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New Atlanticist

Aug 28, 2013

US Strike on Syria Could Be Prelude to Diplomacy

By Barbara Slavin

It’s hard to accuse the Barack Obama administration of being trigger happy.   While Obama has been willing to use force to kill Taliban and al-Qaida militants, he has studiously avoided embroiling the United States in another war in the Middle East or South Asia.   The apparent U.S. decision to strike Syria for what […]

Iran National Security

New Atlanticist

Aug 26, 2013

What Is China’s Endgame?

By Robert A. Manning and James J. Przystup

Hugh White’s recent post appears to question the premise of my recent East Asia Forum piece arguing that counterbalancing China is not containment, implying that it is a distinction without a difference. He argues that the US strategic goal in Asia is to maintain its primacy, something that China’s rise is overtaking. It is the […]

China Indo-Pacific

New Atlanticist

Aug 22, 2013

Clapper’s Bodyguard of Lies

By James Joyner

Winston Churchill declared, “In war-time, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” In the current environment, it’s difficult to know where the truth ends and the lies begin. Last week the Washington Post reported, “The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority […]

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Aug 8, 2013

All-American Agenda: A Financially Realistic Defense

By Harlan Ullman

Perhaps the best thing that happened to the United States last week was Congress abandoning Washington for a 5-week break deferring all the major issues and problems. Will anything improve when Congress returns? The answer isn’t reassuring.

Economy & Business National Security

New Atlanticist

Aug 5, 2013

John Kerry’s Six-Month Report Card

By R. Nicholas Burns

Until a few weeks ago, a small army of critics and armchair quarterbacks took aim at Secretary of State John Kerry’s first months in office in roughly similar fashion — too much globe-trotting, too many meetings, and too singular a focus on the lost cause of diplomacy — the 65-year search for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. […]

Iran National Security

New Atlanticist

Jul 26, 2013

The NSA Isn’t the Only One Watching You

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

On Wednesday, lawmakers in the House narrowly defeated a measure proposed by Rep. Justin Amash that would have dramatically curtailed the National Security Agency’s ability to collect phone records. While concerns about the breadth of the NSA’s surveillance are far from behind us, privacy advocates will do themselves a grave disservice if the NSA remains the sole […]

Cybersecurity Intelligence

New Atlanticist

Jul 24, 2013

Three Hops and You’re Out

By James Joyner

Revelations that the government’s ability to access American citizens’ phone records without probable cause is much broader than previously contemplated got Congress’ attention last week, drawing rebukes and warnings from both sides of the aisle.

Intelligence National Security

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2013

Congress Misunderstands Role of Joint Chiefs

By James Joyner

Senator John McCain is blocking a second term for General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after a testy exchange in a hearing Thursday. His grounds? The refusal of Dempsey to “respond to legitimate questions” from the senior senator from Arizona.

National Security Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Jul 20, 2013

Coping with Netanyahu on Iran

By R. Nicholas Burns

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is back in the headlines on the subject of Iran. On CBS’s “Face the Nation,’’ Netanyahu complained that there was “no sense of urgency” by the global community about Iran’s advancing nuclear program. He went on to warn that Israel will “have to address this question of how to stop […]

Iran Israel

New Atlanticist

Jul 18, 2013

American Decline: Pure Poppycock!

By Harlan Ullman

A specter is haunting the United States. That specter is one of American decline. But this specter isn’t merely exaggerated. It is poppycock.Those who see in America the conditions that led to the fall of the Roman Empire or the catastrophic Grecian wars between Athens (read America) and Sparta (read China) are simply wrong. The […]

China Economy & Business

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