Security & Defense

NATO and Japanese Counter-Piracy Force Commanders Meet in Gulf of Aden

By NATO Maritime Command HQ

NATO counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD Force Commander, Commodore Henning Amundsen, met Friday, 16 August 2013, with the Commander of the Japanese Escort Division 6, Captain Tsutomu Iwasawa, on board JS AKEBONO in the Gulf of Aden.

Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 to Test NATO Response Force

(graphic: Allied Command Operations)NATO and partner nations will conduct Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 in Latvia and in Poland from 2 – 9 November 2013.

NATO Exercise Ramstein Rover Begins Soon in Czech Republic

By Allied Command Operations

From 2 to 20 September 2013 a new edition of NATO’s Ramstein Rover (RARO) exercise series for Forward Air Controllers (FACs) will take place in the Czech Republic, where it had already been conducted last year.

Yes, NATO Should Let Georgia In

By Michael Cecire, National Interest

Categorical critics of NATO like [Doug] Bandow accuse the organization of being without a mission since the Soviet Union’s disintegration, but somehow fail to recognize that the Cold War success of NATO was as much sociopolitical as it was military.

Europe: Strategic Drifter

By Jakub Grygiel, National Interest

The European Union is a strategic drifter, unclear about its world role, unable to articulate a purpose and divided in its perception of external threats.

Danger of Emerging Technologies Dividing NATO

By Eddie Walsh, Al Jazeera

Converging technologies also pose fundamental human security challenges.

Concerned About Allies Cutting Military Capabilities, Poland Strengthens its Defense Forces

By Economist

Having weathered the past five years better than most—the economy has grown by a fifth since 2009—and imposed tight spending limits on most departments, the centre-right government of Donald Tusk, re-elected in 2011, has made modernising the armed forces a priority.

Turkey Blocks Egypt from Joining NATO Naval Exercise

By Today's Zaman

Turkey has canceled two naval military drills with Egypt over the Arab nation’s violent crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters that has killed more than 600. . . .

NATO Chiefs Deal Blow to SNP’s Anti-Nuclear Strategy

By Guardian and Telegraph

From Severin Carrell, Guardian:  Senior Nato officials have warned Alex Salmond’s government that an independent Scotland would be barred from joining Nato if there were any disputes over the basing of nuclear weapons on the Clyde.

Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Washington Post Web Site

By Paul Farhi and Hayley Tsukayama, Washington Post

The Washington Post’s Web site was disrupted Thursday morning by a hacker group sympathetic to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that apparently launched a coordinated wave of attacks on American news outlets.