Category: Blogs

Turkish Elections Primer

By Ross Wilson

Ross Wilson, director of the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council and a former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, provides this backgrounder on this weekend’s elections in a pivotal state.

Update: NATO activities in Libya on June 5

By NATO

Secretary General will ask Defense Ministers for more help in Libya Op

By the AP

From the AP:  NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday he will ask some of the more reluctant allies to step up their participation in the military campaign against Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Merkel’s Visit to Washington: Where do Germany and the US Stand?

By Sarwar Kashmeri

German Chancellor Merkel arrives in Washington this week to receive America’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom. But is the German-American relationship heading upwind after Germany’s refusal to support the war in Libya, and an about turn on nuclear energy? How to interpret these developments?

Obama administration debating larger troop pullout from Afghanistan

By David Sanger, Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, the New York Times

From David Sanger, Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, the New York Times:  President Obama’s national security team is contemplating troop reductions in Afghanistan that would be steeper than those discussed even a few weeks ago

The Obama administration’s dangerous course on Libya

By Richard G. Lugar, the Washington Post

From Richard G. Lugar, the Washington Post:  The House of Representatives sent the Obama administration a strong, bipartisan rebuke on Friday for failing to make the case for war in Libya or seeking congressional authorization for military action.

Update: NATO activities in Libya on June 4

By NATO

French admiral suggests sharing aircraft carrier with Britain

By Thomas Harding, the Telegraph

From Thomas Harding, the Telegraph:  Admiral Pierre-Francois Forissier also disclosed that the French navy was amazed by the swath of cuts last year that severely reduced the Royal Navy with the axing of aircraft carriers and Harrier jump jets alongside warships.

Russia: NATO ‘one step’ from land war in Libya

By the AP