Category: Blogs

Medvedev to Discuss Missile Defense During U.S. Visit

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev plans to visit the United States in June to boost Russian-U.S. cooperation in various spheres, including trade and the high-tech industry. "This [the U.S. missile defense plans in Europe] will be one of the topics for discussion; we have high expectations of this summit," Sergei Lavrov said in […]

NATO a Permanent Alliance: Surviving Cold War’s End

By Stanley Sloan

The Soviet threat provided NATO’s main rationale and explanation until the Warsaw Pact disbanded and the Soviet Union disintegrated.  What is it about the transatlantic bargain that has ensured its survival beyond its founding raison d’être? In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the  the allies were left to assert in the early […]

NATO’s Training Mission Is still some 20 per cent Under Strength

By DPA

From DPA: NATO’s training mission is still some 20 per cent under strength. "We welcomed the significant improvement in the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces, and are committed to providing the trainers needed to support that steady progress," [NATO defense] ministers said in a joint declaration.

U.S. Military Test Launches New Missile Interceptor

By space.com

From space.com:  The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on June 6 successfully conducted the first flight test of a smaller version of its ground-based interceptor being developed as a backup option for a European missile shield, the agency said June 6. The two-stage interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and delivered an operational […]

NATO Defense Ministers Reaffirm Support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic Aspirations

By NATO

From NATO:  On the morning of 11 June, the NATO-Georgia Commission met at the level of Defence Ministers for a discussion about the current security situation in the country and about NATO-Georgia cooperation. Georgian Defence Minister Bachana Akhalaia briefed his counterparts on the country’s ongoing reform efforts. NATO Ministers of Defence reaffirmed the Alliance’s continued […]

NATO SecGen: “The Bottom Line Is this, There will Be Less Money for Defense for Quite Some Time”

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO:  I was encouraged by the discussion today. Because there was a shared sense around the table on three very important points: First: we must cut fat and not muscle. While seeking savings, we must nevertheless preserve our ability to deter attacks against us and to carry out essential operations. We […]

Defending the Afghanistan Experts

By James Joyner

Some anonymous attendees of Central Command’s Af-Pak conference have penned highly critical blog posts, which have appeared at two pre-eminent national security blogs, Christian Bleuer’s  Ghosts of Alexander and Andrew Exum’s Abu Muqawama.

NATO a Permanent Alliance: Introduction

By Stanley Sloan

It has become popular in recent years to argue that NATO is no longer serving the interests of either the Europeans or the Americans.  Many of these arguments end with the suggestion that the European Union should take over responsibility for defense of European interests, variously accomplished by the United States withdrawing from NATO and […]

Turkey’s Finance Minister: “We Are No Longer Puppets”

By the Economist

Italian Minister Backs Gates on Turkey Moving “Eastwards”

By AFP

From AFP:   Italy’s foreign minister indicated Thursday he agreed with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates that the European Union’s refusal to embrace Turkey had pushed Ankara "eastwards.