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New Atlanticist

Feb 6, 2015

National Security Strategy 2015: Platitudes R Us

By Robert A. Manning

My first thought upon seeing the long-awaited National Security Strategy was to recall the comments made to me some years ago by a prominent international leader when asked why he said certain things that seemed well beyond his ability to deliver, “Les mots, n’importe pas.” (Words don’t matter). For an administration six years on, its […]

National Security Security & Defense
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Munich Security Conference, Feb. 6, 2015

NATOSource

Feb 6, 2015

NATO Secretary General Sees Danger in Russian Aggression and Annexation

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

Last year was a turning point. For European security. And for the global order. Here in Europe, we see a dangerous pattern of Russian behaviour. Annexation. Aggressive actions. And intimidation.

Middle East NATO

New Atlanticist

Feb 6, 2015

Three Elements of the NSS that Deserve More Attention

By Richard LeBaron

Other than a necessary new focus on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the new National Security Strategy is largely consistent with past reports. The document is an important statement of intent, but we can be pretty confident that no one in the US foreign policy apparatus will sleep with it next to […]

National Security Security & Defense

AfricaSource

Feb 6, 2015

What You Need to Know About Nigeria’s Upcoming Election

By Robert Lloyd

The February 14th presidential elections in Nigeria signal an important milestone in the political trajectory of Africa’s most populous country. Nigeria has held three successive presidential elections since its return to democracy in 1999 after years of authoritarian rule. The presidential elections, which occur on a four year cycle, have varied in terms of accepted […]

North & West Africa Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Feb 6, 2015

Middle East Needed More Attention in National Security Strategy

By Bilal Y. Saab

The National Security Strategy released on February 6 is solid for a second-term president who has two more years in office. The document puts a premium on and is crystal clear on leadership. That is comforting following accusations by international partners and allies  — some legitimate, others unfair — that the United States was disengaging […]

National Security Security & Defense

MENASource

Feb 6, 2015

Top News: Egypt’s foreign ministry slams reaction against recent life sentences

By MENASource

Egypt’s foreign ministry criticized on Friday the reaction of some countries and organizations against the life sentences handed to 230 defendants, including political activist Ahmed Douma, describing them as “unacceptable interference in the work of the Egyptian judiciary and disrespect to its rulings.”

New Atlanticist

Feb 6, 2015

National Security Strategy Fails for Not Being Prescriptive

By Alex Ward

The fact that the 2015 National Security Strategy was released a year before the Obama administration becomes a lame duck has made it almost inevitable that it will become an after-the-fact justification for the administration’s national security policy to date. Nonetheless, the NSS is an important document. Here’s why: we now know that the Obama […]

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Feb 6, 2015

Obama ‘All In’ on Pushing Trade Promotion Authority

By Ashish Kumar Sen

‘We are nearing the end game,’ says US official The passage of trade promotion authority legislation in the US Congress is critical for the administration to bring the best trade deals to Congress, a senior US official said on February 5. US President Barack Obama has taken the lead in an effort to promote his […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

MENASource

Feb 6, 2015

Top News: Egyptian Military Kills Twenty-Seven Militants in Sinai

By EgyptSource

Military air strikes killed twenty-seven Islamic militants, and injured at least twenty others, in Egypt’s Northern Sinai on Friday in one of the biggest security operations in the region in months, security sources said. Apache helicopters targeted militants from Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which pledges allegiance to Islamic State. 

MENASource

Feb 6, 2015

EconSource: New Tunisian PM Promises Growth, Reform, and New Hope

By EconSource

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid promised quick reforms to stimulate growth as he took office on Friday at the head of a coalition government combining secular and Islamist parties. The new government faces pressure from its international lenders to curb high public spending, including by cutting politically sensitive subsidies on basic foods and fuel. Jobs, […]