Category: Blogs

Afghanistan Mineral Riches: Beware the Hype

By James Joyner

News that "United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself" should be taken with several doses of salt. James Risen of the NYT broke the story, which has the security […]

Russia sends in troops as slaughter leaves Kyrgyzstan on the brink of collapse

By Tony Halpin, the Times (London)

Kyrgyzstan Requested U.S. Military Aid and Rubber Bullets but was Turned Down

By Steve LeVine, Foreign Policy

From Steve LeVine, Foreign Policy:  Before Kyrgyzstan turned to Russia, it informally asked Washington for military assistance including a supply of rubber bullets to quell ethnic bloodletting in the south of the country, but was turned down, I am told by people privy to the situation.

Polish General Appointed Top NATO Post

By Polskie Radio

From Polskie Radio: Lt General Mieczyslaw Bieniek is to be deputy commander at NATO headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, US – the highest position a Pole has attained within the Atlantic alliance. Defence Minister Bogdan Klich, refused to confirm the position simply however, saying a decision will be made "soon." The PAP news agency reports that initially, Gen. […]

A Casualty of Reset Relations

By Owen Matthews, Newsweek

Kyrgyzstan Asks Russia to Help Quell Ethnic Riots

By Philip P. Pan, the Washington Post

French and U.S. Carriers Practice Joint Air Ops

By Pierre Tran, Navy Times

From Pierre Tran, Navy Times:  Onboard the USS Harry S. Truman — A brace of French Navy Rafales flying from the Charles de Gaulle carrier roared down to perform touch-and-go landings on the vast deck of this Nimitz class carrier, in a show of interoperability between the two navies. The cross-deck operations included a Rafale […]

NATO Honors Polish General Who Died in April Plane Crash

By DPA

From DPA: NATO defence ministers and top commanders on Thursday paid their last respects to Poland’s late chief of the general staff, General Franciszek Gagor, who died alongside his president in a plane crash in Russia on April 10.

U.S. and NATO Team Creating Air Power in Afghanistan

By AFNS

From AFNS:  About 450 U.S. and NATO forces are working to bring the 3,300 members and 48 aircraft of the Afghan army air corps up to par as part of a long-term effort to give the country a self-sufficient air force, the Air Force general leading the transition team said June 10. "Our mission is […]

Is NATO to Blame for Russia’s Afghan Heroin Problem?

By Simon Shuster, Time

From Simon Shuster, Time: On the international stage, Russia’s Afghan heroin issue has become the country’s favorite crusade, and has allowed Russia to enter a global debate about Afghanistan that had previously left it on the sidelines. Its basic point is a reasonable one: NATO has fueled drug production by refusing to destroy Afghan poppy […]