has rested on a simple argument: If the United States provides arms to Kyiv, Moscow will escalate the war in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin would up the ante with even more arms or intensify its military pressure on Ukraine. According to this logic, since escalation benefits no […]

Washington must respond to Russia’s new nuclear missile

By Matthew Kroenig

The New York Times reported on February 14 that Russia has secretly deployed two batteries of a new nuclear-capable cruise missile in violation of its international treaty obligations. The news is disturbing, but hardly surprising. Unless the United States and its allies respond promptly, the situation is likely only to deteriorate further. Russia’s missile deployments […]

A New Deal for NATO? Making the Alliance Indispensable in the Trump Era

By Alexander Vershbow

America’s NATO allies have been breathing easier in recent weeks.

Report Summary: “Human Slaughterhouse: Mass Hangings and Extermination at Saydnaya Prison, Syria”

By Rachel Kreisman

On February 6, 2017, Amnesty International published a report titled “Human Slaughterhouse: Mass Hangings and Extermination at Saydnaya Prison, Syria,” which examines the violations committed by prison authorities against Syrian citizens. The report assesses that the Syrian government has likely sanctioned violations against detainees of Saydnaya Prison as part of a widespread and systematic attack […]

Atlantic Council Report Exposes Russia’s Lies in Aleppo

A new Atlantic Council report—Breaking Aleppo—uses satellite images, TV footage, social media, and security camera videos to debunk Russia’s claims that no civilians were killed in its airstrikes on the city of Aleppo in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. “In an era where we’re facing a mixture of falsehoods and truths, the report […]

Russian Cruise Missile, Deployed Secretly, Violates Treaty, Officials Say

By Michael R. Gordon, New York Times

Russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile despite complaints from American officials that it violates a landmark arms control treaty