Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Pakistan Army Back on Top — But in a New Way

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

It was Pakistan’s week in Washington with much talk of a new, deeper geopolitical understanding between the United States and a "major non-NATO ally." The star was Pakistan’s army  chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, and the country’s de facto politico-military power. The Pakistani army has taken over from ineffectual, corrupt civilian governments four times since independence. […]

Moscow Subway Bombing Puts Pressure on Putin

By James Joyner

Female suicide bombers have killed at least 38 and wounded many more in a terrorist attack on the Moscow subway this morning.  If, as all the circumstantial evidence currently points, this is the work of Chechen extremists, it will be a stern test for the Putin-Medvedev regime. Clifford Levy for NYT ("Subway Blasts Kill Dozens […]

Courting Pakistan: Forging a Strategic Partnership

By Shuja Nawaz

The United States and Pakistan is the world’s oddest couple, with an on-again, off-again friendship that has survived since the 1950s. Last week both sides completed a "strategic dialogue" in Washington amid fears that they were headed for another break-up.

Afghanistan Success Measured in Convoys, Not Car Bombs

By Alexandros Petersen

On February 26, I woke up in Kabul to the sound of a suicide car bomb explosion two blocks away. I ate my full English breakfast amid cacophonous gunfire from the neighborhood park. The Taliban took responsibility for my wake-up call. It is these sorts of events that prompt analysts here to argue that despite […]

US-Pakistan Trust Deficit

By Harlan Ullman

President John F. Kennedy wittily observed that “the only thing worse than being an enemy of the United States was being an ally.” Beyond the humor, JFK was reminding people of the often harsh and unjust treatment America served up to its alleged friends. With the visit of a high-level Pakistani delegation to Washington Wednesday […]

Caspian Security Gambit

By Borut Grgic

The international diplomacy aimed at thwarting Iran’s nuclear program has produced no concrete results. Iran’s leaders, in particular President Ahmadinejad, are set on going nuclear, and doing it soon.

Estonian President Ilves: The Future of NATO

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves addressed the Atlantic Council on March 19 as part of the Global Leadership Series. Atlantic Council Board Director and CEO of LexisNexis, Andrew Prozes, provided introductory remarks while Frederick Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic, moderated the Q&A session.

The Latest Israeli Settlement Flap

By Don Snow

The Netanyahou government is at it again, this time in a more spectacular display of ham-handedness and arrogance than usual.

Changing Rules of Warfare

By Derek Reveron

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen recently gave a speech in Kansas where he outlined a vision of warfare for the current era. Reflecting on nine years of continuous warfare in Central Asia and twenty years military involvement in Iraq, he proposed three rules that challenge traditional notions of using the […]

NATO Forum: Slovak Defense Leaders at the Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council hosted Slovak Minister of Defense Jaroslav Baška and General Ľubomír Bulík, Chief of the General Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces, for a NATO Forum strategy session.

NATO Transformation on the Cheap

By James Joyner

General Stéphane Abrial, Commander Allied Command Transformation (ACT), declared that, "With defense budgets under growing competition from other lines of public expenditure it is therefore imperative that we are able to assure our publics that we are wasting nothing, that we have not spared ourselves any necessary reform and ask for nothing that is not […]

NATO-EU Partnership: Small Obstacles Loom Large

By James Joyner

There’s a growing consensus that NATO and the EU must strengthen their cooperation on military planning. Yet the chief obstacles to doing so — they rhyme with Freece and Gurkey — are so taboo Allied leaders are reluctant to mention them by name.

Hillary Clinton Hits BRIC Wall Over Iran Sanctions

By James Joyner

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned home from Brazil unable to secure cooperation on increased pressure against Iran’s nuclear program.  Nick Gvosdev says we shouldn’t be surprised — and that the ramifications go far beyond this one vote.