Category: Blogs

EconSource: Slightly firmer oil may help Gulf stabilise

By EconSource

Oil’s overnight rebound and a dovish statement from the US Federal Reserve may help Gulf stock markets stabilize on Thursday after falling sharply earlier this week, although crude prices remain volatile and unpredictable. Gulf equities dropped in panic sell-offs on Wednesday after US crude futures slid to a fresh six-year low and Brent oil also […]

Brent Scowcroft: An Enlightened Realist

By Fred Kempe and Jeffrey Lightfoot

The battleground was a familiar one to General Brent Scowcroft: the White House Cabinet Room where President George H.W. Bush had convened his National Security Council to reach urgent decisions amid an unfolding crisis. It was eight in the morning of August 2, 1990, only thirteen hours after Saddam Hussein had sent his Iraqi army […]

Happy Birthday, General Scowcroft

“Brent has a great propensity for friendship,” former President George H.W. Bush said of his friend and National Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft. On his 90th birthday, some of those friends join the Atlantic Council in wishing General Scowcroft a very happy birthday. Fred Kempe, President and CEO of Atlantic Council Dear Brent, How does one […]

Future Tense: A Creative Look at How the Next Great War Begins

By Larry Luxner

In one scenario, an intelligence officer named Army Maj. Morgan Maltz is arrested on suspicion of espionage and possible treason. The top-secret computer files he sold to Beijing have allowed China to destroy a crucial Pentagon undersea communications cable, putting the entire Asia-Pacific region on its highest alert since World War II. In another, a […]

EU Will Kick the Can Down the Road on Russia Sanctions

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Europeans do not want to undermine Minsk II, says analyst European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on March 19 are unlikely to either ramp up or lift sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine, says Edward W. Walker, a professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley. “It’s very likely that […]

Sanctions Are Still the Answer

By John E. Herbst

Last week, UkraineAlert linked to an interesting piece by Clifford Gaddy criticizing the West’s sanctions on Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. His point is this: Putin believes that Russia is “under assault” by the West and cannot allow Ukraine “to be brought fully into the sphere of influence of its enemy.” Therefore, the West […]

Museum Attack Puts Spotlight on Tunisia’s Security Challenges

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Terrorist rampage in Tunis may force government to shift focus, says Atlantic Council’s Mezran Tunisia’s new government may be forced to clamp down on security following the March 18 terrorist attack on a prominent museum in the heart of Tunis. This could jeopardize the country’s nascent political process, says Atlantic Council analyst Karim Mezran. “If […]

Netanyahu, Obama Will Have to Learn to Live With Each Other

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Prime Minister’s election victory could cost Israel US diplomatic cover at United Nations, says Tamary of Israel’s Channel 10 News The Obama administration may refuse to protect Israel at the United Nations Security Council if Benjamin Netanyahu forms a narrow right-wing coalition government. But the White House would find it much harder to do so […]

A Russian Role in Egypt’s $12 Billion BP Deal

By Rachel Williamson

For the first time, a Russian-owned company has taken a key position in Egypt’s critically important natural gas sector, and it’s a powerful message that the rekindled relationship runs deeper than promises and trade deals.

Top News: Egypt to Require Pre-obtained Visas for Foreigners; 380 NGOs Dissolved in 2015

By EgyptSource

Egypt is tightening rules for visas by requiring individual visitors to obtain them at embassies instead of on arrival at Egyptian airports, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.