Category: Blogs

NATO Summit a Success, For Now

By Brooks Tigner

Budgetary bombast aside, the agenda in Brussels was a political success, but the proof will be in the subsequent grunt work to produce results BRUSSELS – Despite all the contradictory signals, divergent headlines, and alarmist bombast over defense spending during NATO’s July 11-12 summit in Brussels—and there was plenty of that coming from the US […]

TRADE IN ACTION July 18, 2018

By Global Business & Economics Program

What’s Next After Helsinki?

By Frederic C. Hof

Whatever they may have discussed privately, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump did not announce a grand bargain over Syria at their joint press conference in Helsinki. They indicated agreement on several issues: Israel’s security, increased humanitarian assistance, the need to finish off ISIS (ISIL, Daesh, Islamic State), and the soundness of Russian-American military deconfliction. […]

Reflecting on Mandela’s centenary

By J. Peter Pham

Mandela’s life underscored, however, that it is not enough to be a visionary: to make dreams a reality requires pragmatism.

“You Can’t Get Away with Something Like This,” Families of MH17 Victims Remind Russia

By Michael Bociurkiw

“It is very sad and it doesn’t get easier with each passing year...the roll call of the 298 names just leaves you speechless. But we will continue to fight, because you can’t get away with something like this.”

After the World Cup, Will Iranian Women Still Be Able to Watch Soccer?

By Owen Daniels & Phoebe Amend

The 2018 World Cup is over after a whirlwind month of matches, with France claiming the title. There was no shortage of engrossing stories from the tournament, with political drama undergirding the action. In Iran, for example, beyond the national team’s relatively impressive display, the country grabbed headlines off the pitch for allowing women to […]

Netanyahu’s New Iran Approach: YouTube Diplomacy

By Ehud Eiran

Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership style always includes dramatic warnings about threats to Israel. For more than a decade now, Israel’s prime minister warns that Iran—in particular its nuclear program—are the chief threat. In 2015, a glaring Netanyahu stared down the United Nations General Assembly in silence for almost a minute. The gesture was to protest what […]

The Atlantic Council’s Inaugural UK Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge

By Georgia Crossland, Amy Ertan, Lydia Garms, and Angela Heeler

How do you respond to a cyberattack on a European airport, manipulation of UK aviation financial markets, and two emerging botnets? Team CDT had the winning response. Our approach included confirming attribution for the attacks, collating intelligence research, employing law enforcement in digital control towers, and utilizing an apolitical spokesperson from the National Cyber Security […]

Trump on NATO Summit: ‘Yes, There Was Fighting’

By Donald Trump and Theresa May, White House

[Excerpts from joint press conference by President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May, July 13, 2018]

Helsinki Was Bad, but It Could Have Been Far Worse

By Melinda Haring

There’s no dancing around it. Donald Trump got schooled in Helsinki. President Vladimir Putin put on a hell of a show. The masterfully prepared former spy buttered up the US president at every opportunity, and even tossed him a soccer ball from the just-completed World Cup that Russia hosted to lighten up the press conference. […]