Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

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

All commentary & analysis

New Atlanticist

May 4, 2012

Iran and al Qaeda: More Enemies Than Allies

By Barbara Slavin

Newly released correspondence from Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan contradicts US assertions that al-Qaeda has a close relationship with Iran. According to a US analysis of letters found in the Abbottabad compound when US Special Forces killed bin Laden a year ago, “the relationship is not one of alliance, but of indirect and unpleasant […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

May 2, 2012

Why the Obama Administration’s Drone War May Soon Reach a Tipping Point

By James Joyner

In a speech Monday at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, John Brennan, President Obama’s counter-terrorism advisor, made a forthright defense of the drone war currently being conducted against Islamic militants in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia.

Drones Technology & Innovation

New Atlanticist

May 2, 2012

Beyond OBL: Time for Bold Moves

By Shuja Nawaz

What a difference a year makes! Today school children play cricket on the ground where a year ago Osama Bin Laden lived…and died. The sun is shining in Abbottabad. But clouds fill the horizon for the United States-Pakistan relationship.

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

May 1, 2012

Chinese Navy Joins Carrier Club; Still Junior Member

By Michael Hannan

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) continues to prepare its new aircraft carrier (SHI LANG) for operations and train a nascent cadre of naval aviators to launch and return to the deck of a moving ship. Beyond developing the day-to-day tasks involved with driving a carrier and conducting flight operations, the Chinese military must painstakingly […]

China

New Atlanticist

Apr 30, 2012

How Risky Was the Osama bin Laden Raid?

By James Joyner

CFR’s Micah Zenko asks, “How Risky Was the Osama bin Laden Raid?”

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2012

Afghanistan Victory Not in Sight

By James Joyner

In a speech to the Atlantic Council this week, Major General John Toolan, just returned from a year commanding NATO forces in southwestern Afghanistan, both highlighted the tremendous progress coalition forces have made since the beginning of the Afghan surge and candidly acknowledged how much work remains to be done.

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 25, 2012

Nuclear Iran Not Inevitable, Says Israel’s Defense Chief

By James Joyner

Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, the head of Israel’s military, says that Iran’s leaders have not yet decided to develop nuclear weapons and that they may well never take that step.

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2012

The Cruel Calendar

By Shuja Nawaz

South Asia is still struggling for some semblance of stability following last year’s turmoil. The next two years promise little respite as the effects of clashing political and economic calendars threaten to create further vortices of violence and political battles in the region.

Nuclear ICBM

New Atlanticist

Apr 23, 2012

Nuclear Weapon Reductions Must be Part of Strategic Analysis

By Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft

A New START treaty reestablishing the process of nuclear arms control has recently taken effect. Combined with reductions in the U.S. defense budget, this will bring the number of nuclear weapons in the United States to the lowest overall level since the 1950s. The Obama administration is said to be considering negotiations for a new […]

Nuclear Nonproliferation Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 23, 2012

‘Containment’ Not a Dirty Word When It Comes to Managing Iran

By Barbara Slavin

In recent months, as the debate over Iran’s nuclear program has become increasingly heated, US President Obama and other senior officials have insisted that “containing” Iran is not an option. Indeed, Obama assured Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in March that his policy was “prevention,” even if that required […]

Commanders Series

Apr 23, 2012

Fighting and Rebuilding in Helmand and Nimruz Provinces Revisited: A Commander’s View

By Jason Harmala

The commander of International Security Assistance Force, Regional Command Southwest (RC-SW), Major General John A. Toolan Jr., joined the Atlantic Council on April 23 for a conversation moderated by Barry Pavel, director of the Council’s Program on International Security.

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

New Atlanticist

Apr 18, 2012

The Kabul Blame Game

By Derek Reveron

Last weekend’s attacks in Afghanistan demonstrates that the Haqqani Network remains committed to conducting attacks, Afghan security forces are effective, and blame game politics are alive and well. Consider President Karzai’s statement: “The fact terrorists were able to enter Kabul and other provinces was an intelligence failure for us and especially for NATO.” In retort, […]

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 17, 2012

Siachen: Ten Questions

By Maleeha Lodhi

It was in April twenty-eight years ago that the seeds of the Siachen conflict were sown. This April nature struck a cruel blow when an avalanche hit the area, burying 139 Pakistani soldiers and civilian workers. The tragedy is a poignant reminder of the need to settle a long-standing, costly dispute. Because facts have been […]

India Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Apr 17, 2012

Demilitarization of the Siachen Conflict Zone: Challenges and Prospects

By Gurmeet Kanwal

The death of 124 Pakistani soldiers and 14 civilians in an avalanche in the Siachen conflict zone has once again brought to the fore the dangers of the continued deployment by India and Pakistan to safeguard the Actual Ground Position Line, despite the fact that an informal cease-fire has been holding up quite well since […]

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Apr 16, 2012

Our Pre-industrial Cyber Future: Is the Smart Grid Setting Us Up For a 200-Year Crash?

By Jason Healey

Is it possible, as we rush to implement energy-saving Smart Grid technologies, that we are building a system so vulnerable that a cyber disruption would reduce us to pre-industrial days? This was the topic of a recent panel at the RSA computer security conference and seems, at first look, to be eye-rolling hyperbole. As no one has […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 12, 2012

Enrichment Freeze at Fordow Key to Progress in Iran Nuclear Talks

By Barbara Slavin

As diplomats from Iran and the world’s big powers assemble in Istanbul on the inauspicious day of Friday 13, the key to managing the Iranian nuclear crisis lies deep in a mountain near the Shiite theological center of Qom.

Event Recap

Apr 12, 2012

GLOBSEC 2012 Bratislava Security Forum

By Jason Harmala

As part of the Atlantic Council’s mission to foster the next generation of transatlantic leadership, the Council hosted its Young Atlanticist delegates from Europe and partner countries at the 2012 GLOBSEC conference. Organized by the Slovak Atlantic Commission, GLOBSEC is the largest NATO-related event in Central Europe, which brought together more than 500 key stakeholders […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 11, 2012

Will We Need NATO After Afghanistan?

By Stanley Sloan

Despite the Obama administration’s re-focusing US security commitments on Asia, we will need NATO after Afghanistan. Some historical perspective might help.  When the Clinton Administration took office, it, too, sought to reorient American foreign policy toward Asia.  It was the economy, stupid, and the future of American economic interests was to be found on the […]

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2012

Disarmament by Timetable

By Andrew Wilson

Britain’s nuclear weapons—and its international relationships—are under challenge.

Nuclear Nonproliferation Security & Defense

Event Recap

Apr 10, 2012

The United States and Nordic-Baltic Cooperation: An Enhanced Partnership in a Global World

On April 10, the Atlantic Council held a discussion on recent developments and future prospects of the Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe (e-PINE), which seeks to strengthen US cooperation with the eight Nordic and Baltic countries.

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