Security & Defense

Rasmussen: Afghanistan NATO’s Top Priority

By James Joyner

New NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has wasted no time in signaling that the war in Afghanistan is the Alliance’s top priority, holding a teleconference on the conflict, reorganizing the mission’s command structure and calling for more EU help in his first days on the job.

Winners and Losers in SG Speech

In his first major speech as Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen placed a great deal of emphasis on reassuring Russia, but did he do so at the expense of alliance cohesion? As you can see in the video of his press conference, after Afghanistan, Rasmussen identified NATO-Russian relations as his second priority. He […]

Anders Fogh Rasmussen: NATO’s Last Secretary General?

By James Joyner

Denmark’s Anders Fogh Rasmussen officially takes over as head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization tomorrow.   A Guardian editorial muses that he may be “The last NATO secretary general.”

Appointment of General Stéphane Abrial to the post of Supreme Allied Commander Transformation

By NATO

From NATO: NATO today announced the appointment of General Stéphane Abrial to the post of Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. General Abrial is currently Chief of Staff of the French Air Force. He will take up his new duties on 9 September 2009 at a change of command ceremony to be held at Headquarters Supreme Allied […]

Britain opts out of NATO cyber centre

By defencemanagement.com

From defencemanagement.com: Britain will not take part in a NATO cyber security and warfare scheme due to the conflicting interests that participation would cause with other government departments and allies. NATO members Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain are all sponsoring a cyber defence and warfare centre that is being setup in Estonia […]

Ilves: a balance between EU eastern and southern partnerships must prevail

By the Baltic Course

From the Baltic Course: [President Toomas Hendrik] Ilves also thanked Italy for participating in the work of the NATO co-operative cyber defence centre of competence in Tallinn. “It is good that you have stood beside us and our other allies in organising cyber defence and you understand the importance of cyber security as the problem […]

Cyber Security: Hackers and Retooled Institutions

By Andrew Kessinger

You may have missed it. As fireworks were exploding over our nation’s capital this Independence Day weekend, U.S. government websites were being attacked by hackers.

New NATO Concept a Chance for Europe to Recommit to Alliance

By Jan Techau

Yesterday, NATO officially kicked off the process of drafting a new strategic concept for history’s most enduring military alliance. Officials, soldiers, think tankers, and strategists from all 28 member states convened in Brussels to ponder ideas on how to make the Atlantic Alliance fit for its seventh decade in business.

NATO: Relic or Revitalized?

By Harlan Ullman

Yesterday in Brussels, NATO kicked off a yearlong process to draft a new strategic concept. The last strategic concept was adopted a decade ago at the Washington Summit marking the alliance’s 50th anniversary, when NATO was at war in what turned out to be a 78-day bombing campaign to stop Serbia and its autocratic leader […]

Time to Shoot Down Missile Defense

By Don Snow

President Obama is in Moscow meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, with the shadow Vladimir Putin not far from their sight. The highlight of the talks, which are aimed at improving relations with Russia typically soured by the Bush administration, center on nuclear arms agreements, which were at the heart of Cold War negotiations and […]