Security & Defense

Turkey chooses NATO and the West

By Barçın Yinanç, Hurriyet Daily News

From Barçın Yinanç, Hurriyet Daily News:  Turkey’s decision to host an early warning radar as part of NATO’s nuclear defense system is a sign of the country’s realignment with the West, says Professor Mustafa Aydın.

Could Iran Nuclear Talks Founder over Sanctions Relief?

By Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin

As Iran ponders whether to accept curbs on its nuclear program, it worries less about the possibility of foreign military attack than about the relentless onslaught of economic sanctions that are squeezing its oil-based economy. US and European officials have said that only tangible progress in the talks due to resume in Baghdad May 23 […]

The Third (Iranian) Way

By Amos Yadlin and Yoel Guzansky

Most analysis of the Iranian nuclear program deals with two extreme scenarios: an Iranian breakout to nuclear weapons or a capitulation under international pressure to abandon the project completely. There is a third option: a threshold state that has the ability to assemble a nuclear weapon but chooses not to. Charging toward military nuclear capability, […]

Afghanistan Victory Not in Sight

By James Joyner

In a speech to the Atlantic Council this week, Major General John Toolan, just returned from a year commanding NATO forces in southwestern Afghanistan, both highlighted the tremendous progress coalition forces have made since the beginning of the Afghan surge and candidly acknowledged how much work remains to be done.

US and Russia discuss hotline for cyber incidents

By Ellen Nakashima, the Washington Post

Can Western Women Tame Iran’s Nuclear Negotiators?

By Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin

Photos of the high-stakes Iran nuclear talks held in Istanbul earlier this month tell their own story.

Nuclear Iran Not Inevitable, Says Israel’s Defense Chief

By James Joyner

Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, the head of Israel’s military, says that Iran’s leaders have not yet decided to develop nuclear weapons and that they may well never take that step.

Nuclear Weapon Reductions Must be Part of Strategic Analysis

By Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft

A New START treaty reestablishing the process of nuclear arms control has recently taken effect. Combined with reductions in the U.S. defense budget, this will bring the number of nuclear weapons in the United States to the lowest overall level since the 1950s. The Obama administration is said to be considering negotiations for a new […]