Category: Blogs

McChrystal’s Loose Lips May Sink Afghan Ship

By James Joyner

General Stanley McChrystal, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, has been ordered home by an angry president after several intemperate remarks made in a Rolling Stone interview. The piece, "The Runaway General," originally scheduled to debut Friday, has been rushed online.   Phil Stewart and Adam Entous, reporting for Reuters, summarize the most controversial bits: […]

Kyrgyzstan investigating whether troops involved in ethnic violence

By Matthew Chance and Nic Robertson, CNN

From Matthew Chance and Nic Robertson, CNN: Kyrgyzstan will investigate allegations that government troops were involved in ethnic violence, an official said Sunday. Col. Kursan Asanov, appointed by the Kyrgyz interim government to run the reconciliation operation in the southern city of Osh, did not say whether the investigation would include independent investigators. Asanov said […]

Belarus orders cutoff of Russian gas to Europe

By Deutsche Welle

From Deutsche Welle:  Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Russia and Belarus were facing a "gas war," similar to Russia’s 2009 conflict with Ukraine. He ordered that the flow of Russian gas to Europe via Belarus be stopped, saying Gazprom owes transit fees of $260 million (211 million euros) for the first half […]

Russia’s Foreign Policy: What’s Next?

By Nikolas Gvosdev

When President Barack Obama welcomes President Dmitry Medvedev to the White House on June 24th, he should ask the Russian president one blunt question: What do you want? In the last several weeks, I’ve attended several meetings on and heard numerous commentaries about the U.S.-Russia relationship, and one consistent theme has resounded: what are the […]

Stephen Walt: “a large U.S. presence isn’t central to European security any longer”

By Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy

The merits of a Russian relationship

By John Kerry, Politico

From John Kerry, Politico:  One year ago, the Obama administration launched an initiative to “reset” relations with Russia. As Russian President Dmitri Medvedev lands in Washington Tuesday, it’s clear that the outreach — which carried significant diplomatic and political risk — is paying off. … The cornerstone of our new cooperation is a new strategic arms […]

Gen. Stanley McChrystal recalled over Rolling Stone article

By Jon Boone and Matthew Weaver, the Guardian

From Jon Boone and Matthew Weaver, the Guardian:  General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of all Nato-led forces in Afghanistan, has been recalled to Washington after he criticised Barack Obama‘s administration in a magazine profile due to be published later this week. A Nato official confirmed that McChrystal would travel to Washington tomorrow to explain […]

Sarkozy believes Europe and Russia must be Strategic Partners

By France24

China’s Renminbi Gambit

By James Joyner

Over the weekend, China announced just ahead of the Toronto G20 summit that it would "enhance the RMB exchange rate flexibility" in response to" the recent economic situation and financial market developments at home and abroad, and the balance of payments (BOP) situation" at home. What does this mean?

Gaza Flotilla Incident: Implications for Middle East Peace

By James Cook

As Israel prepares to conduct its official inquiry into the recent Israeli Defense Force (IDF) raid on the flotilla attempting to breach the blockade against Gaza, it is important to understand how this tragic incident affects U.S. national security interests in the Middle East.  The episode highlights the difficulty in balancing Israel’s legitimate security requirements […]