Security & Defense

Afghanistan Police: Still Corrupt After All These Years

By James Joyner

A front page piece in today’s Washington Post by Pam Constable entitled “U.S. Troops Face a Tangle Of Goals in Afghanistan” does a good job of encapsulating the problems NATO faces in that conflict.

Hillary Clinton Goes to Russia

By James Joyner

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in an attempt to make good on Vice President Joe Biden’s pledge to “push the reset button” in the bilateral relationship.  The task will, to say the least, not be an easy one.

NATO Resumes Russia Ties

By James Joyner

NATO has ended Russia’s “time-out,” presumably thinking it has suffered long enough for invading its neighbor. NATO foreign ministers agreed Thursday to resume high-level formal ties with Russia, suspended last year after Moscow’s military thrust into Georgia.

Deal or No Deal?: Missile Defense for Iranian Nukes

By Peter Cassata

A letter from Obama offering to shelve the planned U.S. missile defense system in return for Russian cooperation in stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons was hand-delivered to Medvedev three weeks ago by U.S. diplomatic officials, the NYT reported.  Although fervently objecting to the missile defense shield, Russia’s reception of the letter was lukewarm.  Obama […]

NATO’s Three Faces

By James Joyner

In a new essay at The National Interest, Richard Betts makes a point I’ve been making since before this blog started:  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is one of the most successful alliances of all time, but after the cold war and the successful completion of its mission, NATO suffered an identity crisis. It now […]

Poland Expects Worst on Missile Defense

By James Joyner

Warsaw seems resigned to the Obama administration reneging on an agreement signed by its predecessor to put a missile defense system in Poland.

North Korea Closer to Missile Test

By James Joyner

Yet more disturbing news on the Korean missile front: North Korea has built an underground fueling facility near a key launch pad, a news report said Thursday, making it harder for spy satellites to detect signs that a missile is being prepared for launch.

Balkan Squabbles Threaten NATO Expansion

By Borut Grgic

Normally one would think Afghanistan, out-of-area deployment, mobility and interoperability when discussing the problems facing NATO in the 21st Century.  Well, the latest problem creeping up on the NATO plate is Slovenia-Croatia bilateral relations. 

Chuck Hagel on CNN’s American Morning: Transcript

Transcript from CNN, February 19, 2009. […] ROBERTS: Joining us now from Washington to talk about the new strategy, former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, who is the new chairman of the Atlantic Council. Congratulations on your new position. It’s good to see you, sir. CHUCK HAGEL, FMR. NEBRASKA SENATOR: John, thank you very much. ROBERTS: […]