Category: Blogs

Foreign Ministers to Address Growing Turmoil Along NATO’s Borders

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

We will keep NATO strong and we will help keep our neighborhood stable. Because if our neighborhood is stable we will be more secure.

The Choice at Camp David: A Bold Middle East Strategy or Just Another Summit?

By Nabeel Khoury

The recent victories of Islamist and jihadist forces in Syria portend the possible demise of the Assad regime, but also the advent of a potentially vicious internecine struggle within the jihadist front and between it and the more secular nationalist rebel movement.

Egyptian Journalist Sues Al Jazeera for $83 Million in Punitive Damages

By EgyptSource

In a Monday press conference, Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy announced he has filed a lawsuit against his employer, Al Jazeera. The journalist is suing the Qatar news network for 100 million Canadian dollars ($83 million) for negligence.  

NATO Kicks Out Russian Spies but Revives Kremlin Hotline Amid Ukraine Tensions

By Ian Traynor, Guardian

The western military alliance is reviving cold war-style hotlines to the Kremlin and the Russian general staff in Moscow to reduce the chances of escalating military confrontation and miscalculation as the Ukraine conflict fuels east-west tension.

Top News: Egypt Court Upholds Three Year Sentence Against Mubarak on Graft Charges

By EgyptSource

A Cairo criminal court has upheld a three-year sentence against Mubarak on graft charges, but the former strongman will return home since he has served the full sentence, his defense team said.

Is this the Solution to Europe’s Migrant Problem?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

EU plan to bomb traffickers’ ships in Libyan waters ‘counterproductive,’ says Atlantic Council’s Mezran The European Union wants the United Nations to support its plan to destroy human traffickers’ ships in Libyan territorial waters before smugglers use them to ferry migrants across the Mediterranean Sea. Can it work? No, said Karim Mezran, Resident Senior Fellow […]

Top News: King Salman Will Not Attend Camp David Summit

Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that its new monarch, King Salman, would not be attending meetings at the White House with President Obama or a summit gathering at Camp David this week, in an apparent signal of its continued displeasure with the administration over United States relations with Iran, its rising regional adversary.

Interview with Henrik Liljegren

By Jorge Benitez, Director of NATOSource

Henrik Liljegren, a Lifetime Director of the Atlantic Council, served four decades in Sweden’s diplomatic corps with postings as Swedish Ambassador to Ankara, East Berlin, Brussels and Washington.

Syria: A Strategy Possibly Emerging, But to What End?

By Frederic C. Hof

Recent media reports indicate (if not conclude) that the anti-Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) “train and equip” effort of the US Department of Defense will be based largely in Jordan and focused mainly on preparing Syrian fighters of tribal origin to operate in ISIL-occupied eastern Syria.

EconSource: Iraq to Slash Investment Spending in 2015

By EconSource

The Iraqi government is expected to slash investment spending for 2015 by over 80 percent as weak oil prices hit state revenues.