Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Explore the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s latest insights, commentary, articles, media hits, and in-depth reports

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New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2013

The Saga of US-Poland Missile Defense Cooperation

By Ian Brzezinski

Missile defense cooperation stands among the most prominent dimensions of the strategic relationship between the United States and Poland.  Both Washington and Warsaw have been strong advocates of missile defense within NATO.  Poland has enthusiastically accepted US requests to base missile interceptors on its territory, and recently made the acquisition of air and missile defense capability its […]

Missile Defense Poland

Issue Brief

Mar 13, 2013

A strategy for US engagement in the Middle East: Contain threats, embrace dignity

By Michele Dunne and Barry Pavel

The Middle East Peace and Security Initiative is pleased to release a new issue brief, “A Strategy for US Engagement in the Middle East: Contain Threats, Embrace Dignity.” Michele Dunne, director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and Barry Pavel, director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security evaluate challenges and opportunities […]

Middle East United States and Canada

Event Recap

Mar 13, 2013

Obama Administration Must Embrace Dignity Agenda and Engage Further in the Middle East

As President Obama prepares for his upcoming trip to the Middle East amid concerns over Egypt’s struggling economy, a stalled peace process, and growing fears of a nuclear armed Iran, he should embrace the dignity agenda and change the course of US disengagement from the region. On Wednesday the Atlantic Council hosted a discussion to […]

Event Recap

Mar 12, 2013

The United States and Global Missile Defense

On March 13, 2013 the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted its annual conference on missile defense. The conference maintained its traditional focus on transatlantic missile defense, while also addressing other regions of critical importance such as Asia and the Middle East.

Missile Defense Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Mar 12, 2013

Muddling Through from One NATO Ministerial to Another

By Isabelle Francois

NATO Defense Ministers recently met for their periodic discussions on allied capabilities and operations, and engaged with their counterparts from partner countries to discuss the way ahead in Afghanistan. Automatic US budget cuts which went into effect on March 1st were looming large. The Pentagon spokesman, George Little, announced on the eve of the ministerial […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Mar 7, 2013

North Korean Albatross Around China’s Neck

By Robert A. Manning

North Korea’s recent nuclear test was a stark reminder to China that the days of a “lips and teeth” relationship with Pyongyang, of Mao Zedong and Kim Il-sung half a century ago, are long gone. Nuclear test after nuclear test, missile test after missile test, Pyongyang has time after time ignored Beijing’s pleas not to […]

Korea National Security

Event Recap

Mar 7, 2013

Setting Priorities for American Leadership: A New National Security Strategy for the United States

On March 7, 2013, the Atlantic Council hosted the Project for a United and Strong America for the launch of their new report, A New National Security Strategy for the United States.

New Atlanticist

Mar 6, 2013

Was Afghanistan Worth It?

By James Joyner

 As his Marines prepare to leave Helmand Province, General James Amos, the commandant, says the mission has “paid off.” He cites several metrics: “The number of violent events, from gunshots to roadside bombs, has dropped in almost every district since 2010.” “Roads have been paved and markets secured, allowing commerce to grow in places like […]

Afghanistan

Report

Mar 5, 2013

NATO Global Partnerships: Strategic Opportunities and Imperatives in a Globalized World

By Franklin D. Kramer

International security in today’s globalized world demands a framework responsive to interconnectedness, multiple power centers, shared vulnerabilities, and dramatic change. To meet these diverse challenges that affect the security of its members, NATO, as the West’s premier security organization, must reach beyond the transatlantic arena. Download PDF

NATO NATO Partnerships

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2013

Sequestration’s Credibility Costs

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

The debate over sequestration is focused nearly entirely on the impact of spending reductions on the U.S. economy. Far less attention is given to how the automatic spending cuts would undermine the credibility of American power abroad. As sequestration comes into force, the White House and Congress signal a dangerous lack of resolve to both […]

Politics & Diplomacy

FutureSource

Feb 28, 2013

Meet the New Meat

By Catherine Putz

According to the US National Intelligence Council’s (NIC) Global Trends 2030 report, the earth’s population will be pushing 8.3 billion (up from 7.1 billion in 2012) by 2030. This population growth, combined with ongoing urbanization and rising incomes, will increase the world’s demand for food.

New Atlanticist

Feb 28, 2013

Turmoil in Tbilisi: Georgia’s Dream Imperiled

By Matthew Bryza

The culture of democracy in Georgia requires serious repair. Despite groundbreaking reforms over nearly a decade, and the freest and fairest election in the country’s history last October, mob violence recently made a near-comeback as Georgia’s primary tool of political change. 

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Feb 27, 2013

The Shale Revolution: Next Phase

By Robert Manning

It had an end of an era feel, when Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy—one of the cutting edge independents that drove the shale revolution—recently retired, and billionaire investor Carl Icahn upped his share of Chesapeake to 8.9 percent.

Energy & Environment Oil and Gas

Event Recap

Feb 26, 2013

NATO Defense Ministerial Debrief

By Jason Harmala

On February 26, the Atlantic Council hosted James J. Townsend, Jr., deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO Policy, for a roundtable discussion on the outcomes of the NATO Defense Ministerial Meetings which took place February 21-22, 2013 in Brussels.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Feb 25, 2013

How the US Should Respond to Chinese Cyberespionage

By Jason Healey

A U.S. cybersecurity company has released details proving beyond any reasonable doubt that the Chinese military, through its Unit 61398, has intruded into at least 141 organizations over seven years, stealing terabytes of data from each. Now that attribution is clear (and, more importantly, public) the U.S. government has its best opportunity in years to […]

China Cybersecurity

New Atlanticist

Feb 25, 2013

The United States Should Contain Threats and Embrace Dignity in the Middle East

By Michele Dunne and Barry Pavel

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have chosen wisely to visit the Middle East early in Mr. Obama’s second term, but when they go, will they have anything new to say? U.S. interests are at significant risk as the region continues to undergo profound changes and instability, and Arab and European allies […]

Middle East North Africa

New Atlanticist

Feb 22, 2013

Tunisia and the Clash Within Civilizations

By Rajan Menon

Earlier this month, Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid was shot dead outside his home. Belaid’s death has shaken Tunisia, but it also illuminates larger trends in the post-revolution Arab world.

Elections North Africa

Issue Brief

Feb 21, 2013

Cyber Conflict and the WPR: Congressional Oversight of Hostilities in the Fifth Domain

By Jason Healey and A.J. Wilson

The Obama administration is sending mixed messages about the role that Congress should play in creating policies that would prevent the possibility of a catastrophic cyber attack, according to a new issue brief released by the Cyber Statecraft Initiative of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security.  Download the PDF

New Atlanticist

Feb 21, 2013

Israel Not Pushing Obama to Arm Syrian Rebels

By Barbara Slavin

A lack of Israeli pressure for the U.S. to intervene and Israel’s ability to go after sensitive targets in Syria on its own are factors in the Barack Obama administration’s reluctance to get more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war. Despite reports that the U.S. may be reconsidering its rejection of calls to arm […]

Event Recap

Feb 20, 2013

Setting a Defense-Industrial Policy Agenda for the Second Term

By Jason Harmala

The Atlantic Council welcomed Brett Lambert, deputy assistant secretary of defense for manufacturing and industrial base policy at the US Department of Defense, and William Greenwalt, vice president of acquisition policy at Aerospace Industries Association on Wednesday, February 20 at the Army-Navy Club to discuss an effective defense-industrial policy for the second Obama administration.

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