Content

SyriaSource

Aug 30, 2016

Aleppo’s Deteriorating Medical Sector

By Hosam al-Jablawi

July witnessed the most extensive attacks on Syrian health facilities, most of which were located in opposition-held areas of Aleppo and Idlib provinces. The Syrian Network for Human Rights announced in a recent report that 24 hospitals and 26 ambulances had been destroyed and four medical personnel killed in one month, constituting a significant threat […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Aug 29, 2016

Lessons from Colombia’s Peace Process

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Colombia’s government and the leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on August 25 finalized a deal that ends fifty-two years of conflict. A bilateral ceasefire went into effect on August 29. More than 220,000 people have been killed and six million displaced by the armed conflict. The deal will be put […]

Colombia
Russia's "little green men" at military base in Crimea, March 9, 2014

NATOSource

Aug 29, 2016

A Powerful Russian Weapon: The Spread of False Stories

By Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times

In Crimea, eastern Ukraine and now Syria, Mr. Putin has flaunted a modernized and more muscular military.

Central Europe Germany

UkraineAlert

Aug 29, 2016

Have Ukraine’s Reforms Stalled?

By Anders Åslund

Few Ukrainians realize how impressive their economic reforms were in 2015. The question today is whether that reform wave will continue, or has come to a halt. The slashing of energy subsidies by 10 percent of GDP by unifying energy prices from 2014 to 2016 was most important. As a consequence, Ukraine’s public expenditures fell […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 29, 2016

E-Declaration—and Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Strategy—in Jeopardy

By Josh Cohen

A key element of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agenda is at a crossroads—and whether it is implemented on August 31 will indicate Kyiv’s commitment to reform. In October 2014, a new law requiring Ukrainian public officials to file an electronic declaration disclosing all of their financial assets was passed by parliament. This e-declaration law mandates that officials […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 29, 2016

Three Mythologies of European Security

By Stephen Blank

Samuel Johnson famously told his biographer James Boswell, “Clear your mind of cant.” In thinking about European security, we should do so, too.

Russia Ukraine

SyriaSource

Aug 29, 2016

A Bad Defense for a Mistaken Policy

By Frederic C. Hof

More than half of Syria’s pre-war population now falls into one of the following categories: dead; dying; disabled; tortured; terrorized; traumatized; sick; hungry; homeless. The regime of Bashar al-Assad is responsible for the bulk of this rampant, remorseless criminality. The administration of Barack Obama, if it stays on its present course, will make it through […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 26, 2016

ISIS Spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani

By Feras Hanoush

Editor’s Update, August 30, 2016: On August 30, new reports began circulating that al-Adnani had been killed while monitoring fighting in Aleppo. Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, designated by the United States as terrorist, gained notoriety for his threats and statements against countries around the world. As the official spokesman for the Islamic State group (ISIS) and the group’s […]

Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin, July 21, 2016

NATOSource

Aug 26, 2016

The NATO Blame Game

By Lucas Della Ventura, The Hill

The claim is that NATO’s expansion eastward, Ukraine and Georgia’s cozying up to the West, and historically neutral Finland and Sweden’s new interest in NATO membership have enticed Russia’s aggressive behavior,

NATO NATO Partnerships

New Atlanticist

Aug 26, 2016

Submarine Data Leak Puts Spotlight on European Defense Industry’s Role in Asia

By John Watts

The leak this week of sensitive technical data on India’s French-designed Scorpene-class submarines has sent ripples across Asia. India and France have launched investigations and both have implied that the source of the leak was at the other end. The leak was initially blamed on a “hack” and concerns were raised about whether this information […]