Category: Blogs

Obama and Cameron discuss Britain’s defense cuts and NATO responsibilities

By the White House

From the White House: President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron spoke by telephone today.  The Prime Minister briefed the President on the U.K. National Security Strategy that was published today

Medvedev to attend NATO summit in Lisbon

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he would attend the NATO summit in Lisbon on November 20.

Russian troops withdraw from Georgian town

By the BBC

From the BBC:  Russian troops have withdrawn from a Georgian town which they had occupied since a brief war between the two countries in 2008.

Defence cuts: French and US jets to use British Navy aircraft carriers

By Andy Bloxham and James Kirkup, the Telegraph

Trans-Atlantic Austerity: Can NATO Remain Relevant Amid Defense Cuts?

By Ian Brzezinski and Damon Wilson

When NATO leaders convene in Lisbon in November to adopt a new Strategic Concept, the alliance’s blueprint for the future, they will find that trans-Atlantic security has entered an age of austerity. Burdened by weakened economies, allied governments are cutting their defense budgets, some significantly. However, retrenchment and reduced ambitions are not NATO’s only options. […]

The Afghan Peace Process

By Don Snow

There was encouraging news out of Afghanistan this week–for a change. That news was that the Karzai government in Kabul and the Taliban leadership (which part or parts unspecified) have entered into preliminary discussions about meeting face-to-face to pursue a peace settlement to their civil war, in which the United States insinuated itself in 2001 […]

UK’s Cameron announces military austerity plan

By David Stringer, the AP

From David Stringer, the AP:  Britain will lose thousands of troops, slash weapons programs and likely delay a major project to upgrade its nuclear-armed submarine fleet following a once-in-a-decade defense review being published Tuesday

Italy to send 1,200 more soldiers to Afghanistan

By DPA

From DPA:  Italy wants to expand its troop presence in Afghanistan by more than a third, Italian media quoted Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa as saying Saturday during a meeting with US General David Petraeus in Milan. ‘We have decided to increase our contingent in Afghanistan to 4,000 troops by the end of the year,’ […]

US Ambassador: NATO EU cooperation “happens haphazardly, if at all”

By Ivo Daalder, the International Herald Tribune

From Ivo Daalder, the International Herald Tribune:  Thousands of miles from the “capital of Europe,” NATO and E.U. forces work side by side to achieve common security objectives. Yet we rarely bridge the four miles between the two headquarters in Brussels, and as a result our efforts are far less effective than they can and […]

Spain ends Bosnia military mission after 18 years

By DPA

From DPA:  Spain on Monday ended its military mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Spanish Defence Minister Carme Chacon described Spanish troops as having ‘fulfilled’ their task, Spanish media reported.