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New Atlanticist

May 23, 2018

Trump’s Plan B for Iran

By Matthew Kroenig

Several years ago, Henry Kissinger famously stated that Iran must decide if it wants to be a country or a cause. On May 21, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo re-articulated this question, offering Iran a sharp choice: to be welcomed back into the community of nations if it abandons its destabilizing security policies or […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

SyriaSource

May 22, 2018

The Civilian Cost of the Southern Damascus Battle

By Youmna al-Dimashqi

Thousands of civilians trapped in a Palestinian refugee camp south of Damascus are bearing the brunt of a fierce government campaign targeting so-called Islamic State (ISIS) militants holed up in the area. It remains unclear exactly how many civilians are currently caught in middle of the fierce clashes between Syrian government forces and ISIS militants in […]

Syria

UkraineAlert

May 22, 2018

Five Steps Ukraine Should Take Now to Free Their Hostages in Russia

By Josh Cohen

Perhaps no one in Kyiv faces a more difficult task than First Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Herashchenko. Herashchenko is Ukraine’s lead negotiator tasked with freeing Ukrainians held captive in the Donbas. The Ukrainian government and Russia’s separatist proxies in eastern Ukraine exchanged nearly 400 prisoners in late 2017—a notable achievement for which Herashchenko […]

Ukraine

IranSource

May 22, 2018

Iran’s Hijab Protests Are a Middle Class Phenomenon

By Tahereh Hadian-Jazy

The day before widespread protests broke out in Iran last December, Vida Movahed, 31, stood on a utility box in Tehran, took off her white headscarf and waved it before a crowd. In the weeks since then, dozens of other women have done the same, earning the nickname the “Women of Enghelab [Revolution] Street.” Their acts of […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2018

How Trump’s Meeting with Moon Can Help Him Prepare for the Summit with Kim

By Miyeon Oh

US President Donald J. Trump must use his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to ensure that the United States and South Korea are completely aligned, with no differences that could be exploited by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in his upcoming summit with Trump. In this way, Trump’s May 22 meeting with Moon […]

Korea

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2018

Sleepless in Seoul

By Frederick Kempe

Why I’ve grown more optimistic that we have the chance to repair history’s bloodiest remaining divide. Jet lag can play tricks on the mind. Lying wide awake at just past three in the morning, some thirteen hours ahead of DC time in South Korea, I grow convinced we are within reach of the chance of […]

Korea

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2018

The Atlantic Council Must be Open to Dialogue—Even if Critics Disagree

By John E. Herbst

I am sorry to see the letter from a group that opposes a private dinner that we are holding with Peter Aven and Mikhail Fridman of Alfa Group. I have the greatest of respect for this distinguished group of people, and we have more often been on the same side when it comes to campaigning […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2018

Oligarchs from Alfa Group Should be Asked Critical Questions at the Atlantic Council Dinner

By The Undersigned (Signatories Below)

Last week we—Russian and US experts and activists—learned that an off-the-record roundtable dinner with Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, principals of the Alfa Group, will be held on May 21 at the Atlantic Council. These Kremlin regime insiders are both listed on the January update of the US government list “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2018

The Regional Consequences of Trump’s Decision to Ditch the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Rachel Ansley

Though Iran has thus far remained in compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the US decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal could be the first domino to fall, setting off a chain of escalatory events throughout the region. “This change is US policy is happening at a time when the region […]

Iran

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2018

Former Defense Minister Hrytsenko Is Finally Having His Moment in the Sun

By Vitalii Rybak

Anatoliy Hrytsenko, Ukraine’s defense minister from 2005 to 2007, is finally having his moment in the sun. The latest poll shows that 12.7 percent of Ukrainians who have made up their minds would vote for Hrytsenko in the first round of the 2019 presidential election. This is progress compared to his previous results. The 2019 […]

Ukraine