NATO

From June 24 to 25, heads of state and government gathered at the NATO Summit in The Hague, where they agreed on a new commitment to spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2035. Check out our commentary, analysis, and events covering the convening, courtesy of our experts.

TRACKING NATO SPENDING


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Jun 20, 2025

NATO Defense Spending Tracker

By
Kristen Taylor, Julia Salabert

The Transatlantic Security Initiative’s NATO defense spending tracker delves into data and figures to analyze current defense spending trends.

Europe & Eurasia
NATO

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The Transatlantic Security Initiative, in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, shapes and influences the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners.

Content

NATOSource

Feb 2, 2012

NATO to consolidate air command operations at Ramstein

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

From John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes:  As part of a plan to consolidate its air command headquarters, NATO officials have decided to make Ramstein Air Base the hub for alliance missions that range from NATO’s air police operations to a growing missile defense program

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Feb 2, 2012

U.S., NATO seek to clarify Panetta comments on ending Afghan mission

By Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post

From Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post:  U.S. and NATO officials struggled Thursday to clarify how long their troops would remain engaged in combat in Afghanistan, a day after Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said U.S. forces would shift toward a training and advisory role next year.

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Feb 2, 2012

Strategy Session with Macedonian Foreign and Defense Ministers

By Jason Harmala

On Thursday, February 2, the Council hosted Minister Nikola Poposki and Minister Fatmir Besimi for an off-the-record strategy session to discuss Macedonia’s prospects for Euro-Atlantic integration in advance of May’s NATO Summit and in light of the recent International Court of Justice ruling on the name issue.

Eastern Europe European Union

NATOSource

Feb 1, 2012

Panetta: U.S. plans to end combat missions in Afghanistan in 2013

By Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post

From Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post:  The United States and NATO will seek to end their combat mission in Afghanistan next year and shift to a role of providing support and training to Afghan security forces

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Feb 1, 2012

Panetta faces tough NATO meeting after budget shift

By David Alexander, Reuters

From David Alexander, Reuters:  The NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday comes a week after [Defense Secretary Leon] Panetta previewed a defense budget that calls for slashing American force numbers in Europe, part of a new U.S. military strategy that puts Asia and the Middle East as top priorities with Europe a lowly […]

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jan 31, 2012

French decision to accelerate exit causes some Afghans to question NATO

By Jon Stephenson, McClatchy

From Jon Stephenson, McClatchy:  The announcement by France last week that it would speed up the exit of its troops from Afghanistan has been greeted with a mixture of cynicism, disbelief and concern by politicians here. "It may have a bad impact on other NATO allies," said Shukria Barakzai, an Afghan parliamentarian and chairwoman of […]

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Jan 31, 2012

Strategy Session with the Norwegian Atlantic Committee

By Jason Harmala

On January 31, the International Security Program hosted a delegation from the Norwegian Atlantic Committee to discuss a range of issues including the NATO Chicago Summit in May and prospects for greater multilateral defenses and international cooperation in light of major fiscal stress on Western economies.

NATO Northern Europe

NATOSource

Jan 27, 2012

Sarkozy and Karzai want faster NATO exit from Afghanistan

By Jamey Keaten, the AP

From Jamey Keaten, the AP:  President Nicolas Sarkozy says France and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will ask NATO to hand over all combat missions in Afghanistan to Afghan troops in 2013 — a year earlier than planned.

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jan 26, 2012

US should give NATO the Global Hawks it plans to mothball

By Jorge Benitez, Atlantic Council

The Department of Defense announced today that it is terminating its purchase of the Block 30 variant of Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk. The Block 30 Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and “multi-intelligence platform” designed to simultaneously carry imagery and signals intelligence.

Drones NATO

New Atlanticist

Jan 25, 2012

Dancing With the Taliban

By Sarwar Kashmeri

As the United States begins its peace-dance with the Taliban it is worth remembering that on the dance floor the Taliban always believe in leading.

Afghanistan NATO

Experts