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New Atlanticist

May 10, 2013

Defense: And What Will Europe Do?

By Sven Biscop

The debate about European defense tends to focus on the need to spend more and deploy more. One deceptively simple question is usually ignored: why? Americans seem to assume that more European capabilities will be deployed where it is convenient for the United States. Europeans just seek to avoid the difficult debate that it would […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

New Atlanticist

May 6, 2013

Syria and the Obama Administration’s Loss of Credibility

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

When it comes to maintaining military credibility in the face of potential national security threats, the Obama administration has gone out of its way to convince friend and foe alike that the president and the administration do not bluff when it comes to their foreign policy and national security goals and commitments.

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 6, 2013

America’s Most Tolerated Dangers

By Harlan Ullman

If asked, most Americans would agree that economic and financial chaos or a stunning terrorist attack by foreign jihadis possibly with nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction constitute among the gravest threats to the United States. But the United States faces other more immediate, yet tolerated, dangers that have done and are doing irreparable […]

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2013

Why Terrorism is Different

By James Joyner

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, several commentators have asked why we label some acts of mass violence “terrorism” while others are considered ordinary crime. Why do we treat those two so very differently, despite the latter being responsible for far more American deaths?

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 19, 2013

Useless Speculation on Twitter Standard Time

By James Joyner

Since the news broke this morning that the likely perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing are two brothers from Chechnya, speculation has been rampant about their ties to militant groups there. That zero evidence supports that proposition seems irrelevant. We’re on Twitter Standard Time and we expect answers instantaneously.

Cybersecurity National Security

New Atlanticist

Apr 16, 2013

Seeking to Avert Cyber War

By Frederick Kempe

Amid the buzz in Washington about new North Korean nuclear threats, President Barack Obama late last week summoned 15 of America’s top financial leaders to the White House to discuss what his administration considers to be threats that are more pervasive, more persistent and less manageable ‑ cyber risks. “The president scared the hell out […]

Cybersecurity Korea

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2013

No, It’s Not Too Soon to Judge Iraq War

By James Joyner

Paul Wolfowitz, a leading cheerleader for and planner of the Iraq War, says “it’s too soon to tell” how it turned out.

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2013

Obama Played it Safe in Israel

By Ana Palacio

Now that the dust has settled on President Barack Obama’s much-anticipated trip to Israel, it is possible to analyse the significance of the visit. The trip — the first foreign visit of his second term — carries important implications for US foreign policy. Rather than providing the breakthrough for which many had hoped, it demonstrated […]

Middle East National Security

New Atlanticist

Apr 5, 2013

Hagel’s Three Questions

By James Joyner

Chuck Hagel recently delivered his first major public-policy address since becoming secretary of defense. While the bulk of his speech at the National Defense University focused on the need to overhaul our spending priorities radically, a nod to the military officers in the audience caught my attention:

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 3, 2013

Iran and the US: Deadly Embrace or Suicide Pact?

By Harlan Ullman

During the Cold War, the thermonuclear standoff between the United States and Soviet Union was often described as two scorpions in a bottle. The notion was that both scorpions would sting the other to death no matter which struck first. Of course, the prospect of the scorpions being of the opposite sex with options other […]

Iran National Security

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