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Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Gen. Joseph Dunford, May. 3, 2016

NATOSource

May 3, 2016

Secretary of Defense Carter: Russia’s Loose Talk about Nuclear Weapons is ‘Most Disturbing’

By AP and Fox News

From AP: Defense Secretary Ash Carter used a U.S. military changing-of-the-guard ceremony Tuesday to blast Russian aggression in Europe, saying Moscow is “going backward in time” with warlike actions that compel a U.S. military buildup on NATO’s eastern flank.

NATO Nuclear Nonproliferation

Distinguished Leadership Awards

May 3, 2016

Former Defense Secretary Gates to America: ‘Reject Isolationism’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

More than 750 guests from fifty countries, including former heads of state and government, legislators, Obama administration officials, nearly forty Ambassadors, business executives, media, and civil society leaders attended the awards ceremony.

SyriaSource

May 3, 2016

Saving the Ceasefire, Moving Forward

By Frederic C. Hof

Secretary of State John Kerry is investing quality time trying to salvage the “cessation of hostilities” in Syria that began on February 26. For much of March, violence—particularly attacks on civilians—subsided and the United Nations was able to move a modicum of humanitarian aid into desperately needy Syrian communities. But violence is now on the […]

Syria
Exercise Iron Sword, Jan. 15, 2013

NATOSource

May 3, 2016

SACEUR: In a World of Instability, NATO is a Linchpin for Peace

By Philip M. Breedlove, Washington Post

The NATO alliance is arguably the most critical linchpin supporting stability on the continent that is home to the world’s largest integrated economy — and, incidentally, on the continent that has in the past century or so spawned the world’s most destructive conflicts.

NATO Russia

SyriaSource

May 3, 2016

The EU-Turkey Deal: View from Greece

By Miriam Berger

Shahira, 57, from Deir Ezzor knows that there’s a widespread refugee fatigue: the numbers—over one million people fleeing by sea to Europe just in 2015—have overwhelmed western countries and publics. She also knows painfully well that—despite the strong efforts of many—Europe’s system is failing Syrians like her. Spend just a day in the Greece she’s […]

Syria

MENASource

May 3, 2016

Finding a New Approach to Yemen’s Peace Talks

By Nadwa Al-Dawsari

On April 21, a third round of Yemen peace talks started in Kuwait, but with little hope that they will achieve a breakthrough to end the devastating eighteen-month long war in the country. Delegates from President Hadi Abd Rabbo Mansour’s Yemeni government based in exile in Riyadh and the alliance of Houthis and former president […]

Yemen

AfricaSource

May 3, 2016

Obama’s ‘Commercial Diplomacy’ in Africa

By Kelsey Lilley and Stephanie Sparrow

Barack Obama’s historic election as President of the United States in 2008 was the first time an American of African descent had ever held the United States’ highest position. Because of the President’s Kenyan roots, many Africans were particularly excited for what they hoped would be the start of a new era in relations between […]

Africa Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

May 3, 2016

Ukraine’s New Government Scores Big Reform Win

By Basil A. Kalymon

Land Reform Should Be Next April 27 was a bellwether day for economic reform in Ukraine. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announced that the cabinet has decided to unify natural gas prices in Ukraine to a single market price for both retail and industrial users. Effectively, this implies increased prices for the retail consumer that will […]

Ukraine
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, April 23, 2013

NATOSource

May 2, 2016

Confessions of a NATO Speechwriter

By Patrick Stephenson, Foreign Policy

Despite Russian pressure on the alliance’s eastern borders and extremist pressure from within and without, our publics often wonder why NATO still exists.

NATO Security & Defense

IranSource

May 2, 2016

United States and Iran Should Settle, not Escalate Mutual Claims

By Tyler Cullis

The recent decision of the US Supreme Court to uphold the turnover of $2 billion of Iranian assets to US plaintiffs has added one more complication to the nascent relationship between the United States and Iran.  Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called the decision “highway robbery” and sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary […]

Iran