Category: Blogs

NATO: $20 billion over 2 years for Afghan training

By Tarek El-Tablawy, the AP

From Tarek El-Tablawy, the AP:  By the end of the year, NATO will have spent $20 billion on developing Afghan security forces since the start of 2010 and will maintain a training presence through at least 2016, the commander of the training mission said Wednesday.

Military Aid and Supplies for Pakistan

By Alan Kronstadt

Much has been spoken and written about the United states aid program for the Pakistan military and the sales or grants of material to the military in Pakistan since 2001. But specifics about the nature of the flows and their changes over time have not been understood widely. We are grateful for the following two […]

Vietnam: Closing the Circle

By Harlan Ullman

Against the beautiful backdrop of a U.S. Open links course with all of the excitement the best golfers in the world can bring to a major tournament, a simple wedding took place recently spanning two cultures. My 28-year-old nephew married a lovely Vietnamese lady. Finishing a two-year Fulbright fellowship she soon returns to Vietnam to […]

Myanmar Engagement: Time To Change Course

By Luv Puri

The recent elections in Myanmar, far from free and fair, have re-ignited the debate as to how the world should engage with the newly “elected” government. The political analysts and strategists are divided into two camps. The first deems the newly elected government a proxy of the military junta and therefore view any engagement as […]

Al-Qaida in Pakistan

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

U.S. policy in Pakistan is now stuck in a Catch-22 quagmire. Without Pakistan, there is no solution to the Afghan war. And even with Pakistan, the odds aren’t much better. Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas on the Afghan border, used by Taliban as safe havens, and by U.S. drones as Taliban targets, are gradually switching […]

The Year of the Worm

By David Smith

In a few days, we usher out the year of the tiger and welcome the year of the rabbit.  But we could as well dub 2010—and 2011 also—the year of the worm.  Stuxnet and Wikileaks are just two examples of how worms—computer and human—are crawling into our lives.  The repercussions will resonate throughout 2011 and […]

Secretary General thanks NATO personnel for “performing an exceptional service for peace”

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

Davutoğlu defends NATO missile shield decision

By Zaman

Germany’s Responsible Military Reform

By the Editors of the New York Times

From the Editors of the New York Times:  Germany, like most European countries, is under pressure to cut military spending.

Terror Suspects Appear in Danish Court

By Christina Anderson and J. David Goodman, the New York Times

From Christina Anderson and J. David Goodman, the New York Times:  Three men arrested in Denmark on Wednesday on suspicion of planning to attack a newspaper that had published satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad appeared in court on terrorism and weapons charges in Copenhagen on Thursday, and a fourth was set to appear in […]