Category: Blogs

Time to Pull US Troops from Europe

By Sean Kay, Foreign Policy

From Sean Kay, Foreign Policy:  Impressions of European "free-riding" on the United States for military operations have been deepening in Congress and among the American public for years now.

Rouhani Win Could Bring Dividends in Syria

By Barbara Slavin

Since the surprise election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s next president, most expert commentary has focused on the potential to improve US-Iran relations and resolve the long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. However, the replacement of the abrasive Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by a veteran negotiator nicknamed the ‘diplomat sheikh’ could also provide an opportunity to ease […]

The Fatal Flaws of R2P

By Rajan Menon

It is now a commonplace belief that a worldwide diffusion of human rights norms occurred following the Cold War, creating a consensus favoring humanitarian intervention. The cachet acquired by the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) is proffered as proof of this proposition. This is wishful thinking.

NATO Gives Sweden’s Armed Forces High Marks

By Mission of Sweden to NATO

From Mission of Sweden to NATO: Sweden received a report in which NATO assesses Sweden’s armed forces and their capabilities.

US Forces Training for Potential Chemical Weapons Crisis in Syria

By Barbara Starr, CNN Security Clearance

From Barbara Starr, CNN Security Clearance:  Senior U.S. officials have said there is continuing concern that eventually some type of military units will be needed to go into Syria to take control of the [chemical] weapons. For more than a year, the United States has quietly trained Jordanian forces for that mission. But the Army’s […]

Top News: New US Ambassador Deborah Kay Jones Arrives in Tripoli

Nine months after the Benghazi murder of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three colleagues in the assault on the American consulate, the new US ambassador Deborah Kay Jones arrived in Tripoli Wednesday.

The Role of NATO in Today’s World

By Mary T. Curtin, Star Tribune

From Mary T. Curtin, Star Tribune:  NATO plays an important role protecting the security that has enabled decades of European and North American peace and prosperity.

Top News: Azhar Chief: Opposing Rulers is not a Sin; Salafi Sheikh Issues Fatwa Permitting Killing of Protesters

Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayyeb warned members of different Islamist groups against accusing their opponents of blasphemy on Wednesday. In a statement, al-Tayyeb said that al-Azhar, Egypt’s core Islamic institution, calls for agreement between different factions and warns against violence and attacking others’ religious beliefs. GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Brotherhood’s FJP condemns violent protests over new […]

America and the Democratic Transition in Egypt

By Ziad Bahaa-Eldin

I happened to be spending a few days in New York and Washington DC for work, immediately after an Egyptian court sentenced a number of defendants to prison among them a number of Americans in the so-called "NGO Funding Trial", in which foreign NGOs were accused of illegally funding and supporting Egyptian NGOs during the […]