Category: Blogs

Trump Questions Whether US Troops Should Defend NATO Ally

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

President Donald Trump cast new doubt on his willingness to come to the defense of NATO allies

Not a Good Day for Ukraine

By Josh Cohen

Ukraine tries to project a proud image of a Western country with enormous potential held back by Russia, which is absolutely true, but it’s also true that it often holds itself back.    Take yesterday as an example. It was not a good day for Ukraine. A peaceful demonstration in Kyiv meant to highlight the […]

MASHAV: How at 10, Israel was Busy Helping Others

By David Wemer

Ten years after its founding, Israel established MASHAV—Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation—that has over the past six decades helped nations in need. On July 18, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center co-hosted a celebration of MASHAV’s sixtieth anniversary. Ambassador Gil Haskel, deputy director general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of MASHAV, recalled […]

It’s What Wasn’t Said at the Trump-Putin Press Conference That Really Matters

By Agnia Grigas

Donald J. Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16 resulted in some very poor optics for the US president. While Trump faced tough questions from American journalists, the Russian president appeared on equal footing with his US counterpart. It is important, however, to not get caught up in the theatrics of the […]

NATO is Stronger With Montenegro

By Damon Wilson

In his interview with US President Donald J. Trump, Tucker Carlson of Fox News asked why the United States should come to the defense of Montenegro, a tiny country in the Western Balkans with a population the size of Washington, D.C., that is a NATO ally. It’s a perfectly reasonable question, with a good answer. […]

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.”