Category: Blogs

The European Reassurance Initiative’s One Year Anniversary: Mixed Results

By Ian Brzezinski

On June 3, 2014, President Barack Obama announced the European Reassurance Initiative, ERI, a key element of his Administration’s strategy to counter Moscow’s provocative military actions, including Russia’ invasion of Ukraine, launched just three months earlier.

Top News: Congress Seeks to Lift Last Restrictions on Aid to Egypt

By EgyptSource

The US House Appropriations Committee released a foreign aid bill June 2 that removes human rights restrictions on assistance to Egypt.

Main Obstacle to New US-GCC Partnership May Be GCC Itself

By Fahad Nazer

The talk leading up to President Obama’s summit with the leaders of the six Arab nations comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council focused on the supposed “snub” by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, who opted not to attend after initially signaling that he would.

EconSource: IMF Says Saudi Arabia May Issue Government Bonds This Year

By EconSource

The Saudi government may resume issuing bonds this year, easing downward pressure on the country’s foreign reserves caused by low oil prices, a senior official from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said after talks with Saudi officials.

Post Crimea Europe: NATO In the Age of Limited Wars

By Jakub Grygiel, Wess Mitchell, and Octavian Manea, Small Wars Journal

Octavian Manea: In a Europe where the use of limited war becomes more and more a tool of choice, are the decisions taken in Wales – like the creation of super-rapid reaction force – appropriate to reassure the Eastern Flank?

New Policy Priorities for the Transatlantic Partnership

By Kirsten Verclas

More than twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War, the United States and Germany remain close political and economic allies. However, personal ties between the two allies have diminished. In Germany, favorable opinions of the United States are at an all-time low. On the other side of the Atlantic, the United States is […]

Top News: United States Accuses Syria of Backing ISIS’s Aleppo Advance

By MENASource

The United States has accused the Syrian military of carrying out airstrikes to help the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighters advance around Aleppo. ISIS pushed back rival insurgents north of Aleppo on Sunday near the Turkish border, threatening their supply route to the city.

The Dangerous Game of Truth Telling in Ukraine

By Danielle Johnson

As commentary on Ukraine increasingly focuses on the next Russian offensive and ways to end the war, now is the time to consider how to rebuild a unified country. Any attempt to move past the violence and establish a stable basis for reform must involve a frank discussion of the past. A truth commission is […]

Top News: Egypt Court Postpones Decision on Morsi Death Sentence Ruling

By EgyptSource

An Egyptian court postponed on Tuesday issuing a final ruling over a death sentence recommendation for former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and other top Muslim Brotherhood leaders in a case related to a 2011 mass jail break.

Renewable Sector Energized

Report finds renewable energy edges out fossil fuels in new power generating capacity The United States has the technology and financial muscle to boost the renewable share of its energy mix from the current 7.5 percent to 27 percent by 2030—thereby saving the US economy up to $140 billion per year in energy costs while […]