Category: Blogs

Panetta praises success of NATO’s Libya campaign

By Julian E. Barnes, the Wall Street Journal

Update: NATO activities in Libya on October 7

By NATO

Pressure Builds on Iran at Nuclear Watchdog Agency

By Barbara Slavin

As Iran continues a slow march toward potential nuclear weapons capability, diplomatic action to contain the programme is likely to shift to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose director general, Yukiya Amano, has taken a harder line than his predecessor about alleged military research by Iran’s nuclear scientists. Experts on the Iranian nuclear programme […]

Ukraine ‘ready’ to join NATO missile defense project if Russia is also included

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Ukraine is ready to contribute to the creation of the European missile shield if the program is developed in cooperation with Russia, Ukrainian envoy to NATO Igor Dolgov said on Thursday.

Lockheed’s THAAD missile defense system passes test under “operational” conditions

By Jim Wolf, Reuters

 From Jim Wolf, Reuters:  A multibillion-dollar missile defense system built by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) successfully completed its most challenging test so far, downing two short-range targets in quick succession, the company said on Wednesday.

NATO’s Future Role in the Abkhazia Dispute

By Simon A. Miles, the Atlantic Council of Canada

From Simon A. Miles, the Atlantic Council of Canada:  [T]he time has come for a new policy of engagement vis-à-vis the conflict in Abkhazia.

Update: NATO activities in Libya on October 6

By NATO

Panetta reveals consensus conditions for ending NATO’s Libya Op

By Howard LaFranchi, the Christian Science Monitor

From Howard LaFranchi, the Christian Science Monitor:  The word from NATO defense ministers Thursday that the Alliance is not ready end its Libyacampaign reflects a two-fold objective

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin: The Once and Future Czar

By David Smith

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on September 24 surprised political observers with what many believed was an early announcement that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will be the regime’s candidate for president in the March 4, 2012 elections. "I think it would be correct,” Medvedev told a United Russia Party Congress, “for the congress to support the candidacy […]

Rebooting the IMF

By Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg

When computers malfunction there is often a simple recourse: Rebooting. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been through an undeservedly rough patch. As the fiscal policeman to the developing world, it lost relevance, as policemen do, when the going was good: Emerging markets were booming, liquidity was abundant, trade was growing, and, by and large, […]