Content

Issue Brief

Dec 3, 2015

ISIS war game III: The final phase

By Bilal Y. Saab

September 2015 marked the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama’s speech outlining the administration’s strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Yet, ISIS celebrated in June its own first-year anniversary of setting up a state by conducting three nearly simultaneous terrorist operations in three different countries—France, Tunisia, and […]

Iraq
Middle East

New Atlanticist

Dec 2, 2015

NATO’s Invitation to Montenegro an ‘Important’ Response to Russia’s Bluster

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Damon Wilson says decision puts NATO on a ‘safer path forward for security and stability’ NATO’s invitation to Montenegro to join the military alliance — its first expansion since 2009 — is the right decision, has significant implications, and is an important response to Russia’s actions in Eastern Europe, said Damon Wilson, Executive […]

NATO
Russia

Defense Industrialist

Dec 2, 2015

Bayonets, pistols, and JLTVs

By James Hasik

What three recent cases tell us about relative burdens in military procurement. Just the other day, I noted how outgoing Air Force procurement chief Bill LaPlante has been insisting that the Pentagon’s business of buying weapons has been improving over the past few years. Not everyone, however, is equally moved. On 18 November, at our […]

Defense Industry
Defense Policy
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Luksic and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Dec. 2, 2015

NATOSource

Dec 2, 2015

NATO Invites Montenegro to Join Alliance and Provides ‘Guidance for Other Aspirants’

By NATO Foreign Ministers

Statement by NATO Foreign Ministers on Open Door Policy

NATO
Security & Defense

Report

Dec 2, 2015

Global system on the brink: pathways toward a new normal

By Dr. Mathew Burrows and Professor Alexander Dynkin

In keeping with previous forecasting works published by the Atlantic Council and the IMEMO, the study examines current trends and potential scenarios for global developments over the next twenty years.

Conflict
Russia
NATO Foreign Ministers, Dec. 1, 2015

NATOSource

Dec 1, 2015

NATO Taking Steps to Strengthen Defense of Turkey

By NATO Foreign Ministers

The situation along NATO’s south-eastern border remains highly unstable. We reiterate that the security of the Alliance is indivisible and that Allies stand in strong solidarity with Turkey, which is facing multiple challenges from the south including terrorist threats.

NATO
Russia

In the News

Dec 1, 2015

Hagel: Climate Change Is a National Security Problem

By Chuck Hagel

Atlantic Council Distinguished Statesman and former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel writes for TIME on the Paris climate talks and why climate change is a national security challenge:

Climate Change & Climate Action
Energy & Environment

Event Recap

Dec 1, 2015

The Future Landscape of European Security

By Brent Scowcroft Center

On Tuesday, December 1, the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security welcomed General Micael Bydén, Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces for a private strategy session on “The Future Landscape of European Security.” The session featured a wide range of political and military experts, former government officials, and scholars who spoke on a variety […]

Europe & Eurasia
National Security

Defense Industrialist

Nov 30, 2015

“We used to suck, and now we don’t suck as much.”

By James Hasik

Testing Bill LaPlante’s hypothesis of improving military acquisition The Lexington Institute’s Dan Gouré says that the much-ballyhooed Third Offset “will fail unless it first defeats the DoD’s acquisition system.” The department has again missed its goals for competing enough contracts. I myself have lamented how broken the acquisition system is. But as a retired Air […]

Defense Industry
Security & Defense
Montenegro's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Luksic and Defense Minister Milica Pejanovic-Djurisic, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenber, Nov. 25, 2015

NATOSource

Nov 30, 2015

In Less Than Forty Eight Hours, NATO Foreign Ministers Vote on Montenegro Joining the Alliance

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

Excerpts from Pre-ministerial press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, November 30, 2015.

NATO
Security & Defense

Experts

Events