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IranSource

Feb 13, 2019

Trump’s Iran Policy: Much Ado About Nothing

By Pooya Dayanim

The Trump administration’s policy of containing and weakening the Islamic Republic of Iran may appear to be going well to causal observers of Iranian affairs, and there is some evidence to support such a view. The United States has withdrawn from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2019

The EU draft motion that could lead to car tariffs

By Marie Kasperek

As US-China trade tensions calm down, they could escalate quickly on the transatlantic front.

European Union Trade and tariffs

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2019

Mike Pence stands up For NATO, but is that enough?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

While affirming the US commitment to Article 5, which enshrines the principle of collective defense, Pence also urged allies to meet the 2 percent of defense spending goal set at NATO’s Wales Summit in 2014.

NATO Poland

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2019

#StrongerWithAllies: Lithuanian combat photographer started with a dogged pursuit

By Hal Foster

Sergeant Specialist Ieva Budzeikaite was less than two weeks into her award-winning career as a combat photographer when the Lithuanian Armed Forces gave her a chance to snap pictures of troops taking survival training.

NATO Northern Europe

SyriaSource

Feb 13, 2019

Forced conscription continues despite amnesty by Syrian Government

By Hosam al-Jablawi

Since 2011, the Syrian regime has kept thousands of Syrian men in its military service as emergency forces—serving for an unspecified period—and refusing to discharge successive batches of army conscripts; some of whom have served for eight years in compulsory service. If they do not comply, they can be charged with a criminal offense and imprisoned for up to three years. In order to avoid fighting in the regime’s forces, Syrian youth have resorted to fleeing their country and the compulsory military service. Those who flee are considered military deserters according to Syrian law, and arrested if they return.

Syria

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2019

Whatever the outcome of elections in Spain, the Catalans lose

By Nick Ottens

Unlike his right-wing predecessor, Sánchez was willing to negotiate with the Catalans about transferring more money and power to the region.

Elections Southern & Southeastern Europe

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2019

When a Pencil Is a Rocket Launcher: How We Talk about War

By Vitaliy Deynega

In Kyiv, the word karandash (pencil) is an ordinary word one might encounter in an office supply store or an elementary school. But in eastern Ukraine, where the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has killed more than 10,000, displaced another 1.7 million, and injured thousands of civilians, karandash means something else. The Ukrainian military uses […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 13, 2019

We Do Far More than Meddle in Foreign Elections, Top Putin Aide Taunts

By Volodymyr Yermolenko

On February 11, Vladislav Surkov, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key aides and ideologists, published a reveling article called “Putin’s Long State.” It is not an ordinary piece; it makes the case for a new kind of Russian expansionism, and it should be read closely and taken seriously.

Russia Ukraine

EnergySource

Feb 13, 2019

Nuclear energy’s absence from the State of the Union: A missed opportunity

By Jennifer T. Gordon

Many commentators noted the absence of any reference to climate change, clean energy, or the Green New Deal in President Trump’s State of the Union address on February 5th. In fact, the only mention that Trump made of energy at all was to praise the US for becoming “the number one producer oil and natural […]

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy & Environment

MENASource

Feb 13, 2019

Concerning Iran, the United States should go back to ‘speaking softly and carrying a big stick’

By Borzou Daragahi

Top officials of the administration of Donald J. Trump love to talk tough on Iran. Last year Trump warned in an all-capitals tweet that Iran “would suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before” if it threatened the US.  

Iran
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