Category: Blogs

Russia Cuts Gas Deliveries to Belarus

By Ellen Barry, the New York Times

From Ellen Barry, the New York Times:  Russian President Dmitri A. Medvedev on Monday ordered Gazprom to cut deliveries of natural gas deliveries to Belarus over unpaid debts, a step which could jeopardize supplies to Poland and other European countries.

Blowback in Afghanistan?

By Don Snow

Whenever official Washington, be it the White House, the Pentagon, or the military, describe what is happening in Afghanistan, it is always discussed in terms of “progress.” This creates the mental construct that whatever is going on must be forward moving–we hardly ever think that progress can be negative. So, when things go well in […]

Budget Crisis Highlights Need for Improving NATO-EU Partnership

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO: [A] NATO-EU strategic partnership would be a major cost-saver, especially in the area of military capabilities. We have already seen with the Strategic Airlift Capability Initiative that cooperation between NATO and the European Union is possible. Ten NATO nations, nine of which are also EU nations, as well as two EU […]

SecGen Rasmussen: “NATO membership does not come for free”

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO: Economic prosperity also requires wise security choices. … By sharing the burden within NATO, individual Allies can achieve a far greater level of security than they could achieve through any national approach — and at far lower cost.

Who best articulates why the Allies are in Afghanistan, Clinton or Espersen?

SECRETARY CLINTON:  Now, certainly, we know how hard this is and we believe that this is in our national security interest and the national security interest of our NATO allies and other partners who have voluntarily joined ISAF for this effort. No one likes war.

Retired diplomats criticize Erdoğan’s language, foreign policy

By Zaman

From Zaman:  Several senior retired diplomats rebuked Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday for using “hollow” language and sneering at diplomats, criticizing the government’s foreign policy in a written statement.

U.S.-Russia Relations Under the Obama Administration

By Philip H. Gordon, the Department of State

From Philip H. Gordon, the Department of State:  When President Obama came into office less than six months after the Georgia war, U.S.-Russian relations were at their lowest point in years and perhaps in the post-Cold War period.

Borut Grgic: Azerbaijan as a Source for Natural Gas

By Borut Grgic

Borut Grgic, nonresident senior fellow at Atlantic Council, was recently interviewed by the Azeri Press Agency of Azerbaijan. The interview transcript is presented below. “Turkey is already over dependent on Russia, so Ankara is keen to receive gas from Azerbaijan” – Azerbaijan and Turkey have recently signed a package of agreements on gas supplies to […]

When Smart Power Meets Dumb Bureaucracies

By Derek Reveron

Prior to coming to office, the Obama team emphasized the importance of smart power. For example, now-Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michelle Flournoy argued for establishing “a robust interagency process for strategy, planning, and budgeting that would enable the United States to assess long-term threats and opportunities, set clear priorities, allocate and manage risk, develop […]

U.S. Official: the Kyrgyz Government is Having “Trouble Exercising Command over the Security Forces”

By Clifford J. Levy, the New York Times

From Clifford J. Levy, the New York Times:  The provisional Kyrgyz government has lost control of large areas in the southern part of the country because of its failure to quell attacks that have killed at least several hundred ethnic Uzbeks, and possibly many more. As many as 400,000 have fled their homes. … On […]