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NATO VJTF exercise, June 18, 2015

NATOSource

Aug 18, 2016

NATO Is America’s Greatest Strategic Advantage

By Hannes Hanso, Wall Street Journal

Debates about NATO’s role and burden-sharing have been around since its founding. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s sharp criticisms of the Western Alliance are just the latest flare-up.

NATO Northern Europe

New Atlanticist

Aug 18, 2016

Two Surprising Proposals for Peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

By Matthew J. Bryza

It has been a long time since I have sensed any cause for optimism about the prospects of a political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Indeed, Armenia and Azerbaijan nearly resumed full-scale war in April, when their troops clashed along the line of contact with a level of ferocity unprecedented during the twenty-two years since […]

Russia The Caucasus

SyriaSource

Aug 18, 2016

The Nusra Front’s Victory

By Saleem al-Omar

Syrian opposition websites and publications no longer make any mention of the Nusra Front or al-Qaeda; Jabhat Fateh al-Sham is now the most referenced group. Syrian opposition military and political circles have welcomed it, and the Syrian Opposition Coalition and the High Negotiations Council both issued statements supporting its break. The Muslim Brotherhood also welcomed […]

Syria

MENASource

Aug 18, 2016

Yemen Talks at a Standstill

By Daniel DePetris

The month-long break in UN-facilitated Yemeni peace talks announced on August 6 wasn’t a surprise; indeed, it was preordained and widely expected. But this doesn’t make the relative breakdown in the negotiations any easier for the international community and the UN Security Council to stomach.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called upon the parties to […]

Yemen
Danish fighter jet, Sept. 20, 2014

NATOSource

Aug 17, 2016

NATO Can Do More to Destroy Islamic State—If We Ask

By Dianne Feinstein, Wall Street Journal

Only a quarter of the alliance is attacking ISIS. Invoke the treaty’s defense clause to expand the effort.

International Organizations Iraq

New Atlanticist

Aug 17, 2016

Understanding the Role of Russian Propaganda in the US Election

By Ben Nimmo

It may seem strange, but the Kremlin’s propaganda machine is not backing US Presidential Republican Candidate Donald Trump. It has a bigger goal: Discrediting democracy in the United States. The Kremlin’s main propaganda outlets in the US are the television station RT—formerly Russia Today—and the radio and online outlet Sputnik. Both are headed by Kremlin […]

Ukraine

FutureSource

Aug 17, 2016

A Glimpse of the Future in One Newspaper Section

By Robert Manning

Many futurists have argued that we will see more technological change in the next twenty years than we saw during the rise of information technology and the Internet in the 1990s. But rarely have I seen so much change captured in one section of one newspaper.

MENASource

Aug 17, 2016

Yemeni Parliamentarians Vote to Form a New Government

By Jillian Schwedler

As the Yemen peace talks went on hiatus on August 6, the Houthi-Saleh alliance moved to convene a newly formed governing council in the capital Sanaa. As they did so, forces loyal to internationally recognized President Abd Rabbou Mansour al-Hadi tried again to take Sanaa militarily. The Houthi and Saleh camps experienced tense moments during […]

Yemen

AfricaSource

Aug 16, 2016

In Wake of African Peacekeeping Scandals, Canada Looks to Re-engage with UN

By Julian Wyss

Recent reports that United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping in South Sudan failed to protect both civilians and foreign workers from rape, beatings, and robbery during a recent spate of violence in July are the most recent in a long string of peacekeeping scandals in Africa. In some cases, blue helmets have simply failed to protect civilians […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy
US Naval Academy exercise site, April 12, 2016

NATOSource

Aug 15, 2016

Six Steps the US and its Allies Should Take to Prevent Russian Cyber Attacks

By Franklin D. Kramer, Robert Butler, and Catherine Lotrionte, US News and World Report

The Russian cyber-hacking of the Democratic National Committee, as reported by multiple cybersecurity organizations, is only the latest unacceptable and unlawful activity by that state.

Cybersecurity NATO