Category: Blogs

NATO and the Future of Nuclear Weapons in Germany

German Minister of Foreign Affairs Guido Westerwelle: [W]e will continue to support the disarmament efforts taken all over the world, especially those envisaged by the Americans. But it is equally clear that those efforts aiming at disarming the world should not only be supported by the Germans but what we want to do is to […]

1989 Started New Era of Globalization and Geopolitics

By Josef Ackermann

The fall of the Berlin Wall in the autumn of 1989 was an exceptional event in German and world history. As a German-speaking Swiss national living in Zurich at the time, I was deeply moved by the events.

Zbigniew Brzezinski on the End of the Cold War

By Frederick Kempe

Atlantic Council president and CEO Frederick Kempe interviewed Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter and a member of the Atlantic Council International Advisory Board, for Freedom’s Challenge, a publication commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Afghanistan: Not a Question of Dither or Decide

By Harlan Ullman

The debate over what to do next in Afghanistan has been politically polarized between those who attack the Obama administration for “dithering” and supporters who believe the president needs ample time to be a “decider.” Unfortunately, this is a wrong and false debate.

A Hymn to Liberty and Friendship with a Caveat: The View from Germany

By Benjamin Preisler

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech in front of a joint session of Congress was treated to positive while not glowing reviews in Germany.

Estonia wants new NATO defense plans

By the AP

From the AP: Estonia’s defense minister is discussing with the United States why NATO needs plans in case his region is attacked. Jaak Aaviksoo told The Associated Press that his country sees new threats since Russia’s invasion of Georgia last year and a cyber attack that targeted his country in 2007. Aaviksoo plans to meet […]

NATO-Russia Reset Needed

By the Atlantic Council

From the Atlantic Council: The fact is that the window of opportunity for the Alliance and Russia to sort out their differences may be slowly but surely closing. Although further NATO enlargement has been put on a back burner, the pledge made by the Alliance leaders at the Bucharest summit last year states that Ukraine […]

Beyond Containment: How the Cold War was Won

By Condoleeza Rice

Historians are often tempted to imbue the peaceful end of the Cold War with a sense of inevitability. With the benefit of hindsight, they frequently point to a seemingly predictable sequence of events in which Mikhail Gorbachev’s campaign to restructure the Soviet system ultimately exposed its internal contradictions and seamlessly contributed to its collapse. 

Electoral Transparency in Afghanistan

By Don Snow

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the half-Tajik opthamologist who finished second in the first round of the Afghan presidential election and who led the push for this coming Saturday’s runoff, dropped out of the race Sunday. His stated reason for doing so was the Karzai government’s refusal to revamp the existing electoral process, and notably Karzai’s refusal […]