Category: Blogs

Poland foresees U.S. interceptors in place by 2018

By Reuters

From Reuters:  The United States will deploy SM-3 interceptor missiles in Poland between 2015 and 2018 under its plan to defend NATO allies in Europe from possible Iranian attack, a Polish official said on Thursday.

The Afghans’ War, not the Afghan War

By Derek Reveron

The confirmation of General David Petraeus as the new commander in Afghanistan has sparked renewed debate on the efficacy of counterinsurgency and the likelihood of success in Afghanistan. Though there will be a new commander in Kabul, we should not expect a new strategy.

South Caucasus on the Brink of War

By Borut Grgic

Afghan Quagmire

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

"The Endless Game" cartoon in the Financial Times showed U.S. President Barack Obama and a Taliban insurgent batting back and forth a coffin-shaped projectile over the smoking ruin of a building. Another in the International Herald Tribune has U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal boarding a U.S. transport as an Afghan soldier waves goodbye. Atop a […]

Gen. Petraeus meets with NATO Secretary General and Alliance leaders

By NATO

From NATO:  On 1 July, the incoming Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), General David Petraeus, visited NATO Headquarters. He met with the NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and addressed the North Atlantic Council and representatives of the ISAF troop contributing nations.

Uncertain Kyrgyzstan: Rebalancing U.S. Policy

By Ross Wilson and Damon Wilson,the Atlantic Council

From Ross Wilson and Damon Wilson,the Atlantic Council:  [T]he Obama administration and its allies underestimate what is at stake in this far-away country of over five million pinched between Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China.

Russian spy ring suspect jumps bail in Cyprus

By Helena Smith, the Guardian

From Helena Smith, the Guardian:  The Russian espionage drama intensfied tonight as the alleged paymaster in the "deep cover" spy ring failed to answer bail in Cyprus. An arrest warrant was issued for Christopher Metsos, the 11th suspected member of the operation, after he failed to report to a police station in Larnaka, the Guardian […]

Controversy over BBC story: British may be ‘among last’ to leave Afghanistan

By Mark Mardell, BBC

Gen. Petraeus confirmed as new US Afghan commander

By Susan Cornwell and Phil Stewart, Reuters

From Susan Cornwell and Phil Stewart, Reuters: The U.S. Senate unanimously voted on Wednesday to confirm David Petraeus as commander of the troubled Afghan war, pinning U.S. hopes on the four-star general who helped turn around the conflict in Iraq.

NATO needs to brace for spike in casualties-Britain

By Adam Entous, Reuters

From Adam Entous, Reuters: Britain’s defense secretary warned NATO allies on Wednesday against prematurely withdrawing forces from Afghanistan and said they should prepare their war-weary publics for a spike in coalition casualties.