Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

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New Atlanticist

Aug 4, 2011

Building the Afghan National Security Force under Fire

By William B. Caldwell IV

The first tranche of geographic transition is now complete in Afghanistan; geographic transition is a positive step, but it will not be risk-free. As recent media accounts have made clear, the Taliban, Haqqani Network, and other insurgent groups seek to regain lost territory. Over the past two years, approximately 2,800 Afghan police and 1,050 Afghan soldiers […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Aug 3, 2011

An Effective, Affordable Uncommon Defense, Part 3

By Harlan Ullman

The West is in the process of drastic defense reductions, justified by the lack of existential or even serious military adversaries and catalyzed by the toughest economic times in decades. This third column on an uncommon defense argues that absent an existential threat –and draconian budget cuts may well be the only prospect to fill […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Aug 3, 2011

The Enemy of Iran’s Enemy

By Barbara Slavin

Despite the alarmist headlines, no one should have been shocked by last week’s U.S. Treasury Department designation of a Syrian based in Iran as a conduit for sending money and personnel to al Qaeda. Iran has had links to members of what became known as al Qaeda since the early 1990s, when both had a […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 2, 2011

Afghanistan and Libya Point NATO to Five Lessons

By Kurt Volker

Both the wars in Afghanistan and Libya reveal serious flaws in the Alliance. If they can’t be fixed, perhaps it’s time for a ‘back to basics’ NATO and a return to coalitions of the willing. Whether it is a matter of weeks or months, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi will probably fall from power, and opposition forces will likely gain […]

Afghanistan Libya

New Atlanticist

Aug 1, 2011

India-Israel: BFFs or Fair Weather Friends?

By Shikha Bhatnagar

Earlier this month, India experienced the first significant terrorist attack within its borders since the horrific events of November 26, 2008 (“26/11”). Although no conclusive evidence of perpetrators has been found to date and clues strongly suggest homegrown elements, the news clips, blogospheres, and twitter-universe were abuzz with conjectures on what India’s actions would and […]

India Israel

NATOSource

Jul 29, 2011

Turkish Military Leadership Resigns and What It Means

By Ross Wilson, the New Atlanticist

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2011

Turkish Military Leadership Resigns and What It Means

By Ross Wilson

Media reported in Turkey late on July 29 that the Chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), General Işık Koşaner, and the military service chiefs under him at Land Forces, the Air Force and the Navy have all submitted their resignations.

Turkey

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2011

An Effective, Affordable Uncommon Defense, Part 2

By Harlan Ullman

The international environment and its threats and dangers have dramatically transformed from well-armed military forces and states with aggressive and expansive designs to smaller, ideologically motivated groups relying on terror and non-military means to achieve their aims. U.S. and allied defense and security forces must assimilate and respond to these profound shifts. And, while the […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2011

Iran’s Image Plummets in Arab World, Poll Finds

By Barbara Slavin

Iranian leaders have tried to portray democracy movements in the Arab world as inspired by their 1979 Islamic revolution and predicted that Iran’s regional support would grow as pro- Western dictators fell. However, a new poll by the Arab American Institute shows approval of Iran’s role in the region plummeting since 2006 and especially since […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jul 28, 2011

India-Pakistan Rivalry Afghanistan’s “Gordian Knot”

By Barbara Slavin

U.S. hopes to withdraw forces and leave behind a stable Afghanistan may rest on whether Pakistan and India can lower bilateral tensions and refrain from using Afghan territory for a new proxy war.

India Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Jul 21, 2011

Has Libya Killed Off Denuclearization of North Korea?

By Banning Garrett

An unnoted consequence of the NATO military effort to topple the Gaddafi regime may be any hope of eventual denuclearization of North Korea or Iran. The September 2005 denuclearization agreement with North Korea made security guarantees to Pyongyang in exchange for verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons. The North Koreans signed, but promptly shunned the deal […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Jul 21, 2011

Bitter Divides Persist Below Bahrain’s Relatively Calm Surface

By Barbara Slavin

When Bahraini ambassador Houda Ezra Nonoo arrived in Washington three years ago, she was greeted as the representative of a close U.S. ally with a reputation for more openness and tolerance than most Gulf nations.

New Atlanticist

Jul 20, 2011

An Effective, Affordable Uncommon Defense

By Harlan Ullman

Intense debate over what the United States can or will do regarding its massive debt and deficits along with its drawdowns from Afghanistan and Iraq, possibly tempered by the Libyan fiasco, will put defense spending under political and public microscopes. This is the first of a series of columns that examine this question and what […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 19, 2011

Drop by Drop, A River is Formed: Transition Begins in Afghanistan

By William B. Caldwell IV

Over the next week, lead security responsibility in Afghanistan will shift from NATO to the Afghan Army and Police in seven areas: the provinces of Bamiyan, Panjshir, Kabul (minus Sarobi District) and the municipalities of Mazar e-Sharif, Herat, Lashkar Gah, and Mehtar Lam. President Karzai trumpeted this important decision earlier this year and offered a […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Jul 14, 2011

Pentagon’s New Cyber Strategy

By Jason Healey

The Department of Defense’s new cyber strategy, (known as “Cyber 3.0” in the Pentagon) is being released this afternoon and many cyber security professionals who read it may be disappointed that it does not say more. While there is some validity to that concern the strategy does cover important new ground on the most pressing needs […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 12, 2011

US-Iran: Tensions Mount Over Iraq, Nuke Sanctions

By Barbara Slavin

Reviving U.S.-Iran friction over Iraq may have more to do with deteriorating relations over Iran’s nuclear programme than with uncertainty over U.S. troop levels in Iraq beyond the end of this year. In recent weeks, a chorus of U.S. officials has accused Iran of providing lethal weapons to Iraqi Shiite militias that have targeted U.S. […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2011

The Necessity of U.S. Naval Power

By Gordon England James L. Jones and Vern Clark

All our citizens, and especially our servicemen and women, expect and deserve a thorough review of critical security decisions. After all, decisions today will affect the nation’s strategic position for future generations. The future security environment underscores two broad security trends. First, international political realities and the internationally agreed-to sovereign rights of nations will increasingly […]

Issue Brief

Jul 11, 2011

Increasing Outreach, Public Understanding and Support for NATO across the Transatlantic Community

By Kurt Volker

Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group member Kurt Volker argues that allied political leaders must make a stronger case for NATO and that the Alliance must be seen as successful for it to regain public support in his brief “Increasing Outreach, Public Understanding and Support for NATO across the Transatlantic […]

NATO Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Jul 11, 2011

U.S. European Command and NATO’S Strategic Concept: Post-Afghanistan and Beyond

By Harlan Ullman

In “U.S. European Command and NATO’s Strategic Concept: Post-Afghanistan and Beyond,” Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group member Harlan Ullman argues that after the NATO drawdown from Afghanistan, EUCOM will become even more important as a means of sustaining and building NATO’s capabilities and capacities in an era of limited defense resources. Download the PDF

European Union International Organizations

Issue Brief

Jul 11, 2011

EUCOM’s Future Force Structure

By Kori Schake

In ‘EUCOM’s Future Force Structure,’ Kori Schake warns that EUCOM is losing the argument with the services, particularly the U.S. Army, about the importance and value of U.S. forces stationed in Europe. This Program on International Security issue brief is part of a series of five issue briefs to assess the future roles, missions and […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO
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