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New Atlanticist

Feb 25, 2010

Marja and the Battle for Helmand Province

By Don Snow

The battle for the Helmand provincial town/city (population around 80,000) is now well underway. It has been advertised as the center of the current “surge” in Afghanistan, an entirely unveiled reference to and comparison with the 2007 exercise in Iraq that lowered the level of violence there sufficiently.

New Atlanticist

Feb 25, 2010

Assessing Pakistan’s Crackdown on the Afghan Taliban

By Bernard Finel

Who knew it would turn out to be quite so simple to round up much of the senior leadership of the Afghan Taliban?

NATOSource

Feb 24, 2010

The Dutch Retreat From Afghanistan

By the New York Times

From the New York Times:  After the collapse of its coalition cabinet, the Netherlands is set to withdraw its 2,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. That decision is an embarrassment to the Netherlands, to NATO, and to Washington at a moment when President Obama’s counterinsurgency strategy faces a crucial test. NATO members […]

NATOSource

Feb 24, 2010

The Obama Administration’s Vision for the Future of NATO

By the Heritage Foundation

  From the Heritage Foundation: However, there are two elements of the Administration’s vision for NATO’s future which are particularly worrisome. Secretary Clinton once again stated the Administration’s support for a separate EU defense policy and for the Lisbon Treaty. The EU’s existing defense policy has provided NATO with little or no valuable complementarity, and […]

European Union International Organizations

NATOSource

Feb 24, 2010

Medvedev Objects to Endless NATO Expansion

By  Reuters

  From Reuters: Russia’s new military doctrine does not identify NATO as its major threat but Moscow is disturbed by the alliance’s "endless enlargement," President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview published on Thursday. Russia has made future NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, two former Soviet republics, a "red line" in its relations with the […]

NATOSource

Feb 24, 2010

Russian Army to Acquire Almost 300 New Tanks, Priority to the Caucasus Region

By  Interfax

From Interfax: The Russian Army will be supplied with about 300 T-90 tanks this year, Army Commander Col. Gen. Alexander Postnikov said on Thursday. "It is planned to buy 261 modern T-90 tanks," he said. "We have switched from modernization to purchase of new hardware," he said. There is twice more armor than necessary now, over […]

NATOSource

Feb 24, 2010

No “New START” in 2010, Hill Sources Predict

By the Cable

  From the Cable: There’s a growing realization both inside the administration and on Capitol Hill that Senate ratification of the START follow-on treaty with Russia will probably not happen this year. One problem, of course, is that there is no agreement as yet to ratify. President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reportedly talked over […]

United States and Canada

NATOSource

Feb 24, 2010

Why the Baltics Worry About Arms Sales to Russia

By the Wall Street Journal

  From the Wall Street Journal: I have just returned from a committee meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels, where the issue was hotly debated. From the NATO side, the response was that this is a bilateral issue, meaning anyone can sell anything to anyone, especially a so-called partner country. When, at NATO’s North […]

NATOSource

Feb 24, 2010

Denmark Rallies Public Behind Afghan War

By the Wall Street Journal

From the Wall Street Journal: Among allied forces fighting in Afghanistan, few countries have deployed a bigger share of their armed forces than Denmark, and fewer still have taken higher levels of casualties. But the small Scandinavian country is emerging as an unlikely example of how to maintain public support for the war. The popularity of […]

United Kingdom

NATOSource

Feb 24, 2010

NATO: 600 New Trainers for Afghan Forces

By the AP

 From the AP: NATO allies have pledged 600 more instructors to train the expanding Afghan security forces – a key element in the allied strategy for defeating Taliban insurgents. NATO spokesman James Appathurai said Wednesday that the new trainers, along with 1,000 pledged in December, make up about half of the number needed for the training […]

United States and Canada
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